I picked up this story on Sky News last week. What a tragedy!

There are many clichés like “money doesn’t buy you happiness”… I think they are true and this story proves it!

A former baker who won £9m on the Lottery has died, five years after scooping the jackpot which sent his life downhill.
Louise and Keith Gough, on the day they were unveiled as lottery winners
Keith Gough, 58, died on Saturday at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shropshire; it is believed he suffered a heart attack.
Mr Gough won the jackpot in June 2005 after his wife, Louise, bought a lucky dip.
The couple, who had been married for 25 years with a 12-year-old son, split two years later.
Mr Gough reportedly received £1.5m from the divorce and bought a house in Cheshire, hiring a chauffeur and a gardener to help with the upkeep.
He went on to spend much of his winnings on racehorses, fast cars and an executive box at Aston Villa – and he was also tricked out of £700,000 over two years.

Sky News

Most people, particularly those in Christian circles will no doubt have heard of the ‘Invade the Airwaves’ campaign, which aims to put a Christian band at number one this Easter Sunday, namely Delirious? with the song History Maker.

Anyway, let me tell you my 3 reasons why I don’t want this campaign to work…

1. I’m thoroughly annoyed by all the spam, some has come through email, but mainly it comes through incessant Facebook fan requests, it’s almost as bad as that phase when I kept getting sheep chucked at me!
2. I don’t believe that it is ‘right’ to manipulate the music charts in this way… in some ways it pleased me to see RATM beat the X-Factor entry to Christmas number one… but at the same time, it’s sad to see that the charts have been mocked in this way… I actually think there’s something slightly dishonest about this…
3. Ok… so it’s looking likely that Delirious? will be in the top 10 this week (and out of the top 4o the next), and are therefore virtually guaranteed some airtime… so of all the songs you could pick and of all the bands… the band has just retired and the song is quite frankly awful… musically aside, it doesn’t even mention the name of Jesus and is very ‘I’ focused… what a waste of an airwaves invasion!

This looks like it could be good fun…

Brighton’s Passion Play

One of the things I do as part of my ‘discernment’ about possible ministry in the CofE is read books from different perspectives… one such book is ‘The Christian Priest Today‘ by Michael Ramsey, it’s a book all about ‘being a priest’, but I struggle with the way it’s often written because it’s coming from quite a Catholic position… one bit I do think is great though is his words on the priestly, intercessory role in prayer…

Now we can begin to see what is our own role of men of prayer, as priestly intercessors. We are called, near to Jesus and with Jesus and in Jesus, to be with God with the people on our heart…

…And because you are with him and near him whose name is love you will have the people you care for on your heart. In this way adoration turns into “intercession”, the bringing of people and needs and sorrows and joys and causes into the stream of the divine love. Be with God (adoration) with the people of God on your heart (intercession). It is like Aaron of old who went into the holy of holies wearing a breastplate with jewels representing the tribes of Israel whose priest he was: he went near to God with the people on his hear.

Book in now… Bible by the Beach 2010, it’s gonna be great!

This week, hundreds of men, women and children were butchered in Nigeria, for being Christians, by Muslims. Islam = Religion of Peace? PRAY for Christians in Nigeria.

Archbishop Ben Kwashi said:

“It was not a good sight at all. The villagers had no chance whatsoever. They were slaughtered. I could see machete wounds in the necks of children. Kids from age zero to teenagers, all butchered from the back, macheted in their necks, their heads. Deep cuts in the mouths of babies. The stench. People wailing and crying. Some have lost their voices. I could not stand it. From what I saw from a distance, it was over 100 killed in one village. I don’t know what sparked it off. I thought we were making headway after the previous crisis in January.”

Ruth Gledhill – The Times

Barnabas Fund

Authors Adrian Warnock and Sam Allberry in conversation about their respective books:

Raised With Christ and Lifted – Two Books On The Resurrection from Adrian Warnock on Vimeo.