I trust that you are well. It will soon be Spring and the lighter nights always help don't they?

I hope that you are ready to hear with open ears as I share something with you now as fellow-believers and soldiers for The Kingdom. I have been waiting for the right time to deliver this to you as I realize that it contains sensitive information and concepts that may at first seem uncomfortable to some.

I pray that Jesus will confirm some of these thoughts to you over the coming months, as He has, I believe, to me. We were invited to a national networking conference last week at Swanwick, and The Lord confirmed these leadings below in many ways, and He seems to be saying very similar things to many towns, cities and regions around The UK, though in unique ways. After all, there is only ONE CHURCH in The UK!

Over recent months, I, along with others, have been sensing something emerging in my imagination that could help to re-place THE CHURCH right back at the heart of our society, if God is truly speaking. You are surely aware that today, at best, The CHURCH is seen to be playing in the wings, existing at the fringes or whispering from the margins. Having once served from a central and respected place in society and community life, and a privileged ability to bring direction in this nation, we have gradually given or lost ground to secularists, relativists and other agendas or causes.

If this offends you, I am sorry, but I am merely reflecting reality as seen by millions in our nation today. Having taken both wise and wide counsel, I do not think that this view is inaccurate in any way, so please do the same if your view of reality is in any way different. But God has a proven track record of overcoming with a minority, or executing great victories with very poor odds!

Please note that I didn't say "replace" but "re-place", i.e., re-position, or re-plant. When Jesus took bread, He broke it, and divided it up to dispense or re-distribute His Body in the way He chose to, as The Head. Yet today, the Body of Jesus can only really be seen vertically. Let me explain.

When you think of the word "church", it is nigh on impossible to think of anything other than a building, program or congregation. If you were able to go back in time to play "Pictionary" with a first century disciple, what could you have possibly drawn if the word given to you was "church".

What did Jesus have in mind when He first uttered the word "ekklesia" near Caesarea-Philippi??

Today, Jesus is still wanting to distribute Himself into every aspect or sector of society as He still has the same mission----PEOPLE! We can choose to restrict how He can do that on earth, but He is the Head, the boss, the CEO, and as such, He can do whatever He likes, and I suspect that THE CHURCH looks very different from Heaven than it does on earth anyway.

So, we have historically divided the Body into congregations (vertically) but it appears that we are having less and less contact or genuine impact in the public domain of our nation. We are together in our congregations on Sundays, but we are functionally disparate, divided and separate in the way that society is divided, i.e., in public sectors. Thus, we are horizontally ineffective. We are not TOGETHER outside of our congregations, at least in any intentional, strategic or "missional" manner.

Values are being eroded, laws are being altered or re-written, and while some are building "mega-churches" or seeking to do so, we are not really mega-influencing our nation corporately, or at any reasonably significant level.

Massively influential areas such as The Media/Arts, The NHS, Social Services, the Justice Service, Local Government/Politics, Education or the Business world** are drifting away from the Christian roots upon which many of these were established. We are seeking to thrive in our privatised Christian world while our nation is literally sinking around us.

Surely, this cannot continue for too long?

Over recent months, we have been seeking to follow The Lord's direction in a new way within one of the networks in The Net. Business Net has been entering a huge transitional period, and still is in many ways.

We have begun to target specific sectors such as those marked ** above to release movement and momentum in Black Country society as part of Business Net, with a very simple scripture that actually unites us all in our horizontal and vertical gatherings, i.e.,

         ..........."I must be about my Father's BUSINESS"............

So, please be aware! You have been informed......there are ample opportunities for you to get involved. If you have not received an e-mail relating to one of these sectors, please simply return this e-mail with the sector that you most identify with and we will tell you how you can connect and gather with people of like mind within your sector, WHERE YOU ARE, and where you are called and located by God Himself.

The Church is already placed in each and every one of these sectors and The Father has "society" well-covered with His Children, so all that we are actually doing is to recognize and thus release The Church in these sectors and to help to identify Christ's giftings and purposes in each area of our community.

To reach the one million souls in our region that are as yet dis-located from Christ, The Church is required to operate on both vertical and horizontal expressions, and we must legitimise and release THE BODY in ALL of the locations that Jesus has Her placed, whether congregational or thematic. It's His Body, not ours!

So, please consider connecting in and helping to re-locate THE CHURCH where you are, as YOU are part of His Body wherever you are, and your ministry or mission is very often right in front of you, and in case no-one ever told you, WE ARE ALL FULL-TIME CHRISTIAN WORKERS!!

It's time for The Church to rise up and take ground again. Today is the day where we can mark a line in the sand and say "NO MORE!".

No more community or family erosion.....no more legal inconsistencies.....no more depressing statistics about drugs, teenage pregnancies or divorce......no more acute economic deprivation.....no more discrimination in learning......no more bad reports in health studies......etc, etc,...............................no more!!

We pray that you will take your stand and take your place. We thank God for all of the congregations in The Black Country that seek to gather in His Name and communicate His Gospel into our communities. Now, we hope that all of us will catch the heart of what is emerging as He re-leases His Body right at the centre of society once more

BUT-----He needs you and I to understand who we are IN HIM, and equally, for you & I to grasp who He is IN US!

Then maybe, something so significant will emerge that will strike right at the heart of our nation which is exactly where He has placed us, but that is yet another story for another day....

If you sense a stirring, please come and join with us on Wednesday 7th March from 7am at The Quality Hotel in Dudley, but we need you to book inadvance, so just e-mail me as soon as you can. Full details are provided below from a recent Business Net e-mail.

Yet, we do not seek to restrict this to a monthly meeting, so we are looking for you to connect with others in your sector, on the ground, as and how you feel best. We can simply act as a networking body to connect you guys up as you register with us. We will send you an e-mail relating to one of these sectors upon request.

We are also looking for KINGDOM LEADERS to emerge in each of these sectors, so if that could be you, you were probably already waiting for this! Get in touch!

We will also be looking to release this whole new movement  in some way at the upcoming visit of Dr Tony Campolo on Wednesday 11th April.....MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW SOON.

Dearest Black Countryites, it's over to you,

Much love,

Tim

For YOUR Network of Black Country Christians.

ps.....please register with us if you want to be part of this, and which sector you would like to connect into.

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