Jesus Life 90 - Jesus Army

JESUS 

Issue 90 FREE 

two / 2012 

www.jesus.org.uk 

LIFE 

The magazine of the 

Jesus Army & Multiply 

Christian Network 

Share the 

good news 

INSIDE: TALKING TO PENELOPE WILCOCK HOMELESSNESS MULTIPLY EAST AFRICA

CONTENTS 

Healthy 

Church 4-6 

Mick Haines on the 

importance of growing 

healthy churches 

On the 

margins 7-10 

Julia Faire on the 

homeless and how 

the church can help 

Baptised at 

77 11-13 

Pam Selmes tells 

Jesus Life about her 

journey to God 

Talking 

to... 18-22 

An interview 

with Christian author 

Penelope Wilcock 

Multiply East 

Africa 23-27 

An account of the 

recent East Africa 

conference 

Just four 

questions 33-34 

Jesus Life asks Jesus 

radical Jenny Priestley 

just four questions 

2 Jesus Life 

and... 

History Makers 14-17 

Celtic ‘Soul friends’ 

Jesus Centres 28-29 

Insight into all that goes on in a Jesus Centre 

Poets Corner 30 

A poem by Aidan Ashby 

How do I fight this 31-32 

A brave account of the struggle with depression 

Keep in touch 35 

Phone numbers for UK Multiply churches 

The Jesus Fellowship Church, which is also known as the Jesus 

Army and includes the New Creation Christian Community, upholds the 

historic Christian faith, being reformed, evangelical and charismatic. 

It practises believer’s baptism and the New Testament reality of 

Christ’s Church; believing in Almighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; 

in the full divinity, atoning death and bodily resurrection of the Lord 

Jesus Christ; in the Bible as God’s word, fully inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

This church desires to witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ 

over and in His Church; and, by holy character, righteous society 

and evangelical testimony to declare that Jesus Christ, Son 

of God, the only Saviour, is the way, the truth and the life, and 

through Him alone can we find and enter the kingdom of God. 

This church proclaims free grace, justification by faith in Christ 

and the sealing and sanctifying baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

© 2012 Jesus Fellowship Church, Nether Heyford, Northampton NN7 3LB, 

UK. Editor: James Stacey. Reproduction in any form requires written 

permission. The Jesus Fellowship does not necessarily agree with all 

the views expressed in articles and interviews printed in this magazine. 

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the 

HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 

1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & 

Stoughton Ltd, a member of the Hodder headline Plc Group. All rights 

reserved. Photographs in this magazine are copyright Jesus Fellowship 

Church or royalty-free stock photos from www.sxc.hu. The Jesus Fellowship 

is part of Multiply Christian Network. Both the Jesus Fellowship and 

Multiply Christian Network are members of the Evangelical Alliance 

UK. Jesus Fellowship Life Trust Registered Charity number 1107952. 

JESUS 

ARMY 

www.jesus.org.uk

Share the 

good news 


A word from Mick Haines, 

apostolic team leader of the 

Jesus Fellowship 

WE HAVE the greatest life transforming 

message available on earth: Jesus saves, 

He heals, He baptises with the Holy Spirit and 

He’s coming back again. He has commissioned 

us confidently to share this amazing news with 

our friends, our families, our colleagues and even 

the people we meet on the bus or on the street 

(like the young woman on the cover, giving out 

Jesus Army Streetpaper to passers-by). 

Many people are lonely. Young people 

are more likely to experience loneliness, 

perhaps because they spend more time on 

virtual relationships than on face-to-face 

ones. Mother Teresa said “loneliness is the 

leprosy of modern society”. The amount of 

time people in the UK spend in one another’s 

homes has fallen by 45 per cent in 30 years; 

a third of people have never spoken to their 

next door neighbour; and a third of us live 

alone. So, let’s be confident in making new 

friends and share the good news that can help 

people out of their loneliness. 

Many people lack purpose in this self 

sufficient, consumer-based, technological 

society. Each month more than half a million 

people type into Google “Does life have 

meaning?” Human beings are meaning-seekers. 

We need some reason to get up in the morning. 

Without God’s life human beings are empty. 

God invites us into His life, His story and His 

activities. He transforms the mundane into 

meaningful mission. Let’s call people to leave 

their own failed story and join God’s exciting 

adventure story. 

Many people lack value and consider 

themselves insignificant. As we value people 

and introduce them to the living God they will 

realize they are unique and precious. 

So, let’s use these summer months to 

confidently reach out to people of all ages, all 

backgrounds, all races, and show that Jesus 

and the friendship of His people can heal 

loneliness, help people find purpose to their 

empty lives and see themselves as precious 

and of great value. 

JL 

Jesus Life 3

THE PROPHETIC 

WORD 

LIVE IN OVERFLOW, 

NOT OVERDRIVE 

4 

Jesus Life 

www.jesus.org.uk

What makes for a healthy, loving, 

growing church? Jesus Fellowship 

apostolic team leader Mick Haines 

gives some pointers 

A 

CHURCH flourishes and grows when it 

is healthy. Paul described it like this: “the 

whole body, joined and held together by every 

supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in 

love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). 

A healthy church is made of healthy people. 

Every member of the body of Christ affects the 

whole. We are so closely united that Paul can 

say, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with 

it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices 

with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27). The health of 

the individuals within the church is the health 

of the church. 

So: are you a healthy person? Is your life in 

balance? Or are you strung out, stressed and 

unbalanced? 

Consider your physical health: Do you sleep 

well? Get enough exercise? Are you overweight? 

Do you eat the right food – the right amount, 

the right kind? Such questions may not seem 

very “spiritual”, but they have a direct bearing 

on your health and therefore on the health of 

the church you are part of. 

How about your mental and emotional 

health. How are your relationships? Make sure 

you’re not isolated. Do you have at least six 

close friends? Are there people you can confide 

in? Are there unhealthy secrets in your life? 

And so to spiritual health. Do you receive 

God’s Spirit often? Do you have habits which 

refresh and feed your spirit and keep your walk 

with God fresh? If so, you’ll live in rest, and live 

in overflow, not in overdrive. 

A healthy church, with healthy members, 

will be able to reaffirm its purpose. The danger 

for any church is to follow the pattern: “man, 

movement, machine, monument”. Reaffirming 

purpose resists this downward trend away from 

life. God can infuse a new sense of purpose into 


the danger for 

any church is to 

follow the pattern: 

man, movement, 

machine, 

monument 

such a church. 

Keep in mind that God may “prune” a 

church, cutting things off “that it may bear 

more fruit” (John 15:1-2). Keep the main thing 

the main thing; don’t waste your energy on 

things that don’t matter. God cuts unimportant 

or unnecessary things away – and calls us to 

truly give our all for the important things, our 

purpose as a church. 

The Jesus Fellowship’s apostolic team are 

seeking God and preparing to make a new 

purpose statement; all we do will take its place 

within this overriding purpose. It will be a 

simple, specific, measurable statement. We 

must be clear about what we will do – and clear 

about what we will not do, too! This will set 

our compass, define our direction as a whole 

church. Then, within this, leaders of local Jesus 

Fellowship churches will lead them into fresh 

life and purpose. 

Leaders who are not afraid to believe God 

will be surrounded by growing churches. 

By contrast, worn-out, unbalanced leaders 

will not achieve very much. A leader’s 

responsibility includes keeping himself 

healthy in every sense. As leadership expert, 

John Maxwell, has said, “Everything rises or 

falls according to leadership”. 

Continued overleaf 

s 

s 


healthy 

balance 

comes with 

healthy focus 

Continued from previous page 

Here are some questions to help you assess 

where your church is at: Does it have a heart for 

worship; a heart for fellowship and “family”; a 

heart for the lost; a heart to see your purpose 

advanced? 

And – here is a key – are your members 

united around these shared priorities? They will 

have their particular contribution to make. Yet 

healthy balance comes with healthy focus. The 

greatest enemy of the body of Christ is independence 

: everyone doing their own thing, with 

no thought for the whole (Philippians 2:21). We 

need inter dependence; every choice weighed 

according to our great shared purpose. 

“As in one body we have many members, and 

the members do not all have the same function, 

so we, though many, are one body in Christ, 

and individually members one of another. Having 

gifts that differ according to the grace given 

to us, let us use them.” (Romans 12:4-6, ESV) 

All members of the Body are vital; all are 

ministers. Ministering in worship, speaking, 

praying, serving – all have a part to play. Don’t 

sit on your gifts; activate them. 

As with all spiritual gifts, the motivation 

behind them is love (1Corinthians 13). Love will 

always be the main thing! And loving churches 

grow: loving God, loving our core members, 

loving the wider congregation, loving the 

crowd; helping people to go deeper, helping all 

to grow. 

s 

s 

This article is adapted from a talk Mick gave 

at the Jesus Fellowship’s “Church Growth” 

conference earlier in 2012. 

JL 

Mick is the leader of the Jesus 

Fellowship’s apostolic team. He 

is a committed celibate, and lives 

with his brothers and sisters in a 

Christian community house in Birmingham. 

6 


www.jesus.org.uk

LIFE on the 

streets 

Jesus Life takes a look at the rising 

problem of homelessness in the UK 

W 

E’RE 

all in the gutter,” quotes Bertie in a 

sweeping theatrical manner, “but some of 

us are looking to the stars. That’s Oscar Wilde that 

is,” he tells us while he strums his battered guitar 

and sings a little ditty to the passers-by. 

Bertie was one of a crowd of people that Mary 

Golding and Lisbeth Johnson bumped into when 

they decided to base their cell group on the streets 

of Leicester city centre. The following article 

contains several extracts from Lisbeth’s diary. 

Cold pavements to sit on, faces lit up by 

shop fronts, wet sleeping bags and thick 

gloves foraging for squashed cake in plastic 

bags. More often than not it was just a cup 

of tea and something to eat and we would 

move on. 

Just sometimes, though, the bravado would 

slip and bright jocular conversation would 

dissolve into heart-rending stories full of 

desperation, so many unfulfilled longings, 

deep-seated regret or anger and bitterness. 

We met people who once led ‘normal’ lives 

finding themselves homeless with addictions 

and mental health problems or people 

ending up homeless because they had these 

problems already... 


Photo: leroys, sxc.hu 

The unwelcome turbulence in global 

financial markets of the last few years and the 

resultant downturn in the UK economy have 

brought, in their wake, multiple redundancies 

and a consequent surge in house repossessions 


s 

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Homeless headlines 

Two recent headlines in the The Guardian tell the 

bleak story. 

• “Number of rough sleepers in England rises by 

a fifth. Overall, 2,181 people were recorded as 

sleeping rough on any one night in England in 

autumn 2011 – up from 1,768 the year before” 

(23 February 2012). 

• “Homelessness jumps by 14 per cent in a 

year: almost 50,000 households across England 

accepted as homeless as repossession rates and 

unemployment rise” (8 March 2012). 


and homelessness. 

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders 

(CML), repossessions are likely to rise from 40,000 

in 2011 to 45,000 in 2012. Recent figures from the 

Moneyplus Group website revealed that in the first 

three months of 2011 a total of 9,100 people were 

evicted from their homes as a result of defaulting 

on their mortgage. 

Homelessness, tragically, also affects children. 

Kay Boycott, the director of communications, 

policy and campaigns for Shelter, the housing 

and homelessness charity, said, “We cannot 

underestimate the damage homelessness has 

on children’s lives. They often miss out on vital 

schooling because they are shunted from place to 

place and many become ill by the poor conditions 

they are forced to live in.” 

What can be done? In recent years a number 

of ambitious projects have been launched 

around the UK to empower people to step out 

of the cycle of homelessness, worklessness, 

poverty and sometimes accompanying traps of 

crime and addiction. 

Create is a new, innovative and award-winning 

social enterprise in the north of England, 

running top-quality food businesses where all 

profits go to funding an academy for training, 

providing work experience and creating jobs for 

people who have been homeless, marginalized 

or vulnerable in some way. 

s 

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www.jesus.org.uk

Create has a high degree of success in its 

aims. Jesus Life asked Linda McGowan, Strategic 

Director of Create, “What do individuals or 

organisations need to do to help homeless people 

climb out of destitution into a stable lifestyle 

and into work?” Linda, who is passionate about 

Create’s vision, told us, “Encourage, challenge, 

take people out of their comfort zones and 

tell them not to be afraid to fail – we all fail 

sometimes. Balance encouragement with tough 

love and don’t be afraid to do things differently.” 

Similarly, Katherine Nickoll, who is the Service 

Manager for Framework, a charity providing 

training and employment for homeless in the East 

Midlands, told Jesus Life that the majority of her 

team are actually ex-service users and a key to success 

must be: “Dare to have ambition for people!” 

What role can churches play in helping the 

plight of homeless people – and particularly, in 

this case, street homeless people? 

Coventry Jesus Centre runs a “bond scheme” 

to enable people who are homeless to taste 

the benefits of a more stable lifestyle by 

accessing and holding onto private rented 

accommodation. The scheme has housed 151 

people over the last seven years. 

Val Hook, a support worker on the scheme, 

told Jesus Life that making it possible for people 

to find a home can be a “life changing and even a 

Homeless stats 

• The overall life expectancy for a street 

homeless man is 47 

• For women, it is lower still at 43 

• Drug and alcohol abuse account for a third of 

all deaths among the homeless 

• Homeless people are nine times more likely to 

commit suicide than the rest of the population 

• Deaths as a result of traffic accidents are 

three times more common 

• 69,846 children in England have to live in 

hostels, bed and breakfasts and refuges 

2011 statistics from a Sheffield University report 

commissioned by Crisis, and BBC news. 


we cannot 

underestimate 

the damage 

homelessness has 

on children’s lives 

lifesaving experience - especially in winter when 

people sleep by the canal or in the woods. 

“Finding a home gives homeless people a 

platform to change their way of life, a belief in 

themselves and a hope that they can lead a better 

lifestyle,” says Val. “Some people can’t detox or 

dry out until they have the security of a home. 

“Homeless people are often allowed access 

to their children once they are housed or, in the 

case of some I know, can even have their children 

back. No one can apply for jobs without an address 

and I’ve known people find work once they 

have a roof over their heads. ” 

Lisbeth’s diary continues: 

One man who had a searching heart 

confided in me why, after several occasions 

of me offering to pick him up for church, he 

wouldn’t come: ‘I stink, love, I get paranoid, 

I’d just stand out like a sore thumb, there’s 

no way I could come to church’. 

Lisbeth, happily, can relate more positive 

stories. 

We’re sitting in the midst of a large 

group; plastic bottles of ‘white lightning’ are 

being passed around. The mood is light with 

plenty of jokes and larking around. 

Len’s in the middle of it all, the loudest and 

lairiest of them all; he’s an intelligent bloke 

known well for his good nature and quick 

humour. We’ve known him for quite a while, 


s 

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10 




an ex-service man who witnessed some 

terrible things whilst in action. As so many 

ex-soldiers in the same position Len ended 

up on the drink when leaving the army and 

eventually became homeless. 

“I’ve got to get myself straightened out - 

I’ve got a daughter who’s disabled and she 

needs me,” Len told us once. He asked if we 

would pray for him as he already had some 

belief in God. 

Tonight Len plonks himself down next to us: 

“You’re never going to believe this, ladies, I’ve 

got myself booked up to go into a rehab and 

guess what,” he beamed, “it’s a Christian one! 

Thought you’d like that!” he winks. 

We never saw Len again, but heard recently 

that not only had he come clean of his drugs, 

but had given his life to Jesus while in rehab 

and had gone on to Bible college to study to 

be a minister. I enjoyed seeing people’s faces 

as the news got bandied around. 

“Len? Are you sure?” One of his old friends 

said incredulously, “Blimey, well if Len can 

make it, any of us can.” 

JL 

s 

s 

he come clean 

of his drugs, had 

given his life to 

Jesus while in 

rehab and had 

gone on to Bible 

college to study to 

be a minister 

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aptised 

at 77 

Pam Selmes tells Jesus Life her story 

DEFYING THE stereotype of a quiet old 

lady, at 77 years old, Pam Selmes was 

born again and now has people at her house 

“all the time”. 

Pam was born in Derbyshire, but her father 

worked with the railway so the family moved 

around a lot. “My mother never minded 

moving,” she recalls. 

we didn’t know 

it at the time, 

but he was dying 

of cancer 

Her family brought her up as a Quaker, so Pam 

was born as a “birthright Friend” – someone 

who had grown up in the Quaker church – “the 

Religious Society of Friends”. 

When she got married at 23 years old, Pam 

and her husband first lived with her parents. 

But then “They told us they were moving to 

Mauritius, because my father got a job with 

the Colonial Office, so they sold the house.” 

recalls Pam. 

With barely any money and a three-month 

old child in tow, Pam and her husband found 

some rooms in a Quaker meeting house in 

Tottenham. “I was so young,” she says, “I 

had lived quite a sheltered life up until then. 


Pam Selmes has a new lease of life 

JL 


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Sometimes I don’t know how we managed!” 

Pam’s husband started a teacher training 

course but the family struggled – “We didn’t 

ask for anything,” explains Pam, “We lived 

on fresh air! Cheese was cheap, eggs were 

cheap…” She adds, thoughtfully: “It was a very 

lonely time.” 

“Everything was wearing out and we 

couldn’t buy anything new,” she says, “It took 

a long time to get back on my feet again.” 

Sadly, Pam’s marriage started to experience 

difficulties. She began to see a marriage 

counsellor, who advised her to get a divorce. 

“That was not what I wanted to hear!” sighs 

Pam, “It was in 1959, when divorce was a 

terrible thing, especially for a ‘good little 

Quaker girl’.” 

Pam took her two daughters with her and 

moved to Mauritius, to be with her parents. 

She was there for two years, before moving 

back to England and marrying a second time, 

to a friend of the family. 

as she was 

sitting in the 

Quaker meeting 

in Northampton, 

it suddenly 

dawned on her 

that she was in 

the wrong place 

“We didn’t know it at the time, but he was 

dying of cancer,” says Pam, “We had a child, 

another girl... and then he died.” 

Following this tragic turn of events, Pam 

married again. Along with her new husband, 

she moved to Southport to look after her aunt 

who was ill. 

In Southport, Pam grew more and more 

committed to the Quaker church, going to 

meetings whenever she could. To her surprise, 

she was made an elder. 

Yet despite the responsibility given to her by 

her Quaker friends, Pam knew the one place 

she really wanted to be: a small village in rural 

Northamptonshire – Bugbrooke. 

Her daughter Penny had joined the 

Jesus Fellowship and moved into Christian 

community in Bugbrooke and Pam had visited 

her frequently over the years. 

“It wasn’t for me,” admits Pam, “But I loved 

staying in community houses when I went to 

see Penny. I was so pleased when she joined 

the church!” 

When Pam’s aunt died, she decided there 

was nothing holding her back from moving 

nearer her daughter and son-in-law, so, with 

her husband, she moved to Bugbrooke. 

But Pam soon grew restless attending 

Quaker meetings in Northampton. “I wasn’t 

happy. It was quite secular compared to what I 

had been used to.” 

She started going to meetings at ‘Palm 

Tree’, the Christian community house that her 

daughter Penny and her son-in-law Rodger 

lived in. One morning, as she was sitting in the 

Quaker meeting in Northampton, it suddenly 

dawned on her that she was in the wrong 

place. 

“I knew I didn’t want to be there anymore. I 

realised that my true home was with the Jesus 

Fellowship. So I wrote a letter of resignation to 

the Quaker church.” 

Pam knew the next step was to get 

baptised (Quakers don’t practise baptism). 

www.jesus.org.uk

it was in 1959, 

when divorce 

was a terrible 

thing, especially 

for a good little 

Quaker girl’ 

In December 2006, at the age of 77, she was 

baptised by her daughter Penny and her 

grandson Aidan, with her son-in-law Rodger 

conducting the service. 

And she’s never looked back since! After her 

baptism, she became a covenant member of 

the Jesus Fellowship. She also started to attend 

a meeting for over-55 members of the church 

in Northampton; it’s now her responsibility to 

find people to speak at these meetings. 

“One thing that really blessed me was a 

prayer group called ‘Zest’,” explains Pam, “It’s 

this group of older women in the church who 

meet together regularly and pray for different 

things. When they knew I wanted to move to 

Northampton, they prayed I would find the 

right house. And I did!” 

Pam is now a member of Zest and has 

formed relationships with members of the 

group that have held her through difficult 

times, such as her third husband’s death. 

Definitely not one to settle down, Pam’s 

house is “an open home” and she often has 

young people coming over for meals, or people 

that need a place to stay. 

“I’ve been through a lot, but I’m so happy 

now. I think it’s lovely that at my age I’m not 

lonely at all; I have so many friends and I’m so 

busy,” smiles Pam, “Life is wonderful!” JL 


Pam’s baptism in December 2006 


SOUL 

FRIENDS 

Trevor Saxby explores the depths 

of spiritual friendship mined by 

Christians in Celtic Britain 

FROM THE 5th to the 7th centuries, a 

powerful renewal took place in the 

churches of Britain. From their coastal bases 

in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall, 

courageous evangelists known today as 

the Celtic Christian missionaries planted 

churches and communities around the 

British Isles. 

From the biographies of these pioneers 

we quickly see what importance they gave 

to deep relationships. Each brother or sister 

was to have an anamchara, or “soul friend”: 

a mixture of mentor, spiritual director and 

close friend. The abbess Brigid (died 525) said 

that “a person without an anamchara is like a 

body without a head” – lacking true sight and 

sense. A soul friend is a person who will allow 

me to tell the whole truth about myself, and to 

encourage me to seek healing and restoration. 

In 6th century Ireland, all the movers and 

shakers of Celtic Christianity had their “soul 

friends” and were, in turn, “soul friends” 

to others. They had a particular way of 

befriending that intentionally honoured 

and nurtured the life of the soul. It involved 

mutual encouragement, confession and 

telling the truth in love. 

Even a century apart, they had a 

common vision of reality. They also seem 


to have shared intuitions and discernment, 

particularly regarding future leaders. One 

story goes that Brendan of Emly in Munster, 

where the patriarch Ailbe had presided for 

many years. Brendan burned with questions, 

but Ailbe’s was a silent order! The monastery 

schoolmaster (who was allowed to speak) 

had to rebuke Brendan and his companions 

for chatter. But Brendan persisted and Ailbe, 

recognising in the young man all the qualities 

of a future leader, broke his own rule and 

spoke, teaching him many things. 

What shines clearly from the written lives 

of the Celtic saints is the profound respect 

which they showed for each other’s wisdom 

and guidance – despite age or gender 

differences. They genuinely saw each brother 

or sister as a potential source of precious 

blessings from God. The biographies often 

convey this symbolically, through the gesture 

of giving gifts. Although they lived poor, 

special gifts conveyed profound respect 

and mutuality: a ring, a bell, a hand-made 

wooden box, or maybe a horse. 

A trail-blazer was Finnian (died 549), 

founder of the big monastery of Clonard. If 

Patrick had been the pioneer, Finnian was 

the spiritual father, who guided many of the 

early Celtic missionary leaders, like Columba 

of Iona and Ciaran of Clonmacnoise. He 

genuinely loved these sons and brothers. In 

his letters to Ciaran, he would call him “dear 

one” and “o little heart”, always adding a 

personal blessing. 


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a person 

without a 

‘soul friend’ 

is like a 

body without 

a head – 

lacking true 

sight and 

sense 

JL 



15

western society 

carries almost 

toxic levels of 

suspicion where 

any heartcloseness 

is 

concerned 

s 

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Ciaran clearly learned this love, too. He and 

Kevin of Glendalough were true heart-friends. 

When Ciaran lay dying, he refused to let go 

until Kevin had come. When he did, the two 

spent many hours in loving conversation, 

then shared Communion together. Ciaran 

blessed Kevin and gave him a little bell as a 

sign of their lasting unity. Then he died. 

Women had these relationships, too, 

and not just among themselves. In one 8th 

century text we read: “Between Patrick and 

Brigid, pillars of the Irish, there existed so 

great a friendship of charity that they were of 

one heart and one mind.” 

Ita, abbess of Killeedy, was mentor to 

so many male leaders that she is known as 

“the Fostermother of the Saints”. She was 

especially close to Brendan, sometimes called 

“the Navigator” because of his voyages. Their 

biographers record how Brendan would smile 

warmly whenever he thought of Ita, many 

miles away; and how Ita would feel the slow 

drag of time whenever Brendan was away. 

In our day, where western society carries 

almost toxic levels of suspicion where any 

heart-closeness is concerned – especially 

same-gender and cross-generational, these 

examples are a poignant reminder of what 

has gone missing. Who will be courageous 

and humble enough to pioneer such 

mutuality today? 

The Celtic missionaries’ understood that, 

however essential and fulfilling a deep human 

bond might be, it could not take the place of a 

friendship with God. Indeed, relationships of 

this quality flowed directly from such a lovebond 

with God. They are essentially spiritual 

bonds. The Celtic missionaries saw God as the 

true friend, the pattern of all friendship, the 


www.jesus.org.uk

centre of a wheel in which all human soulfriendships 

are vital spokes. 

One example illustrates this well. When his 

mentor died, Finbar (died 633) felt bereft, so 

he went to see his friend Eolang. Eolang had 

been praying and had received a word from 

God for Finbar. He knelt before him and said: 

“I offer you my church and my soul”. Finbar 

wept and would have none of it, but Eolang 

persisted. “Let it be so, for this is the will of 

God. You are dear to Him and you are greater 

than I. Only grant me this, that we may live 

and die in the same place.” Here it is clear that 

the heavenly dimension enriched the human 

beyond what it could have achieved itself. 

The Celtic anamcharas appreciated that 

solitude and companionship had to be kept 

in a creative balance. Both were essential for 

what they called “soul-making”: the lifelong 

process of making peace with God, with 

oneself, with others, and with all of creation. 

Soul friends are committed to helping one 

another make this journey successfully. 

The need for such committed love has 

perhaps never been greater than in the post- 

Christian West. 

JL 

they genuinely 

saw each brother 

or sister as a 

potential source of 

precious blessings 

from God 

Trevor is a senior leader in the 

Jesus Fellowship. He says, “I 

love learning from God’s movers 

and shakers in history because I 

want to be a history-maker now! 

READ HIS BLOG: 

radical-church-history.blogspot.com 

For further reading on Celtic soul friends, 

Trevor recommends the writings of 

Edward Sellner. Find them here: 

jez.uz/soulfriends and jez.uz/soulfriends2 

JL 


Jesus Life 15 17

Talking to... 

Penelope Wilcock 

From Pen’s pen 

Penelope Wilcock’s series of novels, The 

Hawk and the Dove, are set in a medieval 

monastery. The first trilogy – The Hawk 

and the Dove, The Wounds of God and The 

Long Fall focus on the monastery’s abbot, 

Father Peregrine. In describing Peregrine’s 

own brokenness and healing, and his 

compassionate dealings with many of the 

other monks, Penelope explores questions of 


Penelope at her home in Hastings 

suffering and faith. Later novels in The Hawk 

and the Dove series, such as The Hardest 

Thing To Do and The Hour Before Dawn, 

tell the ongoing story of the monastery after 

Peregrine’s death. A sixth book, Remember 

Me, is due out in summer 2012. 

Penelope has also written a number of 

other books, both fiction and non-fiction, 

on Christian living and spirituality. Details 

of her books can be found at her blog: 

kindredofthequietway.blogspot.co.uk 

www.jesus.org.uk

Penelope Wilcock is the author of 

the much-loved series of Christian 

books,The Hawk and the Dove. 

She talks to James Stacey, editor 

of Jesus Life 

THANKS for giving us this opportunity 

to talk to you, Penelope. Your books, 

especially the Hawk and the Dove trilogy have 

meant a great deal to many people. 

Last week, I had an email from a friend’s 

friend whose daughter has been depressed. For 

some months she’d been going downhill. She’d 

got to the point where she’d gone zombie-ish 

and they were concerned to get her restarted 

again, emotionally. They gave her the Hawk 

and the Dove trilogy. The woman who wrote to 

me said that her daughter’s “tears flowed for 

Peregrine” and that it unlocked her. I was just 

so pleased with that. 

Your writing is full of insight into human 

realities; it has a feel of empathy – for 

instance, about dementia and death in The 

Long Fall. Did that come out of personal 

experience of losing somebody? 

When I was researching The Long Fall, I took a 

job as a night nurse in a run-down nursing home 

in St Leonards. The hospice nearby, where I’d 

worked as a voluntary Free Church chaplain, had 

everything that money could buy to make people 

there more comfortable. But in this little nursing 

home where I was working, they had nothing. 

I’ve never forgotten one occasion, sitting 

with a lady who died that night. Her body 

was disintegrating, all pressure sores, oozing 

diarrhoea. She would scream because she had 

so much pain. Sitting with her that night, there 

was a toilet roll and a washing up bowl – that 

was all there was to make her comfortable. 

I remember thinking: this is what poverty is. 

I wanted to imagine it would be like caring for 

someone who was dying in the Middle Ages. 

And in 20th century St Leonards – I saw it. 


I never write 

about anything 

that I haven’t lived 

in some way 

That’s not just the kind of “research” that 

means looking at a computer screen! 

No, I never write about anything that I 

haven’t lived in some way. 

Tell us about your own story. 

Important parts of my own story will come 

out in a book this summer – a rewrite of a 

book I wrote a long time ago called “Spiritual 

Care of Dying and Bereaved People”. In the 

last 15 years of my life there have been some 

significant losses and bereavements, things 

that have changed and shaped me; they’ll be 

in that book. 

I grew up in Hertfordshire. When I was 

about 15, I came across Saint Francis and 

fell in love with his vision of simplicity – 

“Lady Poverty”. To live in simplicity has been 

something I’ve wanted all my life. 

My first husband’s family was Methodist, 

and I became part of the Methodist Church. 

I became a Methodist “local preacher”, then 

a minister for about 12 years. But then my 

marriage came off its wheels, which was a 

very painful time. At the same period as I 

found myself on the outside of my husband’s 

big family, my family of origin was also going 

through a painful time. I married again – and 

my husband died within 15 months of our 

marriage, of cancer. I looked after him at 

home. After that, I got married again – to Tony, 

who I’m married to now. But things weren’t 

easy with his family and we had a very difficult 

start to our marriage. 


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Often life felt like trying to pull together what 

was falling apart, seemed complete chaos. As a 

result of it all, I thought, “I just need to stop – 

and draw back, take stock, find out who I am.” 

As a church minister, you have a duty to the 

people to whom you are ministering to be the 

kind of person you should be as a minister. You 

represent the Church to them; you represent 

Christ. After everything that had happened, I 

needed to be, for a while, a person who didn’t 

represent anybody – so that I could be as angry 

as I wanted, and as upset as I wanted, for as 

long as I wanted. Then, when I’d processed it, 

I’d be ready for the next thing. 

So I came out of the ministry and, after a 

while, went into full-time writing. 

The original Hawk and the Dove trilogy was 

written before these painful episodes in your 

life, the more recent books, such as The 

Hardest Thing To Do after them? 

That’s right. I learned that the hardest thing 

to do is to see things from the point of view 

of someone else. But I wanted to learn that 

because that way we can remain friends, even 

through pain and conflict. 

Something that stood out for me in The 

Hardest Thing To Do was contrast between 

“head” and “heart”, represented in William 

and Tom. How do you find a balance between 

those two? 

I think in community, actually. Some things 

in life are for individuals to process, but most 

are for communities. I think that the New 

Testament is very “community minded”. I 

don’t think its writers ever imagined a solitary 

Christian, trying to work things out on their 

own. It’s when we do things together and 

support each other, that we’re most fruitful. 

Is that why you chose to write about a very 

deliberate form of community like a monastery? 

I really love the monastic way. When I was 

young, I was very drawn to the idea of being 

a Poor Clare. And when I was first married, 

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www.jesus.org.uk

we lived in a very “community” kind of way 

– we used to have ex-prisoners living with us, 

someone lived with us to recover from a failed 

suicide attempt and people with nowhere to 

live would come and stay with us for a while. 

Nowadays, the four of us who live in our present 

house function as a community in a different 

way: we’re all artists and living together means 

we can support one another in those ministries. 

people tend to 

define you by your 

stuff, but if you 

don’t have much 

you’re freer to be 

who you are 

What can communities today learn from 

ancient monastic wisdom such as the Rule of 

Benedict? 

What we might not be looking for: common 

sense. We tend to think of Benedict’s Rule as 

being about rarefied spirituality, but it’s got 

plenty of hardnosed, practical wisdom to it. 

Take “the great silence”, the rule that from 

evening prayers until after first prayers the next 

day the community goes into silence. When 

are people most likely to fall out with each 

other? When they’re overtired – they should 

shut up, but keep picking away at something 

they should drop – or first thing in the morning 

when that irritating person insists on being 

bright and cheerful! 

The vast majority of your characters in The 

Hawk and the Dove are celibate. What role do 

you see celibacy playing in the 21st century? 


The celibate people that I know – people 

who are intentionally celibate – can particularly 

offer two things: freedom – to serve and to 

pray – and an open heart. 

If you’ve got, say, a toddler and a husband, 

your first duty is to them: if there’s someone 

who has got a problem at 10pm, well, that’s 

a shame, but you probably can’t go and 

deal with it. Not that celibates should be at 

everybody’s beck and call. I think that can be a 

danger, in fact. I think that in celibacy it’s quite 

important to be clear about establishing your 

boundaries and making sure that other people 

respect them – otherwise burn-out is a danger. 

But part of the freedom of living with an 

open heart is that you are available. One of 

the things that celibate people offer to any 

community is friendship. It’s a great gift, 

friendship, and single people can be wonderful 

friends (they don’t always want to “bring my 

husband along” or “have to go because the 

kids are coming home from school”). This gift 

of friendship, someone who is free to be your 

friend, is a brilliant thing. 

Your blog says quite a bit about simple living. 

Tell us about that. 

I wrote a book about living simply, “In 

Celebration of Simplicity”. I believe that it is 

not possible to make any progress along any 

spiritual path without adopting a discipline of 

simplicity. Spirituality – of any kind – cannot 

flourish without simplicity. 

For me, simplicity is about not having 

a cluttered mind. Not having all sorts of 

obligations. Not having a cluttered schedule. 

Not owning a lot of possessions. 

I find that “things” kind of take on a life of their 

own. Not only do they need dusting, repairing, 

tidying up and all the obvious things – but also 

I find that objects witter at you. It’s like they 

have personality, as if they draw energy from you 

somehow. The more “things” you have, the more 

your energy drains away into them. 


s 

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Penelope with Jesus Fellowship members Paul and Julia 

s 

s 


Also, the more “stuff” I have, the more people 

can get a handle on me. If I don’t own very 

much I am freer – people can’t define me so 

readily. People tend to define you by your stuff, 

but if you don’t have much you’re freer to be 

who you are, irrespective of what you’ve got. 

You also write about silence. How might a 

busy person work silence into their life? 

Go and sit in the park! Being in nature is a 

start. How can a busy person write silence into 

their life? They can look at their relationship 

with their car. If you can walk to places, at 

least some of the time, or park the car a little 

further away and walk the last bit, you create 

space for quietness. 

Silence is very important to me. I like 

music, but I very rarely listen to it, just 

because I like silence. 

I learnt something from the Quakers. A 

Quaker meeting starts when the first person 

walks into the room – from then on, until the 

end of the meeting, only intentional things 

are said to break the silence. If you are a 

busy community, how about saying about a 

particular meeting – for prayer or whatever – 

“the meeting starts when the first person walks 


into the room”? That way you can build silence 

into community life. 

A last word? What would you want to say to 

the Church, the whole Church? 

I would say: deconstruct. We’ve got our feet 

tangled. All the nuts and bolts of the external 

structure of “church” can keep us busy, so that 

we never have to engage with the inner reality 

we’re called to. We can allow our discipleship 

to degenerate into maintaining the structure of 

large organisations. 

I was really privileged to hear, in 1986, 

John Wimber talking about when he was 

first converted. He went along to church 

every Sunday for a while, clutching his Bible. 

Eventually he couldn’t bear it any longer and 

he sidled up to one of the elders and said, 

“When do we get to do the stuff?” “What 

stuff?” came the reply. John pointed at his 

Bible: “You know: the stuff in this book”. The 

answer was sad: “We don’t ‘do’ it. We read 

about it, we pray about it, we study it, but we 

don’t actually do it anymore.” 

John Wimber wasn’t satisfied with that. 

Neither am I. All I’m interested in, really, is 

“doing the stuff” – God’s stuff, the real stuff. 

Let’s clear away what gets in the way of that. JL 

www.jesus.org.uk

DESTINATION: 

EAST AFRICA 

Extracts from the blog of Ian 

Callard describe his recent visit 

to Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania 

with Ian Clifford, Jason Ridley and 

Jonny Haynes 

www.multiply.org.uk 

DAY ONE: WEDNESDAY 

At our arrival in Kenya, four of the 

Multiply local leaders’ team had formed a 

reception party. The drive from Jomo Kenyatta 

airport into Nairobi left Jason gasping. He’s an 

HGV-trained driver, but wasn’t prepared for five 

lines of traffic squeezed into three lanes, and 

then charging recklessly into the roundabouts. 

Over coffee at our guest house, Bishop Joseph 

told me, “My oversight has grown by two more 

districts. I now cover 450 churches, 100 more 

than last year. But I haven’t finished what I 

want to do.” 

Gregory and Joseph took us to the “Umbrella” 

hall we’ve booked for the Conference. Later, at 

the building that houses Gregory’s church and 

ICT training project, he showed us the newly 

set-up Multiply office. 

DAY TWO: THURSDAY 

We headed for the Umbrella Hall to set up 

our projector, etc. One 13-amp plug served the 

whole venue! 

DAY THREE: FRIDAY 

Gregory had hinted that the first day may not 

start at the advertised 8.30am. We arrived just 

on 10 o’clock. About 50 delegates were milling 

around. 

I warned the guys that the music was likely 


s 

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s 

s 


to be headache-inducingly loud. They thought I 

was overstating the case, until they piled out of 

the car and staggered into the main hall. It went 

up over 80 decibels. Poor Jonny was tied to the 

laptop and projector all day and couldn’t escape. 

The PA finally settled down from its frequent 

power-outs, and we got underway. I did the 

“official” talk about Multiply. Then Ian took 

over giving some solid teaching on the baptised 

life. This carried impact. The delegate numbers 

had now more than doubled. 

While de-rigging, we chatted to the young guys 

who were hanging around. Jonny was doing well 

with Carlos, and Ian with Carlson, our driver. 

They hope to invite them to the UK on our 

internship. 

As we summed up the day over supper, 

Jonny confided, “I was praying the power 

would go out.” We thought this was a 

bit (uncharacteristically) mean, until he 

explained, “The worship with only the voices 

was just so good.” 

DAY FOUR: SATURDAY 

Today we managed to arrive at the conference 

nearer the announced start! We were underway 

only an hour late. 

Ian gave a passionate and pointed talk about 

apostolic fathering. It produced a humble and 

committed response. In the UK we have a 

problem with losing the fatherless generation in 

church. Here - half the population being under 

18 – they have a problem of being overwhelmed. 

DAY FIVE: SUNDAY 

We got to Gregory’s church at 9.30am. 

Worship had been in progress since the 7.00am 

leaders’ prayer time. 

I gave a hour-long message. Then we rounded 

off with communion, singing from the children, 

and further introductions. At 2.00pm, having 

well overrun the official 12.30pm finish, things 

finally wound down. 

Back home after dark, we found three lizards 

and a millipede in the rooms. It all led to a 


www.multiply.org.uk

I had no money 

and didn’t know 

how I was going 

to travel here, but 

I said goodbye to 

my wife in faith, 

and here I am 

stimulating post-mortem on the day. Tomorrow 

we go our different ways: Jonny and Jason up 

country, and Ian and I to Rwanda. 

DAY SIX: MONDAY 

Our plane banked over the northern shore of 

Lake Tanganyika and headed for Kigali. Rukundo 

and Pastor Godfrey picked us up from the airport. 

The community house is a miracle of 

reconciliation itself, in a nation so recently 

ravaged by tribal civil war. We were introduced to 

the house family. “Welcome home to the Multiply 

team” was posted on our bedroom door. This 

was a much-anticipated visit. Ian and I were 

humbled. 

I had an interesting talk with Pastor Godfrey: 

“Ah, the West,” he mused, “You have schedules 

and programmes. But here in Africa we say ‘God 

will provide’.” 

DAY SEVEN: TUESDAY 

Over breakfast, Rukundo explained 

the three ministries that he oversees: the 

common-purse community, a local church, 

and a network of churches reaching to 

Burundi and Congo. Conference delegates 

would be arriving today. 

We headed for Kigali’s Genocide Memorial 


site. Of course, these things defy adequate 

description. In the compact Memorial grounds 

are buried 259,000 victims. A modest inscribed 

wall provides their only identification. 

“Were any of your family affected?” I quietly 

asked Rukundo. “Yes, I lost 78 relatives from 

my grandfather’s place.” On the way to lunch he 

added, “Now you have seen what we are like on 

the outside, and on the inside.” 

Down at the “Disciples of Jesus” church, 

we enjoyed the spontaneous Rwandan 

singing. Voices were accompanied only by a 

drum. Three Congolese brothers introduced 

themselves. “I had no money and didn’t know 

how I was going to travel here,” said one. “But 

on Sunday night I said goodbye to my wife in 

faith, and here I am.” 

DAY EIGHT: WEDNESDAY 

During the conference, I’d put Ian up to 

offering to pray for anyone wishing to receive the 

gift of celibacy. A young man had responded, 

and others said they were going home to digest 

the teaching. 

Sessions over, Rukundo hustled us off to the 

offices of “Radio Amazing Grace”. In the studio, 

he and Ian were fitted with headphones; I pulled 

out the video camera. Ian spoke about fathering 

a generation of young men. Afterwards, Rukundo 

confided: “Brother, I love this. Many times I ask 

myself: ‘Where was the church?’ (meaning in the 

genocide) and ‘How should we be now?’” 

DAY NINE: THURSDAY 

Under blazing sunshine, we threaded up a 

mud track past hillside chickens and banana 

palms. Rukundo explained that Claud’s family 

disapproved of his decision to move into 

the “New Humanity” community house. For 

extended families, wealth is corporately owned, 

and to give your income to non-relatives amounts 

to betrayal. 

We arrived at their second community house. 

An eager third group wants to join, too. Rukundo 

translated my description of our community’s 


s 

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the local young 

guys, eager to 

learn, had soon 

picked up the 

skills from Jonny 


s 

s 


per-person per-week budgeting. He looked pained 

at the mention of such administration. I patiently 

explained that for the scene to grow, people, 

resources and organisation must all develop in 

step, or else things topple over. 

Left to run the evening meeting, Ian and 

I decided it was time for some application. 

I explained about practical sharing (“needs 

and givings”). Claud went round all the 40 

or so people, writing down their responses. 

Meanwhile Rukundo called together the 

delegates from Congo to form a new 

leadership group. 

On the way home I wondered why this leg of 

our trip had been so absorbing. First, we were 

staying in the community, which created much 

more interaction with Rukundo and his friends. 

Second, it was my first time in Rwanda, whereas 

I’d been to Kenya before. Third, we’ve sensed 

we’ve engaged with the spiritual atmosphere. 

DAY THIRTEEN: MONDAY 

We’d finally arrived in Tanzania after 

discovering we’d been re-booked on a late flight. 

We were caught unawares, as we had no phone 

signal in Rwanda. 

Our Conference didn’t get off to a good start. 

Money sent in advance had gone astray. Steven, 

our Multiply man, was stricken with malaria. 

Invitations had gone out last-minute, and catering 

needed sorting. The Abundant Blessings church, 

in Dar es Salaam, came to our rescue. But then 

heavy rain and floods had cut off several roads 

and the electrical supply. The hall was without 

power until a generator started up. By 10.45am, 

when we arrived, not many more than a dozen 

pastors were seated around the hall. Lunch was 

prepared for over a hundred! 

Now part of the team, Rukundo warmed up in 

Swahili, cracking jokes and speaking vulnerably 

about Rwanda’s recent episodes, then drew a 

comparison with Tanzania’s history of stability. 

The hall had filled, and the delegates loved our 

warmth and authenticity. Pastor Luvanda relayed 

www.multiply.org.uk

Ian Callard (back) with the Multiply Team 

that local leaders wanted us to carry on with 

teaching they’d missed. 

DAY FIFTEEN: WEDNESDAY 

On the plane journey home from Nairobi, 

Jason filled me in on his and Jonny’s adventures. 

“We were in a hotel – for security. I went to 

wash my hands and the basin filled with brown 

water. I pulled out the plug and water went all 

over the floor. I wondered what we’d come to. 

We hardly slept that night.” 

He explained that the farm they’d been 

working on, just outside the town, had been 

owned by Gregory’s family. 

“They have this local thing where when 

someone dies, they flatten the house. But 

his family and the pastor want to end the 

superstition. It’s a substantial place, and the 

church now uses it for training and stuff.” 

He and Jonny had spent one day selecting 

timber and materials. Then they’d made some 

doors and tables. The local young guys, eager to 

learn, had soon picked up the skills from Jonny. 

They’d also visited several churches. Jason had 

been shocked to see a group of orphans sniffing 

glue – the only palliative available against the 

pain of their lives. Alfred, from Uganda, leading 

a newly-formed Multiply team, had expressed 

something similar. An aim of his kingdom 

business initiatives is to help people to build a 

new life by healthy manual work. 

With many trials and joys, it’s been a time of 

breaking ground. New relationships have been 

built, and strong links established across the 

whole region. 

JL 

Ian Callard is a member of the 

Jesus Fellowship’s apostolic team 

and a key strategist for Multiply 

International Christian Network. 

He and his wife, Mary, live in Sheffield. 

READ HIS BLOG AT: 

notrustingaway.blogspot.com 

WHAT IS MULTIPLY? 

Multiply Christian Network is a worldwide 

apostolic stream of churches, initiated by 

Jesus Fellowship Church. 

CONTACT MULTIPLY: 


Contact Multiply Director, Huw Lewis, 

Tel: +44 1327 344533 

Email: huw.lewis@jesus.org.uk 

Write to: 

Jesus Fellowship/Multiply, 

Nether Heyford, Northampton, 

NN7 3LB, UK 



Painting by 

numbers 

A group in full swing at Coventry Jesus Centre 


Who said “church” was just a 

Sunday thing? Coventry Jesus Centre 

manager, Piers Young paints a picture 

of a busy Friday at the Jesus Centre 

COULDN’T help being impressed by how 

I much went on here last Friday. 

Julia, our skills tutor, ran a new “The Bible 

and You” class in the Bridge drop-in lounge 

with a keen group. It’s a group that combines 

teaching literacy with exploring the Bible. 

“Little Ark” mums and tots converted 

the Gateway hall into a big play room with 

pushalong toys, craft activities, and chatting 

mums filling the space. 

Reception dealt with a stream of enquiries. 

Support workers plied their trade of mercy. 

Iain, who runs our self-development and 

confidence building activities under the 

banner “Your Future”, took some people to 

Ryton Pools to do conservation work. 

The “Upper Well Café” was an oasis of 

peace (and coffee aromas), while people went 

into “Your Space” activity zone in the hall 

(once the mums and tots had left). 

Roger helped people with CVs and Julia 

started another skills training session, “Your 

Learning”. 

The “Your Art” group patiently painted, 

while Stuart and Betty prayed with someone 

in the chapel in our healing prayer service, 

“Well Maker”. 

Ron had two guys helping him to fix bikes 

www.jesuscentre.org.uk

in the yard (we sometimes sell ones they 

rebuild on eBay). 

People used the public computers as usual. 

Meanwhile Simon kept facilities’ wheels 

turning, Carole did stats inputting, Rob did 

lettings admin. 

With a parenting course due to start, we will 

have filled in the range of services that we have 

wanted to provide all along. It’s like painting 

by numbers, and the picture is growing in 

complexity and colour. Satisfying. 

JL 

I couldn’t help 

being impressed 

by how much 

went on here 

last Friday 

Piers Young is a leader in the 

Jesus Fellowship and manager of 

Coventry Jesus Centre. He lives 

in a Christian community house 

in Coventry and enjoys walking, nature, and 

spending time with friends. 

READ HIS BLOGS: 

coventryjesuscentreblog.com 

(about the Jesus Centre) 

piersdy.wordpress.com 

(reflections on life and Christian community). 

WHAT ARE JESUS CENTRES? 

Places where the love of Jesus is expressed 

daily in worship, care and friendship for every 

type of person. 

www.jesuscentre.org.uk 

JESUS 

CENTRES 

worship • friendship • help for all 

WHERE ARE JESUS CENTRES? 

There are Jesus Centres in Coventry, London 

Northampton and Sheffield with one planned 

for Birmingham in the near future, with vision 

for further locations. 

MORE INFO: 

jesuscentre.org.uk 

facebook.com/jesus.centre 


29

Poets’ 

CORNER 

Jesus Ran Away 

A poem by Aidan Ashby 

He rose from death, ascended high, 

And then he ran away. 

He’s gone to live with those who die, 

With those who’ve lost their way. 

He’s hid down streets, he’s hid in squats, 

The red light’s chief locale. 

He’s hid amongst the poor have-nots, 

Refuse of shopping mall. 

He smells of puke and stale beer, 

Behind every broken door; 

He’s in the pub. He’s lost in care. 

Go find Him among the poor. 

And every day He’s begging us, 

“Come to my poor district; 

My council soon will repossess; 

My life’s in deficit. 

I should be in hospital, 

I’ve got a dirty gash. 

I’m in the tip; I’m in the gaol; 

I’m rooting through your trash. 

I’m full of fear; a rejected gay. 

I’m a mum who’s been through hell. 

I work all night and hide all day. 

My people – make me well.” 

“Whatever you do to the least of these, 

Sons, daughters, loved by Me 

I take it done to Me, the Lord, 

So set my children free.” 

JL 

Aidan Ashby is a young leader 

in the Jesus Fellowship. He 

lives in a Christian community 

house with the musical name of 

‘Anthem’, in Northamptonshire. 


morethanbrothers.blogspot.com 


www.jesuscentre.org.uk

BLOG 

HOW DO I 

FIGHT THIS? 


Nathan Britten, a young Jesus 

Fellowship member, writes bravely 

about his struggle with depression and 

what he has learned along the way 

RECENTLY I’VE been in an uphill battle to 

get out of depression. 

In fact, I don’t feel like I have got out of it yet, 

and it’s still a long journey, but I’m fighting it 

with everything I have in me. 

Here are a few questions I’ve been asking 

myself through this latest period of depression: 

How do I see God? 

The honest answer is: sometimes I can’t see 

God at all. Most of the time, it’s hard to see anything 

positive. It’s like a black cloud that circles 

my head. 

I have to pierce that cloud to see again. The 

truth is a good starting point. So I remind myself: 

God is good. He never changes. 

It can seem, when you’re depressed, that 

nothing in life will ever be good again – but 

that’s not true. 

It’s like when people go rock climbing. As 

the climber climbs, they will hammer a bolt 

into the rock wall. A bolt is a permanent anchor 

in the rock. The lead climber proceeds up the 

route, hooking into each bolt as they make their 

way up the rockface. If the lead climber falls, 

the maximum distance that the climber can fall 

is equal to twice the distance between the last 

bolt and their current position, plus the length 

of slack left in the line by the belayer. 

I have put bolts in the wall and I can see 


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sharing with 

people is a way 

of finding release 


they’re still there. I’m not going to fall any 

further than that point. 

How do I fight this? 

My fight is to keep believing in what I call 

“the wholeness of God”: believing He is for 

me, is healing me. Carrying on with my life 

despite the depression (that is the hardest and 

I’m still learning). Looking after other people. 

Sharing with people helps; they bring you out of 

yourself and can help you see again. 

Prayer is key: having a relationship with 

God; taking time to talk to him. And letting 

other people pray for and with me. Looking 

at how God has healed me. The steps I have 

already trod. 

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This question conceals the biggest lie I get in 

my head during depressed periods. There are 

other people who suffer with depression and 

other people who understand what I’m going 

through. Letting people in is a way to find that 

out. Shutting people out reinforces isolation. 

People want to help in most cases. 

Sharing with people is a way of finding 

release. Building up anxiety and letting 

thoughts go round and round my head doesn’t 

help me get through depression. 

I hold on to trust in God’s healing, daily and 

hourly. God is good and I look forward to more 

of His healing grace. 

JL 

Nathan is 25 and works as a 

buyer in a builders merchants in 

Northamptonshire. 


nathanbritten.blogspot.co.uk 


www.jesus.org.uk

• 

QUESTIONS 

• 

QUESTIONS 

• 

QUESTIONS 

QUESTIONS 

• 

4just 

• 

QUESTIONS 

JUST FOUR 

QUESTIONS 


Jesus Life asks a Jesus radical just 

four questions. Jenny Priestley 

lives at Spreading Flame, a Jesus 

Fellowship community house in 

inner-city London 

WHAT’S the craziest thing you’ve ever done 

for Jesus? 

A group of us from London and some from 

Northampton used to go to a nightclub called 

“Heaven” which was anything but heaven! We 

went on Thursday nights and washed people’s 

feet; it was a bit of a New Age scene at that club 

back in the 90s. 

We explained to people that we were doing it 

because Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and he 

is our role model for humility, love and service. 

People were hot and sweaty after dancing all 

night, so having their feet washed was refreshing. 

We ended up praying with many clubbers and 

some found faith in Jesus. Two have gone on 

to become leaders in other churches. That was 

pretty crazy! 

Recently my friend and I decided that we 

wanted an evangelism adventure, so we went to 

Soho, one of the seediest parts of London, just 

the two of us, and ended up talking to people 

and praying with them. One woman we prayed 

for had a very powerful experience of the Holy 

Spirit. That was really good. 

You live in Christian community. Why? 

I had a strong sense of calling back in the early 

90s. It makes sense and it’s how the early 

church lived. I love living with my friends and 

building strong relationships by going through 


s 

s 


people were 

hot and sweaty 

after dancing 

all night 


good and bad times together. It shows me God’s 

love when people stick by me, no matter what 

I’m going through. 

I love the fact that we have an open house – I 

can’t tell you how many different people have 

visited over the years. Not all of them end up 

staying, but nobody goes without being changed 

in some way by God. 

What made you decide to make a vow of 

singleness? 

When I was younger, I said to God, “Just take 

my life and use me in any way that you want to” 

and I remember saying “If you can use me better 

as a single person then I don’t mind”. Then 

later on, when I came to London and met the 

Jesus Fellowship, I met people who had made 

a commitment to singleness. I admired their 

generous love and their closeness to God; when 

I talked to them I felt an excitement inside. So I 

asked God if this was something He’d put inside 

my heart and had a growing sense that it was, 

which turned into absolute certainty. 

What dreams do you have for the future? 

We meet a lot of young people when we’re out 

on the streets and I long to see them get to know 

God. There are a lot of distractions around them, 

but I believe they will find truth, love and also 

adventure and excitement in God’s church. 

I would love to see us move in more 

confidence in God’s gifts, for example, bringing 

healing to sick people. We’ve seen it happening a 

bit, but I’ve got a dream that it will be something 

that happens through the church every day, not 

just on rare occasions. 

JL 

s 

s 


www.jesus.org.uk

BELFAST 

Jesus Fellowship Church........................0845 123 5552 

Birmingham 


BLACKBURN 

Hyndburn Christian Fellowship.............01706 222 401 

BLACKBUrn 

Rishton Christian Fellowship................01254 887 790 

Bridgend 

The Bridge Community Church............01656 655 635 

BrightoN 


chATham 

King’s Church Medway........................... 01634 847 477 

Coventry 


gloUCESTEr 

Living Word Fellowship.......................... 01452 506 474 

HASTINGS 


High Wycombe 

Church of Shalom...................................01494 449 408 

KETTEring 


LeiCESTEr 


Liverpool 


London CENTRAL 



London N 

Glad Tidings Evangelical Church..........0208 245 9002 

London S 

Bible Life Family Ministries...................07932 938 911 

London SE 

Ephratah Int’l Gospel Praise Centre....0208 469 0047 

London SE 

Flaming Evangelical Ministries ...........01634 201 170 

London SE 

Glorious Revival Eagle Ministries.........0208 855 3087 

London SE 

Life For The World Christian Centre....07956 840 002 

London SE 

Mission Together for Christ................... 07737 475 731 

MiLTon KeynES 


Northampton 

Jesus Fellowship Church .......................0845 166 8161 

Norwich 


Oxford 


RAMSEY HOLLOW (HunTS) 

Christians United.....................................01487 815 528 

ShEFFiELd 


SWANSEA 



35

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