Casualty, Glastonbury and Lost Nokias

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

Friday night's youth club ended with me taking one of our leaders, Dan, to the A&E after he fell awkwardly playing football. I wish I had a fiver for every time I'd ended up taking someone to casualty from a youth club. Saturday I spent in Sheffield attending the CPAS training day for their youth version of the Growing Leaders course. My enjoyment of the day was interrupted by carelessly leaving my mobile in the taxi from the station. After much sweating and annoyance, a very kind taxi driver reunited me and my Nokia for which I was very grateful. The day itself was useful and the course is something I'd like to look into for 9-12 months time when I try and align young people with specific ministries within the church. No point growing leaders unless you're providing arenas to lead in.

On Sunday we had three baptisms at church with some fantastic testimonies. We had family visiting this weekend so it was good to be able to spend much of Sunday with them over a lovely meal and just chilling and chatting.

The weekend had its share of sadness too as we learned of the tragic death, as the result of a car crash, of my cousin James. He was just 44 and leaves a widow, Rachel and two teenage daughters, Lois and Ruth. Much prayer needed for this precious family.


ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

Youth team meeting tonight (always a time of encouragement). Tomorrow I have an appointment at the hospital about one of those annoying little skin tags which attach themselves to us with such tenacity! I have one on my eyelid which is becoming a bit of an irritation. On Wednesday I'm involved in our church forum, reporting on the findings of the church questionnaire and also presenting a bit of autobiography as the church considers the elders recommendation of me as an elder. Scary stuff!

Towards the end of the week I'm looking forward to meeting and spending time with Claire Hoernig from Operation Mobilisation who will be leading our missions trip to Romania next month.

Finally we have a team night on Saturday for those young people going to Keswick in the summer. (putting up tents and taking them down again!)


BOOK(S) I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF:

Out of necessity for Saturday's course I read 'Ready to Lead' by Ruth Hassall. Very clear and a useful tool for any youth pastor aspiring to develop the next generation of leaders.


TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

Last night, with no church involvement, i indulged myself by watching some of the Glastonbury festival. Springsteen was very watchable as usual, but I felt Blur stole the show with an awesome performance of their greatest hits catalogue.


WHAT SONG IS THE IPOD SHUFFLE PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS:

"Down the Dip" by Aztec Camera from the album High Land, Hard Rain



NEXT TRIP:

The one I've been looking forward to most. Next Wednesday, along with my stepson Sam and my best mate Alasdair, I'm off to the San Siro, Milan to see U2 in concert. Can't wait!


HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Lots to do. No two days the same. Brilliant. Thank you God. I love my job.

Monday became Tuesday too soon this week...

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

Saturday morning was spent being splatted with heavy wet sponges at our fundraising morning for our missions trip to Romania this summer. It was a very successful morning with over £2000 being added to the kitty. I managed to watch the thrilling First Test between the Lions and the Springboks before heading up to Dumfries. On Sunday I preached morning and evening at Dumfries Baptist Church, and inbetween enjoyed a lovely family meal at Tabletable. It was good to see mum and my nieces Katy, Fay, Jennifer & Laura, as well as my brother Craig and his wife Janet.


ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

Well, as I'm a day late with this entry, I've already chaired an elders meeting last night which went well, I think. Today I'm in the office and tomorrow I'm spending my day off up in Scotland visiting Newcraigs Evangelical Church in Fife (where I used to live) who are thinking of appointing a youth worker, and have asked for some insights into the process and the pitfalls to be wary of. Thursday and Friday I'm in the office and doing loads of prep for services and events which are coming up. This Sunday I'm speaking to the youth in the morning and in the afternoon am presenting something around spiritual life questionnaires to our leaders' lunch.


BOOK(S) I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF:

Enjoyed reading an old D Martyn Lloyd-Jones book called Authority, in particular the section on the authority of Scripture.


TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

Haven't caught much telly in the last week, mostly sport. One programme which my wife and I have watched is a new BBC drama called Hope Springs. The acting is poor, the storyline thin and it's very much a girls' programme, but I was fascinated to see it as it was filmed in Wanlockhead (the highest village in Scotland) and which I know well. I spotted Robert and Nana McCall's house, which I used to visit as a child.


WHAT SONG IS THE IPOD SHUFFLE PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS:

Saviour I Must Sing by Kate Simmonds


NEXT TRIP:

Tomorrow I'm off to Kirkcaldy, then I'm in Sheffield on Saturday at the CPAS Growing Leaders training day.


HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Amazed that we're fast approaching July. I just wish there was an extra day in the week to cram some more sleep in.

London Calling

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

I didn't get off to a great start as I had trouble sleeping on Friday night so Saturday was a bit of a write-off which meant I missed a training day for Christianity Explored.

On Sunday I taught in the morning on Luke 19: The Parable of the Minas and in the evening on Simon Peter: Before and After, looking at the comparison between the three denials and the three 'Do You Love Me?' questions of Jesus at the 'beach breakfast.' (John 21)



ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

I'm out of the office a fair bit this week which means I need to be ultra-productive in my use of time. I have a schools visit on Thursday followed by an Incarnate event with Bart Campolo and Andy Hawthorne. At the weekend we have a fundraising morning for our summer missions trip. At the weekend I'm preaching at my hometown church, Dumfries Baptist Church, which I'm looking forward to immensely. It also means the opportunity to spend some time with family which is always good.




BOOK(S) I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF:

Just started 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Seobold. Curious premise written from the point of view of a young girl who has been murdered and is in her idea of heaven from where she can still observe her family and former life.




TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

The ICC World Twenty20 cricket has been thrilling and there have been some good games. The biggest shock was seeing Australia sent out of the tournament before the super eight phase. The bad news is it gives them an extra fortnight off before taking on England in The Ashes. I think they'll be stiffer opposition then.




WHAT SONG IS THE IPOD SHUFFLE PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS:

Shelter by Lone Justice




NEXT TRIP:

Tomorrow I'm off to London to take part in a discussion on future youth ministry trends at the offices of Youthwork magazine.



HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Quite pleased about the variety of the week, particularly a couple of travelling opportunities. It's always good to get out and about. In particular, it'll be good to spend the night in London staying at my good friends Alasdair and Sophie in Peckham, and I'll get to meet their lovely bay boy Ewan for the first time. Exciting!

Innovating Church for the 21st Century - Notes Part 2

"Reaching kids, reaching families" - Susan White

The last 15 minutes is the key teaching time in kids ministry.

2 questions to ask each kid after the programme ;

1. Did you have fun? 2. What did you learn?

If the answer to q1 is no then you may never see them again, or for a long time or it may be really difficult for parents to get them there. Without an affirmative answer to q1, then you won't get to be able to ask q2.

Kids ministry must be valued by the senior pastor.

The mission field is at its largest thru the window of kids ministry. Kids are bringing parents to church. Instead of being a trickle down from parents down the generations, where we can see a loosening of faith by the next generation, when it works from kids up, faith will have greater longevity. It reaches both up and down generationally.

A church has a child for about 40 hours a year; a parent has the same child for approx 3000 hours; guess where the weight of responsibility lies?

Church will play its part in making those 40 hours a brilliant base but the key thing is that the church builds parents to be fully devoted followers. How can we better do this?

Are volunteers 'hiding' behind curriculum and materials instead of spending time reflecting on why they're doing what they're doing? How is their relationship with God?

Delegate - find a person for every job that needs to be done

If you want to see your church grow, then you need to act like a big church before you are a big church. Adopt good habits of delegation and planning. Act as if your church is double the size it really is, then it will grow into itself.

Train and encourage volunteers:
1. Orientation class for volunteers
2. Handbook on policies and procedures with sign-off by applicant
3. vetting procedures
4. When they are 'kid-safe' welcome them and make it obvious with visual team identification eg lanyards, tshirts.
5. Don't abandon them- value leaders with training, ensure they're not spiritually dry

Ensure security is in place in kids ministry - sign in sign out when collected, print off badges on the spot at a designated hand over site.

Message from Nehemiah for volunteers - each was building the wall - each named and mentioned - each valued - each important - part to play

Spiritual maturity standard for younger leaders - we need to know that who you are in church is who you are the rest of the week



Resources to check out for kids ministry:
Hillsongs kids dvd
Rethinkgroup.org - Northpoint - 'The Big Story' dvd
Kids curriculum - big city studios
Promiseland -
Northpoint 252 basics - first look

Innovating Church for the 21st Century - notes part 1

(St Ps and Gs, Edinburgh)

I had a really good day yesterday in Edinburgh at this Willow Creek event. (See previous post) Here are the notes I took:

“New Culture, New Methods” James Emery White

Innovation = renewing,

Innovation does not equal tips or schedules or strategies

Culture is the world we live in and the world that lives in us

What kind of culture have we made for ourselves?

6 identifiable ages of Christian Church each lasting approx 300 yrs and each ending in crisis which birthed innovation

Are we at the beginning of a 7th age?

Nature of 7th age ... A second fall

Western culture is now operating with no reference to God. We try to arrive at truth starting with ourselves, divorced from any transcendent truth. God is not referred to or acknowledged.

People are increasingly defining themselves as non-religious. The good news is that this creates a fantastic mission field. While people are not interested in religion they ARE increasingly interested in spiritual things. People are seeking meaning and this provides a perfect landscape for evangelism.

'God is dead and it is we who have killed him...' said Nietzsche '...how shall we find comfort?'

In the age of the metrosexual we are seeing more and more 'metrospirituals' (consumerist egocentric approach to life now permeates spiritual things)

3 areas where we can innovate:

1. Mission

2. Strategy

3. Method

1. Mission

The average church is full of rhetoric about mission but not mission itself. The lost should be our driving force. Jesus hung about with people who didn't care about God.

Luke 17 – ‘compel people to come in' - go out aggressively and don't stop till they come in. Church should not be comfortable, but it should be full.

Great commission - start off with those who are not in relationship with God and bring them into relationship with those who are.

Lots of churches are specializing in different parts of the mission and discipleship process, in maintenance mode, keeping polished Christians pristine. That's not the mission. We have a mandate to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Christ. From atheists to missionaries. Easier to get BA passengers onto Air France than a non-flyer onto a plane.

2. Strategy

Strategy gives the 'whys for the methods. The biggest strategic innovation is that we have moved from an Acts 2 model to an Acts 17 model.

Peter was able to speak to a people who were monotheists and expected a Messiah. Oh for people like that today. Paul in Acts 17 could not give an Acts 2 message. The pluralistic culture of Mars Hill could only agree that none of them were certain they were right. Paul skilfully laid a foundation for the roots of belief to take hold.

We need to build a bridge for people to walk over in terms of where they start from and where Christ is.

If in the 1950s people were at 8 out of 10 in terms of their pre-conversion understanding of faith, church, God, salvation, sin, doctrine, then the average person in 2009 would be 1, 2 or 3 at best.

The evangelistic strategies of the ‘50s worked for the people of the time.

Change happened thru 60s and 70s as people dipped to 2 or 3 on a scale of 1-10.

Event evangelism grew.

Today's climate means that we have to do work on the 2s and 3s to get them to an 8 or 9 before we can then get them to commit to a 10.

Strategy now becomes process and event.

A.

No longer can you have a mentality that 'if we build it they will come'. It needs to be about investing and inviting. Working through relationship, 1 by 1. Befriending leads to relationship which leads to invitation.

B.

Move to open your front door. Invite people to events which have been designed with them in mind. Create your own 'Mars Hill' where people can go through the process which leads to the event. Designing a service does not mean you dumb down the gospel, but it does alter how we say what we say. It kills in-jokes and jargon-laden talk. Church must be culturally relevant and doctrinally correct.

In 1 Cor. Paul tells people to stop doing certain things in public worship in case people think you're insane. Be sensitive.

The message of the gospel is unchanging; the method of communication of that gospel must change in order to be culturally sensitive and relevant.

Translation of gospel must be pursued. Transformation of gospel must be avoided.

C.

In our apologetics we must move away from 'reasons to believe the Bible' to 'this is the Bible'. Instead of 'did Jesus rise from the dead' to 'so what if He did'?

D.

From relevance of faith to experience of faith. People are hungry for community even though they're dysfunctional in community. People want to experience spirituality before they are spiritual. Taste before they buy.

People used to believe their way into feeling. Now they feel their way into believing. This is seen in all world religions. Journalling, prayer etc is appealing to the atheist because of the feeling, the buzz, the experience.

E.

From being real to giving an example. Acting like you've got it all together is disingenuous and unattractive.

'A sinner needs to lead this church otherwise we add deceit to our sins'

But today people want more than simply that...they need to see a living example of God in us... and that should be attractive.

We have to be the good news before we tell the good news.

3. Methods

Small groups, weekend services, anything aimed at community is cheap. It’s not the main thing. It’s expendable. The method is only there to reach your aim. The method can be junked anytime.

New methods include using IT, branding the church and seeing each teaching series as a marketing campaign opportunity. Pouring money into kids ministry and turning kids evangelism on its head so that kids bring parents to church, not the other way round.

And so begins another week...

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

Alli attended a CWR event at Bethany on Saturday entitled 'How to be a secure woman' and thoroughly enjoyed it. This meant I was on 'Childwatch' most of the day.

On Sunday we had a good time with the youth in the morning considering Elisha and the floating axe-head from 2 Kings 6. It's been one of my favourite stories ever since I heard Willie Wright preaching on it under the title 'Losing Your Cutting Edge' at Dumfries Baptist Church several years ago. A fascinating chapter about trust and God's protection.

At night we continued in our 'Developing Your Shape to Serve Others' series and I was teaching on how God uses our unique personalities for His purposes. He doesn't necessarily want to change our personalities when we are converted; rather He wants to use our unique personalities to their utmost for His sake. After all, He gave us our personalities. We looked at Saul/Paul before and after Damascus Road, as well as Mary and her outpouring of perfume. God takes us and uses us in many ways for the sake of the gospel.

ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

Do some final thinking around my appraisal response before it is sent back to the trustees next week.

Prepare two teaching sessions for Sunday

PROCRASTINATING ABOUT:

Nothing I am aware of

BOOK(S) I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF:

Really enjoyed the little book 'Worldliness', edited by CJ Mahaney this week. The subtitle 'Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World' points to a message within the book as relevant to the wider church as to the youth ministry department. I found it a personal challenge and I am sure it will become one of those little helpful books I return to time after time. Recommended.

TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

Well, after the disappointment of the previous week's 'Britain's Got Talent' finale, this week was rescued by the semi-final and final of The Apprentice. The two finalists, Kate and Yasmina would both have been worthy winners but in the end Suralan gave the job to restaurateur Yasmina.

WHAT SONG IS THE IPOD SHUFFLE PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS:

Hungry (Falling On My Knees) by Kathryn Scott

NEXT TRIP:

Tomorrow I'm off to Edinburgh for a Willow Creek day conference with James Emery White. I'll be attending a seminar called 'Reaching Kids, Reaching Families.' I'm looking forward to the train journey to be able to read, relax and think.

HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Fairly chilled so far. I feel like I got quite productive last week and was able to put some things to bed and can now begin thinking strategy thoughts for the remainder of 2009 in the youth ministry teaching sphere, as well as starting to dream up some longer-term thoughts and ideas. This is always the area I find a bit sticky and muddly, but is necessary before I can cast vision to the team and the church.

Rwanda: Resurrecting Faith?

Ever since reading Fergal Keane's wonderfully moving book 'Seasons of Blood' several years ago I have had an interest in the country of Rwanda post-genocide. In particular I am interested in the part faith has played in the rebirth of the country. So I was interested to see Walt Mueller's latest blog on the state of Rwanda fifteen years after the genocide. In particular, the comments he refers to from the book, 'Mirror to the Church' by Emmanuel Katongole about how the evangelisation of the world has been less than perfect.
"...Katongole rocks our safe and secure little understanding (or more accurately, misunderstanding) of the Christian faith again, when he quotes one of my heroes of the faith, John Perkins: "We have over-evangelized the world too lightly." Wow again. "Much of what has gone out in the name of Christianity is evangelism-lite. Or to say it differently, the church has only half-fulfilled the Great Commission. We've gone out preaching Jesus, but we haven't been able to 'teach them to obey everything' he commanded."

This is a book I must get hold of and I'm ordering it right now!

What are the hurdles men have to leap to get into church?

I was interested to see this article in the men's Christian magazine Sorted.

I'm sure we as a church have a long way to go in the desire to reconnect with men and men's needs. The gospel is unchanging we know, but I think the idea of incarnational ministry is key. Personalising the gospel or meeting people where they're at is what Jesus was all about surely. Expecting all people to 'get it' by our narrow methodology is unrealistic, particularly in the ever-changing landscape of the digital age. I'm trying to get my head round what Paul means in Titus 2:10 when he instructs Titus to teach slaves "that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."

That word 'atrractive' intrigues me. I know primarily the teaching here is aimed at lifestyle and honouring others in respect to conduct and behaviour but nonetheless the motivation is that the gospel is not neutered by making it less attractive. We do that every time we say one thing and act the opposite.

But maybe there's something more to it. It's not about watering down the gospel, or wrapping gimmicks around it. But to make the gospel accessible to some, we need to remove some of the barriers. The barriers may have been erected by the church or by the individual's preconceptions or prejudices about church.

Some people become Christians (then disciples) because at a specific point in time they are arrested by the Spirit of God working in tandem with the power of the Word. But for most people there is a 'connecter', someone they are in relationship with who invites them into a position where they can investigate faith/church/God.

But no doubt many of our church people are retiscent to invite friends or family because of lack of trust in what they will be presented with when they step over the threshold of our churches.

This is a huge challenge to us as leaders as we offer evangelistic opportunities and bridge-building events. Would we 'buy the product?'

Ultimately it's relationships and incarnational ministry that ushers in conversion, but we must be more self-aware of the barriers in the way.

That's the Spirit!

I caught up with 'That's the Spirit!', a service broadcast live from Kingsgate Community Church, Peterborough for Pentecost on Sunday morning. It's still available here from BBC iplayer for the next few days.

The church's website is worth a visit too. You can find it here.

It was fascinating to hear that Chris Moyles had been impacted by the service as he shared with his 7.7 million listeners on Radio 1 yesterday. You can listen to his thoughts here.

Have you found what you're looking for?

This is a fantastic short film by Scott Gold as he attempts to discover the ACTUAL Joshua Tree in Death Valley. Brilliant! Took me right back to 1987. Click here to watch it.

It's Monday again

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

Saturday we had an early morning elders breakfast and prayer time. These are valuable connection times and it's always good to start a day with prayer. Then I spent the morning looking for t-shirts for summer. The sun has been baking hot these last few days and it's encouraged me to consider that I may benefit from some new summer gear. Especially as I'll be visiting some rather hot places during the next few months. (more of that another time)

Sunday was a busy day in the life of the church. We gathered early for a Pentecost Sunday morning communion service. Then we had the regular service and I did some teaching with the teens on 'The Pharisee and the Tax Collector'. It was a good session with lots of participation as we considered what modern Pharisees look like and how we can all be guilty of the sin of pride. Then there was a families' picnic at the clifftop at Seaham. It was scorching and everyone enjoyed a beautiful afternoon. Then back for the youth service where I was leading and teaching on having 'A Servants' Heart.' During communion I encouraged people to put things right with others before taking the bread and it was great to see some forgiveness being demonstrated. That's what it's all about after all!

ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

I'm out every night this week except Thursday. Various meetings and pastoral visits lined up. Thursday will be a nice day off with my 7 year old daughter. Her school is being used as a polling station for the European elections so she's planning that we go for a Tesco's breakfast followed by a trip to the cinema. We'll see!

Workwise, I have a bitty week with some time away on Wednesday with 4 other pastors for reflection, spiritual nurture and mutual support. And some nice food!

I am teaching Sunday morning and evening with the youth.

PROCRASTINATING ABOUT:

I need to contact the register general's office in Scotland about getting all the paperwork in order for officiating at my niece Katy's wedding in October. This will be my first wedding so it's unchartered territory.

BOOK(S) I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF:

I haven't made much progress on the reading front these last few days.

TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

There was a marvellous documentary on BBC last week about sufferers of Tourette's syndrome. It was funny and sad in equal measure and I was impressed by all the people featured and how articulate they were about expressing their feelings about their 'tics' and how they have no control over them. Really enlightening and a fascinating insight to a most disturbing neurological condition.

WHAT SONG IS THE IPOD SHUFFLE PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS:

"Smile Again" by Kirk Franklin

NEXT TRIP:

To Shepherd's Dene on Wednesday for our retreat day

HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Pretty good. This is the last week, I think, before the real busy season that I've designed for myself hits the lift-off phase. After this week, I am going to be doing a fair bit of travelling around the country and further afield. So I need to be quite intentional about being organised and get lots of things boxed off so I don't hit the panic button. I also have to visit the doctor this week and get some injections for some foreign travel. The injections themselves have never troubled me; I just hope I don't have any side-effects.