Thousands of Baptists from across the UK gathered in London last weekend for the General Assembly of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB), which also celebrated 400 years since the founding of the first British Baptist church. The weekend was spent trying to discern God’s vision for the church going forward. Agu Irukwu the senior pastor of Jesus House, in London, said some churches were too focused on trying to make Jesus and the cross palatable. The church must put Jesus back at the centre of its message he told Baptists. ‘Thank God for advances in theology, for thinkers in the church and for churches that have to be seeker-friendly. But it seems that the more seeker-friendly we get, the less of Jesus we get so when people come to church they are not sure whether they are in church or at a gathering where someone is giving a motivational speech’.

Pray: that the message given by Agu will strike a chord with all churches and that Jesus would be at the heart of what they teach and preach. (Jn.14:6)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/church.needs.more.jesus.and.less.motivational.speaking/29824.htm

A British strand of Islam is emerging as more people become converts, the Economist reports. Using census data on race and religion and questionnaires issued to mosques, Kevin Brice, a researcher at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, reckons around 5,200 Britons turn to Islam every year, bringing the total number of converts to about 100,000. According to the report, those who embrace Islam tend to do so after years of contact with Muslims. Some, mostly women (who make up around two-thirds of new believers), want to marry a Muslim. Others are fed up with the bawdiness of British society. Many speak of seeking a sense of community. Batool al-Toma, an Irish-Catholic convert who runs the New Muslim Project in Leeds, was attracted, she says, by the spirituality of Islam and the warmth of relationships she saw among Muslims. For men, prisons have proven a fertile ground for conversions. Just over 11,000 prisoners are Muslims, about 13% of the total.

Pray: that those who are attracted to Islam will instead be led by the Holy Spirit to the ways of truth and find Jesus. (Jn.17:17)

More: http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=109348

Nearly half of people are prepared to change their vote for moral reasons. The personal moral standards of politicians and journalists still matter to most of the population, a ComRes poll for think tank Theos has found. The poll is featured in the Party Conference issue of Total Politics. 43% of people would change their vote if their local candidate was shown to have low personal moral standards, and even more (52%) would change the newspaper they buy because of the immoral behaviour of journalists. The majority of people (71%) think that politicians ought to have higher moral standards than the public they serve, and those most likely to vote (the elderly) have higher expectations than most. On balance, people do not believe you can divorce public from private morality. A majority of people believe that ‘If a politician is unfaithful to their husband or wife it does affect their job as it shows they cannot keep their word’ (51% agreeing vs. 36% disagreeing).

Pray: that morality and integrity would be considered essential for our politicians and a guide for a vote. (Jas.1:21)

More: http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Morality_Still_Matters.aspx?ArticleID=4799&PageID=14&RefPageID=5

The BBC's director general said the broadcaster would never mock Mohammed like it mocks Jesus. He justified the astonishing admission of religious bias by suggesting that mocking Mohammed has the ‘emotional force of grotesque child pornography’. But Jesus is fair game, he said, because Christianity has broad shoulders and fewer ties to ethnicity. Mr Thompson says the BBC would never have broadcast Jerry Springer The Opera – a controversial musical that mocked Jesus – if its target had been Mohammed. He made the remarks in an interview for a research project at the University of Oxford. Mr Thompson said: ‘The point is that for a Muslim, a depiction, particularly a comic or demeaning depiction, of the Prophet Mohammed might have the emotional force of a piece of grotesque child pornography.’ The BBC director general admits Christianity gets tougher treatmen than other religions because it has ‘pretty broad shoulders’.

Pray: for greater understanding that all faiths are important to their followers and all should be treated equally and with respect. (1Pe.2:17)

More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/well-mock-jesus-but-not-mohammed-says-bbc-boss/

On Wednesday 27th July disability rights campaigners staged a mock execution of a wheelchair user outside Parliament. The group, Distant Voices, is trying to publicise and reverse what it sees as the drift towards involuntary euthanasia. The event was led by Nikki Kenward, a woman who experienced being ‘locked in’ after contracting Guillian Barre Syndrome, which left her totally paralysed for five months except for the ability to wink an eye. Mrs Kenward is among those who fear that pressure is mounting on Parliament and in the Courts to allow the killings of seriously sick, disabled or minimally conscious patients, particularly the 6,000 mentally-incapacitated patients in the British health care system. She said: ‘Everybody is going to get old, everybody is going to be disabled. If we don’t want to value difference what differences will be acceptable in the end? Very few.’

Pray: that this protest will raise awareness of this drift to involuntary euthanasia and lead to a reversal. (Ps.119:154)

More: http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/end-of-life/mock-execution-of-wheelchair-user

Mr Kafwanka,Director of Mission for the Anglican Communion, speaking in Glasgow last Sunday said The 'mission trip' has often meant "going to help some poor African souls who cannot help themselves but this is not the only story of mission today", “It is tempting to think of mission in terms of one party providing support and another receiving. But such a relationship will come to be characterised by "paternalism on one side and dependence on the other" he says, “instead of both sides seeing mission as "an opportunity to serve together". "There is small but growing confidence among Christians in the majority world and a determination to forge partnerships characterised by sharing and transparency, In that sense, mission today is less about 'what we do 'out there' and more about churches being in a relationship of 'sharing'. While he commended the UK church's heart for world mission, he said that British Christians going to do mission were not being properly prepared to learn.

Pray: for a new response to mission that is mutually inclusive and transparent. (Jn.13:34)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/mission.from.everywhere.to.everywhere/32123.htm

James Brokenshire, the UK's crime and security minister, said an update on the government's plans to tackle terror content online was imminent. The government is to order broadband companies to block extremist websites and empower a specialist unit to identify and report content deemed too dangerous for online publication. The crime and security minister, James Brokenshire, said on Wednesday that measures for censoring extremist content would be announced shortly. The initiative is likely to be controversial, with broadband companies already warning that freedom of speech could be compromised. Ministers are understood to want to follow the model used to crack down on online child abuse. The Internet Watch Foundation, which is partly industry-funded, investigates reports of illegal child abuse images online; it can then ask service providers to block or take down websites.

Pray: for the success of the government's plans to tackle terrorist and extremist websites. (Pr.21:15)

More: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/27/ministers-order-isps-block-terrorist-websites

Parents who buy their children tablet computers at Christmas should ensure anti-porn filters are applied, Culture Secretary Maria Miller says. Tablets such as iPads and Kindles are expected to be one of the top presents this year - with Tesco and Argos coming on the market with cheaper versions. But the Culture Secretary warned last night that unless parents switch on family filters, their children could stumble across porn and other inappropriate material. The top four internet service providers have agreed to ask all households whether they want to install a filter over the next year, thanks to the intervention of David Cameron and pressure from the Daily Mail. But until that happens, Mrs Miller said parents had to take the initiative and install filters themselves. TalkTalk and Sky have already made network filters available, meaning parents do not have to install filters on every separate device. BT and Virgin will follow within the next two months.

Pray: that anti-porn filters will be readily available and fitted; pray also that other providers such as BT and Virgin will speed up their availability. (Ps.73:7)

More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515354/Porn-risk-children-iPad-presents.html#ixzz2mJUMGnrt

Iain Duncan Smith last night signalled support for a major campaign to promote marriage and turn back the ‘appalling’ tide of divorce. The Work and Pensions Secretary, widely seen as the social conscience of the modern Conservative Party, indicated he was wholeheartedly behind a bid by High Court judge Sir Paul Coleridge to end the ‘destructive scourge’ of family breakdown. Sir Paul will formally launch the Marriage Foundation in a bid to raise awareness of the vital role of marriage in bringing up children. The senior family court judge said he felt compelled to speak out because of the unprecedented scale of the problem. It is unusual for a serving judge to speak out in such a way but Sir Paul, who sits in the Family Division, has been outspoken on the issue of marriage and divorce.

Pray:for the campaign as it grows and gains more support that more MP’s will join and add their support for marriage. (Heb.13:4)

More:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137659/Iain-Duncan-Smith-backs-campaign-promote-marriage.html