Gratitude to continue to go 'Outside the Camp'

This picture of me preaching in the open air on a sunny Sunday morning was on the green outside St John’s Church, Stratford, East London in July last year. In July this year the whole world will be descending upon this green to hear the Gospel preached, because the whole world will be visiting Stratford for the Olympics.

 

 It should surprise no one that I have entitled the picture “Gratitude”. In March last year, on the eve of my 70th birthday, I was diagnosed as having prostate cancer with which I had been unknowingly struggling and losing weight for months and months. Happy Birthday was my immediate reaction! A prayer partner actually gave me Nehemiah 8v10 as my birthday text – “The joy of the Lord shall be your strength” – and so it turned out to be.

 

In and out of hospital benefitting from immaculate treatment and surgery, backed up by loving healing prayers from hundreds of you, and in three months I am doing the business again outside the camp. So much so, that TFM re-appointed me as evangelist emeritus –  you can look me up on the here ! 

 

There can be disgrace going to Jesus outside the camp, especially in a dominant secular environment and we shall feel some of it during the Olympics under the heavy hand of security. Normally, in multi-cultural and multi-ethnic Stratford there is openness and responsiveness. Last year there was an average attendance of forty-five everyday at Hot Potatoes in the Goose Pub and no trouble at all - just good questions and good response to Jesus from Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Polish Catholics. We won’t be allowed to go there to preach during the Olympics, though, but there will be no stopping us on the green.

 

In the Hebrews sacrificial context, the high priest carries the blood of the animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his blood. “Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore”.

 

Staying in church ministering to the civilised and well-behaved people is good and right and important, but going outside to where the ruffians, the unbelievers, the questioners, the other-believers, the scoffers, the dumbfounded, the homeless, the poor and the prostitutes are is where you always, always find Jesus – and I am so grateful to be able to continue to go outside the camp to meet him there, especially so since the world is going to be there as well.