Issue 3 SEPTEMBER 2012
Contact Life Church 139b Fletton Avenue, Peterborough, PE2 8BY 01733 552227 hello@life church.eu www.life church.eu Welcome to Life Church Children? Pips crèche for 0-5 year olds runs each week in Peterborough and Stamford. GLO kids club for school years 1-6 runs every Sunday in Peterborough and (starting 30th September) every other Sunday in Stamford. Hub / Life Group meets every other Sunday morning in Peterborough and Stamford building relationships and learning together for young people in school year 6 upwards. Ask a member of our Welcome Team for more info. We live life in Life Groups meeting in small groups in homes across Peterborough, Stamford and the surrounding towns during the week to enjoy God together and grow in our relationships with him and each other. Contact Sam Tucker sam.tucker@life church.eu and get connected. Staying in touch Fill out a welcome card and we ll keep in touch and send you our weekly news email. (You can also subscribe via our Facebook page or by emailing us and can unsubscribe at any time.) Follow us on Twitter: @medialifechurch Find us on Facebook: Life Church Peterborough Meeting on Sundays at Stamford 10am Queen Eleanor School, Green Lane, PE9 1HE Peterborough 9.45am Gladstone Park Centre, Bourges Boulevard, PE1 2AN SUN MON TUE THU FRI Family worship 9.45am Gladstone Park Centre Church office open 10am 12.30pm Fletton Centre Family worship 10am Stamford Queen Eleanor School SECOND & FOURTH MONDAYS LifeSong Community choir 7.30pm, Fletton Centre The Living Room Coffee lounge for 50s plus 10am 12noon, Fletton Centre LifeTots Parents & toddlers group 9.45 11.45am, Fletton Centre Church office open 10am 12.30pm, Fletton Centre For Y6 onwards 7 9pm Fletton Centre
03 by ADAM BRADLEY @AdamRBradley Adam leads Life Church, which he thinks is probably the best job in the world. He s married to Lorna and they have three young daughters and a small dog named Clyde. What s your lasting memory of the Queen s Jubilee celebrations? Was it the rain soaked river pageant or Grace Jones hula hooping in a wannabe Star Trek costume? Thankfully neither of these is my lasting memory. Instead it was a 40 minute conversation I had on the unimpressive platform of Sheringham railway station in north Norfolk. I sat alone on the platform, waiting to return to Peterborough, leaving Lorna and the girls to roam the Norfolk beaches for a few more days; alone, that is, until I was joined by someone else making their way home. As we sat for the best part of three quarters of an hour, waiting for the train to arrive, the conversation we had eclipsed all the national and local celebrations that took place for me. How come? I believe that conversation was a divine appointment. Now, you may have heard people using the words divine appointment before. I have, and often in the context of an almost unbelievable set of supernaturally engineered circumstances that are way beyond my own experiences, which then leave me feeling paralysed and a second rate Christian. Is this going to be another one of those moments? I can assure you it won t be. What would our lives look like if we saw most of our day to day encounters with other people as opportunities to tell something of our story? In Acts 16:11 15 we read about a divine appointment that the apostle Paul had with a local businesswoman from Philippi. It says in verse 13 that Paul took a walk to the river, suppose[ing] there was a place of prayer, and sat down and spoke to the women [Lydia]. It s perhaps not the most promising start to the story of a divine appointment would it even make it as a Sunday morning testimony? Where were the dreams, the visions and the unusual sensations? Now please hear what I m not saying. I m not saying that God doesn t lead his people through supernatural means. In fact, just a few verses earlier in this chapter of Acts (verses 6 10) we see the most remarkable account of divine leading. However, God doesn t always lead that way; sometimes he leads us through the everyday and ordinary moments of supposing. Paul supposes that he will find a place of prayer by the river and so takes the initiative and goes to check it out. He again takes the initiative and starts speaking with Lydia, and verses 14 15 tell us that, in that apparently ordinary moment, God opened her heart and, as a response to her new found faith in Christ, she was baptised. Wow what a divine encounter! And all because Paul went for a walk and took the initiative to talk to a woman he met, a dealer in purple cloth. Here s the challenge: I wonder how many ordinary divine appointments God is lining up for us each week? One, two, ten, twenty, more? Who knows? However many, I know God has challenged me personally to be ready, in the ordinary circumstances of my day to day life, to share something of the hope that I have in Jesus. Returning to the platform of Sheringham station, did my fellow passenger (who, by the way, was from Peterborough) turn to Christ? Not that I m aware, but we did speak very openly and respectfully about issues of faith, and I m praying it was another step for him in a journey towards faith in Christ. I m convinced these types of conversations shouldn t be one offs but regular occurrences. What would our lives look like if we saw most of our day to day encounters with other people as opportunities not to bash people over the head with a Bible verse, but as an opportunity to tell something of our story and how Jesus has changed us? Divine appointments on the bus, in the supermarket, bank, and hairdresser s; divine appointments at the gym, in the park and coffee shop: I wonder how many Lydias there are out there, rubbing shoulders with you and me, just waiting for someone to suppose and take the initiative? I wonder how many business people, academics, market stall holders, bus drivers, nurses and factory workers are waiting for a modern day Paul to share something of the gospel with them? Later this term we ll be starting a new series based on the book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room. In it, Hybels provokingly challenges the reader by saying What if redirecting a person s forever really is as simple as walking across a room? or down to the river, or across the road to the coffee shop, or to the spare seat on a bus? Since that moment on the Queen s Jubilee I ve been trying to live every day expecting and looking for ordinary divine appointments. Why not take up my invitation to join me in this adventure?
04 by Gavin Bateman @GavinBateman what s that all about? Gavin lives in Nassington with Fiona, daughter Maisie and Teddy the Border Terrier. He was in the RAF for 25 years and now works as a management consultant in London. He is currently developing kingdom action work for Life Church. Two thousand years ago Jesus proclaimed The kingdom of God is near (Mark 1:15). But what did that mean? Jesus shattered Jewish expectations of a physical kingdom, explaining that the worldwide reign of God would not come immediately in all its fullness (John 18:37). But Jesus earthly ministry did begin this rule and, in these days of the now and not yet kingdom, we live in the good of it. That kingdom is evident in the hearts of everyone who holds him sovereign and these are the people Jesus called his church: a church filled with hope and overflowing in love for one another and for those around them; a church looking to the day when all hurt and pain will cease, when God s kingdom comes in its fullness with Jesus return in glory (Revelation 11:5). Until that day, we are Jesus witnesses and commissioned to proclaim and demonstrate the existence of that kingdom: the evidence of Christ s justice, mercy and love at hand in Stamford, Peterborough and the villages between. When Jesus stood up in a synagogue in Nazareth, he announced that his ministry represented the fulfilment of Isaiah 61: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favour. (Luke 4:18 19) Now we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit and anointed in Christ to preach the good news and serve the poor, the prisoners, the blind and oppressed. The kingdom is our inheritance, prepared for us since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34). This inheritance is a key part of the gospel Jesus preached and of the gospel the apostles preached: Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2), Jesus Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), the resurrection from the dead, the message of hope and salvation for humanity. This is the new jubilee (Leviticus 25): the liberation from all debts, which, in the light of the cross, now means liberation from all sin. God is our king and he reigns over us and in us; thus the kingdom is both a promise for the future and for the present too, visibly manifest in the church. That s where we come in! So, how do we proclaim this kingdom and to whom? God may sometimes call us to the market squares of Stamford and Peterborough, to shout The kingdom is at hand, but he also calls us to be his love to others, to be a living reflection of him and of his kingdom. That kingdom looks like love in action, it looks like justice, it looks like service, and it is fuelled not by money or works but by love. So, just as we delight in God as a church, just as we disciple people, just as we declare the gospel, we are also called to demonstrate the kingdom to the lost, the forgotten and the broken. Paul reminds us of God s heart to remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). The poor and vulnerable are not any more important than anyone else, but because the poor and vulnerable are so readily forgotten or side lined, because they don t easily fit in, they take a disproportionate amount of our time and they require so much more of our help. Perhaps this is why Paul uses this letter to reiterate that we should not forget the poor because to do so would be to forget to demonstrate the kingdom. God doesn t need to remind us to spend time with people like ourselves, or with our families and friends. But the broken, We should not forget the poor, because to do so would be to forget to demonstrate the kingdom. the poor and vulnerable are people just like us too loved by Jesus and saved by grace and to demonstrate the kingdom we need to look at the ways God gives us to serve them. We can celebrate the buildings he has given us in Stamford and Peterborough and we can look to the burdens for the broken, lonely and vulnerable people that he places on our hearts. We need to decide to be part of a church that changes our community and we need to decide to pray for that change. We must ask ourselves: will I step up? Will I step out in action to demonstrate his kingdom? Or do I hope it s a job for someone else? It s not meant to be an easy question, which is why we look to conferences like Jubilee+ on 6th October in Bedford, to help, challenge and encourage us. Jubilee+ is a day conference aiming to combine worship, prophetic teaching, seminars, networking and time to receive a re filling of the Spirit. We want to make the most of the event to equip us and gain useful resources for shaping our social and community action work. If you want to shape what it means to demonstrate the kingdom at Life Church, please join us as we look at what it means to be a people passionate about the communities in which we live, being a blessing and reaching out to those in need. If you re reading this after that date ask how it went! We want to look at what the church could be. This is not about guilt or a heavy burden; it s about us spilling over into the society around us, a chance to get caught up in the purposes of God for Life Church. This is a chance to bring our compassion into family breakdown and worklessness, to engage with ex offenders and those suffering from addiction, to help those trapped in debt and homelessness and those going hungry. This is a chance to demonstrate the kingdom.
05 Doing Life Together by SAM TUCKER @SamWTucker Sam is a member of the Life Church core team with particular responsibility for Life Groups. He s a police officer, married to Susannah and they re part of the Peterborough congregation. Belonging to Life Church is much more than Sunday morning attendance. It s about being an authentic community, doing life together. Of course, we didn t just make this up; we can see this modelled in the New Testament in the way the early church expressed community: And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers... and all who believed were together and had all things in common attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes... And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42 47) So how can we experience this blueprint for community at Life Church? The answer is to belong to one of our Life Groups. Different churches have different expressions of this sort of community, given a variety of names: small groups, midweek groups, house groups, community groups. So what can you expect from a Life Group, and why should you give up your evenings to be part of one? A Life Group is simply a group of around six to 15 people, working out the vision of Life Church in the context of a smaller community. As a result they should be places where we delight in God, where discipleship takes place, where there is clear demonstration of the Kingdom, and where the gospel is declared. The way this looks may differ slightly from group to group, but the purpose is the same across all the groups. In doing life together, mission is expressed in different ways and people are cared for and discipled as every member grows in faith, gifting and character. Life Groups are not just another meeting: rather, they re about developing genuine relationships, making your friends my friends and my friends yours. They re about growth: a place for growing in friendships, growing in gifting (Life Groups are great places to have a go at sharing what you believe God is saying, or praying out loud for the first time, because you re amongst friends who ll support you) and even growing in leadership. They are places to have fun and enjoy God together, pursuing his presence in our meetings, with Jesus at the centre of all that goes on. Whether you ve been a part of Life Church for years, or are just looking at what being part of the church is all about, why not try out a Life Group this week? Get in touch by emailing sam.tucker@life church.eu and I ll be pleased to help. LIFE GROUPS Peterborough Stamford Hub / Life Group Neil & Jo Kirk (Oakham) Pete & Steph Hawkins (Deepings) Mike & Jenny Maddock (Rutland villages) Helen Wells (Stamford) Paul & Hannah Graham (Stamford) Pete & Kate Mancey (Stamford) Dave & Jenny Rayner (Yaxley) Stephen & Marion Druitt (Orton) Brian & Chris Thorpe/ Andy & Terri Cook (Orton/Yaxley) Wouter & Simone Vertegaal (Werrington) Jake & Fiona Tucker (Peterborough) Dave & Tamara Rieger (Farcet)
06 30 Second Interview Jonny Howard @JonnyMarkHoward DEMONSTRATE THE KINGDOM/ a pastoral update by Pete & Kate Mancey pastoral.team@life church.eu Jonny has been part of the church all his life, starting from birth with Kidron Church in Bretton, which then merged with Peterborough City Church to form Nene Family Church now Life Church. He now joins the Life Church staff as an intern whilst completing the Newfrontiers Leadership Training course. We took half a minute to get to know him a bit better What s your full name? Jonathan Mark Howard And if you were to rename yourself, what would you choose? Jack Leonidas Bauer Describe yourself in four words: Milk, one sugar, please. If your life were made into a film, what genre would it be and who would you want to play you? My film would be one that people would probably enjoy more the second or third time around. I would like Denzel Washington to play me. Tell us a bit about the internship: I ve just finished a three year degree at Mattersey Hall Bible college in Biblical studies and Theology. I am hoping to learn and grow in experience by serving the church. This will hopefully be at both the Stamford and Peterborough congregations. I will be involved in kids and youth work, admin, teaching and pretty much anything else. I ll hopefully be able to learn lots of leadership lessons from Adam and Wouter. What are you reading at the moment? I am currently reading: Quadrants by Rob Bradbury. Its meant for children s pastors, but lots of great stuff for anyone! What single thing would you most like to contribute to Life Church? I d like to contribute my enthusiasm and the small amount of experience I have accrued over the last few years! Pete & Kate love God, love family and love cake! In Luke 4 (quoted here on page 4) we see Jesus using words from Isaiah 61 to announce the start of his ministry. That ministry of preaching good news, binding up the broken hearted and setting captives free has now been passed on to his body, the church. We have a vision to see the people of God transformed through the love and power of Christ. To this end we have been training a pastoral ministry team who share our passion for transformed lives and who are also able to share the load of this vital ministry. One of the blessings of being one church with two congregations is that we have been able to build a Life Church pastoral team that includes people from both Stamford and Peterborough, to serve cross congregationally. Please pray for the pastoral team, that they will know godly insight and wisdom, compassion and discernment as they meet with those needing his help. Pastoral care is a ministry that is essential for the healthy functioning of the body of Christ. One of the core values of Life Church is that we demonstrate the kingdom of God. Pastoral care, in expressing the compassion and power of Christ to transform hurting and broken lives, restore relationships and family situations, and to see people healed and set free, is just one way of demonstrating God s amazing kingdom among his people. To help facilitate pastoral care we have been holding pastoral surgeries on Saturday mornings twice a month. These have been well used by people from both congregations and we have seen God work in some remarkable ways in people s lives. Three one hour slots are available: 9.30 10.30am, 10.45 1145am and 12noon 1pm. To book an appointment please email us or phone 07591 551755.
07 making a good Start by Paul Graham paul.graham.social@googlemail.com Paul is married to Hannah and is enjoying being Dad to their small daughter Chloe. They live in Stamford where they lead a vibrant Life Group. Among Paul s random likes are pickled gherkins in fact, most things pickled. At Life Church we believe a good start is essential if we are to grow in what God has got for us (and he has loads for each one of us!). That s why one of our core values as a church is to disciple people. It s on our banners and stationery and adorns our website, but what does it mean? To disciple people means to help every individual at Life Church to learn how to personally follow Jesus. So how are we putting this into action? We re teaming everyone who wants to learn with someone at Life Church who can support them, to work through Terry Virgo s book, Start. The Start book takes us on a journey from the first days of accepting Jesus, through to eternal life and doesn t shy away from the big stuff in between! It s split into easy to swallow bite size chunks, each taking an hour or so to work through, allowing us to consider how following Jesus impacts each of us individual but avoiding idea and information overload. If it s a book based course, why pair people up? The beauty of church is that we re each unique individuals at various points in our life journeys. No course can cover every individual circumstance. But having someone to talk to, stimulate you, share their experiences and walk your life journey with you helps you to get the most out of the time. We want to disciple people well and that means being there even when the difficult questions arise. I ve been a Christian a while: is it for me too? If you ve seen Formula One racing you ll know the cars routinely stop for new tyres. It almost seems counterproductive to stop in a race, but they come back out able to go quicker than before, as they re no longer held back for fear of slipping on worn tyres. Even as established Christians we find some slippery issues in our faith: take the opportunity of a pit stop to address these. Sounds interesting? Make a Start! Here s how: l Grab your Life Group Leaders. All Life Group leaders have a spare copy of the Start book. Have a flick through, get involved and we ll get you paired up. l Get in touch with me. Find me in Stamford on Sunday mornings, or email me. We ll then team you up with someone suitable to really get Started. The Start book takes us on a journey from the first days of accepting Jesus through to eternal life and doesn t shy away from the big stuff in between. CHEN WS / Shutterstock.com
Conference Saturday 6 October 2012 jubilee-plus.org CHURCHES THAT CHANGE COMMUNITIES A conference to inspire, equip and empower your church to engage with the local community and its needs Film & TV Quiz Saturday 20th October 7pm Fletton Centre IN THE DARK! Party for 5 11s Wednesday 31st October Gladstone Centre Flyers available soon The Hearing Room with Mike Bollinger Saturday 10th November 7.30pm Fletton Centre Christmas Special Sunday 16th December Details available soon Credits Editorial team Sarah Lohse, Adam Bradley, Annie Carter Design Follow Creative Print Hollinger Print