Forgetting what lies behind...

The England v Germany fiasco was abysmal. While the country mourns the apparent footballing death of the 'golden generation' we must look now to the future. What of the Euro's in 2012? What of the next World Cup in four years time?

The fact is the curtain has fallen for the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole, John Terry and Gareth Barry. They've had their chance and they've failed to fulfill their potential on the main stage; 2002, 2006 and 2010 all promised much and delivered nothing but disappointment. All of them will be over 30 in 2014. If there were concerns that the team this year was too old it is certainly time to retire the old guard before the next tournament!

Instead, focus on the new players.

In 2014, for the World Cup in Brazil, we could have a team that looks like this:

Joe HART (27)

Micah RICHARDS (26) Michael DAWSON (30) Joleon LESCOTT (31) Leighton BAINES (29)

Aaron LENNON (27) Tom HUDDLESTONE (27) Aashley YOUNG (28)

Wayne ROONEY (28)

Theo WALCOTT (25) Gabriel AGBONLAHOR (27)

With the likes of Shawcross, Milner, Johnson and Bent on the bench there is the makings of a good sqaud; a squad that can be enriched by the next batch of young talent - Jack Wilshire, Jack Rodwell and Danny Wellbeck.

If the England manager begins playing this kind of team now it gives them four years to gel, to learn to play together, to develop the team spirit that was evidently lacking from the current group of talented individuals. Play them through the qualifiers and, hopefully, finals of the European Championships in 2012. Let them feel what it's like to play at a big tournament.

If the current players genuinely want to be a part of the England setup let them play a role similar to David Beckham this year; a mentor, a morale booster, a voice of experience and encouragement.

I reckon this is the way forward. Who's with me?

I don't want to be an England player.

In the aftermath of yet another disappointing world cup for England I, like many other football fans, begin to reflect on what went wrong.

According to some of the leading players the training was perfect, the preparations were perfect, the hotel setup and arrangements were all perfect. So how was it that a group of the best English players failed to play to their full potential? failed to play as a team? failed to live up to the expectation that was put on this 'golden generation'?

The million pound question is surely this: How can our top players have excellent seasons for their clubs and not continue that good form in an England shirt?

The England team that were utterly outplayed and ultimately knocked out of the World Cup by a Germany side that, in all honesty, we should have beaten, featured players that we the key to successful seasons for Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and others. Our strikers alone scored, somewhat ironically, sixty-six goals between them this season for their clubs, and yet the England team managed only 3 (plus that one that was not given).

We didn't even score against Algeria.

This is the inquest that will continue for a long time to come. I don't have all the answers. But one thing I am sure of is that I don't want to be like an 'England player'.

I don't want to be inconsistent.

Whatever role I'm playing, in whatever context and whatever situation I'm in I want to operate with integrity, creativity and passion.

I don't want to give people an opportunity to accuse me of never giving 100% in any area of my life. I don't want people to see a 'club' and 'country' distinction in what I do. I want to play well.

David Beckham remains to this day one of my all time favourite players. He has been criticised in more recent games he has featured in for not being quick enough or being too old. In truth, Beckham has never been particularly quick, at least not compared to Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott. But Beckham's strength is in his work rate. His passion in an England shirt is inspiring. His professionalism is second-to-none. He still has an ability to give those around him a boost. There was rarely ever a 'club vs country' dilemma for David Beckham. Even off the pitch he has proven to be a good father and a faithful husband, despite the media speculations and tabloid attempts to break up his marriage and family.

I'm sure in August all the players will return to playing for their clubs and have a great season. I'm sure there will be more England games and more disappointment and debate over players not transferring their club form onto the international stage.

But I don't want to be an 'England player'.

I want to be consistent.

Where have all the miracles gone?

There whole area of spiritual gifts, miracles and signs and wonders is a weird and wonderful minefield in Church circles. There is a broad spectrum of stances from a full on focus on the supernatural – Praying for Revival, Healing Ministries, Speaking in Tongues, Moving in the Prophetic, a lot of the stuff on God TV – right through to focus on the natural – Incarnational Church, Missional, Relational – and there are Churches that genuinely believe that Spiritual Gifts don’t happen anymore; that God simply doesn’t do that these days.

It’s a huge subject that theologians and churches have wrestled with for years. (HTB recently hosted a brilliant conference about the Holy Spirit in the World Today) We could never do justice to it in a short talk and a panel discussion so what I’ll do tonight is a very brief overview of what, I believe, our focus should be as the church today, and then we can get into some discussions afterwards.

Spiritual Gifts are obviously a work of the Holy Spirit.

Firstly, the Holy Spirit is alive and well and working in the Church today. Now, the Spirit doesn’t seem to get as much attention as the other two in our teaching. We don’t seem to know as much about him as we do the Father and the Son; he (or she) is a bit more difficult to get our heads around. While it seems that we don’t see many supernatural miracles in the same way as they’re recorded in the New Testament, we do see His work in the church. He is the same Spirit, He is God, He never changes, He is always faithful and He is always engaged with His church.

We often treat the Holy Spirit like the Genie in the Lamp. A quick rub of the prayer lamp and He’ll get on and do whatever it is we ask because it says in the bible ‘ask and it will be given.’ The Spirit prefers to work with people and through people. He mediates the will of God. He inspires and guides and uses people to bring about God’s kingdom in the life of the Church. Which is why there are gifts of the Spirit. the message of wisdom... the message of knowledge... faith... gifts of healing... miraculous powers... prophecy... distinguishing between spirits... speaking in different kinds of tongues and... the interpretation of tongues. We see them displayed in Acts, at Pentecost, the Spirit using people to spread good news by speaking in different languages, in the early church the Spirit used the apostles to demonstrate God’s love to people by healing them.

Do we see the same gifts now? Yes we do.
Are they manifested in exactly the same way? No, not necessarily.

Ultimately, Spiritual Gifts are given out for the building up of the church, for the common good. (1 Cor 12:7) I personally don’t speak in tongues. And I’ve been in Churches were they seriously doubt you’re a Christian if you don’t speak in tongues. This attitude doesn’t build up the church. I’ve been prayed for for healing and nothing seems to happen and I’ve been accused of not having enough faith or having unconfessed sin. This doesn’t build up the church.

At the end of 1 Corinthians 12 Paul, who was probably ranting by this point, says: Are all apostles? No. (I’m filling in the answers here) Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in tongues? No. Do all interpret? No. But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way...

Now, whoever divided up the chapters missed a trick here, because Chapter 12 is meant to flow seamlessly from into 1 Corinthians 13 (the 'wedding' passage).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Even stopping there makes no sense because it carries on: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It’s not about weddings at all it’s about being church and it’s about spiritual gifts. It clearly states that prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled, knowledge will pass away when perfection comes, when Christ comes again and heaven comes to earth. We’re not supposed to focus on the gifts we’re supposed to desire the greater gifts of Faith and Hope and above all Love.

When we focus on these three, it’s amazing how many miracles start happening. Everyday Miracles. We focus of Faith, Hope and Love and opportunities miraculously appear.In the Hebrew language there is no word for 'spiritual' because there was never a seperation between spirit and secular. There was never meant to be. When we focus on Faith, Hope and Love in our everyday life we reunite spiritual and secular; we begin living again in the power of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts start flowing more naturally. Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these is Love.

Target Practice

The end of my final year at Spurgeon's College is rapidly approaching. One lone exam is all that stands between me and my Spurgeonic freedom. Three years of studying, learning, experiencing, will soon be behind me.

For each one of those three years five coke cans have been positioned on my windowsill in front of my desk. (It has not been the same five cans, but there have always been five cans there, except for a short period when they were replaced with beer bottles.)

Many visitors have enquired about the cans; were they there just because they look quite cool? was there a deeper, more significant purpose for their display?

The reason is rooted in the story of David and Goliath.

Remember the story? Small Boy vs Giant Man. Giant Man is big warrior with huge sword and lots of armour. Small Boy is small with little slingshot. Small Boy shoots Giant Warrior Man with little slingshot and small stone. Small stone hits Giant Warrior Man in head, sinks into Giant Warrior Man's skull... Giant Warrior Man dies. Small Boy saves the day and becomes hero.

It's a great story. But I heard a sermon that put it into a bit of perspective for me.

Yes, David, the small boy shot Goliath with one smooth stone. One shot, one kill.
But if we honestly think that was the first shot David had ever taken we are seriously mistaken and deluded.

David was a shepherd boy. He spent hours in the field, probably alone, looking after sheep and protecting them from bears and lions. This was David's training ground with God. He spent hours getting to know the voice of God in the quiet of the field - in the surroundings of his training ground. David wasn't just being super-spiritual, sitting on rocks playing his harp and singing and writing psalms all day; his training was practical.

Imagine David, on his own, lining coke cans up on a fence and shooting them, one-by-one, with his slingshot; his accuracy improving with every stone. When every can had been knocked off, he'd run over to the fence, line the cans up and start over again.

Imagine then, the day a lion or bear came looking for a sheepy-snack, David takes another stone and fires... he's on target because of the coke cans.

Imagine again, the day a Giant Man arrogantly challenges God's people...

David takes five stones... he knows from experience which ones fly better, faster, truer, so he picks the smooth ones... he looks at the warrior and as he does he begins to go through a routine he's practised hundreds, thousands of times before... he loads the stone effortlessly... he takes aim perfectly... he fires precisely... he's confident the stone will hit exactly where he wants it to because of the practice he's had in the sheep field (he's confident but he's not cocky, remember, he's still got four stones left as back up and I'm guessing he probably had the second stone loaded, just in case, before Goliath even hit the floor)

My coke cans have been a visual reminder for me that this is my training ground. I have no doubt that God was with David during his battle with Goliath, but I also reckon God was with David while he was in the field shooting coke cans; Preparing him. Sharpening him. Inspiring him to better himself. Firming up good habits. Developing skills that would seriously come in handy later.

I don't know if or when I'll face my giant(s).

But what I do know, is that my college time has been the training ground God has used to prepare me for it. I've spent three years 'shooting coke cans.'