Category: Updates

I have spent this past week in the UK with a few days in Plymouth and then in Canterbury. I try and be selective where I travel and have valued my time in both of these cities. Some while back we were sent a key dream which indicated that we had to ‘consult with the man of Spain as to which European invites to respond to’. Certainly since being across the north of Spain (yes I still will write a blog or two on our travels…) we feel that by making that trip we have in fact connected, to some greater measure at least, with the ‘man of Spain’. The language sounds more spooky than the reality!

There is always a validity in travelling anywhere the body of Christ is to be found, and we know that the body of Christ is found in many settings, both formal and informal. As our focus is the body embedded and embracing Babylon most of our connections are with those who are living in ‘exilic’ situations. Plymouth is a gateway (as is the South West) and Canterbury of course has a strong ecclesiastical and Roman foundation. Indeed in the latter city one could consider there would not even be a Canterbury without the church. It is 16 months since last being in Plymouth and some 8 years since I was last in Canterbury.

(Surprisingly) I am getting older, but my first observation is that many of those engaging with the concepts of city transformation are also getting older. That is a great credit to them – still sticking with the idea that the kingdom will manifest in ways beyond the church and is present to affect every sphere of the city. It is a challenge that a younger (20s and 30s) are not engaged in this context, but I am also glad they are not engaged. Let me explain. What I consider is essential is for those in that younger bracket to be embedded deeply in society, embracing Babylon and we (whoever the ‘we’ are) need to engage with them there. The manifestation of church that impacted the likes of me when I was in my 20s and 30s has shifted. The gospel has not changed but the focus for us has – it is not about church renewal but about socieatal transformation. It is about the church being the royal priesthood, of existing so that the world might be the best world possible. It inevitably means that there are more blurred lines, partnerships that are across boundaries. The content of prayer and prophetic understanding is desperately needed across all settings, and needed in the context of where people are now embedded. But I am glad that many are not abandonning ‘there’ to show up in some of the corporate gatherings. The result is that those corporate gatherings are predominantly with an older generation.

What place can those corporate gatherings have? Well maybe they can still be a means to release something that shifts the spiritual climate. That is certainly what we were seeking to do in both cities.

Before getting to a short few paragraphs on each place a comment on this aspect of generations… and I am (or so I keep saying) going to put together two videoblogs on this in due course. All things happen in due course (maybe that is the meaning of ‘mañana’?) A wrong alignment of the older to the younger, in summary when they are viewed to be present with their energy to continue the existence of the house or ministry of the older will:

• prolong the life literal and figuratively of what needs to give way to something fresh
• will steal life, literally with illness, and figuratively with stunting of gifting and missing of life-connections from the younger

I would consider that a classic example of this is of Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe. We have African friends who began across Africa decades ago to pray for the shift in the dictators who ruled across African countries. 9 of the 10 were removed and they told us ‘we were unable to remove Mugabe’. I consider he literally survives from the lives of the youth, he takes the future and eats from it today. (Spain as a nation is strongly on this trajectory now and it is into this that we have focused prayer.)

The flip side is that when we rightly align that there is:

• a release for the next generation and an increase in their wisdom
• and an impartation of youthfulness to those who rightly align

This latter understanding I received in a dream maybe 18 months ago, and it was in Plymouth that I felt free to share this for the first time… so I am pretty sure we are about to enter a season where this will be a key element. I suspect as well where there has been a wrong alignment that we will see some major disturbances.

Plymouth has been a defensive city, being home to all three elements of the armed forces. However in the Spirit it is called to be the opposite. Gateway cities / regions are normally of course on the edge of territory and were often given the identity and purpose of keeping borders secure. Philadelphia in Revelation was positioned in this way, but it was to that city that Jesus commanded them to have sight of the open door before them. The sight can be stolen, the body can lose sight because of a focus on a lack of resources. So we pushed into this while there. Out of the South West will come hidden treasures for the nation, and a sound rising up from the multiplicity of small that sounds all the way to London and Westminster. Also there are many coming back home to the South West. They left in one way but will return with a wisdom and a settledness but will be re-energised when they reconnect with the land. The next years I believe will see a significant influx.

Canterbury – for the third time (apparently) I have brought the Scripture about the scribe trained for the kingdom who brings things out new and old from the storehouse. The new has to come out first, otherwise any ‘renewal’ of what is old will be simply re-energising it but will soon colonise it. I was glad that my connections here were small this time round – the largest get together being around 20 people. I was also glad that those who pulled me in wanted to run with a Celtic not a Roman rhythm. This is essential for the city.

In both these places and across the board in the UK it seems increasingly that we have to obtain eyes to see where the Spirit of God is present, come down to the door and then make the journey from our Joppa to Caesarea to go the path of the ‘not so Lord’ till we have our conversion in Cornelius’ house. If this does not happen… but I think a number are already there, and even those of us who are older will be able to make the journey too with the impartation of youthfulness.

Home tomorrow. Then I have time with a small group from the ‘Black Country’, then interaction, sharing, laughter, discussion and sounding board time with Roger and Sue Mitchell and finally with them off to Madrid before the end of the month.

We are having a wild time, now in the north west of Spain and with internet a few days, before driving back through Madrid and home. Once home I will try to put up some coherent notes, with a map and some photos. Thus far many surprises. We have been across the border into France as we thought that was very important. Then to the most northerly point of mainland Spain and two days later the most westerly point. Our prayer has been to stretch the land. A number of years ago I had a waking vision of a man lying on his back across Spain, with his right wrist over A Coruña (west of Spain). We had a very strong encounter in that city but have a strong witness that the right hand is now free. The hand of blessing for Spain and beyond. Our prayer these days have also been for a new government, not just in the sense of a new government to come through this time of turmoil and non-government (nothing is resolved yet from the second elections and without a shift a third election will be called) but in the sense of a new way of being together. Dreams have shown us that there are ancient pillars that have to crumble.

All in all we are driving happily! We have had the GPS inform us that we are about to enter unpaved tracks, it has thrown up literal question marks as to where we are… leaving the paved road has been very important for us in this trip. Accompanied with a book of Celtic prayers and as we are now in Galicia the resonance with the land is strong, and maybe we are not in a coracle as the Celts of old but we are discovering what it is to go where the current takes us.

For those who know the connection we made with San Lorenzo… as we ‘missed’ a turning in one place and ended up again on a 30 mile stretch of ‘over the hills, cross the bridges, and round the hairpins’ kind of road we came through a tiny village where we encountered a tiny San Lorenzo chapel. Out jumps Gayle to drink water from the spring. I hasten to add that I had pulled over! Our prayer is for Spain to be stretched but in the course of our adventure we are certainly being stretched. So in this brief post I leave you with that: for Europe to be re-juvenated there has to be a stretching out. Pulling back to the ancient will prove worse than fruitless. A broader theme I am working on is to do with a possibility of an impartation of youthfulness or the contrary will take place and what is old and decaying will be preserved beyond its sell by date but end up stealing the life from the youth.

So the now affectionately known ‘El furgo de San Lorenzo’ is resting a couple of days, then we will jump back in to complete the journey home – making for a round trip of something around 3000+ kilometres.

Thursday – tomorrow – we are off… off line pretty much but… much more important off on the road. Not totally sure when we will be back – early September. Hoping to drive north through Zaragoza, on to the north coast, then into France, back across the north coast to the extreme West to Galicia (Pontevedra), then Madrid and home again. The north of Spain holds some keys to new ways of thinking so we hope to pray into that. Immediately after our visit there last year and praying into the constitution we noted a level of discussion around the constitution that we had not observed before. We will visit Pamplona – again – and give the bull running issue another good old kick. After being there last year we noted, either, more coverage on the protests or more protests this year. Could all be coincidental but following convictions seem to be key.

We have been praying into the request of Caleb’s daughter (Judges) for the upper and the lower springs. The lower springs, the place of refreshment and meditation is where we are now, and are literally at sea level and in a place where there is a high water table due to underground rivers. Madrid – the high land – is the place we are requesting. Interesting as well that we have been focusing on one of the higher parts of Madrid in our prayers. And on the road… this time last year we visited Huesca the birth place of San Lorenzo. Had some interesting aspects there as we were met by (Saint – not really) George, but came away with we need to get mobile, sleep in a van and drive wherever we need to drive to. Well tomorrow is the first day we go off with bed in van. So we are expecting to see some shifts.

If not? Just will be good to be on the road and maybe good for us to be pretty much off-line.

We are convinced that Spain holds some undiscovered – and almost certainly some surprising – keys that ultimately will be related in some way to the Pauline Gospel.

We are just in process of tidying up from a few days together where we shared our stories, passions, difficulties and aspirations all within the broad canvas of ‘what is the gospel?’ The ‘we’ were: Craig and Kate (Oliva – been in Spain for 10 years); Noel and Tricia (Palma de Mallorca); Simon and Amy (Cádiz); Rachael (Tenerife). It was a privilege to hear from each other, and to be part of the openness and the willingness to listen to each other.

One thing is for sure is that we do not have all the answers as a result of being together. Yet I think the desired outcome of being strengthened and encouraged to follow whatever God has put in each person’s heart was more than achieved. Being present over these days illustrated to me that we desperately need situations where the open-ended questions can be asked. Truth is there to be discovered

I cannot possibly summarise all the discussion and prayer, but I think for me the conviction was strengthened that the overall proclamation of the gospel is that Jesus is risen from the dead and that there is a new way of being the world that is now possible in the here and now and will be manifest in fullness in the future. From that flows everything about economics, politics etc. Within that big picture proclamation there is the invitation to forgiveness and to be endued by the Spirit to enable participation in the Jesus-mission. The world needs the church – the salt within society that promotes kingdom growth and hinders the growth of evil, domination and destruction.

Those who do not respond to the personal message within the gospel can still be released to contribute kingdom activity, they can contribute to the future. And our perspective would be that the church over the past decades have opened space for less-than-perfect expressions more appropriate to the new humanity than before.

As I have increasingly embraced this wider view of the gospel it has left me with unanswered questions also, yet I think those questions are healthy. The church becomes at one level less about the community of the ‘saved’ and more about a movement for change in the wider community that it is connected to / is responsible for.

We did also look together at Brad Jersak’s presentation of ‘the gospel in chairs’. Well worth a look: