Atheists call for "debaptism"

I just read quite an interesting article on the BBC news site. Click here to read it yourself. It reports that the National Securalist Society is calling for the Church of England to de-baptise people who were baptised at birth against their wishes. I wonder why they think it's such a big deal? At first, it seems like they just don't want to be seen as members of a church, which I guess is fair enough, although, as the Church of England has responded, debaptism is unnecessary. But more striking was the following statement, taken from the society's self-created "certificate" of debaptism:

"I, John Jeffrey Hunt, having been subjected to the rite of Christian baptism in infancy... hereby publicly revoke any implications of that rite. I reject all its creeds and other such superstitions in particular the perfidious belief that any baby needs to be cleansed of original sin."

Very interesting. So he clearly has some understanding of the concept of original sin and although we know baptism isn't what cleans us of that original sin as he seems to think we believe, it is so striking that he feels so strongly about it that he wants to denounce that which he thinks might clean him of it.

This just shows us how messed up the world is and how offending the gospel is to those who don't trust in it (I'm after a verse but I can't remember which - help anyone?) It also helps me see how Romans 1:18-23, which I've been reading recently with Mo, is so true today:

Romans 1:18-23

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Which reminds me of the following passage:

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

December Prayer Letter

Hey all! This was my prayer letter from mid-December. Sorry, it's a bit out of date now but there's still things here you can be praying for.

Wow, what a couple of months! I think I’ve just had a few of the busiest weeks of my life, hence the lack of November prayer letter. From a mission week to a houseparty, there’s lots to be thanking God for this month, as well as lots to be asking for.

Houseparty

Last weekend was Liverpool Houseparty. Seventy of us set off to Cefn Lea, Mid Wales, for a very cold weekend away. Michael Ots, our mission week speaker, was to speak to us on 2 Corinthians 3:7 - 5:10.

The whole weekend was aimed at training and encour-aging us for evangelism, and what an encouragement it was! It was great to see Michael and the exec so passionate and excited about evangelism and it caught on! I don’t think a single person left not excited about telling every one of their friends about Jesus!

Pray that this passion would continue through the distribution weeks in December and mission week in March.

Free

This fortnight, the CU are having their first “distribution weeks,” where thousands of Mark’s gospels will be handed out to students across Liverpool. Each day, students are given gospels and invited to a discussion group on a passage of Mark. There are also a series of lunchbars.

Pray that students will be challenged by the gospels, that God will speak to them through his Word, and that many lives will be saved. Pray also for the CU students, that they will be excited that they are delivering God’s Word to many students! A verse that has been really encouraging me as I do God’s work is Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Finances

Thank-you to all who have supported me so far! Just to update you on the situation, I have received £1300 so far in financial support out of the £6000 I need. I’ve been really encouraged at how God has been providing for me so far, and it’s definitely
helped me trust in him and rely on him more.

Please pray that the support keeps coming in as I’m only just about managing. If you wish to give, you can download a form by going to www.uccf.org.uk/relay, and clicking Give to Relay Workers. Also, if you are not able to give, please don’t feel pressured to!

University of Cumbria Mission Week

From the 9th till the 14th of November I went to be a CU guest at the University of Cumbria, Lancaster campus, to help with their mission week.

The week was really encouraging! It was completely different to what I expected. The CU and campus was much smaller than what I’m used to at Lancaster or Liverpool and I learned after the first day that ideas from my experience may not be suitable for all campuses (this is especially useful for planning events for the three universities in Liverpool).

The CU responded really well considering evangelism was a new idea for most of the students. Many students handed gospels to their friends and coursemates, and a thousand gospels were handed out in total - a third of all undergraduates! I really enjoyed getting away from the usual routine and doing some evangelism for the week. It was really encouraging and exciting to see God moving in the campus, and made me look forward to Liverpool’s mission all the more!

Summary

Thank God that:

• For the students at UoC CU, that they were so up for telling their friends about Jesus;
  
• A thousand gospels were handed out at UoC Mission Week;
  
• Liverpool Houseparty was so encouraging;
  
• For the financial support that has already been given or pledged.
  

Please pray with me:

• For the exec as they pick a leadership team for next year;
  
• For the distribution weeks;
  
• That God would work through his Word as non-Christians receive Mark’s gospels;
  
• For continued financial support;
  
• That Ephesians 3:20 would be true for Liverpool CU this year.
  

It would be great to hear how you are doing! Please let me know, and give me points to pray about by post or email to the address on the front. Please also note my new email address: andrew_jinks@ymail.com
Thank-you for partnering with me in this ministry,
Andy.

October Prayers

Sorry, this post is a bit late, but the prayer requests are still relevant.

Hey all! First of all, a big thank you to those of you who have supported me, both in prayer and financially, so far. I wouldn’t be able to do this year without God blessing me through you, so I’m very appreciative!

Freshers month

September was a busy month, with two Freshers’ weeks, both of which went very well. Around 150 freshers signed up to the CU, which was great! A number of these are from John Moores Uni, which is a big answer to prayer, and we’re now able to start up a new hall group at the I.M.Marsh campus. Please pray for this new group, and that we won’t be short of hall group leaders as we move some around. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the students here, and have begun to form some good friendships.

One encouragement over this last month has been in SLOBS (Student Leaders’ Own Bible Study), where the hall group leaders meet and study God’s word (Acts this term) together. They have all been challenged each week, and seemed to be really enjoying the studies, which is a answer to prayer for myself and Matt (the Staff Worker here).

Free Project

This year, Christian Unions across the country are taking part in the “Free” gospel project. UCCF have produced 400,000 copies of Mark’s gospel for CU students to give to their non-Christian friends.

In Liverpool, we are planning to hand out as many of these as we can. We are hoping to get into the accommodation halls and get the gospel into the hands of as many students as possible. Please pray that God would open up the doors for us, and that his Spirit will change people’s lives as they read his word.

Finances

Thank-you to all who have supported me so far! I received £230 over the last month, in addition to the £140 mentioned in the last prayer letter. I’ve found it a real struggle so far to be patient and God has being teaching me to trust in him for all my needs and be confident that he will provide.

Thank God for the money I have received so far, and please pray that it keeps coming in, as I’m running a bit short!

Can I remind you that if you had planned to help me financially, to send your form off as soon as possible as it would help me a great deal. If you wish to give but haven’t got a form, you can download one by going here, and clicking Give to Relay Workers.

My Timetable

Now that term has started, my timetable has thankfully become a bit more regular, so I will let you know a bit more about what I do on a weekly basis:

Mondays
Patch Prayer - Prayer meeting with Matt and occasionally Mo and/or Anna
1-to-1 with Steve
NWMT course in Leyland

Tuesdays
1-to-1 with Geoff

Wednesdays
SLOBS (Small-group Leaders Own Bible Study / Reps meeting)
CU Main Meeting

Thursdays
Supervision with Mo

Saturdays
Usually my day off!
CU Football

Please pray in particular for me as I start 1-to-1’s with Steve and Geoff. Steve is a first year, and Geoff is one of the hall group leaders for Hope Uni. This is new for me, so pray that we can all learn and be challenged as we read God’s word together.

In addition to the above, I also have a study program (4 hours per week), looking at some of the doctrines in the Bible. So far, I have been learning about God’s nature in the Trinity, and it's encouraged me how God is a relational God, and how he wants us to be in that relationship with him!

Pray also for the mission week at the University of Cumbria next week. I'm traveling up to Lancaster on Sunday to be a guest for the week, and am doing a short talk at a meal with a message on Monday evening.

Summary

Thank God that:

• The freshers’ weeks went well;
  
• The CU have been able to start up a new hall group at I.M.Marsh;
  
• I’ve been able to meet up with some guys for 1-to-1s;
  
• For the support that has already been given or pledged.
  

Please pray with me:

• That I can learn to trust in God for my needs and be patient;
  
• That the right people would provide support;
  
• For the Free gospel project, that all students in Liverpool would have the opportunity to read and respond to Mark’s gospel;
  
• For the new hall group at I.M.Marsh, that it would continue to grow, and that similar hall groups can be started in other locations;
  
• That we would have/find enough hall group leaders to cover the extra hall group;
  
• That my 1-to1s would go well, and that we can learn from God as we study his word.
  

It would be great to hear how you are doing! Please let me know, and give me points to pray about by post or email to the address on the front.

Thank-you for partnering with me in this ministry,
Andy.

What is a CU?

Found this cool video just released by UCCF, explaining what a CU is about:



Go to the UCCF website for more info.

A challenge from an atheist

In church this morning, the preacher guy read an article from The Times. It's heading was "I don't believe that believers really believe," and the journalist claims that Christians cannot possibly believe in God because of their actions. It can be found here, but I will highlight a bit below:

"The real test for genuine belief is not what people say, but what they do. To believe something is to be disposed to act upon it. The vast majority of Western Christians fail this test.

"All Christians fail to act on their avowed beliefs. Suppose you believed that Heaven exists and that only some of us will qualify to live in it for ever, as the vast majority of Christians claim to. How would this affect your behaviour?

"It would depend on what you thought were the admission criteria for Heaven. But whatever you took these virtues to be, they would utterly dominate your life. When everlasting bliss is on offer, nothing else matters at all. People who believed in Heaven would surely act quite unlike those who do not.

"Yet the expected behavioural difference is not to be observed. The vast majority of Christians display a remarkably blasé attitude toward their approaching day of judgment, leading lives almost indistinguishable from those of us open non-believers. Put simply, they fail the behavioural test for belief.

"If we have immortal souls, then earthly costs and benefits are an infinitesimal fraction of the total. For true believers, the first question to ask about any policy ought to be: How does it affect people's chances of getting into Heaven? But this is never even the last question asked."

This struck me. This is what an atheist sees of Christians. It really highlights the fact that we need to be shining brightly for Jesus to our non-Christian friends and family if we are to expect them to believe in the message we are preaching. How can we expect them to believe the gospel, and in God and heaven if we are acting in a way that is completely against what we preach, as if we're not affected by what we believe?

Lets go out into the world, and show people how different we are. Lets not conform to the world's way of living, so people see a difference in us and realise that what we say we believe, we actually believe. Then maybe they'll listen to the the message we are preaching, and will actually be interested in what sets us apart.

Thank-you God that we are saved by grace.

September Prayer Letter

Hi all! I am now officially a Relay Worker in Liverpool! Thank-you for all your support and prayers so far. In this my first prayer letter, I will let you know how I’ve been doing so far and give you some points to pray about.

Relay 1 and Forum

On 26th August, I headed off to Shropshire to start my year as a UCCF Relay Worker. I would spend two weeks at Quinta Hall and was excited about what God was about to teach me. The first week was the first of three Relay conferences, and we looked at what the Bible says about grace. Before I went, I thought I knew everything about grace and assumed this week would just be a reminder.

However I was completely amazed by what I learned, and left feeling very challenged and humbled. I realised that we need to keep preaching the gospel to ourselves every day and not just think of it as something non-Christians need to hear. It also struck me how I need to always remember grace when I talk to others.

Please pray that I remember all that I learned over the two weeks and that I can apply it to my everyday life. I want it to be something that actually changes me rather than just head knowledge.
Liverpool

If you don’t already know, I have been placed in Liverpool working with the joint CU from three universities (Liverpool Uni, JMU, and Hope) and Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA).

The CU is quite different from what I was used to at Lancaster and will take some getting used to. There are around 120 members, split between 8 hall groups. There are over 6 campuses for the 3 universities, spread over the city. I’m looking forward to getting involved with the hall groups as well as with international work within the CU.

Liverpool itself is a big city with lots going on. It won the European Capital of Culture award for 2008 and has seen lots of renovation as a result. This year, I’m living in a house with three students, and I’ve had the chance to get to know them whilst living here over the summer.

Finances

So far I have only raised £140 in support. Thank-you to those who have given or plan to give! If you had intended to help me in this, please send your forms off as soon as possible, so I know how much I can budget.

Remember, if you are a taxpayer, your gift can be increased by 28% for free if you send it through UCCF. If you have not received a form, let me know and I’ll send you one, or click here, then click Give to Relay Workers.

If you can’t afford to help, please don’t feel pressured to do so. Instead, remain by me in prayer and keep praying that God will provide.

Freshers month

With City CU being made up of three universities, each with different campuses, there are a lot of events going on over the next month for freshers!

Liverpool John Moores Uni have their freshers’ week next week (15th-21st), and Liverpool Uni and Liverpool Hope Uni have theirs the week after. Please pray that CU students return to Liverpool for both weeks and get as involved as they can. Pray for myself and the new Staff Worker, Matt, too that we can get to know both the returning students and freshers, that we can get involved in the events and that we use our time wisely.

Pray that God will place Christian freshers in the most effective places, across the city. At the moment, there is a lack of CU members in some large halls, especially in the city centre, and this is something we would like to work on this year.

Summary

Please pray with me that:

• What I learned at Relay 1 and Forum will change my heart rather than be just head knowledge,
  
• CU students will return back for both Freshers’ Weeks and get involved,
  
• I can get to know the CU students and especially the freshers,
  
• The many events that the CU are holding won’t tire us all out!
  
• Christian freshers will be placed in effective locations across the city,
  
• God will provide the funds I need for this year.
  

I would love to hear how you are doing! Please let me what you are getting up to and allow me to pray for you by emailing or posting to me at the address on the front.

Thank-you for your support and prayers,

Andy

Welcome!

Hey all!

I thought I might join this blogging world. I'm not quite sure how or how much I'll use this, but we'll see. I think I plan to put all my prayer letters up here, plus any other thoughts I may have.

Goodbye for now,

Andy.