Month: July 2025

Prophecy… a great era

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

I am not planning to make an incredible post on ‘prophecy and the prophetic’ (as if I could!). There are so many testimonies of prophetic words that open up what has been previously shut, or confirm what has been carried during a prior season, but it is not that that I want to reflect on.

I first encountered a serious level of the prophetic in 1981 when I sat and observed a prophet from the USA who had come through the Latter Rain Movement and he prophesied over a number of people that I knew (and he did not) and who were in prominent positions within the charismatic world in the UK. I had no idea how he knew what he knew.

Since then I have had the privilege of witnessing many such times when that has taken place… but here we are some 35+ years since those days. I am deeply grateful for that background, but also am aware that not only has some decades passed but we are in a new context. Last week I was deeply provoked when I was told that someone who Gayle and I prophesied over is ‘waiting for the fulfilment’ which of course is what we have to do but part of waiting often challenges expectations.

When we were searching for a property in Madrid we received a word that contained the phrase that ‘it would be bigger than we think’. Well, we had been looking for a small property and with all of them we were outpriced. If unable to afford something smaller then there is not too much of a difference when looking for something bigger – both scenarios are in the beyond your resources area. We opened the search wider (we knew the ‘where’ we should be) and as we looked at bigger apartments and still nothing connected. An important principle in all things prophetic is that in all things ‘the peace of God is the final arbitrator in our hearts’. So nothing connected. Then one day an agent said ‘we have this place you can look at’. It was as small as anything we had looked at before, but was at a lower price as it had many issues on it (Including that the only reference to the owner that we found on a search was ‘do not deal with this man as he is a thief’ – perhaps more on that later). We thought we might as well go and look as there is nothing else we are looking at on that day.

We walked in and instantly knew we were to go for this one as we could see that we could get the entire government and judiciary of Spain inside that apartment – not literally, but present to leverage. (Location is vital.)

Bigger than you think. So often the issue is our thinking. We hear something and it might connect with our thinking at that point of time, but we have to move our thinking forward as the future context will often be different when we finally connect. Prophecy comes at point ‘A’… fulfilment is at point ‘C’ in our lives; expectation is a fulfilment in our present context and if we hold on too tightly to how it will be we can fail to be ready or fail to see the opportunity for fulfilment when it comes.

A prophetic word comes and then if there is to be a fulfilment there has to be an interior work in us; there has to be a preparation in us so that we be ready.

Language in the prophetic can also be misunderstood – bigger than you think = more square metres; and the fulfilment was something with less square metres but appropriate for the task in hand.

I am aware that there were many wonderful words to numerous people from 1990 onwards, and that since then there has been many shifts in the wider context. This is a major factor as if expectations are that fulfilments will be in a previous context there will be disappointments and we will be waiting and waiting.

This aspect of the change of context is something that goes way beyond prophetic words and fulfilments and is an aspect that will come through as I reflect.

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Prophecy and control

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by Martin Scott
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Prophetic words and revelation that communicate can make an amazing difference to a life or a situation and probably in the next post will develop that side. However… and sadly I also have to touch on the levels of control that I have confronted – blatantly in the numerous years when I travelled to Brazil and perhaps not so blatant in other places.

I still respond to requests from certain situations to bring some prophetic revelation and always make sure that the person on the receiving end knows they are the ‘boss’. They have every right to reject what is being brought, and they are not about to receive something that is controlling or manipulative. Paul describes one of the ‘works of the flesh’ as witchcraft and anything that seeks to control, manipulate or dictate in the context of interpersonal relationships is indeed a work of the flesh. It might come in the form of a charismatic gift… in the form of prophecy, but nevertheless it is ‘false prophecy’. False prophecy is not that which is wrong, it is a spirit. If someone consistently gets it ‘wrong’ then they need help and probably need to take a step back for a season – but that in itself is not false prophecy.

[An aside: one of the theological errors I believe, and something that has been popularised in many charismatic / third wave circles is that the prophets of the Old Testament spoke the very words of God, and the apostles of the New Testament did likewise, whereas the New Testament prophets spoke relatively. This does not stand up to biblical examination and I am sure the original proponent of this was operating from a presupposition concerning the inerrancy of Scripture – similar to one of my earlier posts about my days in New Testament introduction classes and the ever-present drive to prove that each and every NT book was ‘apostolic’. The Bible does not need our help!!!]

‘We had a person through who to each person he gave out their social security number and then what followed was a prophetic word, but each word was manipulative – even some at the level of threat’… ‘if you do not receive this word then this will happen…’

The above was reported to me. Perhaps the person received the numbers from heaven (I question that) but irrespective of the source the response was not one of faith and freedom but bondage. In Brazil I always held one session on false prophecy and at the close always held a response time seeking to insist that if they had been subject to such an experience that we would pray. I tried to make the response very tight so excluded where they had received something that was not accurate, or they knew that whatever they had received did not have a hold on them. On average 25-35% of those present would respond. The biggest battle was getting people to the place where they verbally rejected what had been given as they had to confront the fear of ‘but if I reject this what will happen’. Following the renunciation I would always call for healing – and sometimes as many as 50-100 people would testify to healing – such as being able to move their arm, leg or body in a free way for the first time in a decade or more.

Prophecy is never about the person giving the ‘word’. As soon as that becomes the case a door is open to all sorts of problems. Peter was asked to ‘feed my sheep’. The ministry platform has opened up the reverse of that… those listening, listen with awe and are impressed (‘duped’) and the person (ego) being fed is the platform person.

I believe in prophetic gifts. We are in a new time, a new situation, and this requires new protocols and also (re-)new(ed) people. Being impressed by the superstar is not what will bring the kingdom of heaven into reach but will only serve to keep the body immature and the remainder of society bereft of heaven’s perspective.

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An interlude

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Prophetic Perspectives

I am making an interlude in my pre-70 posts (resuming tomorrow) as we (the corporate ‘we’) are beginning to see an important shift in our world.

Quite some time ago Gayle had a very significant dream – she has many but I have never witnessed her so impacted as a result. The dream as we understand it focused on Europe as the place where a response took place and it was a huge protest about the situation for the Palestinians in Gaza. We are beginning to see this right now – and we have to have huge respect for the protests within Israel itself – in cities, in concerts that suddenly erupt in protest, in airports. It is happening, or at least beginning to happen.

I appreciate there are differing views on Israel, the land and ‘eschatological’ events but currently the level of genocide with the complicities of many of our nations and mega-companies is beyond intolerable.

The second part of the dream was as a result of the European voice on Palestine was that of a serious shift in the banking / economic world. The focus was on the children. A major ‘god’ to be confronted in the Old Testament was Moloch and it is the continuation of that alliance that is what drives so much of the global western economy. That ‘spirit’ is placated and will bless today if we are willing to sacrifice the next generation (child sacrifice). We have to see a return to ‘seedtime and harvest’ – we sow today for the future harvest, so much of what underpins the economic western structure is that we borrow from a future that has not yet appeared to fund today. Global debt… If we as individuals were to run our finances in the same way we would be imprisoned.

I pause on my reflections because soon I will not be here (even if I live to my 132 fantasy age!!!) but it is all about the children. ‘Take off your shoes Mr. Banks and play with the children’ was where Gayle’s dream ended. ‘And a child will lead them’ (Is. 11:6).

Follow the money… otherwise we will not see clearly and will not sow to a future where (the subsequent verses) come into view:

They will not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

We have entered a major crack in time. 2008, 2020 and now 2025. We watch, bear witness.

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July 29 2004 – Feb 14 2025

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

Dates. July 29th, 2004 the diagnosis for Sue is that she had cancer in her body. She is 49, her dad having died at age 50 from cancer. In her journal on 28th July she wrote – I do not want to face my worst fear. On 29th she wrote – I have faced my worst fear and it is not as bad as I thought. The diagnosis was given – I was devastated, she not. The first ‘major’ (excuse the inadequate adjective) healing I saw was of a Philipino woman in Tooting, London, who was in the final stages of cancer. She was present with family members who had come over for her final weeks. I prayed for her and the colour of her skin changed. Next day she drove her husband’s BMW car that he had bought while she was ill and had never been able to drive. She drove to a Catholic church to pray and give thanks. The priest asked her what was going on – he did not know how to respond! But now this was Sue.

In the fall a friend from Argentina came to me and said he had been praying for Sue and had seen the following. She was in a small private meeting in which there were words spoken that entered into the pit of her stomach and rose up into her chest area and exited at the top of her back just below the neck. He said that he and his wife, Sylvia, would come and pray if 1) she confirmed that happened exactly as he described and 2) that as soon as I shared this with her that her fist words would be ‘I will tell you exactly when that was’. I thought well there are no secrets so no chance and then when I repeated what Victor had said, so that he could check I had it accurately, I pointed to my chest area and was maybe 2 centimetres to the left of where he had indicated. He replied with if she says it was where you pointed then I am wrong and will not come to pray. I thought now double no chance!

[An aside – maybe we have witnessed (I overstate) where someone declares there is a man with a torn tendon in his right elbow… eventually a women with a dislocated left knee is healed!]

I went back home and Sue sat on one settee. I shared. Her first words were ‘I will tell you exactly when that was’. OOOOF.

Victor and Sylvia came and prayed. The improvement was incredible. In December we had the second scan and waited in the waiting room, and waited… They came eventually and explained the delay. They said they had received the results but knew that the results could not be from the woman they were looking at who looked as well as you or I. They said that the technicians had made a mistake and sent it back for another response. But that they said that in spite of treatment the situation was worse than before.

I learnt so much in those months. Worst time of my life – maybe also the best. Encounters with God in abundance. I remember unloading the dishwasher. Only I was in the house and as I bent down this hand came on my back – so strongly I jumped up, instantly without fear or concern. I knew somehow this was an angelic visitation. This strength flooded into my body. I walked to the hospice about 1km away with literal physical strength flowing through my body. I reached the hospice (Sue was by now in a coma) and there was an open Bible with a note that the person left saying ‘I read this for you today’.

Then this humanlike figure touched me again and gave me strength. He said, ‘Don’t be afraid, friend. Peace. Everything is going to be all right. Take courage. Be strong.’ (Dan 10:18-19).

OOOOFFFF.

Two days later (Feb 14th – the only Valentine card she never opened on the side) Sue was breathing with her lungs clearly filled with liquid so the breathing was heavily laboured. I said to her if you want me to I will release you (first time I ever said that or had contemplated saying that). And as clear as any voice could be immediately I heard,

No not now and if you ask I will send an angel to cleanse her lungs for you.’

My reply – if that is on offer I am asking.

Bizarrely I thought the liquid in the lungs would somehow be syphoned out and would enter the catheter bag (I am no medic!). I looked for the bag but as she had had received no liquid in days the bag was not hanging on the side of the bed but tucked under her thigh. I took it and hung it on the side of the bed, and 90 minutes later it was full. I called a nurse who looked at me sceptically but then quickly removed the bag and replaced it with another one. I called her again maybe another 90 minutes later and as she took at away in the corridor the nurse was asked by another nurse – where has that come from? When she said Sue Scott a discussion ensued as this was not considered possible.

Sue’s breathing was now perfect.

From July 29th to Feb 14th had been a long journey, but at last we were there. At 17:10 my phone went with a text message from someone with credible status. It read, ‘Last night I dreamt and Sue was present in a room and giving thanks to all those present from around the world who had been praying for her.’ I knew we were there – the timing was amazing. 12 minutes later she breathed her last breath.

Months later I realised that the Holy Spirit had said ‘cleanse her lungs for you‘. Not for Sue, for where she was headed she did not need lungs related to this earthly age to be cleansed – it was for me.

On that last morning a young woman who lived about an hour away woke and came downstairs to say that she had woken to Sue Scott’s voice (she had never met Sue) who said – My Jesus I am coming to you, tell my family I was not afraid, look after my family.

In the months before Sue died there was an evening when those somewhat younger than us came to pray for her. She said, ‘before you pray I do not want anyone to pray to stop me dying’ (I am somewhat shocked to hear this). She continued, ‘We are all dying. You are here to pray that I live. If you discern that I have purpose to live then you can pray’.

I thought about Moses’ words:

I set before you life and death, choose life so that you may live.

He did not say avoid death and you will live. Avoiding death is not living… becoming increasingly a life giving spirit is to live.

To say that I learnt so much would be an understatement.

Do I understand all that took place. No, but am forever grateful to God for the deep intimate companionship along the way.

Could the outcome have been different? Perhaps, but the ‘coulds and shoulds’ of life can stop us moving forward. Never easy but the companionship of heaven is deeply more life-giving than the understanding of all things.

In a personal post like this it would not be possible to thank everyone for the practical and prayerful support during and after those months. I am eternally grateful to the scores of people.

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In Jesus’ name

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

I had a phase when I focused a lot on praying for those who were sick. I initially asked the Lord for one person per week and after a few weeks someone would come to my door, then I upped the request to 3 a week and the same began to happen, and then…

I still have a simplicity about healing… how would the historical Jesus of Nazareth respond to a request for healing – the one who is the same yesterday, today and will be consistently the same tomorrow. There might be many reasons why a person is not healed but I do not think it is a good idea to start with that!

I could recount many stories but – hopefully not being foolish but helping to raise realistic expectations – will throw in two here.

Back in the day of ‘healing meetings’… and in this new setting, a setting of life, we have to find a new way, but back in the day as these posts are reflections that maybe I can pull together the threads in days to come. Edith, in her early 60s came in sitting in a wheelchair and I immediately turned to my colleague and said – that woman will walk tonight. The story was written up in a national newspaper (The Daily Mail – not a paper I would recommend!). I later found out that for 19 years she had never walked unaided, 16 in a wheelchair and living in a home for those severely physically challenged. By the time I prayed for her she was in advanced stage of Multiple Sclerosis. Her eye sight had virtually all gone, her vocal cords destroyed. She walked and returned to ‘normal’ life, she soon left the care home and lived some 15 kilometres from where I lived. She had to be medically examined to have her driving license restored and the report was – other than your medical records we have to say there is no trace of any symptom in her body, no residual evidence that she had ever had MS!

I got to know her some and found out that she had been prayed for on numerous occasions over the previous decades with seemingly no result. Two options… someone comes along who knows what others before did not know, or (the reality) one more prayer tipped the scales. There the challenge remains. Persistence and certainly no hollow promises, and no action as if we know everything.

A mother brought her 8 year old daughter to me. I sat with them in an office. She had a rare disease and at its worst she had to be carried in a duvet from one place to another such was the pain to even touch her. I simply said – if Jesus were here physically, but it is me who is here so let’s see. I simply prayed ‘Lord Jesus it would be great if you touched this young girl today’… I held her hand and after a minute or so said, ‘many times when one is being healed there is a sensation that is experienced in the body – often heat or tingling or something similar’. The girl replied with – I have felt something happen in all my joints. My reply – you never know, let’s see.

I had a letter from the mother a few days later. When we left your office my daughter said she had never let this well in a long time. Next day she cycled 800 metres, not having been able to cycle in weeks. Then later she communicated that the clinic that she was under communicated that they could not explain the shift, but that their conclusion was that the cumulative effect of the different drugs they had prescribed had overnight somehow catalysed the healing. Maybe… probably not!

I could recount hundreds of similar situations, and maybe one last one in this post. In Brazil at the back to the auditorium there was a major commotion with people gathered all around. I said go find out what has happened. A woman born without fingerprints had received finger prints! Necessary? Probably not – but what a testimony to the restoration of identity.

I don’t know too much, have also prayed with people who have had no improvement; sadly lost Sue when she was only 50. But I remain a convinced charismatic, that there are gifts that God releases.

I doubt if I will know a lot more once I travel beyond the 70 mark, and I hope in recounting just 3 stories that I will not come out the other side to be more foolish than I am. My motivation – God is not one of us, but breaks in to our world over and over again. We rejoice with every testimony, we weep with those who do not experience something amazing (Heb. 11) knowing that as we walk together and make room for God there are all kinds of possibilities… ‘What if?’ possibilities.

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Charismatic Gifts

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by Martin Scott
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Not ‘charismatic’ in the sense of larger than life personality, but charis-matic: charis being the word for grace, and Paul in Galatians expresses an expectation of the norm among them in a letter that is strong about ‘grace’:

Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard? (Gal. 3:5).

Present tense and ongoing without Paul (an apostle) being present. I am an unrepentant ‘charismatic’ with a belief and desire to see the norm, but also acknowledge the abuse that has at times accompanied that which is popularly called ‘the supernatural’. And in these next few posts there is a backdrop that supernatural signs do not attest to the character of the person or any particular practice. There can be many theological debates about Scripture, but ortho-praxy is as high – at times higher – than orthodoxy.

I have hesitated about writing these particular posts and they will be highly selective as to what content they carry. I decided to write with regard to what is commonly termed ‘the supernatural’ as it part of my journey and I am and remain a convinced ‘charismatic’ with a passion to see the authentic miraculous increase.

Acts begins with – ‘of all that Jesus began to do and to teach’ which I consider is the straightforward and best translation, hence Acts is a record of Jesus continuing to do and to teach. The context moves from the Jewish world to the Graeco-Roman but the ‘doing’ continues while the ‘teaching’ finds a new context.

My hesitation in writing? There are clear records in Scripture of the miraculous but Paul felt forced to defend himself when he shared his journey to the third heaven and I think a fair reading of the passage is that he was still not convinced he did the right thing in sharing what he shared. It is too easy to get the ‘wow’ response. Also the testimony books gather together the stories and leave out the stories that don’t fit, leaving the author as the hero and the rest of us with false aspirations. So it is tricky to put this post together – but I will have a go with the hope it will provoke, and perhaps stir faith also.

Let me start by recounting with a question I asked Michael Kolisang (he was the first person that Reinhard Bonnke saw come to Christ when he came to Africa, and then Michael became the co-evangelist for some 18 years, and during those years he was the one who prayed for healings). Actually I will respond with two questions I asked him on two different occasions. First one I thought was superfluous – are healings ‘easier’ in Africa or in the UK? His response surprised me – I don’t know, he said, no-one has asked me to push night after night, only then could I tell as breaktrhoughs don’t come instantly. I think this bears with the historical records from people like George Jeffries – night after night and then… (Of course there is a further challenge for us, Michael’s context was meeting after meeting… ours has shifted.)

The second question was – in all your experience if you were to reduce it down to one piece of advice for those who wished to pray for those who were sick what would that be? He explained it this way:

Every time I lay my hands on someone I think – if God does not touch them they will not be healed but what if God were to touch them when I lay hands on them? Every time I lay my hands on them there is an amazing possibility that was not there before.

What if… that is something we need to live with in every situation. There is always a God opportunity in every situation.

The Sunday after I arrived home having asked him that question a woman came to me to ask if I would pray that she might conceive. I said sure… then she said you do need to know that I have had surgery and no longer have functioning reproductive organs. Instantly I remembered what Michael had said a few days earlier… ‘what if God were to touch you when I pray for you?’ Just under a year later she returned with photo of baby which I still have.

Another time Michael gave me another key. He explained it by overstating his experience. In a crusade, he said, we would hear a person shout out ‘I was blind and I have my sight back’ so we would pray for those who were confined to wheelchairs… none were healed. Next crusade someone would spontaneously walk, so we would pray for those who were blind… none were healed. Michael said never focus on what you consider God is not doing, focus on what God is doing and where he is involved, follow the finger of God.

Theology gets us so far. ‘What if’ gets us a lot further!

I will follow this post with another one on the same theme and hope not to be more foolish than I normally am!

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What keeps me up at night?

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by Martin Scott
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I am not a depressive kind of person, and neither do I see myself as a ‘glass half-full person’ but as a ‘it is only half-full, now what do we need to do to get it fuller’. The ‘restoration / New Church movement’ fitted that well – get the church right and the world will change; the ‘sowing seeds or revival’ phase (more on that in a later post) fitted it well for the united church in prayer will see the cities transformed. And now? My aspirations have not changed but we are in serious trouble globally.

I will (I hope) still keep kicking to my last day – and I will post on why Spain for Gayle and me… and what might be the next step at some point in these rambles – but if one really understood what we are facing globally I am not sure one could be as optimistic as I am. (I honour Anne who often comments on my posts who knows more about the state of play than anyone else I know but is still sowing into the future.)

2020 saw a major global scene – COVID. It was meant to call for us to wake up and realise there has to be a global reset. Did we wake up? I see the years running up to 2040 as ever so key. After that? Will there be an after that? Well one day I saw a MAJOR decline in the global population, and for sure we cannot continue for ever on this trajectory.

Global warming. Climate imbalance, the Mediterranean hotter than ever; the oceans more acidic than ever due to the CO2 levels. Migrations due to war, poverty, and famine. The rich ever richer (and economic oppression was aligned in the OT prophets with blood-shed that polluted the land)… Yes I do despair and my last prayers of the day are normally for Gaza (if we can hold the Palestinian situation and not excuse genocide under some Zionist theology we can hope to see a new economic situation arise) and for Ukraine. And did I mention that the whole banking system is sustained through ‘money is debt’ (at a simple level just for a minute work out how much money is in your local bank, how many employees, and then work out how that is sustainable!, then go the global scene and realise how much debt is held by the big economic cultures). The current economic situation is aligned to Moloch – sacrifice the future (the first-born) to get a harvest today; Scripture endorses ‘seedtime and harvest’. Sow now for the future (Bible); not raid (rape) the future for now (Western dominant economic system).

More than enough to depress. If one has a hope for some to come to faith; even if one has the hope that the more to faith the more might happen there is no need for any depression.

So what about donkos like me?

I believe, against all the odds that the cross was the open display of all hostile powers to the kingdom of God and that a new way was opened up. In my life-time – probably not, but when I pass from this life I would like to see the Lord with my eyes open and amidst the wonderful assessment of ‘Martin, all the big things you did were not so big’ that at least I can offer a defence of ‘I did all I did with a passion and a belief and hope of sowing into the future of your world’. Of course it might not help my case!!

I am deeply distressed that on my watch there are those dying in the Mediterranean; that injustices do not seem to be decreasing but increasing. I do wake up at night… but (maybe naively) think we can make a difference. Waking up but not depressed. The cross stood in the first century as a sign to Rome and still stands as a sign to all manifestations of Babylon in our day.

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Second generation

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by Martin Scott
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I am deeply grateful for those who, as a generation above me, pioneered many aspects that I have benefited from, and not only me but the wider church. All that is required of us is to be faithful (as we understand it) within our own context and generation. I am often asked to pray for individuals that are unknown to me and bring them anything I consider to be prophetic. This I do in a team of two and afterwards find out who they are and what they do. I am always amazed at what has been given as once I find out who they are I might not have been so positive! I assume most of my readers would not believe that Peter was the first pope and that consequently the Catholic structure is exactly what Jesus had in mind! However, let me also assume that one day there is the opportunity to pray over the pope who showed up incognito. I doubt the Lord would say ‘you are missing it totally, abandon your robes and…’ I assume he is following the Lord in the path that he believed was right for him. That is true for all of us, and although I am not from an institutional church background I am deeply appreciative of those who have taken that route.

Just before we moved to Spain (2009, Jan. 1st) I had breakfast twice with a first-generational apostolic leader. His secretary called me to ask for a breakfast and we worked out dates. I was somewhat guarded as I was no longer working inside a new church network. My guard quickly came down when he explained how he had moved house from what was somewhat detached and private into a neighbourhood and a regular ‘street’. He had made friends on the street many of whom referred to him as the priest. Then he went on to say that the church that he started (large and successful) was really good for those who were already part of it, but should any of his neighbours come to faith it would not work for them and he would not be bringing them to the church he had started and grown.

I was deeply impressed. We fool ourselves if we think we have the pattern (there is a small denomination in the UK called the ‘Bible-pattern church’… and there are many others who believe the name would be more applicable to them than to that denomination!!!). One size does not fit all, and if I push it further I am not sure that the structure and form of church disturbs Jesus very much. Attitudes and behaviour are discipleship issues – and it is important that we make the core issues the core issues! I am unlikely to swing incense (apologies for the unfair caricature) – why? I might think it is because of the question of ‘where is that in Scripture?’… but the main reason is my personality.

Unity as in one defined united body of believers? Don’t think that is a ‘goal’. But recognisable allegiance to Jesus and love for one another… and love for those who object to our existence – absolutely.

A while back I felt two phrases pop into my head:

  • The multiplicity of the small, and
  • the richness of diversity.

How small? Well I do read that Jesus seemed to favour the term ‘two or three’! Those two numbers are interesting for they can never become four, in the sense that 2+1 = 3; 3+1 = 2 groups of 2 that can in turn become a 3 but never a four. Those two ‘favourite’ numbers are the ones that grow through multiplication. I am not suggesting that the numbers are literal (we also read of 12, 70/72 (I prefer the latter MS) 120 etc..) but there is something about smallness where I am an important part and of a dynamism.

In my breakfast meetings the ‘first generation’ person also said that he took responsibility for his street, so much so that a neighbour phoned him while he was away on vacation to say they had received some bad news. The neighbour’s wife was diagnosed with serious cancer. My breakfast colleague said ‘I am cancelling the vacation, coming home, this is not to happen on my watch’. Thank God for someone who was not too big to be known and not too important to be inconvenienced, and someone connected enough to be called on. Small… there is such a hope for something big – the thousands flocking in. I suspect Jesus is looking for something small that is multiplied – Martin on his street taking responsibility for the well-being of his neighbours.

Multiply it – I was going to write ‘multiply it, Jesus’, but I think maybe Jesus is saying ‘how about you guys stop waiting for the big and look at where you are situated and bear my name there’… I’m sold on that as the future.

And then the second part where I think it cuts across our fantasy that one size, one shape can represent God… the richness that comes through diversity. Again the future and something to work toward.

Second generation – that is what I was and have to find my own way. And for many I am now first generation – I owe them something. I owe them my faithfulness and the willingness to still be flexible and allow them to do things differently to me.

Thank you for the breakfasts, DB.

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Sect, sectarian; cult, cultic?

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Prophetic Perspectives

So many aspects to blether on about (see even that word ‘blether’ I remember from my pre-adult years). BTW I have not yet reached 70 (but thanks for the congrats – I am of course in my 70th year so maybe that counts?)

These reflections will probably not be in chronological order but will splurge on to keyboard as my memory connects. Last post I mentioned Judith’s tease of me that she and Ben grew up in a cult so a few reflections. There are two terms that are often confused – that of sect and cult. A sect shares the same basic world-view as that of the larger definition that it is part of – so for example Judaism and Pharisee-ism. Pharisees were part of the Jewish faith but claimed that there tenets and practices were more faithful and therefore were ‘truer’. Many Christian denominations are like that and most fresh expressions are based on being more ‘true’ and in the case of the protestant side of things are more ‘biblical’. A cult on the other hand deviates from orthodoxy – Mormonism with practices, doctrines and writings that carry authority; Jehovah Witnesses (a re-incarnation of Arianism?) is deemed a cult with one of its central beliefs that Jesus is not the Second ‘Person’ of the Trinity but a created being – a ‘god’ with a small ‘g’.

So, Judith, you did not grow up in a cult!!!

Then there are two adjectives that are also validly applied in situations – ‘sectarian’ and ‘cultic’. They describe attitudes more than beliefs. The first one being descriptive of divisive behaviour often being aligned to derisive descriptions of anyone not considered ‘in’. Glasgow with the two Scottish football teams – one supposedly Catholic, the other supposedly Protestant; Northern Ireland with its Orange marches expressing the clear division between Protestantism and Catholicism. Cultic I consider is more about tendencies that are exhibited in cults and often centres around authoritarianism and ways of controlling behaviour. I have a friend who spent some time in the ‘Moonies’ and he describes the sleep deprivation and monitoring that he experienced – typical of many of the more controlling cults.

I don’t consider that we (House Church Movement, later termed ‘New Churches’) were sectarian though I think we – like many others – could have been termed sociologically a ‘sect’. Definitely not a cult… but cultic? Perhaps mildly so. There is a movement that had a very wide influence that has had a significant shock over this past year. I have worked with some from there but have always thought that a psychologist would be able to see very quickly who was in leadership and who was not. The ‘followers’ would in the main be those who were troubled by fear and anxiety with a focus on how antagonistic the world was to those of faith and how it was getting even more so in these ‘last days’… meanwhile the leaders could affirm the rightness of the antagonistic world but they know where it is all going and if followers stay within boundaries they will make it through together. In Enneagram language predominantly #6s (anxieties manifesting) and #8s – always strong. That kind of combination is set up for ‘cultic’ elements: strong leadership and followers who find a security in the authority framework. Pushing it further many charismatic setups are open to that outworking… and the New Church movement with the foundation of ‘apostles and prophets’ was no exception. Cultic? Not in my opinion but I am sure there were those who did well and those who did not within the movement(s), and the variety of how strong the discipling was (R1, R2 as per Andrew Walker and the many further distinctions) made an impact in different ways on different personalities.

I once heard John Barr say that we are to cover one another’s weaknesses but to confront sin and that sadly the church has often confronted weakness (in the ‘weak’, aka those who did not fit the system) and covered sin (in the leaders?).

I am deeply grateful for the most formative years of my Christian life being with the New Churches (and for me, Pioneer) in the UK: from 1977 – 2000 (or so). I was introduced to principles that seminary never taught, saw integrity, and still live with the passion to continue to explore new territory (another post: beyond ‘restoration of the church’ to the ‘restoration of God’s world’).

Gerald Coates’ radicalism has left an enduring mark on my life and I was deeply privileged to be asked to give the final eulogy at his funeral. I suggested that those present, should they like me acknowledge the deep impact he had made on our lives, should consider how we might play a part in ‘he though being dead still speaks’. In answering the ‘how’ of that I decided to tell his foundational story. He was brought up in the Plymouth Brethren and at the time he was starting to journey with the small group in his and Anona’s house he had a dream. That dream clearly marked his transition from his days in the Brethren to what might be coming. He dreamt he was driving a car down a narrow lane, the lane being lined by trees either side so there was no possibility of going left or right. Then the path ran out. He came to a beautiful manicured grass lawn in a country manor setting. On the grass were those having picnics, playing games – having a wonderful time. However, he continued to drive across the grass, disturbing all the activities and left behind two dirty tyre tracks that forever disturbed the beauty of the setting. He sent the dream to a brother in Canterbury who had a gift to interpret dreams. He wrote back along the lines that ‘you have been on a narrow path and one marked by boundaries set by men (‘men’ being appropriate in this setting) as Scripture says ‘I see men as trees’; that path has ended for you and you are now coming to disturbing flesh (‘all grass is flesh’) and the most beautiful flesh is religious flesh but it is still flesh…’

I gave that as the foundational story for Gerald, and suggested if we wanted to honour his life we should be guilty of leaving behind two tyre tracks wherever we confront religion. I hope I am guilty!

An aside: I was amazed how many came to me afterwards to say they had never heard the dream. From 1977 – early 1990’s I must have heard that dream recounted 100 times… We can move on from our foundational story, but I do think our lives need to pay attention to our foundational story.

A cult… no. Cultic – ouch I think no, but lessons to learn. Foundational story – stay true. On the edge – I hope so. Diversity… another post. OK all for now.

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Off to London

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by Martin Scott
Posted in Personal Perspectives

I often meet people who regret the path they have travelled and I can understand that, and the majority of people would not repeat the past if they could have their life over again. The latter part of the above two perspectives I am sure I would relate to if I took enough time to reflect, but the former I find harder to resonate with. I am philosophically simple – I am where I am because of the journey I have taken so try to make the most of today, and I believe in a God who maximises every opportunity, a God who works in everything – including mistakes, wrong turns and what is simply wrong!

Anyway my journey took me off to London Bible College (now London School of Theology) in 1973. I had been strongly touched by the Holy Spirit when I was 16 and had a straight forward Pentecostal understanding of al things biblical!

I don’t remember every aspect of my travels but probably flew a small plane to Aberdeen or Edinburgh and than took the train to London the next day. I do remember being asked in Aberdeen / Edinburgh as to what station I would arrive at in London. I looked at them as if they were stupid – London station I replied! I had no idea that there were multiple stations in London and finally when I did get there had no understanding that I would have to catch a train that ran underground. (At least I came from Orkney where the nearest train station is in the norht of Scotland… if I was born in Shetland the nearest train station is Bergen, Norway.)

My room mate upon meeting asked me a question I did not understand how to answer. ‘How was your journey?’ I did understand the words, but the question… I had never encountered a question like that in my life. One, coming from an island such a question at a literal level would not mean very much – a journey of more than 5 minutes would be impossible and it took me months to work out that the question was not a question literally about my journey but a polite conversation opener. Cultural differences are subtle, but that interchange (or lack of cos I did not know how to reply) has helped me cross cultures.

Three years later I left with a degree and less than a year later married fellow-student, Sue Middlemiss. Immediately following LBC I joined YWAM (youth without any money?) for the Toronto Olympics outreach and then travelled across the USA. I am sure I wonderfully displayed all my lack of understanding in that period of four months, but very glad for the experience.

Back to College days… It was not the spiritual hot-house I anticipated; lectures were not so exciting and given my difficulties with comprehension of things written preparation for seminars was somewhat limited. Most professors / lecturers were either Reformed or modertely so and I was well able to engage a few in the lectures to push and press them, such were the inconsistencies that I perceived. Of course, as per all systems, provided nothing was adjusted the system would hold, but move one aspect and the system was vulnerable.

In the New Testament introduction I never understood the great pains that were gone to to ensure that each and every book was ‘apostolic’. Impossible to prove, and of course there was an underlying aspect that was ebing defended. Presuppositions based on a prior doctrine of the Bible is what rightly leaves such an approach open to criticism. In the 70s credible evangelical scholars were just beginning to enter the wider world of academia but the theology was just too defensive for its own soul’s sake. Thankfully that has changed a lot in the last 50(!!!!!!) years.

[‘Doctrine of the Bible’ will always be problematic and is normally filled with unproveable presuppositions. There was no ‘Jewish canon’ until after the NT era, and we still have different Christian canons… Jesus probably read or had access to books such as the book of Enoch – certainly NOT written by Enoch and yet quoted within our Bible as ‘Enoch the tenth from Adam said…’. And as for ‘all Cretans are liars… and this testimony is true’ does rather condemn anyone born in Crete! All the above pushes me to a narratival approach to the text with Jesus as the hermeneutical lens, blah, blah.]

Of all the subjects I enjoyed three the most – hisotrical theology, New Testament Greek and New Testament theology.

During those three years of study I visited YWAM on numerous occasions and sat through lectures there from Gordon Olson who had the largest library in the world on Charles Finney and Oberlin College (I was later to stay with him in Chicago in 1976). He was one of the earliest people in the modern era to embrace Open Theology – now in the popular world with people like Greg Boyd and the very articulate theologian Thomas Jay Oord who is yet more adventurous and I like that he uses the phrase ‘Open and relational theology’. Gordon Olson’s material was invaluable for me and I have leaned heavily in that direction ever since those sessions.

I think the professionalism and career aspects that I witnessed in those years… as well as coming to terms with what on earth does a 21 year old know about anything meant I now had ‘training’ (not!!) under my belt but could not with any integrity look for a post to exercise it. Thank God any form of church you care to mention was spared! And thank God it ended any concept I had of a ‘career’ in church ministry.

So a few months later – January 9th, 1977 – Sue and I moved to Cobham Surrey, south of London. Gerald and Anona Coates had initiated a small (with 5 others) in their home in the late 60s and this had now grown to around 60 people by the time we joined. It was like breathing fresh air – non-relgioius and with a passion for Jesus. Genuinely relational (not perfect… and daughter always teases me with ‘we grew up in a cult’)!!!

In a later post (also known as a ramble, and perhaps sometimes a ‘confused ramble’) I will get into life in Cobham Christian Fellowship, the Pioneer network and the wider New Church scene in the UK.

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