From the sublime

Well one more day to go. Today the weather changed to heavy rain and there was a little sense of tiredness. Karl Martin spoke this morning and he shared from John17 . He spoke with clarity and courage. Jim Ritchie spoke in the evening and gave a rousing call for us to become transformers. The word was powerful, with a good response. However, I think that God still has to break through generations of hurt, disappointment and decline. People need a fresh and deep dose of courage to help them step up to the plate. I am more than ever convinced that to transform we must be transformed into risk takers. How will that happen. The sharing of story, the power of encouragement and the supernatural grace of God.
The ridiculous was to see Alan McWilliams and Karl Martin doing a jig of joy together, not a pretty sight but one that may have brought a smile to the Father

Where is Joy

After the Tuesday quiet day it was back to a full program today. High points today included chatting to Fiona at the Tearfund stall in the Market place. praying for healing for several people and being involved in a church of Scotland ministers get together.
However two things today have stood out, firstly the one band (Scotland Trust) doing a gic in a pub in the centre of St Andrews. They were great and drew a good crowd.
Lastly,I have been greatly helped by the teaching of Jack Deere this week. His honesty and clarity have been wonderful. He said today that true joy has not been found in success or even a growing church but in deepening friendship with Jesus and others and investing time in the new generation.I have been thinking about this all day, what really brings me joy?
Lastly, I have just been told of the death of John Stott, I am grateful to God for him and all that I learned from his writing and preaching.

Joy

Today was a day where God spoke of joy. I went to the alternative worship in the morning in the morning. The worship was led by the one band, who were great, and there was a positive atmosphere which was great.
Later in the morning I led a seminar on the prayers in the bible.The feedback was really positive with several people believing that God had spoken to them. It was great to have Steve Clifford and Dave Landrum come up from London to see what was happening. I also had the joy of meeting with a couple of old friends.
At night Heidi was speaking and did so with real honesty and power. She challenged us to choose to live in the joy of God despite sorrow and suffering. We have the chance to see life through the lens of Jesus. Why do I often see things through a different lens, one that pulls down rather than lifts up. Can I live more in the presence of God and allow Jesus to shape my reality?

Last one leaving switch of the lights

It was a day of surprises at Clan today. I want to try and sum it up through describing two worship experiences. This morning, just as the band were about to crank it up, we had a power cut. No sound, lights or amplification. Yet this did not prevent there being worship. People sang and prayed until the power came back on. I love loud powerful worship but I felt a sense that all we need for worship is the presence of God and a desire to seek Him.
This evening David Ross led the praise,it was very powerful. Suddenly, Heidi Baker (the evening speaker) came onto the platform and started singing spontaneous songs with David. Love songs for Jesus. I was really moved by it, and by the amazing grace of Jesus. When all is stripped away there is still Jesus. Is He enough?

Q here for blessing

The afternoon didn’t start great.Caroline had to Queue for about an hour to get a ticket. The team have done a great job in getting the site ready after all the rain last few weeks. It was great to meet up with the leadership team.There is both kindness and passion in the team.
Peter James led the praise and there was a good spirit, Kenny gave a good talk on being a Missional movement being the way forward right but warned about never losing sight of the centrality of the gospel. I think it was an important reminder about being tempted to water down the word to make the message more palatable to the world. Really helpful but led me to a couple of questions. Do we have a problem with the gospel we share or our lack of enthusiasm for sharing any gospel? A missionary movement sounds great but what will it really look like and how will it be used to transform the nation. I think we need to pray for courage