Firstline

By Terry Virgo

Closer to God is a Bible reading plan published by Scripture Union. The editor, Phil Andrews, caught up with Terry in March 2005 to find out more about the spiritual life and vision of the man behind the ministry. Several people who read it commented on it and found it helpful, so we decided to use it in lieu of Terry’s customary ‘Firstline’.

Are your Bible reading and prayer times systematic or free form?
I think it would be fair to say that they are very deliberate and have been for many years. When I get up in the morning, I go to my study and spend some time in the Word. After breakfast I get down to prayer.

Mostly I use my own meditation system in Bible study. This varies according to the book I set myself; if I am going through an epistle it will tend to be more detailed on a phrase or a verse, but if I’m going through an Old Testament book I might go through a whole chapter. If I find a phrase that just seems to stir me, I’ll use a concordance and go off on all sorts of angles – a lot of light comes through that. I will occasionally break out and use a commentary. The first time I did that was working through Alec Motyer’s The Prophecy of Isaiah (IVP, 1993). I got so captivated by it that I worked my way right through. But most of the time I just have a notebook, a concordance and my Bible.

When you pray, is it noisy or reflective, or a mixture?
It’s usually fairly noisy! I find that giving thanks to God for things that have happened to me in the last 24 hours helps to bring me into His presence, reminding me afresh of His loving hand. I have found myself more drawn in recent years to reflect on the cross and I will often sing about that. I find myself singing a mixture of modern songs and old hymns, and sing in tongues as well. Then out of this I’ll begin to intercede wherever God directs me. I try to bear in mind the Lord’s Prayer as a kind of structure to my praying.

What proportion of your prayer times are worship compared with the amount given over to intercession?
Well, in more recent years, the time spent in worship and fellowship with God has grown, so that although there is more to pray about, because one’s world always seems to get bigger, the reality is I find renewal comes from enjoying God for who He is.

What’s the most inspiring thing you have learned or relearned in your reading of the Bible recently?
Yesterday I was reading through John chapter 11 and the phrase that really gripped me was what Martha says to Jesus, ‘I know that God will give you whatever you ask.’ And later, as He raises Lazarus from the dead, Jesus says, ‘Father, thank you [that] you always hear me…’ These phrases stirred me about the certainty of Jesus getting His prayers answered. It also struck me that we have an advocate with the Father who always gets what He asks for and that there’s great assurance to be gained from this. As I was meditating on this I remembered John 15:7, which says if we abide in Him and let His words abide in us we can ask whatever we wish and it will be given to us. So I found those passages quite a stimulus to my own praying.

Do you need to come at your ministry responsibilities with a freshness found in your relationship with God in private? Or do you get built up and renewed while working for the church?
It all works together. We have just had a week of prayer in our church in Brighton, which we do once a month. I’ve been in three prayer meetings in three days, and that is very refreshing. I fly a lot and one of the things they say on aeroplanes is that if there is an oxygen problem, masks will fall down from above you. The advice always given is, if you have a child with you, make sure you put your own oxygen mask on first before you try and help the child. This sounds a bit selfish, but it’s very wise counsel to make sure you have oxygen before you try to help anyone else and I think that’s my principle. I want to be serving people all the time, but if I’m not in a good place myself, I’ll start running on empty, so I’m quite disciplined in keeping my own experience of God alive.

What do you think God is saying to the church in the UK at the moment?
We gather all our pastors on a regular basis and, when we were last together, God impressed on us a prophecy that there has been a cold wind blowing through the church in our nation, killing many things off. We felt that God was saying that this cold wind has been necessary, like the frosts of winter. Some things have had to die off, but there’s a fresh warm breeze coming, a life-imparting breeze. So I’m full of expectation. In Brighton, we’re seeing breakthroughs. I believe that God wants to bless us in evangelism and in other ways too.

Is it more important to be known as an evangelical than a charismatic?
Labels can be unhelpful. However, I believe the good news as reported in the Bible and, therefore, I’m fundamentally evangelical. But it’s out of my commitment to Biblical truth that I became persuaded about charismatic experience.

Do you see it as part of Newfrontiers’ mission to generate renewal in more traditional denominations or is that a bonus?
I am absolutely delighted when people within traditional denominations have drawn on things that we have shared, like teaching on themes like grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. But I believe that foundations are vital. If they are not dealt with thoroughly they will always frustrate progress, and so it is because of foundational issues we have had to start afresh and do something new.

Is that why you’ve put church planting to the fore?
Yes. In Brighton and Hove fourteen churches are earmarked for closure, so if we planted fourteen we would only be keeping level. We need to see many churches planted. I was at a conference recently where someone asked, ‘Can you not help failing churches rather than plant new ones?’ I answered by saying that we have to question why they are failing. If the church is failing there is a reason for it, and if the issues causing the failure are not dealt with, to try and help doesn’t help!

I have spoken at events like Spring Harvest and people have come and thanked me for the ministry and then, quite openly, said, ‘Now we go back to our dead church.’ I’ve asked, ‘What does that mean?’ and they’ve said, ‘Well, the minister isn’t converted yet. He won’t let us have Alpha,’ or something. I’ve had that kind of conversation too often. How can anyone expect blessing in a church if its leader is not even a Christian? If we do not deal with fundamental issues, we cannot expect much to happen.

Do you think that one of the keys to Newfrontiers’ success is consistency of message, from the highest level of leadership down to local churches?
Paul says in Acts 20:32, ‘I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance.’ The Bible is clear that there is a body of doctrine that builds the church up. So we would urge all the pastors that we work with to be very Biblical and to give plenty of time to teaching the Word. We cling to the more traditional perspective of seeing the Word as fundamental and central, as in Acts 2:42, ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.’ When churches begin to lose confidence in the Bible they become vulnerable. If Biblical truth is taught systematically with life and vitality, people are built up, set free and equipped.

Do you think it’s essential that local churches preach grace continuously?
I think that foundations of grace need to be laid in a church from its inception. Grace should touch everything we say and do and the way we conduct ourselves. For instance, we’re hosting a worship training day and I’m taking a session. Part of my approach involves people’s knowledge of God’s grace towards them, which releases worship, so although I won’t be doing a session on grace, I will be showing that, without understanding grace, worship is an external thing – it lacks heart.

What one thing would you say motivates you to get you out of bed in the morning?
It is wonderful to know that God has called you. That is the mainspring of my life. I am deeply grateful to God for His kindness and mercy to me; it genuinely stirs and motivates me. I want to finish the work He has given me to do. The awareness that we are called into fellowship with God and to do things that He has given us to do is what stirs my heart the most.

Firstline

By Terry Virgo

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