Saturday 15th October I am facilitating a day looking at using the arts for mission, although I love Ian Adam’s description so much better ‘Art reshaping us, reshaping the world’.  It really does sum up what we are trying to achieve!  Jonny Baker is going to be setting the scene in terms of what art for mission means and then we have workshops on using the arts in different environments that are not church.  Ian is going to facilitate a workshop on using the arts in third spaces such as cafes, pubs etc. and another session will be on creating arty spaces at fairs and festivals, led by Colin Brice of Eden People, Guildford.  Fran Tarling is sharing her experience of setting up a prayer room in a secular environment and Martin Poole, of advent calendar beach hut fame, will be doing a session on art in external spaces.  We will be rounding off the day with an opportunity to create our own art which we will then give to God in worship as a symbol of us offering ourselves and our creativity afresh to be used by Him to reveal His love and goodness.  What I especially want to emphasise is that while I don’t think any of us would describe ourselves as professionally qualified artists, because we are made in the image of a creator God we feel His pleasure when we express our creativity and individuality whether its through writing, music, photography, textiles, new ideas, sculpture or the visual arts.  So many people are put off because they think they are not good enough but actually I think God meets us in the process and it is His partnering with us in the creation that makes the end product something wonderful that expresses a facet of our walk with Him.  The difficult bit is stepping out, having a go and not judging the results!

I have a fantasy.  In my ideal world I would have married a rich banker and would spend the week shopping and meeting friends for lunch.  I would go to church, but only for an hour on a Sunday morning and would ensure that it made no difference to the rest of my life!  I would have an even temper and nothing would bother or fluster me.  I would float through the week on a cloud of calm and contentment and my most pressing concern each day would be which M&S ready meal to choose for tea.  No one would look to me to organise anything beyond the occasional social gathering and the three foreign holidays a year!

OK I would absolutely hate it, but this week I have felt like I would do anything for a quiet life!  Sometimes it feels so draining having to be creative and inspiring all the time.  Why can’t I just have good ideas and leave it at that.  But oh no, I actually have to think they have legs and might bless other people!   I work my socks off to make them happen and take the risk that they could come to nothing or worse still no-one will show up or that those who do, will think what I have put out there is rubbish!  Most of the time I feel like I am walking around with my skirt tucked in my knickers revealing the most vulnerable and unattractive part of myself!  Am I some sick masochist that I have to keep putting myself through this?  Even by writing this, I am doing it again!  I am feeling nauseas at just the thought of pushing the publish button on this post!

However, I believe in honesty, I believe in trying new things and I believe that by revealing our weaknesses, Christ is glorified.  Like the Old Testament prophets, I feel compelled to keep doing and being what God has called me to, despite the discomfort it constantly causes me.  Regular readers of this blog are probably sick to death of this book by now, but it is amazing how often God speaks directly into my current situation and most recent preoccupation through ‘Luke for Everyone’ by Tom Wright.  My reading yesterday was about the transfiguration.  Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain and as He prays, His appearance is transformed and Moses and Elijah come alongside and enter into conversation with Him.  The disciples are blown away and Peter, engaging mouth before brain, suggests building tents for each one of these giants of the faith.  Then a voice from heaven declares, “This is my son, my chosen one: listen to him.” Jesus is once again left alone.  They descend the mountain and what are they immediately confronted with but the voice of another father.  In total contrast, though, this father is utterly distraught and in despair.  His only son is possessed by a demon.

Here is what Tom Wright says by way of commentary:  “…the gospel writers … seem to be telling us that they go together: the mountain top experience and the shrieking stubborn demon.  Many people prefer to live their lives without either, to be people of the plateau, undramatic and unexciting.  God seems to call some to that kind of life.  But, for many, dramatic visions and spiritual experiences are balanced by huge demands.  The more open we are to God, and to the different dimensions of God’s glory, the more we seem to be open to the pain of the world…These things are never given for their own sake, but so that, as we are equipped by them, God can use us within his needy world” (p. 114).  So, given the choice between my fantasy and the reality of being a pioneer, which should I choose?  I can only be what God has made me to be.  So today I choose life transforming encounters with him, flashes of inspiration, the potential for humiliation, the wrestling with doubt and depression and the joy of relationships which can cope with the reality of these peaks and troughs.  Lord, just give me the strength to keep choosing it, one day at a time!

I did something quite unusual for me at the weekend.  I was deliberately belligerent and ignored what I was being told by people I was meant to be working with!  I want to reassure you that usually I go out of my way to accommodate the wishes of others.  But on this occasion, I think sticking to my plan was absolutely the right course of action!

I was to have a space on a stall at the Surbiton Festival to promote a course I will be running on meditation.  However the day before, I was informed that there just would not be enough room for me.  So when I arrived on Saturday morning I just plonked myself down in front of the stand with my camping table and stools and began to give free spiritual readings as originally planned.  This is because for a number of years, I have been obedient and ended up stuck at the end of the street with very little contact with the majority of the public who are visiting stalls in the main part of the fair.  The other reason I chose to ignore the protestations of the stallholders was that I had just spent two days at Kingston University’s Freshers Fair doing Ruach card readings (www.ruachcards.co.uk) and had been blown away by the demand from not yet Christians.   While other churchgoers on my team were unsure of using cards to reveal God’s word to people who do not yet know Him, once they saw the positive response from the students and their willingness, having received their reading, to be prayed for ‘in the name of Jesus’, their fears were dispelled.  So even while I could hear the complaints about my actions going on around me, I continued to focus on and bless those who wanted a word of encouragement and came to sit beside me.  Sure enough the critical voices began to quieten as they saw the reactions of those I engaged with and some volunteers on the stand could see I was actually attracting ‘punters’ to the stall rather than getting in the way and putting them off. 

I am sure not everyone was convinced, but I am beginning to grasp that sometimes the best way of communicating what it is you are trying to do is just to get on with it.  I have wasted a lot of time and expended a lot of energy trying to win over my critics when actually the most powerful argument is to show them.  Or maybe it’s not that others are actively against my plans, they just can’t really get their head round what it is I am attempting to articulate.  Yet when the vision becomes reality, suddenly it becomes clear.  And as I was reading about Jesus’ encounter with the demonised man this morning, I was struck how easy it is to lack the courage of our convictions and hide behind the criticisms of others, the walls of a church or the stall of an organisation.  Luke 8:38 says, “The man who had been demon-possessed begged Jesus to let him stay with him.  But he sent him away. ‘Go back to your home’, he said, ‘and tell them what God has done for you.’ And he went off round every town, declaring what Jesus had done for him.”  Tom Wright in ‘Luke for Everyone’ draws the following conclusion, “The man, quite understandably, wants to stay with Jesus.  Not only is he now bonded with him by the astonishing rescue he has experienced; he may well assume that things would not be easy back in his home territory…He would have to stand up and take responsibility for himself; he couldn’t rely on being able, as it were, to hide behind Jesus…Having experienced the good news in action, he must now tell it himself (p. 101-2).” 

While I have had the courage to be able to reveal something of the good news over the last week at Kingston University and in Surbiton High Street, I am still apprehensive about stepping out into new territory with the meditation course that begins on Sunday.  No-one might come.  I might fall flat on my face.  I might have built expectations that will be disappointed by what I deliver.  But you know what?  I am not going to hide behind anyone or anything else.  I will take responsibility for what I have prepared, feel the fear and do it anyway!  And actually, I think that is all that God requires.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/28927379 w=500&h=283]

Leaving a legacy

I’m embarrassed that I have got to part 6 of my series on being a pioneer and am only now referring to the dictionary definition.  The Oxford Compact English Dictionary defines the word ‘pioneer’ thus, “(noun) – 1 an initiator of a new enterprise etc. 2 an explorer or settler 3 Mil – a member of an infantry group preparing terrain etc. for the main body of troops.”  It is this last aspect in particular that has really struck me this week.  Pioneers start something but their success can only really be measured by the lasting impact of those that follow.

I have been thinking about the issue of prophets seeing differently for the breakout conference of pioneers that will take place on Wednesday 21^st-Friday 23^rd September 2011.  I talked of this attribute in an earlier blog, but to recap, pioneers, like prophets, see where God is at work in unexpected places.  They then partner with him to create opportunities to reveal His presence and Kingdom way of doing things for the benefit of all creation.  However, while looking at a passage from 2 Kings, chapter 6, verse 8, I was struck that not only did the prophet Elisha see what was going on from a spiritual perspective but was able to open the eyes of the others so that they might see too.  I also touched on this in another blog about envisioning others.  However, if we apply the dictionary definition above, I am not sure that what I said previously goes nearly far enough.

Pioneers make a new path that others will walk in.  It is not just about starting something new, for it to be genuinely pioneering what is created will have longevity and change forever the environment and way things have always previously been done.  Wow this is quite a challenge and on this basis I am not sure I have the presumption to call myself a pioneer!  But, I feel excited that I am part of a movement that I believe will have this kind of enduring legacy.  The momentum such a movement has to really change how we see church and do mission is, I think, due largely to true pioneers such as George Lings and Bob and Mary Hopkins.  They have diligently plugged away planting fresh expressions of church before the term had been invented and teaching and empowering others with the wisdom they have gleaned from their invaluable experience.  I think it is no coincidence that much of what is really innovative and inspiring is happening in Sheffield or somewhere has its roots in their ministry.

I think the danger is that now pioneering is recognised and in fashion, we are quick to label anything vaguely different in these terms.  We also forget that many of us might actually be the next wave of troops benefitting from the privations of the real pioneers who are the unsung heroes in our midst.  They were pioneers when it was not trendy to be one.  I just hope they can enjoy our successes and celebrate with us the fruit of the sea change they were instrumental in affecting.  And maybe we will be labelled as pioneers but only in retrospect, when our lasting legacy can be truly judged and appreciated.

Throughout my life there has been a consistent feature.  I have gone to church every Sunday morning since I can remember.  My earliest memories are of the otherworldliness of church.  The coloured puddles of light on the cold, grey, stone floors as sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, the richness of the decoration and the beautiful images conjured up in my mind as we sang hymns that spoke of, “the songs of the sinless sweeping across the crystal sea”.  I even believed that those in robes at the front were angels who came down from heaven to administer to us mortals for the duration of the service.  It came as quite a shock when I saw the altar boys having a fight in the graveyard one Sunday morning!

Fortunately my fledgling faith survived this set back and my next experience of church was serving.  I was literally a server in that I assisted the vicar at Communion.  I also sang in the choir, played in the worship band and even wrote and performed sketches with my youth group.  I began to appreciate the rhythm and unending cycle of the liturgical year.  I especially loved Holy Week.  We had the procession out of the church on Palm Sunday while we sang a hymn which seemed to go on forever.  I particularly enjoyed how at different points along the procession we were all on different verses.  At last we had escaped the tyranny of the organ that kept us uniformly in time!  On Maunday Thursday we stripped the church bare of all its fabrics and furnishings.  There was nowhere to hide from the sufferings that we would hear recounted on Good Friday.  But then on Easter Sunday morning, the church was at its best – dressed in all its finery, filled with the smell of fresh flowers and there would always be a basket of crème eggs in an alcove by the side of the altar which would be distributed at the end of the service.

When I went through my rebellious teenage years and was dragged out of bed and forced to go to church, I became aware that while I entered church in a foul mood, I always left strangely upbeat and optimistic as we were sent out, “to love and serve the Lord” at the end of the service.  I began to consider that God was doing something deep and mysterious in me as I met with Him on a Sunday morning and that it required a life-long response.  I still had huge questions and wrestled with ideals in the Bible that definitely did not match up with who I was and my experience of life and faith.  I began to see that much of what I appreciated about church actually seemed to be a barrier to others coming into a knowledge and love of Christ. So eventually I ditched the liturgy, the aesthetics and the pattern of the established church for a model that seemed to care much more about making a difference to the lived experience of those outside the community of faith and got really excited about having a relationship with a personal Saviour! 

Every Sunday I thanked God for the church he had provided me with.  I loved these people and they saw a leadership potential in me which was developed and carefully shaped around my identity.  Things have moved on since then and currently I feel a good deal of hurt and disappointment towards church.  However, I don’t want to stop believing in it altogether.  It is precisely because I see it as so foundational to my own journey that I can no longer stand to just go through the motions.  But there must be a way to take all that has been good and true and formative and repackage it for a different generation?  I really hope so because I don’t think God has stopped believing in church either!

Envisioning others

Another key ability for a pioneer is to envision others that hopes and dreams can become a reality.  But this is more than just being an effective communicator.  I think it is also about living what you believe and modelling the way that godly expectations are met i.e. through hard work, trial and error, tenacity and partnering with God and others to exploit the opportunities He brings to make a positive impact.  I was so thrilled last week as I had a real life example of just what I am talking about.  I have a friend who I have walked closely with since she became a Christian about 4 years ago.  Having been a spiritual seeker, it has been a difficult road to learn to trust God for all her needs and get some stability and security in her life.  However, she has come a long way and is an amazingly loving, wise and creative person who has blessed and encouraged me hugely. 

Now that she is a Mum and stuck in the house for a lot of the time, she plays an interactive game on the internet.  Through this she has been able to share her faith in unexpected ways!  One guy was a policeman in the US who had lots of questions about Christianity but was unable to ask them because the only Christians he knew just wanted to ram their beliefs down his throat!  He said it was a refreshing change to have a dialogue with someone who genuinely wanted to listen and answer as honestly as they could.  Someone else was being freaked out by demonic activity actually taking place in his house while he was on-line.  He had a pentagon around his neck and was trying all kinds of incantations in an attempt to get it to stop.  My friend told him how she used to be into all that stuff and now all she had to do was pray in the name of Jesus and she was completely free of any manifestation of the devil in her life.  She offered to pray for him there and then and he agreed.  He said that immediately the darkness left and peace was restored to his house.  He then wanted to know more about how she came to have a faith in Christ.

As well as modelling a ministry to spiritual seekers, I have also seen those in my missional community released into other callings that seek to extend God’s Kingdom.  One friend has set up her own business as an image consultant and life coach.  She passionately believes in people making the most of all their God-given talents and attributes.   She finds her fulfilment in helping them see themselves as their father God sees them and being released into the fullness of who He has created them to be.  Another member of our community is using her years of experience as a social worker, as well as her recent studies in pastoral theology, to help set up a community chaplaincy service in our locality.  She is doing this in partnership with a prominent member of the local Mosque and representatives from the Borough Council and Health Authority.  It is being designed to take the hospital chaplaincy model to those cared for in the community and will endeavour to address peoples spiritual needs alongside their physical and emotional ones.

I am sure there must be hundreds, if not thousands of Christians who are not living out their faith as God intended them to and are missing out on the abundant life he promised because of it.  I really want to believe that pioneers demonstrate what is possible and empower the body of Christ to re-engage with mission and so transform the lives of individuals, people groups in different sub-cultures and the nation as a whole.  Another way I am seeking to do this is with a conference to gather together and envision all the creative folk we have in our churches.  They may not have an opportunity to use their gifts in a worship context but possibilities can be created where art, music, textiles, poetry etc. can be used to start a thought process or conversation with not yet Christians in our wider communities.  It is exciting to explore what is possible and even more gratifying when people are blessed and God is glorified through our plans turned into action!

Lessons in spiritual warfare from Harry Potter

I was watching ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ with my kids a few weekends ago and it really struck me how many parallels there are between the situation facing our bespectacled hero and that of us as pioneers in the church.  In case you are unfamiliar with the story, Harry has seen the dark lord return but the ministry of magic refuse to believe him and are intent on doing all they can to refute his claims.  The plot to get Harry expelled from Hogwarts School is foiled but the ministry send one of their loyalist members as a teacher to ensure that students get taught the theory of magic without ever having to put it into practice.  They are encouraged to work hard and learn the information necessary to pass their OWL examinations but the actual casting of spells is strictly forbidden.  Gradually more and more rules are introduced to ensure there is less and less likelihood that students of magic will get into situations where they’ll have any reason to employ their wands.  However, Harry and his friends know that the vilest of evil fiends is on the loose and that they must do everything in their power to be ready to protect themselves and those they love in the confrontation that will inevitably come.

One of the criticisms regularly levelled against my work with spiritual seekers at new age fairs, is that I don’t take the occult seriously.  This really makes my blood boil because I have seen more than most the damage that results from dabbling in practices that the Bible forbids.  I absolutely hate how the enemy has taken the gifts God has given us in order to encourage, bless and demonstrate His love to others and created counterfeits that blind vulnerable people to the truth and enslaves them to a life journey that will ultimately lead to death.  It is one of the foremost reasons I do the mission activities I do.  I firmly believe that, like Harry Potter, we Christians are engaged in a spiritual battle with the prince of darkness himself.  If we don’t partner with God to see His kingdom extended then there will be a growing predominance of greed, selfishness, violence and injustice in our communities, which are the fruit of his rule.  Maybe the riots that we experienced in UK cities just a couple of weeks ago are an insight into what is at stake.

However, most churches seem intent on giving their members lots of teaching and instruction in how to live a life that ensures no stepping out of line without ever requiring them to venture beyond their buildings and engage in activities that will bring them into conflict with the enemy.  We know how to pray and have studied how Jesus withstood temptation.  We can quote Paul’s instruction to put on the full armour of God but have we ever actually been in a situation when we had to do it?  I should say that I am not one of those Christians that see the devil behind every parking ticket and broken glass and I really don’t want to scare anyone as I think that just gives him more power than he has.  But I do think we only test our faith and employ the weapons God has put in our hands, when we actually do what He has called us to.  And what is that?  Well to emulate Jesus in his mission as outlined in Luke chapter 4, verse 18-19, “…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 to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”  If I am living with this as my reason for being, I will inevitably come against the forces that cause poverty, imprisonment and despair.  But there is no need for me to be afraid, “for greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.”  Yet you won’t really know the truth of this until you start working to see Jesus’ mission fulfilled and experience for yourself the power of our Saviour.

“There’s more room in a broken heart…”

I am conscious in my last blog I didn’t address whether thinking creatively is an attribute that can be taught.  Well, maybe not.  However, I do think that it can be modelled and an environment can be created where risk taking is positively encouraged.  But as well as really seeing and thinking differently, a pioneer also needs a soft heart.  This is because our motivation for introducing not yet Christians to God should always be love.  This sounds obvious but in my experience Christians can be motivated by all sorts of reasons that are more about their own hang-ups and misapprehensions than a desire to reveal the God who loves them enough to die for them.

When you have messed up big time and then experience the all-encompassing love and forgiveness of Christ that can redeem the worst of our fears and failings, faith is no longer an intellectual proposition but the only reality that matters.  This is what we should be sharing with those who have not yet met Jesus.  However, I don’t think going through hard times is enough in its self.  It’s true that suffering can lead to a greater sense of compassion but it can equally cause a hardening in attitude toward others.  It is something I have to keep asking myself.  Are my struggles causing bitterness and a determination to never allow myself to get hurt again or, in the words of Carly Simon, do I ensure, “there’s more room in a broken heart”?

Maybe imagination is the key to avoiding perfectionism that prevents the possibility of future pain.  If I can put myself in the shoes of others and imagine what it feels like to be poor, hopeless or in pain, then I will ensure my heart remains fleshy and does not easily turn to stone.   Or perhaps it is about remembering.  So much of the stories, rituals and festivals God instructs us to keep are to help us remember.  Remember who we are and what He has done to save us.  This is why we need to be in community.  We need other people to remind us of how far we have come and just how much of the transforming work God has already completed in our lives.  Yes we must forgive those who have hurt us but maybe it’s good to remember how we felt so that we can come alongside others who are suffering in humility and love.  In this way we are imitating Christ, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

As I write this I am conscious that I am struggling with my own questions about what motivates me to do what I do.  Is it an awareness of my own inadequacy?  Do I feel I have to justify God’s love?  Am I afraid of not meeting others expectations of me and ultimately being rejected by them?  And if I am honest the answer is probably yes!  But hopefully mixed in with these by-products of my fallenness and sin there is also a desire to want to please God just because He is worthy and to see His kingdom come because I know that is our only real hope for healing and wholeness.  I don’t think anyone can be sure that their motives are 100% pure but I trust that God can work with that.  Pioneers don’t have to be perfect, just honest and faithful.  Well, if not, then I for one am stuffed!

Thinking creatively

The second attribute I think is essential for a pioneer is to think creatively.  If you are a scientist, engineer or mathematician please don’t worry and stop reading, this includes you and requires no artistic talent whatsoever.  I cannot draw a stick man and if I take a photo I invariably miss off heads or feet and even with idiot proof automatic everything, I guarantee it will be out of focus!  However, when I encounter a problem, I can usually think of half a dozen different ways to tackle it.  I used to think that everyone could do this but it never ceases to amaze me how people can do the same thing over and over again when it is obvious that it isn’t working.  Just look at most church services on a Sunday morning! 

What I am getting at was wonderfully illustrated by my younger son just before the end of term.  He had a problem with another child at school and decided he needed to do something about it.  The next morning I came across a piece of paper where he had been writing.  He explained that because he needed to speak to the teacher, he had written down what he wanted to say.  This was because when actually confronted by the situation he usually forgot the words he wanted to use so decided that if he wrote them down he would not lose them in the stress and anxiety of the moment.  I was so proud of him!  This demonstrated he had analysed previous encounters and felt frustrated that he had not been able to achieve what he’d wanted.  He had then thought through how he could overcome this in future without any input from anyone else.  This is the kind of reflective and creative thinking that is required of pioneers.  Once you have seen the problem, felt the burden of it and prayed ardently for God to show you how to respond, thinking differently is essential.

To support this assertion, I came across an incident where Jesus thought creatively.  I am quoting from ‘Luke for Everyone’ by Tom Wright on Luke 5:1-11, “One day Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowds were pressing close to him to hear the word of God.  He saw two boats moored by the land; the fishermen had gone ashore and were washing their nets.  He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little way from the land.  Then he sat down in the boat and began to teach the crowd.” (p.52)  Jesus demonstrates his ingenuity in coping with the volume of people by taking to the water and using the geography of steep inlets and zigzagging coastline around the lake to make the most of a natural amphitheatre to ensure all could hear His message.

However, as this shows, thinking differently is only half the story.  Pioneers must then have the courage to act on their new way to seeing.  Taking risks is a given and will inevitably lead to making mistakes and to failure.  These too go with the territory.  A pioneer must then also persevere.  A lot of Christians seem to think that we can by-pass the unpleasant realities of mistakes and failure.  If God is in it He will tell us exactly what we should do and so protect us from blowing it and the disappointment that inevitably follows.  This is not how it is.  Human beings learn from trial and error and I don’t believe God gives us a blueprint for how we must do things.  There would then be no room for partnership with Him in His transforming work in the world and there would be no opportunity for us to display the creativity He has made us with.  Also, “we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope.” (Romans 5:4)  This is my least favourite verse in the Bible and in my ‘Tippex Revised Edition’ it would be omitted!  The annoying thing is it is true.  Being a pioneer is hard.  But the rewards are abundant life starting now and lasting for eternity!

Seeing is believing

I have been thinking recently about what makes a pioneer.  Is this something that can be taught or are you born a pioneer?  In order to get my head round this question, I thought it would be good to start with what I consider to be the essential attributes of a pioneer.  The first of these is about seeing.  When I was a child I used to love watching the Krypton Factor.  It was one of the few programmes we ever watched on ITV and I knew there was no possibility that I would ever amass more than a handful of points on such a gruelling and challenging quiz show.  The one exception to this was the observation round.  This was the one bit of the programme that I could actually do well at and sometimes even did better than some of the contestants!  This is because I notice stuff.  I don’t know why or how I developed this characteristic but for us long as I can remember I have been able to come away from a gathering of people and tell you what each one of them is wearing!

While studying for a recent assignment on the Pioneer Ministry Leadership Course with CMS, I came across a quote by John Stott who says in his study of Acts regarding chapter 17 verses 16-23, “…he (Paul) saw, he felt, he spoke.  It all began with his eyes…The Greek verb used three times (16, 22, 23) is either theoreo or anatheoreo and means to ‘observe’ or ‘consider’.  So he looked and looked, and thought and thought, until the fires of holy indignation were kindled within him” (p.290-1).  In my pioneering ministry to spiritual seekers it has been the same.  I remember surveying ‘the healing field’ at Kingston Green Fair, where we had pitched our tent for the first time, and just being overwhelmed with the sight of all these people who were searching for meaning and a touch from the divine. My reaction was similar to that of Paul in Athens – I felt righteous anger.  I was angry that the church had withdrawn to leave these searching people in ignorance and hopelessness and I felt angry with the enemy for deceiving them with a pale imitation of what God offers them.  But I also felt compassion.  It was as if God was saying to me, “Look at all these, ‘like sheep without a shepherd.’” (Matt. 9:36) 

In my experience any pioneering starts with seeing.  There is then an emotional response that leads to a crying out to God.  He is then faithful to show you what He wants you do.  Can this be taught?  I guess you can develop a sensitivity to God and His Holy Spirit that helps you to observe what is on His heart.  However, it does require one to open your eyes!  This may seem like an obvious point but the majority of Christians seem to wander around like the three monkeys, concerned that they will see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.  Even in church when we sing songs asking God to open the eyes of our heart, we have our eyes glued shut presumably lost in wonder and praise.  If you want to see, you have to start looking, I mean really looking.  But this should come with a health warning!  You may not like what you see.  It will disturb you and lead you into unknown territory.  It is the first step on a wild ride that is exciting, painful and terrifying.  It will involve criticism from others and the accompanying soul searching but is also fulfilling beyond anything this life can offer.  So go on take the blind fold off and jump!  Don’t worry, the outstretched arms will catch you and He will never leave you or forsake you.  This is actually what He saved you for!  So, go for it!