In 1999 I stood by the Millennium wheel in London at 23:59 with my girlfriend and the masses around us; I stood, ready for the world to end. The Millennium bug was just seconds away and I was poised to watch it all come tumbling down. What happened was at 12:01am, like many others, I walked home, cold, tired and wishing I hadn’t bothered.
I had no idea then, that 23 years later I would be working with an incredible bunch of people trying to get the gospel to men in the UK. As each year passes, here at CVM we keep the vision hot at the very centre of what we are all about. We want to do all we can to get our mates to the feet of Jesus, to see how wonderful HE is and the life He has for them.
This is a mission that drives us in a very deep and profound way at CVM. Let me share it another way.
Have a read of this:
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!Mark 2:1-12
I was driving to Wales last year to host a church leaders gathering with Jon Stockley, our man in Wales. On the drive, I was listening to the bible and these verses jumped out at me.
I shared the picture I had with a mate of mine later that evening and he sent me a text saying, ‘CVM, it’s Christian Vision for Men but it’s also a Ceiling Vandalism Movement!’
I loved it, that was the idea I was feeling, this outlandish, desperate but resourceful group of men doing all they could to get their mate in front of Jesus.
At the Gathering last year I met this bloke – he was wrestling with serious mental health challenges, he had a joint and a massive bottle of booze that he rested in the grass by his feet – and together, we just sat and listened to the gospel and the message of Jesus.
That’s CVM, that’s a ceiling vandalism movement! These men need to be brought and laid before the feet of Jesus, but for so many of them, they won’t step into a mainstream organised church. For loads of men in the UK, they are outside the building and can’t get in to see Jesus!
As we charge into 2023 we must be creatives. We must be willing to offend and upset, to pioneer and step beyond any places of comfort or lines drawn in the sand IF it means we can get these desperate souls to the feet of our Jesus in time.
I resolve daily to not waste these moments, to not waste the time I have that is so desperately precious and valuable, to get these men to the feet of Jesus. But I, and the team at CVM, can’t do that on our own. We run with everything we have, all the money and vision we can but our army is you.
Let’s break some ceilings together in 2023.
Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash.
