Martin Scott – Changing the World, One Gate at a Time

Martin Scott, a key prophetic voice from the UK has been instrumental in the shaping of my theological growth in the last 6-7 years or so. I’ve had the privilege on a few different very brief occasions to work with him in the UK, but mostly in France. His is a catalytic calling. He’s called to be a catalyst in different geographic contexts. Currently that has included the UK, continental Europe and North and South America principally. He has the gift to challenge and stimulate in such a way that individuals and corporate expressions of the Body of Christ begin to walk out more fully what their identity is (i.e. he’s not interested in people serving his vision), but in connection with what God is doing on a more global basis. Additionally, he’s one of the few people (in my opinion) from the UK/Europe in the Body of Christ who speak with clarity/objectivity with respect to the United States. I find this very refreshing and appreciate him all the more because of it.

Lately, he’s been investing in the development of his web site, especially his blog. It is becoming a very effective tool for expression and exchange and I highly recommend it to you (especially the blog): https://www.3generations.eu/

In the podcast part of his blog, he has a message that he gave a few months ago in Orangevale, California (he’s had quite an investment and impact in California). It’s main themes are that:

  • The faith that we steward individually and corporately has as its main goal, the transformation of this present world and
  • That what God is “up to” right now is strategically positioning the Body of Christ into the “gates” of our societies in order to be agents of the manifestation of God’s Kingdom in the world

Martin typically throws out a thought-provoking statement and then moves on quickly to another one! So don’t be surprised if you keep coming back and listening to this again to reflect on something you didn’t get the first time. In fact I encourage you to do that. I think I’m on my 3rd or 4th listening to this message right now!

https://3generations.eu/podcast/orangevale_gates.mp3

An active priesthood…

This entry is for more than one audio teaching, but as I heard this first one listed, it struck me that the others were hugely complementary. All the teachings together, I believe, create a powerful package that we need to get a hold of.

The first teaching is by Gary Wiens. Gary is currently on staff at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City where, I gather, most of his involvement is in teaching. He is an excellent teacher…which is really a hidden way of say that I like him a lot! As with any of these teaching, your mileage may vary!

This teaching is entitled, “The Priests of the Kingdom.” (mp3 – 24.7Mb) This teaching lays down very clearly the duty of the Christian on earth using the paradigm of a “priesthood.” I’ve always found this paradigm to be rich with meaning and this teaching is the best I’ve ever heard to sum it all up….worth listening to several times.

The second teaching is by Dr. David Van Koevering. Dr. Koevering may be best known in the world as one of the early driving forces (invention/innovation/promotion) behind the Moog Synthesizer. He is a quantum physicist and inventor with a big focus in the area of the physics of sound. As a worship musician, this interests me very much. As you’ll discover, his teaching style is a bit eccentric but bear with it…the material is powerful and he can be fun to listen to.

This teaching is entitled, “Your Words Can (And Do) Change Other People’s Environment!.” (mp3 – 16.9Mb) This teaching begins to build on the previous one by giving one practical domain in which we can exercise the authority of our priesthood…our words.

The last teaching is in two parts and was given by Sam Matthews on two successive evenings recently at our church here in France. So, the teaching is in English with French translation. The beginning of the first teaching contains about 8 minutes of introduction given by our pastor. This is all in French. Do not fret…the English does come!

This teaching is entitled, “The blessing is in the name.” Part 1 – mp3 – 43Mb, Part2 – mp3 – 33.6Mb This teaching, again, builds on the one by Dr. Van Koevering and by Gary Wiens. It gets specific about what words to use to change things. In this teaching, Sam talks about using the names of God and how the specific blessing that comes from a specific character trait of God is contained in the name of God that expresses that character trait. Furthermore, we can, and should, use the names of the Lord to bless people and situations in very specific ways so that the manifestation of God’s attributes for any given situation come into action.

All three speakers are very different in their style and these teachings are not at all connected one with another. They simply struck me as being a very complementary set that I believe will change a lot of things in our lives if we can really get a hold of the truths and apply them (still working on it for myself!).

Educational Serendipity…

Just the other day I had a moment of educational serendipity.

A little background of the educational experiences of our children:

  • Rachel – Homeschooling in America; 1 year of private Christian school in America; 1 year of public school in America; homeschooling in Scotland; 2 years of public school in France; 1 year of private Christian school in France; this year doing school by internet at home; next year heading to Germany to do private Christian High School.
  • Noah Homeschooling in America; homeschooling in Scotland; 2 years of public school in France; now into his 2nd year of private Christian school in France.
  • Olivia – Homeschooling in America; homeschooling in Scotland; 2 years of public school in France; now into her 2nd year of private Christian school in France.

Can you say “eclectic”? I knew you could…

Anyway, the other day, I was “grading” Rachel’s 125 question Algebra 1 mid-term test on the Internet while she was working on another lesson on the other computer. I then went upstairs to see what was happening elsewhere in the house. Angela and Noah were in our bedroom working on his French homework. Down in the dining room was Olivia working on her math homework. (I think all of us were helping her at one point or another!)

Anyway, it occurred to me that this is the way that it should be. A true collaborative effort of the whole family endeavoring to teach the whole family using any and all means available. It certainly continues to have its challenges. For example, helping Olivia with math resembles more of a trip to the dentist for a root canal than “warm family moment”! But all in all, we’re glad to be about moving forward with the next generation en famille!