Lynn Green

Category: Communications

  • How does God Speak?

    How does God Speak?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    Or, how do I hear God better?  After decades of meeting with countless thousands of Christians all over the world, I guess those questions must be in the top five questions committed Christians ask.  The Holy Spirit is endlessly creative, so no description of His voice or explanation of how He works can encompass the reality.  But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to say on the subject.

    My personal experience is that God speaks in countless ways and has probably spoken in some ways that I have missed completely.  There is no doubt that He speaks to those who are tuned in to Him, dependent on His word and consciously paying attention.

    AN EGYPTIAN PROPHECIES

    Earlier this week God spoke to me in a way that would be hard to miss.  A number of Egyptian Christians visited us here at the Harpenden campus.  We had planned two days of prayer and seeking God for the United Kingdom.  I was expectant for the nation, but did not expect to hear anything for me personally.  Then, in the first hour of a small leadership meeting scheduled before the main meetings started, one of the Egyptians began to prophecy over me!  It was a wonderful few minutes as this man, whom I didn’t really know, repeated several prophetic words I have received before—promises of long life, of very fruitful ministry to the nations for many years to come, and much more.  What an encouragement!  God likes to do that for all His children.  He is an encourager by nature.  (I might add that is the reason why Paul writes that we should all desire to prophecy.  God wants more outlets for His encouragement.)

    When the word of the Lord comes that way, it is hard to miss.  However, it is easy to fail to receive and remember it.  One of my regrets is that sometimes the Lord has spoken through prophecy and I thought I would remember it well, but ended up forgetting much of what was said.  In the meeting earlier this week, I took notes as fast as I could and was then relieved that one of the others in the meeting was recording it.

    WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED?

    One of the most unusual ways God has spoken to me happened just about a year ago.  A very kind and godly accountant in my home town has done our tax returns for many years.  Whenever we are back there, we plan to take him to lunch, or at least coffee.  During the course of our lunch last October, we talked about the changes in the YWAM leadership and leadership structures.  He was really interested, so I suggested he could watch a video I had done on the subject.

    He emailed me the next morning and this is part of his message:

    “I thought I’d see what you were referring to, but before I got there I watched this one.

    https://youtu.be/v7S1UQxMC50 .  

    Would you re-watch it and then let me know if God says anything to you?”

     I was intrigued and clicked on the link right away.  To my surprise I saw a video I had made several years ago (when I looked much younger!) and, YES, God did speak to me through it.

    If some Bible teacher was speaking on hearing God’s voice, I’ll bet he would never mention that in his list of how God speaks.  He used me to speak to myself ten years later!

    I realised that I had made some initial efforts to communicate better, but that commitment had faded.  I was convicted!  But I also wondered how I could produce more good content and also learn to implement the technology required to get it onto good platforms, and how I could be sure that it was presented well and attractively.

    WHERE GOD GUIDES, HE PROVIDES

    When Marti and I got back home, I had a “get-to-know-you-better chat” with one of our new staff members, Thiago, from Brazil.  I discovered that he had a broad and strategic grasp of social media; more than that, he was eager to help me communicate better.  Now, a year later, we have been doing a much better job.  Once again, I can say that when God requires a step of obedience, even when it seems it will be very difficult, he will provide the means for me—or you—to obey.

    We have produced many good videos, dozens of blogs, a lot of prayer letters and now, this past week or so, we have posted nearly 20 podcasts and will continue to post more.  If you like to listen to podcasts, you can find mine at:

                                                                 (Click one the picture)

    REMEMBER AND BELIEVE

    Can you remember some of the ways God has spoken to you?  Are you alert to hear his voice, and do you take steps to be sure you remember what has been said?  Do you actively believe it?  After all, that is why God speaks to you—so you can believe, and as you do, He works through your faith to bring His word to pass.

    Who knows, He might even speak to you through something I say.  He surely did speak to me through something I said a decade ago!

    Lynn Green.

  • Facebook Live to CBN News

    Facebook Live to CBN News

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    GNA reporter Peter Wooding live with one of YWAM’s senior leaders Lynn Green at their YWAM England national headquarters.

  • Global Guilds

    Global Guilds

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    In recent years, many Christians, especially the young, have begun to understand that God’s purposes encompass all of creation and that includes all the spheres of social influence. Practically, that concept means God calls His people into government, education, business, the arts, entertainment and sports, media and communications etc. These Christians realize that all these vocations are equally as significant as a call to local church ministry or world missions.

    Though this understanding of the all-encompassing nature of the Kingdom of God is spreading widely, many still feel isolated and unsupported in their vocation. They may have embarked upon a career in government or education or entertainment or the news media—but a large majority of these committed Christians feel under-supported in their vocation.

    Many centuries ago committed disciples of Jesus banded together in supportive, worshipping communities and formed what became known as guilds. As illustrated by the following quotes, the initial purpose for the formation of guilds was that practicing Christians in the same craft or service could support one another in their faith.

    “They were voluntary associations or fraternities and in the first instance their objects were religious and social. The craft element grew almost as an accidental feature, largely because people of` the same craft tended to live in the same neighbourhood in those days.”

    “However, after the Dark Ages it is known that the early guilds in London evolved from a purely religious basis when craftsmen in specific trades tended to congregate in a common area for both practical and mutual convenience. To some extent this still appertains today – for example in Hatton Garden. It is natural therefore that the members of a particular craft who worshipped together at their local church should form a community of interests and it was from these religious congregations that voluntary associations (as opposed to the compulsory ‘frith guilds’ of Saxon times) were formed for the mutual aid and protection of their members. These fraternal bodies of Guild took their title from their patron saint, and the guild of bakers was known at least until mediaeval days as the ‘FRATERNITY or GUYLDE OF OUR LADY AND ST. CLEMENT’.

    The spiritual connotation is perpetuated to this day in the title ’Worshipful’ and in the Company’s motto ‘PRAISE GOD FOR ALL’, which is also the traditional grace used before all meals.

    The guilds, in the course of the following centuries, became instrumental in the transformation of London and served as the foundation stones upon which the prosperity and global leadership of the City of London were built. The guilds grew in influence and leadership until they became the structure by which the City of London was governed.

    Because of this strong religious and ethical foundation, the City of London operated primarily on a basis of integrity and trust until as recently as the last quarter of the twentieth century.

     

    Trust-worthy people are the greatest resource any economy can have. When high trust is deserved and given, overheads are reduced due to little need for self-protection; project completion times are shortened, stress is reduced and synergy between people and organisations grows hugely.

    The emerging streams of committed Christians who are pursuing their calling to the various social jurisdictions could be well served by an adaptation of the guild concept. Communication and information technology could facilitate the emergence of Global Guilds in education, government, entertainment, sports, business, health services etc. Current and developing technology could help create a sense of global community, though web-communities can only serve to network and serve real, face-to-face communities of common interest.

    This idea requires much prayer and some careful thought, assuming it has a chance of being successfully implemented in the 21st Century. For example, how would an individual or company attain membership?   In the context of YWAM perhaps successful completion of a YWAM-DTS could be a starting point? Additional very specific training would probably be required, followed by a formal commitment to a code of practice.

    The global guilds would not be simply a framework of agreement between individuals; membership would also constitute a covenant with God. With His blessing the guilds could become very influential—a transformational force among the nations.

    The web-based dimension of the global guilds could provide documentation of the agreements and values, information about resources and events, up-to-date articles and testimonials, chat rooms and on-line conferencing facilities.

    In addition to the web services, the guilds could be serviced by YWAM bases hosting events for members. The members could also form themselves together in cell groups for mutual support.

    In addition to the primary benefits of the global guilds, YWAM could contribute by being able to provide resources for the members, facilitating conferences and other events, and having strategic access to a potentially very large web community. This concept would provide a most compelling reason for YWAM alumni to remain connected and could lead to the fulfillment of a vision given to Loren Cunningham several years ago for a massive, global, online community committed to the coming of the Kingdom of God.

    YWAM Together 2016 was organized around the foundational idea behind the original guilds—that the Kingdom of God encompasses and shapes all aspects of human society. We are convinced that the Holy Spirit has guided us and will continue to guide us to serve people in their God-given vocations. The Sphere Tracks have been developed to enable members of the wider YWAM family to connect with others who have similar callings. In those Tracks networking and mutual learning will occur as an obvious outcome, but each track will also engage extensively with the Scriptures, seeking out understanding and revelation about what God has said, and is saying, about every dimension of society. The Sphere View App will be an enormous benefit as a tool to focus our engagement with God’s Word.

    Each Track can also pray together and work through the essential questions of how to move forward with some up-to-date expression of guilds. Some of the most obvious questions are:

    • Is there sufficient felt need for momentum to be created and sustained?
    • Who is committed to start and take a lead in the formation of global guilds?
    • Should local “cells” be at the heart of the movement?
    • Periodic events are needed at local, national, regional and global levels. How can YWAM serve these?
    • How can common practices and standards be developed?
    • Can/Should the guilds have the authority to enforce their standards on those who choose to join? If yes, how would that look in practice?

    Godly transformation of nations will not just happen. The entire world felt the effect of a prayer group that met in Clapham, London in the early 19th century. From that group, William Wilberforce led the global movement to abolish slavery. They also impacted education, Church life, the arts, media and business. They did not start with a grand strategy, but started with genuine Christian fellowship and commitment to prayer. From that, God unfolded a strategy that transformed a nation and that nation touched the entire world.

    Transformation is still on God’s heart today. Are we available to be used, regardless of the cost?

    Lynn Green.

     

  • What’s really Happening in North Korea

    What’s really Happening in North Korea

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    Have you been watching the reaction to the unexpected events in North and South Korea?  Journalists and politicians have been arguing back and forth about who or what led to the unprecedented meeting between north and south.  None of them expected that Kim Jong Un would cross the border into South Korea, especially in light of the fact that, just a few weeks earlier, much of the world was expecting him to trigger another war and most alarmingly, to use nuclear weapons in anger for the first time in more than 70 years.

    But the steady progress towards official peace and even reunification continues at an entirely unexpected pace.  I notice that just a few days ago the North Korean regime changed their official time zone to match the South.  Until now, they had used even the clocks to demonstrate that they were completely separate and sworn enemies.

    When the great thaw came so suddenly, some figured it was due to the “diplomacy” of Donald Trump—that for the first time in decades, an American President might actually strike a devastating first blow to North Korea.  Others were quick to say (along the expected political lines of division) that Trump had nothing to do with it, but that it was due to economic hardship.  Others speculated that it was because China finally agreed to impose some sanctions and that threatened the viability of Kim’s regime.  Still others pointed to satellite evidence that the tunnels being used to develop nuclear capacity had mysteriously collapsed, destroying much of what they had gained.

    I suspect that some of all of the factors just listed might have contributed to the great thaw, but that none of them were causative.

    An Israeli friend of mine says, “The destiny of nations is not to be found in the visible majority, but in the redeemed minority—even though it might be very small.”  In other words, a few people obeying the Holy Spirit can make all the difference.  The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the believers in Ephesus that, “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the Church.”  (Ephesians 1:22).

    We don’t often see the truth of this scripture worked out, so we might well ask if it is really true, and if it is, how can we see it work?  Experience over recent years leads me to believe that we can see this authority in action when two conditions are met:  first that we seriously depend on the Holy Spirit, listening and sacrificially obeying; second, that we allow him to work deeply within us until we, the people of God, come to the depth of unity that Jesus describes to his disciples in John 17:21 – “I pray that they may all be one, just as You and I are one…” And that means oneness across all the usual dangerous human divides.

    In recent years I have experienced this extraordinary unity on several occasions, with Germans, French and English; with Jews and Arabs, with Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, with French and English Canadians and many other often toxic divisions.  It is an “end times move” to unite the Bride of Christ and is, as far as I know, unprecedented in history.

    Now, in the past few months on two occasions believers from many nations have convened believers from South and North Korea.  In the first one, some of the expected tensions and even anger boiled to the surface.  But God is in this—not only was it the right thing to do; it was in God’s time.  Timing is important!  The Holy Spirit melted hurt and hardened people and they embraced one another.  (None of us should underestimate the size of the cultural and economic gulf that has grown between these two nations during the past 70 years.)

    When that first meeting was over, the Holy Spirit spoke to those who convened and said, “The work has not been completed yet; gather again!”  They obeyed sacrificially and gathered again, only weeks after the first one.  Once again the Holy Spirit moved very deeply, resulting in a depth of family love that none had ever experienced before.  At the conclusion of that event, there was a sense that God had done what He wanted.

    And, that very week, the political chasm began to be bridged.  I can’t prove that the meeting of the “redeemed minority” was the primary cause of the beginning of the peace process, but that is what I believe—and no one can say that it had no effect.

    After all what does the Word of God say?

     

    “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Therefore put on every piece of God’s armor…”

    I believe it!

    Lynn Green.