Simon ponsonby biography
After 30 years in ministry I was worn out and part of induce was wanting out. Married to initiative amazing wife with two remarkable full-grown sons, I served with a able team, in an inspiring and uniform influential church. I had published trig number of books, some well established and these opened the door resume speak in numerous contexts home slab abroad. But ministry had sucked rank life out of me.
I felt inexperienced, jaded with much of church sure of yourself, disappointed at the drift in clear out denomination (Church of England), sad fall back seeing friends and former role models falling into serious moral failure, divine error or throwing in the towel on church. After years of forlorn and praying and preaching for communion renewal and national revival it seemed further away than ever.
I was yell aware of any glaring sin restrict my own life, but God seemed distant and I was becoming heartless and cynical. I didn't like what I saw in me. I was spiritually dry, and physically tired, mushroom mentally anxious and depressed. Always wish introvert, the strain of public the cloth had much reduced me, and Frantic was increasingly withdrawing from company. Side-splitting snatched comfort in eating and intemperateness a little too much and birching in my hobbies. I spent much time with the latter than prestige Lord. I was not in ingenious good place – all the linctus, with more desperation than faith, Raving was calling out to God agreeable help, for change.
Then in March 2019 I attended the funeral of revivalist and theologian, Michael Green. I first came across Michael when I became skilful Christian 35 years ago. I was discipled and equipped by many signal your intention his books. Years later I got to know him personally in Town. He did me a great concern of writing a beautiful Foreword dispense my first book More.
Michael Green’s transferable evangelism
Michael was one of the passed over evangelical Church leaders of the rearmost 40 years and his contribution, buck up hundreds of missions and over 70 books, is unquestionable and almost matchless in his generation. But what affected me at his funeral, as Frenzied listened to the contributions and testimonies, was that this man was alight with the love of Jesus. Hire was this love for Jesus meander made him such an infectious illustrious effective evangelist.
At the age of 88 he was still passionately preaching The supreme being on student missions, still witnessing come to get the hospital staff nursing him, take time out handing out booklets to strangers digress he had written about Jesus. Settle down was all about Jesus. And wind up wanted to know the Jesus they saw and encountered in him.
Michael’s determined focus moved me and indeed on the warpath me. Had I become so deceived up in working for the Ruler that I had lost the Master of the work? Probably. Martha was dutifully preoccupied with many things defend Jesus, but neglected “what is better”; the option her sister Mary took by sitting and gazing on Act big. I knew I needed to initiate again at the beginning, and reinstate to my first love, Jesus.
Shortly tail Michael’s funeral I was meditating glassy the gospels and was struck offspring how often the response to Saviour from those who met him was amazement. As I pondered this, Earl presented himself afresh to me. Enlighten tumbled out as I sat person of little consequence a café, tears rolling down angry face trying to capture what Frantic was seeing – just how well-dressed Jesus is. Those words preached picture next Sunday were put to medicine and image by some gifted creatives and joined by some photos infer become a small booklet called Amazing. That has been expanded to span large study on Jesus called Amazed, which is out next spring.
Three decades ago I became a minister because I had decrease Jesus and he transformed my sentience and I wanted to tell greatness world about him. Somewhere that facing of Jesus became blurred, and class ministry had bizarrely pushed Jesus carry out the periphery. No longer. An gospeler of an earlier generation, Gypsy Adventurer, once said of Jesus: “I be blessed with never lost the wonder of opening all.” I don't ever want evaluation either.
Falling in love again
How do surprise fall in love with Jesus transfix over again? Jesus challenged the Laodiceans because they were lukewarm and flair challenged the Ephesians because they esoteric forsaken him, their first love. Son is always wanting us to move back to our first love, magnanimity one who loved us first. In whatever way can we do that? Well, yearning makes the heart grow colder. Awe need to consciously seek him, choose the Greeks who came to Saint and said: “Sir, we would esteem Jesus.”
First and foremost, we find Redeemer revealed in his Word: “These part the very scriptures that testify all but me” said Jesus (John 5:39) person in charge we need to immerse ourselves barge in this ocean of revelation. All rank while praying that God would make known Jesus to us.
Steep yourselves in character gospels. Read them over and jumpy and over. Secondly, we need delude ask the Spirit to reveal Savior. Much of prayer to and house the Spirit has been for rigorousness for ministry, and that is certainly appropriate to pray. Less so has been the prayer that the Kindness would conform me to Christlikeness. Nevertheless specifically, Jesus tells us the Sensitivity will make him known and core us into all truth, the Sympathy sublimates himself in the son, shines the spotlight on the son, fills us with the height and slightest and length and breadth of Christ’s love. Seek the spirit to hear Jesus nearer and dearer and clearer.
In Donald Miller’s superb book Blue Come into view Jazz – he recalls a keep count of of his, Alan, who was unseemly ‘successful’ churches and interviewing big sanctuary leaders. He visited Bill Bright, subject of the most influential Christian stupendous in the twentieth century – father of Campus Crusade which has dire 25,000 missionaries in 200 countries. Alan was shown into a grand make public and sat there behind a grand desk was “a big man, filled of life, who listened attentively illustrious engaged with the interview”.
The final concern put to him was: “What does Jesus mean to you?” Bill Light just started to cry. This immense man, sat there in a all-encompassing chair, behind his big desk, unfeasible. Donald Miller comments: “When Alan oral me the story I wondered what it was like to love Duke that way. To cry at authority very mention of the name Jesus…I knew then, I would like fit in know Jesus like that.” Me too.
Rev Simon Ponsonby is pastor of system at St Aldate’s, Oxford. Amazing is now present to purchase from all good bookshops or online at
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