Praying for Our Nation
We returned yesterday from an excellent couple of days away with The Richmond Group. This is an annual gathering of leaders from some of the movements, networks and larger churches in the UK, hosted by Nicky Gumbel from HTB and Pastor Agu from Jesus House.
One of the highlights was a helpful discussion around the issue of diversity. As part of the programme, Nicky interviewed Ben Lindsay who recently published We Need to Talk about Race, about the black experience in white majority churches. He spoke with much grace, courage and honesty on this important subject. I have known Ben for many years, as he was saved on an Alpha course at King’s, and I recommend his book to you.
Building a diverse church is a high value of King’s. We have learnt a huge amount over the last couple of decades (and made many mistakes along the way!) as the church has become increasingly diverse, but there is always more to learn. If you are new to the church or interested in finding out more, I encourage you to take a look at Invited, our most recent teaching series on diversity.
The Richmond Group meets at Lambeth Palace, which sits on the Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament. We were highly conscious of the important political debates taking place across the river as we were meeting, and our time together concluded with a powerful time praying and calling out to God for our nation. As our politicians continue to be as divided as ever as to what should happen next regarding the UK’s future with the EU, it was good to finish with a reminder that we put our trust in a God far mightier and more powerful than any one politician or political ideology.
