Leading ourselves and a church is challenging in a pandemic. But what does it take to lead a network of churches in COVID? In my interview with Andy Smith, I got to ask him that very question.

There might be out of the billions of people in the world, a great number of horrible people who call themselves Christians. You can meet them online anytime. But right now in church communities, are people you will never meet online, who are decent, good and kind, and gracious - because they love and follow Jesus. The problem is, you won't meet them in late-night social media trolling. It's offline, in person, in devotion to Jesus, picking up their cross daily, as they serve others.

Have you ever thought I know God can speak to people, but why are those who claim he does, so crazy, deranged and damaging? Well, there is another way, and I dare to suggest it is the way God does speak today.

I have been on the receiving end of prophetic words from Andy Smith, one of the most gentle, caring, considered church leaders I know. I have seen the impact his careful sharing of words have had on so many others.

In this short segment of an interview with And Smith, I ask him about the prophetic and how he has learned to hear from the Lord. Andy is the senior pastor of the Belfast Vineyard Church, in Northern Ireland. He is also on the leadership group for Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland.

Death is the great interrupter and revealer of our story. So are the unexpected moments of life, the things that arrest our story, like a serious illness, redundancy, divorce, and now a pandemic. Our disappointments like nothing else reveal the story we are living by and for. And often what we are living for is what Jesus warned us not to base our life on.

Like many of us, you might be struggling to know how to understand what we are facing and what we ought to do. In this clip from my interview with Andy Smith, we get some wise advice on what we really face. And best of all some wisdom and clarity on what the Lord does and does not require of us at this time.

This is probably the most significant issue at the heart of why we don't receive God's best in our lives. And there is an insight and practice from St Ignatius of Loyola to enable us to deal with this and to act in our own better interests.

Agere contra - act against.

I recently interviewed one of my favourite inspiring leaders and pastor - Andy Smith.

In this part of the interview I ask Andy if he could tell pastors, church planters, leaders just one piece of advice what would that be?

Authentic, vulnerable, and hopeful. The answer might surprise you and hope will inspire you. We also snuck in a couple of pieces of extra wise advice.

It’s hard not to look at images of socially distanced worship services and miss what we used to be able to do. You might be struggling with what is now available to connect, and whether to connect at all. Maybe this reflection will help you to better see what God might be doing, and take part.

You have likely had someone pray over you or share with you, that you were made ‘for such a time as this’. You want that to be true but doubt if you are and have what it takes for all that is still to come…But there is somethng you were made to do, know how to do and love to do. All you have to do is this.

Fear and denial are two sides of the same coin…Catastrophizing denies the power of the resurrection and leaves us stuck on Good Friday, far from the cross. Denial prevents us dying to self, which is the only way to resurrection. It attempts to get to Easter Sunday without passing through Good Friday and death.