Podcasts about yes prime minister

 Hoy Calvo Expósito y un servidor hablamos de la narrativa en el mundo de los juegos de mesa, y en los mismos juegos.53 minutos despues Roi nos hablará de los juegos de Corné van Moorsel, luego los juegos de la semana A Study in Emerald y Amun-Re. Para terminar la serie de TV de los años 80 Yes Minister! (y Yes Prime Minister!) DESCARGAR

Produced by an ex-Beatle, starring an ex-Python, written and directed by an ex-Yes Minister writer. What's not to like about Nuns on the Run? Guy and Rob look to answer that question in episode 8 of Britcom Goes to the Movies. As well as Nuns on the Run, we delve deeply into Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister and shallowly into the Swiss cheesy electro band Yello. There's plenty about Handmade films and what they did for the British movie industry. Now we get close to the end of the series, the battle for quiz scores is hotting up, with very little to separate the two hosts. This one gets a bit shouty! Yes Minister - Who reads the papers?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGscoaUWW2M Yes Minister - The Best of Sir Humphrey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WupyKCfB_E Nuns on the Run - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkv_-zMElY Nuns on the Run - Car Chase https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feQ3Xnn8WlY Yello - The Race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4QbJRAWvRU Beyonce - He Still Loves Me (Directed by Jonathan Lynn)

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on April 2nd 2023 I'm delighted to say that this week our returning guest is the writer MICHAEL SEELY who got in touch to ask if he could return to the show and have a little chat about his favourite comedy series which is (or are) YES, MINISTER and its continuation as YES, PRIME MINISTER, a pair of linked series written by Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn which were first broadcast on the BBC between 1980 and 1988, and which starred PAUL EDDINGTON, NIGEL HAWTHORNE and DEREK FOWLDS as the lead trio of JIM HACKER MP, SIR HUMPHREY APPLEBY, and BERNARD WOOLLEY as they inhabited and manipulated evens in the corridors of power, initially in THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS and later on in the very heart of the British government in a fictionalised, but very convincing, NUMBER TEN DOWNING STREET. PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show.

Jemma and Marina wonder what it was about ancient multi millionaire Rupert Murdoch that persuaded his fifth bride to tie the knot. And then there's the Johnson enquiry to discuss. Johnson's integrity was being scrutinised and questioned on the same day he snuck into Parliament to vote against Brexit getting done.  Meanwhile, for some unknown reason, Sunak thought this would be a good day to publish his tax return and Steve Baker has been dropped from the ERG WhatsApp group.  Pudding is a clip from Yes Prime Minister which proves that in the world of politics, some things never change..... Find us on Twitter @jemmaforte @MarinaPurkiss @TheTrawlPodcast and Jemma is on insta @jemmaforte Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Fuller and Cory Smith talk about technology and culture trends. In this episode, Cory outlines his 5 Principles of Transformative Leadership with a bonus 6th insight. The AI wars are about to begin and we revisit some comedy classics.Podcast Links & Show notes01:32 – The 5 Principles of Transformative Leadership by Cory Smith02:42 – Have an opportunity focussed mindset.06:45 – Understand that what one man can do, another can do10:10 – Adopt the mindset, not the behaviour14:01 – Replace judgment with curiosity19:13 – Be intentional24:04 – Bonus: Forget the mistake, remember the lesson29:45 – Linkedin has a connections limit of 35K. Some people are ‘complaining' (read, boasting) that they can't add more people, but can you really maintain meaningful connections with 35K+ people in a business networking sense?30:47 – DAN stands for ‘Do Anything Now‘, a command that forces ChatGPT to do things it's rules should forbid. Capabilities include writing stories about violent fights!31:31 – What does the T stand for in ChatGPT?32:34 –  Nicholas Thompson  CEO at The Atlantic talks about why Google's AI will be good. 36:06 – Will the ChatGPT deal with Microsoft prevent Chrome users from using it? If you want to use ChatGPT wit Bing, you need to make it your default search engine and download Bing for mobile.37:37 – In S02E02, we talked about Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy38:49 – What do Radiohead, Alan Rickman and ChatGPT have in common? Well ChatGPT didn't know. But once prompted, it saw the connection.42:37 – Old comedies that should be rewatched, Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister.43:04 – A Fly on the Wall Podcast, Dana Carvey & David Spade49:23 – Subscribe to the Yacht Business podcast for upcoming episodes from the Dubai Boat ShowSupport the showSign Up to our Newsletter

Mary finds an ally in the most powerful person in the country - Margaret Thatcher. But how long will their allegiance last?Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/britishscandalPlease support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yes Minister, which later became Yes Prime Minister, was a BBC sitcom that ran from the late 1970s to the late 80s. On one level it was an extremely well-scripted and funny comedy, but it also offered a very profound and only slightly exaggerated look at the very interesting but also rather dark and slightly insane way in which we and our lives are governed by those at the top of the power game. Indeed, it seems to get more and more relevant as time goes on, and this podcast explores the various levels of the show and the way in which its message seems to have been somewhat lost in the comedy aspect of it. This is mostly a solo effort from Antony but there is a coda included which includes 'spiritual brother' of this podcast Julian Charles of 'The Mind Renewed'   I hope you enjoy the show! If so, please subscribe, like, share etc... Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/lifeandlife75 Twitter- https://twitter.com/lifeonly75 To leave feedback, please write to lifeandlifeonly@gmail.com Support Antony's work at www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno Antony's website (blog, music, podcasts, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com   episode links Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister basic details https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister Some classic clips of the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynGg8r0zfzI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilSBK6D1oYY Documentary about the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRocvuyAMeI 'The Secret World of Whitehall' (The Real Sir Humphrey) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utDEkUWyQ8Y The Thick of It (21st Century 'Yes Minister' with far more swearing!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpT0U-KDcXM Julian Charles's website and our 'truth comedy' episode https://themindrenewed.com/ https://themindrenewed.com/episodes/2014-15/608-ep016    

This week we look at the world through the eyes of Queen Elizabeth's 70th celebration.   Stories, Christianity, To Kiss the Water, and Paddington bear.  Queen.   Also Prince William on climate change;  EU directive on Executive jets;  defender of the faith; Yes Prime Minister;  a new blasphemy law in Britain; The Republicans response; The Sex Pistols; the BBC changes rape victim's testimony; Solzhenitsyn;  What is a Woman by Matt Walsh; Dire Straits - Alchemy; Peter Hitchen's radical idea; Handal's Messiah;

From Roman emperors to modern PMs, Life & Faith tackles the fraught relationship between church and state. --- “At the end of the day I am quite happy that the throne-and-altar accommodation was shattered, and that the church does not wield that kind of power.” Dust-ups between religion and government are rarely out of the news for long. Sometimes church and state seem too cosy, sometimes they're fiercely at odds. What has this relationship looked like, and how should it look? In this episode of Life & Faith, Simon Smart and Natasha Moore trek back to the dramatic beginnings of the church-and-state relationship in the West with Emperor Constantine, make a brief stop among the medieval heights of Christendom, and consider some wisdom for all of us living in a post-Christendom world. All brought to you from some of our favourite and most eminent voices on the topic: Miroslav Volf (Yale), Teresa Morgan (Oxford), Nick Spencer (Theos), David Bentley Hart, and more. Along with cameo appearances from the perennial classic Yes Prime Minister. “So the ideal candidate from the Church of England's point of view would be a cross between and socialite and a socialist?” --- Explore: Sir Humphrey explains about The Church of England | Yes Prime Minister Miroslav Volf, On private Christianity [NEEDS LINK] Teresa Morgan, On the Emperor's new religion Teresa Morgan, On the conversion of the Empire Teresa Morgan, On the double-edged sword, power Sarah Coakley, On lament Nick Spencer, On popes and power David Bentley Hart, On minority Christianity Joel Edwards, On speaking up Craig Calhoun, On doubt and certainty Browse For the Love of God: The Interviews

Despite what some people think, church is NOT a spectator sport. If you belong to a church, you're meant to be one of the players. And what I've observed over the years, is that there are too many – way too many people – who just want to sit on the sidelines, and pick faults with the players.   Eternal Results Today on the program we're continuing in our series called, “The problem with church is …” As God calls us into His family, as we become one of His children, what we discover is, we have brothers and sisters in Christ, people who are our family, our brothers and sisters. Now being part of a family can be difficult. Being part of a family can, frankly, be a pain in the neck, some days, but it's part of God's plan. Part of God's plan is that we should be together as His family. That plan we call ‘church'. For some people, that sends a shiver down their spine. But it is a part of God's plan, and if it is God's plan, then I truly believe that we are meant to flourish when we are planted in the House of the Lord. One of the reasons that we don't flourish sometimes, is that we get tied up in ‘doing' a whole bunch of things that never actually impact people. I'm a great fan of the British comedy series – I don't know if you have ever watched it – called, “Yes Minister” and ”Yes Prime Minister”. One of the funniest series that has ever been on television since television was invented, and a senior public servant, by the name of Sir Humphrey Appleby, says to a junior public servant, called Bernard, he says, “Remember, Bernard, politicians love activity, it's their substitute for achievement.” That's a fantastic line, isn't it? Activity is their substitute for achievement – can I maybe twist that line around a little bit and say, “Remember, Bernard, Christians love activity, it's their substitute for achievement.” What can happen in God's family, in God's church, is that we all race around doing different things, and being busy, and being involved in this and that and the other, and we think, “wow, we've done a good job”. But the only real measure, the only true measure of the effectiveness of a church is eternal results. Have you ever been on a sporting team that always loses? I have! When I was in the Army, a Cadet in the Royal Military College, Duntroon, our Officer Training Academy, I was a part of the bottom rung of football, and we didn‘t win one game the whole season. It's cold, it's wet, it's sleeting, it hurts, to be tackled, it's muddy, it's dirty, you don't win a single game. Let me tell you, it is not a lot of fun being part of a losing team. Yet a lot of Christians are exactly that in their churches. Are we actually involved in the business of winning, maturing and discipling souls for Jesus Christ? Are the nets of our church straining under the weight of the catch, or are we just a dysfunctional family, going nowhere? Has activity become our substitute for achievement? Has activity become my substitute for achievement? Because Jesus said to His disciples, “I am going to make you fishers of men.” If you've got a Bible, grab it, open it up at John, Chapter 21. The other place we're going today is Luke Chapter 4 and 5 but we're going to begin in John, Chapter 21. The picture here is, Jesus has been crucified, He has risen again. This is the third time that Jesus appears to His disciples. They are out fishing. They have gone from Jerusalem, about 120 kilometres north, back to Galilee, they are on the Sea of Tiberius, and they're out fishing. They have been out fishing all night, and no catch, and a man calls out from the shore and says, ”Throw out the nets on the other side,” and all of a sudden, they recognise that. They recognise that because it reminds them of something. Let's have a quick read of this passage in John Chapter 21:1–8. After these things, Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples on the Sea of Tiberius, and He showed Himself in this way. Gathered together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathaniel of Canaan in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two others of His disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I'm going fishing,” they said, “Well, we'll come with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught absolutely nothing. Just after day break, Jesus stood on the beach but the disciples didn't know it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Guys, why haven't you got any fish? And they answered Him, “We didn't catch any.” and He said to them,” Listen cast the net on the other side of the boat and you will find some.” So they did, and now they weren't able to haul it in because there were so many fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved, said to Peter, “That's the Lord,” and when Simon Peter heard that, he put on some clothes, because he was naked, and he jumped into the sea but the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net, full of fish, because they were not far from the land, only about one hundred yards. (John 21:1–8)  So the crucifixion which was a horrible time, Jesus has risen again, He appears to His disciples, who have fled out of Jerusalem, north back to Galilee. They are out doing, what? They are doing what they always did before they met Jesus, they were fishermen. They have gone back to work, the party is over, Jesus was crucified. People were after them because they were following Jesus. That's it, they are fishing and all of a sudden Jesus comes and they recognise Him because they've had this experience once before. Flick back to Luke's Gospel, Chapter 5:1–10 Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God. He saw two boats there at the shore of the Lake and the fishermen had gone out in them and they were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon. So this is three and a half years before the instance in John Chapter 21, we talked about. This is the first time Simon Peter meets Jesus. So they go out in Simon Peter's boat, and Jesus sits down in the boat and from the water, teaches the crowds and when that's done, He says to Simon, “Listen, let's push out into the deep water and let down the nets,” and Simon answers, “Master, we've worked all night long but we haven't caught a thing, well, if you say so, I'll let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were about to break, so they signalled to their partners in the other boats to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees and said, “Go away from me Lord, because I am a sinful man.” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid, from now on you'll be catching people.” When they'd brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.” I love this story because it begins with Jesus having to go out in the boat, there was so many people, He can't talk to them on the land. He goes out on the boat and it says, the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God. Let me ask you, in your family, in your church, where you go, is the crowd pressing the doors down to hear the Word of God? Tell, you what, there are a lot of churches where that's not happening. There are a lot of churches where people are walking in with bored faces, they're singing songs with bored faces and they are walking out of there with bored faces. I love this, the crowds had seen the wonderful things Jesus had done, and they were pressing in on Him to hear the Word of God, because He talked with authority, He healed people, His reputation had spread, He had rock–star status. Wow, what if people came to our churches and were healed like that? What if people came to our fellowship and wanted to hear more? What if they were astounded? What if they said, “WOW, this stuff really rings true? Powerful authoritative proclamation of the truth, healing and deliverance. That's the stuff that makes God's love real in people's lives; it's the stuff that makes people hungry for God's Word. Is it happening in your fellowship? Are you flourishing in the House of the Lord? Or is this some kind of boring thing that happens and you go every Sunday, you don't know exactly why you do, but you do out of habit? Simon Peter and the team had been fishing all night, they came back, they were tired, they were unhappy, they were labouring, it's hard work. There was no machinery, they might have had some ropes and pullies, but that's about it. They worked all night and they caught nothing. Tired, unhappy, then a carpenter comes along! A carpenter, not a fisherman, a carpenter, and says, “Let's push out, let's take our nets out.” Now these nets aren't like the nets that you and I might understand, they're more like thick cheesecloth. They were for night fishing, they weren't for day fishing. Now if you or I had been like Simon Peter, tired, exhausted, dejected, would we have pushed out? I think when this carpenter gets on our boat, there are three possibilities. Three reactions we can have. The first one is, “You stupid carpenter, what do you know, you're not a fisherman, and we say, “No we're not going out, we're just going to go out again tomorrow night the way we always do and catch fish.” The second response would be so dejected, to say, “No, look, I'm tired, I'm giving up, I'm not doing this anymore. Every night we go out there, we don't catch any fish. I'm sick of fishing; I'm going to hire someone else to do this.” The third option is to do exactly what Jesus asks.   Saying Yes to Jesus If you've spent any time listening to these programs over the years, you'll know that I believe in calling a spade a spade, when it comes to some of the failings of the wider church in society today. But here's the thing – we can examine it. we can criticise it, we can genuinely try to come up with a better approach, or to address some of the endemic weaknesses. But at some point – at some point – are we going to do something about it? Are we going to sit on the sideline and criticise it, or are we going to get into the game, and become part of the solution to the problems we see? It's one thing to be honest and direct about problems in our churches. That's good. That's healthy. But it's another thing entirely to spend a lifetime whinging and complaining about this thing called church as though it's our role somehow to be judge, jury and executioner when it comes to the church. Jesus said “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it”. It's His idea – and I for one, don't think it's such a good idea to rail against His plan and His idea and His purposes – do you? As we saw before the break, there are so many well–meaning people in the boat, trying to catch fish, labouring hard, toiling until they're exhausted, but for all intents and purposes having no real impact in the lives of people. That's the problem with many a church. Truly! Well, we are on the boat, and it seems to me that we have three options when this Carpenter from Nazareth comes and says, “Throw your nets in on the other side.” We can call him a crazy carpenter – what would He know, He's a carpenter, not a fisherman, we know how to do church here in our suburb or town! That's the first option. Or – we can give up in despair and hire experts to do the work for us. After all, this is hard work this being a fisher of men. No, let's hire a pastor and an associate pastor – and pay them. It's their job, not ours! And then – then there's the third option. The third option is the one I'd like to look at now. These disciples, if we flick back to John Chapter 21, had been to hell and back. They had seen Jesus crucified, they had seen Him die. They had lost all their hopes, their dreams, their own lives were threatened, they fled back up here to Galilee. They went back to work as fishermen, they're on the boat, they didn't catch any fish last night. Talk about a bunch of losers! These people were condemned, they were failures. They kind of knew that Jesus was resurrected, He was alive again but they still weren't sure. They still didn't get it and Jesus comes along and gives them a catch and they recognise Him. They race back to shore. What happens next? Have a look in John, Chapter 21 verse 9. “When they came back to shore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you've caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish. A hundred and fifty–three of them and although there were so many the net wasn't torn, and Jesus said to them, “come and have breakfast.” Now, none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you,” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had appeared to His disciples.” They are tired, they are hungry, they're dejected and there's nothing like getting off the boat and sitting down having a barbecue with Jesus, and letting Jesus feed you. Imagine how that felt for them. Imagine the sense of wonder and awe, and joy, at sitting down on the beach, eating with Jesus. Let's be candid and honest here. The nets of many churches simply are not bursting with the catch. Some of the things we've talked about here may apply to you, they may apply to your church and probably some of us are feeling kind of condemned and hopeless. We know we should be catching fish, we know we should be making real differences in peoples lives but I'm not flourishing, we are not flourishing, something is wrong. I feel so condemned and Jesus comes along and you are feeling condemned and says, “Hang on a minute, have a rest, come and have breakfast. Let Me feed you. Have some fish, have some bread. Sit down with Me and have a yarn.” There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Just when you are feeling down, just when you are feeling condemned, Jesus helps you. Jesus invites you to a barbecue. Jesus feeds you, then He picks the least faithful one, Peter, who denied Him three times, who said. “I don't know Jesus,” when Jesus needed him the most, and three times He now asks Peter to do something. When they'd finish breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” and Simon Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” and Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Second time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me,” and Simon said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” and Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” and Peter felt so hurt, because He said for the third time, “Do you love me?” and Simon Peter said, “Of course you know, you know everything, you know that I love you,” and Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” Three times Peter denied Jesus, three times Jesus gave him an opportunity, an act of friendship. He said, “Go and feed my sheep.” I don't know about you – but what I hear Jesus saying to me right now through this story, is this” “Church, do you love me? Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep, do my work. Not the works of your hand, not the programs that you've got planned, not the things that you think. Do my work, follow me, flourish with me, be prepared to lay down every last little bit and do it my way.” How will you react when the carpenter gets in the boat with you? Stupid carpenter, give up completely, hire experts, or is your heart saying, “Yes”, is there a spark of love and friendship in your heart that says, “Lord I will lay aside all that I hold sacred at your feet. I'll do it your way, so that your catch will be huge.” God has a plan. God's plan is that you and I will flourish in the House of the Lord. He never promises it would be perfect. Or that it would be easy. Just that it would work.   Which Church is for Me? One of the biggest questions for any Christian to answer for themselves is – which church should I belong to? These days there are so many choices. And on the surface, some appear incredibly contemporary and attractive. But choosing a church is more than evaluating the options and picking the best one. There's something else … The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalm 92:12–13) Beautiful Psalm is Psalm 92. Worth reading. But those two verses in particular really touch me. They speak of God taking His people – the righteous – and seeing them flourish. Flourish is a word of abundance, isn't it? You don't see a plant only just flourishing. A plant that's only just hanging in there isn't one that's said to be flourishing. No – it's the strong, healthy, green, growing plant – the one that's thriving, the one that's being all that it can be, bearing stunning, rich fruit in season – that's the one that's said to be flourishing. And that's the picture that God's giving us of what He wants for us when we're planted in His house. The House of the Lord. The thing we these days call … church. And whilst I think that all of the things we've talked about these past few weeks – things that we should be looking for in a church – whilst all of those are incredibly important … the danger is that if we focus on just those things … the danger is that we approach church like a bunch of consumers. All that matters is what's in it for me. What can I get out of this church, as compared to that one? Do you understand what I'm saying? You and I – we can't approach God's community with a selfish, what's in it for me attitude alone, because if we do, we'll never be satisfied. This church here is a bit dead. There isn't much of a sense of community. There aren't many loving relationships. Man – that guy who gets up and preaches each Sunday – he just bores your socks off. Can't possibly flourish in this place. But – what if God wants to bring you into that church or me into that church, because He's up to something new. What if He wants to bring us into that church to be part of the solution to the problems that He sees going on in that place? What if God has a plan in that place that no man or no woman yet knows about, to do a new work, to reach some different people, to heal some hurts, to confront some evil, to do whatever it is that He plans to do there … and He's calling us to walk into that battle with Him and for Him? Then what? Just after I became a Christian, I became part of a wonderful little church and I joined a home fellowship group. Now this group of people were studying the book of Hosea at the time I joined them – one of the minor Prophets in the Old Testament. And here's the thing about Hosea. God calls him to marry a prostitute who has children by other men. And then, when she's unfaithful to him, God calls him to take her back. I can't imagine the pain that God's call placed into Hosea's life. Can't begin to imagine. And you know something, I have to wonder … what was God thinking? I'm sure that went through Hosea's mind on more than one occasion. But this relationship, this marriage, was a symbol of Israel's unfaithfulness to God, and God used it in the Prophet's life to help him to speak with conviction to Israel about their unfaithfulness to God. God had a plan and a purpose for His glory and for His people that went way beyond Hosea's comfort and needs. He called this man Hosea to suffer real and terrible pain, the excruciating pain of an unfaithful wife – for God's glory. In other words – it's not always about you and me. It's not always about our comfort and our needs being met. Sometimes God will call us into a place that just doesn't make sense. Now – I've persevered in churches – some where perhaps I should have left earlier. There was one church that I was part of where attitudes towards sexual immorality amongst the church leadership were wrong. There were people in key ministry positions who were living with members of the opposite sex without being married. You might call me old fashioned. But that's one of the things – one of the very few things actually – that God says – don't do! And you know something, whilst that was going on in the ministry team, whilst that was being tolerated by the leadership – there's no way that God is going to bless that church. There's no way that it's going to honour and glorify God and go forward in a powerful way. Eventually – even though my heart was to stay in that church and make a difference, I left. And there have been times in my life where I've been in church wilderness, not knowing precisely where God wants me. I truly believe that God does want our needs met. That's one part of flourishing in the house of the Lord. But the flip side of that coin, the side that's about taking up our cross and following Jesus – that involves sacrifice. And the one thing I've discovered in my Christian walk is that in order for me to flourish, I need pruning. We can't flourish without sacrifice either. So – whilst all those things we've talked about are incredibly important in evaluating what's going on in a church, the number one reason for me to belong to one particular church rather than all the others I have to choose from, is this: I want to be where God wants me to be, no matter what the cost. The tree doesn't plant itself, it is planted. And the one who plants is God. And if He plants you over in that corner of His house and me over in another corner – let that be His sovereign choice, that we honour, because we love Him. It won't always make sense. It may never make sense. But once He tells us where – once we know deep in our hearts where He wants us, you know something? That's where we belong!

The link below is the post mortem document penned by internal and external counsel. To say it is brutal is an understatement. It is thus required reading for any senior risk manager to pray this does not happen in their patch. In this podcast, we pick up on three keywords used: lackadaisical, perfunctory and holistic. May we all embed these in any risk manual. (the title is a derivation of the Standard Foreign Office response in a time of crisis, stage 2. A favourite Yes Prime Minister dialogue, episode 6) https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/archegos-info-kit.html --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/riskpearlswisdom/message

Matt Chorley is joined by Jonathan Lynn, co-creator Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, to talk about the legacy of the hit comedy series, and how he thinks it may not have been beneficial to the way Whitehall works now.PLUS:Times' Columnists Daniel Finkelstein and David Aaronovitch discuss the day's news. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Yes Ladder is a technique for getting people to agree to something they wouldn't agree to if asked outright. You do it by asking a series of questions, all of which a normal person would say "yes" to. The questions increase in scope as you go, and the sheer momentum of saying "yes" after "yes" gets you to say the final "yes" to the biggest ask at the end.This exploits a few principles:- The frog in boiling water effect- Cialdini's Consistency principle- Priming, aka Pre-suasionCold open is from Yes Prime Minister

Friendships are things we don't often think too much about. We just have friends and we enjoy they're company and that's it. But there is such incredible power in a God–ordained friendship. And God … God means for us to lay a hold of that power.   Laying Down Your Life Today we're continuing on in a series of messages that I've called, "A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed" and I really want to take a look at the heart of friendship, what friendship is all about because I wonder whether in this disposable world in which we live whether we're only too prepared to trash friends who don't suit us. People who don't always tell us what we want to hear, people who don't pander to our whims. Now don't get me wrong I believe there are some people that we all know that we shouldn't have as close friends because they'll do us more harm than good. We talked about that last week on the program. But we live in increasingly in a world where there are so many other distractions, well if our friends are a bit too difficult to get on with we just ditch them and we immerse ourselves in a rapidly growing range of entertainment options. And that is, in fact, what a lot of people are doing. They're kind of cocooning themselves in things that please them and in so doing withdrawing step by step from meaningful friendships. It kind of works for a while but my what a lonely place that ends up being. I wonder where you are right now in your life when it comes to the friendship stakes? When some young lawyer – schooled in the Old Testament Law of Moses, which is what lawyers in the 1st Century of Israel relied on – when this lawyer asks Jesus in effect, "Out of all the commandments in the law (and there are, the scholars tell me, around six hundred and thirteen commandments) which ones were the most important." Jesus was very quick to answer. Mark chapter 12, verse 29-34: The first is, ‘Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength'. The second is 'you shall love your neighbour as yourself'. There is no other commandment greater than these. Then the Scribe said to him, 'you're right teacher, you have truly said that he is one and besides him there is no other and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbour as one self. This is much more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices'. When Jesus saw that he'd answered wisely he said to him, 'you are not far from the kingdom of God'. After that no one dared to ask him any more questions. And the thing that really leaps out for me in this is not so much the bit about loving God, I mean as absolutely vital as that is, you kind of expect the Son of God to say that. The bit that kind of leaps out for me is that we should love our neighbours as ourselves and the Scribe, the lawyer replies, "You're right, Rabboni!" In fact loving God and loving others, well those things are so much more important than any religious ritual we'd care to name. Loving our neighbours, making friends, serving them with all that we are is more important than sitting in a Church and singing songs or listening to a sermon, as important as all those things of course are. The word here for love is "Agape" which means unconditional love, sacrificial love and the word used for neighbour is "Friend". You shall love your friends with all that you are unconditionally, without reservation and sacrificially. This is precisely what Jesus is saying here and it follows right on from loving God with all that we are. In fact it's the flip side of that coin if you will. Now if we should love our friends as we love ourselves then let's stop and think for a minute, how is it that we love ourselves? Do we care for ourselves, provide for ourselves, protect ourselves, nurture ourselves? Yeah, by and large we do. And if we didn't have a roof over our heads we'd do everything we could to get one. If we didn't have food to eat we'd do everything we could to get food. If we were drowning we'd do everything we possibly could to get air and survive. It turns out that not only do we have a strong survival instinct, we have rather a strong provision instinct. We want to survive and thrive and we do what we need to do to make those things happen. So right here Jesus is actually saying, that's how you love you now love your friends in exactly the same way. Do you see the power of what He's saying here? Take this survive and thrive love that we have for ourselves and in exactly the same way that you apply it to yourself, Jesus is saying to you and to me, apply it to your friends, to your neighbours. Now when it comes to doing the whole "survive and thrive" love for ourselves, by and large, it's pretty much not a sacrifice. We look after ourselves, we look after our family, we provide for them, we're kind of hard wired to do that. Making sure that I'm safe and I'm fed and I'm well provided for. Okay I have to get up each morning and I have to go to work to earn a crust to make that happen. I just can't lounge around in front of the television all day. But that's not a sacrifice, it's just what I do for me and for my family and yet when we take the love we have for ourselves and we start doing with it what Jesus is saying here, loving our friends the way we love ourselves all of sudden it can seem like a huge sacrifice. Can I tell you something? Love is always a sacrifice and this unconditional love that Jesus is calling each one of us to have for our friends can be a huge sacrifice. Unconditional love, agape love comes at a price because it's unconditional and Jesus is calling us to fire Him into loving our friends with that sort of love and as He does that He makes it abundantly clear that it's going to cost us something. Matthew chapter 16, verse 24: Jesus told his disciples, 'if any one wants to become one of my followers let them deny themselves and to take up their cross and follow me.' Loving friends – loving them the way God means for us to love them, loving them in the way that is so much more important than any religious ritual under the sun – is about laying down our lives for them. It's about putting their needs before our needs. It's about sacrificing what we want for them. Do you see how radically different Gods take on friendship is from the worlds approach? Many people have friends because of what they can get out of the friend. Companionship, maybe money or a business deal or a good time and when they're no longer of any use we just kind of toss them on the scrap heap. Done with them, no good to me anymore, move on. And yet the people whom we choose as friends we're meant to love with all the drive that we have to love ourselves to survive and to thrive, with all the instinct we have to provide for ourselves we're meant to take that drive and that instinct and love our friends with that. Unconditionally in the same way that we love ourselves, dying to self, sacrificing for our friends and in Gods scheme of things this comes second to only loving God Himself with all that we are. Being a friend means laying down our lives, being a friend means being there for someone no matter how badly they maybe acting up right now. It's about denying ourselves, taking up that grizzly brutal cross of sacrifice and following Jesus.   The Jonathan Story When we talk about friendship there's one young man, Jonathan, whose story in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, I simply can't go past. I want to unpack that story a bit more with you today because it's like a powerful case study of what we've just been talking about. Now we met Jonathan, King Saul's son, last week on the program. Saul had been appointed king against God's will and counsel, mind you, and after some initial successes he turned out to be something of a disaster and so God had the Prophet Samuel anoint a new king in young David but as Gods favour and the people's support and all the success shifted away from Saul onto David as his anointed successor King Saul became incredibly jealous and bitter and twisted and several times he tries to have David killed. So young David spends several years on the run from Saul during which time Saul tries to kill him, as I said, a number of times. Yet time and time again God saves him through a friend Jonathan, Saul's son. Let's have a read, 1 Samuel chapter 19 beginning at verse 1: Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. Saul's son Jonathan took great delight in David. Jonathan told David, 'my father Saul is trying to kill you therefore be on guard tomorrow morning, stay in a secret place and hide yourself. It turns out that Saul's son, the very man who according to human logic should be next in line for the throne, decides to save David his life. You have to ask yourself why? Because Jonathan took great delight in David, that's what it says, 1 Samuel chapter 19, verse 1. Something somehow inside Jonathan clicked, he could see what everyone else could see, he could see the almighty hand of God on David's life, he could see the power of God on David, the favour of God on David. He could see the humility and power, the goodness of this man David who had been anointed as the next king. And so he chose to become David's friend. He stands up to his all powerful father, King Saul, and he defends David at some risk you'd have to say to his own position … even to his own life. Remember Saul was the king, Saul could have him struck down and killed, such was the power of the king. And this wasn't the only time that Jonathan stepped in to save David, he did it several times as David emerged as Saul's rival for the throne. David was travelling through the country with hundreds of fighting men and blind Freddy could see he was going to be king sometime soon. I mean blind Freddy could see that Saul was on his way out and it's in this context that the thing that really intrigues me is that instead of crossing over into David's camp, instead of deserting his despotic father Jonathan stays with the king as it turns out to the bitter end. Why? Why would Jonathan have done that? I remember a great scene in my favourite British comedy Yes Prime Minister when the Prime Minister asks his personal private assistant Bernard Wooley, he said, "Bernard whose side is the civil service on?" And Bernard with a smirk answers, "oh Prime Minister, the winning side". It's funny but it cuts so close to the bone because when there's rivalry what we naturally want to do is to position ourselves on the winning side so that we can have an ongoing role in the victory and what happens thereafter. But instead Jonathan positions himself deliberately on the losing side. Why? Well it turns out that he does it for his friend David because that wasn't the only time when Jonathans position as his father King Saul's son was able to be used to save David's life. He did it several times and in the end, because Saul has so badly turned against God, because of his despotic sinful behaviour to cling to power, because Saul consults a medium, God allows Saul and his sons to be killed in battle. Let's have a read, 1 Samuel chapter 31 beginning at verse 1: Now the Philistines fought hard against Israel and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and many fell on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malki-Shua the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard upon Saul, the archers found him and he was badly wounded. Then Saul said to his armour bearer, 'draw your sword and thrust me through with it so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through and make sport of me.' But his armour bearer was unwilling for he was terrified so Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. When his armour bearer saw that Saul was dead he also fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armour bearer and all his men died together on that same day. When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead they forsook their towns and fled too and the Philistines came and occupied them. It turns out that Jonathan perished with Saul because he hung onto the losing camp in order to protect his friend David who went on to become king. He laid down his life for David and that, that's what according to God a friend is. Someone who'll lay down their life for us. It's precisely the sort of friend you and I are looking for and can I tell you it's precisely the sort of friend that God is calling you and me to be? Is it hard sometimes, when everything and everyone is screaming at us to save their own skins and ditch our friends when push comes to shove? Does it hurt sometimes to sacrifice for our friends? You bet you it does! I mean you bet you but without that sort of commitment what does friendship really stand for? Is it just two people using one another or is there a soul connection? Is it an expression of unconditional love of God that He showed to you and me when He sent His Son Jesus to die for us on that cross? I'm a preacher and from time to time I guess I've been known to preach up a storm but the greatest sermon I will ever, ever preach is the way I live my life, the sort of friend that I am, what I'm prepared to sacrifice. The degree to which I'm prepared to take up that grizzly cross and follow Jesus out into the lives of those who need to know Him. That's the greatest sermon you and I will ever preach.   The Jesus Story And we're going to do that by looking at Jesus, I mean what better way to do that. Jesus is born as a baby in Bethlehem, He grows up in Nazareth, I mean it's humble surroundings as a carpenters son. Did He have friends as a lad? Well that's not something we really see but we have to imagine that He did and then one day it's time to step out from His role as a carpenters son and some time in His early thirties, He begins His public ministry with His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. And not long after that He starts to call some disciples to His side. Now He had lots of disciples, a disciple was someone who followed a Rabbi and Jesus the Rabbi had lots of them. He was doing amazing miracles; He was speaking in ways people just didn't expect. Have a listen, if you've got a Bible grab it, we're looking at Matthew chapter 4 beginning at verse 23: Jesus went through Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread through all Syria and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains and demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics and he cured them all and great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan. But out of those great crowds he chose twelve … just twelve disciples, Matthew chapter 10 beginning at verse 2: These are the names of the twelve apostles. First Simon also known as Peter and his brother Andrew, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot the one who betrayed him. He did that because He knew that if His ministry was going to live on beyond His time here on earth, if the coming of the Son of God was going to have an impact a hundred years on, a thousand years on, two thousand years on and more He was going to have to pass on His passion and His teaching to a handful of others who would pass it on to more and more across the world and down through the ages. And when you stop and think about it what He knew was ultimately that it was friendship that was going to change the world. Doesn't that blow you away? Without those friends, without those apostles you and I wouldn't be sitting here believing in Jesus today. The Church exists today, Gods Word is being preached today, lives are being transformed today, people are meeting Jesus today because friendship was and remains the corner stone of Gods plan to reconcile people back to Him. Just let that sink in for a minute. Do you see? Friendship isn't some side story, it's the main story and these disciples lived with Jesus, travelled with Jesus, were admonished by Jesus, watched how the Son of God handled Himself, saw His miracles. All this happened because He chose them and He drew them close and He called them friends. He was their Rabbi, they were His learners which is what the word "disciple" really means, to be a learner and they lived with Him on the road for the best part, I guess, of three and a half years. This Rabbi/disciple relationship was very much a hierarchical relationship according to the tradition of Jews, the Rabbi up there, pupil down here and the pupils in many respects were indentured to the Rabbi but after all they went through together, toward the end when He was about to be crucified, just stop and have a listen to what Jesus says to His disciples about friendship. John chapter 15 beginning at verse 12: This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this than to lay down ones life for ones friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you to do. I don't call you servants any longer because the servant does not know what the master is doing but I've called you friends because I've made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You didn't choose me, I chose you and I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Wow! No longer were they just students, no longer were they like indentured servants or slaves but in love they'd become Jesus friends and because they were His friends He was going to show them the greatest act of friendship by literally laying down His life for them. He was opening up His relationship with His Father to them by telling them, revealing to them what God was all about in sending Jesus to live and to walk and to speak and to heal and to suffer and to die and to rise again here on this earth. It was in what the Holy Spirit revealed to them about the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ that Gods family, the Church, was born here on this earth and now lives on through the lives of billions of people every day. And by making them His friends, by making us Jesus friends … you and me, through this amazing sacrifice of His, He's now calling us as a direct result and consequence of His friendship to go out and to bear fruit, to go out and to change the world, to go out and to be Jesus to a lost and hurting world in desperate need of knowing about and experiencing the amazing love and friendship of God through Jesus Christ. Do you get it? That's why this is the flip side of loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The second thing is just like the first; love your neighbour as yourself. Have you put your trust in Jesus? If the answer's yes then you are His friend, no longer an enemy of God, not only His servant but His friend, blessed by the greatest act of friendship in all of history. The death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God for you. Set free, forgiven by the price He paid for you on that Cross. Set free to live a new life through His victory over death. With a door to the eternal love and friendship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit flung wide open, the welcome mat put out, the table set so that forever you can fellowship with your God. Now if that ain't a model of friendship for you and me to live out here on this earth then I just simply don't know what is. It all started when God called you and God called me to be His friend. It all started because first He loved us, that's what friendship is. Friendship takes the first step, friendship just doesn't sit there and say, "you know that guy over there is a pain in the neck, there is no way I'm going to serve him." You know what God does? God sometimes points us to that pain in the neck over there and says, "Go and love that person, go and serve that person, go and be Jesus to that person just in the same way as this Jesus came to this earth to die for you, to suffer for you so that you may be my friend." This is what God is calling us to, not just to worship Him with words but to worship Him with our lives by being someone else's friend.

Copyright disclaimer, this episode has audio clips from Yes Prime Minister, White Collar, and The Red Green Show. These clips are being used for educational purposes only. DJ Finley does not claim to own any rights to these properties. Ego-involvement: refers to how crucial something is to someones live or argument. LUUUUTT Model. Information about these models was taken from "A First Look at Communication Theory" by Em Griffin. Check out DJ Finley's website for more information: https://kiarafinleyhorowitz.wordpress.com/ Email: seriesoflivesinc@gmail.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This week Toby Hadoke narrates a story that is weirdly prescient and Caimh explains what he thinks and why he doesn't mind what you think, and how everyone should think like this.

God made each one of us not only to be blessed by Him, but to be a blessing – the entry point of His blessing into the lives of people around us. And one of the ways we can do that, is by being a safety net for people, when they really need it.   Compensating for Error People's mistakes can be so annoying. Especially, let me say, when they make the same mistakes over and over and over again – which we all do. Now you might protest and say – I don't make the same mistakes over and over and over again! And my response to you would be, “Sure you do. We all do.” Here's why. There are something things that you're naturally good at and some that you aren't. There are some things that the next guy is naturally good and some that he isn't. So – there you are, the two of you – good at different things, bad at different things. You see the mistakes he makes at the things you're good at and you say to yourself, “How can that guy keep making the same mistake? It's so obvious.” And right while you're thinking that, he's thinking exactly the same about you. My friend Keith is a great encourager. The sort of person you really enjoy spending an hour or two with over lunch; you come away feeling much better about yourself. He recently sent me a document that we'd both been working on. It was an 18-page contract that I had developed meticulously with some lawyers. He'd made a few changes, but did he turn on the word processor's change control feature so I could see what changes he'd made? Nooooo! I was about to get annoyed – and then I remembered … hang on a minute this is Keith we're talking about here. He's a great encourager, but when it comes to technology and admin and all that stuff, he's a dead loss. It's the way that he is. And he's never going to change. I can't do what he does, he can't do what I do – and that's the way it was always meant to be. And so I am at that point confronted with exactly the same question that I hit you with at the top of the program. Am I going to criticise him, or am I going to help him? Which one will it be? It's a question that confronts us at least a few times every day. Think of all the people you've been annoyed with over the last 24 hours. What was the source of the annoyance? How did you respond? Did you criticise them … or help them? The series of messages we're in right at the moment is called “Are You a Blessing or a Burden?” inspired by a great quote from Dr Tayo Adeyemi in the UK. He said: You are either a blessing or a burden; an asset or a liability; a problem solver or a problem. Your choice! And so we're on a bit of a journey to discover some practical, rubber hits the road kind of things that you and I can do to be more of a blessing than a burden, to be more a part of the solution than the problem, to be a contributor rather than someone who keeps on taking. And this is a really practical thing that we can do. When someone makes a mistake, we can stuff our pride back in our pockets and choose to help them instead of criticising them. And when you think about it – as much as it may be counterintuitive to start with – it actually makes an enormous amount of sense, both for them and for us. Going to read a short passage to you from the Old Testament – a book written around three thousand years ago called the Book of Ecclesiastes. It's purported to have been written by one of the wisest men who has ever lived, King Solomon of Israel. We're looking at Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: Two people are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. I was sharing this with people once and I did it visually. I had 2 people hold a single rope tight and then I cut it in the middle. Of course, at that point that one rope failed. Then we took two ropes, we wound them around each other and around and around and around – and then I cut one rope on the right, the other rope in the middle and the first rope on the left. The ropes pretty much hung together, although the whole structure was weakened, because what had happened was that as the second rope had wrapped around the first, they compensated for the one another in the places where the other one was cut. Then we took three ropes and platted them together as a woman would plat her hair. I cut each of the 3 ropes in 2 different places. And you know what.  Pull as hard as you like – the ropes didn't fail. I could actually sit on them without them coming apart. That's the picture here – you and I have the capacity to compensate for the failures and weaknesses of others. And because we're all different, we're all strong in different places and weak in different places. When we're bound together in a relationship, as a team, we compensate for one another just as those ropes did. I cleaned up the mess with the contract that Keith couldn't do and you know what, he encourages other members of our team in a way that I can't do. And that's how it's meant to work. That's exactly how it's meant to work. And the beauty of that – the reason that it makes so much sense, is that together, in a mutually supportive relationship, in a team, 2, 3, 4 …. 10 people can achieve so much more. Some teams don't achieve anything, because they're always fighting with each other and criticising each other, and pointing the finger at each other. If we want to be a blessing rather than a burden, an asset rather than a liability, part of the solution rather than part of the problem – there are two parts of that. The first, is bringing our particular skills and abilities to the table – with energy and gusto, and vigour, with hard work and dedication. That's the first part.  But the second part is where we often fall down. The second part is having the wisdom and humility to use our skills and abilities to compensate for the weaknesses of others.  If we each have that level of wisdom and maturity, then our team, our relationship – is completely unstoppable. We'll achieve amazing things together if only we can learn to compensate instead of criticising. See, serving someone takes humility. A much-underrated attribute these days is humility. Humility is about laying aside what we think we're entitled to and pitching in and serving anyway. Humility is serving people even when in our superior judgement they don't deserve it. Humility is rising about the petty bickering, the point scoring, and the recognition and reward seeking, and just getting on with things to achieve the aim. Humility is shutting your mouth when you feel like complaining, when others around you are behaving like two-year olds, and by the goodness of your example, by your faithfulness, by your quiet assurance showing people the way forward. That's humility. And it takes a strong, and mature, and wise person to live out that sort of humility. The best leaders are the humble ones, aren't they?! 1 Pet 5:5: And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That's powerful stuff. We often think when we read things like that in God's Word – that it's meant for someone else.  You know who this is meant for today? It's meant for me today. It's meant for you today. It's meant for us to take it to heart – listen to it again: And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Take that to heart: “God opposes the proud”. Is it really the way we want to live, to live in a way that God, with all His power and all His might, is going to oppose us? But on the other hand, He gives grace to the humble. Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God – that's how we become more of a burden than a blessing, more of an asset than a liability … And more of a solution than part of the problem. This is exactly how we do that stuff. Do you see how practical God's Word is here? God is about making us a blessing so that His blessing flows through us out into the world, out into the lives of the people around us.   What You Say Behind Their Back One of my favourite television shows of all time, is “Yes Prime Minister”. It's a very, very funny show about the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing that goes on in politics. One of the key characters is the very smart and conniving senior civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby. In one episode called “A Conflict of Interest”, the Prime Minister wants to appoint a new Governor of the Bank of England to clean up the financial scandals happening in the banking sector. He settles on a man with a great reputation for honesty and integrity. Someone who is fearless in tackling corruption. The junior and inexperienced civil servant, Bernard Wooley, arrives at the Cabinet Office and relays the PM's message. He tells Sir Humphrey that the PM is keen to appoint this man, Jameson, to the governorship. Sir Humphrey indicates that his appointment would be “appalling” and it is his firm intention to change the PM's mind. He gives young Bernard a quick lesson on how to achieve this: express full support for the candidate (i.e. Jameson), pointing out all his qualities, but over-praising him to the point that the P.M. will be concerned since it could undermine his own perceived qualities. As Sir Humphrey points out, “It is necessary, Bernard, to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back.” It's a great line isn't it? You have to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back. And as things turn out, it's something that Sir Humphrey does extremely successfully. It's great to laugh at the idea in a sitcom, but have you ever been “stabbed in the back”. Have you ever had someone praise you and then go behind your back and undermine you? It's not very nice is it. In fact, it can be devastating.  When you know that people are whispering and muttering about you behind your back – it's a terrible thing. You see it all the time especially where those people who are doing the whispering and stabbing in the back have something to gain. In my 20 or so years as a consultant working in a few hundred different organisations, I can't tell you the number of times that I've seen this ruthless, back room knifing of people in the back, so that the person doing the back-stabbing can get his or her way, or climb up another rung of the corporate ladder. In this series we've been chatting about how you and I can be a blessing rather than a burden to people. An asset rather than a liability A part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. I have to tell you, being the honest broker behind someone else's back, dealing honestly and openly, defending people when they're not there to defend themselves is one of the ways that we can be an incredible blessing. I was once on a committee as the treasurer – my predecessor had handed me a terrible budget and so there wasn't enough income to run the operations of this organisation. After a lot of hard work on the budget and the finances and reducing costs, I had to recommend to an annual general meeting a very substantial increase in the annual levy fees for members. The following year I stepped off the committee, and some the new people on it, and apparently they wanted to blame me for the problem and run me down … behind my back. I wasn't there, of course. But there was one woman – Sasha – who took them to task, confronted them about the unwarranted criticism, set the record straight, told them that I was the guy who had sorted the problem out, not created it. It took quite some courage for her to do that, but she did. So let me ask you, how do you think I feel towards Sasha? It's obvious isn't it. As far as I'm concerned, she is very much a blessing to me rather than a burden. She has my trust and if she asked me for something, if I could do it I would make it happen. There's a proverb in the OT of the Bible that goes like this. Proverbs Chapter 19, verse 1: Better is a poor person who walks with integrity than one who is crooked in speech and a fool. The Bible talks about human plots and contentious tongues too in Psalm 31, verse 20. It's horrible when people are like that isn't it? So here's how you can be an incredible blessing to someone. Be like Sasha. When people are gossiping or running a person down when they're not there, firstly, don't be someone who throws fuel on the fire. Don't nod passively or contribute to the gossip. To the contrary, pull people up – hang on a minute, that's not quite fair. Not sure that we have all the circumstances straight here. Did you happen to know that sometimes, people pull someone down, simply because of their natural weaknesses or limitations. Hey, we all have those right? Sometimes, they criticise someone, by twisting the facts. And sometimes they make fun of someone or find fault with them, when they're going through a difficult time personally. None of those things are right, are they? None of them are fair. If someone has wronged someone then the way to deal with it is face to face, one on one. Not by gossiping behind their back. Face to face takes courage, gossiping is gutless. Defending someone when they're not there to defend themselves is a huge blessing. Eventually, the person you defended … it'll get back to them somehow and when it does, their trust in you, their admiration for you will grow immeasurably, as mine did for Sasha. And those people whom you held to account for their gossip – they may not like it. In fact, they may start to gossip about you behind your back. But in their heart of hearts, they will have a newfound respect for you. They will know that you are someone of integrity, someone with courage, someone not to be messed with. At the end of the day, people like someone who plays with a straight bat, someone whom they can depend on, someone who is honest, direct and open – even if they disagree with you. Again as another OT proverb says: Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right. (Proverbs 16:3) God takes this stuff extremely seriously, just quietly. Number 9 in the ten commandments: You shall not bear false witness against a neighbour. (Ex 20:16) What we say about each other matters to God. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbour? (James 4:11-12) And God has a quite different way that He wants us to handle this; a different way that he wants us to behave – a way that doesn't involve stabbing each other in the back, but instead, is about lifting each other up. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32) I have to tell you I look out for this sort of integrity in people. Gossip is a terrible thing. Demeaning people is a terrible thing. And one way that you and I can shine a light into some dark places and bless some people is to refuse to participate in gossip, and instead do what God's calling us to do – be kind, be tender hearted and here's the crunch for me – forgive people the way God's forgiven us through Jesus Christ. Jesus paid a price, a huge price, so that you and I could be forgiven. What an awesome thing it is to bring that forgiveness and goodness into the world through our behaviour. Will it cost us something sometimes? Absolutely it will. Standing up against gossip and slander and anger and wrath and bitterness is always going to cost us something. But do you want to be a blessing rather than a burden? Here it is. Here's one way.   The Joy of Blessing Blessing is a word that Christians in particular use rather a lot. But I'm not sure that we really think about what it means. Now sure, we all want to be blessed – that's when really good stuff happens to us, right? Do you know a single person on the planet who doesn't want to be blessed? No – me neither. So we have this vague notion that blessing is a good thing – and I'll have as much of that stuff as anybody will dish up to me. Well, I guess that's okay as far as it goes. But that Word “blessing” has a far more powerful meaning. I get a bit of a hint about this notion of blessing in my dictionary, which tells me that blessing is God's favour and protection. Good, that's true too.  But that simple definition doesn't tell me under what circumstances I can receive that blessing … or indeed what part I have to play in making that blessing happen in other people's lives. A good many people believe that being blessed is a bit down to … well, the luck of the draw. Or how God may be feeling today, or whether we're in His good books … or not. Would you agree? I'm not feeling very spiritual today, so I really don't expect God to bless me. Is a pretty common sort of thought. So what does God have to say about God's blessing? That's a pretty reasonable question to ask. Well – here it is – it's powerful stuff: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3) Well, God tells us that He has already blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing – every blessing and it's already done. It's a done deal. And the word used here for “blessing” literally means to speak well of – so in effect, God has already and is already speaking the blessing of God over the lives of anyone who is in Christ, anyone who has put their trust in Jesus – God is speaking that blessing over them. And when God speaks, stuff happens. That's the power of the concept of a blessing – the blessing that comes from Jesus. Please don't ever imagine that somehow, that God's blessing is a hit and miss affair. Maybe … maybe God will bless me one day. No, He has already and is already blessing you and me and anyone else who believes in Jesus – with every – did you get that – every blessing in Christ. Powerful. And the next bit is just as powerful. Because God's plan is for that blessing to flow out from us, through us – into the parched, dry lives of the people around us. In effect you and I have been blessed in order to be a blessing. Have a listen to this, 1 John 3:16: We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. In other words, just as the sacrifice that Jesus made for you and me on that Cross cost Him something – it cost Him hugely – and it caused every blessing to flow out into our life, in the same way God wants us to sacrificially get out there amongst it, amongst the people He's plonked us right in the middle of, and go and be a blessing. We ought to lay down our lives for one another. Because here's how God works – listen carefully to this – His blessings flow from heaven to earth in two ways. Firstly, God's blessings flow through the Presence of the Holy Spirit into the one who believes. The very Presence of God Himself – Father, Son and Spirit – brings a joy and a peace that is completely beyond understanding. There simply aren't enough words in any language to describe the awesomeness of that blessing. But secondly, He uses people like me to be the entry point of His blessing into other people's lives. How often has God blessed you through the things that others have said and done? Hmm? A gazillion times, right? That's why He wants us to be a blessing instead of a burden to people. That's why God blesses us, not only so that we can be full of joy and power. Sure that's great and that's necessary, but also so that the joy and the power and the love and the grace and the mercy of God will flow through us into the hearts and the lives, the aching hearts, of the people around us.

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to the co-creator of ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘Yes Prime Minister,’ Jonathan Lynn. He discusses Sir Mark Sedwill’s intention to quit as the head of the civil service and cabinet secretary, how politicians view civil servants and vice versa, the similarities between ‘Yes Minister’ and ‘Yes Prime Minister’ characters, the similarities between the character Dorothy Wainwright and Dominic Cummings, the domination of Oxbridge- and Eton-educated elites among politicians and civil servants, his shows airing in the Soviet Union, why he believes Western democracy is the best system of governance, how politicians use the civil service as an excuse for their failures, Brexit, coronavirus and more! Finally, we speak to Prof. Richard Sakwa, author of ‘The Putin Paradox.’ He discusses Vladimir Putin’s constitutional plebiscite, in which his reforms were approved by a majority of Russians. He discusses the results of the vote being impressive for Putin, dangerous elements of the reforms, McCarthyite coverage of Russia and Putin over the allegations of Russia offering bounties for American soldiers to the Taliban in Afghanistan, Trump’s victory in 2016, the journalistic bubble among Western commentators regarding Russia, the growing threat of nuclear conflict with Russia, Joe Biden threatening economic warfare if he wins, and more!

This month, Emma and Steve discuss Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister. Prompted by the recent death of the last remaining regular, Derek Fowlds who played Private Secetary Bernard Woolley we re-examine what this show meant to perceptions of the civil service and where power really lies. 

Monocle’s Paul Osbourne recaps the results of the UK election. Plus: Andrew Mueller examines what we’ve learned from the week’s headlines and why Germany’s investment in rail travel ought to serve as a lesson.

This week, our intrepid correspondents from across the pond take on the increasingly controversial race for Prime Minister in the U.K. (including a few thoughts about long shot Rory Stewart). Also, Parkland survivor Kyle Kushov is un-admitted to Harvard, and Oberlin College loses a big court case. Source

On this episode of the active CEO Podcast, Craig Johns and Ben Gathercole speak with Garry Mills about lessons from the police force; being a Bodyguard for former Australian Prime Minister John Howard; and being a mental health advocate with Beyond Blue and Blokepedia. We also talk about learning to live and cope with depression; living a playboy lifestyle; staying in the moment; setting social media parameters; the importance of situation and self-awareness; and helping people improve their lives.

In today’s episode of EdChoice Chats, our President and CEO Robert Enlow and our Director of Policy Jason Bedrick discuss one iconic episode of the BBCs Yes, Prime Minister which is about pure school choice policy and government. The same key messages from opponents and proponents of school choice today seem to have been just as prevalent in the ‘80s (though perhaps more eloquently said back then). They hit on all of them in their discussion. Listen up! Learn more about school choice at www.edchoice.org.

Misuse of statistics_________________Clip from original episodeA bit from the classic British show, Yes Prime Minister._________________Apple WWDC keynote Apple CEO Tim Cook at this year’s World Wide Developers Conference Keynote. He points out that Apple has an install base of 80 Million Macs.Based on NetMarketShare data, as of May 2014, Windows 8 can be found on about 14 percent of all PCs currently running Windows. But with an overall market share of about 1.5 billion, Windows PCs represent nearly 91 percent of all computers in use worldwide. In simple terms, that means that Windows 8, widely considered a “failure” by critics and competitors, is in use on about 210 million PCs worldwide. That’s more than 5 times the install base of Mavericks, and more than 2.5 times the install base of every Mac currently in use. (Source: http://www.tekrevue.com/windows-8-outpaces-os-x-mavericks/)This also ignores other points of difference. Windows 8 is a major update that pretty much people only get with new machines and have to pay for. Maveriicks is a minor free upgrade by comparison.Full keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w87fOAG8fjk_________________Andrew Bolt and climate contrarians Analysis of this factoid:http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/andrew-bolt-damned-statistics-and-climate-change-41323 http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/andrew-bolt-trends-towards-dodgy-graphs.html http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-stopped-in-1998-intermediate.htm Original Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NDfwkr8hig_________________Misunderstanding of probability_________________Sally Clark wrongful conviction From a Ted Talk by Peter Donnelly. http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_donnelly_shows_how_stats_fool_juries# Background - Wikipedia on Sally Clark: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Clark_________________Evolution and spontaneous beginning of lifeFrom URCall.org, a community of Christians sharing their ideas about the relationship between faith and science.Original Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-0AksTzfx0Fred Hoyle's junkyard tornado: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkyard_tornado_________________Book I’m part of the way through reading: How to not be wrong: http://www.jordanellenberg.com/how-not-to-be-wrong/Direct download of the episode: https://archive.org/download/HH101/HH101e0008.mp3_________________The Second (eBook) Edition of Humbug! is available for about US$3.99 from: Amazon (Kindle)Google Play Apple iBooksLULU (DRM free ePub)

Speaker: Phil Meulman

Academy Award nominee, Grammy Award winner and the first ever Million Dollar “Jeopardy” Celebrity Champion Michael McKean is interviewed. McKean... known from screen roles in This is Spinal Tap; Best in Show; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; and Laverne & Shirley... discusses his co-starring role in the British comedy Yes, Prime Minister at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The hit play’s Co-playwright and Director Jonathan Lynn (Director of such films as My Cousin Vinny and The Whole Nine Yards) is also interviewed. Broadway and TV star Eileen Barnett (Nine, Days of Our Lives) talks about her career and headlining engagement You Must Believe in Spring at Sterling’s Upstairs at The Federal in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA. Sponsored by Breakdown Services (http://www.breakdownexpress.com/)

Academy Award nominee, Grammy Award winner and the first ever Million Dollar “Jeopardy” Celebrity Champion Michael McKean is interviewed. McKean... known from screen roles in This is Spinal Tap; Best in Show; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; and Laverne & Shirley... discusses his co-starring role in the British comedy Yes, Prime Minister at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The hit play’s Co-playwright and Director Jonathan Lynn (Director of such films as My Cousin Vinny and The Whole Nine Yards) is also interviewed. Broadway and TV star Eileen Barnett (Nine, Days of Our Lives) talks about her career and headlining engagement You Must Believe in Spring at Sterling’s Upstairs at The Federal in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA. Sponsored by Breakdown Services (http://www.breakdownexpress.com/)

Episode 1 of GBA Live: 5 conversations recorded as part of my Invisible Picture Palace (http://invisiblepicturepalace.com/) residency for In the Dark Radio (http://www.inthedarkradio.org/) that took place in November 2012. These episodes are going to come out daily in the week leading up to the GBA 100 two-part special. Each one has a different audience of people who came out to a greenhouse in Wapping to be a part of the conversation. Today we get we get even better acquainted with return guest Michael Fenton Stevens http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-79-micheal-fenton-stevens Mike talks about acting for the radio, growing up in Bermondsey, his view of recent UK comedy history, putting pets down, his relationship with and to religion and in particular to his Catholic upbringing, and lots more. The conversation is engaging, fun and surprising. We also discuss the fate of my pet rats, reveal what was then a spoiler for The Archers, hear a passionate case for atheism from a former altar boy and consider the value of empathy and compassion in relationship to people who damage other people. We plug: I plug the two places you can currently find him: Performing as the Prime Minister in Yes Prime Minister: http://www.yesprimeminister.co.uk/ Performing in The Archers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr And then Mike plugs Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ We mention: Stewart Lee: http://www.stewartlee.co.uk/ Keith Allen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Allen_(actor) Leonard Cohen: http://www.leonardcohen.com/ Andy Hamilton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hamilton This Episode of the Nerdist Podcast: http://www.nerdist.com/2012/11/nerdist-podcast-eric-idle-eddie-izzard-billy-connolly-and-sophie-winkleman/ Old Harry's Game: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/oldharrysgame/ Eddie Izzard: http://www.eddieizzard.com/ Ricky Gervais: http://www.rickygervais.com/ You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond. On-demand and on the go! Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores. Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

With Mark Lawson. In Quentin Tarantino's latest film Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. Jacqueline Springer reviews. Jonathan Lynn was the co-writer behind the British satirical sitcoms Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister in the 1980s. As a new series of Yes, Prime Minister returns to our screens with a new cast including David Haig as Jim Hacker and Henry Goodman as Sir Humphrey, Jonathan Lynn looks back over more than 30 years of the political satire. And as he celebrates his 60th birthday, the actor and comedian John Sessions discusses his wide-ranging film, TV and stage career. Sessions, also an impressionist, recalls reactions from his subjects and what he's learnt from over 30 years in show business. Producer Jerome Weatherald.

Tickets http://www.yesprimeminister.co.uk/ | Facebook http://ow.ly/59eGr | Twitter http://ow.ly/59eNB | Youtube http://ow.ly/4Z0ru | Podcast http://ow.ly/4Z0pf Yes, Prime Minister is now back in the West End for 10 weeks until the 17th September – see what the celebs and MP’s thought of the show in our press night video!

Tickets http://www.yesprimeminister.co.uk/ | Facebook http://ow.ly/59eGr | Youtube http://ow.ly/4Z0ru | Twitter http://ow.ly/59eNB | Podcast http://ow.ly/4Z0pf Check out our brand new trailer in celebration of our return to the West End on July 6!

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the businessman Karan Bilimoria - who set up production of a beer designed to be drunk with Indian food, imported it to Britain - and is now selling it back to India. As a student at Cambridge, Karan missed Indian food and used to eat at restaurants several times a week. But he disliked the gassy lagers they served – finding he could neither eat nor drink as much as he would have liked. He decided to develop a beer that was smoother and less gassy - especially designed to be drunk with Indian food. He worked with a brewer in Mysore, India, and initially they prepared to market Panther Beer - but a last-minute stint of market research led to them changing the name to Cobra Beer. It has won a string of liquor industry awards, is sold in more than 30 countries and the company is expected to turn over more than £60 million this year. But when Karan first started on his business career, his family were horrified. He had already qualified as a chartered accountant and had just graduated in law from Cambridge, but instead of a stable profession he started to import polo sticks, then began trading in up-market ladies' clothes. His father urged him to find a more solid career, but Karan persisted, delivering crates of Cobra Beer to Indian restaurants from the back of his battered 2CV. It took more than five years for the brand to establish itself, but it is now a familiar site not just in restaurants, but on supermarket and off-licence shelves. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Alternative to Bible: The Gathas of Zorathushtra Luxury: Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister videos

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the businessman Karan Bilimoria - who set up production of a beer designed to be drunk with Indian food, imported it to Britain - and is now selling it back to India. As a student at Cambridge, Karan missed Indian food and used to eat at restaurants several times a week. But he disliked the gassy lagers they served – finding he could neither eat nor drink as much as he would have liked. He decided to develop a beer that was smoother and less gassy - especially designed to be drunk with Indian food. He worked with a brewer in Mysore, India, and initially they prepared to market Panther Beer - but a last-minute stint of market research led to them changing the name to Cobra Beer. It has won a string of liquor industry awards, is sold in more than 30 countries and the company is expected to turn over more than £60 million this year. But when Karan first started on his business career, his family were horrified. He had already qualified as a chartered accountant and had just graduated in law from Cambridge, but instead of a stable profession he started to import polo sticks, then began trading in up-market ladies' clothes. His father urged him to find a more solid career, but Karan persisted, delivering crates of Cobra Beer to Indian restaurants from the back of his battered 2CV. It took more than five years for the brand to establish itself, but it is now a familiar site not just in restaurants, but on supermarket and off-licence shelves.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Alternative to Bible: The Gathas of Zorathushtra Luxury: Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister videos