Falling With Style

There has been a lot of exciting stuff coming out of Canada over the last week with the Winter Olympics getting underway. However, you'll be hard pressed to find something more stirring than these paragraphs from A W Tozer, surely Canada's finest writer of the last generation. Tozer was churning out gold medal books when John Arnott & the Toronto Airport Vineyard church were still in short trousers! This week I picked up Tozer's classic 'Whatever Happened to Worship?' to supplement our own 21st Century Worshippers series. He still sounds such a fresh note in our generation & saves us from the self obsessesd deceit that we were the first to discover these timeless truths. 'It is true that a great number of us think that worship is something that we do when we go to church. We call it God's house. We have dedicated it to Him, so we continue with the confused idea that it must be the only place where we can worship Him. We come to the Lord's house m...

So here it is, after much deliberation, I'm about to open the golden envelope of destiny & change some author's life forever.....Well no, actually, I'm going to try & distill my reading list for last year into some firm recommendations. As I said recently, my recommendations are entirely subjective. A book gets on the list if it has moved me, stirred me, changed my life pattern in some way. When you remember that I cried my way through High School Musical then you will realise the herculean task I have before me to filter books out on these criteria! Here goes.... Top 5 Fiction 1/ Rebels & Traitors What a magnificent achievement. Lindsay Davis writes 700+ pages on the English Civil War. What's more, she weaves in a grand narrative, a story which spans the years either side of this horrific conflict. The changes in a nation, the shock of regicide, the sheer brutality of life in the 17th century are brightened by a 'will they won't they' romance wh...

I've been asked to make some recommendations from my reading last year - rather subjective really, it's all a matter of taste after all . Anyhow, here is my list from 2009 in the order in which I read them. A great range of stirring, provocative writing through to some absolute tat. Unfortunately, I had to read them all, counting it something of a betrayal to give up on a book once started. For that of course (& most of my other hang up's) I blame my mother. 1/ The Early Christians - Eberhard 2/ The Eagle & Prey - Scarrow (Roman historo/novel) 3/ The Eagle & Wolf - Scarrow 4/ Fasting - Jentezen 5/ Fire & sword - Scarrow (Napoleon/Wellington series) 6/ Generals - Scarrow 7/ Making Life Work - Hybels 8/ The Appeal - Grisham 9/ The Ultimate Treasure Hunt - Dedmon 10/ The Prodigal God - Keller 11/ Eagle Hunt - Scarrow 12/ Building a Contageous Church - Mittleberg/Strobel 13/ The Last Kingdom - Cornwell(Viking historo/novel series) 14/ The Reason for God - Kelle...

It's the time of year for lists - here goes with my top 5 movies of the year, all seen either at the cinema or on DVD. 1/ Avatar Like a cross between Return of the Jedi, Ferngully & Last of the Mohicans, with the make up done by the people who brought you 'My Little Pony' - that sounds awful, but like gravy on your chips, don't knock it til you've tried it! This was quite simply the most spectacular film of the year & seemed to work on so many levels. As a straight forward action movie with a bit of obvious romance thrown in, or with all the post modern undercurrents of eco worship, pick & mix world faiths. The message that collonialism is as much in our future as it is in our past is strong, & the frightening American foreign policy of invasion for natural resources is ruthlessly played. Avatar wins on every count. The action scenes are great, the cinematography breathtaking, even in old fashioned 2D at our local cinema. This is the movie of the yea...

In concluding his account of the Ulster Revival, Ian Paisley gives 10 areas in which he believes the Province was left with lasting fruit. They remain noteworthy 150 years on, I shall list them below with some comment. 1/ Deep conviction This was a revival of salvation through the preaching of the gospel. Conservative estimates are that over 100,000 were converted during the first year of the revival alone. In Ulster, it was common for the conversion process to involve a measure of agony over past sins, a growing horror at the judgement to come, & ultimately real joy as freedom is found. This was all usually accompanied by loud shouts & groanings. However, records show that inspite of this outward show, very few returned to their old ways, even years after the revival fires had abated. 2/ Severe spiritual conflict A very real awareness of the battle involved in bringing the lost through to salvation. A very real awareness of the identity of the enemy, & a very real desire ...

Fire is often used to describe the growth of a revival. This is nowhere more true than the rapid spread of the flame in 1859. From sparks in the lives of 4 men to the whole of Ulster & beyond in less than a year! One story from early on in the revival shows this better than anything else. Samuel Campbell from Connor attended a meeting led by the instigators, McQuilken & Meneely. It is reported that he was so overwhelmed by an awareness of his sin during the meeting that he fell onto his knees & cried out for mercy. The following morning he was led to Christ whilst reading his bible. This is wonderful, but what happened next is characteristic of story after story in Ulster. It is the catalyst factor which turned a time of blessing into a full blown revival. Having found his own peace with God, Campbell became increasingly distressed about his relatives in the nearby town of Ahogill. Just 3 weeks later, after praying with others, Campbell visited his family home to plead with...

First it was the Marathon bar, then Opal Fruits. This creeping globalisation & re-branding of our favourite childhood sweets simply because Opal Fruits means 'Panda farts' in Mandarin. Who are these mystery executives in their corporate towers that make these life changing decisions? If we're honest with ourselves even back then, we knew really that our silence would only allow greater evils to emerge. It's true. We were sidelined, shaking our heads as Wagon Wheels got smaller & smaller. This was once a mighty product which began life in the wild west as an actual sized meringue & choclate covered wagon wheel. The mystery men are at it again, & now they have my all time favourite in their sights. Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the Sherbert Fountain! It's the kind of product that would never be allowed today, would never get through the focus groups & the fanatical PC commitees that now hold sweet makers hostage in the top floor of their s...