Private thoughts:

 

I was away recently, lecturing in US, when we Brits announced that we preferred not to have lady bishops, after all. This news item was hotly followed by some Members of Parliament saying that, if the church wanted in this way to demonstrate how out of touch they really are with world opinions and standards, they would not be listening seriously anymore to the church's views on gay marriage.

 

I heard a comedian on the radio ask, "What's all the fuss about? We never listened to male bishops anyway, why should we ever listen to female ones?"

 

We ought to be thoroughly ashamed of ourselves. Surely it is an absolute disgrace that the only messages the general public hear coming out of the church are these self-thrashing noises about bishop gender and same sex marriage and that sort of thing?

 

Why isn't the general public hearing the noises we ought to be making? Where is our message to the world?

Some years ago a Marketing Consultancy was employed by one diocese to tell them what they had that no other faith or secular humanistic form actually had. In other words, what unique aspect could be most easily marketed? They reported that Christianity has one thing that no one else possesses – hope.

 

Is this a public noise we have ever heard? Do we on the pews even know this aspect of our faith very well or are we condemned to only hearing pathetic, out-of-date arguments about comparative irrelevances?

 

Wake up, church! Where are you? Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ is working still!

 
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Sent by Revd Mike Endicott from:
The Order of Jacob's Well HQ:
Forge House, Clomendy Rd, Old Cwmbran, Torfaen, Wales UK. NP44 3LS

 

UK Office phone:
01633 483660

 

Canada and USA Office phone:
647 932 3542

 

email:
mike.endicott@jacobswell.org.uk

 

Mike on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/revd.endicott
 
Mike's Twitter feed link:
http://twitter.com/simplyhealing

 

Mike's blog:
http://simplyhealingorg.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Webs:
www.simplyhealing.org
and
www.jacobswell.org.uk

Inspirational! Transformational! The blind healer is a lively autobiography of Revd Mike Endicott, Director of the Order of Jacob's Well.

 

"My happy childhood soon led into a world of deteriorating sight and an increasing dependence on God to come up with life's answers. My life's journey was filled with dark tunnels which then broke out into Ordination, and the founding of the Order, and out into a bright and joy filled kingdom life, available to everyone to live in, and filled to overflowing with a miraculous New Testament fruitfulness.

 

After years of continuing study and practice, I now devote my life to sharing with others all over the world what I've come to understand about the kingdom of God, so that thousands more may benefit from the simple healing grace of God, giving glory in thanksgiving through Jesus Christ alone for what he has done for us on the cross.

 

This is the story of my international adventure so far" ..... check it out at:

 

http://bit.ly/Ryo72f

 

We're home again!

 

We flew from UK into Atlanta, Georgia and then flew on to work in:

Memphis, Tennessee

Kansas City, Missouri

Riverside, California

Las Vegas, Nevada

Oceanside, California

San Diego, California

Yosemite, California

 

We had four weeks work with one day free. Eight planes, eight different beds.

 

We were well received. Atlanta overnight, Memphis and Oceanside were in hotels, the rest in Christian homes. These were all lovely folk and looked after us very well indeed.

In Memphis we took a morning off and went to Graceland, Elvis' home. Amazing. On the last morning we were taken up country where I was allowed to drive a four wheeled carriage pulled by two huge Clydesdale horses. Lots of pictures of that for Facebook one day I hope.

 

Tried to preach my very best and the one we enjoyed the most was the church in Riverside. This was about 400 at full strength, some black and most Hispanic and a lot were ex-cons.

All converted and beautiful people, dedicated to the life of the church, running safe routes for those leaving prison and homeless shelters in the city.

The worship was fabulous but loud enough so that we had to wear blockers in our ears!

Mind you, in Memphis we had a professional worship band which was all blues/gospel/jazz and terrific fun!

All the rest of the time was spent giving one hour talks on the kingdom of God, three or four times a day, to the point of near exhaustion.

At the end they took us to the airport in San Francisco and left us there to discover they had taken us to the wrong airport! However, we found an Asian American taxi driver who drove like the wind and tore us around the city to the right place in time!

 

You like Praise Reports? Quickly coming to mind are:

The Radiographer who was visiting her surgeon in two days time to discuss back surgery. She described her back as a 'train wreck' after years of moving and lifting patients. She had not slept properly for many years because of constant pain. When asked to bend over she could just reach her knees but that was painful, too.

After a few minutes of the ministry of the cross she could put the tips of her fingers on the carpet with no pain at all. The following morning she demonstrated being able to put her hands flat on the floor with no pain and declared the best night's painless sleep for years.

 

Then there was the retired lady who's knee was swollen and painful and stiff and had been so for almost a year. Her great disappointment was that she could no longer dance. She used to be a professional dancer working for Gene Kelly. A minutes ministry and she danced away from us into the crowd, singing with her happiness!

 

Then there was a man whose right side Rotator Cuff had pretty well disintegrated. He could lift his arm only to the horizontal with a bent elbow. In a little while of the ministry of the cross he could lift it some more and then, after persistent prayer over about a further sixty seconds, he could raise both arms vertically and easily with no pain. He collapsed in tears of joy in my arms in front of the whole audience!

The following day he could wave that arm quite happily above his head and also confessed that his singing voice had been healed. Apparently he had not been able to sing without crying for many years and now he could sing out with gusto and enjoy it. His expectancy of Jesus had increased to the point where he then went off to pray with another lady whose lungs healed immediately.

 

Then there was the young man in California. He had contracted asthma aged five years and had been heavily wheezing till now, in his mid twenties. The wheezing ceased immediately during a very short ministry time and the next day he reported still breathing quite normally and healthily.

 

God is good?