RAINMAKERS

  " For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus " Revelation 19:10 (NIV) In my earlier prophecy training the model was to speak in the first person, "I God say to you..." or "Thus says the Lord..."  YIKES! I ditched that method a long time ago because I have seen the damage it has caused. If what the vessel says is actually God, then who wants to argue with God? However, it's probably 50/50 God through a human vessel. I found it much better just to say, "I believe God is saying..." If it is God, people will usually know, but that caveat allows them freedom to weigh the word with impunity. That is a much healthier way.  The reason I started this Blog was for the very reason of bringing narrative, from my perspective, of what I believe God is doing in Wales, and wants to do. I do not claim that it is all that God is doing in Wales, or that it is the right way of doing things, but it is part of it. Prophetic utterance is abou...

  Brand Management(mass noun):  refers to the strategic and tactical process of nurturing a brand. How you manage your brand directly influences your brand equity, brand value, and brand reputation (Amazon) In the same way that businesses have crafted compelling logos, colour schemes, catchy songs etc. all in the name of burning brands into our subconscious, the modern day church has also adopted these similar methods of Brand Management to fill churches. Is this right?  A phrase I heard a few years ago referred to this practice as "McDonald's Church". Where you will have a "mothership" campus, and then multiple campuses across a city, region, or nation, or the globe (In the same way McDonald's Restaurants are everywhere). A lot of these churches stream the same sermon from the mothership to all the campuses. Yes, they have the lattes and lanyards, but going to church is like going to the movies. The first time I went to Norway the food was alien to me, exce...

  "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:17 How many of us have struggled with this verse? The thought of never ending prayer can be daunting, especially if we feel like we're not doing it correctly. Do we repeat the Lord's Prayer forever? Do we constantly reel off our shopping list of requests until God gets bored with our incessant repetition? The Bible can't seriously be saying that we are to pray without ceasing, right? Well, Yes and No! Look  at these other Bible translations that help give us a rounder image of this verse: "Never stop praying" NLT "Be unceasing and  persistent in prayer" AMP "Continually be prayerful" ISV That last one is especially helpful, "be prayerful", or, be "full of prayer"! Here is where I find people struggle. From all of my years as a Christian, then as a leader, then as a Pastor, all of the struggle comes down to definition, what is "Prayer"? Fortunately for us the Bibl...