Financial Capital
If you missed Georgie speaking on financial capital a few weeks ago, this is now available to listen to here.
Ben Askew
About Ben Askew
Posts by Ben Askew:
Resurrection Bikes and The Big Bike Revival
One of our Mission Shaped Communities, Resurrection Bikes are involved in putting on the Big Bike Revival event which is 2 weeks away (23rd-31st May) and they would love some volunteers to help with the event.
They are looking for mechanics, welcomers, refreshments servers, cake bakers, running the turbo trainer competition, leading craft activities, selling bikes, assisting a team at a pop-up location on the Bilton-Ripley cycleway with the new gazebo or making up some bike related quizzes!
If you can help for a morning or afternoon session during that week then please emailinfo@resurrectionbikes.org.uk.
Perhaps your MSC or a smaller group of people might like to help together?
Even if you can’t be there please pray that this all goes smoothly.
Continuing What He Started – Kairos MSC News
Yesterday was Ascension Day when the Church remembers that Jesus is not on earth any more.
He is in Heaven as our great King and Priest. He leaves us to carry on his mission with the help of his Spirit.
And what is the work that his Spirit is helping us do? Last Sunday some of us wrote down stories of what God is doing – here are a few:
“God has been faithful in providing future housing for us when it seemed impossible.”
“Thank you Lord for being able to spend time with the most awesome group of young people, telling bad jokes, meeting the children of friends and dancing at the Big Night Out.”
“There is excitement among Blaze about church and being together!”
“Renovate is excited to be committed to Alpha. It’s great to be involved doing something together.”
“We’ve had an exciting start to Alpha. I’m enjoying beginning to help others discover Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.”
“I’m thankful for our MSC and Kairos. For being my family when my family is so far away. I’m hopeful for our Ohana summer party and that it will bring more people in.”
“Despite things not going how I planned I have become a school governer!”
“House sale completed – thank you God that it all went smoothly. Our neighbours approached us to say what lovely people we have been and how sad they are to see us go. You don’t realise the impact you have on your neighbourhood!”
“Meeting with a community of people in the coffee shop in M&S. It’s great to meet with them a second time.”
“God has reminded me of how much he lavishes His love upon me and wishes to bless me, not because I’ve earned it. On holiday I nearly missed a ferry, there were no tickets for 4 of us. God provided all 4 tickets for the exact ferry we were hoping to get at the right moment.”
“Our MSC was mentioned in a community letter being sent to each house on the estate.”
With the help of God’s Spirit you are continuing Jesus’ work.
Be encouraged and keep going!
Have a great week.
Ben.
A Tent People – Kairos MSC News.
It was fantastic to see so many gathered together for the Leaders and Network Learning Community last weekend. We have come a long way already and what was apparent is that we are learning together how to be released as communities of followers in the mission of Jesus.
I like the phrase we have sometimes used to describe Kairos: A TENT PEOPLE WITH A TENT MENTALITY. We believe in movement in response to God’s call. To accomplish this we must have a mentality, a state of mind, that embraces movement as our way of life.
Firstly this means TRUSTDallas Willard said “Jesus isn’t just nice, he’s brilliant!” We can trust in the brilliant Jesus who said “but seek first the kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) – making plans on the basis of the kingdom in right relationship with God is the posture of trust for a tent person with a tent mentality.
Secondly, our tent mentality is to do with DEVELOPMENT.
Clearly Jesus expected his disciples to grow. For us this means admitting that we are called to be disciples, learning to develop as disciples through hearing and obeying God and choosing to deliberately make disciples by “….teachi[ng] them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 25:20).
Thirdly, a tent people with a tent mentality are into INVESTMENT.
We believe we have something invested in us by God to invest for the sake of the kingdom. As we invest our spiritual, relational, physical, intellectual and financial capital – all we have – in the kingdom there is a return.
To be a tent people – moving wherever and whenever God calls us we need to be people who TRUST, DEVELOP and INVEST. That is our mentality, and that is our challenge. Let’s keep moving!
Mark
What do you have to Invest?
Investment
Your going to hear a lot about that over the next few weeks. We’re focussing on it at our gatherings, and at learning community over the weekend. We are going to be looking at how we can make the most of the 5 capitals available to us: financial, intellectual, physical, relational and spiritual capital into God’s growing kingdom.
As I’ve chewed this over this week, I’ve found myself remembering one important fact:
God invests in us.
What has God invested? We’ve been reading Ephesians in daily prayers this week. I’ve been struck by how many times one word is repeated: riches. Throughout Ephesians 1 – 3 we’re told about riches (1:18), incomparable riches (2:7), unsearchable riches (3:8) and glorious riches (3:14)! Paul really wants his readers to know that there are riches for them.
One of our problems with investment is that so many of us come from a position of scarcity. We’re used to the idea that we have limited resources, we grudgingly invest in order to keep hold of the little bit that we have. If we’re not careful we become too much like the 3rd servant in Jesus parable of the talents.
But, when it comes to spiritual capital there is no scarcity! It’s really key to grasp this; we’re not desperately trying to get you to give up the little but that you have, we’re calling you to enjoy God’s abundance and give of it liberally.
On Sunday in the worship I found myself thinking about the sea of “heavens armies”. An angelic army (talked about in Revelation) that has the purpose of defeating evil, sickness and death. The leader of the army is Jesus. We’re not struggling alone, we’re not investing meagre rations. We are friends of a generous God and an almighty ruler. That is why we can invest.
As we get ready for learning community I want to enrage you to consider what God has given you, what he might want to invest more in you, and what he might be calling you to invest into the lives of others.
See you Friday! Ben
Are you a digger, or a doubler?
If you missed Mark speaking last Sunday on the Parable of the Talents, and the need for us to invest what we have been given from God. You can listen to it here.
Investing into the Kingdom
Did you watch Noah on BBC1 the other week?
Its always good to see some Biblical drama acted out on our screens. The thing that struck me was the way in which they presented him as not even supported by his closest family until quite late on in the process of building. This was highlighted even more than the ridicule others gave him.
During Holy Week at one point I found myself reflecting on the way in which Jesus was ridiculed, willfully misrepresented and wrongly accused. He did little to respond, he was not able to much of the time, but what comes over is that he just got on with what the Father was calling him to do. Just as Noah did. Just as many of the Biblical characters did as they followed God’s call.
What we do will sometimes attract ridicule and misrepresentation. There will be moments of self-doubt, times that we are tempted to pull back from the brink. We will find we need to focus in on the main thing that we are called to do and…… just do it.
Having just led a small Kairos team on the Community of Practice we are part of (something like the Leaders & Teams Learning Community we hold twice a year) what emerged as we listened to God together was a challenge to make sure we focus on the main thing we are called to as a church: Releasing Communities of Followers in the Mission of Jesus. It’s not that we haven’t been doing this – but there was a definite feel of intensification – of the Holy Spirit emphasising our vision to be releasers of disciples in communities/extended families.
This term we are going to be focusing, in teaching, huddle, Learning Community and training, on investing the capital each of us has in the things of the Kingdom. I am beginning, with the help of the Vision Team and Base Team, to explore what it will look like to further invest in the release of effective communities – I believe we have only just started and hope you will continue, even if you feel a little like Noah must have done, to press on pursuing the vision God has given us.
Mark
Alpha
Alpha is a no-pressure, easy way to explore the christian faith.
Over 10 sessions we will explore some of the big questions of life. Each evening will include a meal, a talk and discussion.
Dinner will be served at 7:30pm, admission is free. We’d love you to join us!
RSVP: ben@kairoschurch.net or leave a comment below.
Watch the trailer below to find out a little more.
Prayer
We’re coming to the end of Lent and we’ve just finished our short burst of 24 hour prayer.
What has God been showing us in this time?
Well I’ve had a whole lot of fun in the prayer room this week, I hope you have too. Thank you very much to everyone who has been involved. Do let us know any senses of God speaking, answered prayers, or stories from our time. Late night and mid-day hours praying have meant that my brain is full of things I think the Lord has said, for now though I just want to reflect on prayer itself.
Earlier in the season Pippa described her prayer rhythm as breathing, I think it’s a good picture. Praying is that organic and it’s that essential, we need it to live.
If prayer really is like breathing then it really is important. Another image I’ve heard a few times is that our prayers are like the cover that an air force provides an invading army. It is about our living and about our ability to move forward.
One of the things I’ve realised again and again is that it’s really hard persuading people to pray! It’s hard because there are often any number of other things happening that might seem a better use of our time. If I’m really honest, it’s hard persuading myself to pray. I suppose we should take comfort that the night before Jesus died he was still persuading his disciples that they needed to stay awake and pray.
I think we do need to keep going with this, I think God is teaching us a way of praying together, but I also know that we don’t want one place that we always come back to to pray. We want powerful, sustaining, victory-winning rhythms of prayer in each of our MSCs. Would it be possible, for example, for your MSC to host a mini prayer room for a night or two?
As you reflect on what God has been showing you this week do also think about these questions:
How is your community already investing into prayer?
How might you lead your MSC to increase the power and frequency of its prayers.
Have a Fantastic Easter, we’re looking forward to seeing you at Simply Easter and the Sunday Celebration.
Ben.