Wounded Giant by Eileen Padmore

 I've just finished the latest book by Canon Andrew White (alias Vicar of Baghdad), Glory Zone in the War Zone. Awesome! It reads like a sequel to the book of Acts.

Some of you will know the backstory: how Andrew worked in surgery at St Thomas's Hospital before undertaking ordination as an anglican priest. Then came the devastating diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Before long he was considered unfit for parish duties in the UK.

But Andrew had been impacted by the words of the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggin; that 'take care' was bad advice in God's economy and 'take risks' more appropriate.

From early childhood various people had spoken prophetic words over him and his own inner sense of calling was profound. This led to a passion for the Middle East, Israel and Judaism.

The book opens with an account of the Bethlehem siege in 2002 when Andrew received urgent calls from such diverse people as Rabbi Michael Melchior, Yasser Arafat and the Archbishop of Canterbury to mediate negotiations on the spot. As he responded (despite the MS) he was provided with his first experience of 'glory in the war zone'.

This continued when he was led to reopen St George's church in Baghdad, disused for years and where 'the only signs of life were a few pigeons'. Only in God's power could it have been transformed to accommodate a vibrant community of some 6,500 worshippers, where the 'supernatural reality of heaven kept crashing through'. Andrew explains this was experiential rather than experimental.

'We had no resources, no handbooks on angels, no schools of the supernatural, no healing guide, no weekend retreats, no school of the prophets, yet we had the greatest training school that we could ever have prayed for – it was simply called "experiencing Jesus".

When the superficial facades beneath which we hide and the walls and barriers that we use to control the Holy Spirit are removed, when all the boxes that we place God in are discarded and all the props, luxuries, civil benefits and worldly distractions are withdrawn, there is a space, a vacuum, a place that is big and empty enough to contain a larger and superior reality. We had a choice: we could fix our eyes on the blood stained cityscape and attune our ears to the horrific sounds of missiles, or we could rise above it all and cultivate within our earthly chaos a space that was filled with Him.'

Andrew's career has not been without controversy. I have heard him speak in the flesh and am convinced of his stature before God as a giant of faithfulness and integrity. Last I heard, he had been hospitalised in isolation with an acute relapse of his MS. Please pray for him.

I thoroughly recommend this book. We could all do with some inspiration right now.

   

    Eileen Padmore retired some time ago from health care and academia with a vow to indulge in writing more creatively and less academically. Her background in Africa, Eire, Northern Ireland (in the troubles) as well as inner city Birmingham and Leeds provides plenty of copy. She has had articles published by Woman Alive, Christian Writer and contributed to the popular ACW Lent book. 

    Eileen operates a dynamic prayer shawl ministry under the name of Tabitha. You can read all about it here.