Maggi Dawn posted a great quote from Douglas Adams that sums up my thoughts about our forthcoming move. Given that Adams barely saw any purpose to life – at least I read him as existentialist-nihilist – this is a remarkable and beautiful quote.
Moving House
We spent yesterday visiting the ‘manse’ (minister’s house) where we’ll be living when we move on from here in August. My predecessor, who leaves at the end of July, couldn’t have been more helpful. He gave me an excellent briefing on the churches I’ll be serving.
More worrying was the state of the manse. We had been told a lot of work needed doing on it, and we now know how true that statement was. I spent last night composing a five-page letter listing all the things Debbie and I believe need attention. The house was put up quickly by a builder who was more interested in a quick buck, the church authorities a few years ago were in a position of needing to buy a new manse urgently for my predecessor, and the choice of suitable homes on the market was limited.
Make haste and then repent at leisure, they say. Thankfully the church authorities don’t seem to be hanging around in putting things right for us. I guess it’s a bit like the penitent Old Testament sinner making restitution.
A Bad Weekend For Spurs
From bad to worse: first our sporting director Frank Arnesen is suspended over an apparently illegal approach for his services from Chelski (the six-figure fines over the Ashley Cole affair mean nothing to them), then we miss out on the lottery for a UEFA Cup place. It now looks like we’ll lose Arnesen who had the letter from Chelsea copied to him and it’s just a case of negotiating a package. Money seems to get around the rules.
Football imitates life, huh? Millions in the developing world know this unjust truth at much greater cost than those of us who follow football.
One Of Those Weekends
I had two morning services on Sunday. My main one at 10:30 was at my primary church in Rainham. I was preaching on the Lectionary Old Testament lesson from Genesis 12:1-9, where Abram is called. I wanted to say something that I thought was important and relevant about the nature of being on a spiritual journey. I really thought it was right for them.
Before that, I got to trial it at Christ The King, Princes Park at the quiet, traditional said communion service at 8:45. It went down a storm. The Anglican vicar Keith Foot said it would be worth repeating at my farewell service there next month when many more would hear it, and it chimed in with things he had been trying to say to the congregation.
At Rainham, however, it went down like a lead balloon. And it was a poor congergation, numerically speaking. You just can’t win sometimes, can you? My ability to second-guess God is as poor as ever!
You can find a link to the sermon here, if you’re interested.
The Dickens Festival Revisited
Went back to the Dickens Festival today (see my entry yesterday). Had a nice welcome when we went for lunch at Rochester Baptist Church, whose premises are close to the High Street, where much of the festival takes place. In conversation we discovered that this year Medway Council had banned them from doing outreach at the festival. How close are impositions on religious freedom coming in this country?
See my previous post about hospital chaplains and the news that the University of Leicester NHS Trust want to ban the Bible from bedside lockers (here in the Daily Mail and here in the Daily Telegraph).
Mene Mene
Mene Mene is an amazing project in Leeds to distribute the words of Jesus in public spaces in intriguing ways.
Thanks to Dave Walker at The Cartoon Blog for the link.
Pope Benedict XVI And The Renunciation Of Power
Ekklesia News reports a powerful address by the new Pope in which he calls Christians to renounce power and wealth in favour of serving others. The article ends with this comment:
‘But some are likely to point to the apparent contradiction of it coming from the head of one of the world’s richest and most powerful institutions.’
Quite. But that shouldn’t stop the rest of us engaging in some serious self-examination, should it?
Pope Benedict XVI And The Renunciation Of Power
Ekklesia News reports a powerful address by the new Pope in which he calls Christians to renounce power and wealth in favour of serving others. The article ends with this comment:
‘But some are likely to point to the apparent contradiction of it coming from the head of one of the world’s richest and most powerful institutions.’
Quite. But that shouldn’t stop the rest of us engaging in some serious self-examination, should it?
Can We Make Poverty History?
Pray for Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK Government (i.e., finance minister): he has a bold plan to attack world poverty, announced today. There is the inevitable opposition from the USA (so much for wanting to be biblica, Dubya). But even on top of that there is also the issue of changing hearts and attitudes long-term: even if we wipe out the debt that paralyses so much of the developing world we still leave in place the structures of power that can soon disable them. Don’t we?
Thanks to Paul Roberts for the link.
The Urgent Need To Distinguish Evangelicalism And Bible Teaching From Fundamentalism
Maggi Dawn has today posted an extract from one of Keith Ward’s books on this subject. Ward isn’t a natural ally of my theological thinking these days, but this post calls out a ‘Hallelujah’ from me. Someone, somewhere, understands the differences between thoughtful evangelicalism and harsh fundamentalism. Now if only our media understood that.
Big Circumstance 