I started the week asking myself the obligatory questions of a newcomer ,‘who are these people and what on earth am I doing!?’, but quickly discovered that pretending I knew the answers would have to suffice until I actually found them (this totally worked for about five minutes). It never really mattered though, because OTE is not made for one type of person, and I realised the now-obvious truth that God didn’t create variety to promote singularity. But, philosophical revelations aside, I also discovered the real power of prayer firsthand on many occasions, and it was this constant communication with God that stole the show for me.

OTE is one of those rare places where it’s hard to lose sight of God, especially for such a long period of time. There is prayer in the morning, prayer in our devotions, prayer for lunch, prayer f… you get the idea. Seriously though, my spiritual batteries were on constant charge for the entire week, and it was so refreshing. It’s all too easy for us as Christians to let church act as our set up for the week and allow our focus on God to drift until next Sunday comes around. Living at OTE does away with that notion though, in fact, it completely demolishes it. Being part of a consistently prayerful community not only allowed me walk with Jesus in so many parts of my daily life that I previously deemed insignificant; but it encouraged me to take a peaceful, well rounded attitude to the event every night and serve both God and the kids involved with a joyous heart. Servitude does not drag at OTE, it drives you forward.

In hindsight it’s funny just how appropriately named On the Edge is…there are very few comfort zones available once you commit yourself to God, but that’s the beauty of a first time experience. It made me think of several biblical characters (Moses, David etc) and the fact that many of them achieved greatness through ways they never would have guessed themselves. So, on that front, I feel justified in saying that OTE is a fantastic way for God to unlock potential in all of us. I personally went in offering some abilities with a guitar and a quick devotion but left as an honorary member of the AV team and even found myself on stage once or twice dressed as a testosterone fuelled nutcase.

I could spend an entire day trying to throw in everything that OTE has shown me about God, but as I remember watching over 100 kids with their hands raised in open worship, I’ll have to let that image do the talking for me.

So if someone asked me for one lesson to prepare a new first timer, I’d say that you don’t bring God along for the ride on OTE, he is your fuel, your ignition and your driver.

Jordan Cunningham

The first half of the evening event begins with some silly boy vs. girl games (this year the girls one – woop!), a cool video (an almost professional standard series of comedy videos starring talented team leaders) interviews (where a leader dresses up as some comedy character and interviews a member of the team) and a funny drama (usually involving some panto involvement from the kids). Then after the interval, we have Faith in Action (supporting a certain charity e.g. Release International), Prayer (a chance for the kids to experience how prayer is a powerful force), Q and A (an anonymous question time covering the kid’s wondering questions, such as ‘did God create dinosaurs?’ or ‘how to I become a Christian?’), the talk (discussing important issues as young people) and worship (led by some pretty talented guys. Many kids say this is their favourite part of OTE. It’s as loud as any rock concert!). 

This year, we focused our talks around the general New Horizon theme of ‘Unleashing The Truth’ and our specific theme was ‘Truth & Dare’. The talks were split in two halves: firstly, explaining an aspect of the truth, then secondly, daring to live this out. We explored key Christian issues, such as ‘how do we know the Bible is true?’, ‘the truth about Jesus’ ‘what do we do once we know the truth?’ and ‘how the truth transforms us’. On Tuesday night, Michael  from the charity, Release International, came to speak about persecuted Christians in North Korea, explaining how some Christians have dared to follow the truth during persecution. 

OTE is definitely not for wee kids—we treat you like mature young people, and discuss real issues for your age group, while also having you laugh so hard your sides hurt! OTE opened my eyes in so many ways, which is probably why I keep coming back year after year. 

Claire Hunter

Finance
We are delighted to say that this year we received sufficient funds to cover the running costs of NH2011. We are also in a position to be able to pass on financial support to some mission projects. Thank you to all of you who supported the event financially. If you want to continue supporting New Horizon you can give on line or download and complete a standing order form from www.newhorizon.org.uk/donate 

Volunteers
Thank you to all of you who volunteered at the event. We couldn’t run the event without your help. We hope to have a volunteer evening early next year as a way of saying thank you and keeping you up to date with next year’s event. Look out for more details on the website.

Stories
We were overwhelmed by the stories we received during the week of how God has worked in so many lives over the years at New Horizon. If you have a story to tell, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by email, office@newhorizon.org.uk or via the website www.newhorizon.org.uk/your-story 

Downloads
You can download copies of this year’s evening Celebration and morning Bible Readings from http://www.newhorizon.org.uk/audio

Stay in touch
News and information will be posted at the following places over the next months, so don’t forget to visit and keep up to date with what is planned for NH2012.
www.newhorizon.org.uk
www.facebook.com/newhorizonni
www.newhorizonni.wordpress.com

Event Management Team

Well, not, actually. And Stephen Cave doesn’t think so either: it’s just handy to have a Bible reference when you are giving instructions. But different colours of chairs need to be stacked in different piles.

What does all that have to do with New Horizon? It’s what happens on the last night. Within a fairly short space of time from the end of the evening celebration, the floor space is empty as chairs are stacked and taken outside to waiting trailers, to be put away for another year. Later today the tents will be taken down to be stored and soon all that will remain of New Horizon 2011 is the empty site on the edge of the university campus.

And what God has done in various lives during the week. For that is what New Horizon is about.

On the final evening Stephen Cave shared some of the stories that had been coming in. Like the story of the man who chose to spend his 70th birthday week at New Horizon rather than on holiday in Canada: that’s what it means to him. Or the story of the couple who spend a week later in the summer listening to CDs of the talks. Or the young people who have grown up through the children’s and youth work. The 8 year old girl who prayed with her dad because she wanted to become a Christian. The 12 year old who took money out of her bank so that she could contribute to the urgent financial need. Or the person who heard God’s call last year and is starting theological training in the autumn.

Those were just some of the stories. Many more people have their stories. Some of them made their way to the prayer room to ask God for help with difficult situations or to dedicate themselves to him. Some left notes in the quiet room. One man left a cigarette packet there as he handed his addiction over to God.

James Smyth, chairman of the New Horizon board, paid tribute to the army of people involved in making the event possible: there are some 500 volunteers.

There has been frank talk about finances and the possibility that the event would have to stop, if funding does not come in. As of the end of Friday night, the indicators are good, although it will be a few more weeks before the final position is clear.

For his final talk on Proverbs, Vaughan Roberts took the theme of friendship. Friendship makes good men better and makes bad men worse. The secret of friendship – as with all spiritual blessings – is that the more you give, the more you get. In the words of Mother Teresa, loneliness is the greatest disease.

1. True friendship is close. We need close friends, but we need to be discerning and we need to be deliberate. Make sure you have friends in your inner circle.
2. True friendship is constant. A friend loves at all times.
3. True friendship is candid.
4. True friendship is careful. It doesn’t speak too quickly and it avoids gossip. It knows how to say the right thing in the right way at the right time. It requires emotional sensitivity.
5. True friendship is Christ-centred. He is the answer to our deepest failings and to our greatest aspirations in this area. He forgives our deepest failures and meets our deepest longings, longings which we cannot have met in other people.

The Lord Jesus can be as real to us as a human friend. The marks of true friendship from Proverbs are seen in him.

• He is closer than a brother.
• He is constant: he will never leave us or forsake us.
• He is candid: loves us too much to leave us the way we are.
• He is careful: he will not crush a bruised reed.

So New Horizon 2011 ends. The plan – as God allows – is for New Horizon 2012 from August 11-17 (will this coincide with summer?) and planned speakers are Simon Guillebaud, Malcolm Duncan and Calisto Odede.

1. Joseph’s story
2. God’s story
3. Your story

1. His story contains scenes of disturbing nature. It has spoken to us at a very realistic level. God has been at work. There is also forgiveness in his story. We are raw material, we are stripped, we are still able to trust.

2. Genesis 12: the promise that Jesus will arrive; that God will work.  It’s the “operating system” for the rest of the Bible. God is God and uses us for his glory.

3. Your story: you are Joseph. I am Joseph. God is God.

There was a report back from the children’s and youth work. Every year, in various parts of the campus, teams work hard to care for and teach children, from the youngest through to teenagers.

The evening’s mission slot featured Bible translation, with a powerfully moving video of a group of people in a remote part of Indonesia receiving the first ever copies of the New Testament in their language. The Bibles were flown in in a small plane and presented to community leaders. One of the men quietened the people and led a prayer where he praised God who had ordained that their language would be one that would carry his word. Just as Simeon held the promise of God in his hands when he held Jesus in the temple, so these leaders felt that they held what God had promised them.

There were tears. Both on screen and in the tent.

Vaughan Roberts’ theme from Proverbs this evening was money. Most of the book of Proverbs is a collection of pithy sayings arranged laid out, as someone put it, like a buffet of hors d’oeuvres. What Proverbs has to say about money is one way of helping us in important self-reflection as we find ourselves at a time of recession, following years of economic growth which have fuelled our society’s materialism and consumerism.

We need to remember that the proverbs in the book are not intended as promises or laws; they are general observations of how life is. They are not arranged in an obvious order (which presents a challenge to preachers); and they are not quick fixes. We want quick fixes, but Proverbs is more like a bag of boiled sweets than a box of chocolates that can be quickly gobbled.

1. How to view money. It is not evil. In fact, it is useful, bringing certain advantages – facilitating a measure of friendship or influence or even security. But is has limitations because it does not last. Riches sprout wings and fly off into the sky. The wise realise that relationships – with God, and with others – and righteousness are more important.
2. How to make money. The most common advice in Proverbs is to work hard. Get rich schemes are likely not to bring lasting wealth, but we want the pleasure of having wealth without the pain of getting it. We must also avoid debt and live godly.
3. How to use money. Wesley used to talk about earning as much as possible, saving as much as possible and giving as much as possible. We need to spend cautiously (avoid impulse), save prudently and give generously.

As ever, Vaughan closed his message by connecting us to the gospel. God sent his Son who had all the riches of heaven at his disposal. He became poor that we could be rich. Realising the wealth we have in Christ enables us to hold material things loosely.

Ambition. What motivates you? What is the core ambition of your heart? What would lead you to happiness? What would enable you to say “I am fulfilled”?

We aspire and strive and struggle for success, esteem, fulfillment – and the moment it comes, we sense its hollowness. What is true fulfillment, what is real joy and real power?

Genesis 41: 16. How did he know power?

1. The first key phrase is “I can’t”.

He has gone on a journey from slavery to success; his moment has now come, every ambition is about to be realised. When this comes, he says “I can’t…but God will”. He knows 2 things: he is weak, and God is great. This is the great resolution of Joseph’s heart. 

When Johnny Cash recorded his album in San Quentin prison; the title track tells the story of a prisoner’s relationship with the prison: “I’ll walk out of you a wiser, weaker man.”

We sang today, “take me as you find me, all my fears and failures”…God knows us. He knows that “we can’t”, but “He can”. God will break down all we have, all we know – we’re self-conscious, we have insecurities, we wonder how God will ever use us…or maybe we think we’ve got it all together and then, we fell God chipping away at us. It is at those very moments that God says, “you can’t, but I can”.

2. The 2nd thing we see is that “I can”. Despite all of the things Joseph had suffered at the hands of his brothers, he is able to say “I can” in forgiving them. It is only when we find the realisation of God that we can enjoy our self-realisation before God. Joseph is able to move on, and forgive. He realised it wasn’t his brothers who sent him to Egypt, but God. He had reason to be hurt, but said “I can” in forgiving them and working past it.

We need to look at the One who is able to say “I can” as Joseph with most reason: Jesus. He took on us all of his sin, every fibre of fallenness and failure, He forgives. He gives us grace. He says “I can”.

We are Joseph. We can’t. God can.

In prayerfully considering the evening, as well as the week in general, we had been asking God to show us the joy and the fullness of who He is in a way that would eclipse and surpass any temptation or distraction the world can offer. He is more, He is enough, He is God.

Truthfully, last night, I felt under attack – during the ‘worship set’ there was a strong sense that this is a battlefield; there was such spiritual tension and we had to constantly recommit to God, refocus on Him, ask Him to come and invade our hearts, ask Him to take over. And then it struck me – it is so incredibly amazing that we were all able to come and meet with the living God, to speak to Him and listen to His voice.

As you know from the Livewire blogs, we’ve been considering deep issues that are often painful to deal with. And yet – whether we are on a high or in the pit, struggling with temptation and sin in our lives, or bathing in grace and forgiveness, suffering from negative thoughts concerning our identities, self-harming, not eating, thinking of death, abusing our bodies, worrying about A-levels or uni, seeking a job, content in a job, enjoying our families or painfully walking through harmful and difficult family relationships, feeling alone and wanting ‘that’ special relationship, battling through a relationship, feeling God’s presence or wondering if He was there, feeling fearful and apprehensive or confident and sure…we were all able to come.

Not just that, but we were all able to sing. Blessed be His name. His love never fails. He is for us. These things are true no matter what we are walking through. He is God. He is constant. He is faithful.

I’m blown away.

Last night we heard about one of the (female) stewards who was mistreated by a car load of 60-somethings using language that won’t be repeated on the blog. Tonight we heard about someone who turned up with a bag full of chocolate biscuits to say “thank you” to the yellow-bibbed army.

And we prayed for Brian. Brian has served New Horizon in previous years but this year he is not able to serve. It’s been a hard year with serious illness and major surgery. He has been able to visit on a couple of evenings and Stephen Cave led us in a prayer tonight for God to touch him.

I know Brian personally. He is the salt of the earth.

It was the turn of some of the young people to tell their New Horizon stories (via video) this evening. New Horizon has served three generations of families.

Twenty three years have gone since the start, but this year there is serious concern among the board about the state of the finances. £100,000 needs to come in over the last three nights of the event. A shortfall would raise the serious possibility that there might not be a future New Horizon.

The mission slot looked at the Muslim world. The spotlight fell on a professional woman in Egypt, an Imam in Morocco, an Indonesian nurse meeting a Christian in Belfast, and a Jordanian who became a Christian after a dream about three crosses. We stood to join in prayer for the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims.

So to Proverbs and the simpletons.

Vaughan Roberts began by encouraging us to ask what kind of fools we are as we look into the mirror of Proverbs. He introduced us to a gallery of four different fools, from chapters 6 and 7.

1. The short-sighted fool. This is the person who is too quick to enter into a financial arrangement. The fool rushes in where angels fear to tread.
2. The sluggard. Mentioned fourteen times in Proverbs, the sluggard is a comic figure who provokes a laugh. He/she is lazy and full of excuses. But there is a warning for destruction lies in wait and early dreams and promises can come to nothing through laziness.
3. The scoundrel. This is the wicked heart, the person who cares only for himself. His mouth is corrupt. He is not to be envied for God will judge him. While we may struggle to see ourselves in this particular, extreme, portrayal, we need to realise that the seeds of the scoundrel lie within each of us.
4. The simple. This person is gullible and easily led. One area of warning for the simple is the area of the adulteress: sexual temptation.

Before getting into detail on chapter 7, Vaughan clarified that the Bible is neither anti-sex, nor anti-women. But chapter 7 is the cautionary tale of a young man who strays too close to danger and whose evening ends up in a way that he did not plan.

Wisdom urges us to beware of our weakness; there are places and people we need to stay clear of. When a problem is a little seed, it can easily be plucked up and got rid of. We need to resist the voice that tells us that we are far from danger. The voice of folly tells us to enjoy ourselves; wisdom urges us to take the long view. One moment of madness can lead to a lifetime of regret.

While one act of adultery need not destroy a marriage, recovery is not easy because damage has been done.

For singles, the modern view is that sex is just one more physical appetite. But it is not just recreational, it is relational.

Married couples need to “keep the home fires burning.”

“If there was more courting in marriage, there would be fewer marriages in court.”

Vaughan referred to the safeguard provided by the Covenant Eyes website.

The antidote to all folly is Jesus Christ and his cross. Jesus and his death are dismissed as folly by the world, but they are the height of wisdom.

Whatever kind of fool you are, look to the cross of Jesus and allow that to change your perspective.

 It was put to me that it sounded as though I were taking the same position as Rob Bell in Love Wins, leaving open the strong possibility of universalism. Let me clarify: this is not my position.

 I think that the difficulty lay in the fact that I was not aiming to concentrate directly on the doctrinal question: what should we believe about hell? I was asked to address the issue from an apologetic, and not a doctrinal point of view, i.e., to consider how we might answer critics who said that belief in hell was inconsistent with belief in a God of love. What I said was that there have been and are different views in the Church about the nature of hell and that I needed to give some time to noting what these were and why people believed them. So I gave a brief review. I had forgotten that, in your programme notes, I said that I would be weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of these views in their own right, along with tackling the main apologetic question.

What I tried to say was that there are different interpretations of biblical texts (whether we should take some sayings literally or as images, e.g.) and that I thought that Scripture is probably not be designed for us to resolve and be definite about some of these disputed questions about human destiny. I also said that this should not at all affect our actions and that, on any valid interpretation, nothing should detract from the seriousness of biblical warnings about the consequences of our actions. I also said at the beginning of the seminar that, although I saw it as my responsibility to describe different positions – because people are simply not informed about them – I did not believe that just ‘anything goes’. However, because I wanted to focus on the apologetic question – how is belief in a God of love consistent with belief in hell? – I did not try to work through the relative strengths and weaknesses of these different theological positions.

 You will remember that, in dealing with the apologetic question, I underlined the retributive component in justice and that, faced with people who rage against or sorrow over injustice in our world, we could turn the question around and ask them: ‘If we believe in a God of justice, and you say that justice is so important, how should we not believe in some form of hell?’ I tried to tease this out a little in an apologetic context. But because the idea of ‘hell’ has been alternatively regarded as (a) unending or as (b) of finite duration before annihilation or (c) as preceding the final salvation of all (this last, I said, is arguably more like purgatory) I obviously had to set out these positions.

 All I am doing here is noting one or two relevant points that I made, but my main purpose is to make clear that I was not implying that universalism is just as acceptable as any other position. I do not believe that Scripture or theological reflection on its basis supports universalism and my article on ‘Universalism’ in the IVP New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics (ed. C,Camphell-Jack etc, 2006) makes this clear.

Stephen N Williams