In lots of ways the emptiness we encounter in life is a negative and resourceless space. Emptiness speaks of lack, depletion, a void, or something lost and defeated. 

For a moment there at the tomb, this version of emptiness grips the hearts of Mary and Jesus’ disciples. From their perspective, their vantage point, it was a tragic disappointment. All they could see, touch, and understand was attached to how they understood the concept of emptiness. I think I would have been the same. 

The thought that ‘empty’ could possibly mean the complete opposite wouldn’t have been in my mind and it wasn’t for them, even though Jesus had hinted at this. 

As Mary meets Jesus here, it all changes.

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

John 20:11-16

The emptiness in her heart at this moment must have evaporated into totally mind-numbing joy. The tomb of Jesus is the contrast to all of that initial understanding of emptiness. It now speaks of victory and triumph, completion, and fullness.

We are invited into this moment. We don’t stand by the tomb today, but the impact of it, the emptiness of it and the triumphant Jesus that it can’t hold, does connect with us today. He has Risen, and with him all our hope is placed. 

Our emptiness, with all its weight and baggage, is like that tomb: transformed, the old man has gone, the new has come. 

The post An empty tomb first appeared on The CVM Blog.

I had finally run out of road.

The life I had lived, for what felt like forever, had finally caught up with me.

Red-handed, caught in the act, no way out now. These Romans just deal with the likes of me.

No mercy, no second chance.

Only one sentence—The Crucifix!

Everything went black…

The pain was all gone…

I slowly opened my eyes to the most amazing world. The sun was bright, beating down, and the views, wow – they were just exquisite.

There was a man leaning over me, smiling, offering me his hand to help me up. My head was exploding, I felt completely weirded out—but I recognised his face. I knew him, I had seen him before.

Moments before this totally surreal experience, I was hanging on a cross. Man, the pain was excruciating. The whole of Jerusalem had gone black. I have never seen darkness like that before. I could feel the darkness.

I think one of the other guys there was just like me. He had been caught too. I guess if we spend our lives hanging out with thieves, we are going to end up dying with them too.

But that other guy.

The third guy.

The one in the middle.

He was different.

This might sound bonkers, but it felt like he had chosen to be there. Weird, I know.

Everyone was mocking him. It was brutal. Even the other guy hanging on the cross.

It was wrong, I knew it was wrong. He shouldn’t be there. I said that too.

“Stop mocking him, we deserve to be here. The road ran out for us. But this guy, he is different.”

Then, he turned his face toward me—the man on the middle cross.

I cannot explain it but I knew him.

I knew who he was.

“Remember me, please remember me. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for the way I have lived my life. I need you. I need your help!”

“Today, my friend, I will see you in Paradise—today!”

As my eyes opened, the man who was smiling and offering me his hand said “Do you know where you are?”

I didn’t know what to say, my head was proper mashed. So I said the one thing I still remembered:

“The man on the middle cross told me to come…”

“Yes I did, didn’t I? Welcome to Paradise!”

That man is no longer on the middle cross, but He is still telling us all to come. His name is Jesus and He is the solution to all our problems. Why not check into our next blog, coming out on Easter Sunday to discover more about this most important moment in history.

The post The Man on the Middle Cross first appeared on The CVM Blog.

I had no idea then, that 23 years later I would be working with an incredible bunch of people trying to get the gospel to men in the UK. As each year passes, here at CVM we keep the vision hot at the very centre of what we are all about. We want to do all we can to get our mates to the feet of Jesus, to see how wonderful HE is and the life He has for them. 

This is a mission that drives us in a very deep and profound way at CVM. Let me share it another way. 

Have a read of this:

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!

Mark 2:1-12

I was driving to Wales last year to host a church leaders gathering with Jon Stockley, our man in Wales. On the drive, I was listening to the bible and these verses jumped out at me. 

I shared the picture I had with a mate of mine later that evening and he sent me a text saying, ‘CVM, it’s Christian Vision for Men but it’s also a Ceiling Vandalism Movement!’ 

I loved it, that was the idea I was feeling, this outlandish, desperate but resourceful group of men doing all they could to get their mate in front of Jesus. 

At the Gathering last year I met this bloke – he was wrestling with serious mental health challenges, he had a joint and a massive bottle of booze that he rested in the grass by his feet – and together, we just sat and listened to the gospel and the message of Jesus. 

That’s CVM, that’s a ceiling vandalism movement! These men need to be brought and laid before the feet of Jesus, but for so many of them, they won’t step into a mainstream organised church. For loads of men in the UK, they are outside the building and can’t get in to see Jesus! 

As we charge into 2023 we must be creatives. We must be willing to offend and upset, to pioneer and step beyond any places of comfort or lines drawn in the sand IF it means we can get these desperate souls to the feet of our Jesus in time. 

I resolve daily to not waste these moments, to not waste the time I have that is so desperately precious and valuable, to get these men to the feet of Jesus. But I, and the team at CVM, can’t do that on our own. We run with everything we have, all the money and vision we can but our army is you. 

Let’s break some ceilings together in 2023. 

Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash.

The post Happy New Year!  first appeared on The CVM Blog.

Humanity has searched to answer the question, is there life out there somewhere?  

This question throws us into the very depths of space and its mind-bending size and reach, and year after year the answer is, no. We are alone and we still haven’t found evidence of life beyond this planet. 

The pursuit for an answer to this question has driven such incredible searching, discovery, and innovation for humanity. You can even see the impact of space exploration and innovation into your daily life! If you have used a cordless drill, then the impact of the search for answers in the universe has reached you. The cordless drill was a NASA design solution to a space exploration problem, the same thing for the cordless vacuum.. anyway!

The point is, the search to answer the question, ‘Are we alone?’ or, ‘Am I alone?’ returns the answer, ‘NO, you are not alone’ when we look in the bible. 

I am not talking about extra-terrestrial life forms here, or some tiny alien operating the controls of this massive space alien with arms like lobsters. 

Nope. The Bible tells us that we are definitely NOT alone. A name the Bible gives us to show us something about the life and role of Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. 

I remember reading a book by John Eldridge where he wonderfully describes how God had to learn to walk, be fed and be taught how to speak! I remember reading that and being in shock almost, I had never imagined that about God, but it’s true. 

Jesus, the baby that we remember at Christmas, couldn’t do any of that, he was taught and learnt the steps of life that we had to learn. He experienced this life, he knows it. He knows what it is like to be alone, to call out in the most desperate of life’s moments, ‘Where are you?!’ 

He knows the moments of joy, laughter, hunger and friendship. He lived this life; God with us. 

We can search for answers in life in so many places, to know if we are alone or not. Am I seen for who I am? Am I understood? Am I loved? Am I of any value to anyone? 

The answer is YES! You are. Jesus knows you, your heart, and your search, and His love for you is off the scale. 

That’s what I love about Christmas, it’s a moment to remind myself of just how massive Jesus is and how much I love him.  

Have a great Christmas. 

The post Christmas first appeared on The CVM Blog.

Some of you will be aware that it’s the 40^th anniversary of the Falklands conflict this year. In previous years I have mentioned my mate Ian who died when HMS Coventry was hit and sunk on 25 May 1982. In total 255 British service personnel died in the South Atlantic. This year as a mark of respect and enduring remembrance 255 landmarks/streets/features right across the Falkland Islands have been given names – each one the name of one of those 255 personnel who gave their lives in 82. There is now a ‘Williams Inlet’ in remembrance of my oppo. Nice touch. Enduring remembrance. We will not forget. 

This year we will see our new King, Charles 3^rd take the salute and lay the wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. He will have so many memories of his mother conducting this duty. There will be thousands of service personnel (including my son!), civilians, veterans, families, war widows and many others taking part. All with their own memories and thoughts. What will your thoughts be this year as you observe the silence in your own way? Maybe have a think and talk about it with someone … what or who are you remembering? 

As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is the only true source of hope, peace, and reconciliation. As we remember those who died, or still bear the scars of war and conflict physically, mentally, or emotionally, we also remember those who continue to serve and face danger for the sake of freedom and others. Ultimately, we remember Jesus who died for us all, and as we remember him, we are challenged to show him to others in word and action. I started by wondering what we can do to serve the cause of peace and reconciliation …. That is what we can do. We can’t rid the world of war, but we can seek to bring peace, hope and reconciliation to a desperate and hurting world by learning from our mistakes and offering hope through the person and sacrifice of Jesus. And we can pray and support those called to serve ….  

We will remember them. 

Image Credit: Susanne Schwarz

The post We will remember them.  first appeared on The CVM Blog.

But recently I was taken up by what I thought was a lovely butterfly. After photographing it and looking up its ID I was surprised to discover what I had captured was a Humming Bird Moth.

A first for me. This led me to taking a step out of the norm and going on a butterfly hunt. This is not as easy as you may think. You have to be quick on your toes; butterflies are easy to scare and flighty, photographing a butterfly on the move is really difficult.

There are so many types of butterflies in this country; and, I guess around the world many thousands.

This is the Brimstone:

There are many great names given to butterflies, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Scotch Argus, Peacock, Camberwell Beauty. The Rosy Grizzled Skipper, Amanda’s Blue, Duke of Burgundy and Provence Hairstreak.

The Painted Lady, (not someone of the night) is a beautiful butterfly with great colouring and easy to identify. Going butterfly hunting often means wandering about in some place that has lots of thistles, blackberry bushes, blackthorn and nettles; and rarely on a lovely flat lawn, or just at hand on a rose bush.

It takes time and patience but the end result can be glorious.

O’ the hidden mystery of a chrysalis?

Stumbling across a chrysalis, unless you are an expert you will not know what will emerge, until it has emerged. It’s a bit like human beings, not sure what we may turn out like. We need time to emerge and become mature, to develop our character and personality; we need time to understand the nature of people and things around us.

Likewise we need to understand the relationship God wants to have with us. The dichotomy, between what can be described, as our old self and the new self. The bible talks about being born again, understanding that sin hold us back and distorts all things. Being born again is the promise of new life because of what Jesus did on the cross, taking our sin upon himself and freeing us to emerge with our characters being formed again, but this time in Jesus. The results can be glorious. Challenging but glorious. There may be the challenges of thistles and thorns, nettles and things that scratch and bite. We can emerge at any time in our lives even when we are really old, by becoming born again in Jesus.

Image credits: Erik Karits, Jeffrey Hamilton & Suzanne D Williams via Unsplash

The post If I was a butterfly first appeared on The CVM Blog.

Funnily enough this was something that I thought I was now immune from having now passed the point in time where I have lived in England longer than I ever lived in Wales. That was however until we went on holiday to South Wales this summer. We stayed on the edge of the Black Mountains and over the space of one week took in some of the most beautiful scenery the UK has to offer. To think this is the same scenery I grew up with on my doorstep and I was utterly indifferent to it (and seeing the Great Barrier Reef didn’t help much). In this case it is especially true that familiarity does indeed breed contempt and I stand guilty as charged on that count.

This made me realise how easily we as Christians can become calloused to what God through Jesus has done for us. We so often sing those words of John Newton’s ‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me’ and just sing it without grasping the full enormity of those words. Before God intervened so graciously in our lives we were sinners and quite literally enemies of a Holy God.

I really believe that we need to never lose the wonder of what Jesus has done for us but realise that when we are faced by what this world tells us that we can ‘Live your best life now’ is a false and godless lie. This is contrary to what the Bible teaches that even the best this world might have to offer isn’t even a pale imitation of awaits us in Heaven because of what Jesus did on the cross. As the apostle Paul puts it in Philippians 3 v 8:

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

I underlined the words ‘everything’ and ‘garbage’ quite deliberately as they are emphatic in their tone. Think of the most joyous occasion in your life to date and then forget it as what God through Jesus has in store for us in Heaven makes it look like something you wouldn’t want stuck to your shoe. Thankfully there are those all too few fleeting moments when we get just a tantalising glimpse of what heaven is like and what Jesus has in store for us on the other side of this life. It won’t be the popular cartoon image of sitting around with wings playing harps – it will be an eternal state of praising God for what He has done through the Cross for us.

So, I just finish with this – do we get the feeling of ‘Hiraeth’ for our Heavenly Home when we compare the temporal things this world has to offer irrespective of how good they make us feel, do we have that hope in our lives? If not:

‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.

In the light of His glory and grace.’

Image credit: Robert J Heath via Flickr

The post Hiraeth first appeared on The CVM Blog.

This has all sorts of implications, and it is not just relevant to men, but I think our men’s groups are a good place to start.

I was chatting to a guy recently who genuinely wants to get a men’s group started in his local area. He has quite a few mates, and there are other men in his church too, but he kept on telling me how busy he was. I mean he didn’t just say it once, he said it 3 or 4 times in our conversation.

Now I know how busy we all are. I have a child with developmental delay so for the past six years I have been a dad to a constant 2-year-old. Life is busy, it is hard and there are times when we just want to make it as easy as possible for ourselves. That’s why duvets are such a good invention, a great place to hide.  That pull to make life easier is, I think, something we can all relate to, at least at various times in our lives.

But here’s the thing, we do need to invest in others too. We need to put the welfare of others before our own and I think organising men’s groups is a great way to do this.

As I have got a bit older, I am discovering a strong desire within to be a bit of a sage – not the herb bush kind, more of the wiser, older man type. I think this is a natural progression for a lot of us. I think I have said this before, we live in a fatherless epidemic and as men we are suffering because of that. We need to find ways to become better husbands, better fathers, friends, colleagues, neighbours etc and we need to help our mates to do the same.

I recently read in Becoming A King the following epitaph and I found myself really hoping that this will be something those who I hold dear will be able to say of me after I am gone:

He lived and led with wisdom, vulnerability, and courage. He shaped the world for good and left a lasting legacy. He loved well and loved deeply from a sincere heart. And he finished strong.

But I know for sure this will never be said of me if I am not part of a band of brothers, a men’s group. I need to put myself in situations that require me to invest in others and where others can invest in me too. This is so important; it is vital for our families and for the society in which we live—to say we are too busy for this is to do a disservice to ourselves and to everyone around us.

Here’s my #TopTip for this week, September is such a good month for new beginnings. We come out of the summer holidays and if we have kids they go back to school. We start thinking about new projects or adult courses etc. So, why not get the boys together and have a fire-pit or a BBQ and chat about the areas of life that you need help in, or that you could help them in. Start investing in each other, putting the welfare of those around you first. Remember we all reproduce what we are, you could be the start of a movement of men who lead your mates to Jesus, mostly because your mates see the difference in you all.  

The post CODE UNLEASHED: Investing in Others (Part 7) first appeared on The CVM Blog.

I am more convinced of this now than I have ever been. I think this is because it just feels so awkward talking about the deeper stuff with other men in a circle, or even face to face in a one-on-one situation. But when we go out on the bikes, swimming in the sea or climbing a mountain everything changes.

There is something so seminal in a man’s life when we create moments together.

What is the first question that long term mates ask each other: “do you remember when we…”? A lot of us are doers rather than talkers. It is not true of all men, but it is certainly true of many.

I have a very close friend called Steve. Steve is a rare bloke who can sit down with anyone and just start talking about life. He can do this over a coffee, over a pint and pretty much any other situation you can think of. What is even more impressive is that Steve is equally comfortable talking to men and women.

I, on the other hand, must warm up to the task. If I know the other person well then that makes it all easier, but even with the people I know well it takes a special effort to go deeper and to be open and honest. So, if I am going to initiate a deeper, maybe personal, conversation I am much more likely to say, “let’s go for a walk…” or “are you up for a run…?”

I just think this is much more comfortable and I can handle to spaces where the conversation goes quiet.

This is true for men’s ministry too. I believe one of the things we should all be thinking about whenever we organise men’s groups is ‘how is this going to create a moment, or a memory that we will be able to look back on?’ And, if that moment or memory is something that we can also laugh about, even better!

The other day a neighbour called me round to look at his television. He had lost all the channels and try what he may, he could not get it back up and running. As we were looking through all the menu options, getting lost and confused, we started to talk about God, life and ‘is there anything more to life than just what we see?’ I have a lot of conversations with this guy, but mostly they are short and superficial—that is until we were in the context of activity i.e. fixing the TV.

This stuff works whether we are building individual friendships or part of reaching men as a group.

Another thing is that as I have become a little bit older, I have become a little flabbier around the edges. Sorry if that is too much information. I often joke with my wife that I am still a well-oiled machine, but my one saving grace is that I am still relatively fit because I get out and I exercise—often with my mates or in our men’s group. In a time when a lot of men have fragile mental and physical health our men’s groups can make a serious difference in all our lives if we pitch this right. After all what is the end game? Surely that we and our mates all become mentally stronger, physically fitter, and spiritually focussed on Jesus.

Here’s my #TopTip for this week, start looking for the activities that you can be involved in with your mates and the other guys in your church. Things like 5-a-side football, cycling or hill-walking are all good fun and relatively easy to arrange. If those things are too strenuous for you and your mates think about crown bowling, chess, or darts. The thing is, just do what you enjoy doing and invite your mates to join you.

The post CODE UNLEASHED: Well Oiled Machines (Part 6) first appeared on The CVM Blog.

On the end of a bungee rope will it really take the weight or does a fate worse than that which could happen – happen! Who or what is being trusted? Is it the Bungee Jumping organisation to whom so much trust is being put in, or is it the equipment that is fool proof?

Every day, trust is a reality, on occasions trust is based on experience and at other times on assumption. We know that the red bus always comes to the village at a certain time; you could set your watch by it. But for those queuing that morning the bus didn’t arrive, assumption became doubt. Can I trust the bus timetable? Back in the day Leyland cars had a very poor reputation; don’t buy a Friday car, (preparation for the weekend obscuring the need to do the job properly; or a Monday car (that hangover is still around). Values that were formed in the 80s/90s may not have the same application in the 2000s. Modern cars provide all we need to make driving life easy, but because my value system was formed in a different era, don’t talk to me about driverless cars! I want to trust other drivers as much as I want them to trust me.

What does it mean when we talk about human relationships, when one trusts another?  There is assurance and reliance on the person’s character, some ability, strength, or truth in someone. There is a confidence about the character of that individual. Watching recent political discussion I realised that I cannot say hand on heart that I fully trust those standing for election. For some people trusting others is a simple thing; for others trust has to be earned. We have many examples in the media of broken trust leading to court cases. In team games, sports people are taught to trust their team mates, getting to know those around you, expecting them to understand positional play, their roles and responsibility; who does what, when and where. An out of position player can really mess things up and if it happens regularly a lack of trust sets in. Not only does trust dissolve but the very character of the individual may be questioned. The goalie that miskicks the ball giving away a crucial goal will played out for ever on ‘football’s greatest football errors’.

As a word ‘trust’ is not something that is immediately visible. ‘Can you keep a secret?’ In itself this might reveal something about the word ‘trust’. The human response ‘I want to trust you’, ‘Yes I can be trusted’. Therefore much of our relationships are built on trust; we trust our medical professionals, others are occupations that require high levels of skills; the local dustbin operative is trusted to empty the bins, the postie to deliver the post. In social partnership when trust is trampled on and impacts on the emotions of the individual, ‘but I trusted you…’ the opposite happens; like a magnet repelling its counterpart. We can be hurt and people will carry that pain and lack of trust for many years.

What Jesus did with Peter on the beach during the barbecue was to reinstall the trust he had in Peter and more importantly between Peter to Jesus. Peter had after all blown the relationship. As much as Jesus enabled Peter to reinvest in him he also sent him off with the incredible promise that he could for his whole life trust Jesus. You can read about it in John’s gospel Chapter 21.

Image credit: Jeremy Bezanger via Unsplash

The post Trust me first appeared on The CVM Blog.