02May 2013 by Nigel Ring

Discover and Serve pt 3. Saved to Serve

Equipping, Serving
I have written on previous occasions about serving and servanthood. These are topics close to my heart. But it is such an important feature of the role of the church and of individuals, as modelled by Jesus, that I make no apology for writing on this topic once again. Servanthood is not an option At times Jesus must have nearly despaired. He had been seeking to teach and train the twelve for well over two years and yet they still did not seem to get it! In Matthew's gospel (Matt 20:20-28) we read that on one occasion the two Zebedee brothers, James and John, even enlisted their mother as an advocate for them to lobby Jesus to give them places of prominence in his kingdom. Jesus patiently spells out the…
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25Apr 2013 by Nigel Ring

Discover and Serve pt 2. A Serving Profile

Biblical Administration, Equipping, Serving
We are all unique Each of us has a multiplicity of characteristics that make us unique. Yet so often we aspire to be like others and mould ourselves and our life styles to emulate them. The whole celebrity culture encourages us to do this. The advertisers try to harness this vulnerability. Clearly there are many things that we can learn from one another; Paul himself tells us to imitate him. But we need to be discerning in who and what we imitate, and how and why we do it. If it is just to become acceptable we are doomed to failure - we will not become that person however hard we try! Diversity of the body One wonderful thing about God's glorious church is its diversity! Each church is unique as…
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18Apr 2013 by Nigel Ring

Discover and Serve pt 1 – Releasing potential

Equipping, Serving
Special people What is the purpose of the local church? There are many possible answers to this question and through the generations a plethora of books have been written on the subject. However, in this series I wish to focus on those aspects which are determined by the people who comprise the church. Who are they? Why are they special? In his letter to the Ephesians Paul tells us that God ‘chose us before the foundation of the world' (Eph 1:4) ‘for good works .. that we should walk in them' (Eph 2:10). If He chose us He saw the potential in each one of us. One of the primary roles of a church leader is to see this potential realised through teaching, training and discipleship. Releasing potential Two years ago…
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11Apr 2013 by Nigel Ring

Mobilising the church – Discover and Serve

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Serving
Introduction When I first left my employment in the National Health Service, where I was leading a research team in Rehabilitation Engineering that included designing artificial limbs for Thalidomide-damaged children, in order to work for Terry Virgo, my role was to serve him and what came to be known as Newfrontiers as his administrator. When he invited me he said "I don't know what an administrator does but I know I need one". My response was "I don't know either but ‘yes' "! So I then needed to look into the scriptures to find out what Biblical Administration is and how an administrator operates. Biblical Administration There are of course many scriptures demonstrating the administrative gift, particularly in the Old Testament - Nehemiah, Daniel, Joseph etc. In the New Testament…
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02Apr 2013 by Nigel Ring

The Father’s House, Latvia

Church Planting, Latvia, News, Poor
The Fathers House Church in Latvia was planted 12 years ago by David and Ilze Jones from City Church, Cambridge, although Ilze was in fact returning to her home country. Now numbering up to 40 people they meet in a hotel in Smiltene, a town of 6,000 people two hours drive from the capital, Riga. It is about twenty years since this beautiful nation became independent following the departure of the Soviet occupiers. In that time there have been periods of economic growth but, more recently, many have been badly hit by the widespread recession. Poverty is not far below the surface with unemployment at a high level. This has resulted in low wages; there are many who want any job that becomes available so people are reluctant to ask…
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27Mar 2013 by Nigel Ring

Milk for Transformation in Burundi

Burundi, News, Poor, Social Enterprise
In my last three postings I have shared the philosophy and background of this initiative to bring transformation to the community in Burundi. Now here is a video. As you watch it look for the following ways in which this Social Enterprise can bring about transformation: Income generation Improved health Children able to go to School Adults have time to work the land Employment opportunities Restoration of the land to become more fertile Transformational thinking Milk for Transformation in Burundi from Newfrontiers on Vimeo. This is an exciting initiative! To be able to scale up the processing capability there is need for capital funding. If you are interested in becoming involved please contact me at Nigel.Ring@gmail.com or Donna Bloomfield at info@hopefortomorrowglobal.org
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