These Riots

As everyone else is doing so I must put down my thoughts about these riots. I think everyone has looked at it from their stand point - especially these comments in the various papers about the causes, each paper giving a different reason depending on their political sociological background but this article here on youtube seems to say it all so much better than I can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61eTtDkNjAc&feature=youtu.be

I started work in the youth service and what I have found is that we so often say "yes you have no hope" whereas this article, but two ex-gangsters who are now Christians who are actually teaching hope. And this is what we so need to do as youth workers. We can say there is a hope, there is a way to change your world, all is not lost. But instead we hand out free condoms so they can have sex without even the responsibility of buying the condoms!

What the young man who first speaks in this news-clip is repeated in a book I've just finished called "The Blood of Lambs" of a PLO terrorist who finds God. And its not that anyone gives either of these people the flat gospel message but in both cases Christians love on them. They give them the unconditional love that they have received from God. With that love these people went on to wanting to know more. And with the PLO guy had an amazing powerful encounter with God which changed him, with the ex London gangster a much more gentle meeting with God that has changed his life.

For me what has come out of this is that we need to be giving our young people more unconditional love but also more hope that they can do something for their worlds. Instead of giving free condoms we should be looking at their gifts and talents, what they can and cannot do, what their dreams are and how we can help them to help themselves make this come to pass.

Faith, Hope and Love - but the greatest of these is Love

Love Wins

There has been lots of controversy over Rob Bell's "Love Wins" book, and some of it quite spiteful. I must say I found it an awesome book and as a friend who borrowed my copy texted me and said "why does it always surprise us that God is gracious and full of love. Great book to read and reminds us that so often upbringing, teaching, etc have caused us to forget that graciousness and love". Sums it all up really so this is going to be a short blog because of Beth's comment :-)
I've also been working through Fawn Parish's compilation called "Deeper Still" and Steve Hawthorne in an article taken from the "Perspectives" curriculum says so often we evangelize to either frighten people into believing in God so they go to heaven or so their lives will be better when in fact we should be bringing people to want to worship God here on this earth. "Now more than ever," Hawthorne says, "believers need to be nurtured into a jealousy for God's glory..." He talks of how Jesus never responded to the "naked need" but "deliberately recast His vision of the same lost crowds as something of greater value..of value to God"
This deals with the whole thought of whether Rob Bell is saying all roads lead to God and heaven or whether he is making evangelism irrelevant but actually saying that our desire, as Christians, should be to totally love God and then share that love so that others come to love and worship Him now on this earth.
As some very old, quite naff pop song of the 70's said "To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him and I do, and I do, and I do". OK so it was supposed to be a love song to a man but actually for us to God its true, if we know God we can do nothing else but love Him and worship Him, but so often as don't truly know Him!