Before I go on with my story of how I came to be an Anglican Vicar in Oxford - here’s a flavour of this last week: you need to realize that I come from a pretty free Churchmanship (they call it Pentecostal or Charismatic…for those in the know!) Right now as part of making me a bit more “Anglican kosher”, I am on placement in another church, to experience the full extremes of the other end of our Anglican World with all its robes, incense, and liturgy: it is humbling to see people connecting with God in a totally different way…but just as real. Back in my own world of St Aldates, God was breaking through in special ways: over 1000 people on Sunday challenged by God love for the Nations on our Missions Sunday; many young people responding, desperate for their lives to count; a young girl saying her damaged arm was straightened and healed, another that her broken toe was healed; 70 mainly internationals taking a day away to find out more of the power of the Holy Spirit. Amazing…this is England, where people are supposed to be closed to all this stuff! Our church is packed!

..which brings me back to my story: 30 years ago in Cambridge, when I felt the hell hound of God pursuing me! A little group of Christians began to victimize me by praying for me! I was out raged! As I sat there on that Houseboat on the Cam, writing all my reasons why Jesus was a complete fraud, and why Christianity had no foundation, I suddenly found my space invaded by God! I can hardly describe it…such a heavy presence of “someone” so vast and so loving, that I fell down on my knees and wept! I ended what I was writing with the words” I can’t turn back,,,I know that you are real!”, and ran back into Cambridge looking for the Christian meeting I had heard of. Sitting at the back of a Church, I heard a young man called David McInnes (one day destined to become Rector of St Aldates!) challenging the students to make their lives count for Christ: so many responded that night including a young man called Nicky Gumbel who years later became known for his Alpha Course which has led hundreds of thousands to Christ.

The strange thing is that I didn’t respond that night, and hand my life over to Christ: I just tried to do the Christian thing and “live a better life”. No one told me that it is humanly impossible to live the Christian life without Jesus on the inside…but I went for it – helping the alcoholics and drug addicts and those on the margins. But I just became more and more empty till one day an Irish Alcoholic shouted at me:” You’re a total hypocrite! At least I’m filled some spirit,,,but you are totally empty!” He was right, I had nothing of God’s Spirit within me. More next week…