“The patient is sick and the pulse has slowed as we reflect on the tragedy of the weekend. The worst in U.S. history and even more questions than ever. The nation is sick and we need to find a remedy fast. Unless we do, this will happen again and again.”
These powerful words make me pause and think in the aftermath of the Orlando Massacre last Sunday. They came to me from England in a personal email from an important businessman I’ve gotten to know in the past year. His name is Martin Clarke, and I felt I needed to share them with you here.
“We need to get to the root of the problem and find lasting solutions, otherwise the patient will die,” he continued. “Our land needs healing this morning and our leaders need support. The culprit was born and educated in America, but left the flock only to return to kill. We can pray, but we also need to bring a much needed change before the patient dies.”
The Scottish poet Robert Burns said: “Oh would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us.” So let’s learn what this Englishman can teach us about the sad state of our nation.
Martin was writing after reading my last Strang Report in which I mentioned seeing all the satellite trucks on Orange Avenue outside the Pulse nightclub where 49 innocent people lost their lives at the hands of a radical Islamic jihadi who pledged his allegiance to ISIS.
“The springing up of media with satellite dishes everywhere paints a picture of a sick world where there is no real concern for the dead only spectator interest like parasites or vultures. I find this ‘tell me how they died’ reporting as bad as the crime,” he wrote.
“The massive irony for the Brit is how can America be so surprised when the gun law/lobby has total free reign. Madness seems to reign in this highly matured sophisticated western civilisation of America or is it just a modern Wild West with wagon trains, cowboys and more cowboys. America seems to have legalised ‘insanity,’ yet the litigation and penal codes seem horrifically hard.
“Lastly the culture of vigil across the States seems almost pathetic. It’s happened before and it’s going to happen again. Someone out there now wants to beat 49 and yes it’s a very sad/tragic label, what you will, but for me the real tragedy is that I know it’s going to happen again!”
Sadly, I believe he’s right.
“Christian leaders are part of the problem. The naked cowboy has shocked many here in U.K., and Mr. Trump has had his platform raised two notches as his new Muslim policy now cries out, ‘I told you so.’ To happen in the month and first week of Ramadan is significant and dangerous, Clarke continued.
In another email he sent me a link from the British press saying the stock of gun companies in America had gone up after this massacre.
He added this comment: “As the share/stock price of the gun makers of America rise so do the share/stock price of the undertakers. From Shoot Hill to Boot Hill, profit will always find root in the American Dream that for some is the American nightmare.”
The Clarkes
In my work, I meet some very interesting people. Two of the most interesting I’ve met in a long time are Martin and his charming wife, Shaneen. In London, they would be considered a “power couple.”
When I was in London in May for the dedication of the Modern English Version to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I spent a lot of time with the Clarkes, and I also interviewed Martin and Shaneen in two separate podcasts. You can listen to them telling their stories in their own words.
Although they are not widely known in the United States, the Clarkes each have a powerful testimony I believe will inspire many.
In one of my frequent emails to Martin, I mentioned that I planned to refer to them as a “power couple.” His reply shows his humility and gives insight into his personality and why I’ve come to admire him so much.
“We really are not so much a ‘power couple’ and your readers will, I’m sure, want to know that there are many married couples across the world like us who with God in the centre of our lives are harnessed in that triple cord!” he wrote.
“We love our country, our heritage, but most of all God. Shaneen centres her importance in ministry on family and is a brilliant wife and mother. Like any couple, we are not perfect and together we ‘have a go’ or ‘get things done.’ Though at times we fail, we keep going.”
Nevertheless, they are a “power couple,” so well connected through the business and Christian communities that they were able to help us present a special edition of the Modern English Version to the dean of Windsor on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.
One of their important connections is Col. David Waddell, who knew the dean of Windsor and who made the connection. Martin called the MEV dedication to the queen a “highly significant occasion.”
“In four years, we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower, where the people aboard proudly brought the Word of God to America,” Martin said. “And now we are proud that you have brought it back to us. This is a year that is significant, and it’s no accident that you are here and that we did what we did with the MEV.”
In London, Col. Waddell invited me to his nice club in Chelsea, where I interviewed him for a podcast on my Strang Report. It’s worth listening to this proper English gentleman describe the process we went through for the dedication of the MEV a few days before the interview!
Martin Clarke is a very successful real estate businessman in London. Shaneen is a native of London of Indian descent who is on fire for God and who is a catalyst for Martin’s tenacity for God.
The Clarkes are both active members of Holy Trinity Brompton near their home in London. They have attended there many years. It is one of the most influential churches in that country and in the world, mainly through its Alpha Program. I had the opportunity to visit the service with them while I was in London.
Martin was instrumental in saving the plight of the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. His financial contribution in moving the Grahame White Aircraft Hangar allowed for the new museum to be built. He first met Prince Charles in 1989 through the Kings Cross Development Project.
Meanwhile, Shaneen travels the world ministering. When I was there, she had just gotten back from a trip to Norway and Switzerland, She has ministered in the United States, appeared on The 700 Club and has become friends with very influential people like Benny Hinn, Marcus Lamb and others. She has a winsome personality and smile. She ministers powerfully in the Holy Spirit and people are touched.
Her background is fascinating, having come from a family of Hindu faith. As a very curious teenager, Shaneen said she was “zapped” by the Holy Spirit at 14, and eventually many in her family became Christians. It was around that time she joined a local Assemblies of God church where her pastor gave her a copy of Jamie Buckingham’s book, Daughter of Destiny, about Kathryn Kuhlman. The book inspired her to pray for a heaven-sent anointing on her life.
Despite her plans to move to the U.S. and attend Rhema Bible College, Shaneen’s father demanded that she marry at 17. After 10 years of a verbally abusive marriage, she divorced, and it was by a divine appointment of viewing evangelist Steve Hill’s television program that her spiritual life was restored. Hill prophesied that there was a “divorced woman in England whom God is going to resurrect the call on your life.”
At that very moment, Shaneen said she felt fire go through her body, and she repented and returned to the call of God on her life.
“I’m so grateful because God resurrected a dead dream in my life,” Shaneen said. “Once you have a call on your life, God will never give up on you no matter what’s happening with you. He will reach you. He will get to you.”
Since then, Shaneen has written a best-selling book titled Dare to Be Great and, in 2012, launched her “One Word” audio series that touches and brings changes to many lives.
When a power couple like this conducts a meeting, they will sometimes have it The Ritz London Hotel. In fact, they hosted a tea there, for which I recorded a podcast. It was nice, almost beyond description. Earlier, they had some teas at The Ritz, which was a nice setting to invite some high-level people to hear about the gospel.
Several people went down “under the power” or, as Shaneen calls it, “floored in the Spirit.” Staff members at The Ritz were concerned, so they actually called an ambulance thinking that someone was sick. When I heard that story, I laughed.
The Clarkes continue to minister throughout England and the world, and their desire is to empower others to take the gospel to nations.
“If you have a dream, you can make it happen,” Shaneen says. “Do the little things, in small steps, and you’ll end up climbing huge staircases for the Lord.”
If the Clarkes inspire you, please listen to the podcasts, share this article with friends and leave your comments. {eoa}
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