Search results for Gavin Calver
The church is open and here to serve
Anxiety, pain and anger are all heightened emotions for us in this time of crisis. Daily death tolls relentlessly remind us of our own mortality and fragility. Our freedoms have been curtailed, our relationships cut off, our future is uncertain. Lockdown has robbed us of any pretence that we are in…
Gavin Calver
Open letter to the UK faith minister
Dear Lord Greenhalgh We would like to thank you for the regular opportunities to meet with you throughout this pandemic. We recognise the importance of public health and the difficult decisions faced by political leaders; however, the Evangelical Alliance is concerned that from Thursday, 5 November…
Gavin Calver
Brave and kind
It was 2019 and I had been sensing very profoundly that, if I got the role, I was going to need to be extremely brave to handle the season that lay ahead and to stand firm on God’s word in the face of so much opposition. This was not to be foolhardy bravery in isolation, it had to be coupled with…
Gavin Calver
Intercession is not complicated
So often we can be praying for something without really believing that the Lord can change the circumstances dramatically. We can easily give up praying because we feel weary, believe it’s never going to happen or even stop caring. Moody loved his friends so much that he kept on praying again and…
Gavin Calver
Why nothing is impossible in 2023 – including reaching the UK with the gospel
I’m an optimistic, hope-filled, good news person and, as such, seeing in the New Year is a time when I look forward to all that lies ahead. A few days into the year and already the singing of 'Auld Lang Syne’ and the London fireworks on the telly are but a memory, but for me, the hope of a move of…
Gavin Calver
Bishops' proposals depart from orthodox teaching. The Church of England needs our prayers for courage and conviction
To my evangelical brothers and sisters, I wanted to write to you, as a wider family of evangelicals, in this incredibly important moment that we find ourselves in. Like many of us, the Church of England has had a tremendous influence on my discipleship. It has the potential to shape and model to…
Gavin Calver
Growing together and going together
However, as an optimist I can find myself disappointed when things don’t turn out as I’d hoped: despite thinking it might be the year to finally win, England manage to lose on penalties again and the grey clouds never fully moved out of the way for the blue sky on the beach. Despite moments of…
Gavin Calver
There is power in the tongue!
Though these youth prisons could be intimidating, one of the great advantages of preaching there was that you always got a good crowd, as the lads would get longer out of their cells if they went to chapel. Additionally, if they responded to your message they would get even longer out of their cell…
Gavin Calver
Don't leave Jesus in the manger
I love Christmas. It’s an amazing time of fun, celebration, food and joy. More than anything else it’s the moment when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, and it’s been amazing these last few weeks to remember the Saviour of the world being born in Bethlehem. Those around us seem so much more…
Gavin Calver
Junction moments
Prior to coming to serve at the Evangelical Alliance, I spent 14 years working for Youth for Christ. I loved seeing many young people come to faith and was constantly encouraged by the overwhelming percentage of people in the UK who do so under the age of 25. I was also quite taken with an image…
Gavin Calver
Let hope rise again
Yes, the first half of this pandemic has been extremely challenging on so many levels, but the time is now to dust ourselves down, refocus and be prepared to go again. My wife Anne supports Liverpool and went to the 2005 Champions League Final against AC Milan in Istanbul. At half-time her team was…
Gavin Calver
Faith with deeds
I’d be thinking, “I must enjoy this last meal; it’s a moment of life and freedom and fellowship with my friends,” if I were in that situation. Instead, Jesus comforts, cleans and prays for His followers. This extraordinary moment is heightened further by the fact that the only gentile slaves washed…
Gavin Calver
Leading in the storm
I’m reminded of Jonah in the storm and the boat breaking up, wondering what to do. They tried to throw things overboard, they called on their gods whilst Jonah lay sleeping, but really the only thing that was going to work for them to survive the weather and the water was to call on the name of the…
Gavin Calver
Euro 2020: A chance to unite after a tough season
After a strong start some people suddenly seem full of something that has been lacking for well over a year: hope. It was Aristotle who said that “hope is a waking dream”; it seems that some are daring to dream again. I fully fell in love with the beautiful game as a boy way back in the summer of…
Gavin Calver
Speaking the truth in love
For me, one of the strangest shifts during this season of lockdown has been the move from preaching in person to preaching into a device. I can clearly remember my first time. I thought, what on earth am I doing? How will this have an impact? Yes, I’ve been on camera before, but this was different:…
Gavin Calver
