Erik's Blog

As a nation, we’re moving quickly toward the General Election. You may already know how you will cast your vote; you may still be considering your choices. As a Christian, there is one message we are asking you to pass on to Parliament: I PROMISE TO VOTE.

Stand up and let parliament know that the Christian vote needs to be acknowledged in this General Election. To do so, you can sign this online declaration:

To The Speaker and Members of the House of Commons,

I promise to vote in the upcoming 2010 General Election using my Christian conscience to decide which party to support. I will be voting on matters of national importance to create a stronger and better country that reflects Christian values.

To sign the declaration go to: http://www.promisetovote.com

Last week I attended the Vineyard national leaders conference. At a seminar run by Jason & Michelle Scott (Vineyard Pastors from N. Ireland) they talked about getting out into the community and touching the lives of many. This is something we are really pursuing and emphasising at Woking Vineyard - we'd like everyone in the church to be involved in some form of outreach or community service. Things like Jigsaw, Outside Light and the Homeless shelters are part of this, but we also want to move towards doing things like Healing on the Streets.

Being a smallish church, we can sometimes feel a little inadequate, and this is where two encouragements really hit home from what Jason and Michelle shared:

1. Let's not define our success by counting how many people attend a church service but rather by counting how many lives we touch in the community.

2. Let's be a church that "punches above its weight". With the right God-directed connections and intentional focus we can make a hugely significant impact in our community that exceeds human expectations of a church our size.

One of the best and most fun ways of Being Good News is to perform random acts of kindness. It can be to strangers or people you know.

Surprise your work colleagues with a box of fresh doughnuts. Buy a homeless person lunch. Top up someone's hungry parking meter. Mow your neighbours lawn. Be creative - there are thousands of ideas.

Soul Survivor has launched AOK Day (acts of kindness day) - every Friday is AOK Day. They encourage people to do random, creative, fun things and then to share their stories. BRILLIANT!!

Check out the website for stories and ideas:  http://www.soulaction.org/aokday/

I read these words by Eugene Peterson, inspired by the reflection of the writer Annie Dillard, on what it means to be a Witness:

The premier biblical witness, John the Baptist, said, "He must increase, bit I must decrease." The witness does not call attention to itself; what it points to is more important. Being takes presedence over using, explaining, possessing…  Witness is a modest word saying what is there, honestly testifying to exactly what we see, what we hear.

But when we enlist in a cause, it is almost impossible to do it right: we embellish, we fill in the blanks, we varnish the dull passages, we gild the lilly just a little to hold the attention of our auditors… Important things are at stake - God, salvation - and we want so much to involve outsiders in these awesome realities that we leave the humble ground of Witness and use our words to influence and motivate, to advertise and publicise. Then we are no longer witnesses, but lawyers arguing a case, not always with scrupulous attention to detail. After all, life and death issues are before the jury.   

Are we willing to be Witnesses - simply and honestly testifying to exactly what we see and hear? Are we willing to let our lives be a Witness, pointing to the One who is more important than us? Are we willing to be honest with the details, even if those details look a little unattractive, or offensive, or politically incorrect? Without apology or compromise, I want to be a faithful Witness to the One who always courts controversy and intrigue.