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Lion Hudson - Kate Wharton

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75 pages

English

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Our world, and indeed our church, seem to be built around a -couples culture-. From popular music to supermarket offers to -family- events, being single can mean being the odd one out. Kate Wharton considers the challenges facing singles, addressing the issues of being complete without an -other half-, staying pure, being single again after divorce or bereavement, and dealing with pressures from both church and society. Kate reminds us that Jesus comes to bring -life to the full-, whatever our marital status. -When we are sold out for God,- she says, -then life will be the very best that it can be ' whether married or single, with children or without ' because we will be on our way to becoming who we were created to be.- Kate shows us how we can be single and whole.

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Christianity

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Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	06 juin 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780857214317
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Single-Minded
Being single, whole and living life to the full
Kate Wharton
Text copyright © 2013 Kate Wharton
This edition copyright © 2013 Lion Hudson

The right of Kate Wharton to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Monarch Books an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England Email: monarch@lionhudson.com www.lionhudson.com/monarch

ISBN 978 0 85721 430 0
e-ISBN 978 0 85721 431 7

First edition 2013

Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations taken from the the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. “NIV” is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790. Scripture quotations marked The Message taken from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed and bound in the UK, May 2013, LH26

Cover image: Rodriguez/Corbis
This is a delightful book. Perceptive, open, and startlingly honest, Kate shares with us her thoughts on identity, relationships, and her experiences of singleness. Her insights are peppered with biblical reflection. Her narratives are illustrated with interviews and poetry. And through it all, she tells her own story with candour and vulnerability, letting us see the real person who is the ordained priest. The result is not only immensely readable, it is also profoundly challenging. It nudges us all to think about how we might live more effective, whole lives with God, in a broken, sex-obsessed world.
Elaine Storkey – President of Tearfund, Theologian and Social Scientist

With great honesty, clarity and insight Kate looks at this vital issue for the Church in a powerful way. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to the widest Christian audience possible, single or not. It will really help!
Gavin Calver – National Director, Youth for Christ

Kate Wharton is the real deal. A gutsy single lady living out the gospel in one of Britain’s toughest communities. And in the process, she has learnt vital life lessons. This isn’t just for singles, but for all of us.
Andy Hawthorne OBE – CEO, The Message Trust

You will not be able to deny the honesty, humour, and humanity of this book… These pages offer all those who follow the Single Person (Jesus) the chance to put ourselves in the shoes of the single people around us and walk the extra mile with them, knowing that along the way we have as much to receive as to give.
The Right Reverend James Jones – Bishop of Liverpool

Kate has written a book which is beautifully honest and real about issues faced by single people. Reading this book felt like sitting by the fire and having an honest chat about personal issues with a friend. Kate’s wit, wry smile and raised eyebrow can be felt between the lines, along with her sensitivity to deeply personal issues. This is a book you will be glad to read, whether you are single, separated, divorced or married – it’s a book you SHOULD read if you are married, to understand and love your single friends better.
Ian & Nadine Parkinson – Leaders of New Wine North & East

Kate is a remarkable person, and has written an honest, funny and positive book, which has a great deal of wisdom for both single and married people.
Graham Tomlin – Dean, St Mellitus College, London
To my gorgeous godchildren Robbie, Anna, and Katy – thank you for your unconditional love, your generous cuddles, and all the tickle fights. Thank you for teaching me what childlike faith looks like. May you grow up to be all that God made you and meant you to be. “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Praise for Single-Minded
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction

1 Wholly single
2 Living a God-obsessed life in a marriage-obsessed church
3 Purely single
4 Living a God-obsessed life in a sex-obsessed world
5 Single again
6 Living together
7 Happily ever after…

Recommended reading
Notes
Acknowledgments
To my BFF, Kate! Thank you for knowing all about me and loving me anyway, for always being there for me, and for being the one person in the world whom I can tell absolutely anything. Thank you for encouraging me to write this book, for believing that I could, and for cheering me along the way.
Thank you to my fabulous married friends who’ve invited to become part of their family and allowed me to treat their home as my second home – Mike and Kate Hindley, Barry and Peppie Hill, Jeremy and Jill Duff, Richard and Sarah Dimery, Gary and Clare Weston, Andy and Hannah Frith, and Jim and Sam Nicholson.
Thank you to my lovely single friends who understand the highs and lows of this life and who, like me, are seeking to live a single-minded life for God. Thank you for laughing and crying and praying and partying and holidaying with me – Dawn Harrison, Sarah Alexander, Naomi Hill, Bridget Rennie, and Joanna Pearson.
Thank you to the wonderful prayer triplets, huddles, fellowship groups, cell groups, core groups, and mentoring groups that I’ve been part of, who have shared life with me, and encouraged, challenged, and loved me along the way.
Thank you to the wonderful people of Arrow 12 – the team and participants and everyone involved in the process – for your friendship and for being such an important part of my journey.
Thank you to the church fellowships who have loved and accepted me just as I am, and have become family to me – Emmanuel Southport, St George’s Leeds, Community Church, St Matthew’s Oxford, and especially St Luke’s West Derby and St George’s Everton.
Thank you to my New Wine family, who have provided me with my spiritual home and helped me to become more of the “me” I’m meant to be. Thanks especially to Ian and Nad Parkinson for your love, friendship, advice, wisdom and support, and for your encouragement in my ministry.
Thank you to the people at all three New Wine summer conferences who have attended seminars of some of this material and helped me to shape and develop it as we’ve talked and shared and prayed together.
Thank you to Graham and Janet Tomlin for your love and friendship; and to Graham for not laughing when I said I was thinking of writing a book, and for first introducing me to Monarch.
Thank you to everyone who completed the questionnaires with such openness and honesty and allowed me to tell part of your story.
Thank you to those who have read and commented on parts of the book – Jeremy Duff, Kate Hindley, Nad Parkinson, Barry Hill, Jill Duff, Peppie Hill, and Joanna Pearson.
Thank you to John and Anne Coles for writing the foreword.
Thank you to my mum and dad for always loving me.
Thank you to Tony Collins and Jenny Ward at Monarch for your patience and support, and for making it all happen!
And finally, and ultimately, to my all-knowing and all-loving Father in heaven – thank you for loving me as I am, but loving me too much to let me stay that way.

Kate Wharton
November 2012
Foreword
We have known and admired Kate since she became one of the youngest vicars in one of the most deprived parishes in England. It would have been a daunting task for most, surrounded by dysfunction, insecurity, and poverty, and yet she set about the task with prayerful enthusiasm and a positive vision for the people that she serves, and is bringing life and hope to an area that had lost it.
For several years she led a large team in Our Place at the New Wine summer festival in Newark, catering for an increasing number of children and adults with additional needs. Again, her love for the people and her determination to see them blessed, as well as her inspirational leadership of the team, has brought a ministry into being that is already being replicated in churches in the northern region of New Wine.
Kate herself is the best advertisement for her book. She does not let the grass grow under her feet! She has not sunk into resignation faced with the realities of her calling, but embraced it in a way that defies the odds. She has had her own personal challenges to deal with but has drawn on her living faith in Jesus, as well as cultivating her network of friends and spiritual family for support and affirmation in times of crisis. She knows what she is talking about, and she imbues this, her first book, with that insight borne out of experience and practice.
She lives life to the full; she brings huge compassion for people, wisdom beyond her years, and a sense of fun and adventure. With a growing number of singles in our churches, we all, married or not, need to understand one another better so that we can minister God’s grace to each other and avoid inadvertently stepping on each other’s feet. So we want to commend this book to both single and married: all will be better equipped by its insights. It will become a classic; buy your copy before it’s sold out!

John and Anne Coles, New Wine
Introduction
A few years ago I was approached by Ian Parkinson, Regional Director of New Wine North and East, and a good friend of mine. He asked me whether I would consider doing a seminar on singleness at the New Wine summer conference in Newark that year.
I said no. I had a number of different reasons, quite apart from feeling that I was far too busy to take on another project. My