Searching For Grace Interview

I recently participated in an interview with Mick Mooney who is the author of the hilarious Searching for Grace cartoons.

About Searching for Grace

Searching for grace is a comic strip that revolves around the conversations of a Christian named John and his Pastor.

John attends a small 200 member Pentecostal church. He loves the good news of God’s grace. He also loves and respects his Pastor, but unfortunately never hears the gospel from him.  He continually tries, with little success, to convince his pastor to bring the finished work of Jesus back to the centre of his messages. His greatest challenge is trying to help his Pastor see the  importance of not mixing the Old Covenant mentality of Law with the New Covenant reality of Grace.

John’s Pastor is Pastor Moses, who is consumed with his own religious ideas and driven by the possibility of being a mega-church Pastor one day! He loves reading ‘church growth’ and ‘Christian leadership’ books, and is convinced if he can just follow these keys, laws and principles he can fulfil his dream of building a big church one day.

John is searching for grace. Pastor Moses is searching for people to help him build his church service. It’s a recipe for disaster – but millions of fellow Christians around the world are cheering John on!

Maybe, just maybe John will succeed one day in helping his Pastor see the light.

Now for the Interview...

Every week, I interview a fellow believer of the gospel of God's grace to find out what they think of the comic, the gospel, the church and their own 'searching for grace' life experience.

Today's interview is with Paul Spencer, A gifted writer and communicator from England.

1. What was your first impression of the ‘Searching for grace’ comic?
I was struck by how uncannily similar the cartoon’s stories were to my actual experiences in my own search for grace. I felt the use of a comic to convey these truths was creative, to-the-point and refreshing.

2. God’s grace is incredible. When did you really start to grasp the reality of God’s grace and the power of his finished work?
It had to be the baptism in the Holy Spirit in October 1998 – I could actually feel God’s presence and experience His love for me in a tangible way. After that point it was a matter of getting to know God more. It took me nearly ten years of Word of Faith principles and formulas, selfish ambition, insecurity, frustration and confusion - to realise that all I really wanted, needed and could have – was the divine nature abiding in me.

3. How would you define ‘the gospel’?
Well, I used to think it was Jesus’ rules. But now I see the Gospel as being Jesus rules – in our hearts and minds, that is. The message of grace has moved me away from 'dos' and 'don’ts' into the means by which God can live His life through me.

4. What do you see happening within Christianity over the next 20 years?
I’ve been part of the charismatic movement since 1997. I’ve seen and experienced a great deal of Christian fads and extremes during those times. Thankfully, I’ve also witnessed a moving away from these things. I envisage a transition from a complex system of principles, formulas and obligations – towards a more simple Christian life that focuses on resting in the finished work of the cross. This resting must include an unwavering acceptance of life, self and other people.

5. How are you currently ministering the gospel of God’s grace?
I hardly ever witness to people I meet personally. I’ve always felt guilty for that in the past. But ever since about 2005 I’ve had a passion for Christian writing. This was a solitary pursuit until the start of this year when I’ve been able to publish some of my notes in my blog. Also, I’ve been encouraging people in their transition to grace by actively participating on grace discussion boards and on Facebook, whilst learning from others and growing in the process.

6. How would you define ‘church’?
My definition of what constitutes the church has radically changed in the past couple of years or so. Most of my life, I thought the church was just a building. Then it became the people who met in a building. But now, I see the church as being just the people. With the onset of blogs, discussion boards and social networking sites such as Facebook – people can “do church” wherever they are. The knowledge of this brings people a great deal of freedom.

7. Why do you think many preachers are still mixing the Old Covenant of law with the New Covenant of grace?
It is difficult to give a definitive answer to that dilemma. But I would say it must have something to do with a combination of selfishness, ignorance, lack of knowledge, uncertainty, tradition and the desire to control.

8. What is your favourite ‘Searching for grace’ comic so far and why?
It has to be Religious Obligations. It reminds me of my previous church, in particular where they would always say that they weren’t religious – but you had to do this and you had to do that…This is something that is still going on in most churches around the world today, of course.

9. The comic’s main character is John. If you could give him one piece of advice, what would it be?
Take responsibility for your own spiritual development: don’t just allow yourself to be spoon-fed from the pulpit.

10. Finally, if you could give Pastor Moses one piece of advice, what would it be?
Be open-minded: listen to what other people have to say and don’t insist that you are right all the time – even if you are a pastor!

Thanks for the interview Paul!

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If you would like to find out more about Paul Spencer, you can check out his website: www.thedivinenature.blogspot.com

Paul is also on facebook!
Become Paul's friend on facebook

You can also join Paul's facebook group grace explosion
Blue skies,
Mick
www.searchingforgrace.com