The church's greatest strength - the capacity for renewal

This Sunday I visited Firwood Church in Oldham which, I suspect, is typical of a whole breed of new, though not necessarily 'emerging' churches. I say not emerging because, when you probe beneath the surface a little, and you find a very traditional theology.

Various things stood out from the couple of hours or so I spent there:

* direction and purpose - there is obviously an effective leadership team
* community and belonging - the church has been in existence only a few years and everybody clearly feels themselves to be a stakeholder
* humanity and humour - no silly traditions or rituals to get in the way of normality
* commitment to evangelism - Firwood runs two PHUD outreach teams (Proclaiming His Undying Love)which talk to and pray for people in the town centre on Saturday mornings plus a range of other intiatives. We don't exist to be a club, but to witness to Jesus Christ and win disciples for him was the message that came over loud and clear.
* preaching and teaching - perhaps an over-commitment here as sermons typically last ONE HOUR. Doubtless OK when the Pastor is preaching, not so OK as this week when it is the Youth Pastor. A lovely manner and some good illustrations, but otherwise many tangents and significant rambling, albeit on a tricky passage (Psalm 127)
* involvement of a sizeable body of youth drawn in by, for example, football held after church on a Sunday evening.
* sensitive engagement with the local Muslim community - no demonising going on here
* the effective use of new technologies e.g. video projector, website, vodcasting etc. (the latter is like podcasting but with video - I had to guess :-) )
* most impressive of all was the fact that here in what appeared to be a fairly run down part of Oldham a church was prospering by doing traditional church, albeit with a contemporary edge, very well. But isn't what the church had always done. 2000 years old and still in business.

The picture that says it all about Tough Guy (and friendship)

This one just in. Myself and best mate Simon grinding it out in the desperate last stages to the toughest ever Tough Guy. Yohimbe!

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house

Broad is the way that leads to destruction and narrows is the way that leads to eternal life so the Good Book says. Well here we are living in Cherington Road which, for those who don't know, is situated just off Broadway, one of the premier addresses in Cheadle and very nice it is too. Now I now how the 5% live.

The first few days were carnage with a great deal or sorting out to do. Beds to assemble, boxes to unpack, networks to install and the like. Now, after two weeks, we have reached the equilibrium point after which, if I'm honest, few meaningful improvements will be made.

There are great practical benefits to being here, not least that two of the kids now have their own rooms (the two boys still share), we have more room to manouevre / get away from each other when we need the space and we have appreciably more storage (though being rented means that you can't install shelves or the like)

On the debit side, large houses can be remote and lonely houses, though the people we have met on the road have been very friendly. It is also strange to be so far from church. OK enough during a Sabbatical, but too distant for day to day operations from which you feel disconnected. That's without the hassle of finding a parking place in Stockport Road on a Sunday, though the family usually walks.

Lastly, what about the vexed issue of clergy housing as a concept? There is no doubt that, on the one hand, it is a great perk - though if you don't own another property that has to be weighed against the need to prepare for retirement in some way or other and the costs pertaining to this - for large families which, of course, this provision encourages this is a real boon. On the other hand, the great danger is that as one's accomodation gets larger more luxurious - have you seen the Vicarage at Bramhall?! - one becomes increasingly distanced from the lives of normal people or at least the majority of them. This distance re-inforced the image of the clergy as somehow 'diffferent' and that, in my opinion, cannot be a good thing especially when the difference is in wealth and status.

How to square the circle? I'm not sure. Doesn't the Good Book say something about snakes and doves?

In this sign conquer - the ministry of the Padre

What a strange title the Padre's cap badge carries - the words given by Constantine to his soldiers at the battle of - the point at which, according to many, the decline of the Christian church began with its replacement by Christendom. Just one of many paradoxes and ambiguities than an Army Chaplain has to face.

In the course of my Sabbatical I have kept the Padre-ing going albeit at an ambient level. Having said that, a Burns Night, a ski trip, a visit to soldiers on Ops, a baptism, a funeral, a pastoral visit and a few cups of tea on an have all given me pause for thought.

Here are my interim conclusions on what is involved in the ministry of the Padre

Its is spiritual - in the face of death and the other challenges of life, the Padre is there to act as a witness to God's love and strength by his or her deeds as well as, when appropriate, his or her words.

It is moral - in view of the nature of the military task, which frequently involves difficult and marginal judgements made in a split second, the Padre along with the Commander and others, provides a framework and reference point by which correct and appropriate decisions can hopefully be made.

It is pastoral - in view of the peculiarly social nature of the organisation, with people living, sleeping and fighting together 24/7 sometimes for long periods, the demands made by operational tours, the problems related to any group of - mainly - young men etc etc. the vital importance of a listening, sympathetic and reliable ear is obvious. It is what makes the title 'Padre', first used during the Peninsular War, such an appropriate one.

It is practical - in view of the hostile and difficult environment in which soldiers frequently operate, often with many home comforts absent and with the chain of command taken up with more 'important' matters, the Padre has the time and maybe resources to provide that little something extra that makes a difference.

It is relational - everybody from the lowly recruit to the highest ranking officer needs sympathy and friendship. Many positions can be very lonely indeed. The Padre, uniquely positioned as he or she is, can provide that support, at least in part.


(The picture shows me taking my first ever field service - at very short notice - in Germany back in 2004)

For more information on the work of the chaplain albeit from a naval angle check out this link to a recent Times article
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article5903716.ece

Weaving the nets

Although it is not, strictly, exegesis, Frost and Hirsch in 'The Shape of Things to Come' provide an interesting slant on Matthew 4.19 and pars - 'I will make you fishers of men'. They ask what proportion of a fisherman's time would have been spent actually fishing and what proportion repairing the nets? Surprisingly, rather a lot on the latter, the illustrative point being how much time we Christians spend building genuine relationships with those who are not believers? The answer, when it comes to clergy and church leaders in particular, is often shockingly little. These authors also remind us that fishing was a collaborative activity and not an individualistic one, though that is not the way that we have typically been conditioned to think about evangelism.

I'm not sure what it was, but it didn't look much like the Christianity as I know it

Call me a theological dinosaur, but for me sound exegesis is the foundation upon which all Christian worship must be based. That doesn't mean to say that any of us will ever get it right - good enough, workmanlike, call it what you may - that will suffice. But there has to be a cogent and coherent connection between what is written in scripture, above all the Gospels, and what is taught, Sadly the church I visited today - a large, more traditional, Anglican one - was somewhat lacking in this department.

Lets start with the positives:

* a church building that was beautiful, bright and obviously well cared for
* a very creative use of liturgy
* a well structured and well led service
* nice friendly people
* even the dressing up, the genuflecting and processing around, which I don't much care for, would have been bearable had what they were intended to bear witness to been articulated properly.

No I'm sorry, Jesus cleansing the temple equals Jesus wanting to cleanse and bring God's love into our hearts will not do. It comes from theological la la land.

Enough said.

Do you think Someone's trying to tell me something?

The week before last I visited the church several times in connection with the house move and each time I picked up a job. No problem about that, but a reminder of how easy it is to be swamped by the practicalities. On the Sunday it was the Dyson that I noticed was not picking up properly - brush not working, but no simple solution like the drive band. On the Wednesday it was the lock that was broken with no one else around and both Wardens away or busy. So I called in a locksmith and had twenty keys cut (for starters!). On the Thursday it was the fire alarms that wouldn't set and then, making matters worse, the fire alarm buttons that in my confusion about the alarm system I conspired to damage. Then, finally, on the Monday, it was the neighbour whose car had been damaged by the poor installation of the builder's gates that needed some concentrated pastoral attention. D'Oh!