I'm currently reading ... 'Why Revival Tarries' by Leonard Ravenhill

I have long been of the opinion that the late Leonard Ravenhill was a man with a particularly anointed ministry. He was fearless when it came to pointing the church in the right direction and exposing the many faults of today's all-too-often wealth obsessed evangelists and those who preached non-gospels from the pulpits which they were privileged to preach from. 


Leonard Ravenhill was, above all, a man of god who was a prayer warrior in the truest sense. He recognised that if you truly desire to be all that God calls you to be then you need to plug into the power source constantly, and the only method of doing that is by fervent prayer.


The call for Revival is more of a whisper these days, possibly, I believe, because Revival would upset the worldly aspirations of so many who claim to be followers of Christ. In this book, Leonard Ravenhill outlines the reasons why Revival seems to remain something in the distant past, and he pulls no punches and takes no prisoners in his indictment of the ministry practises and the lack of true commitment to the cause of the Gospel.


Why Revival Tarries has been around for many years, and it has influenced many who seek for a better means of serving the Lord. If you have not yet read it then I urge you to do so without further delay, for if you read it prayerfully you will find it life-changing, for it's a book that is both inspiring and inspirational.

'A Tiny Bit Marvellous' by Dawn French

      My wife is an avid reader, consuming books like some people consume Fish 'n Chip suppers, and she bought a copy of this book on the basis that it would be a witty and well-written read, particularly having been suitably impressed by the review quotes on the cover of the book. Miss French is a popular comedienne, and this added to her anticipation of a good read.

      What a pity then that, after struggling through the first few chapters she finally decided to consign the book where it belonged, in the nearest trash-can. 

      The problem is not particularly the story-line. After all, she never got into the book enough to discover what it was. No, the problem was that the number of obscenities, commencing with the first sentence of Chapter One, and continuing on from that, made this book a non-starter as far as she was concerned. 

      Even as I write, I can hear the shouts of protest that this is hailed as a No 1 Bestseller, and also that people use obscenities in everyday language nowadays. Both of these facts are true to one degree or another, but that doesn't make them any more acceptable. Maybe Miss French uses the sort of language that she writes in her everyday conversation, I don't know. Certainly, I hear parents of very small children cursing and swearing, both at them and in front of them, but this does not make it acceptable in any sense at all.

      How sad that this book has become a Best Seller, but I wonder how many  of those purchasers thought that it deserved to be. Whatever the answer both my wife and I are absolute in our condemnation of this book as a trashy write and a worthless read.

New Mystery Novel by Don Yarber : 'Corpses & Canyons'

Don Yarber was born in Harrisburg, IL and graduated from Mackenzie High School in Detroit, MI 1954. After a hitch in the Navy, he attended El Camino College in California where he studied Journalism. Don retired in 1998 and soon after published his first novel, 'Bodies and Beaches.'


'Corpses and Canyons' is the second novel featuring Kip Yardley, Los Angeles Private Eye, introduced in the first book.  The 3rd in the 'Kip Yardley Murder Mystery' series, 'Death and Deep Waters' is available for purchase.  Kip finds himself in the Canyon areas near Flagstaff, Arizona, trying to dig up clues to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of a highway construction worker. Although Flagstaff Police want him to return to LA, and sinister forces send him a deadly message by running him off of the road and leaving him to die in a burning Jeep, Kip is stubborn enough (or dumb enough) to follow his instincts and keep digging for clues. But when beautiful Valerie Chiccaro, the daughter of the Highway Contractor, turns up missing, things start getting hot in a hurry.  Kip soon finds that Arizona women are hot to handle and hard to please.


An Indian peace pipe, a topography map, and five grand in cash are some of the clues that Kip uncovers.  In the end he faces death in the desert before he can bring the killers to justice.  But his enemies underestimate him.  Kip has a few tricks of his own up his sleeve.


If you like good old fashioned P.I. work and are tired of filthy language, explicit sex scenes and psycho killers, you'll enjoy 'Corpses and Canyons.'


You can order ’Corpses & Canyons’ from here, or from Amazon. Contact Don by visiting his webpage kipyardleymysteries.bravehost.com

Do You Have an Evacuee Story?

Runcorn author, Chris Darlington, is busy researching material for his next book and is appealing for stories about children who were evacuated during World War 2 from the cities and towns into the countryside. With the amount of time that has lapsed since the end of the War there are increasingly fewer folk who were evacuees, although there are still probably quite a few thousand around the country. However, even though you might not have been an evacuee yourself, perhaps you might have had relatives who were, and even have some photographs hidden away dealing with that period in their lives.


If you have, then why not contact Chris Darlington with the details of the experience and a copy of the photographs. You can email him here.

BRF author Brad Lincoln wins Ultimate Christian Library Book 2011 award

2011 award presentation: Left to right are Paula Renouf and Geoff Booker of Speaking Volumes, presenting to Brad Lincoln – winning author, and Karen Laister of BRF publishing.

Brad Lincoln’s One Dad Encountering God has won the Ultimate Christian Library Book 2011 awarded at CRE Sandown on Wednesday 11 May.

The award, which is decided by a public vote, is run by Speaking Volumes on behalf of the Christian Book Promotion Trust, a charity set up 41 years ago by Cecil Jackson Cole to promote Christian literature to an audience beyond the Church.

Brad’s book fought off more than 60 other books for the title, including Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef with Ron Brackin (Authentic Media), Children of God by Desmond Tutu (Collins), The Sixty Minute Family by Rob Parsons (Lion Hudson) and An Illustrated History of Gospel by Steve Turner (Lion Hudson).

‘To be shortlisted for a book award in amongst the like of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rob Parsons, people who have had such an impact on thousands (if not millions) of people is more than enough. After all, the reason for writing the book was to find a way to reach people and to challenge their preconceptions about a remote God, when the truth is so much more intimate. I hope that those who voted for the book were indeed touched, challenged and encouraged.’ Brad Lincoln

‘This is just the kind of message we want to know is in a public library where people may be seeking to understand the true nature of God.’ Paula Renouf, Director of Speaking Volumes

‘We are really delighted for Brad. The message of this book is so important for today’s society. Using the fruits of the Spirit he carefully and practically explains how dads can learn from the perfect father how to be the dads they want to be. A book for those in church and outside!’ Karen Laister, Deputy CEO, BRF

Brad Lincoln is a company director, who previously spent five years working in western Nepal with the International Nepal Fellowship. He has also written Six Men Encountering God.

One Dad Encountering God, £6.99, ISBN 978 1 84101 678 8, pb, 128 pages

For further information, a review copy or author interview, contact: Kevin Ball, Tel: 01865 319709, email: kevin.ball@brf.org.uk.

New book by Maggie Ross: 'Writing the Icon of The Heart' : In Silence Beholding

What do we mean by the term ‘beholding’? Why is it missing from so many modern Bible translations?
Maggie Ross discusses through twelve essays the critical importance of silence and beholding as the basis for Christian life, and the dire consequences, especially to understanding the Bible, spiritual texts and practice, wrought by the absence of the word ‘behold’ from contemporary translations. She demonstrates how a true understanding of silence and beholding goes beneath religious language and clichés to the actual processes of mind rooted in the body, essential to understanding the Christian textual and iconographic heritage.

‘Behold is profoundly theological. It describes a reciprocal holding in being, the humility of God sharing the divine nature with what it creates. God the Creator of all who is beyond being, in humility allows us, created beings, to hold God in space and time even as God is sustaining us in existence and holding us in eternity.’
Ross also places special emphasis on the current global ecological crisis as a spiritual crisis.

This interdisciplinary book celebrates ancient and medieval insights into the mind’s journey into silence as they converge with contemporary psychology and neurobiology.

‘Maggie Ross clears away the “white noise” that so often attends writing, and talking about faith. She invites us into real quiet, which is also real presence, presence to ourselves and the threefold mystery that eludes our concepts and even our ordinary ideas of “experience”. A really transformative book.’
Archbishop Rowan Williams

Maggie Ross is the pseudonym of a professed Anglican solitary, who divides her time between Oxford and the USA, preaching and lecturing, leading retreats, offering pastoral care, and writing books and liturgies. Among her other books are Fire of Your Life (second rev. edition 2007, Church Publishing) and Pillars of Flame (rev. edition 2007, Church Publishing). She blogs at http://ravenwilderness.blogspot.com.

Writing the Icon of the Heart is published 20 May 2011, priced £6.99, ISBN 978 1 84101 878 2, pb, 128 pages

For further information, a review copy or author interview, contact: Kevin Ball, Tel: 01865 319709, email: kevin.ball@brf.org.uk.

Songs of Praise & Worship

Over the past nine months I have published a new hymn on this Blog virtually every day, the exception being a 3-day gap when my PC was playing up and the 8 days when I was away in the USA during March. All of these hymns and worship songs will eventually be available in a collection titled Songs of Praise & Worship which will be available from Voice Publications.


I'm often asked how I manage to write a new hymn every day, and the answer is that I do it only by the grace of God. I have been blessed with the task of being a messenger to bring to wider attention songs that speak of God's love and grace, and which praise Him in all things. It is a labour of love in two ways; firstly there is the fact that I love what I'm called to do and the opportunity to share the work with you, dear readers, and secondly --- and more importantly --- it demonstrates that God is reaching out in love to His creation in every possible way.


I often refer to myself as a mailman when it comes to speaking about this task, because I see myself as delivering messages in song that God sends by His Spirit. I guess that I'm the clerk whom He uses to write down the messages. All the glory for the work goes to God!


I hope that you enjoy receiving the songs and hymns each day, and that you use some of them in your worship of the Living God. More than that, as you sing them in praise to His glory I pray that you will be blessed by them.

'PILGRIMAGE The journey to remembering our story' : New book by Andrew Jones

 ‘The greed embodied in the financial markets, global warming and the stark inequalities in the political response, the huge influence of oil production on political decision making and the madness of celebrity culture. In the face of these concerns, there is a crisis of hope throughout the developed world, a crisis leading to a serious collective depression. These things are a manifestation of our exile.’

Influenced by the exile commentary of Walter Brueggemann, Andrew Jones’ argument is simple but vital. Many churches generally, and many people who hold a Christian faith specifically, are suffering the deep symptoms of an exile situation, which has many parallels to the sixth-century Babylonian exile of the Jews. Are churches finding it difficult to reach out because, like the sixth-century exiles, they are at crucial times singing an outdated and irrelevant song? How do you sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?

Those first people of exile had to rediscover relevancy by passing through a particular chain of events that not only changed their lives radically but also changed the whole structure of their theological thinking. Under the leadership of prophetic voices, they found a new, relevant way to sing the old songs. The Church is likewise required to construct a fresh pastoral theology to enable an effective response to today’s cultural circumstances.

Andrew Jones believes that pilgrimage can provide an appropriate place for such a conversation, ‘as the act of pilgrimage is itself a spiritual laboratory in which Christians can start to work out what it means to be church today.’ And it is already happening. Jones claims that the experiences of renewal and refreshment of faith at places of Christian pilgrimage often now far outweighs what is happening in many churches. But why is this?

Journeying together inspires the sharing of the narrative of the Christian faith, rediscovering a sense of who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. It immerses the pilgrim in the story of God’s creative and redeeming work, bringing reassurance that God has created a relationship with his people and continues to work in and through them to fulfil his purposes. Just like those ancient exiles, pilgrimage provides the catalyst to recover and reconcile our past stories, to heal memories and to see the hope of the current and the future.

The sixth-century exiles also found renewed hope in being heirs of God’s story and likewise today, pilgrims can connect with God’s story by discovering a deep sense of inheritance from the pilgrimage sites. As Jones comments, ‘tourist pass through such sites but for the pilgrim the place passes through them.’ He supports his argument by recounting the stories of eight contemporary pilgrims who have reconnected with the story through pilgrimage to sites in the UK.

‘This book speaks to our condition: we feel exiled from our former sense of a familiar environmental, political and religious landscape. It compellingly points a way forward through prophetic, ancient faith-future faith pilgrimage.’Ray Simpson, Founding Guardian, the Community of Aidan and Hilda


‘In this inspiring and insightful book, Andrew Jones invites us to travel with him as he unravels enriching conversation between God’s story in scripture, the sacred locations of pilgrimage, and the joys and tragedies of individual human lives.’Leslie J Francis, Professor of Religions and Education, University of Warwick

Andrew Jones is Archdeacon of Meirionnydd and rector of four churches on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. He previously served as Director of Pastoral Studies at St Michael’s College, Llandaff and lectured in theology for Cardiff University. He regularly leads pilgrimages to sites around the UK and abroad and has also written Every Pilgrims Guide to Celtic Britain and Ireland (Canterbury Press, 2002) and presented the DVD A Celtic Pilgrimage to Bardsey.

Pilgrimage is published 20 May 2011, priced £8.99

ISBN 978 1 84101 834 8

pb, 208 pages.

The publisher is: 

BRF, 15 The Chambers, Vineyard, Abingdon OX14 3FE; Tel: 01865 319700 Fax: 01865 319701

www.brf.org.uk email: enquiries@brf.org.uk

Andrew Strom's book 'TRUE & FALSE REVIVAL' available here.

I have a limited quantity of Andrew Strom's book, True & False Revival, where you can read the TRUTH about the Lakeland 'Revival', and which Voice Publications have printed. 

What are the FACTS about Todd Bentley's Lakeland revival?

• What is really behind the strong emphasis on getting 'drunk' and strange angel encounters, etc? What is happening around the world as this 'anointing' hits other places?
• Why does the New Age "Kundalini" experience seem almost identical to this 'impartation'?
• What is True Revival, and how do we tell the false from the true?
• All these questions and more are answered in this provocative book.

The author, Andrew Strom, spent 11 years in the same Prophetic movement as Todd Bentley - until he quit in anguish over the unbiblical and bizarre things going on in that movement. Thus he brings a real "Insider's" perspective to this subject.

HOW to GET THIS BOOK

We are making it available for *ANY* donation to cover the costs of printing and posting. We do not want anyone missing out just through lack of finances. If you are able to send a 'donation' that is great. But otherwise just enough to cover post and packing costs. The best thing to do is simply pray and send whatever God leads you to send.

TWO Simple STEPS:

1. Please email your postal details to us so that we can reserve a copy of the book for you.

    We will then confirm that a copy has been reserved. 

2. Simply SEND YOUR DONATION to:

    Voice Publications, 33 Balfour Street, Runcorn, WA7 4PH, UK.

3. Alternatively, you can use PAYPAL to donate to us securely online. Simply use this link to the following web page to do that. You'll find the 'Donate' button on the bottom panel on the page.