29Mar 2017 by Nigel Ring

It is not death to die – book recommendation

Books, Equipping, Hudson Taylor, News
In his book ‘It is not death to die’ Jim Cromarty shares the story of Hudson Taylor, the story of a man of faith. Arguably one of the most effective missionaries of all time Hudson Taylor’s heart was set on taking the gospel to China from a young age. To this end he trained in medicine, having to overcome his poor background and the lack of finance to achieve this, and learnt how to share the good news of the gospel with the poor in the area in which he was training. China Inland Mission founded At the age of only 21 he first travelled to China and made several more visits in the next 12 years before God called him on Brighton beach to found the China Inland Mission…
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25Oct 2016 by Nigel Ring

Heaven is for Real – book recommendation

Books, Heaven, News
Some years ago I read Heaven by Randy Alcorn and was greatly helped by the Biblical handling of this subject. More recently I have read Heaven is for Real. This is very different, being a testimony of a very young child who visited heaven while undergoing surgery. I find the accounts of what he experienced, which emerged only over a protracted time period, very authentic, especially as they were corroborated scripturally by his father, a pastor, who was at first inclined to some disbelief.   Synopsis The family had been going through a testing time. The father, Todd, had had several serious challenges – kidney stones, a compound fracture in his leg playing softball and cancer, accompanied by the associated financial pressures of the American medical system. As they were coming…
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20Jul 2016 by Nigel Ring

The Irresistible Revolution – book recommendation

Books, News, Poor
Holiday reading Looking for holiday reading? Recently a friend lent me a copy of Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution, first published in 2006 but which has now been updated and republished. Good move! This is well worth reading if you are prepared to be challenged about how radical you are in your walk with God. Off to India Shane Colborne is no ‘ordinary’ Christian (I wonder what one would look like?). But he does believe that living out the Christian life should be challenging and radical. Having been challenged by some of his college friends who used their spare time visiting people who were homeless in the city he set out to start his exploration of radical Christianity with a visit to Mother Theresa in Calcutta. Living and working…
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05Jul 2016 by Nigel Ring

A new website for Newfrontiers

Books, David Devenish, David Holden, Downs Bible Week, Guy Miller, New Ground, Newfrontiers, News, Regions Beyond, Steve Oliver, Terry Virgo
Gains and losses In recent weeks I have sought to give an overview of some of the apostolic spheres. The feedback has been very encouraging. People clearly seem to enjoy catching up with other members of the Newfrontiers family. So I was particularly delighted to learn recently that a new website has been launched. The transition five years ago was essentially positive – to see Terry Virgo’s reflections on this go to my last blog – but it did also have some negative aspects. Particularly, ‘decentralisation’ and the necessary closure of the Magazine resulted in easy access to news from around the world substantially evaporating. A hunger for news This desire for information from across the spheres still existed in the hearts of many people who have enjoyed the international fellowship. So,…
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10Dec 2015 by Nigel Ring

Book: Africa – Altered states, ordinary miracles

Africa, Books, Equipping, Poor
Here is a book to request as a Christmas present! It would be naïve to think of ‘African culture’ as homogeneous. Nevertheless, in this substantial book (600+ pages) Richard Dowden, former Africa editor for the Economist, draws from three decades of personal experience to examine several cultural issues which are manifest in many African countries in a way that I found enlightening. He then considers specifics related to fourteen nations from different parts of the continent. Maps To remind the reader of the size of Africa the first few pages show diagrams with substantial nations – The United States of America, China, India – superimposed on the outline of Africa. Each seems relatively small compared to Africa and these serve as a reminder of the danger of over simplification when trying…
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24Sep 2015 by Nigel Ring

The life you never expected – Book Review

Books, Equipping, News
I find that many families carry significant burdens in their lives. Often we are ignorant of these as they appear OK when we see them among the church on Sundays. But dig a bit and you will find major issues. My wife and I faced this 23 years ago. One day I received a phone call in my office telling me that our son had been involved in a serious road accident. In that moment I thought ‘I think that life has just totally changed and we had no warning’. That proved to be true. Andrew and Rachel Wilson carry a particular life-changing situation in their home with two young children who have regressive autism. Andrew, an elder of Kings Church, Eastbourne, is well known across the Newfrontiers family for…
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