Monthly Archives: June 2019

Up until 1971, I thought I was living on ‘ok’ Christian life (when I look back, a lot of my ‘Christianity’ was pretense as a teenager at school) and was an active part of a great Youth Group in Heathfield, then it moved to Mayfield, East Sussex. I thought I was doing fine: my friend Andy and I had gone to the youth group from our homes in Eastbourne, feeling that the ‘Lord was leading us there’ – when truthfully, we’d heard there were a lot of pretty girls in the group, and Eastbourne – then – was a ‘cemetery with lights’ or ‘God’s waiting room’!! It was certainly right there were a large number of pretty girls – a wonderful blessing after what seemed a shortage of them at home!

God moves in mysterious ways, though(!) – and while we both found young ladies (I think without any doubt that Andy won the lottery out of the two of us!) – our ‘purpose’ in going to that group wasn’t God’s reason for us going there. I went as ‘pretend’ Christian, but within a few months at a weekend camp, where the speaker couldn’t come because he was ill, the replacement speaker was God’s plan for my life! A young, then unknown Clive Calver, fresh out of Bible College and filled with the Holy Spirit (which in the early 70’s was almost ‘taboo’ in evangelical churches), saw straight through my pretence and I knew he could see straight through me. To be in honest, in that moment, I absolutely hated him!

A few months on, Clive was going to lead an evangelistic mission – a coffee bar mission (there, that REALLY dates it, doesn’t it!!) and was going to teach us how to start conversations with people about the Lord, and lead them into a relationship with Jesus. Then he said that he wasn’t going to teach us, he was going to show us: ‘Paul, it’s time you got saved!’ If I’d hated Clive at the camp, now I was murderous! But that night, in 1972, I gave my life to Jesus: something I’ve never regretted, needless to say. I was working in a bank at the time, and I hated it – it was boring, monotonous, and I’d ‘done’ the only job that looked interesting – the counter, dealing with customers, and counting money! I stayed in the bank as it was then a good career, 2.5% mortgage (in an era of 14% mortgages!), with a reasonable salary and good pension hundreds of years in the future… Clive wanted me to leave and join Youth for Christ, where he was, by 1975 (I think) National Director, and I knew it was what God wanted, but I didn’t for the reasons I’ve just mentioned! So I argued with God for 4 years (I’m sure no one reading this has ever argued with God over a call on their life!). So God intervened again and moved me to another branch of the bank, which I hated with a 100% passion, so I demanded another move – to an even worse branch with an unbelievably awful manager (I won’t say where or who!!) – who insisted you give him 300% of your time and effort. So I finally caved in to God, and quit at the end of 1978…. Youth for Christ it was!

Would I go back? Not on your life! Was I living significantly in the bank? Not in a million years! Had I any idea when I started working for YFC in East Sussex where it would lead? Not in the slightest! I still had a house (though by now my salary had gone down the £0, no pension, and my mortgage to 15% (as it was a re-mortgage from the bank). Within about 4 weeks, my car – a wonderful(NOT!) diahrrea-coloured Austin Maxi (remember them? Remember that colour – only the dreadful Maxi, Marina, and Allegro were that colour! And as cars they were all as bad as each other!) – ‘blew up’ in Hailsham High Street, a wonderful sound of broken metal pieces hitting the road and a black river behind the car flowing down the road…. How could I do the job without a car? Well, God had that one up his sleeve, too: I was given an almost new Chrysler Alpine within a couple of weeks, which was an incredible blessing.

The desire to live a much more significant life was growing inside rapidly: you only get one life. Why spend it in insignificance? After 4 years came 9 months at a Christian Training Centre, then a move to become a homegroup leader, followed by Elder, followed by Youth Pastor at a church on the south coast (out of which came an event known as Cutting Edge, which became so big, and ‘spawned’ the wonderful worship band Delirious. Just as Cutting Edge was ‘taking off’ God hijacked me again (I so wanted to stay with Cutting Edge!) and said – ‘Hey, you, it’s to the four corners of the earth to preach, teach, and pray for the sick for you’.

I argued with God again! Didn’t want to do that – I’d never travelled, didn’t like foreign food, and didn’t have any money. A problem to God? Drat, no!! For 6 weeks and 9 prophetic words I told God he’d got the wrong person, but after the 9th, I realised God wasn’t going to shut up, so I said ‘Ok, Lord, I’ll go, anywhere except Africa or India!’. Don’t ever tell God what you don’t want to do or don’t want to go! Within 12 hours, 5 invitations – 2 to France (not such a problem as I loved baguette, cheese, and wine!), one to Hong Kong (not a problem as I love shopping and I knew HK was great for shopping, especially for gadgets! – but God was oh so sneaky on this one!), and two to Ghana (aarrgghh!). Ghana was first… thank you God, thank you very, very much!

I fell in love not just with a country but a continent, and saw wonderful things happen there, and in teaching at Youth with Mission schools, found a good number of students encouraged to go into ministry themselves planting churches in the bush region of Ghana, God’s sneaky trick with Hong Kong mostly took me into China, which I’d NEVER had agreed to if I’d known – but China changed my life forever, spending time with pastors living in revival and miracles, and meeting ex-dead people (resurrected by God with the expectation of the pastors that it had to happen as it said it in the Bible!), which grabbed me with a passion to see the same things happen wherever I went. I remember saying to God as I left China for the first time, ‘God I have to see these things happen, and I don’t care what it costs me’….

It HAS cost – a lot – not just financial, but in every other conceivable way. Would I go back? Never! When you’ve seen legs grow (from nothing to a full leg, not just popping down an inch or so!), when you’ve seen thousands and thousands healed all over the world, when you’ve seen the dead come back to life, thousands and thousands find faith in Jesus, lives transformed, churches planted, missionaries released into many parts of the world, had God provide in order to go to 111 countries (most of them multiple times – like Colombia 89, Romania 129, Mexico 35 and many more) – and when you bear in mind I come from a family that have had many serious illnesses and never liked travelling, and would prefer – probably – to die of starvation than eat rice and dal in India, or cow’s eyes and lips in Mexico, or cat and dog in China…. was so sick myself until I was six doctors didn’t think I’d live, was celiac until (much to my mum’s horror) eating sausages, beans, and chips a number of weeks in a row at a friend’s house, and when France laying on a sun-soaked beach in July would have been my ‘extreme’ travel choice, it’s been an amazing journey so far, and it’s going to get more amazing as the next years unfold…. and we can ALL do it……

Thank God he uses the foolish things of the world – and the fearful, who after kicking and screaming choose to be obedient… whoever would want to live a life of insignificance? I can genuinely say that I don’t want ‘fame’ significance, or ‘big platforms’ to preach from – just be great in the kingdom in God’s eyes, not people’s, by being the servant of all.

I try to take one day at a time. Looking ahead often makes me feel overwhelmed. I can’t look at tomorrow’s challenges with today’s grace. But I remind myself that all the grace I need for tomorrow will be given to me WHEN I GET THERE. Jesus put it like this,“ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬ ‭

Jesus just has a way with words doesn’t he?

In recent weeks/months – probably the last 18 months since I wasn’t able to walk from January to November last year, I’ve taken this verse ‘on board’ more than ever before. I managed, with help, to get to preach, including going to Colombia – all the way in a wheelchair (apart from the flights!!). I’m eternally very very grateful to God for the lovely brother, Robert Miller, who prayed for me to be able to walk again, at the end of October 2018 – in the months leading up to that each day certainly did have enough trouble of its own! When you live alone and can’t walk, until that hits you, you just don’t think what massive limitations drop on you – everything from getting a glass of water (or mug of coffee :)! to getting food to going to the bathroom to going shopping (I can’t) – I’ve never been so thankful for being able to shop online as I have during this past 18 months! It did help a great deal not eating for long stretches as I lost a lot of weight! – and as soon as mobility returned, God made it clear that I should move.

For me, it’s been a privilege to know just WHY God called me here, even though my time here is nearly ended: to be honest, it’s a great relief, as it’s been a constant spiritual battle, so much so that the enemy’s attack (in the ‘form’ of the Jezebel spirit – yes, its very, very real!) – not only on those God sent me here for but also on me, has been the most intense I’ve ever experienced in my 40-odd years of ministry. I’m looking forward very much much to where God is moving me to next, though humanly I can’t afford another move! God seems to be moving ahead of me with a potential miracle, but of course, until a miracle happens, you can’t ‘predict’ it or budget for it!

I thought I’d worked out where my new home would be, but God hi-jacked my thinking – as he often has over the years! – and I’ve learned in 40-50 years that to argue with him is fruitless! I had a number of options in my mind, but discounted a couple because of ‘geography’ (like distance from airports, accessibility to the rest of the U.K. etc., a big consideration for me), and guess where it seems that God is taking me??! It looks as though I’m heading for the ‘land of my fathers’ – and in reality the birthplace of my wonderful dad, Wales – so I’m already 50% Welsh – and interestingly, I’m told to a town that was never touched by the Welsh revival and that threw John Wesley out when he went to preach there! – Welshpool (the first 5 letters are a bit of a giveaway as to where it is!).

Why Welshpool? Well, why not? It’s close to England, close to Snowdonia. I’ve been there a few times to speak, at their lovely ‘Filling Station’ meetings, and that because of very long time friends Jonathan and Kathryn, who’ve been there about 17 years, but we spent a long time together in Worthing in the late 80’s & 90’s, and Kathryn and I have a shared unbelievable miracle in that she was the driver of the car in the well-document car-crash in 1994 when her Metro was crushed between the two 38 ton trucks….Where God REALLY got me I think, is in the fact that what they – and others who have become good friends are establishing there is a fellowship of spirit-filled believers based on an Acts 2 style of church who love and care not only for each other, but others in their area, praying and seeing God change lives. It’s simple, straightforward, and very Biblical. Jonathan clinched it when he messaged me the other day with this –

• Fantastic- I hadn’t said this to you but several years ago when I used to pray with Hazel and Richard interceding for the town and area I had a thought – a God thought- I said to Hazel- it would be great if my friend Paul could come here – and you did with the filling stations- but I think there was more to it than that😀😀

To know that for several years friends have been praying for what now seems to be happening is SO wonderfully affirming, and confirmatory by God. I’ve longed for many years to be in a ‘church’ that is a community of love and care, which is SO attractive to people who are not-yet-Christians, If ever the world – including the UK – needed love and care, it’s now. Back in the 1970’s I was in a church (that began as a youth group!) that grew and grew into a wonderful caring church because the leaders, the lovely Brian & Penny Hill, LIVED love and care, and we were in and out of their home and each others’ homes constantly. A church in Hailsham in the late 70’s and 80’s was like that, too. Love and care breeds love and care. A homegroup and youth group I had the privilege of leading from about 1985 was a bit like that, with the folk often arriving 2 hours before the meeting ‘started’ (though when they arrived, that was ‘church’ starting!).

Without love and care being the foundation of a group of people – or in our individual lives with friends – you don’t have church, and all the modern ‘buzz’ words like ‘apostolic kingdom church’ mean nothing when love isn’t the base foundation. Of course the infamous James Jones began ‘well’ – as a charismatic Assemblies of God pastor who was a ‘control’ freak (one of the key characteristics of the Jezebel spirit) whose control ended up with more than 900 people committing suicide in Guyana, and murder of those who went to expose him. I think Jesus made love the essential foundation, making it abundantly clear numerous times in the gospels, and he didn’t even establish a church, leaving behind him a community of people who loved and cared. Yes, there ARE apostles, but I think we’ve ‘bandied’ titles around too easily in the last 30 years: the legendary Tony Campolo – Doctor of theology, sociology, University professor and so much more – preaches ‘Do you want titles, or testimonies?’ I know without a doubt what I want – TESTIMONIES!! We’ve become obsessed with titles, along with the ‘importance’ of ‘our’ church – and most of the people claiming titles for themselves are not what they call themselves! I heard of one church recently where one of the leaders said their church was an apostolic kingdom church, but if you want to love and care for people, and be loved and cared for by the people, it’s the wrong place. I’d have to say to that person they don’t HAVE a church, they have a ‘buzzword’ club, I pray that it isn’t heading for ‘Guyana’ status…. 🙁 . ‘They’ll know you’re my disciples by the way you LOVE one another’ someone very famous once said!!