In a similar manner to our preview article from last year, let’s start this new year by looking at the top 10 articles of 2023. This will give us a good sense of the content many of you are interested in as we look to get back to a more regimented production pace for our publication.
THANK YOU for taking the time to open the emails and engage with our content. The birth of our son Shilo Ruah, aka “Roo,” which meant 3 children at four years old or under in our bustling household, proved to be quite the handful the latter half of the year. Nevertheless our hearts are filled with Joy and Newness as we propel into January and beyond.
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A Great Door for Effective Work
“But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
1 Corinthians 16:8-9
We continue to marvel at the tremendous work of God, the Holy Spirit, amid the various facets of our involvement in ministry and charitable/ humanitarian work.
The Food Pantry has been one of the biggest highlights of 2023, and we have been so encouraged by the work of the Lord through our interactions with people in the South Aston area of Birmingham. From learning all the ins and outs of operating the storefront to undertaking formal training in food handling, not to mention supply runs, inventory, and restocking—there was never a dull moment. Creating a warm, welcoming environment and embodying biblical hospitality are the most critical aspects of our service to the community. The goal is to meet their practical needs and create entry points for the Gospel. We pray with people, learn their stories, field their questions about Christianity, and build relationships.
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Daily Living in Light of Easter
Introduction
Over a decade ago, I recall an Easter Sunday when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Southern California near the border to Baja California. The quake lasted about a minute and a half, causing structural damage on both sides of the border, impacting Calexico, El Centro, and parts of San Diego County. What’s remarkable about such seismic activity…
Similar to our articles on Christmas, this article is the first part of an annual series looking at different angles of the Easter Story. In the coming installments, we’ll unearth robust evidence and offer apologetic arguments supporting the Resurrection of Christ. We’re also looking to provide practical daily life applications from the central claim or linchpin of the faith (1 Corinthians 15), which, we hope, will compel our readers to dive deeper into the faith and become bolder in sharing the Good News. Poetry and prose will also be on the menu for intentional contemplation on the various aspects of God’s character related to His redemptive plan.
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Christmas Time in the UK
Christmas Reflections
It may come as no surprise that our household has an admiration for the work of C.H. Spurgeon. In fact, on numerous occasions, I’ve received various books authored by the prince of preachers as timely gifts during the Advent season. There’s quite a lot to explore as a supplement to Biblical study and meditation, and what I find most…
This year, we dove into some research on C.H. Spurgeon’s views of Christmas. We were encouraged to find some intriguing things about the origins of the holiday’s increasing popularity in Britain. As expected, we found that there was quite a depth of richness in theological thought and insight in Spurgeon’s mediations on the beloved holiday. Christ Church Birmingham and Redemption Hill had their UK-specific rounds of Christmas events or (sometimes quirky) activities, which provided cultural learning for our family—and grew our competency in contextualizing the Gospel well.
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New Year, New Assignment
Winter
“Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him; he refreshes the spirit of his master.” Proverbs 25:13 The shift from autumn to winter in England brings much more than subzero temperatures or a frost-laden landscape full of barren trees and somber skies just outside your doorstep. Along with the…
Quarterly newsletters are a vital part of our content rotation, which gives our readers and ministry partners important updates from the mission field. As our family increasingly engages in various aspects of ministry and charitable/humanitarian work, we get all the more excited about sharing the faithful activity of the Lord through personal stories and real-time updates. While sharing our “wins” is great, we are also mindful of becoming curated in our experiences, much like what you routinely see scrolling through social media. Like Paul in 2 Corinthians, we desire to be honest about our wins and hardships in a way that we pray will encourage you to grow in your faith and involvement in Jesus’ Commission.
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Preaching in Birmingham
Preaching Debut
It’s an honor to be counted among those entrusted to bring forth the word of God to the church. Each of us possesses a unique voice and approach to preaching, and each has been given particular gifts from the Lord for the work of ministry. As a preacher in any context, I don’t need to stress the importance of sitting under the ministry of…
One of my God-given passions is preaching and teaching God’s word. You’ll see that getting technical about numerous elements within studying, crafting, preparing, and delivering a sermon is relatively easy for me to do. This article explores the differences between preaching in America and Britain and the differences between preaching in Oxford and Birmingham. For instance, something as simple as allotted time can change the whole makeup of a message, not to mention your audience’s level of biblical literacy. I plan to write some future installments on preaching to provide our readers with some inside scoops on specific sermons and a look into my desire to be the most effective communicator I can be as a foreign minister in the UK context.
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Eat With The Espinelis | 007
We have been slowly but surely settling into our new home in Birmingham. It’s been a stretching process as we’ve navigated moving house in the UK for the first time, which has been quite different than in the US, allowing another cultural learning opportunity. Moving with little ones while pregnant is also quite the challenge, and we’ve been taught the…
Steph has found this series of content to be one of the most fun and joyful to share with our readers. Although the output has since slowed down in the latter part of our most recent pregnancy and during the postpartum period, there is no shortage of ideas for future recipes. She is eager to relay all that she has learned while acculturating to the UK, such as the different British names for certain foods, the availability of particular ingredients, and trying to make dishes from other cultures. Do let us know in the comment section what sorts of foods you have questions about or would like to see her prepare.
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Russell Brand & the Painter’s Tattoo
Introduction
One of the more tedious aspects of moving house here in the UK is arranging repairs for the property when needed. The goal, of course, is to cover those costs to get back the full deposit at the end of the tenancy period. The ubiquitous nagging concern in most, if not all, properties in the humid climate of the UK is damage caused by moisture. If you’re not mindful or careful, it could cause mold to appear on the ceilings and walls of your property. While we never struggled to prevent mold, our cottage had another related issue concerning the ever-present “damp.”
Re-settling in the UK after a lengthy transition period involved a great deal of cultural learning. Moving house is one of the most stressful things to deal with, aside from the additional challenge of unfamiliarity over how things are done here, such as hiring a moving company with a big enough “van” and finding proper supplies—we get a keen sense of what we have taken for granted when living stateside. Along the way, I got acquainted with an interesting character with quite the story to share during a vulnerable moment of confession that warranted ministering.
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UK Census Data released!
The Office for National Statistics released new census data on ethnicity, language, national identity, and religion during the first week of December 2022 as part of there 3 phase release plan going into the first half of 2023. Perhaps, to no surprise, the data shared indicated that the percentage of the British population who were committed to the Christian faith has seen a significant drop off in the last 20 years:
71.8% in 2001
59.3% in 2011...
We often research statistics and current trends, especially when gauging many social issues and discerning the overall spiritual climate in the UK. We believe that any sort of trend and sociological phenomenon, including the diversity of thought, religion, and worldview, is dictated by real spiritual influences—principalities and authorities. When we’re encountering broken families and praying for healing from past trauma, we discern that there is more to what is going on than meets the eye. Dark authorities and powers afoot have long established an infrastructure of sin and are lording over a particular region or area—the UK is no exception.
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UK Visa Process
It only took 11 business days after our biometric appointment for our visas to return in the mail from the UK's primary visa and document scanning center in NY. We're happy to report that my Tier 2 Minister of Religion visa, along with each dependent visa, was approved by the UK government!
Our passports each returned with an official UK visa entry clearance sticker with the photo taken during the biometric appointment and a range of dates for entry listed. A border force agent must...
The Lord makes His presence known in many intricate ways beyond our wishful thinking or individual confirmation bias. It’s sometimes surprising how active He is in our lives to the point where moments of providence go beyond just granting us comfort in the unknown or during a trial. When you feel unsure about the general direction of your life, we believe the Lord offers guidance and peace in the most unexpected ways. This article also provides details and insights (along with Part I) into the complicated process of preparing documents and applying for a UK visa as a migrant worker.
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Nations At Our Doorstep
9 After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:9-10
The British home secretary, Suella Braverman, recently gave an address Stateside offering a strong critique of the failures of multiculturalism in the UK. There’s been some backlash and scrutiny...
It was quite a surprise to see this article at the top of the list for the year—even surpassing the statistics of our all-time top-rated article! Here, we explore the uniqueness of the UK mission field and provide a British criticism of multiculturalism while relaying our experiences contextualizing the Gospel and growing as a cross-cultural family. We also present key statistics about the city of Birmingham and how our intercultural church reflects the demographics—putting the proper emphasis on the Kingdom as the prevailing culture in our church.