Highlights from Brighton

Martin & Andrew Cracker - father and son together on a mission.

Joel Virgo's message on the armour bearer.

Sharing a 'room with a view' with Gav 'chocolate boy' Thomas.

Terry Virgo.

'Homes that change the world' training track.

Being with 29 other RFCers and the chats in the bar after the evening meeting.

Early morning runs with Simon Allen.

Being part of something that's so much bigger than RFC.

Meeting old friends.

Meeting with God.

My son is a dude

This afternoon I left the leadership conference in Brighton and travelled back home to watch Joshua in his school leavers production.

He had a big part, loads of lines and had to groove to some of the songs. Like many dads tonight, I was so proud of my son.

I really enjoy watching Joshua play football and train on the athletics track. But to see him initiate involvement in his school play, learn lines and do really well on the night has opened up new avenues of joy for me.

God is good and my son is a dude.

Mourning

On Sunday I concluded our series on Chronicles of Reading by looking at how we can help our friends mourn.

I mentioned the sermon preached at Jade Goody's funeral - to read the full transcript, click here.

I also read Georgie Wallace's advice on helping people grieve. Georgie is a member of our church and her husband died 13 years ago. I have listed it below:

Don't be afraid to talk about the person who has died and let them talk about them too.

Don't be afraid you might remind them and make them cry...crying is good and it's never off their mind.

Stick with it for the long haul, there will be plenty of support in the early weeks, you need to help see them through that first awful year. A phone call, a visit or a card means so much.

Don't set them a time scale in which to recover, it makes them feel like they're not doing very well. Let them take their own time, everyone experiences grief differently and recovery takes longer for some than others.

Do pray for them, or with them if they want you to, people can be more open to God at a time like that.

RFC in the news

This is an extract of the online version of the article which was on page 2 of the Reading Chronicle.

A CHURCH congregation is hearing the word of the Lord...according to The Chronicle. The pastor of Reading Family Church is basing his Sunday sermons every week on a story from our pages.

Pastor Sean Green, 41, said: “Reading the paper and having the sermons is a good way to see what is going on and think, 'How can I play my part?’. It is about trying to encourage people to get involved.

“We are living in a vibrant town and the church historically has always been involved in the town and society. But increasingly we are all caught up in our own lives, isolated and not getting to grips with the issues going on around us.

“There is loads going on in the town and Christians need to be engaged with it.” Full story here.

Prostitutes take trade to suburbs

I preached on the prostitution trade of our town a few weeks ago ... we must continue to pray for the sex workers and punters of Reading:

"PROSTITUTES are taking their clients to leafy suburbs and rural beauty spots to evade police arrest.

Council workers and police believe that when they are picked up by their clients in Reading’s notorious Oxford Road area they are being driven into Caversham and crossing the Thames into Oxfordshire to find peace and quiet.

They also think Reading is establishing such a reputation in the vice trade that the town is attracting an influx of prostitutes from other areas". Full story here

Terry Virgo this Sunday

This Sunday is many things: Fathers day, the longest day & Dave Bish day! But it is also a day when we all can get involved in apostolic mission through the giving of our money.

We are part of a church movement called newfrontiers and I am so grateful for Terry Virgo who has fathered it. We really don't want to be an isolated church and newfrontiers helps us to be plugged into something much bigger which brings vision, security and direction.

I personally know Terry; Scott & I have been to his house; He has preached with us; And we have given our hearts to him.

Please do come prepared to give this Sunday, it is a real privilege to be able to give our money and lay it at the feet of apostolic teams.

Practicing what I preach

On Sunday we continued our series 'the Chronicles of Reading' and looked at Jesus' politics. I encouraged everyone to write to their MP thanking them and telling them we are praying for them. If you don' t know your MP's contact details here they are:

• Rob Wilson is the Labour MP for East Reading: Mr. Rob Wilson, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. robwilsonmp@parliament.uk
• Martin Salter is the Labour MP for West Reading: 413 Oxford Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 1HA. salterm@parliament.uk
• John Redwood is the Conservative MP for Wokingham: 30 Rose Street, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 1XU. redwoodj@parliament.uk

My MP is John Redwood so I emailed him yesterday:

Dear Mr Redwood – I wanted to send a short email to say thank you for you service to us through these difficult days. There appears to be so much cynicism towards MPs at present that I wanted to add a voice of support for you. As a pastor of a growing church, I know something of being a public servant and also what it is to make mistakes in the public domain. Thank you for being open about your expense claims and making amends.

Please do continue to keep to the business of a MP and not be side tracked by the interest of the media. In these times especially, our country needs leadership and our democratic system operates best when we have a vibrant opposition!

I will continue to pray for you and have asked my congregation to do the same. Yours sincerely, Sean Green

And his reply, within 3 hours, was: Thank you for your email. I am planning to stand again, and am making no claims for second homes.