Now I find myself in reverie...

Love Wins...or does the church just lose it? (again)

2011-03-01T10:14:00.004Z

I find it deeply ironic that most of the critics of Bell's new book haven't actually read it yet. I'll keep my powder dry till I've had a chance to read it.

I agree that if there is a universalism prevalent in this particular book, then I would have a problem with it. All I'm saying is I haven't read it, and by Justin Taylor's own admission, neither has he (in totality). So I think it's a bit premature to be slating Rob Bell, a brother in Christ, without knowing the facts.

I have watched the clip and have to say that I found it interesting and intriguing. It is set up in a way to sell the book. I am just cynical enough to believe that even Christian publishing organisations have bought into a marketing strategy aimed at creating a 'storm' of controversy/interest which gets people talking about the product. (which they hope to convert to sales). I am not condoning this, by the way, just that's the way it is.

Rob Bell asks questions. That's what he does. That's no bad thing. I ask questions all the time. Why does God answer some people's prayers for healing one way and others by letting them die? Why do certain things in the Bible appear to make no sense? Why does God use death so severely and vengeance so prominently in how he deals with his enemies? Answer: I have no clue.

But it doesn't make me love God any less or trust him any less. That, in a nutshell, is what faith is. Trusting without necessarily understanding.

However, it does make it hard for those of us who seek to relate who this great God is to those who do not yet have that faith. Or who have A faith but not a steadfast one as yet.

The questions Rob Bell poses in the clip seem to be starting from that premise; of asking some of the difficult questions. I think one of the reasons his profile has grown in recent years is because he has not been afraid of the 'sacred cows'; he has been willing to ask some difficult questions and has done the hard work then of trying to make them accessible to your average church-goer. This is what the whole Nooma series was dealing with.

I am not prepared, not having read the book, to shoot the guy down and write him off as a heretic. The conservative wing of the church has always been too quick to do this with people who view the world from a sideways perspective, when often, if their words and teachings are thoroughly scrutinised, they are often much more orthodox and true to Scripture than some westernised, modern approaches to church and faith, practices and rituals, authority and hierarchy.

I will be interested to read the book and will, I am quite sure, have many conversations about it in the months to come.

I hope you don't think I'm being sniffy or ungracious. I just have seen too many times when people think they have to choose a position on something like this; then discover that actually there was much more to it than appeared on the surface, or in this case, a publicity video.

When we come to read anything we should read it with our minds, and more importantly, our Bibles, open.

On the specifics of the Rob Bell book, I think the principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' may not be a bad one. He seems to be doing the very thing some of his critics are encouraging, i.e. accentuating the positive nature of God's Love and salvation. However, I still (!) haven't read the book so will refrain from passing personal judgement on the book. By the way, in any personal judgement I do have I will fight my personal sinful tendency to judge the individual and try to stick to an objective critique of the book. So glad the judging is for someone more qualified than me!

The first direct quote I've been able to track down from the actual book seems to completely shoot down the notion which is being virally spread that Bell rejects Hell and creates a God who is standing in heaven welcoming all and sundry:

"... In speaking of the expansive, extraordinary, infinite love of God there is always the danger of neglecting the very real consequences of God's love. Namely God's desire and intention to see things become everything they were intended to be. For this to unfold, God must say about a number of acts and to those who would continue to do them 'Not here you won't.'

Love demands freedom. We are free to resist, reject, and rebel against God's ways for us. We can have all the hell we want."

Yes, Bell is guilty. But at this stage all he is guilty of is using apparent deliberate provocativeness. I think this is an oft-used tactic in his previous books, podcasts, Noomas and tours. I don't necessarily dislike this tactic. It could even be argued Jesus himself used similar tactics when telling some of his parables. These can be the hooks to entice the fish. Knowing what I know of Bell, he rarely waffles and every word will have been carefully crafted and weighed.

As far as what makes something controversial, in the case of western church, it's usually Fox News and their followers! The republican right of America are coiled like springs to jump all over stuff like this, as it attacks (or at least they believe it does) their closely-guarded grip on all kingdom values. They are the Christian Gospel's equivalent to the Tower of London's Beefeaters, duty bound to defend her from any 'attack', especially from the pernicious emergent church.

It reminds me somewhat of the storm which arose out of Lennon's 'Beatles are bigger than Jesus' misquotes. The highly strung Right moral majority leap all over something without knowing (or seeming to care about) the facts. Why let the truth spoil a good story, right?

I think the phraseology he uses in the video clip regarding Jesus coming to save us from God is a really interesting take on how the big picture of the gospel message is perceived and should make us all examine the language and tone with which we preach. If this is the message people are equating with the Christian church, as Bell says, no wonder they are so disenfranchised.

The danger of course is not necessarily from Rob Bell himself but from the ultra-liberals for whom the opposite danger is true. That they will accept unthinkingly the notion of 'no hell' as it panders to the concept of 'it'll be all right on the night' and at the end of the day God will welcome all. The danger that this pre-book-launch controversy will be enough for them to hang their watered-down hats on. Of course, my argument would then be a step of logic. No hell...no heaven?

Incidentally, I don't just read books I agree with. I'm always more worried and suspicious about people who claim to have all the answers and who have stopped asking questions. Questions are healthy. It's what we do with the answers that's important.

Yes, I'll read the book, but I'm in no rush. I've got a stack of more interesting things to read first. However, I hope people don't 'assassinate' Rob Bell without availing themselves of facts first.

In what part of the video clip does Bell 'teach' anything? His understanding of what hell is or isn't, of what God does or doesn't do, is not there...it's simply not there.

I worry that the right-wing conservatives will do their usual and overreact without the facts, thus creating much harmful in-fighting. I mean the title is 'Love Wins'. If youread the actual quote from the book, not the publisher's blurb, there's no denial of hell or eternal punishment in that.

Days 8 & 9

2010-08-12T08:48:00.010+01:00

Well that's it. The bags are packed; email addresses are being swapped and people are getting ready to go home. The week in Emmeloord is coming to and end and for this group of young people it is a week full of memories which will last the rest of their life.

Yesterday was another highlight of the week and there are some photos of our day above.

In the morning we went to Urk, a unique village in Holland, only 12km from where we have been based. It is unique because it has its own culture and language and is seen by many Dutch people as being almost a separate community. The people of Urk themselves have a strong independent streak and also have a strong sense of faith, though this tends to be strongly legalistic and exclusive.

In the morning we enjoyed a fantastic boat trip out into some fairly choppy waters which meant some of our party got a good soaking from the higher waves. This gave us a great opportunity to see how picturesque the town of Urk is. It attracts plenty of tourists and on a hot sunny day like we had, we were able to see it at its absolute best. We enjoyed a foot-tour of the village and then we had lunch at the beautiful home of Wilma, one of the local church members.

In the afternoon we spent time in a local park doing some evangelism amongst the young people who were playing football and skateboarding there. Many good conversations were struck up and the gospel was clearly shared.

In the evening we held a farewell barbecue and some of the people we had contact with through the week came along; this gave more opportunities to share with these people. One lady who we had met at the summermarket on Friday told how she'd gone to church on Sunday for the first time in a long while and had been unable to stop crying during the service as she was struck by the truth contained in the songs that were being sung. Two boys who we had met at Urk in the afternoon cycled the 12km to attend. Three Moslem boys who we had chatted to at the football cage two days ago came despite the fact that it was the start of Ramadan and they could eat and drink nothing. These people are hungry for more than food.

We gave gifts and said thanks to our host families and then began the job of packing and tidying.

This morning there is a realisation that the week is almost over and people are quite tired and ready for their own beds. However, they also don't want the week to end and I hope this positive experience of mission will inspire them to think seriously about the future and how they can servce God. As one of the teenagers has said this week, 'I want to do more of this evangelism when I get back to the UK.'

Amen!

Days 6 and 7

2010-08-10T17:38:00.004+01:00

Well, it's been a busy 48 hours here in Emmeloord. Yesterday we met some asylum seekers in the morning and heard about their experiences since coming to Holland to flee their homelands of Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. In the afternoon the team helped with a children's club and this went down well with the local children. After a busy week tiredness is evident among the team and energy levels are taking a hit. In the evenings we have had a short time of worship, teaching, sharing and praying together called 'Throne Room' and it's good to end the day together remembering why we're here and who we're serving.

In the mornings too, we have some small group time and everyone is encouraged to find some private space to spend some time alone with God, the Bible and prayer. This helps to bring focus to each day and helps people leave aside any little things which may be troubling them.

Today we have spent the day in the poorest area of town serving the community with litter picking, gardening and using the football cage with the local youngsters. There have been some good evangelistic conversations again today and we are trusting that God will bless these seeds which have been sown.

On a humorous note, I managed to fall off my bike yesterday which brought great mirth and amusement to the group, who showed their care for my hurt derriere by laughing at me. Oh well! At least no-one got a picture.

Tomorrow is our last full day before we head home on Thursday. We're spending it in the fishing village of Urk and hope to do some evangelism there amongst the local families, weather permitting.

Thanks again for all your prayers.

Days 4 and 5

2010-08-08T11:14:00.006+01:00

I never got the opportunity to blog yesterday so this is a bit of a doubler. Yesterday we went into the city of Utrecht and had some time off. We enjoyed an hour's cruise round the city's canal system and were glad to be under cover as the weather was of the British summer variety, i.e. rain. This gave the group the opportunity to wear their newly acquired Dutch ponchos (see pictures).

Utrecht's centre was extremely busy with many market traders and a bustling shopping centre. We have learnt that Dutch people have a sixth sense of where the mad speedy cyclists are going to appear from and which direction they are heading. We have yet to get this sense.

After a good (but wet) afternoon, we headed back to Emmeloord, stopping en route to have a McDonald's for tea.

We spent the evening preparing for our participation today's church services.

This morning the group was divided into two and went to two different churches:

The Fountain (which has been our base for the week) which has about 500 attending, and

The Rainbow (much smaller with about 100).

Everyone particated in sharing something of the evangelistic work we've been involved in/ which is still to come. From Bethany, Peter gave a demonstration of some of the techniques we've been using, and Aaron shared some of his testimony. Everyone did very well. Thanks for your prayers.

This afternoon we are hanging out with some of the local Christian young people and as I type there is an international table-tennis tournament taking place!

It is Peter's 15th birthday today, and though he doesn't know it yet, there will be a cake and a card later!

Some of the team are extremely tired and struggling with various bugs and ailments so please pray that they would get over them quickly and get the strength for the rest of the week.

Signing off for now.

Day 3

2010-08-06T19:06:00.006+01:00

Wow what a day! This was the day when the evangelism training of yesterday began to be put into action. After our team Bible study time at Heelal this morning, we went to the main street of Emmeloord to work at our stall among all the street traders who were part of the busy place that was Emmeloord's annual Summermarket. Right among all the stalls selling all sorts there we were modelling balloons, face-painting and, would you believe it, selling Chicken Poop! Apparently it is good for the soil and people use it in their gardens. You've heard of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul';this was 'Chicken Poop for the Soil!'

It was thrilling to see some of the young people venture bravely into conversations with complete strangers and take every opportunity to share the gospel message. Though scared and anxious, they tried their best to overcome these fears and when they did, their sense of achievement was great. Some personalities find this kind of thinge asier than others of course, and it was particularly exciting to watch Peter grow in confidence as the day went on and see his courage in sharing the gospel clearly and faithfully.

A long day in the hot sun is taking its toll now and people will need no encouragement to sleep tonight.

We were due to visit Amsterdam for our day out tomorrow. However we have discovered today that Amsterdam is hosting its annual Gay Pride event tomorrow! A few hastily made phone calls and we have rearranged our trip to another of Holland's prettier cities, Utrecht. Okay, it would have been nice to visit Amsterdam but I think it was a no-brainer.

Looking forward to a more relaxing day tomorrow and no more chicken poop.

Day 2

2010-08-05T15:25:00.006+01:00

(Peter and Dan get busy with the face paints)

The team's first surprise of the trip was that for the week we are all getting back on our bikes! In Holland, everyone uses bikes to get everywhere. So when we went to our host families last night, it was on 2 wheels. Our saddles and seat heights have been for various adjustments today so that everyone isn't walking with a limp when we get home.

After varying amounts of sleep, we arrived back at Heelal (our base) this morning and spent a bit of time receiving some practical information for our week. Our schedule is busy and varied and there won't be much time for anyone to feel bored or homesick; though people may need a long rest or holiday when they get home.

This morning the team had their first experience of 'The Big Adventure'; the name OM give to their daily team bible study. This was done in small groups and gave everyone the opportunity to contribute and spend some time alone with God and His Word.

After a light lunch we received some training in evangelism which should stand everyone in good stead tomorrow when we go the Summermarket and use newly acquired skills in Face painting [see example above] and balloon modelling as a means to gain an opportunity to share the gospel.

The team are going into Amsterdam on Saturday for our day off which is coming earlier in the week than we expected, but will provide everyone with an opportunity to sightsee and spend some of their money on gifts etc.

The Bethany team has enjoyed meeting the others we will be working with this week: Josh from Cardiff, Laura from Birmingham, Priscilla from Croydon and Tobias from Germany, Andrew from Paris, as well as our Dutch hosts, Marijke, Hannika, Judit, Peter and Jana and others.

This (and every) evening, we will have a time of team worship which will be good. Please pray for us tomorrow as we spend time witnessing at the Summermarket from 11am to 9pm (with breaks for lunch and dinner). It promises to be a busy, tiring and exciting day.

Sentences I never thought I'd hear: "Tomorrow at the Summermarket" we will be selling chicken poop." Mmmm...another day, another OM gospel opportunity...

Day 1

2010-08-04T20:58:00.002+01:00

(settling in at OM's youth base in Emmeloord)

Well, it's almost the end of day one and we have 5 moderately tired young people and 2 very tired leaders. We're just heading off to our host families and hoping for a good sleep before the work starts tomorrow. We'll be receiving some evangelism training from Mike Mullen of OM Ireland who has been teaching evangelism training at Teenstreet in Germany all week.

The schedule is changed somewhat from the one we had sent to us, but we'll keep you posted over the next few days. Everyone is in good spirit and the travel was simple and straightforward. Big thanks to Julia and Pauline who escorted us to the airport.

I'm signing off as we're being summoned...thanks for all your prayers.

Holland awaits!

2010-08-04T07:59:00.004+01:00

(OM's youth drop-in centre in Emmeloord, our base for the next week)

This morning we head off to Emmeloord in the Netherlands for eight days mission with Operation Mobilisation. The team is made up five young people from Bethany Christian Centre (Tom, Rachel, Aaron, Daniel and Peter) along with two leaders, Jayne and myself. For the next week we'll be involved in various evangelistic opportunities and this blog will hopefully be able to keep folks back home up to date with news, stories and prayer requests. Thanks for stopping by.

Quite simply: read this !

2009-10-02T11:11:00.002+01:00

I read this today and just wanted everyone else to be in the room so I could read it to them too. I found it inspiring and moving. Hope you do too.

Romania journal #8 & 9

2009-08-25T08:22:00.002+01:00

Days 8 + 9 -

You know that it is probably time to start thinking about going home when you start hearing the cockerel saying your name...

We had our final fellowship morning with the local believers then a time of children's ministry for the last time...Tom shared with the older ones who listened to him with great interest. We had a relatively chilled afternoon, packing and preparing for tomorrow's return journey. I spent some time with Rafael debriefing on the week and planning tonight's fellowship time together. Fortunately there hasn't been anything arranged with the church folks tonight (the first night that's happened) so we will be able to spend time with the Romanian team of 5 young people who we've been working with all week, as well as the other Romanian OM workers, Rafael, Sylviu & Emma and Jacov from Finland.

We had a short time of worship, then Sylviu led a time of reflection on the week as a whole. What have we learned? What have we enjoyed? What have we found challenging? What next?

Rafael brought a short piece of teaching on Peter from Luke 22. Three don'ts. 1. Don't sleep. 2. Don't watch Jesus from afar. 3. Don't be warmed by other's fires.

We then washed each other's feet as a symbol of servanthood and brotherhood (and sisterhood!).

Sunday morning was our final chance to meet with the church folks and they had kindly agreed to end their service at 1130 so we could make our way to the airport. They handed over the service to us to lead; as Pastor Marian said, he wanted to squeeze every drop out of us! Sylviu introduced the service, Claire brought some thoughts from an OM perspective, Emma shared a report of the week and I spoke on the importance of mission, be it at home or further afield. It was good too to pray for the 5 Romanian young people and encourage them to rise up in the years to come and reach their land and others with the gospel.

Then it was a quick bite of lunch and team photos and into the cars for the airport.

Everyone is looking forward to getting home, but we are all leaving a little piece of ourselves here in Padureni. Who knows what the future holds for us, for them? But my prayer is that God will add a blessing to all that's been done in His name here over these last few days.

Finally, a word of thanks to all our loved ones for allowing us to have this experience. And to everyone who helped raise the finance. And to all who have been praying. Thank you all so much.

Same time next year?

Romania journal #7

2009-08-24T08:06:00.002+01:00

Day 7 - earlier start than normal as the cyclists - Tom, Rachel and Charlotte- were leaving for another village at 8:30. The others went in the support vehicles and it took 90 minutes to get there. Once there we shared the gospel in several gardens belonging to local people. Gwynneth, Gordon and Charlotte shared and then there was a prolonged discussion between the non-Christians present and the Romanian members of the team. We didn't understand a word of course so all we could do was pray.

This aspect of the trip can involve a lot of sitting around, and feeling useless and ineffective, but I reminded the team, and myself, that we are not here for our benefit. The return journey for lunch took slightly less time and people had worked up an appetite. 94 degrees makes you appreciate water particularly. A bit of down time this afternoon before heading back to the same place later, this time by cars.

When we got there we headed to the school and along with about 20 locals armed with scithes and other assorted implements (not the grim reaper after all, above), we started clearing the school pitch of weeds, bottles and rubbish. I must confess to having been as much use as a chocolate teapot, as for the first time this week, I felt decidedly unwell, with a banging headache. Charlotte and I sat in the shade and I caught up with how she was feeling about things.

When the clearing was done, several games of football ensued. Halfway through the evening, Gwynneth, Ramona and Charlotte performed 'The Sticky Chair Sketch', an OM favourite apparently, and I gave a gospel message on the traps of money, drugs and sex and how Jesus is the only one who can free us. On the spur of the moment I felt led to issue a direct challenge/appeal and maybe as many as 15 young men and women raised their hands in response. A number of John's gospels were distributed and it is to be hoped that Brother Marian, a different one in that village, will be able to develop some of these contacts.

It has been a trying day, one way and another, and as I write this, I feel quite drained. I suppose the responsibility of what I do for a living jumps up and bites me now and again. When did I grow up enough to be responsible for taking 5 others, 4 of them young people, into a strange place in Eastern Europe? Then to be given the privilege of sharing the gospel with complete strangers, without having earned the right by developing a relationship with them? That feels weird.

One or two sticky issues in the team today. But nothing I've not had to deal with a million and one times before. I can hear Alistair over my shoulder...'Maturing, Contributing, Adding'. True at Bethany, just as true in Romania.

Observations on today:

1. Bizarre. That's the only way to describe sitting at a level crossing, talking with the farmer with his horse and cart while you wait, whilst a nearby house blasts out Bill Haley + The Comets, 'Rock Around the Clock'. Only in Romania.

2. Music. On the radio here, the music is western circa 1985. I have heard Foreigner, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper to name few. Savage Garden (!) was really the most up to date I've heard, apart from when I went to the supermarket in Bucharest when I was tickled to hear Coldplay when we went in.

3. Shoes. I will not miss the front step where we routinely discard our shoes on re-entry to the house. It's a pain.

4. Words I associate with this week. Da. Multumesc. Cupplacherri. Accordions. Fanta. Bites. Dust-covered trees. Padureni. Dorel. Cristi. Nuzzi. Rafael. Silvu. Emma. Monica. Ramona. Pastor Marian. Flies. 15 minutes.

5. Journals. I have enjoyed keeping this diary of the week. It's been quite cathartic for me and occasionally poignant and entertaining for the team as I've shared it each day. I hope they have found it useful as they have kept theirs. No doubt they will stand as good memory-keepers for the week. I hope to add pictures to mine and be a bit more creative than I usually am. It will probably get swamped by much more 'important' things when I get home. But I also hope that the young people, in particular, use theirs as a springboard for further reflection on their future response to God's call on their lives. By the way, guys,if you're reading this, or hearing it, I'd love it if sometime you feel able to let me hear some of your journal entries. Only if and when you feel able.

6. Gifts. I was finally able to get to a bank today although withdrawing the money was a bit tricky. I gave gifts to Claire, Silviu + Emma, and Rafael. It was quite emotional with Silviu and Emma, and I was reminded again how it is definitely more of a blessing to give than to receive, as I saw how touched and grateful they were. Rafael asked if it was ok to put his gift towards a new car. Of course.

7. Sorry. Just a word for my brilliant team here. I just want to say I am grateful to you all for making the trip. If there are times during the week I have not been there for you, I am sorry. I have tried my best to watch out for your best interests as an individual, and for the group as a whole. I hope you can recognise that my motivation for organising this trip has been to broaden your understanding of God/His world, and your part in it. If that has happened, even in a tiny way, then I am satisfied. God bless you all.

Romania journal #6

2009-08-23T17:38:00.002+01:00

Day 6 - another warm day here in Padureni.

Usual programme; met with local believers in the morning before some children's ministry. I took time out to write Pastor Marian a letter to encourage him and Emma translated it for me. I also prepared for my session meeting the team for reflections this afternoon.

Lunch was peppers filled with a mince filling to which Tom enquired, 'is that what's inside peppers?' memo to self: speak to Tom + Gail when I get back.

The afternoon was taken with all the meetings which I hope people found helpful. All of the team have reasons to be proud of themselves this week and I hope they go back with a greater sense of imagination about where their life could lead them, if they stay close to God.

Football at 6 with a few guys from the village. I spoke at half-time about Kaka and his 'I belong to Jesus' t-shirt. As I spoke, someone led their cow across the pitch; make up your own joke here.

After a dinner of mash and pepperami sausages we went to a local Christian's home for a fellowship evening of singing, accordions and prayers. And doughnuts. Lots of doughnuts. Eh Tom?

This was the highlight of the trip so far for me personally. Cristi, a 16 yr old boy gave his testimony. His parents are not believers but his mum Nuti has been cooking for us this week. He spoke boldly and clearly and declared his faith in Jesus now and forever. Tom and him have become firm friends even though neither speaks the other's language. They have been comical to watch but very endearing at the same time. Cristi asked for prayer for an illness he has. Tom responded and laid hands on him while he prayed. His prayer was so natural and the prayer of a friend. I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes were ready to fall. So proud of these young people.

Then Terri prayed for Ramona (pictured above, right); who knows what lies ahead for this beautiful young Roma woman? If she stays in Padureni the likelihood is that she will become a 'baby machine' and her life will follow the pattern of every other woman here, a life of subjugation to her husband. But maybe she has an opportunity to get away from here to study. Gwynneth and I wondering if there is anything we at Bethany can do long term to support her education. One to ponder and pray about...

This was probably the largest gathering we've attended this week, and also the most special. I was able to bring a short word from Kings 6 on losing your cutting edge. They played 'amazing grace' and let us sing some English words, followed by 'What a friend we have in Jesus', which I mucked up the words on... Oh well.

Other comments:

1. Charlotte scored 2 more goals though she also missed 2 penalties and an absolute sitter from just half a yard. Major improvement for the Toon.

2. Pastor Marian received my letter and related the news to the church.

3. Charlotte attracted her usual adoring public with man-to-man marking being taken very seriously. Her behaviour, it has to be said, was exemplary. Keep going Charly you're nearly there. Proud of u.

4. They were asked to create a memory of their time here using nowt but a blob of plasticine. Gwynneth did a love heart, Rachel a treble clef, Tom did an outside toilet and a clock to remind of Romanian time schedules. I didn't quite get Charlotte's and it became one of those awkward occasions when I was politely nodding but inside was wondering 'what the heck is that?' maybe someone will explain to silly thick me. Terri, being the plasticine Queen made a masterpiece of very intricate, fiddly figures that this chubby-fingered boy couldn't dream of making.

5. Well campers, it's an earlier start tomorrow as the bikers have got a distance of 20km to cover to the next village where we will run another programme. I also need to get to an atm to arrange gifts for the team. - that's the Romanians in case your wondering?

6. I've had to visit the wee room twice today. Technique, I have discovered, is everything. The most important part of the ritual is to never, that's NEVER draw breath through your nostrils. Oh, and when you do get into the most vulnerable and undignified of all positions, the last thing you need is a surprise visit from a family of wasps out looking for a fast food outlet. Isn't that right Tom?

Romania journal #5

2009-08-22T08:08:00.002+01:00

Day 5 - this was a much-needed pick-me-up day for the team.

The day started with many of us visiting the home of Nelo, the young man with severe difficulties whom I met on Sunday. Although agitated at first, he sat well through testimonies and prayers. This may have been down to the time of day and medication or to the prayers of Gwynneth, Rachel, Charlotte and Emma back at the house or a combination of both. They had an intimate time of sharing which was special for them.

We had a short time of children's ministry on the street. Terri and Rachel did some paints on the little ones' hands while Emma told the story of Noah, and Tom and Charlotte got 'wired in' to a full-blooded game of footie with the older boys. Charlotte had to be put in goals as her tackles in her gladiator boots were too vicious even for the street-hardened Romanians! She impressed in goals as the only female and we are currently waiting for the call from St James Park. I'm sure Stephen will be busy at home negotiating the transfer fee from Bethany to Newcastle United.

Gwynneth told the Bible story of the feeding of the five thousand, and did well, despite the noisy audience. 'oh for the tranquility of Grindon Hall'.

We then squeezed into four cars as we headed into Bucharest with our Romanian friends. First stop was the western-style mall. The UK team treated everyone to lunch; the look on the McDonalds employee's face when we ordered 18 McFlurries will live with Tom for a long time. They were then given an hour to have a look at the shops. Choice seemed to be plenty and many boutique shops were there. I bought a sun hat from Debenhams, figuring if it didn't fit, I could return it in the UK. I'd love to see them reading the receipt and working out the currency exchange.

We then went to the Museum of the Villages, this displays many real life houses which have been relocated to this pleasant park location in central Bucharest. The houses each represent a typical dwelling from different geographical areas in Romania through the ages. The normally avid learner in me was defeated by the tired and hot me, and I enjoyed walking and talking, and a cold drink, rather than becoming an expert in ancient Romanian cultures. This was a seriously hot day again, and it made for lots of nice photo-ops.

Home again through the Bucharest rush-hour. Same gridlock as any other major city, but throw the heat into the mix, and add in the fact that our car had no aircon, and it seemed like I was being slowly cooked. Finally we were free of the city, and the open windows ushered in a welcome breeze. This combined with a beautiful summer sunset to give a nice memory of our day out in the Romanian capital.

Back at base, it was good to see Rachel actively and voluntarily interacting. This has been her best day yet, from my point of view. The bbq was a nice day to end a long day. Rafael and Gordon did the dishes which amused Ramona who stood and watched like the dishes inspector. Rafael said she was spectating because she'd never seen adult males working in the kitchen before. A late-night reminder of the different society we're living in.

Comments and reflections on the day:-

1. Contrast. A 30 minute car journey takes you FROM the depths of poverty and a very basic backward-looking community, still held hostage by its own past, as well as by others' prejudices and corruption TO a world of Porsches, Mercedes, McDonalds and Body Shop. We talk about postcode lotteries at home with regard to schooling choices. This is much bigger, and much harder to jump the fence.

2. Temperaments. In a team people will not always get along with every member of the team all the time. We know that. Most of the week we have worked well together. When someone has dipped in morale, others have pulled them through. That's what I hoped would happen . As leader I am ever conscious of my responsibility in bringing these dear young people to this strange place. I need to know how they are, but also to let them know how they're doing, so tomorrow I'm going to meet with them all 1-1 and do a bit of reflection. Then they will be given a challenge to encourage others, before we pray together. Looking forward to it, and we will try to have a British approach to the appointment times!

3. Struck again by the disparity between Padureni and Bucharest, I considered that I, at age 41, have lived a life of luxury. To spend 1 week in someone else's shoes should not be a challenge, yet it's tougher than any of us are admitting. Anything else is bravado or the answer to impress the teacher syndrome. Reality will kick in and these expressions will be tested severely. Will we settle back into our comfort, without a backward glance to Padureni, or will it have any kind of lasting impact? For some the answers may be different, and it will be an interesting story to follow. So not only the disparity between Padureni and Bucharest - it's only a few minutes . The distance between my heart and my will may take considerably longer.

4. Delighted in Rachel's increased volume and contribution today. She's a slow burner. When Alli cooks meat in the slow cooker it's the tastiest. Rachel will go home a lot happier on Sunday because of today. More between now and then please Rach.

5. Prayed for Anna Smith from OM today - her mother's cancer has returned aggressively. Please pray.

6. Remembered too the Bethany team away to Zambia today. Also their families at home.

7. Tomorrow's plan is coffee fellowship at 9, then children's ministry. I'm going to use that time to write a letter to pastor Marian, and also prepare for our 1-1s later. The afternoon will give everyone an opportunity to reflect within themselves, spend time with God, and reflect with me on their experience so far. No doubt I will be dealing with highs, lows and all the inbetweens. Bring it on.

8. Claire's been badly struggling with her eyes today. She got to a pharmacist for drops but was in a lot of pain when we got back to the house. We prayed together and within a few minutes her pain was gone, God is good!

9. Scotland lost 4-0 to Norway so guess who won't be going to the World Cup? Again?

10. I only had number 9 but Tom subconsciously wanted me to put in a number 10. He's saying 'da' in his sleep. Goodnight Tom.

Romania journal #4

2009-08-21T13:54:00.002+01:00

Day 4 - We are getting used to the Romanian way. But to control freaks like me, it is very frustrating. 15 minutes means who knows how long. You start to realise that it could mean 90 minutes, but just when you start to factor that in, someone goes and pulls a literal 15 minutes just to upset your thinking.

So today was quite a tough day in many ways. The good points first of all. Claire and Tom saw an old lady trust the Lord for the first time during their ministry visitation. Terri did superbly well sharing her testimony this morning and Tom similarly this evening. Both of them put work into how they shared and took into account the pauses for translations. Naturals!

Rafael also reminded the team today how important their hugs and words of love to these children are.

There were some depths to plumb today too for some of the group. Terri thought she'd lost her Bible for a while and got quite upset. Thankfully it was found before long. It's funny how incidents are magnified here, and it's probably related to tiredness and emotional strain.

Charlotte and Gwynneth had a difficult experience during their street visits. They saw two quite disturbing family scenarios which left Charlotte in tears and Gwynneth did a super job supporting her and looking after her. This is why God has brought Gwynneth here, I am convinced. Her instincts to care and nurture are a real blessing to the girls particularly.

The children's ministry, run by Terri and Rachel today, with Monica and Sylviu, went really well today. More children, lots of attention during the story(Zaccheus) and many remembering the story from the previous day...

In the afternoon I went with Rafael to Bucharest to drop Monica off.. she is having a few days at home before coming to UK to study for mission to Kosovo and Afghanistan. She is an extremely brave young woman of 23 whose sole desire is to serve God. The girls will miss her, particularly Terri and Charlotte who grew quite close to her in a short time. We are hopeful she will be able to visit Bethany while she is in the UK.

After dropping her at the metro station we went to a cash'n'carry to buy some supplies. While Rafael was paying I went to the bank. It wasn't till we got home that we realised he'd left behind 6 loaves of bread and 60 eggs. Ooops. However we did buy fish fingers and chips and Heinz tomato ketchup as well as Fanta and Coke. Smiles all round.

Tomorrow we go to Bucharest for a few hours. Hopefully it will give everyone a much-needed boost.

It was good to hear David Childs on the phone today, and to read various messages on Facebook from folks back home. Thanks everyone, it means a lot.

Romania journal #3

2009-08-20T09:45:00.002+01:00

Day 3 - this was a good day, the best yet for the Bethany team. After breakfast we visited the home of a church family for coffee at 9am, where we sang songs, then shared a discussion on Matthew 2 before praying in pairs in the yard among the dogs, kittens and chickens.

Then we got into the ministry for the day... Charlotte and Terri were on the team doing games with the children in the village. Within 10 seconds of setting up, they had 30 children buzzing around them like bees round a honey pot. I laughed as I realised they were trying to teach them 'Knights, Horsemen and Cavaliers' despite the language barrier. Somehow it worked and the kids had a blast. Some more organised games followed then Charlotte gave an object lesson using a multi-coloured football. She did this at 5 minutes notice and Rafael later told me how impressed he was with the job she did. I told the story of Legion and the kids got sweets/'bonbons' if they were good.

Meanwhile Gwynneth, Tom, Rachel and Claire were off round the village trying to open up gospel opportunities along with some of the Romanian believers. They were able to give some John's gospels to some of the villagers.

Lunch was a beef con carne while dinner was a traditional Romanian meal of polmenta, feta cheese and sour cream. Mixed together, it was quite tasty. The team also had the treat of fresh watermelons today which they were delighted with. Charlotte's hydration levels are heading in the right direction again as she went back for seconds. She was also pleased, we all were, to find a shop selling bottles of 2litres Fanta. We now have shares in the shop and the owner is booking his holidays on the strength of the daily Bethany order.

For Tom, he had his first opportunity to show off his football skills as the local lads had a kickabout. He taught them how to scream, 'man on', 'switch', and 'nil', as in, 'Sunderland nil'.
Charlotte is in her element teaching some of the girls a dance. I did a pastoral visit with Marian to a man who has been an enemy of the church, and who beat his wife up when she started attending. A challenging one, but God gave me the words when I needed them.

Points from today:

1. There was more life in everyone today. Perhaps the travel-tiredness is wearing off, but having more of a routine -hah, that's a laugh- maybe helped too...

2. Tomorrow we will do more of the same, though we will mix the teams slightly, putting Tom with Charlotte and Rachel with Terri. Terri is primed to give her testimony tomorrow and I have great confidence in her.

3. We had some Bethany team time and sang and prayed in Gwynneth and Rachel's room. As we sang, Marian came, intrigued by the music, but then stayed and prayed through tears as we had a time of prayer. We didn't understand the words, but we sensed his heart was glad to have fellowship with other believers. Yet another reminder of something we take for granted so easily yet is so precious to this dear brother and his little family.

4. Time continues to be an enigma here. A 15 minute meeting today lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. And you know how much I like meetings...

5. The Terri-ometer was back up to full today and my head was lowpin'. It was already sore from Terri's incessant hypernonsense when Tom decided it would be a good idea to open a window at top speed into my skull. My loving, caring team looked after their pastor the only way they know how. They laughed long and loud. Nice people.

6. For you worried about such base matters, I managed to go today. Yay. Others are still holding out. We will see what effect the watermelons have.

7. Quote of the day from Tom - 'I wish my granny had the internet.'

8. So to tomorrow, with the revised plan that we will go to Bucharest on Wednesday so that we do not clash with the visit of the Bulgarian Gypsy group. I can't help but think that we are being strategically 'removed' for the day... But we are all excited about getting to the city and maybe seeing some sights. I particularly want to visit the People's Palace, built by Ceaucescu, and still the 2nd largest building in the world, after the Pentagon. Many Christians died during its construction.

Bring on Tuesday!

Romania journal #2

2009-08-19T07:53:00.003+01:00

Day 2- wow where to start?

We all slept fairly well except Terri who was in the tent and could hear every strange noise. She's moving indoors tonight! Breakfast was an array of corn flakes-ish, muesli, bread and jams. Church was in theory at 10am, but like everything here, it starts when everyone is ready. The church they are using collapsed 3 months ago so they are meeting outside. So on the day Bethany were meeting outdoors back home, we were getting in the mood in Padureni! A mixture of music, all accordions, prayers and a message from a visiting speaker who spoke from James and Philippians on evaluating our lives.

I introduced the team and brought greetings from Bethany. I asked Charlotte to give a short testimony and she did brilliantly, we all agreed. She then prayed for all the Romanian Christians. Is this really the same girl who gave her heart to the Lord on a normal Friday night at the Loft some 21 months ago? How could anyone have imagined that within two years she'd be in Eastern Europe actively praying for a group of Roma Gypsy Christians? We prayed for the pastor's brother Dorel who is needing a kidney transplant. Healthcare in Romania is dependent on bribes. He can't afford the bribe.

For lunch we had chorba, which resembled minestrone soup. Very tasty. Then bean paste with chorizo sausage. Not a crowd-pleaser. I managed 40 winks after lunch, which shows how tired I am. Not a good sign on day 2.

I went with Pastor Marian to visit with a young man called Nelo. He is 21 but maybe with the mind of a small child. I watched with horror as he walked barefoot through nettles and thistles, seemingly hardened to the stings, or just oblivious. It was hard to know. In the UK it would be a challenge to care for him, even with all the health care and social care support. Here he is hopeless. His mum Carmella and sister Liniza care for him. They are both believers. I told his mum many people in England would be praying for them.

We began to plan some sort of program for the week with Rafael, the OM worker here. Romania does not do structure so this will be hard for us to cope with. The team have created a phrase for the week, 'oh well, that's Romania!'- owtr for short. At 5:45 we discovered that there was another church service at 6pm. At 5:50 I was asked if I would preach! I gave a short word from Psalm 119 through an interpreter.

Thoughts and concerns from today.

1. Charlotte has been unable to drink much so far, saying it makes her gag. Gwynneth and I are encouraging her to take on fluids so she doesn't dehydrate. Not sure if she has understood how serious this is...

2. Gwynneth has had a number of bites which have swollen quite badly. Keeping an eye on her.

3. Gwynneth quite touched at how much we have, how much we take for granted, and also the crazy things we grumble about back home. Also Gwynneth and I spoke about what we could leave the church here as a gift from Bethany. Will wait on God as the week goes on... We know that whatever we leave won't be enough, the need is so great.

4. Terri feeling that she has had much more of a culture-shock than she'd expected. She has been fairly chilled by Terri's usual extreme standards and I've been proud of her as she has been very accepting of difficult circumstances. A real answer to prayer so far.

5. Rachel has settled well. We have found out that one of the young people here plays the clarinet and I think she will get the opportunity tomorrow to play in front of everyone.

6. Tom is thriving. Loving the kids and they love him, usually hanging off his arms. He loves the chaos and unpredictability of Romanian life.

7. How do we convey the reality of this back home? It's impossible. The heat, the smells, the language, the chaotic approach to life. When we visit the toilet, the hole in the ground in the garden, we hold our breath. Then on the way back to the house we try not to tread on the geese, hens and turkeys at our feet. I kid you not.

8. And finally, I ate rice for the first time in 35 years today. All bets are now off... anything really could happen. Owtr!

Romania journal #1

2009-08-18T14:54:00.005+01:00

What a week of mission in Romania! So much happened, I'm going to publish my daily journal on here for those who want to get a feel for the experience we had. All comments welcome...

Day 1 - So that's day one. What a long day... Left home at 3:10a.m and have flown twice, caught a bus and then a train. Warmly welcomed by church Pastor Marian and his wife Mariana. His story of faith involves coming to faith after his son had been badly scalded and the doctors had given up hope and even said, 'only God can save him now'. So though not believers, they prayed and their son miraculously pulled thru'.

Tomorrow we attend their church service which should be interesting. Fortunate to find ourselves sleeping in the pastor's house; Gwynneth and Rachel have a bed, Charlotte and Monica, our guide, have a bed, while Terri and Claire have chosen the tent in the yard, from where they can hear all the wild dogs, of which there are loads, yelling and yelping, as well as the incessant racket of the crickets' chatter.

Tom and I are on a hard floor with Jacov a 23 yr old from Finland. He's been 4 weeks in Slovakia already, here for a short while then he's off to Bosnia. Another guy, David, from Basingstoke, is stopping off here on his way to Moldova tomorrow. Monica is a great girl. 23 yrs old, a Christian 5 yrs, difficult home background, she's preparing for mission work in Kosovo, then possibly Afghanistan. She's going to be in UK for several months training, in London and Birmingham, starting later this month. Already we are hoping that she will be able to visit Bethany during her stay.

We had a nicely prepared meal of chips, egg, tomato and cheese, washed down by much water. Tom and I have very basic sanitation, to say the least, whilst the girls have luxurious facilities in comparison.

We are who knows where. You've heard of the middle of nowhere. Well, we're in the middle of the middle of nowhere. Place called Padureni. Good luck finding that on a map!

Moments of the day...
1. On arrival at Bucharest airport, Charlotte wanted to gather us together and pray a prayer of thanks for a safe arrival. What a girl!

2. Terri experiencing flight for the first time...much squealing, squawking, with dial turned up to eleven.

3. Terri discovering travelators- cue more squealing, and laughter and mocking from Tom/ 'Terri can't do travelators.'

4. Gwynneth giving Rachel and I a fright on the plane. Rachel thought she was being sick. I thought she had suddenly burst into tears. Truth was she was choking on her boiled sweets. She was ok. We laughed.

Good night campers!

Wet Wet Wet

2009-08-04T12:25:00.004+01:00

Last week was wet. I mean W E T. The kind of wet that stays with you for a while. 26 of us over at Keswick for the week and we all felt like Noah and the family by the end of the week. Well, I say end of the week. Actually we only made it till Wednesday. The field was starting to flood and tents were resembling water features. Nonetheless, we enjoyed it. The times spent in the tents (because of the rain) led to some good conversations, (as well as some dodgy ones). The young people were undeterred from thoughts of doing it all again in the future and though the leaders may take some persuading, I am sure that when their courses of therapy are through, they will be buoyed (unfortunate choice of words) and ready to do it again.

This week my thoughts turn to Romania. Six of us head off early Saturday for eight days of mission with OM in the villages of Padureni and Buturugeni, north west of Bucharest. It's been 100+ degrees there these last couple of weeks and I do NOT like heat. Joy.

We have known God with us throughout our preparation and planning and know that He has some great things in store next week. Pray with me that Tom, Rachel, Charlotte and Terri experience something of God's greatness next week taht will sustain them for many years in their faith development. Also for Gwynneth and I that we are able to be a great support to the youngsters and to our fellow-Christians in Romania.

Thought I'd include my all-time favourite Youtube clip so here it is... Bulgarian Pop Idol sings 'Ken Lee' that classic Mariah Carey song... Enjoy!

Have we deified youth?

2009-07-22T19:31:00.003+01:00

This brilliant little clip by Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson (previously known as Bing Hitler and now a big cheese in the States) shows us that it's not just people INSIDE the church who are observing youth trends and society's clamour to remain young.

Cink ends Watson fairytale at glorious Turnberry

2009-07-20T16:02:00.004+01:00

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

It was the weekend of The Open Championship, and I was glued throughout. What amazing stories potentially waited to be told. Could young Manassero, the 16-year-old Amateur Champion really compete in the rarefied atmosphere of the game's elite? Answer: yes and then some. We saw the new Seve. Could Chris Wood, last year's silver medal winner for low amateur, and an incredible fifth overall, translate that into success as a rookie pro? Answer: yes, and then some. Finishing in a tie for third, and only one off a play-off. Could we see a more sustained home challenge than in previous years? Answer: yes, although Wood and Westwood came up one shot shy. Could we see a fairytale story like Greg Norman last year? Surely not. That was a one-off. Answer: Yes, and then some. Tom Watson, 59, had a six footer to win his sixth Claret Jug, an unbelievable 34 years after he claimed his first. But not to be as his nemesis of the last 20 years, short putts, came to haunt him one last time. We also had the 'will she won't she' daily diary of Ross Fisher's wife, whose waters were about to break, as he challenged for his first major. She hung on, but he couldn't deliver (boom boom). As it was, the play-off was a huge anti-climax after the most engaging of final days on which the lead changed hands innumerable times. Stewart Cink is a worthy winner as he shot the low score of the week, and that is what the record books will show. He has been a top pro for a decade with little but a healthy bank balance to show for it. Now he is in the history books forever and gets to join an elite club. An Open to remember.

ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

We head to Keswick this weekend and there is a bit of prep to be done for this so that will dominate the week I guess. I lead an elders' discussion tonight on the theme of preaching and teaching in the church.

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

Have just started reading 'How Would Jesus Lead Worship?' by Sam and Sara Hargreaves

TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

The BBC's coverage of the Open was superb as usual. the slow-mo camera, though overused like any new toy, showed some superb features. In particular, for the aficionados, it was a treat to see ball contact from a rough lie or in a bunker. Quite amazing.

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

"Three more Days" by The Proclaimers from 'Notes and Rhymes'

NEXT TRIP:

Keswick Convention with 22 young people this Saturday for 6 days. Dry weather please...

HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Glad to be back at work and getting into the guts of summer. Lots of planning to do for the autumn and I'm enjoying thinking about that and making plans for teaching programmes etc.

It really feels like summer!

2009-07-14T08:39:00.004+01:00

So I missed a week. No excuses except that it's maybe reflective of the busyness of the season.

Last week Sam and I went, along with my best mate Alasdair, to Milan to see U2 strut their stuff at the awesome San Siro stadium. After months of anticipation and excitement, it didn't disappoint. The sheer scale of the concert was breathtaking. You can see pictures here.

On the home front my 16 year old daughter Laura had her school prom last Friday and she looked beautiful. Quite the princess! She's off in London for a few days before heading off to visit family over the summer so I won't see her till the end of August. At least then we have a family holiday together to look forward to.

At church, I have been officially welcomed as an elder of Bethany Christian Centre. What a daunting responsibility and privilege. All I can do is keep trusting God for His equipping and enabling to carry out the responsibilities of an elder in the local church. If you pray, please pray for me.

This past weekend was the latest service where we integrated the youth service and the regular evening service. Several of the young people participated and we built the service on the theme of 'Freedom.'

Yesterday I popped over to Keswick in the beautiful Lake District to do a bit of a reccy for a youth week away later this month. We're visiting the Keswick Convention so I took advantage of the teaching on offer and listened to Dale Ralph Davis preaching on 'The Heart that Strays' from 1 Kings 11. Solomon allowed his heart to be distracted and stolen by competing gods, as the influence of his 700 wives and 300 concubines wore him down. (Can you imagine?)

One of the major disconnects in the modern age is between heart and head and Davis was reminding his audience that in God's kingdom, they intrinsically go together.

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

On the recommendation of my colleague, I've begun reading 'So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore' by Wayne Jacobsen & Dave Coleman. So far so good. Written in a very accessible style, it paints a picture of how going through the motions of faith can have a devastating effect on someone's personal relationship with God. I'm hoping that as I approach the meat of the book, that it also points to some ways of preempting these dangers.

TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

Haven't seen much telly, but Alli and I are enjoying 'On Thin Ice', a documentary on BBC1 on Sunday nights, following Ben Fogle, Ed Coats and James Cracknell on their race to the South Pole.

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

" Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" by Travis

NEXT TRIP:

In 11 days we take 22 eager teenagers to Keswick for a week's camping and exposure to God's Word. What an exciting prospect. Pray for lives to be changed.

HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Well, the hits just keep on coming. After last week's trip to Milan, I have a few days off this week and I'm going to watch the Open from Turnberry from the luxury of our lounge. Anybody but Tiger please.

Casualty, Glastonbury and Lost Nokias

2009-06-29T12:13:00.004+01:00

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...

2009-06-23T09:19:00.005+01:00

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

2009-06-15T06:07:00.004+01:00

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

2009-06-13T17:58:00.002+01:00

"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

2009-06-10T14:18:00.003+01:00

(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.

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.

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.

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'?

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.

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...

2009-06-08T12:50:00.004+01:00

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?

2009-06-06T11:12:00.005+01:00

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?

2009-06-05T12:01:00.004+01:00

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!

2009-06-02T13:11:00.003+01:00

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?

2009-06-02T11:01:00.000+01:00

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

2009-06-01T09:48:00.003+01:00

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.

Barca too strong for tired United

2009-05-28T10:38:00.005+01:00

So it was a big anti-climax from a United fan's point of view. Nine minutes of promising, free-flowing football and half a dozen speculative shots from Cristiano Ronaldo. That was the sum total of United's attacking enterprise which has been their hallmark.

After Samuel Eto'o's opportunistic strike in the tenth minute, Barcelona took a grip of the game and simply never let go. With the superb Iniesta and Xavi running the show from the middle of the park, and the mercurial Messi popping up all over the place to irritate and mesmerise the United back four, the football they played was simply irresistible, even to this United supporter's eyes.

Put simply, they gave United a lesson in ball control and possession football. As Michael Carrick attempted to find the Hollywood pass from his 'quarterback' position, Senors Iniesta and Xavi were playing the simple ball, rarely more than ten yards and never to an opponent's feet.

When the smallest man on the pitch, the 5 foot 6 inches Lionel Messi, leapt between Ferdinand and Vidic to double the lead, there was no doubt where the trophy was heading.

Gracious in defeat, Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that they had been beaten by the better team. He will now spend the summer making big decisions on players' futures and wondering how he could add to his own squad as he attempts to bounce straight back and launch another trophy hunt in 2009/2010.

As far as Barca go, they will enjoy this victory for a long time. Winning is always nice, but winning by playing sexy football is the stuff of legend.

2009-05-26T09:14:00.003+01:00

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

Because of the Bank Holiday weekend this seemed a fairly relaxed weekend. Numbers were significantly down across the board; youth club, both church services on Sunday. The evening may also have been affected by the crucial Premier League matches taking place on Sunday afternoon. In the end, most people around here were ecstatic with Sunderland preserving their place in the Premier League and local rivals Newcastle being dumped into the Championship.

I had a sense of holding the fort on Sunday with both of my colleagues being away. David is in Angola training church leaders there and Alistair is in Hungary at the European Leaders' Forum with Wayne Grudem, Michael Green and John Lennox. Sounds good. We had an excellent time of worship and teaching on Sunday with David Wallace on 'Unanswered Prayer'. I had a good session with the young people and we had fun roleplaying some unjust situations (linked to Luke 18:1-8). In the evening, because of numbers, I had the youth join with the main service where David Neil taught on 'Being Subject to Authority'. It was interesting to consider the line that we must draw between obeying the law of the land and obeying God's law. God's law must take precedence, but we should then still be subject to the laws of the land and bear the consequences. We were reminded of people like MLK who showed a great example in this. Funnily enough, I had just watched an interview with Martin Sheen on Friday night where he said he'd been arrested on 87 occasions, mostly as part of civil protests. Made me wonder, what would I be prepared to be arrested for?

I spent Bank Holiday Monday in Scotland on a flying visit to see Mum and also to visit my elderly aunt who is in hospital as a result of a very unstable bout of diabetic hypo episodes. It was a beautiful day to drive and I enjoyed listening to the sport on the radio as I gobbled up the miles.

WHERE I AM AT THE MOMENT:

in the office

ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

Create a comprehensive form for all attending our summer trip to the Lake District.

Organise insurance for our missions trip to Romania in August.

Write up my Youth ministry vision and strategy and send it to my trustees.

Prepare two teaching sessions for Sunday on:

1) Luke 18:9-14 The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

2) I've just realised that Sunday night's teaching is sorted as I didn't use it this week! Result! On 'A Servant's Heart'

PROCRASTINATING ABOUT:

tidying my office and having a good purge of books that I'm never going to pick up again

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

I want to make time this week to look at Erwin McManus' book 'Soul Cravings'

MUSIC PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS: Best of The Pretenders

NEXT TRIP: same as last week

HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK: Great. Should be a week of high productivity as most activities are on hold as it's half-term week. My door won't be knocked as much, my phone won't ring as much and the email intray shouldn't overflow.

Looking forward very much to indulging myself tomorrow night with the Champions League Final between Manchester United and Barcelona. Come on United!

Humility

2009-05-22T09:52:00.004+01:00

I have heard humility best described by Chick Yuill of the Salvation Army as ‘rejoicing in my brother or sister’s gift as if it were my own.’ Humility is at the other end of the spectrum from arrogance and showiness. Humility does things for pure motives, serving others without desire or expectation of reward or recognition.

When the truly humble person receives praise they are quick to deflect it, either on to others, or in the case of the Christian, to God. A humble person recognises that every good thing they do or achieve is done in the strength of God and for his glory. Humility serves.

In every church up and down the land there is a lack of servants. A faithful band of servants do most of the work most of the time. But that cannot be right. Servant hood is not just for the chosen few. It’s not an optional extra for just a few Christians. Servant hood should be the Christian’s way of life.

A Christian’s love for his or her fellow Christians will be the most transparent thing to onlookers. When you serve one another, you advertise what God is like. (John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.")

Checked your spark-plugs lately?

2009-05-22T09:39:00.010+01:00

Maybe carrying out something of a spiritual audit on ourselves from time to time might help us to recognise the areas of our lives where we need to allow God to move. I was recently looking over some old college notes from the late '90s and stumbled upon a 'spiritual MOT'; a sort of self-awareness exercise. Asking ourselves some searching questions such as these can only cause us to be more alert to those areas which need attention, a bit like a mechanic running a checklist on a car;

• Am I content with who I am becoming?

• Am I becoming less ‘religious’ and more spiritual?

• Does my family recognise the authenticity of my spirituality?

• Is my prayer life improving?

• Have I maintained a genuine awe of God?

• Is my humility genuine?

• Is my ‘spiritual feeding’ the right diet for me?

• Is obedience in small things built into my reflexes?

• Do I have and display joy?

• Is God at the centre of my life?

Revenge, karma and grace

2009-05-20T10:56:00.004+01:00

Revenge is a symptom of a sinful heart. It has no place in the vocabulary of the Christian. Or at least it shouldn’t have a place.

In Judith Viorst's children's book, "I'll Fix Anthony" the younger brother complains about the way his older brother Anthony treats him:

"My brother Anthony can read books now, but he won't read any books to me. He plays checkers with Bruce from his school. But when I want to play he says, "Go away or I'll clobber you." I let him wear my Snoopy sweatshirt, but he never lets me borrow his sword. Mother says deep down in his heart Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep down in his heart he thinks I stink. Mother says deep deep down in his heart, where he doesn't even know it, Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep deep down in his heart he still thinks I stink. When I'm six I'll fix Anthony...When I'm six I'll float, but Anthony will sink to the bottom. I'll dive off the board, but Anthony will change his mind. I'll breathe in and out when I should, but Anthony will only go glug, glug...When I'm six my teeth will fall out, and I'll put them under the bed, and the tooth fairy will take them away and leave money. Anthony's teeth won't fall out. He'll wiggle and wiggle them, but they won't fall out. I might sell him one of my teeth, but I might not...Anthony is chasing me out of the playroom. He says I stink. He says he is going to clobber me. I have to run now, but I won't have to run when I'm six. When I'm six, I'll fix Anthony.”

Well, the problem with fixing Anthony is that he will probably want to pay back and the thing will escalate. On a human personal level, vengeful attitudes and actions lead to betrayal, resentment, hurt and grudges. They knock down relationships, sometimes fatally. On a wider human level, vengeance leads to mistrust between people groups, escalations of tension, and outbreaks of war and ultimately carnage.

Do we cultivate a vengeful spirit towards our fellow men and women? Even within the church? It’s a shameful character trait, but it’s one we can all be tempted into. Whatever it is that our ‘Anthony’ figure does to wind us up, our default position can kick in...

‘I’ll sort him. I’ll pay him back. Double. He won’t know what’s hit him by the time I’m finished with him.’

No! Resist. Because you won’t win.

Sure you might beat Anthony. You might even derive some misguided pleasure out of seeing him squirm and suffer. But you’re strangling your own heart in the process. Sin leads to death. A vengeful spirit is a sinful spirit.

“Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath”

Romans 12:18,19

A popular saying has entered our popular culture over the last few years and it has come from the Eastern philosophy of karma. You’ll have heard it. ‘What goes around comes around’.

Sooner or later, they’ll get what’s coming to them. It’s only slightly removed from the old saying, ‘he who lives by the sword dies by the sword’.

Now I don’t, you’ll be relieved to hear, believe in karma.

I believe in grace.

I also believe in a God who’s plenty big enough to deal with my enemies if he so chooses. That’s where my security lies. Not in plotting and hatching schemes. What a waste of time and energy that would be when there’s a world that needs Jesus.

A few years ago U2 recorded the song ‘Grace’

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace...
It's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that, changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything

She travels outside... of karma

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings...
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace trumps karma.

U2 - Magnificent

2009-05-19T10:31:00.002+01:00

Check out the great new video from Ireland's finest.

The week starts here...

2009-05-19T09:17:00.005+01:00

Well, I'm a day behind already!

I want to nick this idea from uberblogger Mark Oestreicher of Youth Specialties and focus in each week on what's gone, what is, and what is to come, by using some fairly obvious observations. As much as letting people glimpse my usually impenetrable mind, it will also help me home in on what's important and what areas of my life are just joyously frivolous.

THE WEEKEND THAT WAS:

Friday night was all about The Loft, the youth club for 11-16s. Had to deal with an irate neighbour whose Friday evening peace had been rudely interrupted by some of our more energetic boys who'd kicked their football over the fence into the garden. Needless to say they took the direct route to recover the ball (over the fence) and prompted some neighbourly discord. My mediation and conciliatory skills were called upon. Saturday morning I spent on a pastoral visit to a lovely family and then in the evening we enjoyed/endured the spectacle that is the Eurovision Song Contest. I picked Malta, Iceland and the eventual winners Norway as the top 3, so 2/3 isn't too bad. Sunday was a busy day for this boy. Teaching the teens about Prayer in the morning then preaching in church at night on Romans 12:16-21 'Living in harmony with one another'. Then a final meeting of the day to plan a fundraiser in June for a missions trip we're doing to Romania in August. Day of rest, gimme a break!

WHERE I AM AT THE MOMENT:

in the office

ON MY TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK:

I'm working through the results of my most recent appraisal with my trustees looking at future plans for developing youth and families ministry. Want to have it done by the end of the month. Ambitious. Last night we had a very positive youth team meeting which is always a real encouragement. Tonight I have a cluster group meeting with 6 or 7 ministry leaders that I give oversight to. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we have a youth small group that meets in our home. Thursday I have the day off then I have an early start (4am!) on Friday to run some colleagues to the airport who are heading off to Hungary for a church leaders conference. Friday will be the last youth club till after half-term. Saturday is as yet unspoken for and Sunday I have two teaching slots; one on The Persistent Widow from Luke 8 and one on A Servant's Heart from Philippians 2. Oh and I'm leading the morning service worship.

PROCRASTINATING ABOUT:

forms and insurance for summer trips

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

Enjoying Mike Yaconelli's 'Getting Fired for the Glory of God' and am about to begin 'The Lovely Bones'. Also, having quoted the children's book 'I'll Fix Anthony' by Judith Viorst last weekend, I am inspired to get a copy!

MUSIC PLAYING AS I TYPE THIS:

Right now I'm listening to an old Stoneleigh Bible Week album on Spotify. The song currently playing is 'Jesus, Lover of My Soul'

NEXT TRIP:

Looking forward to a half-day retreat in a couple of weeks with 4 other pastors. We go to a really beautiful place in the middle of nowhere called Shepherd's Dene and it gives us all the space we want as well as a lovely lunch. Most important!

HOW I'M FEELING ABOUT THE WEEK:

Very positive. My stepdaughter Laura is in the middle of her GCSE exams and is keeping calm and doing her best. I'm very proud of the work she's done in preparation and have given her and her mum a gift of a two day trip to Dublin when the exams are all over. She deserves to succeed.

Relaunch

2009-05-18T17:27:00.004+01:00

Hi all

I've decided to try and relaunch my blogging activity after a few false starts in the past. My hope is that it will help me crystallise my thinking and also give me a discipline of throwing some thoughts out there to hopefully create some interest and discussion from time to time.

Mostly it'll be observational, laconic and self-deprecating, but also I hope it gives an insight into my world. There will no doubt be downs as well as ups, but I will try to be honest throughout.

I'd love you to join me on the journey and throw in some comments and insights along the way.

I've got a busy few months ahead so I need to know you're out there...

Thanks, and please sign up as a 'follower'

Gordon

2006-12-06T07:15:00.000Z

Emotional Ryder Cup Rout for Europe

2006-09-24T18:44:00.000+01:00

It's hard to imagine a more one-sided contest; although I have to concede the history books point to even more staggering margins in terms of the scoreline (before GB & I became Europe), and in favour of the USA.

But the nature of this 36th Ryder Cup was one of absolute European dominance from the first session of fourballs, when, with the second shot of the event, the usually flawless Tiger Woods clawed his drive into the water and never really recovered. His jittery start seemed to be contagious and the American team, containing the top 3 players in the world, (Woods, Furyk and Mickelson), were like lambs to the slaughter.

Neither Europe nor GB & I before them, managed to win all 5 sessions (2 sets of fourballs matches, 2 sets of foursomes and the series of 12 singles on Sunday), and the manner of the singles series was demonstrative of a European team brimming with confidence, inspired by each other and determined to win an unprecedented third consecutive Ryder Cup. Five times out of six now the USA have returned home to their individualistic PGA Tour schedules with their tails between their legs and this time more than any other time.

Despite the best efforts of Captain Lehman his team never looked anything other than twelve individuals. Woosie's dozen looked like brothers who cared about each other. Woods has never looked comfortable playing for anyone other than himself and Mickelson just appears to be gutless in this environment. In short, he doesn't care enough. If only Lehman could pick a Payne Stewart, a Lanny Wadkins, a Ray Floyd or a Trevino. These were guys who cared about winning more than their own individual records or egos. The beauty of the European team of 2006 is that you could put the names in a hat and pull out the pairings and any one of them would be happy to play with anyone else. This would never be case with the egos of Mickelson and Woods in the team room.

A word for each of the winning team.

Henrik Stenson: a quiet series for the ever-promising Swede but his place in history is guaranteed as the first Swede to hit the winning putt in a Ryder Cup.

Luke Donald: used sparingly, but won 3 out 3 , renewing his deadly partnership with Sergio

Sergio Garcia: becoming the talisman of the Ryder Cup that once was Seve; 4 points this year to go with his 4.5 of 2004.

David Howell: did well and seemed to regain his putting touch in his singles victory

Colin Montgomerie: was this his last Ryder Cup? Let's hope not. He led from the front magnificently as usual. He retained his unbeaten singles record and his name on the team sheet at Valhalla in two years may be worth a couple of points in terms of th effect it will have in the American locker room

Paul Casey: His Ryder Cup image took a battering after his comments last time out; this time he let his golf do the talking. Can anyone ever have finished a match 5&4 with a hole-in-one before?

Robert Karlsson: the big Swede did nothing wrong and played well with Casey on days 1 and 2 before succumbing to Tiger in the singles

Padraig Harrington: a disappointing personal performance but will never forget the day he won the Ryder Cup in his own country

Paul McGinley: good to see him recover form and one must admire his sporting gesture on the last green to JJ Henry. Well done Paul

Jose Maria Olazabal: a perfect partner for Sergio; role reversal to his old pairing with Seve. He looked delighted to see off Mickelson

Lee Westwood: along with Sergio, againthe biggest points collector on the Euro side. Played 5, won 3, halved 2. Slaughtered DiMarco on the front nine despite a temperature of over 100 degrees. And what a pairing with DC

Darren Clarke: the most amazing Ryder Cup story of recent times. Only a few short weeks since he tragically lost his wife Heather, that Clarke was able to play at all was astonishing. That he played 3 won 3 and played mesmeric golf along the way says everything you need to know. Now let's get a major in 2007 Darren.

Ian Woosnam: not eloquent, polished or erudite. But Woosie has been there, done that. And his experience of what was needed was enough to secure this landslide. He united his team and his captain's picks proved inspired. He'll be relieved it's all over but can be very proud.

One final thing. The only downside of this most emphatic victory was not the weather, but the incessant ramblings of Nick Faldo on Sky's presentations. Yes, he is Britain's greatest post war golfer with six majors. He is the Ryder Cup's most prolific points accumulator. A commentator he is not. Commentators know when to speak and when to let the pictures tell the story. How many errors did he make? He didn't know the golf course, the players or the state of the matches. I lost count of how many times we were forced to listen to him turn the events of 2006 into the events of yesteryear a la Faldo. At least in 2008 he'll be too busy to commentate. I only hope his 'the way I used to do it' speeches are left behind and that people around him speak sense, to counteract his egotistical indulgences.

And summer became autumn all of a sudden...

2006-09-04T16:31:00.001+01:00

Yes I know, it's been a while since I posted anything on here. What can I say? I've been busy...

Summer came and went in a flash. The first art was the usual frenetic high energy of kids' holiday club. This year I created one called 'Wild West' which used the life of David against a backdrop of cactus plants, saloon doors and a life-size cardboard cutout of John Wayne himself. (£30 off the internet!; incidentally, Elvis is £50 - you'd think the cardboard would cost the same; maybe those extra cheeseburgers are worth the £20 extra).

We had approx. 80 kids there each morning and it really was a great week, but as usual, exhausting. The following week I waved goodbye to the family as they headed off on their summer sojourn south, and I entrenched myself in front of the tv to watch The Open Golf Championship from Hoylake, which became another Tiger avalanche. Brilliant player, poor spectacle for those of us who like a nailbiting Sunday afternoon finish. Here's hoping the Ryder Cup makes up for it.

Then, in a stop-start summer, there were preaching and worship engagements as well as pastoral needs, before the holidays. My nephew got married and my youngest was a flower-girl so that was a nice opportunity to catch up with family and friends.

Then a week in the Lake District at the Keswick Convention. We arrived just as the heatwave left town. It rained for 5 out of 7 days. The ministry was good though. Particularly enjoyable was Luis Palau (hasn't aged a bit), Vaughan Roberts on 1 Corinthians and various speakers taking the seven churches of Revelation as the evening theme. I also enjoyed a cd I purchased there when I got home by Amy-Orr Ewing on 'The Need for Aplogetics in a Post-modern Culture'. Lots of food for the grey matter to digest over the next few months.

We then had a quick stopover in Dumfries (my home church) where Alan (their new minister and my old boss) roped me in to teach a kids' song in the Sunday morning service. My claims that 'I'm on my holidays' were met with short shrift! It was good fun, though.

Then an overnight in a TravelInn near Lymm, Cheshire (excellent value at £15 for the three of us) before 4 nights at the Graig Park Resort in North Wales.

Then back to reality. Staring down the barrel of a hectic new session. The autumn programme for youth ministy looks busy and exciting with new attenders and new leaders signing up to help as well as the returning army of keen volunteers.

Had an enjoyable day on Saturday at a Christian event, Awakenings UK, held near Edinburgh. Despite the inclement conditions (it tipped it down all day long) I particularly enjoyed listening to Ruth Bell Graham (daughter of Billy) and the music of Phatfish (with the wonderfully talented vocals of Louise Fellingham). Also there were Mark Stibbe, Ian White and Andrew Mitchell.

Well, now that I'm back in gear I'll be hoping to stay in touch with my thoughts (at least that's what my shrink said would work!)

Looking forward to 'getting stuck in'.

Shalom

The dangers of mixing up your potatoes and your turnips...

2006-06-19T23:00:00.000+01:00

So today I achieved a first. You can't say that every day, unless you're a few months old. I'm 38 and today achieved a first. Actually today I achieved two firsts.

By way of celebrating the fact that my nephew is about to get married next month we went over to a place near Dundee to do clay pigeon shooting and blind 4x4 driving.

The clay pigeon shooting I took to like a duck to water, if you'll hang in there with me on the bird analogy. Of 18 traps released I 'killed' 10, which may not win me a place on the next Commonwealth Games team, but I was chuffed nonetheless.

The driving was not only a new experience but a new concept. I'd never heard of such a thing. The basic premise is this; the driver is blindfolded while a passenger in the all-terrain vehicle calls instructions to safely navigate round a spectacularly uneven piece of land. When it was my turn to navigate I felt quite unsafe, but strangely when I had the blindfold on, and had to listen attentively to the instruction, I felt extremely safe. I'm sure that little point will be appearing in a sermon round here fairly soon in some shape or form.

Anyway, after a couple of circuits of 'left a bit, right a bit, left a bit more...' etc, the instructor said he would make it more interesting by changing the instruction to potatoes or turnips. It was amazing just how much chaos this simple rule change caused. As navigator, no matter how much I tried I could not remember whether left was turnips or potatoes. The more I got it wrong, of course, the more erratic the journey in the hands of my other nephew got. Which was all part of the fun!

Recommended.

Peace is just a month away...

2006-06-15T14:23:00.000+01:00

I don’t know what comes into your mind when you hear the word peace. For me it is 4 days each July, when my wife and the children are down in far away Norfolk enjoying some holiday time with my wife'’s folks. I always take four days off to enjoy watching The Open Championship on tv. I am a bit of an Open golf ‘anorak.’ Isn’t that really sad? In my single days I would try to actually get to the event in person, attending all the practice days from 7am till 9pm, then all the championship days as well, before rushing home to watch the highlights on tv before starting all over again the next day.

Nowadays I content myself with the tv experience and actually you see a lot more although you forego some of the atmosphere and the thrill of actually being there. The preparation starts a couple of days before when the draw is announced. I print off the draw so I can keep all the scores of the players as they complete their rounds. I make sure all the provisions are in by Wednesday teatime. I won’t have time to cook properly for the next four days so great care is given to the selection of food items. If war breaks out in the next four days I am ready. Also necessary is a good golf magazine, but only one who has taken the time to print out a map of the course so I can assess and analyse the play. I am ready.

On the Wednesday evening the BBC have a preview programme to whet the appetite. Great! I could hardly be more excited if I were actually competing. Since there’s no chance of that, I make do with being the best spectator I can be. Thursday morning arrives and play generally gets underway at 7am or thereabouts. But the TV coverage doesn’t start till 9:30. What’s a boy to do? Well in the bad old days I had to content myself with flicking teletext every two minutes for updates, but in the last few years, the internet has rescued me. Every score recorded in real time, some holes on live webcam, combined with commentary from FiveLive just about keeps me sane till Peter Alliss and co. start broadcasting. Then four days of uninterrupted heaven. Sleep is an irritating interruption to the feast, but I just about manage to cram it in. About an hour into the coverage I am transported to a piece of green land somewhere else in the country and there I stay for four lovely, peaceful, at complete-ease-with-the-world days of self-indulgent isolation.

Of course the peace I’m experiencing is more accurately described as rest. A break from the norm. An unwinding. A recharging. Breathing.

But there must be more to peace than that. Real peace ought to be something that we can experience in the middle of life, not just at the peripheral times of holiday or special occasions. Peace for the Christian should be a distinctive of our character, a trait that people recognize in us because it is something that distinguishes us in our handling of situations, relationships and disappointments.

For some that word is just a dream, a notion we’ve heard others speak of, which sounds quite nice, but always seems just outside of our reach. Life in 2006 does not come with peace built in. It’s not part of the package.

But Shalom in the search to find peace. Mine is coming in a month...

Floating on fresh water

2006-06-02T22:35:00.000+01:00

I heard a good story this week and I want to remember it so I thought I'd record it here for posterity.

A guy had been sailing and had an accident with his boat and was left clinging onto his upturned vessel, miles from land, for several days. His endurance against the elements was good to begin with but the hardest thing was thirst, especially with all the water around.

After several days, a rescue team found him and he was severely dehydrated. When he recovered he was horrified to discover that the area he had been floating in was actually fresh water and he could have been drinking it all the time.

The spiritual application of this story was for overtired Christians who are feeling spiritually dehydrated, drained from years of service and possibly from being caught in the crossfire once too often.

In this week of Pentecost, it's helpful to be reminded that for the last two thousand years, the church has been floating on fresh water, a ready resource of strengthening, invigorating, refreshing Holy Spirit water. Too often we strain to hear the latest buzzwords, the latest trends, or the conferences that will hit the spot. The best resource is right under our boat all the time.

Happy sailing.

Wise words and catchy tunes

2006-06-02T12:33:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd log some of the stuff I've been reading and listening to lately. Maybe in a year's time when I look at this I'll realise it's made a difference in my practices...

Jesus calms a storm...

2006-05-22T17:32:00.000+01:00

They say seven days is a long time in politics. Well, ditto for a church. This last week's had everything. First I had the tranquil retreat with 6 other souls-in-need-of-a-rest, 24 hours of 'deep massage' for the spirit, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I met some good people who were majorly encouraging. We shared joys and sorrows, dreams and frustrations, we prayed together, ate together, talked, laughed, sang, even had a memorable boys v. girls 'pub quiz.'(Boys were victorious!).

I received the best piece of advice I've heard in a while; if you're reading a book that you're really not enjoying, there is no law that says you must finish it. No-one's keeping score. How liberating).

I read about Naaman and how he received God's shalom before he went back to serve the king of Aram in the temple of Rimmon. He received the blessing of God even though some of the things he had to do related to his job were compromising his belief in the one true God. How liberating. I wanted some of that shalom.

So from that I returned feeling strengthened and soothed, ready for a busy week ahead. Within 24 hours I was involved in a deeply troubling and complex pastoral situation. Every now and again you come across a situation which seems to have no quick-fix or even long-term fix. This was one of those. A real mess. Yet in the midst of the chaos of people's lives, I sensed the shalom.

The weekend was looming large by now with two busy church services to prepare for and co-ordinate. As two of our own kids were being baptised we also had a load of family descending on us so I needed to be ultra organised, and well on top of things. I'm not normally a panicker but this schedule would have made me tense normally. Not this time. Shalom again.

And yesterday, in the midst of my busiest Sunday so far this year, not a skipped heartbeat, not a hint of a sore head, just a happy tiredness at the end of the day borne of contentedness at the way the day had gone. God was there in it all.

Shalom.

Retreat

2006-05-16T08:20:00.000+01:00

(this beautiful photo was taken by my brother Paul in his garden)

Today I go off for 24 hours retreat and reflection. Never quite sure what to expect on these occasions, but the timing of this one is excellent. I'm looking forward to just 'zoning out' and 'tuning in'. Zoning out from all the busyness that swamps the normal day, all the 'phone calls, the weekly deadlines, the unexpected pastoral situations, the ongoing pastoral situations, the different issues that drain my energies. Tuning in to God, His voice, which all too easily gets drowned out by the other 'traffic.'

There will be a few others (16 or fewer) on retreat with me so I'm looking forward to some quality times of worship and sharing as well as some solitude with Bible, books and MP3 player. I've been really impacted recently by the teaching of Rob Bell of Mars Hill church in Michigan. His book 'Velvet Elvis' ought to be compulsory reading for 21st century Christians. I've also got a CD of a message at Spring Harvest by Gerard Kelly to listen to, that a friend sent me.

24 hours? Maybe I need a little longer...

Unfortunately, life can only be put on hold for 24 hours. But when I get back, it's going to be go, go, go. I have a busy programme at church this Sunday with a baptismal service for three of our young people. Exciting times. 21 of them crammed into our small front room last night for their weekly nurture group, 'Deeper.' They're a great bunch of kids (12-17 yrs) and have grown so much this last year in particular. Several baptisms, loads of commitment and love between the group, 3 of them going off on summer mission, 1 going to Camp America. Watch out church, the next generation of leaders is on the way...

Shalom.

Stick to one roadmap

2006-05-05T14:09:00.000+01:00

Here I am in familiar surroundings, leading at church. We're a church used to change and lots of it. Sometimes it's hard to catch a breath.

Seven years ago, just after I'd arrived here, the minister (and my boss!) called me up one December morning and asked if I had any plans for lunch. I didn't so he picked me up a few minutes later and we went out to a local hotel for lunch. I asked what the occasion was, and he replied that this was the Christmas staff lunch!

Things have changed and grown since then, with almost 20 attending last year's Christmas staff lunch. Sometimes I have to be primed on the names of the latest staff! The children's area of ministry has grown healthily year on year and the youth scene has exploded, particularly over the last 18 months or so.

That minister, Alan, has now moved on to pastures new (ironically to my home church) and that could have caused sizeable tremors in some churches. However, we have a good team in place, and know that God doesn't abandon us. Along with my colleagues Rob and Margaret (associate pastor and community centre co-ordinator respectively), I look forward to painting on a fresh canvas.

John Lennon once wrote, 'Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans'. As a church leadership team, it's essential to stay focussed on what God's roadmap is saying. It would be easy at a time of transition to allow distractions to blur the view ahead. All sorts of distractions; one's own ideas, ambitions, hobby-horses. Others' attempts to seize a little infuence or empire. Ultimately God is a master builder and only He has the blueprint for us as a church and for us as individuals. Daft to tune in anywhere else really.

Rob Lacey: one of the good guys

2006-05-04T18:51:00.000+01:00

It saddened me greatly to hear the news of the passing of Rob Lacey on Monday 1st May after a prolonged fight against cancer. He was 43. Rob was best known as author of 'Word on the Street' aka The Street Bible, also recently published 'The Liberator'. He was also an accomplished actor and established communicator. His insight and innovative approach to communicating God's Word to a new generation made him someone always worth listening to.

The first time I met Rob was when he came to perform his one-man show 'The Prodigal Son' in Dumfries. His dynamic performance blew me away. I met Rob on several occasions over the years after that, at Spring Harvest or various conferences etc, and he always was quick to deflect any kind words about his performance or latest project back , always showing a keen interest in what I was up to. I learnt later that some of these times when we spoke, he would have been in the midst of some of his battles with the cancer that would eventually take him. His paraphrase of Job in The Street Bible was written right in the middle of one such episode. Worth reading.

Remember Sandra, his widow, and their two small children Lukas, 5 and baby Magdalena, only born in April.

Thank you God for Rob. At rest now. No more disease.

Sleaze sleaze sleaze

2006-04-27T11:09:00.000+01:00

What a day yesterday was for government politicians. We had the home secretary in an embattled defence of his (growingly untenable) position, related to foreign nationals due for deportation being released from prison. The deputy prime minister announced (or had announced for him) he's been having an affair with a woman who was born the day after he married his wife. The former leader of the Labour party was handed a 6 month driving ban after collecting 15 points on his licence. And these are only the ones we found out about yesterday.

I remember being genuinely thrilled in '97 when Labour swept to power. After 18 years of Tory bullying, they were seen as a great fresh hope. People, and I was one of them, sincerely believed it when Blair et al promised there would be no repeat of the Tory sleaze years. I shook Tony's hand the day before he became PM, on a pre-election walkabout in my home town, which had shamefully been the safest Tory seat in Scotland for years. I was, in those days, a card carrying member of the party. I nailed my political colours to the mast, having worked in a continuingly beleaguered NHS for eleven years.

Now, though, it seems that power has corrupted all but a few of the key players in New Labour. I still remain hopeful of Blair and Brown, in terms of their own individual convictions. But the rabble behind them have disappointed sorely. For Mellor, Hamilton and Parkinson, now read Blunkett, Byers and Prescott.

Politics is not to blame for marriage break ups and sleaze however. Anyone who fails to prioritise their lifestyle so that fidelity and honesty are their watchwords make themselves vulnerable to calamities. Not everyone, of course, is stalked by the scrutiny of the national press. We are all though prisoners of conscience, and have been, ever since Eden. (Garden, not Anthony)

We can all hear the voice inside that guides us as to whether we are erring or not. Choosing to ignore that voice is a choice based on selfishness, or unwillingness to forego a 'forbidden' pleasure. The Bible would call that 'sin.'

Ironically, we sin because God loves us enough to let us. God hates sin. But He loves us enough to allow sin to exist. He doesn't permit it. He cannot abide sin. He cannot be in the presence of sin. God wants us NOT to sin. But He didn't create little robotic people who had no choice but to obey. He gives us choices. I was particularly struck by a comment this week in Rob Bell's brilliant book, 'Velvet Elvis' where he said that just as Heaven is full of people that God loves, so is Hell full of people that God loves. Jesus died for the sins of all the people in Heaven, and He died for the sins of all the people in Hell. The only difference is the choice that the person makes as to how to regard God and what He's done. God has given us the choice. Us. You and me.

Make the right choice. Today.

Manchester Passion

2006-04-19T16:29:00.000+01:00

Three days now since 'resurrection day' and I suppose the world will put Easter to bed for another year. Even Woolworths had only a handful of eggs still for sale at £1.99 by lunchtime on Monday. Needless to say, I like a bargain!

My Easter highlight was watching the 'Manchester Passion', a fantastic production shown on BBC TV on Good Friday. As far as I know the people who put it together aren't Christians (maybe that's no bad thing!). It involved a modern version of a passion play, acted out in Manchester city centre live. To attempt to do something like that in modern-day Britain, on what is presumably a major drinking night in the calendar, was ambitious in the extreme.

Then to employ Keith Allen to be narrator and host (as well as Pilate) was inspired casting. Allen is seen as being one of the edgiest, most anarchic of performers and for the producers it must have been a bit like holding a hand grenade for an hour and hoping it didn't go off. Allen didn't. Go off, I mean. He did his job and did it well. There was never a sense of mockery or lampooning. There was a real discipline and faithfulness to the ageless Easter story.

It wasn't preachy. It didn't make me cringe. It was accessible and understandable. The accessibility was enhanced by an imaginative use of modern classic songs by Manchester bands such as The Smiths, New Order and Joy Division. Two stand-out moments for me were Jesus (portrayed superbly by Darren Moffitt) singing 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' during The Last Supper, and when he appeared hundreds of feet above the crowd singing The Stone Roses' 'I Am the Resurrection'. Literally a goosebump moment for me, even at the second time of watching.

So why, oh why, could some Christian groups and churches not resist having a pop at this event? Here were non-Christians taking over a city centre on a Friday night to tell the Jesus story. In a most brilliant and thought-provoking way. For me, there was no controversy, no heresy. Just an honest attempt to convey 1st century acts to 21st century people. Er, isn't that the church's job? Or am I just being too simplistic?

Answers on a postcard...

2006-04-02T19:59:00.000+01:00

OK, honesty right away. I'm not perfect. Don't be shocked. I'm not. When you're a 'full-time' Christian (such a misnomer; we should all be full-time) people have a perception that you operate on a superspiritual level. Well, others may, but I don't. I struggle to be a good husband, a good father, a good stepfather, a good colleague, a good pastor; oh and I mean every day.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the challenge. But isn't the process messy? Regular pattern. I mess up, I get stubborn about messing up, eventually I go to God for help, He helps, I'm grateful, I forget, then I mess up again.

I know that's not just me. Paul was writing about it 2000 years ago in Romans 7. But I do get mad at ME! Why do I never learn? Of course this is when my mind starts to short-circuit at God's grace; 'cos He is always faithful when I am sometimes faithless.

Ok, sermon over!

Today our seeker-friendly service was focused on the theme of freedom. Based on the story of the rehabilitation of Lazarus (Jesus knew how to spoil a funeral didn't he?!), it explored how we can find freedom from all the things that screw us up, be they in the past, the present, or fears of the future.

My freedom and enjoyment of it was somewhat spoiled by our often unreliable sound engineer turning up 45 minutes late without a care in the world. His reason was that it's just too early in the morning (10am is early?) for him. Which gets me back to the full-time Christian thing from earlier. People in churches should see what they do within the church as ministry. It's not just for the anointed minister to feel and own that responsibility (though goodness knows they do) but for the church member to see their roles as 'doing them as unto the Lord.' It's frustrating when people don't because it displays the wrong values to a watching world. It's a worldy 'doing just enough to scrape by' attitude. It diminishes our potential and adversely affects others' opportunities to fulfil their spiritual capabilities. Ok, a sound guy turning up late isn't the end of the world, but it's indicative. People who 'wing it' will never find out what it's like to soar on wings like eagles.

That's all folks.

2006-04-02T17:00:00.000+01:00

Welcome to whoever you are. Why would anyone find what I have to say on the state of the world interesting or worthy of a visit?