The mantra goes no-one cares how much we know until they know how much we care. God cares. God the Son decided to come to earth in human form to pay the price for you. Me. The world. We’re supposed to care like Jesus did which means caring beyond the level that we’d really want to. Care beyond other’s expectations and more than anyone else.
It’s difficult to ‘like’ leaders who demand high levels of performance bordering on the impossible of sinless perfection, yet the service they provide is packed full of care. Ministry leaders care about the message they preach, the environment it is delivered in and how the entire presentation will be received. Their care is not the average mediocre pastor’s ‘care that says they care deeply yet never deliver. Beyond the smiling face and pleasantries the really caring ministry leader delivers no matter what the challenges set before them. Continue Reading
Although American research I believe that the digital world teenagers live in today do not differ that much. Communicating with teenagers has it’s challenges, and if you’re not dialed in to the digital universe, talking to your plants will get more response.
OnlineSchools.com has combined research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Pew Research Center and Common Sense Media, to name a few, to provide a snapshot of the digital habits of Millenials and how it may be impacting their lives for better or worse.
Marion and I, together with our two children arrived at Heathrow on 5 August 1994 as missionaries – sent ones – to Britain. The Words of Jesus initially spoken to the early disciples are branded in the very footprints and DNA of our lives:
“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21
Jesus is of course the greatest Sent One and our finest example to model as a missionary sent with a purpose. His sending us has imprinted motivations within us that go to the core of everything we are and do here.
Jesus sends you into a particular setting, place and culture, in all likelihood unlike what you are familiar with as your own. Jesus left Heaven and came to earth – we left South Africa and came to the UK, and Exeter in particular. As Jesus participated fully in the context He was sent to [except the immorality] so we have immersed ourselves into the cultural context so as to bring Christ into the culture. Continue Reading
Without hope we have hopelessness, despair and despondency. Outside God all our tests and trials, our hard times, our sufferings would crush us because they make no sense, sending us into depression and despair. HOPE is the engine of our lives:
H: He is our HELP in times of Hopelessness.
Many times our world is framed by our hopelessness. We are contained within a stronghold that says there is no way out, no HELP, no future. The man at the pool of Bethesda felt there was no one to help him, he failed to see the Healer standing right in front of him! Despair and despondency blinds us to the possibilities and help that God is trying to direct us to. Continue Reading
When it comes to praise and worship I don’t think there are many believers who don’t have at least a few gospel tracks on their music carrying device. Worship is the highest form of prayer and thanksgiving is the highest form of worship yet it’s absent from almost every music carrying device I know.
Thank God in everything – no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus. 1Thess 5:18 AMP
Thanksgiving is the antidote to all of that worrying, complaining, fault-finding and general negativity we so easily default to. When I’ve encouraged some downcast believer to be thankful the overwhelming response is, “Of course I’m thankful!”This response usually comes as a snap or a bite. And obviously they are not thankful. The previous days’ conversations were all monotonously filled with despondency and discouragement. Our attitude must be thankful and from that attitude we must give thanks in everything. That’s an attitude and an action.
Being thankful and giving thanks is continual. This is the will of God for us who are in Christ Jesus. It denotes abiding trust in God that He has everything in hand and is working all things out for our good. You wont find the giving of thanks on any album because it’s personal to you, your life and your context. You have to dig into your life and find the stuff to be thankful for. Worship music can for many just be the part of the background ‘noise’ to their lives. But giving thanks requires me to be present in the moment.
I want to be in the will of God. Being thankful establishes me in the will of God. When last did you set some time aside to give thanks? It should be a continual attitude and action of our lives.
Easter should never be a dull service so this year we had a blast and welcomed our community into our building as we held a specially crafted Easter Service, aptly called “Rolling Stones.” Also, how about rolling two baby dedications into it too? So how about making Rolling Stones a family service? So that’s what we did!
And what a fabulous time we had. The Explorers discovered the nations at International Nite but this Easter they went on a far more exciting and profound adventure: discovering the empty tomb.
This hilarious marriage course has ended for now but the lessons and wisdom are still being shared and lived out. For five weeks, the married couples from The River came together to glean wisdom and laughs from Mark Gungor’s DVD series, Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage.
Through discussions afterwards with Pastors Michael and Marion, the couples shared new understanding and insight into what men and women think, what they expect, and how to bring out all the good in marriage as God intended.
Marion and I shared on the platform at The River Exeter today how early in our marriage we used to pray over our tithes and offering. I’ve written it up into the notes below which you can use for our own family (even if you’re a family of one) to be active in faith with your financial giving.
International Nite 2012 again was a wonderful evening where we celebrated the diversity of Exeter. Each performance was astounding, every worker who put their talent and time into the event did it with great joy, and most of all we would like to say a big THANK YOU for responding to the call and inviting so many friends and family!
Cecile (who came both nights!) said, ‘Thank you ever so much River Church for organizing and hosting two superb International nights in the heart of Exeter! A fund-raising event at its best.‘
Gilda, who was involved in the Indonesian dance, said ‘Thank you for giving us an opportunity to share our culture with River Family – hope next year’s will be even greater!‘
Jean who comes from France said he enjoyed himself so much he is even coming back for our Easter service on April 8 – and bringing the same friends with him! We were delighted to see some people had invited more than 5 friends to share the experience!
There is plenty of video from the event that you can link to below, but perhaps the performance that sums up the event best is this one:
It was wonderful to start the night altogether by joining Sir Geoffrey and Baldrick on their quest to Finding the Nations. We saw the Japanese kagemusha taiko-style drummers, beautiful traditional Indonesian dancing, heard Welsh folksongs and The River Church worship team’s spin on a Michael Jackson classic, to name just a few.
All donations go to a chosen charity that is very dear to our Pastors, Michael and Marion, and The River Family – Kondanani Children’s Village in Malawi, which is a home to the orphaned young. We are honoured to be a small part of it!
Here are some shots capturing our celebration together, you can check out the whole album too. Add us as a friend on Facebook, and you can also tag the photos you and your friends are in!
Were you at International Nite this year? Share with us your thoughts and experiences and stories of new friends you made!
More Photos
Indonesian Act
The River Church Worship Team
Pastor Scott presenting the girls at Kondanani Children's Village in Malawi
Storytime with the little kiddies
Homecooked food from every corner of the world!
More Videos
Michael is Senior Pastor of The River Church in southwest England, together with his wife, Marion. As missionaries to the UK from South Africa, their mission is to empower believers to live radical Christian lives that bring change into every area of society.
