Vocations - Looking at language

One of the consistent things that I find occurring when it comes to helping people discern their calling to ministry is the use of language.

People will often come in speaking of 'authority', a word that will cause many to immediately harbour doubts about the reason for the calling that is being claimed, when what they mean is perhaps more correctly labelled as 'testing, submission and of having been approved'.

On my journey, one of the important things in ordination was the fact that those who are ordained are:

1. Recognised as having a 'calling' to something within their own fellowship,
2. Are approved by that fellowship and sent to the DDO (Diocesan Director of Ordinands) or vocations adviser,
3. Are examined and, perhaps after additional elements (readings groups, etc.), are sent to a selection conference (BAP),
4. At the BAP the person is engaged to help clarify the nature of the calling and the best way it can be developed,
5. Having been selected, training tales place and once this is completed the person is offered to the wider church (sending diocese having first choice if there is a suitable 'title post') and ordained.

What we have here is a process by which those who ordained can demonstrate that they are:

i. Have been tried, tested and approved

• The selection process
• The training experience
• The Title post

ii. Are in submission to those above.

•  It is here that, taking the model of Nehemiah, that we can see that those ordained have authority because they submit to authority.
• Just as an officer in the forces is saluted because they hold a commission, it is the queen (whose commission they hold) who is being saluted, not the person - this is devolved power through submission to the monarch.
• Are 'primus inter pares' (first among equals). This doesn't make them the 'Daddy' but makes them someone who is collaborative and supportive of others - true authority.

The motto of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) is 'Serve to Lead'.

On the first day at that place one of the staff asked us who the greatest leader was. Being in the big concrete sleeping bag that bears the name of a certain great leader theirs was the first name out of the bag, quickly followed by many others until, exasperated the Colour Sargeant asked where the padres were and who was it they worked for?

yes, the answer was 'Jesus'! Someone regarded by as a great leader because He came to serve. This is the true nature of authority - submission and service.

I hope this helps clarify some of the thinking around vocations

Pax





*Those who were not selected (this is not 'rejected'*) will be offered help in discerning their vocation and may return to a BAP at a later date or find their calling fulfilled in  a different area of ministry. This is not the end of 'calling' (of which our baptismal calling is the greatest calling we have).

More language abuse

Apparently RBS' Stephen Hester and his bonus is 'A important issue' in the minds of the British public. Yes indeed, it is 'A issue' that needs to be addressed!

Gosh - whatever happened to the rule that words that began with a consonant being preceded by 'A' whilst those beginning with a vowel find themselves following 'AN'. Simple stuff isn't it?

Of course we have exceptions, wouldn't be a rule without exceptions, would it? A unit of something or other, A university, an honour and so on. The wonderful combination of consonant and vowel plays a great part in confusing some (all?) sometimes but I recall the words of our English master (Moonbeam) and his exhortations to us that we, Say the words and listen. Does it sound right? If it doesn't, it isn't!)

I was told(by a supposed teacher of English, but having read their letters home I have to say that I very much doubt that this is a true description!) that 'these days' pupils can select what precedes a word on the basis of comfort and regional preference. Then again this person also uses the word 'color' (which is sule a co-lor, so what's a 'lor'?) and other abominations before, and unto the, GOD* and tells me that slowly the two languages (i.e. English and American) are coalescing such that one day we can all have an coffee and donut and it won't be a unique experience!

Looks like I'm becoming a grumpy old fart when it comes to English and though this might indeed be true, I will reman AN old fart and will have CDs (not CD's) and it will not be AN issue!

Aaaargh

If you struggle with apostrophes, have a listen to this (but be careful -it's loud.

*GOD - Greater Oxford Dictionary

Removing imagination from reading

I was watching an interesting news item last week regarding electronic books and the addition of soundtracks and sound effects to them. What made the news piece more interesting was the cry, in unison, from our four children that such a feature would remove the need to have imagination when reading.

As we discussed this we found that we all regarded the 'mind's eye' images and sounds to be focus and means by which books were special. It was this that made a book great and often made the film of the book weak when the silver screen's interpretation fell short of the book we had read.

This led to the fact that one of the local schools had decided to show the video of Jane Eyre on the grounds that it:

a. saved the cost of n books, and

b. made the story accessible to those who might have struggled a bit with the reading!

Of course the whole point of English at school is surely to teach the language in both written and read forms and so point the second left me wondering if this was one of the reasons we have such poor reading standards displayed by many young people (gosh, don't sound like a young, trendy Vicar this morning, do I?). Secondly the film was an interpretation brought about by editing and modifying the story and so the story as it left the pen was not the same story as that which hit the screen. It might have been an approximation, but often with films there are omissions and quite major changes made to keep running time, cast and cost under control.

The issue of saving the cost of the books is another quite frightening issue as far as I am concerned because as Academies and Free schools and other 'out of the State system' educational bodies become the norm', surely this 'cost-cutting' will become the order of the day in oh so many ways?

Recently the family has seen 'Much ado About Nothing' in a variety of formats ranging from unexpurgated and modernised versions on film to a stage play of the same in a London theatre (more later) and modernised version and play excluded different elements. It was the same story but the journey was different in each. The main points were present but something was lost in each and whilst all three were enjoyable - it was for me - the reading in association with the other media that completed the whole.

One of the people on a London radio station who discussed this suggested that perhaps abridged talking books were a better way of helping our children do English - heaven forbid!

Still, grumble done, let the day begin.

Pax

Wordification of the UK

I was appalled at the person who wittered on about the 'pornification' of the UK with the opening of a new Bunny club in London's Park Lane. Now as much as I'm not into Bunnys (although I think those one of our Wardens had are cute) I think the language abuse the woman railing against them exhibited was more concern-making!

Not since I struggled with the moronic language abuse that was 'gayification' have I been so appalled. Why, oh why, do people feel that they can take such liberties with our language, especially when they're British? After all, even though I don't like it, I do understand that Americans, not having English as their first language, feel they have the right to be creatively grammatically (and etymologically and linguistically) wrong as part of their culture (think that's the right word).

Wasn't my 'funnest' experience, that's for sure!

Pax