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Well, it's happened, has come and gone. To be honest I'm a little weary about going into the office in the morning, it's been a while since I went into work proper and I'm not quite sure I'll remember what to do. Hopefully you've been following eagerly these little snippets, checking out additional info on the www.ammanfordchurch.com site and now you want a debrief, a summation of the fortnight and some parting musings. Well since you asked, it went well, very well in fact. "Each event exceeded our expectations" - said Jonathan Thomas this Sunday (although to be fair he was quoting me).

Discover wasn't a normal mission, it was never meant to be and it never turned into one. From the off our focus was on personal invites rather than standing on the corner with a mega phone. We didn't poster blitz, flyer's for each event were limited to about 100 (just enough for those people in church who were interested to take an invite) and the style of events across the fortnight really did cover all the bases.

If I could identify one factor which seemed to be running through all the events all week long it would be the way in which people who had never attended church, or a church like meeting, or had really negative views about who we were and what we were about, that those people got what they needed. A positive experience.

One voice inside keeps telling me this, "It's all well and good giving these kids a positive experience of church, but what they really need to do is except Christ. This week they didn't, therefore mission failed." and I'm inclined to agree. That is until of course I consider the climate in which we carried out this mission. The vast majority of people really did fall into one of those two categories, either a) had never experienced anything remotely close to church or b) had very negative views about what it is we are and what it is we are about. Now then, when I think about the start we've given some people this week or the 'wrongs' we've righted, I start to get a little more optimistic.

"Come on Sam, we aren't trying to convert people to church, we're trying to convert them to Jesus." Um, duh. Do you know me but at all? But lets face facts. Our (the British and especially Welsh church) credibility is really low, and no matter how much we try and jam Jesus down Jon Boyo's throat, he doesn't want to listen. Discover for me was a stepping stone for a large number of people. People who in June would never have paid any attention to what we do, live or preach, those people in August might just take note.

As I said, the entire mission was marketed at helping the people in our church with their ongoing witness to friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues. And I think we achieved that. Every event was welcoming, cringe free, had gospel content (that's including the open mic event Jonny, didn't you listen to Elfyn's songs?) and absolutely full to bursting! As we've been going through Acts together as a church these last few months Jon and I have been preaching about how we are all missionaries, on mission to Ammanford, together. Last fortnight our church showed us that was true. Amen for that!

In summary? Well you don't finish the race without starting it. And there's no point in starting unless you run the middle bit. I'm not sure exactly where we are as a Church, but I'm sure now we are in a better place to reach Ammanford together and Ammanford is in a better place to be reached. And what's even more lovely, it's all for Jesus.

Since technically I am a student, (although I rarely feel like it—there's too much work involved in a Bible College to call myself a normal student!) I've gotten myself involved in this mission that's currently going on in Ammanford. Tonight we had an open mic night. Four acts performed with various different styles, three guitar based and one piano. It was all very fine and dandy: lovely atmosphere, good coffee and some nice sweeties and lollies to chew and suck on! There was no message, talk, address, testimony or preach. The nearest it got to that was one guy's song which was basically his testimony and the brief adverts for two of the events on over the coming week and the Christianity Explored course starting in September.

Now, I'm not going to get into a discussion on whether we're going to call it evangelism or whether it was simply a bridge-building event. I guess if we're going to get technical then it shouldn't be called evangelism because there was no proclamation of good news, but then was good news subtly portrayed through the lives of those who were Christians there? Well, you know... whatever... that's not my beef!

My point is this; it is really valuable to put on 'church' events where there is no gospel proclamation for a few reasons:

1. It allows people to enter a church environment without the threat of being preached at.
2. It allows people to see that Christians are normal people, well, at least that some Christians are normal people.
   
3. It provides an opportunity to build real relationships, not just a fleeting 'relationship' with the transparent agenda of only wanting to share the gospel.
4. When there is a real relationship, the gospel can be shared more appropriately and more naturally.*

It's fair to say that there are negatives to this 'non-proclamation events' process too:

1. It is a process and so does take a long time and a big commitment to see people through.
2. Results are seen only in the long term so it can be less encouraging.
3. One event doesn't cater for all so it takes a lot of different events to catch all different types of people.
4. It means that your average church member needs to be more equipped to share the gospel themselves down the line rather than relying on the preacher for the evangelism.*

But these aren't impossible to overcome. With the first three, so long as you're aware of the need for these types of events and you're aware of the downsides then you can put them on realising that it is going to be a long process and it will be less encouraging at times and will take up a lot of time with less obvious results. And as for the fourth one, surely that's something that ministers should be doing and encouraging both in the pulpit and in seminars/training courses.

The need is great. And as Jesus simply ate and drank with 'sinners and tax collectors' so should we.

*The lists provided are not exhaustive. There are other positives and negatives that could be included, I just can't think of them this late at night!

"The University had no responsibility for the discrimination against Christians, and that the CU was wrong to require that those leading the CU should be Christians..." 

What's the difference between a devout muslim or one of Dawkins' meatheads being the president of a university Christian Union, and a university's 'Welsh Society being open to Scottish members; the wine society open to teetotal members, the choral society open to non-singing members, and the cheerleading society being open to male members...'?

None apparently.

Or at least that's the decision of Martin Shaw, the QC leading the informal adjudication process involving Exeter Christian Union and Exeter University's Student guild. He goes on to say that 'the Guild were 'laudable' in their aims, the University had no responsibility for the discrimination against Christians, and that the CU was wrong to require that those leading the CU should be Christians. That position, he said, could be held by anyone of any faith or none, provided they agree to the objectives of the CU.' 

Three weeks ago I sat in the middle of five hundred men at the EMA conference at St. Helen's. Though the conference's title was 'Defining the times: what is an evangelical?' there was a subtext to nearly every message during the week - 'prepare your young men - persecution will come'. As one of only a couple of dozen men under 25 there I shuffled my bum. When we heard that 'young men are scared to suffer they've never seen you have to do it', mine, along with the other young men's bum, almost did something else. 

Whoever it was that said it (either Tim Keller or Dick Lucas - I've searched my notes, and can't find the quote...) hit the nail on the head. What does it look like? When will it come? I am scared to suffer - I don't don't have a clue what it's going to be like.  

The news coming out of Exeter gives me an idea.

Exeter, we stand with you, and pray for you. You walk a path we'll inevitably follow you down. Stand strong - you will bask in all that Christ has won for you soon.

As a church we have a 2 week mission going on at the moment in partnership with UCCF. A team of students have come down to help us run . During this week they have been doing questionnaires in the local ‘big day out', handing out flyers, taking assemblies and classes in the local comprehensive schools, and running a ‘big brother' rip-off youth event. To be fair, they are doing a great job. Actually, an amazing job.

As the mission progresses I want to make some observations:

1. We have religious freedom. It's true. We can go and share Jesus in the public and in schools. Last night we used the local coffee shop to debate Dawkins' delusion (conclusion: Dawkins is the deluded one), and people came to listen and debate. So often Christians say that we must be careful what we say and keep it down - I agree we should be wise and gracious - but we must never self - censor.
2. The next generation really are Post-moderns. The hardest part of the school lessons was that the children had next to no ability to use logic. In fact, they didn't even grasp antithesis. For them empirical evidence and reasoned logic had no place in a discussion about Jesus. But a very wise teacher said to us, ‘Well, if I didn't believe in the Holy Spirit I'd just give up - but thankfully He can get through anything.' Even Post modernism!
3. My church believe in evangelism! Last night was such a joy to see 30 regulars turn up to welcome guests and then chat to them afterwards. They made me proud to be there pastor (if that's allowed?).

More to follow.

Praise God for this great mission He's given us!

"WHY I WAS AND NOW AM A (closet) EVANGELICAL"

For a long time, I'd been trying to disassociate myself with the word evangelical. Whenever anyone asked me 'what sort of christian are you?' My immediate response would be to use 'a christian christian' or 'bible believing christian' as an answer. For a long time I've had a real problem saying evangelical, or especially 'born again'. Not so much on theological grounds, but more on cultural/dispositional ones.

You see, I couldn't help but make a connection between the word evangelical and a stiff, joyless and morbid christianity - a christianity that was too scared to realise that it existed in the 21st century. Anything 'new' was looked upon with concern or even a type of proud fear. Evangelicalism for me had become an exclusive gang that was only going to be ablt to attract the boring, the bored, or the social cameleon. This was not a selling point. My problem with using the word came from within the big C Church.

And even though I couldn't disagree with the doctrine, I found myself mightily disagreeing with the attitudes.

But was my problem with the word? No, of course it wasn't. By definition, I was an evangelical - I believed in the final and full authority of the Bible. I believed that without God coming after me, him giving me life, him saving my soul, by grace, through faith in the penal substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ then I would be dead and without hope. Whether I liked it or not, I was a historical evangelical. I stood for all it stood for.

But in spite of my entymological pilgrimage, I've now realised that things have got to change. It's not important what I mean when I use the word. What's important is how it's heard. In the current culture, it doesn't matter what the historical evangelicalism is, because one man's evangelicalism might be another man's beret wearing, fake tan donning, cross-less, original sin-less, Christ-less, salvation-by-group hug, bring twenty quid and raise the dead Sunday club. Death by association anyone?

So am I an evangelical? Yes and no. What exactly do you mean by evangelical?

Jonny. I'm with you. Just call me Christ's.

That's right folks, we've caught up with coolness and got ourselves a facebook group! Click here to go to the group. Or if that doesn't work, just search for us while logged into facebook. For those who don't know what facebook is, it's like myspace but better! Go to facebook.com to join.

Use the group for suggesting topics to cover, people you want interviewed, guest authors you'd like, and whatever you want to talk about. So join in and get talking!