I have just returned from a visit to Week Three of the annual meeting of the Keswick Christian Life Convention in Keswick, England.  In addition to the breath taking beauty of the Lake District there were many other blessings to be experienced.  Keswick and the Keswick Convention are a part of the very fabric of my Christian Life.  If I am asked to describe the primary influences on my spiritual formation I would, without hesitation, describe the ministry of the Keswick Christian Live movement and its teachings.  I became a Christian in 1966 and I was introduced to Keswick in 1969.  The “Keswick Message” impacted my life significantly.

Week Three of the 2016 Keswick Convention had an added feature that made it extra special to me.  At the invitation of Jonathan Lamb, CEO of Keswick, invited representatives from Keswick Conventions in different countries to attend week three and to participate in a forum of discussion about the role and future of Keswick in the future.  A dozen countries were represented.  I was honored to represent the USA.  There were representatives from England, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Cayman, Finland, Japan, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa.  Our meetings were held in the mornings and afternoons and the discussions, led by Jonathan Lamb, were most productive.  It was an overwhelming blessing to hear reports of God’s work through Keswick from so many countries.

It has been my happy privilege to have preached in several of the Keswick’s represented:  USA, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, and Japan.

The heart of the Keswick Message is the Christ-like life.  Whatever else Jesus did in His atoning work on the cross and in His resurrection, the restoration of the image of God upon our lives is certainly a key part.  The Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Spirit-filled life, the Victorious Life…these statements and more describe the Christian life.  However, I prefer to use Dr. Stephen Olford’s statement:  The Normal Christian Life!  This is the life Christ desires to produce in His followers.

Roger D. Willmore 8/16