September 22, 2004
A most interesting response to the last w e e k l y w o r d, from David Pott. David, a YWAMer from London, is project leader of the Lifeline Expedition (see www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk) which is a series of reconciliation journeys responding to the legacy of the Atlantic slave trade. The distinctive features of their […]
September 20, 2004
“HOW I LOVE THE PRACTICAL REALISM of the Christian faith!” Such positive words spoken with conviction about Christianity are unusual for Dutch television in these postmodern times. The occasion was last Sunday’s memorial service for those fallen during the Battle of Arnhem 60 years ago, live on national television. Queen Beatrix and Price Charles joined […]
September 13, 2004
A DRAMATIC FIRE RAZED THE CITY OF √ÖLESUND (say ‘Orlesund’) on Norway’s west coast, exactly one hundred years ago. Today, √Ölesund-host to last week’s YWAM Viking Arts Festival-owes its famous Art Nouveau architecture to this disaster. And therein lies a fascinating tale. √Ölesund grew up as a fisheries town clinging to a rocky promontory, like […]
September 5, 2004
I’VE HARDLY HAD TIME TO WATCH THE NEWS let alone write w e e k l y w o r d s the past couple of weeks. This is the season for bumper-to-bumper YWAM conferences: firstly our Global Leadership Team meeting in Harpenden, north of London, when we commissioned Lynn Green and Iain Muir as […]
August 16, 2004
WHILE ALL THE WORLD’S ATTENTION IS FOCUSSED ON ATHENS THIS WEEK, the fifteenth anniversary of an event that triggered the fall of the Iron Curtain will slip by almost unnoticed. But not in Sopron, on the Hungarian-Austrian border. I first heard about this event just a few months ago while attending the European Apologetics Network […]
August 9, 2004
IF A CAMEL IS A HORSE DESIGNED BY A COMMITTEE, then what’s the nature of the ‘beast’-or rather, the ‘European’ Constitution-proposed by a specially-appointed convention, wrangled over by political leaders from 25 EU member states, amended a thousand times (literally) after submissions from countless political and non-political bodies, personally targeted by the pope urging the […]
August 2, 2004
THE MEN WERE DRESSED LIKE BILBO BAGGINS, THE HOBBIT. Knee-britches, silver-buckle shoes and jackets lined with silver buttons. The women sported bodices beautifully latticed with ornate silver chains, brooches and buckles. Like actors awaiting the next take of ‘Lord of the Rings’, they strolled casually through the town centre and along the harbourfront, with its […]
July 26, 2004
YOU’RE A TEXAN MARRIED TO A BRAZILIAN. Your twin’s wife is French. Your younger brother married a Swede. Imagine the interesting discussions at family gatherings these days! Commission reports related to 9/11, Iraq and the war on terrorism are coming thick and fast on both sides of the Atlantic, determining who lied or didn’t lie […]
July 19, 2004
I HAVE A PROBLEM. Romkje and I are trying to take a couple of quiet weeks before a busy season of travel and conferences ahead hits us. My problem is that quiet reading and meditation stirs up all sorts of subjects I want to write about in w e e k l y w o […]
July 12, 2004
JOHN CLARK (1933-2004) WAS ONE OF THOSE QUIET, UNASSUMING, GENTLE PEOPLE whose impact on others can easily be underestimated. Yet at a thanksgiving service held in his memory last week on the YWAM base in Harpenden, north of London, John’s qualities were eulogised by friends and family from several countries in both hemispheres. I was […]
July 5, 2004
BIG IDEAS ARE OUT, SO WE’RE TOLD. Post-modern society is diverse and fragmented, and can’t be reduced to any one organising concept, like capitalism or socialism. Pragmatism reigns. If it works, it’s good. Single issue politics is popular. That we saw in the recent Europarliament elections. But where will this all lead? How sustainable is […]
June 28, 2004
HERE’S A QUICK TEST: think of a spiritual leader. OK, ready? What occupation does he or she have? Did you think of a pastor, theologian, mission leader, evangelist, church planter or clergyman? Or did you also think of an apostle, prophet or teacher who may be discipling our nations through rock music (Bono?), politics (Paul […]
