Posts from Dave Holden's Blog

Raising Children part 4

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:05:59 GMT

If society is falling apart and family life is being eroded, then there’s a challenge for every Christian couple: do we raise our children according to the philosophy of this world, or according to the Word of God?

This world’s philosophy is built on something called secular humanism, which states that we can manage on our own and therefore have no need of God. This opposes the teaching in the Word, which states that God is the source of everything. He is the creator who made men and women and instituted marriage and family life. If something’s going wrong, we must get back to God and to His blueprint in the Word.

Many Christian couples don’t raise their children according to God’s Word. “The world’s got some good ideas” they say. “We’re going to investigate them further.” Certainly unbelievers can teach us some valuable lessons on child rearing, but our basic foundation must be the Word of God. No one can force you to raise your children by the Bible. You must make that choice yourself.

It is important to make a clear decision about this, because if you chose to go down this line you’ll be in the minority. Your beliefs about raising children will offend people and they may laugh at you, or even refuse to speak to you. There’s a cost involved, but it’s worth counting because God’s way is the only way that works. Other parents will look at the results and will wonder how you did it. And you’ll tell them that this is what happens when you build your family life on the Word of God.

Our children don’t decide whether they’re going to be raised according to secular humanism or the Word of God. That’s up to their parents. We must take full responsibility for the way we bring up our children. We’re the key to what they become.

I often think that the issue is more raising parents than raising children.You see a child who is really causing hassle in the church or in the street and you’re tempted to think “wretched child, he’s got so many problems”. But behind that young person there’s a parent. If you see a child misbehaving, don’t just blame him, ask where the parents are. And remind yourself that if you want to raise your children well, you’ve first got to be a good parent.

The next session of our parenting course takes place on Thursday 17 November at the centre, 8-9.30pm. We would love to see you there.

Dave

Raising Children part 3

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:43:51 GMT

Last week we launched our parenting course. Jon and Lucy Hewitt did a great job hosting and the feedback from parents on the course was extremely positive. I am looking forward to future sessions.

Some people ask me why Liz and I spend as much time as we do talking about parenting, I think some people think we should move on to other things now. But the reason we still speak at churches and conferences on the subject is that I believe that a Christian family can be one of the greatest evangelistic tools that God can use in society today.

Family life is falling apart around us and a Christian family is a fantastic testimony. Naturally, we don’t tell our friends and neighbours, “our family life is terrific because we’re Christians”. We say, “It’s God, not us. He’s teaching us from his word and we’re living by it. He’s involved in our family life and making it work.” Christians should be able to lead the way in showing the world what family life is all about, because if you take God out of families you remove the reason for their existence.

There’s a world out there that has huge questions and is desperate for the answers. People are longing to know how to raise their families in the best way. God is longing for Christians who will show them. He wants you to receive his grace and help and to see how powerful your witness can be to those who live around you.

Society offers us many different and confusing ideas which clamour for our attention. We desperately need the wisdom to know which way to go – particularly when it comes to raising children. The Bible says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Wisdom is about honouring God and his word. So if you want to be wise in the way you raise your children, you don’t gather the latest psychological information. You read the Bible and you live by it.

Christians need to battle through on this. We must question our basis for family life. Is it a women’s (or men’s!) magazine or the word of God? We’re God’s children, new creations in Christ, and we live in a new Kingdom. So we shouldn’t be surprised if unbelievers are offended by our behaviour. They’re actually screaming for something different. We’re different and will raise our children differently.

The next evening on the parenting course is Thursday 17 November.

Dave

Vision part 2

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:06:43 GMT

In the first part of this mini blog series looking back over what I shared on Vision Sunday I asked and answered three questions; (1) Why do we exist? – Mission (2) What sort of church are we? – Values (3) What are we called to do? – Vision. In this post I want to ask and answer the final two questions;

4. How are we going to do it?

The first thing to say is that if we are going to fulfil all that God has called us to do over the next 5-10 years then we need to either build on what we have already accomplished over recent years or step out into some new areas by investing our time, energy and finance into some new things. This means change. I love this Jack Deere quote;

“Leaders need to teach people that change is an inevitable part of life. Dead things don’t change. Living things change because they grow. And growth means pain. Dead things don’t have growing pains. Neither do dead churches. Part of the price of growing is pain and insecurity. Remember when you were still physically changing during your adolescent and teenage years? Not only your body, but your emotions were changing. You were going down a road you hadn’t been on before. Remember how insecure you felt? But you accepted the pain and the insecurity because you wanted to grow. You didn’t want to stay a child. It’s the same way with a growing church. It is going down a road it hasn’t been on before. Being a leader just means learning how to manage the conflict that comes from the pain and insecurity of growing. Of course, we could avoid the pain by simply refusing to change, but most of us would rather go to church than a cemetery.”

So over the next 12 months we will be making a number of changes across the life of the church; “invest and invite”, guest Sunday strategy and in the area of communication there will be a number of positive (we hope!) changes.

Notably we will be changing the church calendar, we will share more details at the next family meeting but this will involve implementing 3 x 4 month cycles throughout the year. Each cycle will have three months of ‘regular’ church life (life groups, Encounter God meetings etc) and one month of whole church activity (life groups go on pause for a month). So December will become a month of outreach and action in the community, April a training and equipping month and August a month of prayer.

5. How can we all be involved?

A vision only becomes real when those who receive it begin to put it into practice. So how can we all be involved? You can be involved by giving your…

Time – we’re not the kind of church that people visit like a club. Our commitment to Jesus is reflected in our commitment to his purposes and to the local church

Abilities – no one can ever say “I have nothing to give in this church”, we all have a part to play so get involved!

Money – if you are committed to this church and this vision then surely you will give! It is a reality that we need finances to make everything in this church happens. The giving of your money really does make a huge difference as we seek to make Jesus known to our local communities and to the nations.

So let’s go for it, the best is yet to come!

Dave

Raising Children part 2

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:14:33 GMT

I don’t know whether it is because it has been in the news a lot recently or because we seem to be in a baby boom at New Community at the moment, but I am feeling stirred about parenting.

The Bible says, “sons (daughters) are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3). Children aren’t here to ruin our lives. They’re gifts from God. He wants them to be a joy and it’s our privilege to raise them as well as we can. Maybe you’re a parent, or thinking about having children. What does God want you to produce in these children? The way you raise them will reveal whether you think they just exist or have a purpose in coming into your life.

Sometimes children who are supposed to bless us actually threaten to finish us off! We want them to enhance our lives, but they cause us tremendous anxiety and we almost end up wondering if we should have had them in the first place. I’m sure none of us would say that, but rearing children can be incredibly stressful, as any parent will know.

So the next time you’re with your children at a mealtime and they’re doing things they shouldn’t do and you’re gritting your teeth, remind yourself of Psalm 127. And say in your heart, “You’re a gift from God, a wonderful heritage. I’m so glad that you have come into the world to bless my life and the lives of all the other people around us as well.”

Many of us have read books or been to seminars on the topic of raising children and we feel inadequate as parents. It’s good to be honest, to say at times, “we don’t think we’ve got it right. We want to learn again”. I spent my entire time raising children doing just that. I was constantly watching others, talking to parents who had more experience than I did, asking, “How do you manage your children? How did you learn to do that?”

Some parents concern me. They think that because they’ve read the book, seen the film, heard the tape – somehow that’s it. But they’re actually on a constant learning curve. Parents can never say, “We’ve arrived. We’re now perfect parents with perfect children and there’s nothing else to learn.”

Jesus said that those whose lives are built on the rock are not just hearers of the Word, but doers as well. It’s not, “How much do you know?”, but “How are you doing?”

Our parenting course starts on October 13, it would be great if you could make it.

Dave

Vision Part 1

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:46:32 GMT

Last Sunday was our annual Vision Sunday – you can watch or listen here – where I outlined where, as a church, we have come from over the last 30 or so years and where we believe God is leading us over the next 5-10 years. Habakkuk 2:2 says “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it” and so this is the (much shorter!) written down version.

1. Why do we exist?

We exist for mission. We exist to make Jesus known to our local communities and to the nations of the world.

There is a big distinction between a pastoral church and a church on mission. Robert Warren says “…at the heart of the distinction between a pastoral and missionary church is the difference between a church organised around sustaining, developing and promoting its own life and a church organised around participating in God’s mission to the world to establish his redemptive purposes in the whole of human life. A missionary church is a church which takes its identity, priorities and agenda from participating in God’s mission in the world”. We are a church on mission.

2. What sort of church are we?

This is to do with our values. We have individual and corporate values. Individually we love God,love people and enjoy God’s grace. Corporately we are committed to being a church of word and spirit, a community church and a resource church.

3. What are we called to do? Or what is the vision?

Over the next five years we believe God is calling us to impact our communities, care for and develop our people, and connect, equip, train and send them into our neighbourhoods and the nations – filled with the power and presence of God.

Impact our communities by reaching more people with the gospel– over the next five years;

We want to reach more people with the gospel, see more people saved and baptised and see our regular Sunday attendance grow

We want to become an increasingly diverse community from right across South East London

We want to demonstrate the gospel with acts of kindness that meet the needs of people from every walk of life

We want to be a church that blesses the local communities in very real ways; practically, emotionally and spiritually

Care for and develop our people – over the next five years;

We want to see all of our people encouraged, supported and cared for through our life group and pastoral support structures

We want to see every age group and life stage in our church provided for, from the very youngest to the very oldest

We want our people to be set free in Christ and grow in maturity as believers

Connect, equip, train and send our people – over the next five years;

Whether people go or stay we want to be a ‘sent’ people

We want to see people fully empowered to be effective ambassadors for Christ and fully trained to be missionaries in their local context

We want to train and send people to be involved in planting churches in this nation and the nations of the world

Power and presence of God

In everything that we do we want the genuine power and presence of God to be manifest.

We want to be a prophetic people, filled with the Holy Spirit, exercising spiritual gifts and allowing God to move freely in our lives

We want to be a people of praise and prayer where signs, wonders and miracles are commonplace

In future posts I will take a look at some of the things we are going to be doing over this coming year as we seek to accomplish all that God has called us to. We will also explore ways for you to be involved.

The best is yet to come!

Dave

Raising Children

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 08:09:02 GMT

The subject of parenting has not been far from the news in recent weeks. From the outcry following the riots to the recent report from UNICEF, many are beginning to wake up to the fact that good parenting and healthy family life are one of the foundation blocks of society.

A number of years ago, Liz and I wrote a book on the subject of parenting. I don’t even think it is in print any more but I was recently made aware of a quote the publishers used on the back of the book.

“Family life is falling apart around us and a Christian family can be one of the greatest evangelistic tools that God can use in society today”.

What was true nearly 20 years ago is just as true, if not more so, today. There are many reasons why raising children is such an important subject. The first and most obvious is that it’s become one of the greatest needs in our society today. A couple who have been born again and filled with the Spirit don’t suddenly have children who are magically transformed overnight. They’ve lived with a worldly philosophy for many years and their children have lived with it too.

There’s no point saying to them, ‘Just raise your children as the Bible teaches’ because they don’t know what it teaches. They’ve got to start from scratch. They need training in how to bring up their children according to God’s Word.

Here at New Community we have long recognized the importance of helping parents raise their children, which is why we are investing in running a parenting course. Over the next few months we will be meeting to explore what it is to be a Christian parent and how to raise your kids in this increasingly secular world. I will also be blogging on the subject over the next few weeks.

If you are a parent or hope to be one in the future, why don’t you come along?

Dave

Local and Global

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:56:05 GMT

New Community Church belongs to a worldwide family of churches called Newfrontiers. Currently, Newfrontiers represents some 850 churches working in 60 nations and we have been part of this ever expanding story for over 30 years now and we are just as excited, no, even more excited about all that lies ahead. It’s both a privilege and a responsibility to belong to a family of churches like this. We receive so much, but we have our own part to play as well. Having apostolic ministry shape our church is not primarily so we can do church better; but rather results in catching us up in local and global mission. Over the years we have sent literally hundreds of people to serve in other churches in the UK, to plant churches, to lead other churches, and, increasingly, to work into situations overseas. Also, NCC supports teams and ministries that travel and especially supports me as I work alongside both established and emerging apostolic ministries both in the UK and across the world. We are not passive receivers. We are active participants and will continue to be so in the years ahead.

As people join NCC we want them to feel that they are in a family that they can genuinely belong to. A church that is doing all it can to meet one another’s needs, whilst at the same time continue to make an impact on every part of wider community. They should also see that we are not inward looking or only concerned with our ‘local parish’, but working to play our part in seeking to bring the gospel to all nations. We are a Word and Spirit, grace-filled church with a focus on our local community, but we are also an increasingly evangelistic, outward looking people on world mission.

Sadly, many churches in the UK struggle to catch this vision. The reason, I believe, has to do with their foundations. Many are built fundamentally on pastoral foundations. This means that the leaders of these churches see it as their duty to only care for ‘their people’, not necessarily to be released to go and reach new people. Members of this kind of church see having their needs met as the primary reason for being in the church. If this doesn’t happen then they become easily disappointed. They may well even leave and go and find another church in the hope that they might do a better job! They may even object when the church starts to grow, realising that the more people there are, the less likely it is that attention will be given to them!

If, however, your church is built on apostolic, prophetic foundations as described for example in Ephesians 2:19-22, your church has at its very root a passion to be sent and to send. In other words, we exist not only to meet the needs of our existing members, but to constantly desire to go and meet the needs of those who are not yet a part of us.

Apostolically founded churches do not neglect to pastor people. They just do it in the right context, which is one of mission. We pastor people on the move and we equip them to go and reach others. This kind of church will never become bogged down with small vision, it will always keep moving and will have a big picture mentality. Newfrontiers is going through a remarkable time of transition right now. What has thus far been essentially one team leading one sphere is moving into many teams leading many spheres. Why? Because through this transition many new nations will be reached, with thousands of churches planted and thousands of people coming to know Jesus.

I love being in a family of churches like this. It constantly provokes me not to settle for what I have thus far experienced and to lift my eyes to see what God is doing around the world.

I also love being a part of New Community Church. It’s not comfortable, it’s not passive, and it continues to embrace change, but there’s a reason. Our story is not finished. It’s hardly begun in many ways. We have a future. Come and join us, become part of the story. A family of churches, together on a mission, transforming our local community by proclaiming a gospel that has the power to change people completely, and fulfilling the commission of Jesus to go into all the nations of the world.

Join us this week for our 'Vision Sunday' as we look to the future and all that we believe God has for us in the next 5-10 years.

Dave

Prayer & Perserverance

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:08:04 GMT

I think you would agree that the word ‘perseverance’ has a basically negative response from most people. In an age where we expect to have everything given to us on demand, instantly, the thought of having to persevere is foreign to us. Persevering implies effort, even sacrifice - not attractive!

Strangely, the Bible views perseverance as something wholly positive. Check out these verses: Luke 8:15; Romans 5:3-4; Hebrews 10:36 and 12:1; James 1:3-4, 12 and James 5:11. All of these references teach us that perseverance is essential to make progress in life and that it yields great results! It is wrong for the church to teach Christians that perseverance should be avoided and replaced by a view of God as a quick-fix solution.

Nowhere is this seen more clearly than when it comes to the subject of prayer. Why do we stop praying when we have prayed once and not seen the result straightaway? Elijah, when praying for rain, sent his servant away seven times to see if his prayers were answered. His perseverance was key in seeing his prayers become effective. Again and again in scripture you and I are exhorted to persevere in prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 7:8 - keep on asking, keep on praying, keep on knocking. Check out Luke 11:5-9 and Luke 18:1. 1 Thessalonians 5:7 simply says pray continually. Other epistles encourage us to pray without ceasing.

I think I give up too easily when it comes to prayer. I can start enthusiastically and then wane when I do not see results. In third world countries, Christians seem to persevere in prayer. Perhaps that is why they experience more breakthrough and miracles as a result. Maybe we “want the action without the sacrifice”?

We face some real challenges both as a church in the UK and as a local church. These challenges can be overcome by prayer and particularly persevering prayer. Let’s go on this adventure together and learn how to pray and see great victories. Pray and then pray some more. Heaven is looking for a persevering people.

Practicals

In order to be a church that builds a ‘culture of prayer’ we want to provide every opportunity that enables us to make this a reality. For example...

1. Grow in your prayer life. We need to provide teaching material that helps you to do this, through your life group.

2. Pray with some friends. There is no better place to learn how to pray than to do so with some friends.

3. Life groups. We want your Life Groups to be a place where we work out what it means to be devoted to prayer.

4. Prayer Days. The last Friday of every month is a day to pray through the key issues that we face as a church.

5. Weeks of Prayer. We gather three times a year for a Week of Prayer and it is here that we experience some of the most exciting and fruitful times of prayer in the life of NCC.

6. Church life generally. Whenever we gather - on Sunday mornings, Encounter God meetings, Family Meetings, even socials. If prayer is a ‘culture of NCC’ then it can happen naturally anywhere, anytime, even out on the streets.

Dave

Back in the USA

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:45:11 GMT

Having been in Mexico for a week we then moved onto St Louis, Missouri, USA and joined our close friends John and Linda Lanferman and the church that they planted 12 or so years ago. We were there when the church first started so it was great to be with them again and to see their progress.

I had a great time with their staff, plus an evening with about 25 younger guys who questioned me for a number of hours on all kinds of topics. I used to find this somewhat "spontaneous and unrehearsed" kind of evening very daunting, but now I just love them. Maybe I am older and actually do have some things to say... you never know.

Sunday at Jubilee church was familiar territory as they have two Sunday morning meetings as we do at NCC. Also, their values of charismatic worship with excellent contributions plus a mission emphasis made preaching a great joy. They were very responsive.

One of the great benefits of being in St Louis is having fun with John and Linda so that it's not all work and these guys know how to play. I always feel refreshed when I am with them plus challenged at maintaining a healthy lifestyle and having a marriage that is not allowed to become samey!

We walked and talked a lot, visited a great "Blues and Jazz Club" and ate some of the best ribs I have ever tasted.

I hope in 2011 to develop a growing relationship between Jubilee and NCC and to see some of their members come to us and share the many things that they are learning. We have much to learn from them... watch this space.

Dave

Mexico and beyond...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:34:05 GMT

It was with great excitement and anticipation that Liz and I arrived at Fiesta in Guadalajara in Mexico. Fiesta is the annual conference for the Newfrontiers churches in Mexico. This is the 11th conference and it was our 3rd and, I think, the best in terms of the obvious progress that they are experiencing.

This is a group of churches that have become stronger as the years have gone by. There is a greater level of maturity amongst the people, their leadership teams are united and their sense of being caught up in apostolic mission is right at the fore of their thinking. This is a people that are ready for expansion and for reaching new nations. One of the highlights of Fiesta was undoubtedly the prayer night. The dominating feature of our praying had to do with the South American continent. Churches are already being planted in Bolivia and Brazil with nations such as Peru and Columbia being on people’s hearts. Even Cuba was being considered as a potential nation to be involved with in the future. I believe that what God has done over many years with the Mexican churches has been forming a springboard from which to launch many into nations beyond. South America is a huge challenge and one that will require massive resourcing in the years to come. Surely this is an area that many developing "apostolic spheres" would love to join together and resource in the future!!

Back to Fiesta: our theme was the "Presence of God". I spoke in two sessions about the work of the Holy Spirit and we had the joy of seeing many people come forward for prayer. Some were baptised in the Holy Spirit for the first time, several others spoke in tongues where they had not done so before and an even larger crowd had significant fresh encounters with the Holy Spirit specifically related to moving in the gifts of the spirit.

All in all it was a wonderful time! The Mexicans are a wonderful colourful people. The worship passionate and (very) loud; their welcome was overwhelmingly warm and we felt so privileged to be there and play some small part in their progress. It will prove hard to say no if invited again!

Dave

France... Ready for Revival?

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:19:53 GMT

As I have recently had the privilege of becoming involved with a number of churches within the Newfrontiers family in France, I have become struck by the great potential that there is in this nation for a mighty move of God, but also the huge challenges that face Christians there on a daily basis.

It is, in many ways, the most secular nation that I have worked in. With only 3 % of the "Catholic" population ever attending church regularly & with "Protestant" groups being treated as no more than "sects" with targeted discrimination from the government, something remarkable needs to happen !

We are working with a small number of churches in different parts of the country. Liz & I went south last week and met with three eldership teams within the vicinity of Nimes. This is old "Huguenot" country, one of the few places to have had a Christian influence still remaining after a mighty revival back in the Reformation days. We also had the joy of ministering in a church in Marguerittes. The people were overwhelmingly friendly and we felt so at home. Whilst preaching, my lady interpreter began to weep. I know my preaching can be painful at times, but even I thought it was not that bad! Apparently, she was overcome by what I was sharing as it reminded her of the many promises that have yet to be fulfilled in the church. I was speaking on waiting for God's promises so I guess it hit a nerve.

I think this small group of churches could become an exciting church planting group as there are so many towns & villages with hardly any evangelical witness to speak of.

I go to Paris next Saturday where we gather all the Elders of the churches together for a day of prayer. This is something that I plan to do on a regular basis if possible. There is no better place to start than in prayer and unity of purpose and commission to reach France will be the result...fancy joining us?

Dave

Holland... A time of Preparation

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:19:05 GMT

Just had four days with our friends in Holland. We met as national leaders on Wednesday and Liz and I spent Thursday with Chris and Karin Taylor and then with Redeemer church in the Hague on Thursday evening.

We then spent a wonderful day with Henk and Eunee Kersten catching up on all the latest news. This has been a strange time for the Newfrontiers churches in Holland as Henk, who leads them, has been out of action for most of this year with illness. This has inevitably resulted in some marking time for everyone and yet as I met with the leaders I felt that it's a time of preparation for something great!

The reports from the churches were very encouraging, there is still expectation for genuine expansion. Henk is feeling a lot better, though needs time to fully recover, and the mission is not on hold.

The Redeemer church meeting was outstanding with about 35 gathered. The people are from all over the world (even Zim) and you just feel the potential is there not only to reach and impact The Hague, but also the surrounding cities. They are due to launch next spring and I spoke on the importance of this foundation-laying season as it will shape the kind of church that they will become in the days to come. The weird thing is their English is better than ours!

Dave

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Prayer & Fasting...Don't miss it!

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:17:00 GMT

Two weeks ago we gathered in Peterborough for our regular two days of prayer & fasting. This event has been going on for over 25 years and forms the backbone to all that Newfrontiers UK is doing. I've had the privilege of being at most of them. It began with about 40 of us and now gathers around 700, so it's a bit different to when we started! We not only give ourselves to pray over all that we are involved in, but we also spend time in worship and just soaking in the presence of God. This means that many leaders who are often giving out have the opportunity to receive. They really are great days together.

My plea is that these days are not taken for granted and actually we realise that days like these grow in significance as the years go by, especially as we transition to many multiplied spheres, prayer forms the basis of that which holds us together. Strange isn't it that we often enthusiastically give ourselves to initiatives that fire our passions in the early days only to quickly become over-familiar with them and start taking them for granted. I hope this never happens to Prayer & Fasting!

Dave

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Encounter God

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:50:23 GMT

Last night we had an Encounter God evening and it was so encouraging! Judging by the turnout we have a "very hungry for God" church - how good is that??

To have time to take up the themes from Sunday on Romans 8 concerning Fatherhood and being adopted children was so beneficial. To also pray for one another without having to rush on was valuable. We want to remain a church that gives the Holy Spirit time to minister to us and for us to line up with God's desire to fill us.

Enjoying God's presence is such a privilege and we want to be a "presence shaped church " in every way.

Several people who were at the meeting asked if we could have more of them than we currently have: what do you think?

We need testimonies from people who met with God on Wednesday, especially related to encountering God as Father, perhaps in a new way: feel free to leave these as comments on this blog, or contact the office.

Dave

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Becoming a Diverse Church

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:47:37 GMT

What a privilege to have Owen Hylton with us the other Sunday. He spoke on being a ‘diverse church’ and I would really love you to download his sermon from this website if you were unable to hear it. The theology we agree with, but now it's time to become more intentional. I was greatly challenged by Owen's thoughts on multicultural worship and was even more convicted about having a diverse leadership team. I believe we have made a steady start but we have really only just started to become diverse.

How amazing it would be if NCC was to become a truly diverse community in every sense: diverse ages, colours, classes, languages and backgrounds.

Only the gospel does this and only the Holy Spirit keeps us together in the midst of such potential variety. I sense this rejoices the heart of God and makes a prophetic statement to the world, that in an age when society is falling apart, God's people (of all colours) are coming together.

I long to see that on display here in S. E. London and not just reserved for Heaven!

Dave

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Trip to Holland

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:37:40 GMT

Great to have had a weekend with the Newfrontiers church in Berkel in Holland recently. This was the first Dutch church to become part of the Newfrontiers family well over 20 years ago. They came en masse to Stoneleigh Bible Week for many years. The church is full of wonderful people who have such a heart for God and such clarity when it comes to building a church on New Testament values.

I really spoke on the need for clear vision for the future and to not let go of the promises that you know God has given you. I hope they received the word because on the Sunday morning they "sent " 10 people to the Hague church plant and it was obvious that these people had all been key in the Church and that it was very costly to see them go. Actually it was also very emotional, but done with an excellent spirit. Liz and I also had the joy of praying for and seeing several people wonderfully healed as well as speaking prophetic words over a number of individuals.

Following the weekend we stayed overnight with Chris and Karin Taylor in the Hague. God has provided them with a wonderful home with plenty of room for a growing church plant. It was brilliant to see them so settled in the Hague and exciting to realise that the church plant is now underway. Steve, Ann and Joel Blaber recently visited them as well, so the cross-channel mission is now well and truly happening. I'm sure they would love to see any of you who would like to visit.

I look forward to helping this church become a significant community, not only for the Hague, but also with the potential to reach many nations.

Let's keep praying for the Taylor family and for Holland, that many more churches will be planted there.

Dave

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The Centrality of Worship

Tue, 11 May 2010 11:03:53 GMT

Prayer and Fasting in January Evening Session

By now many of you will know that I am really being stirred about the vital role that worship plays in almost everything. I have spoken in several settings to leaders recently about making personal worship a priority once again in our lives and ministries. Judging by the response that I have been getting I seem to have "touched a nerve". I think there is definitely a correlation between being a worshipper and an effective leader. If worship changes your perspective of God and therefore of everything else, if it ushers in more of the presence of God, fills you with joy and peace, lifts your burdens, brings solutions to problems, raises your faith level; why would any leader think that he could continue to lead without it? Sadly, many do, citing being too busy with other things as the reason! It's time for a radical rethink... watch this space for more on this subject.

At prayer and fasting I made the comment that worship should be something that becomes more central corporately as well. I also said in passing that whilst we go through times of transition (and we do not know what is going to happen next) we should just stop everything and just worship. I said this may seem a bit of a "non-strategic thing to do" but still looks a good thing to do. Later another leader came to me and pointed out Acts 13:2 which says "while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said ‘set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’"

So it seems I was right after all. The context for one of the greatest transitions in the New Testament was a context where people were just worshipping. Keep it central!!

Dave Holden: The Centrality of Worship

Dave

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Baptisms at New Community AGAIN!

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:22:29 GMT

God has answered prayer constantly as we have prayed that we would have baptisms every month. We have had the joy of baptising people every month since last September and in April we had baptisms on two separate Sundays.

I really want to challenge people out there to be more intentional about having regular baptisms because when you do, God seems to honour it. That has definitely been our experience!

Last Sunday we baptised Doris: she is 90 years old. Can anyone beat that?

You can watch Doris getting baptised here. Or you can watch Fiona and Rach getting baptised here.

Last week I heard the remarkable story about a lady called Sue from Town Church, Sevenoaks. She was baptised last Sunday and being a recent convert she wanted to bring all her friends. Having spent the good part of a day on the phone to people the great day finally came and, listen to this...she brought 149 people to the meeting!

This has to be a record as well as an evangelist's idea of heaven. People in the UK are spiritually hungry, maybe Revival is nearer than you think!

Roll on the next baptism. Watch last months NCC Baptism's here.

Dave

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Gateway Church Dubai

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:40:19 GMT

What a privilege to have a five-day trip to Dubai and spend time with Gateway International Church. For over four years, Clive and Heather Cernick faithfully gave themselves to this growing multinational congregation, gathering a very diverse group of people into an expression of one new man in Christ.

Having felt that their time in Dubai had come to an end, I must admit to having been somewhat nervous at the prospect of them leaving at a time when the church was flourishing. God, however, had the whole thing in his hands (as usual!!) - Steve and Heather Oliver (your wife must be called Heather if you want to lead in Dubai!), from the Free State in South Africa, heard God's call so clearly to move to Dubai and lead Gateway on into the next phase of Church life.

Liz and I visited them to see how they were settling in and to see how the church was adjusting to a new style of leadership. We found them to be in great shape even though the move for them as a couple must have been far from easy. Having seen them at work in Africa, I can honestly say Dubai could not have provided a greater contrast to their previous existence, but their joy in being in such a new place was so obvious from day one. The church have welcomed them with open arms, embracing Steve's apostolic call to the nations and supporting them in every way that they can.

I have never been in such a multinational church. It seems as if all the nations of the world are there. I preached on being a church with a heart for the nations and it was like seeing the message already in action. If anyone has the chance to move to Dubai, this church is one good reason to go!!

From Gateway we will look to plant churches all over the world as well as build a large and significant church in Dubai that will model apostolic mission. There are many challenges ahead but God's purposes will surely prevail. Due to fly back on the Saturday, a certain volcano decided to erupt and we ended up staying in Dubai for an extra six days. It was a weird experience. Friends kept sending us messages saying how lucky we were to be "holed" up in a place like Dubai. In some ways this was true and yet when you don't know when you will be able to return home, or how, it means that you are not able to chill out and you do feel very vulnerable. However, we were amongst friends and were able to hang out with the Oliver's a lot more (I think they had had enough of us when we finally did leave!). We also spent more time with a number of leaders in the church, I spoke at a life group meeting and Liz took a women's morning so we had plenty to do.

I look forward to a growing relationship with Steve and Heather: we both sense that God is calling us together in a joint venture to impact nations and also to visit Gateway to encourage them in all they are doing.

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When In Rome

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Liz and I have just spent four wonderful days in Rome staying with our friends Mike and Katrin Taylor. Rome is a great city, full of unbelievable history at every turn and full of thousands of fun people.

It was about 70 degrees, but most Romans were still wearing their coats and scarves to keep warm. It is so great to sit outside a café and watch these expressive people as they converse with one another...what are they all talking about? Many drivers seem to be on their mobiles as they drive (against the law!), but their real problem seems to be that they cannot talk on their mobile and not use their other free hand to "express" something, hence no hands on the wheel. Makes for interesting driving.

We had the privilege of meeting up with the leaders of "Footsteps," an interdenominational group of ex-pats that Mike and Katrin attend. We are gently pursuing the possibility of fellowshipping with the group. Our main passion at the end of the day however, is to plant a Newfrontiers church in Rome and we are praying about the best way to do this. I do not think that I have been in a European city (the size of Rome) and witnessed such little evangelical presence. The place is screaming out for a "word / spirit” church and there seems to be so little expression of this that we can find. Meanwhile, many Catholics are full of questions about the church and a whole new younger generation are rejecting it and have never heard the gospel. They need to see a new expression of church life that vibrates with the power of the risen Jesus.

I spent part of my time there preparing for a preach this Sunday at NCC. Interestingly enough we are preaching through "Romans".

It was weird preparing a sermon in Rome written originally for Rome and I could not help but wonder how far the present day expression of church has become removed from the people that Paul originally addressed.

Perhaps we could see this change? Anyone for church planting in Rome?

Dave

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