Who is Phil Moore?!

Phil Moore was formally appointed as the next Senior Pastor of Queens Road Church, Wimbledon at the church members' meeting which took place on Sunday December 7th. He will take up his new role at the beginning of April 2010 when he will become only the seventh pastor in the church's 137 year history!

Phil is 35 years old. He is married to Ruth (who is a doctor) and they have two boys – Isaac (who is nearly 5), Noah (3) and Esther (who was born in July this year).

Phil was brought up in the Anglican Church – his dad was a vicar – and although he knew all the lingo he didn’t become a Christian until he was at university. He went to Cambridge University where he read History and at the end of his first year he signed up for a month of mission in the Czech Republic. It was actually during the training for mission that Phil listened to the preaching and was utterly convicted by the Gospel. So Phil got saved at the start of a mission and spent his first month as a Christian telling people about Jesus every day. He tells us that he has never quite recovered!

When he finished uni he worked in Paris for a year with the equivalent of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship. Then he returned to the UK and moved to Woking having landed a job with Proctor and Gamble. He was with them for six years and was fast-tracked into a management role where he was responsible for a business worth £200 million.

Seven years ago he gave up his career with Proctor and Gamble to join the staff team at The Coign Church, Woking as a full time evangelist. He soon became one of the elders in a church which is now about 700 strong.

Although Phil is still very involved in Front Edge and gospel preaching, he also travels as a bible teacher. He is part of the Newfrontiers Theological Forum which consists of about a dozen church leaders who gather together to discuss significant theological issues on behalf of the Newfrontiers family of churches. In his early twenties he taught himself New Testament Greek and in his mid twenties he taught himself Old Testament Hebrew – which makes him sound like a bit of a geek, but nothing could be further from the truth! Phil is very much a people-person. A few years ago he felt God challenged him to go deeper in his study of the bible, so he began to write a commentary on the whole bible from his study of the original texts. On the back of those studies, a Christian publisher has now commissioned him to write a series of commentaries for the layman – a total of 25 books are planned over the coming years and the first three will be published in July 2010.

Phil has a rare combination of gifts – he has a clear leadership gift combined with good people skills, combined with an outstanding teaching gift and a passion to see people saved. That’s why we were very keen to invite him to come to Wimbledon.

I genuinely cannot think of a more suitable person to take Queens Road Church forward into the next phase.

Furnace Avoidance

In Daniel 3 we read the amazing story of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego who refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's gold image and were thrown into a fiery furnace as a result. These three men obviously had solid foundations to their faith. They didn’t hesitate to defy the king's order.

Perhaps God is testing the strength of your faith at the moment. Somebody said: A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.

The amazing sight of a fourth person in the fire that ‘looks like a son of the gods’ reminds us that God will be with us in the fire. God does not abandon us – he is right there with us in the trials and the testing. As John Ortberg points out, sometimes God saves us FROM the furnace but many times He saves us IN the furnace.

So often we want to pray ‘God deliver me from pain, discomfort, suffering and inconvenience’. We want to be comfortable. Our main aim is ‘furnace avoidance’. We prefer to pray ‘God please make my life smooth and easy, please remove all the problems’. But the reality is that we are more likely to encounter God in the middle of the furnace than by avoiding it. It is in the tough times that we throw ourselves on God and so often we find that he graciously sustains us and helps us. It is in the furnace times that we grow in our faith rather than when everything is going well.

Your furnace might be work. Maybe you are struggling to cope with your boss. Maybe your boss is demanding, unreasonable, difficult and autocratic. I want to encourage you to hang in there and encounter God in the furnace. Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego didn’t exactly have the best boss in the world in Nebuchanezzar. But even he was impressed by their faithfulness to their God and the amazing way that God delivered them. Is it possible that God is allowing you to go through a furnace experience to have a similar impact on your boss or even your company?

Maybe your furnace is illness, or family problems, or loneliness, or confusion – whatever it is; I want to encourage you to hold fast to the Lord. Exercise your faith in a robust way. Pray biblical prayers. Hold on to bible promises. Thank God in the middle of the trials – like Paul and Silas in the prison – keep worshipping the God who doesn’t change (despite our circumstances) and is always worthy of our praise. It is highly possible that you will encounter Him in a fresh way in the middle of the furnace, and you can be certain that he will walk with you in times of testing and trial. In Daniel 3:27 we read that the men came out of the fire totally unharmed.

When we are going through tough times we might wonder how they will affect us in the long term. Certainly our experiences have an impact on us. But this passage should encourage us that it is possible for God to take us through such times and bring us out unscathed. Their clothes were not scorched and they didn’t even smell of smoke. They were no longer bound by ropes.

When we come out of a furnace experience we may well find that we’ve been set free from things that previously bound us. When we go through the darkest places we are often released from previous problems.

Five things about Work...

1. Work is a gift from God.

Man was given work in Genesis 2 before the Fall. In Genesis 2:15 Adam was put in the Garden to work it and take care of it. We mustn’t see work purely as a place to evangelise - there was no-one to evangelise in the Garden! You glorify God through work in itself. Work doesn’t necessarily have to be paid employment. The people who work harder than anyone else are mums with young children – their job continues for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they don’t get paid at all. But being a mum can also be one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet.

2. Work is for God.

Colossians 3:22-24 ‘Slaves obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.’ Ultimately your work is for the Lord – in effect he is your boss. Daniel worked for the Babylonian civil service with all his heart, as if working for the Lord.

3. Work is spiritual.

In Hebrew thought all things are spiritual whereas the Greeks separated everything into secular and spiritual categories. We have been more influenced by ancient Greek culture and therefore still think in those terms today. So if someone is in full time ministry they are often considered to be doing a more spiritual occupation than the person in a secular job. This is an unbiblical view of work.

4. Work is a calling.

In his booklet 'Being Unmistakably Christian at Work', Don Latham wrote: ‘Your work is your calling. It is not a secondary calling in comparison with being a pastor. If you are called, you are anointed and equipped for your job. Your work is an integral part of your Christian activity. It is vitally important to realise that your work is your calling…When you know that God has called you to your career, then you can know that He is your partner in it…Whatever your calling, whether it is in industry, commerce, craft or profession, you are not on your own. Remember that God is your partner in the workplace; you can show confidence in Him to handle all the problems you face.’

5. Work is important.

Recently, shadow work secretary, Teresa May, criticised the government’s record on employment. She pointed to the fact that unemployment had become entrenched in an increasing number of households. Official figures released at the end of August showed that the number of households in which no-one over the age of 16 has a job rose by 240,000 to 3.3 million in the year to June. If part of the reason we were created is to glorify God through our work, then a long term lack of work (whether paid or voluntary) can be a big problem.

Let's pray for those who are currently out of work and those who are in jobs which just aren't fulfilling.

‘No weapon forged against you will prevail…’

Recently one of my elders and his wife went to Berlin for a long weekend to celebrate her birthday. They happened to be there on the day that the city marked the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. For decades before that time, it seemed as though Communism might wipe out the church in communist states. And if communism was exported to the rest of the world, the church might disappear altogether.

Today Communism doesn’t feel anywhere near as threatening to the church. In fact, in China today there are more Christians than Communist party members.
Many former communist countries now have thriving and burgeoning churches.
Today we might be concerned about the advance of Islam or atheism. Will they eventually take over and wipe out the church? Of course not! While I don’t for one moment think that Christians can afford to be complacent, the blunt truth is this: the Lord of the whole universe, the King of Kings, the One who sits at the right hand of the Father has declared 'I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.' (Matthew 16:18)

We're on the move...

Last Sunday morning (13/9/09) I announced that after 30 years in Wimbledon we will be moving to King's Church, Catford. In April next year I will join the leadership team at King's Church where I will be responsible for overseeing all the ministry areas e.g. pastoral care, small groups, youth, children, membership, baptisms, newcomers, deaf ministry, courses, work with the homeless etc. It is a big role and everything will be two or three times the scale that I am used to. The church currently has around 900-1000 people attending every Sunday and at the present rate of growth is expected to reach 2000 in the next 8-10 years. My new role will certainly be challenging.

This was obviously big news for the Queens Road Church congregation and was received with a mixture of emotions. At a time like this you are not sure how you want people to react! On one hand you feel that everyone should be sobbing but on the other you want them to be positive about the future. The staff joked that we would need some strong coffee after last Sunday's meeting or even gin and tonics. One of the elders went further and mischievously suggested some might want to crack open a bottle of champagne! (Thanks!)

Cathy and I took over four months to make the final decision - we have had to process a lot of emotions - we have got a lot of good friends in Wimbledon, although we are not moving that far away. But in the end we felt that it was the right move at the right time and I'm looking forward to making a contribution to building the church in SE London.

Back in 1996, just before I started leading QRC, I was given an encouraging prophetic word. At the end there were two sentences which indicated that God would use my time in Wimbledon to prepare me for another future role. The move to Catford certainly seems to fit that word given to me 13 years ago. When we shared the news with some of our key leaders just over a week ago, one of them said she'd had a dream a few months ago in which God told her we were moving on. I wished she'd told us earlier, it would have saved us a lot of agonising over the decision!

I am confident that God also has great plans for Queens Road Church in the future. The church is in good heart and we have strength in depth with regard to the wider leadership. Join me in praying for a smooth transition from one leader to the next - greater things are yet to come...

Like London buses...

After waiting for a good while, like London buses, two new elders arrived at about the same time last week. The season for elderisation is definitely upon us!

First, it was a great joy to join the congregation of King's Church, Kingston as they finally appointed their new lead elder, Simon Virgo on Friday September 4th. Simon's surname may have a familiar ring to it, and yes he is related to Terry and Wendy, who were there to share in their son's special evening. He takes the reins after a four year gap since the last full time leader. Simon was, until recently, working full time at New Life Church, Biggin Hill and before that he served as the student pastor at Westminster Chapel. It was good to see the church move into a new era having been personally involved in its inception 15 years ago. Simon has a strong preaching gift (some of his sermons have been featured on Premier Radio) and is a fervent pray-er who inspires faith. He will be a great asset and complement the existing eldership team well.

Then last Sunday I went over to Sutton Family Church to appoint Steve Musters to eldership (plus three new deacons). Formerly a recording engineer / producer, Steve has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry - e.g. Amy Winehouse. From now on he will work alongside one of the biggest names in Sutton Family Church(!) - Pete Cowgill - who has energetically led the church from its beginning five years ago. Steve has a wide range of creative and adminstrative skills, plus a developing preaching ministry which will help the church to grow to the next level.

Mwah, mwah!

My wife and I took our annual jaunt to Paris at the beginning of August. The weather was too good to traipse around museums and art galleries, so we sat in shady spots in parks and cafes and watched the world go by. As usual we had a wonderful time wandering the streets, reading books and eating breakfast on our ninth floor apartment balcony, overlooking the Louvre and the Eifel Tower!

We've found the Parisians to be a friendly and courteous people. On one occasion we stepped out of the apartment building lift on the ground floor and came face to face with a young couple waiting to go up. With spontaneous, Gallic flair the young guy laughed, gestured with his hands and embraced my wife, kissing her on both cheeks. Surprised (and delighted to have the opportunity to kiss a young man) she happily responded in like manner. But then he turned to me and to my amazement repeated the greeting! I was somewhat put out that his attractive girlfriend wasn't in a similar gregarious mood. It certainly wasn't the kind of thing that would happen in London but when in Paris...

This episode reminded me of a mortifying moment in a deacons' prayer meeting before a Sunday morning service several years ago. One of our brethren had been inspired by New Testament references to 'greet one another with a holy kiss'. Being a literalist he obeyed this newly discovered instruction by greeting one of his fellow deacons with a kiss on both cheeks. Everyone else in the room froze and earnest but nervous prayers followed (I think we kept our eyes half-open just in case!)

What works in one country isn't necessarily culturally acceptable in another country. New Testament Rome, Corinth and Thessalonica were presumably more like Paris than London in a cultural sense (see Romans 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 1 Thess. 5:26)

This highlights one of the challenges of interpreting the bible. Which bits are culturally bound (and therefore only relevant to that era) and which are principles for all generations? It is a distinction we have to make and often the line is drawn in the wrong place. We must recognise a degree of cultural relativity and that means we always have to apply some (hopefully consistent) hermeneutical process to bible texts. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart have a helpful chapter on the problem of cultural relativity in their outstanding book 'How to read the bible for all its worth'.

Hopefully someone will explain it all in heaven one day but until then avoid biblical literalists and elevators in Paris.

Ecuador Adventure

Not to be outdone by either of her two older brothers, my 17 year old daughter trumped them both by performing one of her own songs to a crowd of 70 people in the middle of the Amazon Basin!

After months of planning, Joanna and a team of 21 others from Esher College travelled to Puma Runi, a village in the heart of Ecuador. Their mission was to construct a filtration tank to filter river water and bring it into the village. This involved hauling sandbags and cement up a steep hill and long hours doing hard physical work in humid conditions. Joanna regularly quoted to herself Philippians 4:13 - 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'.

Currently villagers use water directly from the river. It was an ambitious project which wasn't completed but they made sufficient progress so that the locals will be able to finish it off and enjoy a clean water supply. There were plenty of challenges - two of them lost their rucksacks en route and had to cope without their kit for the first 3 days - and a lot of experiences that were deeply moving. However it wasn't all hard work. They did manage to do a day's white water rafting and a mini jungle trek. Plans are already forming for a return trip next year!

Meanwhile back in Camden...

Not to be outdone by his older brother, Son Two, launched his new extended play CD at a gig in Camden on July 3rd. Andy Kyte and his new band played a 20-25 minute set at Proud Galleries in Camden - sadly I was unable to be there. The new line-up is an unusual combination featuring Andrew on lead guitar/vocals plus drums, bass and two cellos! If the results of the CD are anything to go by, the eclectic mix works well. With relatively little money at his disposal, Andrew decided to make the EP a prayer project. Its production was a minor miracle in that most of the costs were covered for free - studio time, sound engineer, mixing and CD artwork. A loan from a friend covered the cost of CD printing and the result is four tracks for the bargain price of £3!

If, like me, you missed the launch gig, the band are headlining at Dublin Castle, Parkway, Camden on Friday September 25th (£5)- so put the date in your diary. In the meantime if you want a CD contact Andy Kyte - andykyte@hotmail.co.uk

'Theo's Door' launch CD

New Album - Navigate The Infinite: Promo
I am very pleased to announce that the band 'Theo's Door' has finally given birth to their first CD 'Navigate the Infinite' - after a four year 'pregnancy'! Two of the band members are ex-Queens Road Church members - bass player Ben Kyte and lead singer Emily Woods. This group of former Brighton uni friends originally got together to make music and weren't necessarily looking to gig or record. Ben expressed his surprise at how the project had taken off but is really pleased to have a record of several years of creative writing - which in many ways expresses a personal journey through the songs he contributed. The CD is really well produced by the talented Mr. Lumgair and the songs are God focussed, worshipful and, at times, intense. There are some great musical moments - I particularly like the intro to 'Something True', Luke's guitar work on 'One-Sided', the funky bass lines on 'Electric Vibes' and the 'face-melting' lead guitar solo by Duncan Spear on 'Defects' - awesome!

The CD is available from all good band members (except Ben Kyte who was the last to hear the finished album and has taken our copy!) To hear clips of some of the tracks and find out more go to www.myspace.com/theosdoorofficial