Elim MPower

Today’s social and mainstream media channels frequently describe a cultural backdrop of a “Toxic Masculinity” - it’s a phrase that can make some of us guys flinch and self-reflect and perhaps consider how we as Christian men, husbands, fathers, brothers in Christ can respond without being defensive about being men made in God’s image and demonstrate a more tender masculinity?

Toxic masculinity could include emotionally distant men, denying or repressing their emotions, to avoid looking "weak"; and to “toughen up” when faced with adversity. It can also manifest as hyper-aggressive behaviour, the objectification of women, and a belief fuelled by social media that violence is an acceptable way to solve problems. Toxic masculinity works against developing healthy relationships, and it is important that we strive to overcome these damaging behaviours and model a better way for the rising generations..

This episode discusses toxic masculinity in the light of the healthiest example of a man who ever lived - the Lord Jesus! Have a listen and do get in touch with your own perspectives on this challenging subject. We'd love to hear from you!

On this episode we had a great opportunity to catch up with Richard Gamble, the pioneer of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, which is to be built between the M42, M6, HS2 and Birmingham airport and which will become visible to approximately half a million people a week once complete.

The architecture is configured into a Moebius strip comprising of a million bricks, each one linked to a testimony of answered prayer – in written, audio or video form.

Richard’s heart is for the stories of answered prayer to be told in much more accessible ways and to make them far more widely available to anyone, through visiting the structure.

A Moebius strip is an infinite loop which speaks of the eternal nature of God; and furthermore, because the strip effectively only has one surface, no-one can be left on the outside.

People are able to share their testimony at www.eternalwall.org.uk and these can be linked with the bricks via an app that can be downloaded at the visitor centre.

It will be possible to explore answered prayer in thematic ways, such as navigating difficult seasons of life, illness, issues with fertility, struggles with provision, enduring suffering or waiting for long times for prayers to be answered.  The prayers featured will cover all areas of life and the app can also interactively bring up prayers from all parts of the globe and from different times in the past.

The app links the position of your phone against the Eternal Wall and then presents the prayer back to the phone upon request.

The Eternal Wall Of Answered Prayer pushes the boundaries of architecture and technology and aims to collate a million testimonies about prayer.

The project is also the first ever crowd-funded landmark in the world.

Richard originally heard from God 17 years ago and has seen so many answered prayers in the journey from the original conception up to today.  He reports some astonishing testimonies from different people who heard independently from God about the Eternal Wall and offered their support, particularly regarding provision of land for the project – land now worth £1.7m.

Richard comments on the obvious parallels between the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer and the book of Nehemiah: how different groups draw together to build something with God's help, and how we navigate those who resist.

We touch on the miraculous continuity woven into the concept of the wall, where testimonies from it have contributed to a rise in faith which then in turn have led to further answered prayers – the presence of one brick literally leading to the emergence of another!  Richard also envisages going beyond a million testimonies, as bricks have 6 sides!

Before closing in prayer for everyone listening, Richard also wisely advises those waiting continually for a prayer to be answered to keep our gaze on the person we pray to i.e. Jesus, and not the next time of prayer or meeting or event.

We are chatting with James Glass, who is the Elim Regional Superintendent for the North West of England and for Scotland. James is married to Beryl who is also an ordained Elim minister and they have three children aged 24, 21 and 16.

In this episode of the podcast we discuss the idea of truth: how culture interprets, handles and presents truth, and how far that might differ from what the bible says about truth.

James suggests that in our western culture there is a prevailing trend for relativism, which is the postmodern idea that we each have our own truth, and that there is no such thing as objective truth.

In this way of thinking, things like ‘fake news’ come to the fore, as seen particularly under President Trump’s administration; or we have telling ‘your truth’ and ‘my truth’, as seen in the Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan.

On the one hand it seems that we do really want ‘the truth’ and to be sure that things aren’t just made up; and yet at the same time we don’t like purely objective truth – and this is a tension that our present-day culture struggles to resolve.

We talk about the debate over the numbers in attendance at President Trump’s inauguration, and ask whether politicians are especially prone to difficulty with truth. James makes the point that no one seemed able to come out with genuinely balanced commentary during Trump’s presidency – things were either strongly for or strongly against him, but no sensible middle ground.  Perhaps this made worse by a whole swathe of people feeling that they weren’t well represented.

James shares some thinking from the philosopher John Gray, former professor of European thought at London School of Economics and visiting professor at Harvard and Yale. Gray’s perspective is the much of western politics seems built on Christian ideals, yet with the kingdom and person of God stripped out. When politicians throughout history (including figures like Pontius Pilate) start trying to make the truth subservient to an ideology, the situation can become really dangerous and not just truth becomes casualty – people themselves get damaged. Jesus’ trial was based on a religious ideology taking supremacy over the truth.

After noting Justin Welby’s response to Harry and Meghan about the true point at which they were really married, we ask whether the church has the responsibility to tell the truth always. James wisely advises that we can be more effective as Christians in the arena of truth-telling when the church picks its battles – a bit like wise parenting!

James reminds us that truthfulness is enshrined in the ten commandments: ‘we shall not bear false witness’. It affects our personal relationships, and not being truthful erodes political credibility. He draws some great analogies: in taking a aeroplane flight we really need to know that the pilot flying the plane is just not ‘making things up’; or in crossing a bridge that the structural engineer is not just ‘inventing’ equations!

For the apostle Paul, the truth of the resurrection is the ‘yes or no’ hinge point for Christian belief: it either happened or it didn’t.

And in answer to the question about where men should take a stand on the issue of the truth, James again wisely reminds us of the need to keep in step with the Holy Spirit about the times when we need to be courageous, versus the times when we need to be wise! Sometimes we are battling with unregenerate minds, and we have to decide just how fruitful we are going to be in making a point of pursuing truth.

On the other hand, we should always stand up for others if they are being misrepresented, and make sure that false witness does not prevail.

James offers some great advice for blokes who perhaps struggle with always telling the truth.

We conclude that truth-telling usually needs accompanying with kindness!

Thanks for an excellent and thought-provoking chat, James!

We are chatting in this episode with James Aladiran who leads Prayer Storm, a charity that aims to “gather people together around divine encounters and equip them to be increasingly fervent and strategic in prayer.”

James opens by telling us about his family and explaining the background to his journey towards Prayer Storm. He confesses that to begin with he never had an ambition for Christian ministry as such, and on top of that hated public speaking! He likens how he felt about his speaking ability to one of those really bad X-Factor candidates who can’t sing!

He then shares about a turning point in around the year 2000 in a meeting where the Holy Spirit really took hold of him in an unusual way, however, delivering him from holding back and birthing a fire in him to speak about God, describing it as a personality transplant!

He also shares openly and honestly about how marriage is like a crucible or an amplifier, where lots of things in our lives suddenly get a much bigger focus for change from God. Becoming a dad also then takes this process to the next level, requiring us to dig deep and hard into our maturing process, making us want to be the kind of person that our kids aspire to become.

James speaks candidly about four main issues that he sees are facing blokes in 2021: purity, identity, security and spirituality. If there is one thing that really stands out for him as ‘charged’ in our society right now, that is a huge challenge for men, it is the area of sexual purity – in thought and action. He feels that the church needs to be spiritual hospital where people feel they can go and get wholeness and healing, rather than being shamed about it, although sadly this is not always the case. (Note from MPower: visit https://mailchi.mp/m/destroying-the-stronghold-of-sexual-impurity for a sexual impurity stronghold buster you can pray through daily for 40 days)

James identifies strongly with both Moses and Elijah from the bible. He wants the same connection with God that Moses had – that he can walk with God as a friend. He also prizes how Moses interceded for the undeserving nation of Israel. He is also really stirred by the prophecy of Joel that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all people.

We press into the issue of unanswered prayer. James believes there is a mystery connected with prayer that has not yet been answered: just as Elijah kept on praying for rain, we need to keep being persistent in prayer, and stand on what God has told us. Sometimes though we also need to check our motivation about the unanswered prayer: is it coming from a place of taking offence at God, or is it coming ultimately from a place of trust in God’s character? If we are trusting in the middle of the mystery, then we are being positioned for greater revelation.

James also reminds us that we must not let our unanswered prayers become the definition of our prayer life. Whether our prayer needs are met or not, we still have a relationship with Him. If God were not going to answer any further prayers, He has already done enough!

James shares a great testimony from a time when a missing cartilage in someone’s knee got formed from nothing during some worship; and some of the recent Prayer Storm livestreams have also seen great turnarounds in people’s situations in response to worship and prayer. He also reports that there have also been some stunning answers to personal financial needs – sometimes to the exact amounts of finance requested!

He encourages us all as men to keep on contending strongly for the breakthroughs we seek.

James admits to a liking for Jaguar cars, and shares about a wonderful holiday in Spain at a villa with an infinity pool.

He closes in prayer for all the guys listening.

A great conversation, James, thanks so much from all of us in Elim and in the men’s MPower ministry!

PODCAST OUTLINE

In this episode we are chatting with Piet Van Waarde, a pastor at Shoreline Church in Texas, America - a longstanding friend of 'Discipleship For Busy Blokes' podcast host, Nick Whittome.

We are discussing a parable both of us have gained so much from over the years – the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Piet shares how the younger son in the parable reflects his own experience as someone raised in a Christian home who decided to go off to live a life of wild living, self-indulgence and drug-taking.

He shares a ‘coming to his senses’ moment after a huge party that totally trashed his apartment. A friend was delighted at the mayhem afterwards, declaring to Piet: ‘We’re always going to live like this’ – but a realisation rose up in Piet that this was really not the life he wanted.

Piet contends that wild living, partying and drinking is really not all cracked up to be – and he agrees that some blokes do have to reach the end of themselves before turning to God.

There seem to two main reasons that turn people to a different way of life: the pain of the present existence makes an alternative necessary; or the hunger for a better experience is what turns into a search.  Some guys are a little thick-headed and have to go through the pain!

We explore why the younger son seems to cast himself in the role of a servant. Piet identifies the source of this lowered status as rooted in shame at the former lifestyle and wastefulness.   The rehearsed speech of the younger son is a sign of genuine repentance, and is exactly the point where God loves to extend his grace.

A background for the story is that the Pharisees were critiquing Jesus’ outreach to the lost, and the parable was Jesus’ response to them - and the older brother is emblematic of a lot of the Christian church today, where we tell ourselves that we would not ever be rebellious like the younger son, and yet we can also so easily slip into a dangerous disdain for those who have not figured out how to live life with God in a healthy way.

It’s about the three Rs – rebellion (younger son), religion (older son) and relationship (right connection with the Father).

Another teaching hinted at in the parable is the need for us to live with margin. Wild living makes a presumption on our own future, that there will never be a crisis coming – and yet the younger son does get caught out.  Part of his restoration is to realise that margin is a blessing of relationship with the Father.

Our contemporary culture sells us the lie that independence from the Father is the way to go, but it is essentially empty. The enemy does a great job of twisting things that are meant to be deeply life-affirming, like sexual relations and genuine celebration.

The welcome, the embrace, the cloak, the ring and the celebration are all expressions of the extravagant grace of God as Father towards us – and a picture of how we ourselves should welcome sinners, in turn.

There are big parallels between the older brother and Jonah’s sulk out in the desert!  Piet counsels that to avoid being like the older brother we need to make sure we have people around us who can speak to our attitudes about others – do we see every single person as a beautiful expression of God’s creative work, in which every person is valuable to God?

Piet closes the episode in prayer.  A great chat Piet- thanks!

In Episode 18, we are chatting with Boyd Ratnaraja, pastor at Elim Christian Centre in Aukland and head of Elim in New Zealand, which comprises a network of 38 churches around that nation.

We kick off with an unfortunate international time zone mess-up, which means Boyd is chatting over WhatsApp wifi audio at 7am in the morning his time, rather than 9am.  (Thanks for being so gracious Boyd!)

Boyd who is originally from Sri Lanka introduces us to his wife and two young boys, and also shares a great story from his childhood about ‘playing church’ and practising pastoring, including baptising his twin brother Lloyd lots of times in their parents’ fish tank!

We talk about how God makes us feel so at home in different churches around the world, and the family atmosphere among Elim churches.  Boyd says that his network of churches all have a sign saying ‘Welcome Home’ to affirm that sense of belonging for everyone participating.

Boyd describes a 21-day prayer initiative in Elim New Zealand, where they come together in prayer twice a year as a movement to seek God on lots of issues.  He affirms that prayer is the foundation for everything they are about, bringing clarity, focus and prayer.  Prayer should be a first response and not a last resort.

He always encourages men to kick-start their prayer life by starting where they are right now, even if it is just for 5 minutes a day. It’s the quality of our faith that makes the big difference, not the number of words we are speaking.  Boyd prays throughout the day, and he prays with others, and he encourages us to use technology to connect with others to pray too.

As a self-confessed extrovert, Boyd says he likes to move around while praying – while out walking, or going down to the beach.  We should be enjoying prayer, not, enduring it!

God has been speaking to Boyd recently about the faith of Abraham and Sarah, and how they were called to step out by faith, and to trust in God.  If we take the first step, we can trust Him for the journey, and He will do the extraordinary provided we do the ordinary to initiate the process, in response to God’s call.

We unpack how blokes can easily become averse to risks in God, whereas we need to be modelling what steps of faith look like to the next generation.  Caleb and Joshua looked the land with different eyes than their colleagues – with eyes of faith.

We talk about what the flip side to faith can produce, and discuss how Zechariah’s experience with doubt caused two of his senses to be temporarily removed.  An applicable solution to feeling stuck in faith is to speak out God’s promises and truths.

Our ‘spin the wheel’ game reveals that Boyd experienced a time when God spoke incredibly strongly to him when he was in early twenties at a Hillsong Conference in 2003 about his future ministry; and also reveals an addiction to his son’s computer game ‘Cooking Fever’!

Boyd closed the podcast in prayer for all the guys listening.  Thanks so much Boyd!

‘Discipleship For Busy Blokes podcast’ got a great opportunity recently to catch up briefly in conversation with Billy Vunipola, rugby player for Saracens and England.

Originally from Tonga, Billy and his family are now resident in England.  He plays at Number 8 at the back of the scrum, and although he shares about notable games, tries scored and man of the match awards, he’s keen to stress how much it’s all about the team as a whole working together to gain victory.

He also shares about the special bond he has with his brother Mako, who is also in the same two teams, and how they sometimes chat in Tongan.

Billy describes the training and discipline needed to get match fit, and the importance of a balanced diet.

His parents always message Billy and Mako before their games to wish them all the best, and to encourage them to read Psalm 91.

Billy said that although he went to church with his parents all his life, he reports turning to Jesus after a feeling of emptiness and disappointment with trying some of the other things life had to offer.

He sees his ability with rugby as something God-given and a platform to reveal the glory of God, and he reports that his team-mates know about his faith.

Billy says his faith has been ‘a shoulder to cry on’ in tough times, but also an encouragement too, because the characters on the bible haven’t all been perfect nor have they had trouble-free lives.  If we fail, we just need to pick ourselves up and move forward.

Rugby is similar to the church, in being made up of individuals from all different walks of life. We are to accept people as they are, we are not here to judge, and we are to come together to keep pressing towards being the best that we can be and to know Jesus better.  And while there is there is space for individuals in a rugby team, there are also times when the individual has to give way to the team.

He is realistic about the occasional conflict between professional sport and faith.  It’s about not stepping too far over the boundaries, but asking God forgiveness if you need, even though that is not permission to do the wrong thing.

With regard to navigating pain or disappointments, Billy reminds us that Job in the bible had things go wrong for him, even though he was blameless.  Stuff can always go wrong, but God will always love us and forgive us.

Billy’s advice to a young person with a sporting talent is to keep on learning, and to keep listening to your coaches.  And if there are failures or disappointments along the way, sometimes it’s because God has a big and better plan for you.

He closes in prayer for all the guys listening.

Thank you so much Billy, it was an honour that you would make the time for us.  God bless!

We’re in conversation with Maldwyn Jones, who has been an Elim minister for 54 years. Maldwyn is married to Ruth and they have three children and two grandchildren. He is proudly Welsh, and became a Christian when he was 14. He has been a pastor at several Elim churches including in Plymouth, Belfast and Birmingham.

In this podcast episode, we discuss why men find it hard to face mental health problems. Maldwyn shares about a time when he himself suffered a mental breakdown at the age of 27, which took him several months’ recuperation to overcome.

He points to several factors that helped him get better: his wife Ruth acknowledged the struggle without letting him slip into a morasse of depression; he had a daily routine supported by a mutual friend; he talked with the psychiatrist referred for him by his GP, and he spent a period of time doing physical work on a church building project, which helped him not just to feel useful but which also gave him better sleep at night.

Maldwyn talks about struggling with self-confidence, and with battling his own self-esteem for much of his ministry. He credits the increased confidence of his later years both to Jesus and also to the strong love and support of his wife Ruth.

He also describes the terrible issue of suicide particularly among younger men – and points to the love of God for us as men as the foundational starting point of who we are and for a strong sense of worth. He says that Philippians 3:10 (KJV) has been the biblical touchstone for his life and ministry: “That I may know him (Jesus), and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…”

Maldwyn’s own father died when he himself was only 14 months old, and he was known in the village as ‘the little boy without a dad’ – and he does feels that he missed out because of this, particularly in his teenage years when lads need a man about the house to show them how to be.

The fatherhood of God has been a vital factor in replenishing this loss – and also having older guys around him in his life and ministry who have really helped him in his life, mentoring and encouraging him.

He gives some great advice for guys needing to connect a bit more – which is to give other men permission to be in your life, perhaps looking to those a bit older who can encourage. Alongside this older guys also have a big responsibility to look out for younger men, to meet with them, talk and be fatherly.

Maldwyn closes for gents listening in prayer.

In this episode we are chatting with Will Neville, who is a member of Birmingham City Church. Will is a big West Bromwich Albion fan, enjoys rugby and golf and loves going out on his carbon-fibre road bike. Will plays drums on the worship team at BCC, he is married to Charlotte and they have a young son called Ben.

Will is programme coordinator at the William Booth Centre, which is a ministry of the Salvation Army providing services to homeless people, in the heart of Birmingham in the UK.

Following the divorce of his parents in 2005, Will frankly describes his early years in church as having two sides: one that he presented on a Sunday and another where he partied in the week.

He goes on to talk about a really difficult season in his life as he turned 21 when he tried to start repairing a relational breakdown with his dad. Just as he decided to connect again, his dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away before he had the chance to re-build things. Will admits that he felt very broken over the news, and he started to blame God about what had happened.

He disconnected from the church, started drinking heavily and increased his party lifestyle, all the while trying to put up a front. He resorted to stealing in order to continue his way of life, but then he came into some inheritance money, and carried on partying.

A friend then introduced him to casinos, and Will talks honestly and openly about what it’s like to fall into the grip of a full-blown addiction to gambling – sharing about both the thrill of the possibility in gambling,  but also the heavy financial losses involved. Will contrasts an addiction to drugs, which he sees as always searching for that first high, with an addiction to gambling, which is continually seeking the thrill of the win.

Eventually Will wasn’t able to pay his rent, and he stayed with friends, but relational bridge after bridge kept being burnt as he begged, stole and borrowed to fund his habits, which now also included taking cocaine.

Will identifies strongly with the younger son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and understands from his own experience what it is like to be in need in the far off land.

A possibility of residential accommodation came up with a chance to complete his college placement, but he lost this chance as a result of a laptop theft – and suddenly Will found himself completely homeless, and being redirected to the Salvation Army in the centre of Birmingham.

Will ended up staying with the Salvation Army for just over a year – but quite early on his stay there, he was walking through the town centre, and he stopped to listen to some Christian music that BCC happened to be playing as part of some street outreach.

One of the team, Leon, gave him a hug and he just broke down. He then got invited to church that Sunday. Will decided to come along, Leon was waiting to greet him and then Pastor Mark Ryan had a word mid-sermon that happened to be for Will, about it not mattering how far we get from God, and that it only takes a step to come back to Him.

Will asked Jesus back into his life that day, and his life started to turned around.

Nowadays Will is a key leader in the Salvation Army centre that he originally stayed in as he was being helped back onto his feet, and even line manages the person who helped him when he first arrived!

From a practical point of view, Will gives five great bits of counsel for anyone listening who might want to know how to help organisations doing work like the Salvation Army: keep a compassionate heart for the lost; develop our understanding of the needs involved; give time; donate finance; and pray for homeless outreach ministries – wherever you live.

Before closing for us in prayer, Will also admits to an outrageous passion for coffee; and he also recalls with great fondness West Bromwich’s ‘great escape’ season when they avoided relegation.

In this brief but entertaining episode, we are in coronavirus lockdown conversation with podcast host Pastor Nick Whittome’s own middle son Simon!

Simon talks about what lockdown has meant for him with school closing in his GCSE year, and going forward on predicted grades rather than having to sit a whole lot of exams.

He has started his own small farm in the garden, with Greek cress, spicy Arabic broccoli and radishes, which he reports has turned out to be easier than he was anticipating, surprisingly!

Simon is taking Drama, Music and Maths, and he recounts some of the drama productions he has been in, and shares about some drama performances in the east end of London.

He shares a great impression of his English teacher Mr Laverty, and reveals a talent for a scary deep voice.  Simon also plays us a bit of Scott Joplin on his keyboard.

Simon’s favourite story from the bible is when Herod is eaten by worms; and also the transformation of Saul into Paul on the road to Damascus.

He shares about making his A-level decisions on the basis that he both loves these subjects and he feels capable with these.

He also tells listeners about the general superiority of the colour orange, which he chose for his room.

Simon also shares about a family holiday in Pembrokeshire which was particularly memorable, as a result of severe storm – he subsequently wrote about this storm in an entrance exam for a school transfer.

Simon closes in prayer for everyone listening.  Thank you Simon – it was fun!

In this episode, which we recorded by iphone and Bluetooth speaker because of the coronavirus lockdown, we are in conversation with Gordon Allan, the lead pastor of Edinburgh Elim Church.

Gordon opens briefly about his family, background and liking for rugby – and then we discuss the impact the coronavirus lockdown has had on life in the city and in his church and how it has affected the way in which they are ‘being church’ together.

Social isolation has brought a steep learning curve with many challenges of different kinds, even for a ministry that was already ‘tech savvy’.

This has included connecting with the congregation online and via social media and making sure that those on the periphery or who are vulnerable are being looked after.

Pre-existing intentions at Edinburgh Elim to create an online congregation have been rapidly accelerated, in line with so many churches globally in this season.

Technologies they are using include Facebook, WhatsApp, their own website, Zoom and the Life Church online church platform – and of course the phone.

After initial anxieties, people in the church have responded by seeing the season as a time to sharpen their faith, take charge of their emotions and use some of the lockdown for some sanctuary.

Gordon has found himself drawn to Psalm 20:7 ‘Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord...’ By drawing near to Jesus, who is in charge of everything, it brings great reassurance, and this gives us some great opportunities in this season to connect meaningfully with a world too used to living for the ‘here and now’ and without the wider perspective on life that faith can strengthen us with.

Gordon also reminds us that every time the church scatters, the gospel does really well, and this has given him confidence that ultimately the church will be strengthened as a result of the virus in the long term, even as the virus causes so much difficulty and loss.

Being put on furlough is not necessarily all negative for blokes. With furlough, we have a very unusual opportunity to take some time, spend some time in the Word, connect with a few other gents and stay linked – and perhaps some new purposes will emerge.

Gordon suggests we take the opportunity to complete some jobs round the house that we’ve been putting off for years, and connect properly with the kids. It’s about embracing the situation and making the most of it, whilst managing our emotions well before the Lord.

Sometimes being under lots of constraints but simultaneously having more time available, there are some great opportunities to skill up or brush up again on old long disused skills. Gordon talked about recently re-joining a pipe band with his bagpipes, and bringing some of his musical ability back. He stood and played ‘Scotland The Brave’ on his front drive to salute the great work being done for us by the NHS.

‘Spin The Wheel’ came up with ‘car’ – and Gordon confessed to wanting an Aston Martin, and also having lost his Honda Civic recently as a result of a theft, although this has been replaced since on insurance.

It also came up with ‘decision’ and Gordon shared about a recent big decision to bless another charitable organisation with a large sum of money from church funds. This has kept this organisation operational and flourishing, and helped to keep fulfilling Edinburgh Elim church’s stated mission statement ‘Bringing The Kingdom Of God To The City And Beyond’.

Gordon closed by praying for all the gents listening.

In a special extended episode of ‘Discipleship For Busy Blokes’ we are in conversation with Danny Easton, one of the elders at Birmingham City Church.

After initially starting out in an apprenticeship in tool-making and then moving into Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Danny is now a car-seat designer for a company with automotive clients including Jaguar-Landrover and Nissan.

Danny describes a ‘step out of the boat’ season in his career when he had to deliver results for a new client rather quickly, and where he felt right out of his comfort zone.  He spent a couple of weeks convinced he would get “found out” and stood down – but instead much to his surprise he was congratulated for the work he was producing.

Danny credits God with seeing him through, in response to some urgent prayer – and recommends we all seek help from God in prayer during pressure times; and that we should take our main cue in our workplaces from God, and not from what is going on around or above us.

Danny also shares about a very challenging time in his life when he got seriously injured in a motorbike accident on his way to a men’s weekend with church.  He came off the bike and went a long way into a field, sustaining a broken collarbone, ribs, fibula, damage to his foot and also some bleeding on the brain, as a result of the impact which cracked the bike helmet.

Danny got flown into hospital in Coventry by air ambulance, and recalls coming round and first just seeing the ceiling and the lights, and then his family and pastor at his bedside.  At first he was asking the same questions over and over again as a result of amnesia, but gradually things began to piece together.  He is convinced that as a result of a whole lot of prayer from family, relatives, friends and churches all around the world (America, Philippines, Australia, Africa, Italy), the bleeds on his brain were not as severe as the neurosurgeon and his team at first feared they might be.

The medical team were amazed at the speed of his recovery while he was in hospital, so much so that he was discharged on the Sunday evening, 48 hours after the accident had occurred.  Danny reports that shortly afterwards he also visited the pound where the bike was stored, and the owner of the pound was amazed to see Danny on his crutches, given the extensive damage to the bike, which was a write-off.

After he got home from hospital, Danny was off convalescing for three months and found himself having to confront his own vulnerability, and his confidence took a real knock.  During this time off, however, he started to appreciate how much it really is God in charge in our lives – and the period of time after the accident became for him another form of having to "step out of the boat", in trusting God for restored confidence and full recovery.

Danny also describes a time when he kept on asking God what His plan for his life might be, especially during his daily commute on the M6 upon his return to work after the accident.  After about 3 weeks of asking, he was really surprised to hear God say: “I’m not going to tell you!”  When he asked God why that was the answer, he felt God say: “Because you’ll try and do it in your own strength and you’ll mess it up!”  The next day God then said: “I want you to be in the place where you hear my voice and do what I tell you to do.”  Danny says that he also suddenly realised that he was already walking in the middle of God’s plan for his life already, and that God was not far off as he had supposed.

He closes in prayer for all the guys listening in.

We are in conversation with Dammy Awosika, one of the elders at Birmingham City Church.

Dammy is a network solutions architect designer, and he explains how he built his career in IT starting out from building PCs to working with servers and systems – and how he ultimately got into networking, which he has been doing over the last 20 years.

On this podcast we unpack the ‘Parable of the Good Samaritan’:

• The surprise it holds of who is supposed to be helping but doesn’t
• Who our neighbour really might be; and
• How we should help people in dire need, no matter what their or our beliefs are.

We need to take action when a deep need confronts us – not just hold views.

People sometimes get into difficulties in ways they could have avoided – but equally people can get into need through no fault of their own. Dammy described a time when a ‘good Samaritan’ passing by on a motorbike stopped to help him out on his journey to work one day when his car broke down.

Dammy identifies some helpful boundaries regarding the way in which we should offer people help. There are some things we ourselves should do; but also other things where we should make a ‘wisdom call’ to get others involved, where perhaps we have reached the limit of the help we can provide.

The priest and the Levite seem to apply personal boundaries that are just too strict around their willingness to offer any help at all to someone in need.

In telling the parable, Jesus is setting out his expectation that everyone should offer others help, and not just walk by. Jesus Christ died for each and every person, and therefore everyone should in turn show kindness toward others.

In many ways it’s a simple message behind the parable: help others!

The innkeeper seems happy with the promise of finance offered by the Good Samaritan if the stay is extended – so much so, that it raises the question of whether he knew the Good Samaritan already. If he didn’t, perhaps the innkeeper was inspired by the kindness of the Samaritan to be trusting towards him.

Dammy shares a great story of how just listening properly in the workplace opened up a professional colleague formerly viewed by others as difficult to get along with – so much so, that a great friendship started. Everyone needs to be heard properly from time to time; and we shouldn’t just accept the received wisdom from a group or tribe about another person or tribe – we should try to look behind the reputation for the real person.

Dammy closes by sharing about his recent driving holiday around 9 states in America, and how he experienced warmth and love from God as Father on the trip, and he prays for the men listening.

We are in conversation with Chris Fletcher, lead pastor of Manna Church, Fayetteville Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Manna Church is right next to the largest military base in the world, offering around 15 services a weekend and has an ambitious vision to plant Manna churches in every U.S. military base across the globe.

Chris has a Masters in Christian Leadership, a big vision to equip people and plant churches and focuses 100% of his time on leadership development day-to-day.  

He describes how Manna church has had to become highly competent at both leadership development and outreach, in response to the high throughput of military personnel in response to the continual redeployments from the base.

He offers some great and perhaps surprising advice for men who'd like to increase their leadership influence: that we need to start in the place of our own personal trustworthiness.

Leadership change is firstly ontologocial i.e. focused on the shaping our own being before God - who we are and what God is shaping us to be.  Secondly influential leadership is mimetic i.e. we are called to imitate Jesus.  We are to take our lives and allow the Father to shape us, and we then pour that out on behalf of others.

Ontological is saying that the first person I start with in leadership is me, surrendering everything to God.  Mimetic is saying that everything we do copies Jesus.

Chris explains that trustworthiness results in promotion: if you're a man that is trustworthy, you'll be hired no matter what path you follow in life.

We also unpack why it is that the centurions come across well in the New Testament: the military lifestyle seems to imprint on people that they exist for a higher mission and a purpose, which can lead well into a life of faith following Jesus.  People who join the U.S. army find that it is not about them as the individual - it's about the team, the mission, the country and the greater good.  In other words: "If I don't do my job as a trusted team member, I can place the team, the unit and the higher cause above me at risk."

This also plays out in personal evangelism - if not you, who? If not now, when?

Chris talks about how it can be challenging at Manna Church to bring the Father heart side of Christian faith into a military environment with a bias to a command and control structure where people are under authority.  So they focus on the value of a person to God being the price of the life given up by Jesus - and that they are loved by God.

What also makes the centurion whom Jesus picked out as having such great faith is his care for his servant, who was subordinate to him.  Tis has a powerful outworking in marriage: as men it is our job to lay down our lives for our wives, just as Christ laid down his life for the church.

A side- effect of a disciplined military life can be a see-saw effect, so that people switch into an 'anything goes' mentality when off duty.  Personal devotions, a Life Group and accountability all help men tackle this.  Chris also recommends that men should find a healthy hobby or outlet.

Chris is a huge Manchester United fan, through his NBC Sports Gold subscription over in the States, and also coaches youth football for the Villarreal Academy.  Chris has an all-wheel Subaru Outback which he loves driving, and he confesses to making the MK Dons on his Fifa game European champions in his spare time.

We are in conversation with Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance in the UK.

The Evangelical Alliance seeks to represent evangelical Christians in the UK, to bring Christians together and help them listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society.

Gavin's infectious energy, vision and passion for Jesus and life is inspirational.

We talk about how men can be less passive and take more of an activist role in their faith.  Football fans just start a song, which is not passive at all - whereas church can sometimes be a bit polished, and men feel they have to 'receive'.

As a practical outworking of this, Gavin encourages men to take a more activist stance in pointing our kids to Jesus, for example.  We need to set the pace as men.

Gavin talks about his passion for AFC Wimbledon, how he used to play with Scott Parker and Sean Wright-Philips, but injury put paid to his hopes of playing football at national level.

Gavin ran 1000 miles in 2019, and so we discuss the connection between fitness and faith. Gavin uses a lot of his time running talking to Jesus and listening to Him.

Gavin gives us three great bits of advice on picking up the fitness after the excesses of Christmas: (1) compete with yourself, not your mates; (2) be aware that any routine takes 6 weeks to build; and (3) build fitness and exercise into your daily routine as much as you can.

Gavin identifies with the disciple Peter for being such a normal guy, who blows it big time, but who also kept coming back, and being used by Jesus to be effective in the Kingdom of God.  If Jesus can use Peter, he can use you!

Gavin shares about being convicted recently by God about being more brave - through a conference message, and then later by his daughter.  This conviction led to his decision to step up into his current role at the Evangelical Alliance.

Christianity is an incredible adventure - and Gavin urges us that we must not let the wildness that God has put in us as men to be tamed.  Aslan from the Narnia chronicles is 'not a tame lion' and as men we do not follow a 'tame Jesus'.

Gavin's heroes are Corrie Ten Boom and Robbie Earle, who played for Wimbledon in the 1990s.

This is such a great podcast to kick off the new decade - thanks Gavin!

We are in conversation with Darren Passmore, who is pursuing a part-time degree in Applied Theology at Regent’s Theological College.  We discuss Darren’s decision to study theology as a mature student, what led to his decision and what God has been revealing to him through his study, particularly around trust in God, identity and confidence.

Darren opens up about how he was really challenged while he was growing up as a result of the divorce of his parents; and of finding out about his adoption as a young teenager.  He describes how God has been building healing, strength and wholeness back into him as he has journeyed in his faith.

Darren’s key ‘takeaways’ are to keep on trusting to do things God’s way; to keep on taking risks; to keep on saying ‘yes’ to challenges; to keep on harnessing the power of prayer; and to keep on accessing the strength available in partnering with God as Father.

Also instrumental in his growth has been the affirmation and encouragement from the blokes around him, working as ‘a band of brothers’ – and also being intentional about these things towards other men.

Darren shares a picture he had at a men’s event a picture of men ‘going over the top’ in a World War I trench by themselves, when really men are all meant to ‘go together’.

Darren particularly drew nearer to the ‘father heart’ of God through a Peter Jackson conference in Bath that was instrumental in helping him to receive fatherly affirmation in his heart and in taking ownership in his emotions, to bring deep healing after finding out that foundational things about family weren’t as they seemed.

God is always able to make a message out of a mess!

We talk about the importance of establishing reference points and healthy boundaries as Darren describes coming back to church in 2009 after a 12-year gap, seeking to develop meaningful faith and manhood for himself.

Darren picks out David and Paul as two particular men from the bible with whom he particularly identifies, with the studies at Bible College helping him dig much deeper than just a surface grasp.

He describes his aspirations to help blokes work out how to be Godly men, and how to understand what the bible meant back when it was written as well as what it means now.

He also describes his wish for men’s events to be good quality, relational and missional in focus – to reach out to men in local communities around our churches, and for men not be alone on their journey.

Darren shares his liking for his BMW, and how much he enjoyed the men’s “Band Of Brothers” MPower event at Elim’s International Centre in November 2019 – including a confirmation from the Lord about a name for a men’s ministry Darren is developing at his church while we all trekked up the hill overlooking Malvern.

On this episode we are in conversation with Robson 'Robbie' Alencar from Birmingham City Church. We discuss Robson's journey to faith, and also how he navigated a recent tough time with some extreme pain from gallstones.

He describes his experiences of crippling pain, of having to wait ages for intervention, the frustration of repeatedly postponed surgery and of all the different ways in which the continual pain impacted him as a person: it affected him being a dad, he wasn't able to drive because of the heavy-duty painkillers, it impacted his work and it caused him to lose weight.

He found himself continually talking to God every day about it, asking him to have mercy and singing in the Spirit.

On this podcast you will hear Robson share some great counsel for getting through a hard time:

• That difficulties don't last forever
• That even if you have a little faith before God it will be a great help
• To seek out prayer support
• That God is always looking on our heart attitude, especially during hard times
• To keep praying and petitioning God despite any disappointments and setbacks
• To gain inside help from someone who knows how to work the system if possible!
• Sealing in outcomes in prayer even after the event

Robson defines prayer as normal conversation with God and his view of prayer from his experience is that it is a powerful key or tool to get situations resolved.

Robson closes in prayer for anyone navigating long-term physical pain.

PLUS: we had a message sent in to the podcast and a new jingle!  Listen out for these at the beginning.

In this episode we are in conversation with Liam Husband, the lead pastor at Hope Community Church in Bournemouth.
We talked about:

• Liam’s family and the perils of keeping ducks!
• Recent church missions to Kenya and Estonia
• The local ‘coffee and bacon rolls’ ministry to the homeless of Bournemouth
• Advice for a bloke thinking about going on mission, and how we draw on skills we already have once we are in the mission field
• Progress for the Hope Community Church team through the Church Leadership Academy being offered out of Birmingham City Church
• The issue of fatherlessness
• Communication weaknesses among men, and how to overcome these, including modelling vulnerability
• The impact of hope and God’s plans from Jeremiah 29:11
• Liam’s love of playing and watching rugby, the parallels between rugby and church and what spiritual victory looks like in church