London Calling

Winter has come to London, meaning it gets dark (really dark) about 4 PM. But, that's about all there's not to love about this place. I mean, even the taxis are totally cool! And though most people wouldn't think so right away, London is a university town. Yep, there are something like 800,000-1,000,000 students in (or within easy reach of) the city, and that's why we are here.

To be honest, I fell in love with this place the first time I ever drove on the wrong side of it's busy roads almost twenty years ago. And I fell hard. I'm not sure what it is, but old and new converge here with an amazing blend of ancient cool and forward sensibility, and if you want to know what's happening in much of US culture tomorrow, hang out in London today. (Exhibit one: The Office started here long before its US debut). That's not to say we don't have a lot going on ourselves, and plenty to export to the world, but the wind definitely seems to blow west from London and I always feel one step ahead of the game when I'm here. And in the same way, the Church is leaning forward all across this nation with renewed energy and passion for His name.

That's not to say there aren't really old (when you say old here you're talking really old) and empty churches everywhere, vacant shells that once flourished but now stand beautifully irreverent as generations pass by. But just when it seemed the post-Christian era would entrench itself and brand the nation as a people with God, something stirred within the walls and an engaging, worshiping, advancing, forward-thinking movement burst on the scene. And while in many ways the nation is still dim, light is dawning in villages and towns throughout this land...and right here in the heart of London.

And in recent years, this new tide has brought with it a huge surge of vision for what could be among the university students of London and the UK as a whole. And stuff is happening everywhere. A small microcosm of this emerging movement could be seen Thursday as about thirty university ministry leaders and church influencers met at Hammersmith Apollo to think about what it might look like in June 2008 as that place is filled with uni students lifting up the name of Jesus over the city of London and the campuses of England and beyond (we had people there from Scotland, Wales and other parts of Europe). That's what Passion London is all about, and I believe Thursday paved the way for something beautiful to come.

Tomorrow, I speak at one of the city's growing churches, Hillsong London, which meets in a theater in the famed West End. Most days a sellout musical is on, but on the shows dark day a bustling church of three jammed services springs to life. Very cool.

As our Passion London team heads to the States, Shelley and I are off to Paris Monday for a quick venue visit for Passion Paris...and then home. Pray we will find the right spot in Paris, and begin to believe with us now that a crazy worshiping university student will occupy every one of these Hammersmith Apollo seats come June. God is building something awesome in this city and we are humbled to play a tiny part in it all. LG