More than a LICC and a promise

Occasionally, I dedicate these blog postings to individuals; today, my scribings are dedicated indeed to the dedicated, my hard-working, creative and ever-enthusiastic erstwhile colleagues at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

LICC as it is known for short, understandably, or pronounced "lick" by those who have abbreviationophobia has been my employer for the past seven months. Although there have been liberal clues to their identity in these postings, I've hesitated to name them publicly before now. Firstly, because it can be a risky business to talk about your employer on such a publicly-accessible medium as the world wide web, as one employee of a well-known British bookstore chain found to his cost. Secondly, it's a matter of courtesy perhaps to remain tight-fingered on such details.

However, I feel a positive plug for Licc is well overdue through this channel, which is why you'll find out more about them by going to www.licc.org.uk. Licc was the inspired vision of Dr John Stott, CBE (the "gong" came in the 2006 New Year Honours), back in 1982. At an age when many men in secular employment would be thinking of settling down their cardigan and slippers, John Stott's second career was just beginning. Today, in his mid eighties, he remains the life president of the Institute, which is housed in a fine eighteenth century listed chapel in an incongruous setting off London's Oxford Street.

St Peter's chapel itself is an amazing building to work in, with it's classic vaulted ceiling, modelled on several other London churches of the period by James Gibb, a pupil of the inimitable Sir Christopher Wren. Gibbs' church may lack the grandeur of Wren's masterpiece of St Paul's, obviously, but what it lacks in scale it more than makes up for with its sense of peace and spiritual permeability. Used today by a couple of church congregations since ceasing to be a chapel of ease to nearby All Soul's, its main occupancy is to the small but ever-resourceful and busy team of LICC that make up the part-time faculty and full-time administration of its world-famous ministry.

John Stott's is a name renowned throughout the world for his classic evangelical ministry, and he has a string of books to his name expounding on subjects ranging from the skills and arts of preaching to the exposition of many of the bible's 66 books. He is especially renowned for his introductions to Christianity, which remain in print and popular with new and established believers alike.

Dr Stott himself remains a much-admired figure in the institute's history, but the infirmities of age and orders from a doctor to take it easy mean that his preaching these days is somewhat limited. However, his legacy of creative Christian communication lives on in the legacy of his successors, several of whom feature regularly on national radio and TV as Christian commentators. Brian Draper, who merits a mention of his own elsewhere in these blogspots, is but one of them, while Mark Greene, the institute's current executive director, is much in demand for his creative, insightful teaching (he is a former principal of the London School of Theology, formerly London Bible College) honed through his many years working in advertising both sides of the pond.

In recent years, the focus of LICC has been on the important concept of "Whole-life discipleship", the idea that you cannot compartmentalise the Christian life into the sacred and the secular but, actually, every moment of every day matters to God and a follower of Jesus is actually a Full Time Christian Worker. Not that this need be an onerous responsibility; it can be remarkably liberating, fun and fruitful, but can be a challenge to live out at times, particularly in the workplace. This is well catered for by another of LICC's current emphases.

This is the sort of background against which yours truly has been privileged to work since the summer of 2005. Sadly, the time has come to move on, but I go with many happy memories of the many events and people I have met in my brief but very rewarding time with LICC. Indeed, I'd go so far as to say that the colleagues with whom I have worked have been among the most loving I've ever encountered. As followers of Jesus, if their faith means anything, how could it be otherwise? Oh, not perfect of course- far from it, and just like me.
The London Institute's ideas and insight, their commitment and enthusiasm are the exact opposite of one dictionary's definition of that rather strange feline-inspired phrase " a lick and a promise".: A superficial effort made without care or enthusiasm. Rather, the whole team give their contribution to carry out John Stott's original and highly quotable idea of what Christians should be doing which he termed "double listening" - listening to the Word of God, AND to the world. With its attention to the complex issues of 21st Century culture, coupled with the historic mission of Christianity which aims to reach a nation for Christ, long may their mission prosper.
If you're a seeker or a follower, why not follow the link and learn more about LICC today, from its regular Monday evening public events dealing with everything from CS Lewis to a destiny beyond death, to bi-weekly words of inspiration and insight from its team of knowledgeable and highly readable writers, to its latest venture, the Imagine project, which has the bold challenge to Imagine how we can reach the UK. With prayer, and with pounds and even more with power- from God, it can be done. That's not just a hope, it's a promise. And organisations like the London Institute will do their utmost never to stop working at winning, until the salvation of a nation is licked.