A WHOLE NEW WORLD...
 
A big thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog! I have been greatly encouraged by your feedback and support. This month, I have been filming some interviews with inspirational colleagues, which I hope to post on my blog over the coming months. For now, I will continue where I left off!
After finishing my first degree, I had no idea what I was going to do next. I did worry about it, but I tried to remember that I should…
‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.’ ~Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)
I had to sign on for Job Seeker’s Allowance while I tried to find a suitable graduate job. In the end, I was only unemployed for two months! It felt like an eternity though… By September, I was the new intern for the MP for Loughborough, Andy Reed, in his Westminster Office in the Houses of Parliament. I could not believe it! Especially as Loughborough was the only constituency in the UK that I had lived in, apart from the London Constituency in which I was born and raised. To top it all off Andy was one of a group of Christian MPs who were passionate about living out their faith in Christ and encouraging Christian Engagement in Public Life.
Entering Parliament was like entering a whole new world. It is like a city within a city. Every MP has an office with a few members of staff. Some MPs share offices. Each office functions like an independent unit. In my new office, I found myself with John Powner, Andy’s Parliamentary Assistant and Dr David Landrum, the Senior Parliamentary Officer for the Bible Society and Administrator of Christians in Parliament, the All Party Parliamentary Christian Group for Christian Peers, MPs and Staff. I felt like God had pre-prepared the perfect place for me to spend my first 9 months in Parliament, because my time there was so wonderful!
John showed me how to do the practical day-to-day tasks associated with working in a MPs office and Dave took it upon himself to educate me in the concept of missional politics! Dave lent me books about Christian Worldview and afternoons in our office would often end in long theological debates between the three of us… The conversations I had with Dave and John and with other members of Christian in Parliament helped me to grow in my understanding of politics as mission.
At the same time I was in my first year of attending Hillsong Church London and the preaching series that my pastor, Gary Clarke was focusing on helped to compliment my experience in parliament. Gary would often talk about how we should be open to the idea that God could desire to use us for His Glory in one or more of the dominant spheres of influence in today’s culture, such as: politics, business, education, media, sport, etc.
It was so important for me to understand that the gifts and talents that God has given us can be used in these areas, and that God’s light and God’s glory can shine through us in this way, as much as if we all decided to pursue leadership in the local church or become missionaries in the traditional sense!
‘No one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.’ ~Matthew 5:15-16 (CEV)
‘Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.’ ~Daniel 12:3 (NIV)
In my next post, I will tell you what happened next, but until then, I’d love for you to follow me on Twitter as FMChinLewis and introduce yourself so I can follow you too!
For more information specifically on Black and Ethnic Minority involvement in Politics please see:
So, until my next post… May the Lord Bless You and Keep You! ~Francesca
| 
