Chill Out

Although I haven’t done the maths, these are probably my second and third most-used words at the moment.* As I support students in Christian Unions, I seem to say it a lot. But occasionally people misunderstand what I mean, to the extent that I might be getting a reputation as a liberal, or lazy, or both. So here’s what I mean.

This isn’t about just telling students to calm down a bit, although they sometimes need to. Think about what people usually mean when they say "chill out." They usually mean stop caring, abandon your responsibilities and think about yourself more. But that’s not how Christians should chill out (which is probably why I’ve been misunderstood before now).

No, this is about the gospel. It’s about the awesome, liberating truth that Jesus died in our place so we can be reconciled to the God we rejected. We rebelled against a God who is worthy of infinite glory and honour, and so we’ve committed the ultimate crime. And the ultimate crime deserves the ultimate punishment. So there is nothing we could possibly do to save ourselves. But the brilliant news is, God loves us so much that he has sorted it out. His own Son, the Lord Jesus, willingly dies in our place and took the punishment we deserve. We don’t have to do anything, because there’s nothing we can do! And now we can have a restored relationship with the God we rejected, we’re adopted into his family, and it’s a relationship we can enjoy for eternity.

When I tell a Christian to chill out, I’m saying take everything that means – our changed status, our changed relationship, our changed future – and live your life in the light of it. If we really grasp how the gospel changes reality for us, it will turn things upside down. And it will give us room to chill out.

So “chill out” doesn’t mean it’s OK to be lazy. But it means there’s nothing we can do to earn our forgiveness or work our way into God’s good books. So we don’t have to slave away as God’s servants; we can joyfully serve him as sons and daughters.

“Chill out” doesn’t mean stop reading the Bible or praying. But it means that, through God’s grace in Jesus, we can have a restored relationship with the God who made us. So reading God’s word and speaking to God should be an exciting, joyful prospect, not a chore.

“Chill out” doesn’t mean forget about doctrine. But it means that there is space for differences of opinion. There is room to be generous as we work through the issues that diverse brings up, because we have a solid truth to stand firm on as we do it.

“Chill out” doesn’t mean don’t bother with holiness. But it means that we are made holy and blameless through the death of Jesus on the cross – we need to trust in his obedience, not ours. And when we slip up, we can go back to him for forgiveness. There is always more grace.

“Chill out” doesn’t mean don’t bother with evangelism. But it means that salvation is a gracious gift from God. We can’t save ourselves, and we can’t save anyone else. So as we do our part in sharing the gospel with people who don’t know Jesus, we can trust God to do his part in rescuing people.

Got it yet? Basically, “chill out” doesn’t mean stop being so Christian. It means be more of one – make it all about Jesus and hold on to the gospel. He said himself, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” So you can chill out.


*NB: #1 is hopefully grace.

Holiday Withdrawal?

OK, so maybe I'm not very good at being on holiday. But I came all the way to Southend-on-Sea for New Year and saw this on a lamp post outside Sainsbury's (by the Pay & Display machine). I couldn't resist taking a picture...

Fresher Refresher

I had a great day in Guildford yesterday with CUs and UCCF from the South East. We were thinking about preparing for next term and planning for the year ahead. It was great to meet some of the students and other cool people I'll be working with next year. I went to a seminar by my friends Michael Ots about Freshers' week, which got me really excited. Freshers' week is such a brilliant opportunity to meet students and give them an opportunity to hear the gospel explained. And (I realised during the seminar), I can speak from personal experience - I became a Christian at the end of Freshers' week at the University of Bristol. And as Michael suggested lots of good things to do during freshers' week, I realised that the CU in Bristol did quite a few of them, and they were really important in me coming to faith.

I arrived at Bristol having been to a church when I was younger (my Grandma saw to that), and basically thinking I was a Christian, but I fully intended that it wouldn't make much difference at Uni. When I finally arrived, I found the whole experience pretty overwhelming. As I started meeting loads of people, a few of them stood out - the Christians who were living in Halls. They seemed interested in talking to me, not so they could categorise me, but because they wanted to get to know me. So when they invited me to things I said yes.

There were three really significant events that week. First was just a social meeting we had in Halls, where I started to meet Christians, and I started to see the differences between them and other people I'd met and, more importantly, between them and me. Their faith affected them in a way I hadn't really seen before - it made a difference to their lives.

Then I went to BBQ organised by the CU, opposite the Union. While I was sitting on the grass with my (free) burger, a guy came over to me and asked me to answer a questionnaire. I agreed, and the first question was, "do you believe you're going to heaven when you die?" I said, "I hope so." He said that if I was a Christian I should know I'd be going to heaven. To be honest, I was pretty angry, but what he said nagged me.

Then on the Friday night, I went to the first CU meeting of term. I remember it being huge, I remember the enthusiasm I saw (which freaked me out a little bit if I'm still being honest), and I remember some scary older students coming to talk to me, which was a bit of a shock. And I remember that the gospel, the awesome news about Jesus, was explained.

The questionnaire made me realise I wasn't a Christian. The other stuff made me realise that being a Christian is a lot more than I thought it was, and that I wanted to be one. So, on Saturday night I prayed, "OK, God. I realise I'm not a Christian, but I want to be one."

So now I'm massively excited that I'm going to be helping CUs, 7 years later, to do the same thing for the next lot of Freshers! The key thing I'll be telling them is: PREACH THE GOSPEL IN FRESHER'S WEEK!!! Or else.