ArticleBlog | A dangerous idea that could change the world
A dangerous idea that could change the world
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 23.06.22
These planes could land themselves on computer automated control, but with crosswinds this strong and so variable, it takes a human being in the cockpit’. Those words, from the presenter of Big Jet TV who was streaming landings at Heathrow during Storm Eunice (now rightly a minor celebrity in his own right), stuck in my head. They felt like the Father’s verdict of ‘well done’ on leaders who had steered their churches through the pandemic. Sure, it hadn’t always looked smooth, nor had many of us much idea of whether we were doing the right thing, but the church is still standing.
In March of this year, 1,500 of us gathered at the Harrogate International Conference Centre for the New Wine Leadership Conference, held every two years. What was particularly poignant was that, for almost all of us, the last time we were with other people in those sorts of numbers had been the previous conference – just two weeks later, the nation had gone into lockdown. In the two years between those two gatherings, none of us could have accurately predicted the scale of loss, hardship, pressure and uncertainty that we would face. For all of us, I would imagine, it has been the most challenging season of leadership that we have ever led through.
Yet the Harrogate gathering was marked supremely by joy. Yes, we took time to grieve our losses and receive restoration and healing. We were especially aware of the pain and suffering in Ukraine and spent much time interceding for that situation. But there was no getting away from the explosion of joy that began with the first celebration and was a feature of even our more sombre moments. It wasn’t simply the exhilaration of being together with friends old and new – although that was an important part of it – but somehow a sense of fresh hope and confidence in the Lord and his kingdom. An early prayer of mine during lockdown had been that the church would not emerge from the pandemic ‘blinking in the light as we emerged from a dark tunnel’, but ‘purified, strong and confident, having discovered more of God’s faithfulness and power’. I remember saying, ‘What if Satan thought that he was bringing the church to her knees, only to find that she arose, prayerful and joyful, more powerful than ever before?’ Without exaggeration, there were aspects of that evident as we met in March.
