Disqus - Latest Comments for markjaffrey

Re: Dear Snow Snob. Leave The Egyptians Alone. Let Them Enjoy Their “SNOW” Without You Saying How Much It Sucks. A question for you and your “snow” background.

Mark Jaffrey — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 10:40:52 -0000

From snowy Cairo. I must admit it caused quite a stir with loads of pictures of the Sphinx and the pyramids with snow on them. Here's the thing - they are all fakes. There was a light covering of snow in some suburbs in the east of Cairo, but nothing at all except lots of rain anywhere else in the city. Certainly none in the west where the pyramids and sphinx are. And what little snow we had in the east all melted before lunchtime. The rain has been more of a problem - there are no drains you see. Nowhere for the water to go except into the street where it has stayed for three days now.

Re: Who Has Been Reading This Blog For YEARS???

Mark Jaffrey — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 09:24:40 -0000

Met you at Saddleback Worship Conference in 2006 I think and started reading your blog then. So definately Old School. :-)

I'm a worship pastor in an international local community church in Cairo, Egypt and I've always enjoyed being a co-Ragamuffin.

Re: Unarmed Egyptian Man Gunned Down By National Police While Holding Up Arms [Warning.Graphic Footage]

Mark Jaffrey — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 07:56:18 -0000

There's a big and important difference between Muslim (follower of Islam) and Islamist (radical religious/political ideology). The enemies that both Muslim and Christian Egyptians are united to fight are Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood are the biggest and most well organised Islamist organisation. Nobody in the article I posted is anti Muslim.

Re: Unarmed Egyptian Man Gunned Down By National Police While Holding Up Arms [Warning.Graphic Footage]

Mark Jaffrey — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 07:53:04 -0000

Hi Stephen. Where's all this anger coming from?

I live in Cairo and am seeing this first hand. These are my friends - on both sides of the conflict.

Re: Unarmed Egyptian Man Gunned Down By National Police While Holding Up Arms [Warning.Graphic Footage]

Mark Jaffrey — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 01:54:56 -0000

Here's a good place to get a better picture of the situation in Egypt, written by trustworthy Christian leaders in the country and region.

https://www.sat7usa.org/und...

Re: Unarmed Egyptian Man Gunned Down By National Police While Holding Up Arms [Warning.Graphic Footage]

Mark Jaffrey — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 01:53:06 -0000

Unarmed civilians are being shot by the military. true. One side of the story only though. More than sixty churches have been attacked, burned down and destroyed by the Muslim Brotherhood as they are using Egyptian Christians to blame as a scapegoat for the removal of Morsi.
In the middle of the "Peaceful anti-coup marches" yesterday were hundreds of MB people armed with assault rifles, who were shooting at the police and military with live ammo. Not a very peaceful way of protesting, eh?
It's a very complex situation and I'm afraid the Western media is hugely biased towards the islamist's cause. The reality is that the majority of Egyptians didn't vote for them and don't want them. However they are also shocked at the military's heavy handed approach and numbed by the death and carnage.
Your conclusion is spot on. Prayer is the only answer.

Re: Wonderful national newspaper coverage for Christian project

Mark Jaffrey — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:54:15 -0000

This is great, Marie, thanks for keeping us up to date with this wonderful project.

Re: Salvation is all about me… I get to be with God

Mark Jaffrey — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:48:30 -0000

Jesus IS the Gospel.

Re: Salvation is all about me… I get to be with God

Mark Jaffrey — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:12:55 -0000

Thanks Kurt for posting these thoughts. I preached on this very issue a couple of weeks ago and your blog has been helpful in aiding me to clarify my own thoughts on the matter. For the sermon I came up with an equation to help people think it through: Conversion (for some - not everyone has a conversion experience) +Justification+Sanctification+Glorification=Salvation. Now you could throw some other things in there if you like; election (for the Calvinists!), adoption, redemption etc. But the point I was trying to make was that we need to see salvation as a holisitic process of drawing near to God the Father, by following our King, Jesus and accepting his transformational work in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. And that our salvation is ongoing, and will only be completed when That Day comes :-)

I like the quote from Catholic theologian James Akin: "I have been saved, I am being saved and I will be saved."

Re: Why I Am Going to Africa: Social Justice, Worship Leading & WorshipMythBusters.com

Mark Jaffrey — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:04:37 -0000

This is fantastic news Rich. Go for it. More Americans need to follow your example and step outside their own borders (a honeymoon in Mexico doesn't count!) to demonstrate the tangible love of Jesus. Africa is an excellent place to start.

Re: What Does a Church Have to Do With Wine?

Mark Jaffrey — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:26:54 -0000

John you and your friends are geniusii. Or something.

What a fabulous project and I can't wait to create with you again in Feb.

Re: Spring Harvest Conference, U.K.

Mark Jaffrey — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:49:40 -0000

Spring Harvest, Minehead and Skeggy. Aaaah, the memories of rain and sun and snow and doing the kid's ministry, Powerpoint, with Rich Hubbard and playing guitar with Roy Castle and looking after Adrian Plass's polite kids and Clive Calver's snotty kids "my Dad's Clive Calver actually" :-) and YFC detached youth workers in donkey jackets and Roy Crowne and Jeff Lucas and overdosing on cheap noodles and Graham Kendrick and Martyn Joseph and hearing Iona for the first time and hanging out with Phatfish and driving too fast and getting buried in the sand on Skegness beach. That was edited highlights of SH 87-93.

Honourable mentions go to Grapevine, 90-93 & Breaking the Mould 91 (also known as Braving the Cold or Scraping the Mould).

Re: A Theology of Rhythm

Mark Jaffrey — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:30:58 -0000

Briliiant, brilliant, brilliant. The baptism ideas are stunning, and the rhythm thoughts made me think, which is always good for me.

Re: Beneath the Covers

Mark Jaffrey — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:00:48 -0000

Never, ever, ever done a cover song in church. It's just too weird to me - I suppose it's a mixing up of cultures, the sacred and the secular. Never really thought about it before either, so at least you've made me go "hmmm". I suppose my attitude in a church service is that the worship is to God and for God, and I want every word to count, every note and nuance to point to him, and although I totally understand the reasons for cover songs in church, it just doesn't sit well with my personal philosophy of worship. Great list of great songs though. I'm inspired to listen!!

Re: Prayer Posts and Prayer Dares

Mark Jaffrey — Wed, 21 May 2008 08:29:05 -0000

With you all the way mate. Here's another verbal tic I hear in prayer regularly; the breathy, thoughtful "yeah" as a pause, or comma as someone completes a sentence or gathers their thoughts. It's often used to reinforce a particularly profound type of instant-revelation-thought such as;

"Lord we really want to just recognise that you (pause), you're (pause) - yeah - you're just awesome".

I am always listening to myself and asking "do I sound weird?" when I pray, and I have noticed that I have backsliden a little recently.

Thanks for keeping me honest.