Journal: Friday Fun

What a stonking day with four visits done before Lunch!

I love getting to meet and have a conversation, reminisce, and get to have Communion with people where they are. So many high spots as we celebrated progress with matters medical at one end of the scale and contained our concern at the lack of it elsewhere. Tea drunk, Communion celebrated (for it the Church that celebrates whilst the person serving it up presides), family proclaimed. Pure bliss.

Pastoral conversations today were limited to no more than a handful outside of the Communion but even they were positive and encouraging - no new fires on the horizon - the flames that were once to be found are now (apparently, and hopefully as they seem) dying embers.

Kid's Club was a joy and amidst the games of snooker and pool (no Wii this week) and the birthday celebrations there was the joy of educational progress and more stable life experiences. Not the busiest we've been but having past twenty kids in the place it felt full enough. A wonderful part of the ministry in this place - another of the real joys.

Later there was the finishing off of the Sunday service and all that entails - funny how some seem to think that the Sunday happenings just happen to happen without planning, predation and study. Must remember to offer them a go at it some time :-)

Somehow the 'third of a day off' things didn't happen - hard to stop when you're having such a good time innit?

So Lord, 

for the obvious places where You have been found - I give You thanks,

for the surprising places where You became noticed - I praise You,

for the people whose lives You are changing - I applaud You,

for loving and using me - I'm astounded, humbled and blessed.

May today have sown seed, may tomorrow see me reap the harvest of Your love.

This place of reflection is here for me to dialogue internally and gain insight and perspective. It first appeared in this current form for some of those looking at creating their own journal as part of the their journey to discerning vocation. The Morning prayer is there also for that same purpose: to create the discipline of prayer. 

Journal: Theodicy and stuff

The night ended with a couple of hours of great conversation on the subject of evil and God's part and out response. It was quite a challenge and quite a journey, and loads of fun. But before we got there I had a trip to buy comestibles of the Communion kind and some material for house groups, so I had a trip into Brum - and that started the day of well (as any trip to a shop what sells books always does).

The filling in this enjoyable sandwich was home Communions and pastoral conversations and so, it has been an almost perfect day I guess. A day in which I find myself smiling consistently and almost foolishly.

Add to this the fact that Anselm popped in with his ontological argument for the existence of God and Epicurus had a pop at God for not giving him however many number he needed to win the lottery!

So the encounters, the challenges, the pace and the overall content was great: Thank You Lord.

Hopefully I looked like Jesus to those around me and I was God's man in the place.

Thankfully God's love and grace were evidence in large quantities.

Lord, for a day passed when I can reflect upon the many blessings you have given me, I can but praise you and head for bed a very happy and content man.

Hallelujah.



This place of reflection is here for me to dialogue internally and gain insight and perspective. It first appeared in this current form for some of those looking at creating their own journal as part of the their journey to discerning vocation. The Morning prayer is there also for that same purpose: to create the discipline of prayer. 

Journal: getting results

That's what it's all about, making the right things happen and the bad things go away, isn't it?

Today has been excellent with God-given opportunities, answered prayer and weird happenings with the Internet - who could ask for anything more?

I feel like this week has been one of corners turned and opportunities emerging where before there was only dark clouds in the horizon; and the reason? Prayer.

How many of us live in the land of 'I wish' when we should be in the land of 'He is able and so therefore am I'. Too many times I hear of the failings of someone else when people speak of their failures and missed opportunities, but the reality is that we are often so taken up with the people we can blame that we forget the God who is able - and that is a major sadness for the Church and the world it is supposed to be serving.

But this week, some people have moved forward and for my part in it I thank God!

Today I am thankful for the encounters He has provided for me and still sorry for the person I might have been and yet was not.

I thank God for the sinner who repented today and the 'far off' who came near.

Lord, as I turn in I thank you for my daily bread, my sins forgiven and Your love and life made real in me. Bring on tomorrow Lord and let us conspire together to show your love made fresh in the new day to come.

Lord, I love You,

No heat but plenty of fire

two great services today - the challenge of circumcision and being part of a family of faith is a really tough one for it makes calling a real issue and additionally turns us around to look at what it means to be family too.

Today was a privilege, I only hope I took the opportunities that were before me and did justice to the challenges today presented. Two different congregations and so two different, and yet in essence the same, messages in a day of challenges which saw late starts, later starts and no heating.

Commitment looks like turning up for a early service, especially when the weather is poor and the season cold - we need to cherish our early service congrations for they are not the old stalewarts but the bedrock! For those who came to the 'main" service in a cold church, this is another facet of commitment that deserves to be nurtured and treasured. How do we pastor our sheep and be the good shepherds God, and they, desire?

This appears to be on God's books as a season of nurture and for treasuring those who make up our churches. A season of caring for the newcomers and for raising the bar in terms of Bible knowledge and lifestyle choices for all who follow Jesus, the Christ.

Lord, help me to reach the lost and to treasure every encounter this year. Bring me divine appointments and make me slow to engage with the dross of everyday church life, choosing instead to be present at the partying that surrounds new birth and the discipline of our calling.

Help me to make my diary a tool that assists rather than a chain that constrains and keeps me stuck in the dungeon of excessive work. I have nothing to prove and nothing to give but my love and worship, help me to take more time with you and to calm the daily rush of oft unnecessary toil.

Help me to cherish being part of a physical family and to walk the centreline that divides the two, putting neither to the sword and fulfilling that which I should be doing and giving opportunities for that which I desire to be doing.

Church should be a party not a homework session - a place of love, acceptance, and tolerance. MY this be the reality for me and the people I serve and the church of which I am a member.

Hallelujah

Wow! Hallelujah!

A day in which just about everything has shone. Good news on the pastoral front. Another amazing funeral that saw the Gospel preached and the bereaved blessed. God's love was made real in a number or ways to a number of people: And I got to be part of it all"

The only words I can think of are: Wow!  and Hallelujah!

Going to bed with a smile on my face and praise on my lips - can this get any beget that this (without the return of Jesus)?

Today started with Isaiah 55 - so many nuggets in it: 'seek God while you can, and 'God's word never returning empty' with the cherry that is 'going out in joy and being led back in peace'. And I was, and I did and I am and ... Wow! The psalms underpinned all that and the nod to Lot and judgement and stuff just made the task before me more important still.

Lord for the places my feet were found I thank you.

For the times when I was aware of your presence in my life today I bless you.

For the presence of your Holy Spirit acting in those I saw I worship you.

Today and its labours have come to an end - give me sleep and make me to rise tomorrow with added zeal, increased courage and a gentleness of spirit. 

Help me to bring peace where there is none; understanding where there is ignorance and confusion: love and acceptance where there is rejection and pain. Help me to be your man and to take Jesus, the Christ, into all that I do and am.

And a postscript: be for those who have needs today the God who answers by fire.

Bless you God - Marantha. 

The fool has said . . .

. . . In his heart, "There is no God!"

Yet today in the encounters this was clearly untrue for God, like many other things, is to be found should one have the eyes to see Him.

Many years ago whilst walking with a friend in the country I realised that they we seeing so many things I wasn't - or to put it another way - I was not seeing what they saw. I asked them how It was that they saw so much when I saw so little and was told that I had never learnt to look!

Isn't this the problem with our 'post. hristian' world today? In days past, accepting the concept and presuming the reality of God, people would have eyes which saw Him and His works. Today we have become blind to the things around us, choosing not to see (or perhaps they are merely unable) what is around them.

Today began, as ever with the daily Office and after some forlorn shuffling of paper saw an early Communion service. How is it that some fail to get excited by the psalms such that we are slowly seeing them exit from our worship? The very first thing we say in our midweek service is the Psalm - and some days we gasp and other days we dance, but we are never left unmoved. The temptation to cry, "Hallelujah," is immense and compelling in the extreme.

The creation of tosh as an outworking of our own desires and attitudes is so great. Never is this statement so true than when it comes to matters of belief for here we find the logically doubtful rubbing shoulder with the awe-inspiringly glorious!

Do I do that?
Are there irrational assumptions made alongside the Christian speaking esoterica which confuses and counfounds?

Recalling the essay thrown back because it was 'too theological' and my protests that theology was what it was only to be met with a rebuff which led me to realise that for my theology to be real I needed it to be done in less theological tones such that it could be read by the non-theological. A fellow student protested that it was 'dumbing down' and yet, although the theological terms allow one word where many would be needed, they also, in that one word, alienate and confuse.

So Lord help me to be an apologist (sorry, I meant 'give an answer for the hope that I have in Jesus, the Christ') and to engage with those who are both near and far off. Help me to explain the deepest truths simple, and the simple truths deeply. To make the difficult things of God simple and the simple commonplace.

Help me to visit friends and minister that same Grace that sets me free and makes us one; to never see a client but a brother or sister; to never hide behind the answerphone or the email but to engage as Christ engaged, and engages still.

Funerals and the visits, the legwork, the paperwork, are to be found in abundance and the grim spectre of those not laid to rest before the Bethlehem bit arrives is before us. The chairs, empty around festive tables, will shout of loss. O death where is your sting: O grave, where is your victory?

Nativities and Christingle, carols and mulled wine are racing towards us. Not my busy time, just my more visible time. And who will they see? Those who tell me they are busy rarely are! Those who are never seen are rarely seen working! Which is the truth for me (for many I know can take care of their own attitudes and rarely welcome question or observation from others) and how do I make it Your truth?

Lord, for the encounters had today - may those around me have find the Christ in some measure.
For the decisions and suggestions made today, may Your wisdom and life have been present..
Create in me a pure heart and an honesty that speaks in the silence.

May the Grace of God abound and the light of Christ be obvious in all that I do. Thank you for the meetings made, the Communion (and glow sticks) given and the good cups of tea received. Bring it on today and help me as I lay loved ones to rest I pray.

And may I touch the hearts of the foolish :-)

One last school Christmas event

Having reached the end of the journey with the 'Finding Talent' report I am now free to read what others have said on it but there is something of more merit, of more joy and of more encouragement for me as a bit of a low key cleric - the penultimate school service of the Christmas period!

Tonight I will be celebrating Christmas with one of our local schools and as this nears:

I have to say that I have been blessed by tiny children singing 'Glory to God' and telling the age old nativity story through fresh eyes (the eyes of a 'Stable Rat').

I have done Christingle services with children and had the joy of seeing them pass by on their way home with their glowstick 'Christ lights' shining in the darkness (please Lord, may it shine in their homes and in the lives of all who enter them).

I have prayed, read Bible passages, blessed and sung my heart out in the old familiar carols.

I have sung strange songs from foreign lands and been challenged by people who wanted to substitute 'Father' when speaking of God for the term 'Mother' (and one person even wanted God as an 'it'!).

I have endured folk religion and struggled with odd understanding relating to God and His Son, Jesus, the Christ (and not all of it was from the clergy ;-) )

BUT

I have to say that Jesus, the blesséd babe of Bethlehem has shone through and I want to express my Christmas wishes to each and every person who passes by this place of madness that is my blog. So I thought I'd wish each and every one of you a blessed and peaceful Christmas and give thanks for Mary's 'Yes' - God made flesh - Immanuel.

The Ninth Day of Christmas - Nine Fruits

Forget all that five a day stuff - here's a NINE (from Galatians chapter five) that could change your life! They, the Fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit, look like this:

1. Love,
2. Joy,
3. Peace,
4. Forbearance
5. Kindness
6. Goodness,
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness, and
9. Self-control

So what are they?
 The 'Fruit of the Spirit' (not fruits) is the remedy to all the stuff that is referred to as the 'Acts of the Flesh', which are also found in chapter five (verses 19-21):

Sexual Immorality, Impurity and Debauchery; Idolatry and Witchcraft; Hatred, Discord, Jealousy, Fits of Rage, Selfish Ambition, Dissensions, Factions and Envy; Drunkenness, Orgies, and the like.

Having listed these  'Acts of the Flesh' (recognise any in your life?) Paul continues:

'I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control - Against such things there is no law.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.'

So in a nutshell, the nine fruit of the Spirit are the very things we'd love to see in out lives and the lives of those around us - and the good news is that you can, all you need to do is talk to the wholesaler ;-)

Thank Jesus it's Sunday?

As the first service of the day slowly creeps nearer I find my self thinking about the various responses to Sunday that I have encountered thus far in my life. Here, for brevity's sake are four (bet you know more):

The Enthusiast
They've jumped out of bed and can't wait for church. This is one of the high points of the week for them - a chance to share with their church family and break bread, sing. listen (and hopefully learn, and pray!

You know the sort, they're always excited about church and God and stuff.
One of the  people in a church a few churches back one pointed at one of these and said, in a non-approving tone, 'That's N, he's one of those enthusiastic Christians!'

The Dutiful
A few years back, at one of the early communion services, someone said to me,'I wouldn't have come this morning but I had to to because I was handing out the hymnbooks!'

These are the people for whom church has become a commitment that has to be met and to be honest, I think that we (me and them) both wonder why they come at times. They have something to do and so they come and do it (for which I am truly grateful, for many who have things to do don't) but they have lost the joy of living with God and generally just work with Him.

The Habitual
A discussion with a church member from another fellowship led me into the knowledge that 'They've always come to the church,' and so they continue to come. They were brought by their parents (who were brought by their parents and so on) and it's what they do on a Sunday.

As I discussed Christian things with them I became aware that they might have some miles on the clock in terms of church attendance but that they'd rarely brought their brains and emotions with them (essential if 'church' is to be of any value I fear) and the sermon was the place for drifting off and planning lunch or sorting out the handbag and the like.

The Pressed Men
Doing a service somewhere recently I met a couple who obviously didn't want to be in the church building. Throughout the service the mumbled the responses, barely sang the songs and couldn't wait to flee.

So (of course) I tackled them at the door and asked a few questions and it turned out that:

They 'had' to be there to have their banns read and having taken the medicine that is church were keen to leg it before they were collared by some one (so that worked well, didn't it?). Going to church was the price that had to be paid for the use of the their building on their 'big day'.

Another similar looking couple (at another service) were there because they 'had' to come because they were having their child baptised. Again there was no engagement from them - they were doing what had to be done.

The Consumer (a late addition)
I've been asked to include this by others as so can but oblige. Here we have those who arrive, take in a service and then leave with no mark made either by them or on them. The Sunday slot is something that serves to fill a need and nothing more. The 'consumer' is perhaps the most difficult to deal with because they come (and often have always done so) and yet are the people that can be least counted upon to make an impact or hold a belief).

One of the hallmarks of the consumer society is that they are seeking to be 'blessed' and are very sure about what they don't want from church, being challenged appearing to be the biggest turn off - 'ask what your church (and God) can do for you, not what you can do for it (and Him)' is their mantra.

The question for me as a dogcollar is what I can do to make those who come through the doors of our church (the word 'our' indicating membership not possession) engaged and the experience meaningful and enjoyable?

How do I turn habit into enthusiasm and make the usual Sunday experience into something unusual and extraordinary?

How do I rekindle the passion that has turned to duty and set people on fire for God?

How do I make an honest, welcoming and disciple-making environment for those pressed men?

How do I turn consumers into converts?

You know what? I'm not sure - so I'll go next door and have a try with the early communion.

Catch you later - Christ is risen! Hallelujah!

A couple of Bible explanations . . .

Which really made me smile:

'Jesus made the lame walk'
'Stopping to think of that statement for a moment I realise that's not really news, after all London Transport do that on a daily basis!'

'Jesus only had male disciples'
'Reason: Jesus found it really tough to get women to go along with Him, after all, most men they meet think they're God's gift to the world!'

And then they made me think:

About the lack of ability to smile, laugh or otherwise enjoy themselves that some Christians have.

I once remarked, in a service, that I thought the swallowing camels and straining at gnats was one of the funniest things Jesus could say to the stiff, hard-line, Pharisaical types and after the service, the same people Jesus was talking about came up and gave me some stick:

'Jesus wasn't a comedian, he didn't tell jokes and make funny comments! . . . .  There's nothing funny about being a Christian (well, not in your church, that's true!) . . . . There's no place for being 'funny' in church . . . . ' and on they went, confirming the very first impression I got when I entered.

They had joy, but it was buried so deep down under ritual and appearance and structure and . .  well I'm sure you know what I mean (because you've either experienced it or are it!); and this is the problem for so many people outside the Church too. They come into contact with a bunch of joyless, lifeless and hopeless (aside from the that one eternal hope of course) people and don't come back.

Mind you, a few years back I mentioned that I liked to keep the baptism services light and free-moving. The response to this (from someone who surprised me with it) was, 'Oh, you're one of those 'Gameshow Host' clergy who are there to entertain rather than act as a Priest then are you?'

The words wounded, for I was not, and am not, one of them at all (but I now know some who are and so can understand his views!!). To write off everything that I was doing in the baptism so easily and so lightly started a journey that took just about every bit of respect I had for the man as I saw him sweep away the legs of some he was supposed to be mentoring time and time again. So I watched him and realised that when the internal pain was high, so too was the pain for others. His verbal scything of others was merely a reaction to his own pain and lack of progression and soon led me to a place of prayer and sadness for him.

The reality was that in being welcoming and making the 'domestics' light, telling families not to fight with their children during the service; that some noise was inevitable and all the other stuff was the right way - a draconian set of instructions and and an unwelcoming first impression would have set the scene for the rest of the service.

The fact that I explain that baptism is more than a wet witness and explain the place and purpose of oil, water, flame and the Jewish and Jesus links to it: This is right and fitting, for we probably engage with more unchurched and dechurched people in the baptism service that any other occasional office we have.

If we can't make church fun without losing the story, Jesus the man and people *the Church) in context then we have become extremely sad indeed. If there's no joy in our services and no laughter in our sermons, then the game is up and all we are doing is looking after buildings until such time they can be made into carpet warehouses and heritage centres.

If we don't have love and life in all it's fullness;

If we are not partying regularly and living as family;

Then we are doomed - because it's not just what we say but the way that we say it!

A final comment that made me smile (and can be adapted for any place or people group - also works well with Australia and France ;-) (Sorry Marty)

'Yorkshire - A county so beautiful that God filled it with Yorkshiremen to make people feel so much better about living somewhere else'

Happy Sunday - He is Risen!