March
Re: 'Home ed is more about learning than teaching'
I read your article about Home education during the Corona school closure with great interest. As a primary school teacher with 3 secondary age children of my own this period is proving a huge learning curve for all of us. I loved the sense of balance in the article about making time to be child led & allowing plenty of flexibility for family time.
We are beginning to work out a routine -I am finding myself outside in the garden with our sport mad 11 year old doing lots of PE. She misses her friends and team mates, but appreciates the whole family making an effort to join in with her games. All the children are managing a surprising amount of work, often video chatting their friends as they get on with tasks.
The most lovely learning part of the day is a nightly ritual that we've had since they were tiny-singing a worship song & praying together. This has become even more meaningful in this strange time. Every blessing.
Catrin Horrex, Cambridgeshire
Re: “Go where you’re really needed”
A conversation with former Baptist Union President Kate Coleman and General Secretary Lynn Green
Great to hear two women I admire and have inspired me, in conversation. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Kate and Lynn.
Vanessa Rye (via Facebook)
Just finished reading this. Excellent piece! I resonate with all that was shared. I hope that everyone in our Baptist family will read this and pray that God will grant us revelation in how to respond.
Sharon Jones (via Twitter)
Worth reading. Interesting and enlightening. The last sentence of the next to last paragraph was the best part for me.
Tricia (via Twitter)
As 2 amazing church leaders this is a really helpful interview between Lynn Green and Kate Coleman
Andy Glover (via Twitter)
Really helpful interview between Kate Coleman and Lynn Green . “... don’t go where you’re needed. Go where you’re really needed.”
Ken Benjamin (via Twitter)
Kate Coleman as always is excellent. I hope plenty of men read this as well as women. Thanks
@BaptistTimes #WomensDay
Rich Blake-Lobb (via Twitter)
Re: Serving God in schools and on the streets
It was so encouraging to read this article and to know that Mark and the RealityBites team are getting out there and reaching people.
Kevin Keefe
Its great to hear about a different face of evangelism from Mark. For many Christians the words "Street Evangelist" are almost dirty words, but Mark helps us all to see how sharing grace & love can lead to great conversations and gently draw people towards God. Thanks for another uplifting report.
Mike Jenkins
Yet another delightful article by Author Mark Roques. He and his associates from Reality Bites armed with only hot chocolate, good will and imagination brave the randomness of folk on the streets of Leeds. It's truly inspirational to learn that the quest was to offer the fact that Jesus loves us and all the world unconditionally.
Mike Haseldine
Reality Bites seems a good name! Thinking about it, Mark & co are doing nothing new; they are just adapting Jesus' and Paul's approach to modern culture 'making the most of every opportunity'. The key is Authenticity and Love. Creativity means using the materials and tools we find to hand, and both people's own experience and the things going on around them in events, films etc are rich resources. Get them talking, and listen carefully with (both) ears to their current situation and eyes to the 'tags' which may get them to talk themselves into recognising Jesus in their situation. Mark's book gives some starter examples to provoke our thought, but there are plenty more in each conversation we have with anyone. The Spirit opens our eyes and tells us what to say (if words are needed!). Just gently asking questions may be the best way. And a cup of chocolate with marshmallows is likely to help!
Mike Cullen
Great article about the work that Rocky and Reality Bites are doing in story/hospitality based evangelism. So encouraging to see people being creative in sharing the good news about Jesus. It is also important to share the bad news about where other world views lead. Reality Bites does that wonderfully.
Ken Dickens
I loved Mark Roques' article about serving God on the streets. He's a funny engaging communicator and I always enjoy his pieces.
Bruce
Great to read about local work that is happening in Leeds and the creativity involved. Thanks for sharing this.
David Horsfall
Such creative ideas from 'Rocky' about sharing the gospel through storytelling. His article demonstrates how people will readily engage when they see how God can speak into today's world and the things they care about.
Miriam Sampson
Great practical and encouraging article!
Dr Arthur Jones
It was interesting to read Mark Roques' blog about chocolate and sharing the Gospel. A well thought out affirmation of something quite ordinary about bridging "us here" and "them passersby". (There was even no mention of the prickly word "church".) The openness of "passersby" that Mark experienced suggests a challenge to us Christians that even walking, commuting, movement from here to there, is all part of what it means to be alive in God's world. "Being there" as this group was showed in a tangible way that we are called to encourage people's walk, to be together encouraging people as they / we go about their / our business ...
Bruce Wearne
So good to hear what Rocky and his team are up to. The church needs to do more to combat the lack of succession and this is great forward planning! I will be looking to book Rocky and the team to come to our neck of the woods (Calderdale) when possible. More of this please! Top article!
Jake Womack
Mark Roques’ article is both entertaining and encouraging. The fresh angles he and his team take to engage everyone from sixth formers to passers by on the streets give us all new ideas for evangelism. We can all learn from them and be encouraged to try for ourselves.
Damian Mawer
What a great way to get talking to people and engaging them in serious conversations and thought-provoking ideas. Presumably, the hotter the chocolate, the longer you have to talk to strangers and engage them in conversation.
It won't be often, I imagine, when the unsuspecting passerby meets someone like Rocky, a true Renaissance man, if ever there was one, who can switch from football to God via some early Christian heretics and human trafficking - all over a hot chocolate in the street.
Fatty
Thank you for publishing another great article by Mark Roques. I read all of his articles with great pleasure.
Mark Yeadon
Great article from Mr Roques - much needed.
Jim Tickner
An inspiring and heart warming article about redeeeming Valentine's Day with hot drinks, chocolate and winsome stories that offer a glimpse of Jesus.
Anne Burghgraef
This is an excellent article! The use of creative story telling can have a massive impact on people as Mark has seen in his own use of it to great effect. We should all try to be a bit more imaginative when trying to reach out to the lost.
Owen Carey Jones
Thank you for publishing Mark Roques' article on communicating the good news of Jesus through stories, so good to read of the way he and his team are engaging with folks the way Jesus did. Stories invite conversation, questions and feedback, and give folks room to manoeuvre. Their courage and creativity is inspiring. Great article. Thank you.
Dave Hopwood
I love Mark Roques' stories - they reveal something about our culture which we don't realise through normal life. Our allegiances, our dislikes, our fears and our favourites reveal our 'everyday faith' in a way which uncovers our true selves. He's superb at then taking different points of view - post modern, secular, liberal etc. and disclosing the weaknesses in our thinking and presuppositions. He makes ordinary Christian faith seem so common sense, so much more truthful, so life-giving. Well done, Mark.
Cal Bailey
This story of reaching out to people on the streets is prophetic right now. Maybe hospitality and kindness can't actually be provided directly on the streets right now ( 24 March 2020 ) but the sentiment behind it has never been more meaningful . Rocky is a great communicator of simple messages not only in an everyday context , but in a "these are strange times " context.
Martin Mendelssohn
I found the article by Mark Roques was very interesting and his approach to sharing the gospel seems to be very successful.
Andrew Bedingham
Great essay by Mark Roques from RealityBites. I think the fear of engagement and rejection motivates much of the Christian's refusal to speak about God and evangelise in public. Like Mark said, I think we would be surprised by how willing people are to talk and hear our stories! I think the keyword is stories... humans are attracted to and shaped by stories. As Christ taught and loved through the medium of storytelling, so must we if we want to truly engage people and make the Gospel relevant and imperative, as it is.
It's exciting to hear that this work is going on and gaining traction!
Thank you, Mark, RealityBites, and the people of Baptist Together.
Layne Matthews
I know Mark well and his description of an evening of hospitality and chat on the streets of Leeds gives a flavour of what he does but it's only a flavour, not the whole meal.
Mark is no woolly headed half baked Evangelical who is desperate to make friends so gives away treats in the hope that he will have someone to hang out with.
This is a well worked out strategy coming from his great love for people and a better than average understanding of just how lost people are.
People haven't rejected Jesus and moved to some neutral position, they have alternative gods, call them consumerism, superstition or Leeds United.
Surprise, surprise Mark finds that if you are pleasant with people and talk about their lives and ideas you get the chance to advocate for Jesus as the only true God who can save you from your sin and people will listen!
Geoff King