Let me picture the scene for you.

Recently at Stanstead airport I was waiting for a plane, something lots of us have done. I could smell wafts of pasties loaded full of cheese and ham being consumed, litres of coffee and coke, full fat being chugged. To my right-hand side I could see a group of people on their third pint and finishing off with a cheeky glass of prosecco. All normal stuff.

To get to this place I walked through the brightest tunnel of lights ever, illuminating seemingly endless shelves of perfumes and make up with fellas frantically spraying themselves with 8 to 10 shots of the latest must have scent.

Have you ever been misunderstood? You’ve said something, put something out there on the socials, had a go at raising your voice and sharing something of you but you’ve been misunderstood? A moment when you found the courage to share something, to throw out an idea or a sentiment, or even more maybe to share an idea original to you but you ended up being character assassinated and taken down.

Have you felt that?

Maybe you’ve discovered a lie about you that’s gone arounds your mates, family or at work. Social media warriors have latched on to the lie and taken it out into the cloud and back again, but it was a lie, not even a shred of truth.

Have you felt that?

As part of my morning walk with God I listen to the bible and some worship to help me start the day and focus things. At the end of my walk I head over to Spotify and listen to some Rend Collective Songs. One in particular recently has been on repeat, big time! It’s called; Undignified.

Here are some of the lyrics to give you an idea:

I am dancing as David danced
In the thrill of a wild romance
I’m in love, and I’m not ashamed
Love’s a fire that won’t be tamed
Oh, my soul, was not born to be caged

OK, let’s step back a moment and get some context. You can read about this moment in 2 Samuel 6:14-23. ‘And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.’

Are you caught up in the hunt for a bunch of roses and a 2kg bar of chocolate for your significant other half? Or are you standing your ground in defiance, voicing a silent protest against the marketing and commercialisation of a day of romance? 

Or maybe, you are in a different place all together, single and wishing you were not. Dreading the day and the relentless build-up of hearts, teddy’s, loved up promotional shop windows and the reminder of the desire that is yet to be realised in your life.

Recently a mate of mine sent me a text as we were ending a conversation about God and some stuff and he mentioned this; 

‘it’s like Jesus you get for free, but Christ costs you everything.’

Let me start with some points of clarity. 

I am not suggesting here anything outside of grace, forgiveness from Jesus being completely his movement towards us, humanity. Our role in that is to respond and accept him as our rescuer and friend, simple. 

But, I did find this text from my mate really interesting. You see for me, it challenges something profound that is often not really spoken of when we show people who Jesus is. 

Happy New Year and welcome to 2019 from all of the team.
2019 is a special time for us here at CVM and during the year you will be hearing lots from us, why? Well, it’s an important birthday!

CVM has existed for 30 years and we are pleased to say that all year we are going to be singing happy birthday to ourselves and building on a theme of ‘The Big 30.’

We are going to be running some celebration events across the UK where Beechy and I will be calling men together to come and hear the good news of Jesus Christ and get ourselves on the front foot of introducing 1 million men to Jesus.

Christmas is here! I have to confess, I have been enjoying the build up to this day for over a month, and I was often found with Wham playing from my car. ‘Last Christmas, I gave you my heart…’
Anyway, firstly let me say Happy Christmas to you. Secondly, lets read this together;

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

John 1:14 (MSG)

Positive Male Role Models

This week is International Men’s Day and the theme for 2018 is about ‘Positive male role models.’ So let’s explore it.

I love watching the actor Terry Crewes, if you are not familiar who Crewes is he is a former American Football player and now a Hollywood mega star. He has done some really funny Old Spice adverts too, well worth checking out. Anyway, he is also ripped, now we are talking massive, he has taken bodybuilding to the next level. He is big.

So, you have this bloke who just looks like a beast and if we want to suggest a sort of framework for being able to identify a ‘positive male role model’ thing, then he is my candidate. Let me explain.

When we look at guys and ask the question ‘is this guy a positive male role model in society?’ initially we do a quick scan of the outside, the stuff we see. Healthy, in good shape, cares for his hygiene, appearance, dresses well, whatever right? We make a few quick assessments and start to formulate our views. Then we might ask ‘what do I know about him, what have I seen, experienced or what do others say about this guy etc?’.

Ok, so by now we should have a good picture of this potential role model and whether they are looking to be a positive and inspiring one! We might even latch on to certain aspects in their lives where they have been successful or have helped others, inspired change or been influential in a certain positive way.

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I wanted to reflect a bit about the UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Now, this may be a divisive subject, I get that, because for lots of men out there the idea of watching guys fight like this just isn’t something they care to see. Some men on the other hand will appreciate the UFC for a variety of different reasons.

Ok, with that out of the way, I enjoy UFC. I am not a regular fan, I do not pay for fights or stay up late to watch but I do watch replays on YouTube and follow current news and updates about UFC. What do I like about it? I like the battle, the unknown outcome and the way two marital artists can showcase their technical and physical abilities from a particular path of training. In this moment of battle they are called upon to carry the name of their background, training and school of martial art with them. A loss does reflect poorly on a martial artists style, technique and ability and perhaps there is an unwritten process here of never knowing which martial art is ultimately the best, so the battles continue.

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Such a gripping headline right? Well it was for me.
This blog is about the organisation who work behind the great marketing of Movember, the art of men growing moustaches for the month of November. But it’s lots more than that and I wanted to share some of this with you all.
Movember is basically the charity tackling prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. They use their voice, network and reach to raise funds, awareness and support to tackle these silent killers of men in the UK.
I have to admit I have never taken part in Movember, but I love the idea of a movement forcing this stuff into the public world. Its helping to smash stigmas and fear in men who are tackling issues of physical and mental health in their lives.

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