Serve one another with love

It was great to be encouraged by Sam on Sunday to be involved in serving one another at the Crown.

The greatest command given to us by God is to love Him and love one another. Galatians 5 v 13 encourages us to serve one another with love.

In September we started 'Serve13' at the Crown Church... a new way in which people can sign up to serving on Sunday mornings. We have teams that serve in many areas: kids work, youth work, PA team, Songpro team, worship team, tea and coffee team, set up/set down team, offering team.

Serve13 involves serving on 13 Sundays per year. You choose to serve on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th Sunday of every month. (If you're quickly doing maths in your head you wondering where the 13th Sunday appears... well there are 4 months in the year with 5 Sundays so each team takes a turn in the year to serve twice in a month, hence 13!).

The best thing about Serve13 is there are no rotas... amen, hallelujah, praise the lord! That's because you serve on a monthly pattern so you known a whole year in advance when its your turn to serve. Better still, if you are new to the church you can jump on board and serve straight away... no more waiting for the new rota to appear with your name on!!!

Last night I met up with a new family who have joined the church recently. They were so excited to have been able to get involved in our Set up team and Worship team... being able to serve has been the number one factor in helping them make new friends and feel at home in the church.

What about you? Why not get involved in serving on one of our teams? Simply check out http://www.serve13.org.uk/ to spot where vacancies are and then email office@crown-church.org.uk with your details and we'll get you involved.

Sing Out is now into its 5th year. Its a fantastic event with local school choirs coming to sing at the Crown Church for a very special Christmas celebration.

This year we had 6 schools - 1 from Ruislip, 1 x Ickenham, 1 x Uxbridge, 1 x West Drayton & 2 x Hayes. The quality of their performances was the best ever with some great tunes, melodies and even a few solos.

I also thought the Deputy Mayor Cllr Mary O'Conner was outstanding - with a fantastic little speech thanking everyone at the end. She also gave out gifts for all the teachers who helped organise the school choirs. Prince and Laura were their usual star performers too

This year's Sing Out was the Crown's biggest attended event of the year with 520 people in attendance. We used every spare chair in the school and there were even people sat in the PA booth on the balcony. Lots of people had to stand at the back.

The question is how do we top it next year? I already have a waiting list of 3 extra schools.

Christmas is here...

I think last night was the first time decorations have gone up in November in our house. We are already building fun traditions with the kids... Reindeer hide and seek, Naomi (our only girl) gets to place the star on the tree each year and of course stockings hang by the chimney.

Last night we played our first Christmas songs and this morning we had a snowball fight... well Jake rushed out this morning into 2mm of snow in his pyjamas and lobbed snowballs at the rest of us stood at the window!!! (not sure if that counts)

Christmas trees, Christmas songs and snow... The Crown Christmas events must be just around the corner!!! www.crown-church.org.uk

Potty training update

So the boy has done it. I am proud of him and grateful that he now knows where and when he can do his business.

So four kids through nappies... this is a momentous moment in the Hunting household and one to be celebrated for two main reasons...

1. Never again having to empty a weeks supply of used nappies into a bin bag on bin day! Yeeeesssss!
2. Never having to spend money on disposable pants ever again (well at least until I reach my 90's eh)

I estimate that my children have got through approximately 14,000 nappies between them. Thats based on four nappies per day for 2 1/2 years each. The reality is that the first months you get through 100 a day and towards the end maybe just 2 or 3 so I think 4 is a fair average! And at 12p per nappy that is £1680 worth of nappies.

What would you do with £1680?

Reasons to let your son sleep with a sword

My youngest son Ethan (2 yrs) has become attached to his toy sword. It goes everywhere with him and he even sleeps with it. Yesterday morning I went in to wake the boys and he was sat up in bed pretending to sharpen his sword ready for any action the day may throw at him. With two older brothers I don't blame him for arming himself throughout the day, afterall he could get jumped at any time, he is the smallest so its good to see him think strategically about how to get the upper hand. He is the family's military tactician!

Here are some reasons why I love to see Ethan arming himself for battle:

• In Genesis 2 we see that Adam was formed in a wilderness and then later placed into the garden of Eden. He was formed in the untamed part of creation. The core of a man's heart is undomesticated. Ethan doesn't come alive when he's having to tidy up toys or learning to count... but put a sword in his hand and his whole persona changes... He's the man!
• Ex 15 v3 describes the Lord as a warrior. He is also the 'Lion of Judah'. Ethan is made in God's image.
• He is not a girl
• My favourite line from Braveheart is 'All men die, few men ever really live." Albert Schweitzer said "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives." Soon Ethan will start 'taming lessons' - sorry I meant school- where the classroom can sometimes emasculate boys with quietness, stillness, niceness and making flowers being the order of the day.*  
• Owning a sword comes with great responsibility: He is learning that he can't just go and attack an unsuspecting sibling; he is learning how to honour and respect his sister... and defend her; he is learning how to defend himself. 
• He nearly lost his finger playing with my saw- so its good to start with a blunt instrument first and work your way up. One day he will have his own swiss army knife!!!
• Every boy and man is a warrior inside. But the choice to fight is his own. Every man must have a cause to which he is devoted to (even to death) for this is written into his very being. God has created Ethan to be his intimate ally, to join him on His great mission.    

*Please note I am not against education... in fact I am for it. Just wanting a little more competitive PE and Bull Fighting on the currciculum!!!!

Lex Loizides and Billboards

Well its been a whirlwind week in the life of the Crown Church. We have been out on the streets inviting the people of Hillingdon to come to church... we've even had a billboard in Uxbridge advertising the Sunday just past.

Some highlights have included...

• Frontier Project students joining us for the week and leafleting many homes in the borough. Thanks to Clare (Crown), Sam (Bromley), Emma (X1 Watford), Amanda (Kings, Catford), Abigail (Kingston), Louisa & Annabelle (Christchurch, London) and Jo (QRC, Wimbledon).
• Gathering to pray each morning
• Distributing 28000 leaflets
• Out with the Cell Groups leafleting - we got soaked Wednesday night!
• Getting to know Lex- inspiring to see a guy giving out personal testimony tracts wherever he went
• Hearing Lex speak on Supernatural Apologetics on the Friday morning
• Flooding Uxbridge on the Saturday with 60 Crown folk out on the streets

It was great to gather together on the Sunday morning. We had around 60-70 more people with us than a normal Sunday. Many came forward for prayer for healing and it was exciting to hear some testimonies of people who were healed that morning... in particular it was great to see one guys face as he realised he could no longer feel pain in his neck.

It has been a wonderful week that stops us looking inwards and helps us realise the church exists for those not yet in it - Its been a week of sowing many seeds into the community- let's pray for God to continue to work into the lives of many people in West London.

The Mac is back

Or should it be the Mc is back! I'm so looking forward to Andy McCullough preaching at the Crown Church this Sunday. Andy is a great friend and one of the most radical Christians I have ever met.

Andy's wife Jess and my wife Lucy gave birth to our respective 8 (4 each) kids within days of each other. Gossip would say we planned it this way but it was honestly a nice God given coincidence (a contradiction I know!).

Anyway I've not seen Andy for over a year because he has moved to start a church in the middle east. I'm really looking forward to catching up with a great friend!

One book to another

Yesterday I finally finished a great book. It was Richard Branson's autobiography and story about how he built his Virgin Empire... Record Label, Airline, Mobiles, Coke, Space Travel etc.

It was a facinating insight into Branson's life. He clearly has a genetic deficiancy... the gene that should kick in to warn us when we're about to do something crazy or risky- he clearly thrives on taking big risks. Every time Virgin hit financial problems his advisors would urge caution and consolidation... but Branson's solution was to grow the business out of its problems. He once found that he couldn't get anyone to lend him £10 million to put inflight entertainment on his fleet of planes so he convinced Boing to install them free of charge by taking out a $4billion dollar lease on a new fleet of planes. The story was brutally honest though and Virgin came close to bankruptcy several times... Branson was a little lucky in the early days.

It was also facinating to read about his ballooning attempts... first across the atlantic, then the pacific and then around the world. On all accounts he should be dead! Flying over china without permission, ditching in the North Sea, landing in -30c Alaska.

What I found interesting was how with all his wealth and success he stops to ask himself what he is doing with his life. Multimillion pound empire, epic adventures around the world, owning his own island for family holidays, yet still not satisfied that his life accounts for much. Its clear now he is trying to find that life satisfaction by a lot of charity work and good causes. Interestingly he is trying to work with Mandela to gather a team of 'world elders'- respected statesman who will be a voice for the world on issues of justice and poverty.

So now after reading a book about a man who made lots of money, I have now decided to read Randy Alcorn's 'Money, Possessions & Eternity' - what a contrast! I met Pete Cornford around 10 years ago and during the last decade he insisted this is the one book I should read- well Pete, I'm finally listening to you!!!

The opening few pages have been tough going. Just in the first 10 pages I am deeply convicted about things I own & my view of money. In fact, it was such a hard hitting opening few pages that I nearly put the book down but then I read the line 'Most people will have given up on this book by now...' I wasn't going to bottle out after reading that! The great CS Lewis was quoted “He who has God plus many things has nothing more than he who has God"- it brilliantly sums up the theme of the first chapter. I'll let you know how things develop!

Toilet Training

This week Lucy has decided that our 4th child Ethan is going to potty train! Having been through this with Jacob, Naomi & Joel I am slightly dreading this. What it basically means is we will have a child doing his business around the house every couple of hours for the next week or so until they work out what to do.

I have just had a text from Lucy to say that its been an unsuccessful morning and that she is mopping up the front seat of the car where Ethan had been playing. I'm no longer driving the car this week!

Lucy is a great mum and also an expert potty trainer so I am confident she'll soon have him doing his number 1's and 2's in the correct location. The real upside of course is that when he is potty trained the Hunting household will have seen its last nappy... now that is worth a party!!!

Always tired?

Maybe its the clocks changing and the darker nights but when I ask people how they are- a common response lately seems to be 'I'm shattered' or 'I'm tired'.

I was trying to recall when I started to get the tired sensation. As a kid I can never remember feeling tired... quite the opposite in fact. I could play football all day and still want to play out all evening too.

It was great hearing James Durrant in his preach last week speak about the difference between being a student and then working in the city. How he wished he had appreciated how much free time he had as a student compared to now.

We can look at the life stages we have already been through and with a knowing smile say 'wait until you know what I know!' Does a student know what tiredness really is until they've had a year of working a full time job? Does a newly married couple appreciate how quiet life is pre-kids?

The pressures of life whatever stage you are at can feel busy and make you feel tired. Each stage of life brings new challenges that takes time to adapt to. Sometimes people ask Lucy and I how we cope with 4 kids... I'm not sure sometimes; my hair is certainly a little thinner and greyer than before we had kids. The reality is though that they don't all come at once and we've had a time to adapt to life with each one.

Our friends Justin and Lou & Eoin and Anita have both had twins this year- if anyone I know is allowed to be tired then its these guys. I'm so impressed with they way they have reshaped family life to make way for not just one new addition but two.

I once heard a Church leader called Steve Tibbert talk helpfully about 'finishing lines'. He encourages us to put finishing lines into our day, week, month and year. I've always found this helpful, particuarly in a busy season. This week I have two finishing lines... Friday at about 7pm when I arrive back home and unwind with the kids and Lucy (although Lucy is trying to get me to Ikea with her!) and also Sunday at about 10pm after a leaders meeting on Sunday night. I also have a finishing line of 1pm on the 19th December when I officially start some annual leave in the run up to Christmas. Its great knowing these points are in my diary... they act as a tiny reward for the hard work that will take place in the run up to them.

One of the most encouraging scriptures has to be from Isaiah 40 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

So the answer to tiredness? Red Bull? Caffeine? or the everlasting God who refreshes, renews, strengthens, energises us when we put our hope in Him!