How to raise a ginger in an anti-red world

 

We live in a dull, banal, colourless world where blondes and brunettes have become the toast of society, the A-list of hair-colours and where red-heads have been banished to nothing more than unimaginative punch-lines for immature jokes. But do not despair, we will see a brighter day (tainted with a ginger hue), where the word “ginger” and “ranger” will be something to be proud of, something  to be boasted about and gloried in. And we need to be ready for this day of nearing revolution. So parents of new born babes laden with flames of glory on their tiny heads, stand up tall and take heed of my top 10 list on how to raise a ginger:

 

10. Along with nappies, Factor 50 sun-cream is the next most vital commodity to be stocked up on

9. South Park and its “Gingers have no soul” mantra must be banned from your series collection

8. Never confuse freckles with pimples

7. On the line of freckles, never tell the children’s classic “How the Leopard got it’s spots”...it will lead to many an awkward question

6. Get rid of all wall-colours that are of the bone, ivory, white, off-white, egg-shell variety...red-head children’s skin tones often get lost with this type of palate

5. Never get angry or frustrated at a red traffic light as this can breed insecurity in your child

4. In the same vein, red cards in rugby and soccer matches are never to be booed or jeered.

3. When they become teenagers, make sure they shave regularly as red stubble can appear as dirt from a distance, causing your child to appear unwashed. (ignore if your ginger is a girl)

2. Live in the confidence that for all the jokes that come their way, if they grow up in a church the amount of prophetic words that come their way will more than make up for it...red-heads are easy prey for visiting prophetic ministries.

1. Did I mention to buy lots of suncream?

 

IMMERSED part one

 

We've started an exciting four week journey as a church community with our new series, "IMMERSED". Over four consecutive Sundays, we are inviting our church to explore four fundamental and yet revolutionary doctrines surrounding the baptisms we find in scripture:
The baptism into the body of Christ, baptism in water, baptism in the Holy Spirit and the often ignored baptism of suffering.
Hebrews.6 speaks of these "baptisms" as elementary teachings and yet the vast majority of christendom as we know it are only ankle deep in their understanding and application of these truths.

We believe that God is taking us deeper as a people, as we get ready to go wider in our efforts of discipling our city and the nations. Our prayer for this series is that we would dive into the greater depths of community, discipleship and mission that scripture and the Spirit are calling us into.

 

If you'd like to join us on this life changing journey, add us on twitter, read our blogs, study the scriptures and join us on Sundays 9AM or 6PM. Alternatively, you can check out our website where all this content will be readily available.

www.lifechangers.org.za

Something's brewing in the atmosphere...

 

A month ago tonight I found myself preaching in a church in Nelspruit to an audience that rounded out at just over 600 in an atmosphere which had nearly close to everyone present believing that anything was possible and that we were truly born to change the world. That night, huge faith stirred between preacher and audience as the life of God rose up within us in a significant way. People turned their lives over to Christ without much human prompting, repentance ran true, tears of joy and acceptance flowed strongly, blind eyes, deaf ears and other various healings of physical ailments were heralded without laying on of hands, and an uncommon unity that bypassed racial, economic and social lines was caught as something that looked extremely like the revivals of old was happening before our very eyes.

 

After 31 days of pondering this earth shaking night and the JobiJol camp as a whole, my heart has settled on five ingredients that contributed to what God did and is continuing to do. This is not an attempt to conjure up a recipe, but more just recognizing the fingerprints of heaven that are quickly becoming stronger and stronger.

1.       Missional friendships

-represented at this 4 day camp were multiple churches and personalities that came largely from the greater Johannesburg area but also from Nelspruit, Durban and Cape Town. This wasn’t a forced attempt at unity but rather the result of different layers of friendships that have been built over the last 4 to 5 years (and some longer). The camp, which happens every year in the December/January slot has gathered a momentum not because of strategic meetings, an organizational mandate or clever marketing but rather because of men and women whose hearts beat for the same thing, devoting themselves to building intentional friendships with the King and His Kingdom at the centre.

2.       High value of the bible

-What we are learning more and more these days is that God is faithful above all else to His Word. And with that as a cornerstone in our belief system we are beginning to have the audacity to believe what He says! So high on our agenda is to follow Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “preach the word” and to do so with a faith, knowing that “his word does not return to Him void."

3.       Recognizing the anointing of the Holy Spirit

-We didn’t all fast for days on end leading up to the camp. In fact, I came straight from holiday. But we are quickly understanding that the heavens were opened not by our pleas and rain-dances but by Jesus’ blood, never to be shut again. When Jesus declared that “the Holy Spirit will come upon you”, he might as well have shouted the child-hood adage of “OPEN GATES!” That Sunday night, a friend (Craig Herbert) and I met at our parked car to change shoes for the meeting, but quickly recognized that the Holy Spirit was stirring something special in our hearts. The shoes were abandoned and we prayed. Bold prayers. Open heaven type prayers. The Holy Spirit was with us, and we expected “to receive power.”

4.       A response of worship

-In every session of the camp, including the last one, the preaches culminated in us landing in worship. Or should I say taking off again in worship. It wasn’t a pre-camp decision but God so shifted our hearts from looking to push people to an emotional response, or to a manipulated altar call moment, but rather to recognizing that God was present and he was at work in the hearts and lives of the people there. It was in the worship that healings happened. It was in the worship that hearts were saved, that rejection was broken off, that the Holy Spirit filled people, that sin and addictions were broken, that lives were forever changed and commissioned. When Christ is lifted up all men will be drawn to Him.

 

 

That weekend in early January has left me indelibly changed. Grateful but not satisfied.

I love moments like these.

I love doing high ministry moments with mates like these.

But more than that, I love the momentum that these four days up country have created in me, in my peer group and in a generation who are beginning to respond to the something that is brewing in the atmosphere. 

Can you feel it?