A Good Read!

On Tuesday the AFC Book Discussion Group met for its bi-monthly chat.  We are a diverse group and we always seem to fill the hour we spend together with stimulating, encouraging and insightful discussion (not to blow our own trumpets too much you understand!).  This group has now been 'officially' drawn into our Life and Faith Groups programme - which I think is good!

In his play Shadowlands Williar Nicholson gives C.S.Lewis that wonderful line: 'We read to know we are not alone' - and I must say I feel like that at times.  It's a great moment when you come across something in a book and want to shout out loud: 'I feel that too!'.

So I'm deeply grateful for books.  In a way they offer a somewhat solitary pursuit and at times that suits me fine because there are moments when my best thinking, research and 'pondering' is done alone.  Yet I'm also - if this isn't too much of a contradiction - deeply grateful for book groups because it has often been my experience that in the discussion I either change my mind about a book or see things in a new light.  This has been especially the case with the last two books we've read in the Central Area Ministers' Book Group to which I also belong.

On Tuesday we were discussing The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen.  I read it back in 1990 and it was fascinating to see which part I underlined then and what I highlighted this time - not everything coincided - perhaps suggesting that as we grow older books begin to mean different things to us than when we read them in our younger years.

One of my new underlinings came towards the end when Nouwen reflects on the refusal of the older brother to rejoice in the return of the younger son.  He writes: Every moment of each day I have the chance to choose between cynicism and joy.  Every thought I have can be cynical or joyful. Every word I speak can be cynical or joyful.  Every action can be cynical or joyful.  Increasingly I am aware of all these possible choices, and increasingly I discover that every choice for joy in turn reveals more joy and offers more reason to make life a true celebration in the house of the Father.

Perhaps an appropriate thought for this fourth Thursday in November, celebrated by our friends from across the Pond as 'Thanksgiving'.

Best wishes,

Ian

Order! Order!

I belong to an Order!

Not the Masons or Buffaloes but the 'Order for Baptist Ministry' (www.orderforbaptistministry.co.uk) and last week I went to its Convocation in Birmingham and yesterday I attended my 'local' Cell at Haddenham,  Perhaps I ought to explain....

The OBM was created about four years ago as an Order available for those ordained within the Baptist Union.  It's quite deliberately based on the sort of spiritual disciplines and practices of the monastic period yet it is a 'dispersed' community rather than a group of people living together.

At last year's Convocation I took my 'vows' and became a member. By doing so I promised to seek to be faithful in the following ways:

* To pray the Order's Daily Office regularly (we are actually using one of these prayers during The Confession at AFC this Sunday!)

* To be part of a Cell - that is to meet every six weeks or so in a group with other OBM members when we say the Office, eat together and then go through the discipline of asking each other reflective questions about our ongoing ministry responsibilities.

* To attend Convocation once a year - the only time the whole Order comes together.

* To have a 'Spiritual Director' - that is some independent person to whom one goes about six times a year for a one to one conversation about how its all going.

*To go on retreat once a year.

I suppose this isn't every Baptist ministers 'cup of tea' but I have to say I have found it remarkably sustaining and inspiring to be part of the 'companionship' of this Order - journeying alongside like minded people in what is essential a really supportive network.

One of the foundational documents of the Order is a piece called The Dream - it is written in the form of a poem and outlines some of the aspirations we hold as a group as ministers - here it is -  I think it's rather beautiful .

We dream of an Order, a community of equals
Where we are gathered and dispersed
journeying together even when alone
rooted within the Baptist story.
Where we hold a view of Baptist ministry
as a way of being that mediates the presence of Christ,
particularly expressed in word, sacrament, pastoral care and mission.
Where we seek to be attentive
to Word and Spirit
contemplating in silence and conversation
in stillness and in service
the Triune God -
known and unknown
mystery and revelation -
present in Christ
within us
between us
and around us.
Where we offer safe space cradling, nurturing and holding us
that we may risk and explore
think aloud
hear and be heard
value dissent and freedom of conscience
walk together and watch over one another.
Where we live within the disciplines of this Order
committed to prayer
committed to gather
following the rule of Christ
with hearts set on pilgrimage
makers of peace
pursuers of justice
lovers of mercy
bearing witness to Christ.
We dream of an Order
committed to the way of Christ
faithful to the call of Christ
discerning the mind of Christ
offering the welcome of Christ
growing in the likeness of Christ
engaging in the mission of Christ
in the world that belongs to Christ.
We dream…

Not a bad thing....to dream!

All good wishes,

Ian

A couple of weeks ago we were fortunate to obtain some free tickets for the BBC Young Choristers of the Year 2014 final at St Paul's Cathedral - and it was a wonderful evening.

It left me very conscious that the 'voice' is actually an inspiring instrument - one that you don't need to put in a case or polish with the Brasso!

The cathedral was full that evening and all the 'contestants' were in their teens - four boys and four girls (interesting that whilst all the boys sung from sheet music all the girls opted instead to rely entirely, and successfully, on their memories!)  I admit I was enchanted from the start, especially because they sang some lovely hymns such as Christ Triumphant (to Guiting Power), My song is love unknown and Angel voices ever singing - and of course there wasn't a dud singer among them.  Alongside these hymns they also sang a 'religious' piece of music such as O rest in the Lord from Mendelssohn's Elijah or How beautiful are the feet by Handel.  It was utterly captivating from beginning to end - and I felt rather smug that I privately selected the winners (Luke McWatters and Laura Barraclough)!

As we left and made our way home on the Tube I think we were all still in the 'glow' that had come upon us through that evening of music.  It had been a sheer delight to see young people taking part in this competition with such skill, commitment and simple joy - that was it - we actually got the impression they 'enjoyed' singing!  And I've never ever heard such clapping and cheering in St Paul's before - it was quite a happy and vibrant audience.

I suspect I've said it more than once on this Blog - that for me they go together: music and the 'touch of God'.

All good wishes,

Ian

The Parable of The Sat Nav

A number of years ago now we purchased a Sat Nav - they had become all the rage, everyone was buying them and over time I had become dependant on this little box of tricks whenever I made a journey.  It's not that I couldn't read a map - after all I had been a Cub Scout in my childhood - it's just that everyone has a Sat Nav these days and although everyone also seemed to moan about them and have a story about being sent on a fool's errand by this little box - 'everyone' still used them.

Then, about three weeks ago, our Sat Nav became permanently and irretrievably confused - it was a sad ending!  Wherever we were and whatever we wanted it to do - the only function it could now perform was to give us the directions home - which wasn't much good if you were already parked on the Manse driveway and really wanted to be told how to get to the COTHA Quiet Day at Bulstrode Park, Gerrard's Cross.

After the pressing of many buttons and the vain hope that a good night's sleep might cure our Sat Nav - we had to 'retire' it and it no longer lives in our car!

So what has taken its place?

Well, I have started, once again, to think for myself!  I use my own mind to explore routes, weigh up different options and look up suggested possibilities on Google Maps and my 2009 battered road map (which has lain in the glove compartment unused and unloved for years!). I even do something quite radical - I chat though the different road routes with my passenger and together we work out a way forward.

It's all become much more interactive, evolutionary and even scary - as opposed to comfortably dependent and rather mindlessly obedient.

Now I know no parable tells the whole truth and I also have to confess that a new Sat Nav is on its way from Amazon even as we speak.  But this interlude without such a device has made me think about how I choose the road ahead - do I do what 'everyone' does and take a 'prescribed' route via a Sat Nav or do I explore the options before me differently, take a risk, ask others, try out alternative possibilities and discover for myself that 'travelling hopefully' is an important part of the journey.

And in all of this might there just be some similarities with our journey of faith?

All good wishes,

Ian

The Poem What I Wrote...

On Sunday, for the first time in twenty eight years of preaching, I decided to finish my sermon by reading a poem - written by me during the week called 'Did I Glimpse the Face of God'.  I suppose I decided on this conclusion because the topic had seemed to me to be a bit tricky and somehow poetry rather than prose becomes a good vehicle at times for communicating complex or contradictory ideas - in a way it doesn't have to make quite the same sort of sense because what is being aimed for is the 'feel' of a concept rather than its scientific evaluation.

Well I was a little blown away by the reaction at the door to my attempt at poetry - it seemed to have struck a chord.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not going to do it every week because I know the encouragement came my way probably because of either the shock of it or the hint that it was a 'one off'!

Someone suggested I might put it in the blog so here goes - a poem exploring how the reality of God comes to us in daily life:

Did I glimpse the face of God this week?

...when I talked with a friend living with terminal cancer yet dealing with it showing such grace and courage.

Did I glimpse the face of God this week?

...when I chaired an Elders’ Meeting and heard my colleagues address complex issues with patience, courtesy and wisdom.

Did I glimpse the face of God this week?

...when I witnessed on the Tube a young man give up his seat for a partially sighted passenger and guide him to his place with such tenderness and sensitivity.

Did I glimpse the face of God this week?

...when I heard a gentleman at LunchBreak who is a remarkable 100years old tell me that event was the highlight of his week.

Did I glimpse the face of God this week?

...when I sat with fellow pilgrims at a Life and Faith Group, watched a film and we then talked about generosity.

Did I glimpse the face of God this week?

...when I shared meals around the family table and that time was as much about sharing and laughter as it ever was about eating.

I think I did

I saw the face of God this week

not just through scripture and prayer

but in people and encounter

The face of God

The face of love

With all good wishes,

Ian

Blog holiday next week!

Sacred Spaces

On Monday evening we watched one of those travel programmes on TV (we are becoming very middle aged!!) - this one showed Simon Reeves travelling along The Ganges, part of his Sacred Rivers series.  I like this presenter because he has a certain 'sincerity' about him.

As we accompanied him through India it became increasingly obvious that Hindus hold this river in the highest esteem, indeed some want to be physically close to it when they die. One 'holy man' had even given up work to live in a cave all year round by its banks, never ceasing to draw inspiration from its flow.

This idea of holy places and sacred space came up at our Bible Teaching Day last Saturday as Ruth Gouldbourne ably led us through the subject of 'Church' and what it feels like to belong to it in ways we know, and ways 'still to be made known'. In one of the plenaries after some buzz groups we briefly considered our buildings and whether they were simply functional or purposeful; do they (even in our non-conformist tradition) have a sense of the sacred about them?

In the spring, on a wonderful visit to Rome, the most disappointing moment for me came in the Sistine Chapel.  We had queued up quite a time for entry and once in it felt to me as if we were simply being 'herded' - so even though I desperately tried to find meaning, transcendence and sacredness I simply couldn't!  I felt a bit of a heretic as I left but perhaps the pre-visit hype had simply been too much and the expectations too great.

The truth is that anywhere can become 'sacred' - and isn't that wonderfully liberating.  From a cathedral chancel to a forest clearing the reality is that God can be found because he is always and everywhere present.

This talk of ecclesiastical buildings has brought back a memory for me of travelling home from a holiday on the east coast.  Driving through Cromer I noticed that above the door, rather than naming the church it said - perhaps somewhat provocatively, 'Cromer Baptist Church Meets Here'.  In other words the 'church' was essentially the congregation.  Yet...I hope that building and congregation can blend and bless each other in some way; for it seems to me when that happens it really does become sacred space.

With best wishes,

Ian

Sola Scriptura?

I am a creature of habit as I arrive at church because the first place I go to whenever I enter the building is invariably my 'post' drawer.  It's here that members of the congregation leave me notes, letters and leaflets.  This week someone has left me the latest edition of WordinAction from Bible Society - always a well produced and interesting magazine.

The current edition made reference to the fact that 'the importance of biblical literacy among children and their parents has been raised in parliament'.  However I can't work out if I was either saddened or amused that the MP raising this question, rather than take on board any responsibility for this theme himself, simply asked what the Church of England is doing about it!  Strikes me it's always somebody else's problem!

Well in our own church we are trying to promote that sense of biblical literacy amongst our own children.  The new Junior Church Roundabout programme looks at one bible story a month and explores it on consecutive weeks using four different types of activity.  We are also supporting a new initiative called 'Open the Book' as we pray for the ecumenical team (including a number from our own church family) which has started taking weekly assemblies at one of our local schools - assemblies that have at their centre the retelling of a bible story.

And we don't just leave the idea of biblical literacy with children.  This 'term' one of our 'Life and Faith' groups has deliberately set itself the task of asking what place the Old Testament has in our on-going Christian spirituality and theology.  So some good stuff is happening!

I grew up in a church where scripture was genuinely cherished and taught with enthusiasm - for which I am still so grateful.  Yet it strikes me as significant that in Sunday School every year at 'Prize Giving' we received books about the life of missionaries - I still have them on my shelf!  Narratives about Mary Slessor, George Grenfell, David Livingstone and William Carey.

Now, years after my Sunday School days, I realise that this 'blending' of God's story and our story is vitally necessary. Indeed every preacher knows the value of illustration and application in any sermon.

Both the Baptist and URC traditions (the 'parent' denominations of AFC) belong to the 'Reformed' wing of the Church in which we often emphasise the idea of Sola Scriptora - the essential place of the bible in our life together.  Well - I want to say both a qualified 'yes' and 'no' to that.

The gift of scripture to us has also to be blended with our life experience - the one informs the other - and both, I would suggest (I hope not too heretically) are impoverished without the other.

Actually I'm much more likely to agree with the first minister of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church (from where our visiting preacher comes this weekend) - The Revd William Brock who said 'the bible and the Times newspaper are the best materials for the preacher'.

With best wishes,

Ian