#GothenburgDay

30 Years ago today I bunked off of a meeting at Bible College and headed off to a friends house in Retford to watch my beloved Dons.

Exiled in England far from the North East none of my friends understood any of the Doric words I was shouting at the TV for the rest of the night. Barred from attending the Gothenburg night in person because of some crazy college rule. For which I am still searching for the grace to forgive after 3 decades:).

But the piece below describes better than I could ever do the emotions of the night of glory, joy & even unexpected sadness.

GOTHENBURG, 1983: the time and the place, like the memories they evoke, are etched on the consciousness of a city, written through its recent history as though they were the message on a stick of granite rock.

Aberdeen, a band of upstarts from the north-east of Scotland, had come, seen and conquered no lesser a name than the incomparable Real Madrid in the final of the European Cup-Winners' Cup. Had anyone been fool enough to sleep through the drama, they wouldn't dare to have dreamt it.

The surviving images, resistant to the rub of time, are an indelible tribute to what was a momentous triumph. John Hewitt's extra-time winner, Alex Ferguson's stumble and fall as the coaching staff burst from the dugout, and Willie Miller's pose with the cup, an emperor before his people. All have run through the years like the ink from a tear-stained postcard. 

They won't forget that night in Sweden, when the Gods smiled down on 13,000 Aberdonians, and grown men cried in the rain. Not this week the 30th anniversary of an achievement they will never repeat. While details are blurred by the years, the most memorable moments have new definition.

The world has changed since May 11, 1983, when 12 home-grown players and a shipyard worker's son from Govan had the audacity to mess with the cognoscenti. Aberdeen are a shadow of their former selves, the Cup-Winners' Cup is defunct and Ferguson has long since departed the Scottish scene, knighted for his services to football, a behemoth to rank alongside the legends of Busby, Shankly and Stein.

Leighton, Rougvie, McMaster, Cooper, McLeish, Miller, Strachan, Simpson, McGhee, Black, Weir and Hewitt.

Their contact may be limited now, but in those days they were friends, their relationship strengthened by a shared adventure. Their other victims in 1983 were Sion, Dinamo Tirane, Lech Poznan, Bayern Munich and Waterschei. The team left no-one in any doubt as to the extent of their abilities.

In a thrilling demonstration of guts and guile, they set about their opponents from the start, Eric Black striking the bar with a portentous volley in the opening exchanges before putting Aberdeen ahead in the 18th minute. Although Juanito equalised from the spot 10 minutes later, Alex McLeish's short passback having forced Jim Leighton into a foul, the advancement of Peter Weir into a more dangerous position subjected Real to an uneasy second half. Their survival into extra time was merely delaying the inevitable. Substitute John Hewitt's header, a bent-kneed collapse at the ball, was followed by the most helpless of celebrations, drenched as he was by rain, sweat and tears.

When Real were awarded a free-kick in injury time, reserve goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, sitting next to Ferguson in the dugout, sunk to his knees and said: "Dear God, please let them miss it." Which, of course, they did. After the unthinkable euphoria of the final whistle, the trophy presentation and the parade of honour, the players retired to the dressing-room.

While the team were living it up in one section of the changing area, there was another room for the staff, where Ferguson was joined by backroom colleagues and club directors, including chairman Dick Donald. "I will always remember what it was like. When Dick came down, it was almost eerie, everything was so quiet. He was crying. He hugged me, and he was not the type of person to be demonstrative like that. He was the old school. He would usually just come up to me and say, 'well done Mr Ferguson, your Boys were good'. But he loved that club. That night ... it was his greatest moment." 

There are those who insist that the quarter-final defeat of Bayern Munich was a greater achievement. After a scoreless first leg in Germany, Aberdeen found themselves 2-1 down with half an hour left. Ferguson controversially replaced Neil Simpson with Hewitt and Stuart Kennedy with John McMaster, a gamble that turned out to be a masterstroke.

The now fabled free-kick, a deliberate mix-up between Strachan and McMaster, led to McLeish's headed equaliser. Then, just as he would in the final, Hewitt grabbed a sensational winner. "It was, and still is, Pittodrie's greatest night," says Ferguson. "We had 10 minutes to go, as well as time added on, with a midfield who couldn't tackle, and a front three who couldn't defend. But we were hanging on because, in Willie Miller and Alex McLeish, we had the two best centre-halves in Britain. The ball was like a magnet to Miller that night.

"In terms of leadership and determination, he was Aberdeen's best player at the time. He was the Roy Keane, the Bryan Robson if you like. But the key to everything was the team. Strachan was fantastic during that period, and when Weir was on song, they were a great team. They had a good balance, a real strength about them."

The Bayern Munich match reminds Ferguson that, however low a period it was in the history of Real Madrid, Aberdeen's achievement was huge. "The Cup-Winners' Cup was a competition won by teams who could maybe have a golden spell for two or three games, but I am proud to think back and say that we beat Bayern Munich, who had Rummenigge, Breitner, Augenthaler, some famous names. Without question in my mind, I am satisfied that it was a trophy to be proud of winning."

The triumph was tinged by sadness in at least two respects. One was Stuart Kennedy's confinement to the bench in the final. The injury he had picked up against Waterschei, his last competitive appearance for the club, forced the popular full-back to retire from football at the age of 29.

The other, altogether more tragic, blow was the death of a young Aberdeen fan, Philip Goodbrand, who collapsed at the match and never recovered. "I had a few friends who were with him when he was passed down through the crowd," says Ferguson. "It was terrible. We knew the young lad because he used to come to training. It was a great sadness. When you see what is happening over the next week or two, can you imagine what his family must be thinking?"

Joy has a disturbing capacity to exacerbate pain. Birthdays, wedding days, Christmas, the occasions that are supposed to be our happiest, can be a torment for those who are trying to forget. Anniversaries, for some, just won't go away, returning time and again to demand that we celebrate what is no longer there. For others, they are a comfort.

Few of those old enough to have understood Aberdeen's glory in Gothenburg will not remember where they were and what they were doing that night. Events such as these are the furniture of life, the moments that make us who we are. They may all be in the past, but for as long as there are anniversaries, they will also be in the future.

Stand Free

In Christ - Prayer

Had the opportunity to close off our latest teaching series at Milton Keynes Christian Centre Church - In Christ. We have been going through the book of Colossians.

This message was on Col 4:2:

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."


In Christ - Prayer from MKCCpreaching on Vimeo.

Can't see the video click here

The Birth of Friendship: What you too?

The other day I came across the post below by Seth Godin on the "Loneliness Epidemic" at the same time as seeing the above photo with a quote from C S Lewis.

"The next time you feel lonely, disconnected or unappreciated, consider that unlike many other maladies, this one hits everyone. And unlike other challenges, this one is easily overcome by realising that you can cure the problem by connecting, appreciating and leading." 

"The minute we realise that the person sitting next to us needs us (and our tribe, our forward motion and the value we create), we're able to extinguish their aloneness as well as ours." 

"When you shine a light, both of you can see better."

It continues to amaze me that so many people born into this community called the family of God choose to remain in isolation.

As a local church pastor I have lost count of the people who have left one church and joined another with the reason attached to their lack of community.

The words vary but the underlying sentiment is the same:

• There is no love in that church.
• That church is full of cliques.
• The people are so unfriendly.
• The church is too big.
• The pastors don't care.

The list goes on. And yes, any or all of these can be true. However in 99% of cases I don't believe the answer is found in just changing local church family.

I firmly believe that a combination of selfishness and insecurity keeps us from unearthing beautiful community.

Selfishness, because building friendship is all about sacrifice or should I say investment. Investing your time in someone else's life. An invite for a meal in your home, a coffee at lunch, writing a card of thanks, a phone call out of the blue, remembering a special occasion, a gift for no reason.

Insecurity, because we are all so often scared or rejection. The sooner we all realise that the vast majority of us, if not all, are afflicted with this disease of unworthiness the sooner we can all help each other recover. That person that walks past with eyes fixed to the floor is not being ignorant, the chances are that they too are feeling alone and too scared to connect because they live in fear of their insecurities being confirmed.

Community is assured through our relationship with Jesus lets start to bring his prayer to fruition. Let us blow through selfishness and insecurity and start to love. We might be a little surprised at what will happen.

Catalyst: Leadership Book & London Conference 2014

I found out two new things that brought a smile to my face.

Number 1

Catalyst Europe is happening in London in November 2014.

I have had the awesome privilege to attend Catalyst Conference in Atlanta twice. I really had no idea what to expect and on attending the pre-conference for the first time already had a notebook full of hastily written notes of wisdom from crazy talented leaders. I was looking forward to more of the same over the next few days.

But nothing prepared me for the crazy roller coaster of emotions that was going to be Catalyst. The laughter started outside the arena at 6 am the next day as we waited to join 12,000 leaders in the arena.

Laughter changed to intent concentration as speaker after speaker dropped out practical pearls of leadership wisdom and on into tears as we heard incredible stories of sacrifice for God's Kingdom that were met with God's compassion.

So although I am heading their again in October with a bunch of leaders from our church. November 2014 will be unmissable for Catalytic leaders here is the UK. Make sure you subscribe for more information as it is released. Here....

Number 2

The book Catalyst Leader has been released.

Brad Lomenick leader of Catalyst has pulled together great wisdom from many of the leaders who have graced the Catalyst stage.

"Are you a high-octane, energising leader with big ideas and the skills to back them up? Do you help shape the hearts and minds of those you lead? In short, are you a Catalyst leader?"
"The reality is that most of us want to be good leaders, but we’re not sure how to build those elements in a way that will deliver the most impact in our leadership."
 "The Catalyst Leader lays out the key elements and defines what it means to be a Catalyst and reveals the path for developing these elements in your own leadership skill set."

Get a free chapter here.