Theology at the breakfast table

Libby (3): Who made God?
Alice (6): He just is.
Isaac (8): Yes but Daddy, how?

Long Whatton, Longevity and Long lost friends.

Last weekend, Louise and I went back to Long Whatton where 10 years ago we were part of a team that restarted a Baptist Church there. I completed my ministerial training while I was there and when my training finished we moved up to Morecambe. The church is led now by two of my oldest Friends and it was great to see the church getting on with life. I am also really pleased that they were being creative in their approach to worship and mission.

During the 5 years I was part of Long Whatton, I spent a long time building up contacts and friendships with people who either had no part of any church or were on the fringes of church life. Sometimes my involvement in their lives was fairly insignificant, I’d meet and talk to them just about life, family and the weather. At other times the conversations were about faith or tragedy or illness. I was there as an Evangelist, I suppose, so my role was to build contacts, but I thought I got to know people for who they are and not just with my agenda as a Church Planter.

Some of the things I did while I was there:

• Personally visit every home twice.
• Arrange an ecumenical service drawing on the best of the three traditions (I got the impression this changed in character significantly after I had left).
• Offer an evangelistic video to every home.
• Walk the village and make myself as visible as possible.
• Involve myself in the life of the school (I wonder if that child is still having nightmares after my guitar case nearly knocked her out).

The team who are leading the church now had advertised the celebration well and their aim was to use the event to renew old contacts. I think I could have probably provided more than I did but, I didn’t keep good records at the time and people only started flooding back into my head, once I was there. The more the the meeting went on I became painfully aware that NOT ONE of those people outside of regular church life, that I had got to know had come.

It makes me wonder:

• If I had stayed would those relationships still be lost?
• Does the Evangelist in a rural setting need to be there for a decade or more?
• The Church in Long Whatton has had 3 significant changes in its leadership over 10 years. Is that bad for long term establishment of the village church?

Is politics boring?

Probably but I like to keep up to date with what my MP is up to. After all our MP’s work for us, right?

Theyworkforyou.com keep me updated on my MP (Geraldine Smith). Every time she speaks in parliament I get notified. Now I’ll grant you, most of it is not that interesting but she did have quite a bit to say about Post Office closures. You can see a transcript of what she said in Parliament here. They will even e.mail you every time it is updated.

The same people who run “They work for you” have started “Hear from your mp dot com“. It is a service to help your MP keep in touch with you. 111 of Geraldine’s constituents have asked to hear from her on a regular basis. Hearfromyourmp.com have e.mailed her 4 times to tell her how many people have signed up and so far Geraldine has sent us any messages.

I guess the more people that sign up to hear from her, the more likely she is to start contacting us. I would much rather get a regular e.mail from my MP than the automatic Christmas card I get each year. Why don’t you sign up to hear from your MP?

Preaching, Listening, Christian Conferences and Style.

Preaching, Listening, Christian Conferences and Style.

For the last five years we have gone to Spring Harvest. The kids love it. Isaac was saying that the best bit of the week is when we first arrive and we all wait in the car while mummy (Louise) goes and collects the key! It’s the anticipation that makes the week so exciting for them. Louise and I have been going to Spring Harvest on and off since we were 17 and 18 respectively. For me though the way I look at it has changed.

I think the problem with learning to preach and make presentations is that you can’t listen to a sermon without some kind of prejudice (for example my former post). This year has made me think more than most. Firstly because (for the first time I remember) the theological thinking that has underpinned the event has been mind stretching. Some of the speakers I have heard shared how much preparing for the event has challenged and changed them (particularly in relation to Heaven and Hell).

Secondly because all those who have preached, lectured and presented have had some very good material, but the way the material is presented varies massively. Two of the best speakers I have heard have been Tom Wright and Jeff Lucas, although Justin Thacker deserves a mention because he has restored my faith in the Evangelical Alliance. Here are some observations on my favourite two.

Tom Wright

• Has allot to say and not enough time to say it.
• His style is urgent, interesting and passionate.
• He doesn’t use slides, he just talks.
• His material pushes your existing understanding and opens your mind. You go away thinking
  “Oh yeah, I never thought of it like that.”

Jeff Lucas

• Usually has an uncomplicated message.
• Is very funny, his use of stories draw the listener into the subject.
• Uses short vieo clips to reinforce his point, again drawing the listener into the story.
• He wraps the sermon with these stories and by the conclusion, which is usually quiet and serious, has everyones absolute attention.

Isaiah, Spring Harvest, Sermons and Wasting Time.

The morning Bible readings were on Isaiah this year at Spring Harvest. I listened to a talk about Isaiah 53 on the first morning. There is quite allot of background information when it comes to studying the book of Isaiah. In a fairly straightforward way the preacher covered the information very quickly. Straight forward and to the point, is good at times (though slightly boring). His point was: One book (Isaiah), Three authors, Three different periods of time that the authors were writing to. Then he told us WE DIDN’T NEED TO KNOW THAT!

There are two issues here for me. Firstly, if a congregation don’t need to know something why bother telling them? What a waste of time!

Secondly, I do see why he said that we didn’t need to worry about it. Who wrote Isaiah doesn’t affect the text at all. However, it does affect the kind of God you believe in. Let me explain:

Isaiah breaks down into three sections.

1. The first is written when the people to whom it is addressed were living under the threat of invasion.
2. The second some (400?) years later when the city has been ransacked and most of the people are living in a foreign land. It is written with incredible detail.
3. The third when they have returned or are returning to their homeland.

If one person wrote it, we can see that God speaks about the future and predict it. He is the all knowing all powerful God. Nothing wrong with that.

But, wait a minute, if one person wrote it, that means God is predicting the future some four centuries before it happened. What is the use of that to the people who would have heard it? I agree it is very impressive, but it lacks credibility. There is one time we get an example of someone being told in explicit detail what will happen after they have died. Their reaction is fascinating. They say “That’s OK then. I’m all right Jack.” They are totally disinterested. You can read the story in Isaiah in chapter 39.

To me, it doesn’t make sense that God would tell people in detail what is going to happen centuries after they have died.

If two or three people wrote it at different times, then God is still able to predict the future, but it is more immediate, more connected to the people. That makes much more sense to me. Not only does it make sense, it also concurs with the way God interacts with people in the rest of scripture. He is interested in the present as well as the future, dealing with ordinary people in an everyday way.

Which God would you rather believe in, the remote one who tells you things you don’t need to know, or the close, concerned immediate one who tells you things that are relevant to today?

It may feel like winter, but summer is on the way …

I love it when the clocks change.  The kids don’t seem to wake up as early, the lighter nights make everything seem so much better.  Added to that we have a holiday around the corner.

This week is busy for me, although I don’t have a sermon to prepare for Sunday I do have a talk to do and I think I may be conducting a funeral on Friday.  Add to that all the normal business of life I’m going to be practising my time management skills!