Not Forgotten

Chris’s first book, Ordinary Miracles, inspired many called to be church 'on the margins'. His latest is more significant, because it will help you to be sustained in that calling. His stories of struggle, self-doubt and miraculous provision in the midst of lack will resonate with many working in similar situations. This book should be read by everyone finishing their fifth year in similar situations. In other words, just before you give up. It will keep you going with renewed hope.

In a church whose leaders can feel under pressure for immediate, measurable success, this courageous book reminds us that the mess that we human beings make of our lives is the place where God goes to work. Chris Lane draws on years of ministry in one of the toughest communities in the country to set up a thrilling and insightful dialogue between the narrative of the Scriptures and the challenges of urban church life. The wise and practical conclusions he draws will offer precious reassurance to urban church leaders as well as inspire all with a call to ministry.

Humorous, honest, heart-felt, hope-filled. Salford estate church planter and pioneer theologian, Chris Lane, invites us with courage and faith into dark deserts and wilderness wastelands. Stories packed with wit and grit: I have laughed and cried within pages. Again. And again. Holding up the lamp of the Word, fired by the Spirit, Chris unearths the underground treasures of Jesus’ ordinary miracles, heaven breaking into forgotten places. Once read, never forgotten.

In this book Chris Lane brings together two of his primary gifts. His love of teaching the whole biblical narrative – when many Christians only know their favourite passages – and his long experience of planting a church into an estate. His book provides both practical wisdom and biblical resources for anyone called to share in the patient mission of God in marginalised communities and, equally important, the lessons such churches have to teach the rest of us.

This is an absolute gem of a book. Chris Lane writes with honesty and humour about his experience of planting in an urban estate in the North West. His passion for Jesus and for people is infectious. Weaving personal anecdotes through a stunning overview of the whole narrative of Scripture, Chris reminds us of the core truths that God uses unlikely people and seeks our faithful obedience rather than our success. If you are looking for a ten-step guide to church-planting then this isn’t the book for you, but if you want a generous dose of the reality of urban ministry coupled with the miraculous 'just enough' provision of God, then dive on in. This book made me cry, laugh and want to serve Jesus more. I heartily recommend it to you.

He’s done it again.

Of course, you might want a How To Lead a Successful, Triumphant, Pain-free Church That No One Will Leave and Everyone Will Join book. The trouble with such a book is that it will have been written by someone who has never read the Bible or been involved in church. And while you might want to read that kind of book, you don’t need to, because it won’t do you any favours at all.

But if you have been part of church for longer than five minutes you will recognise the hope and agony, the joy and sorrow, the vision and heartache that goes with belonging and investing in the community of Jesus Christ. But you won’t simply recognise yourself in it, your eyes will also be opened to what can be all too easy to miss in the complexity of it – what God is doing through it all.

Weaving together stories of vulnerability and hope with the story of God from Scripture, Chris shows himself to be what those of us who know him and esteem him value most about him – a profoundly hopeful and truthful teacher of the faith.

This man is an utter gift to the church. Read this book now. Then immediately give it to someone else. This might possibly be the most important book for anyone involved in church planting to read.

The stories we tell shape the people we become. In Not Forgotten, Chris Lane, a masterful storyteller, gives us a kaleidoscope of hopeful and precious stories from the Bible and his own real-life experience of a difficult church situation. All together these stories are carefully honed to remind us all who we are in Christ - fiercely and passionately loved, whatever our faults and frailties. In telling these stories with honesty and humour, and applying them to our everyday situations, Chris testifies to the good news that God is alive and kicking in the world and that the story of our adventure with Him isn’t finished yet, however badly things might go and however tired or fed-up we might become.

So, whoever you are, whatever your story, you are welcome here, you are not forgotten, because the God Chris loves loves you too: come and be refreshed and revitalised – it’s like a spa for the soul! Read on, friends, and see how the Big Story of God emerges in every little story that Chris tells and notice afresh how God is at work in your story too, wanting to bring hope, transformation and healing by the Holy Spirit to help us write the next chapter of our stories with courage.

Chris and Esther have discovered the secret, that the kingdom of God is advancing at the beautiful blurry edges. The edges of our comfort zones, our capacity and our faith. The edges of our communities, our society, our expectations. Jesus is at work in the margins of life, not just on main stages. This book invites us all to see the God of all hope, in places, people and situations that are surely not forgotten, both in Scripture and in the story of our own lives. I am grateful for its message and the courage it stirs in me.