22-24 January 2010 saw the second year of the ‘Together’ Bible weekend for the London and South East Newfrontiers churches which was held at Butlins in Bognor Regis.
The Together events give the opportunity for regional churches to meet up and enjoy great worship, teaching and also have some fun.

One of the most valuable things about these events - in a similar way to the Downs and Stoneleigh Bible weeks that happened in previous years - is the corporate sense of mission that you get when churches come together. When you are standing in a meeting of 3000 people all praising God you are reminded that we are not alone in expanding God’s Kingdom. We get to share and celebrate the successes of the team and get behind the new plants that are launching from our churches. It focuses our sense of mission, reminds us of our values and lets us loose with greater vigour. Many new connections are made and even on this weekend people were feeling God’s call and signing up to be part of new adventures across the globe. The thing is, unless you are there you may never hear of the opportunity, so I recommend that if you are thinking of ever being part of a church plant, make sure you go along!

There is also a massive benefit for families and children because the scale of the event provides opportunities that may not be there in the local church. When I was growing up we moved around a lot and I did not have many Christian contemporaries at the churches and schools I was part of. Bible weeks and weekends like this were a real lifeline for me and it was at events such as these where I decided to follow Jesus, was baptised in the Holy Spirit and caught the vision for church planting.

On this particular weekend the main speakers were Steve Tibbert, David Stroud and David Devenish. All the talks were of great value but the guest speaker, David Devenish, had particular impact. His gift for story-telling coupled and acute cultural awareness and scriptural depth was incredibly powerful. I wont say more because I would highly recommend that you watch the videos or listen to the downloads from the following link:

http://bit.ly/ad6Dzm

Butlins may not seem the obvious destination for a weekend away in January but it actually works very well. There is plenty of space (enough of which is protected from the elements) and there are the added benefits of lots of activities. Our favourite was the Splash Waterworld that catered very well for my family in the 6½ months – 34½ years age bracket!

I am hoping we will get an even larger gang of folk along from ChristChurch next year for this cracking event. Booking information for next year’s event is likely to be available from the early summer so watch this space and make sure you don’t miss out!

For a long time, Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm has been an unlikely hero of mine. I’ve often found myself aping his mannerisms and borrowing his jokes. But when it comes to baptism, he gets it wrong big time, with some humorous results.

The incident in question sees Larry, a Jewish man, peeved that his sister-in-law is marrying is another Jew who is converting to Christianity. Despite Larry’s reservations, he duly agrees to attend the baptism.

Having never seen a baptism before, Larry is horrified when his prospective brother-in-law is being submerged under the water, and hurriedly intervenes to save the poor man’s life.
Surprisingly, it isn’t Larry who seems to misunderstand the nature of baptism the most, but the pastor doing the baptising. He claims “You’re not really a Christian if we don’t complete the baptism. Your conversion isn’t valid. We need to go back and do it again.”

Is the pastor right? What is baptism actually all about anyway?

Way back even back before John the Baptist was baptising in the river Jordan, the symbolic nature of washing with water was very important to the people of God. In the book of Leviticus cleansing is mentioned on numerous occasions.

We see Aaron, the chief priest ceremonially cleansing himself before entering the most holy place in the temple. This isn’t just a little scrub down before heading off to work - he’s being symbolically cleansed so that he can wear the sacred garments required to do his job.

Another symbolic act of cleansing through water in the Old Testament is the story of Naaman, who was cleansed from leprosy. Elisha the prophet tells Naaman to go wash himself seven times in the Jordan and God would heal him. It’s not the water that’s washing away his illness, it’s the power of God! (For the full story, see 2 Kings 5)

So at the very beginning of the New Testament, centuries later, we see John the Baptist calling people to repent and be baptised as a symbolic act of being cleansed from sin and of faith in God and his coming Messiah.

Jesus himself is then baptised by John, and in many places in the New Testament we see the Apostle Paul unpacking the symbolic meaning of our baptism in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

At ChristChurch London we believe there’s a clear link in the Bible between being a disciple and getting baptised. Baptism should then be for people who give a believable profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

In Acts 2, we see Peter preach an amazing sermon to a large crowd on the day of Pentecost. The sermon has such a devastating affect on the people who hear it they cry out to him “what must we do [to be saved]?”

Peter’s response to them is this: “Repent and be baptised, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

In Romans 6: 1-11, Paul gives us a vivid explanation of the symbolic nature of baptism. When the Holy Spirit does a work in a believer’s heart, he or she is literally a new creation, because our sinful nature is put to death in Christ. During baptism, when a person goes under the water they are dying to their old sinful self, in the same way that Jesus died and was buried. Even more amazingly, God then makes us alive together with Christ. When a person being baptised is raised out of the water, it is a symbol that the sin that leads to death no longer has any dominion over them, as they are a new creation, alive to God in Christ!

Let’s take a quick look at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus comes to John the Baptist to get baptised, leaving John befuddled. John says “You should be baptising me!” yet Jesus’ answer to him was “… it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” If Jesus thought it was important to be baptised, then we should be giving serious consideration as to whether we should be baptised in the same way.

Additionally, after Jesus rose from the dead, and just before he returned to heaven, he gave his disciples what is known as the Great Commission. In Matthew 28 v19 Jesus says “Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus considered baptism an important part of making disciples, and gave us baptism to be a wonderful visual reminder of what He accomplished for us.
Baptism is a profound symbolic representation of the gospel. When someone gets baptised, you can see the cleansing of their sin, you can see their death to their old self, you can see their new life in Christ, and you can see their future – alive in Him for all eternity - if that isn’t worth getting excited about, I don’t know what is!

At ChristChurch London, we celebrate this death to sin and new life in Christ at our baptismal services. The worship at these services is especially joyful as people share stories of how Jesus has changed their life and are then baptised.
So to Larry David’s pastor, I’d say, sorry, you’re wrong. Baptism is so much more than a ritual for conversion. It’s a radically obedient, deeply personal, hugely exciting physical symbol of the gospel of Jesus.
If you’re interested in getting baptised at ChristChurch London, or just want to find out more, please contact Owen Morse – owen@christchurchlondon.org. The next baptism service is on March 21st.

I have never been very good with films. When someone recommends a film saying how great it is I get a recurring thought in the back of my head that says, “Really? It’s only a film about some fictional characters who are getting a lot of money to pretend to be in love, or pretend to kill each other, or even strangely pretend be an ‘animated character’. And then there is 3-D...”


Obviously I am being a little cynical. You see I usually start a conversation with someone I discover to be an actor by saying “So how do you find lying to people for a living?” Strangely I find it a wittier opening gambit that they do and it probably belies a bitter failed actor in me. I am sure a few in CCL can testify to that. But a part of me does get rather annoyed with films with no heart, or films that take on gritty subjects with dubious motives. An overly serious (and somewhat cynical) voice in my head asks “What’s the point?”

Collision isn't about pretending at all. It is fascinating, ire-raising and thought provoking, with a razor-sharp edge. The first time I saw it, I started shouting at the screen but realised they couldn't hear me, and fellow viewers were looking at me oddly so I stopped. You see, these guys are not ‘disinterested parties’, to use Doug Wilson's words. They aren’t just arguing for the sake of it or to win points. Christopher Hitchens and Doug Wilson go at each other with a conviction that only comes from real life debate, from a place of deep passion. Both truly believe in what they are saying. Whatever the film lacks in special effects it makes up with integrity.This is a collision of worldviews. 


The film shows a different side to a reasonably well-known debate that has been brought into the public consciousness most recently by Richard Dawkins and a few hundred London Buses. New Atheism, as it has become known, tends to fall into name calling and comparing those with faith to those who believe in fairies (cue the wail of fairies off in Neverland as they die on hearing such a caustic statement). Those of faith can all too easily hit back with similarly childish insults. The best (or worst!) responses were bus adds that read: “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God, for a free Bible visit…” and another saying: “There definitely is a God so join the Christian party and enjoy your life: text Amen to…” Those are the tawdry and bizarre tactics of a playground.

Collision shies away from that kind of polemic and shows how debate can be conducted with respect, without the need for pulling punches. Think Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed but with more dialogue.

It promises to be a thought provoking evening for all who come and I guarantee you’ll come out wanting to talk about the issues raised. I’ll look forward to seeing you at 6.45 at the Prince Charles Theatre, 7 Leicester Square on the 18th February! Find out more here: http://bit.ly/bngYgy