I’ve recently joined up to Facebook…one of the latest computer generated ‘trends’ that people either love or hate. I’m told that the average age is quickly rising as parents and adults join and see what their children are doing…and the children join something like Twitter to escape their parents eyes !

I’m just amazed at what i see on Facebook….the classic being those who put on Facebook that they are 10 minutes late. I can’t but help think they would be less late if they hadn’t spent time on Facebook writing that ! The classic the other day was me having to contact someone on  Facebook to ask them to check their e-mail !

But I can’t help but be challenged by the communication method that Facebook is. (when not abused) I guess that Jesus would have used it as it was a method that so many people are engaging in. But I also guess he would also have something to say about it…namely this:

That communication is best done face to face where you can see a persons reaction;where you can hear the intonation in their voice; where you can  debate rather than just react to what has just been written. So maybe we can start up ‘FaceLook’ and actually MEET and talk with people….before we forget how to do that ! So if you live locally in Fleet, I look forward to SEEING you !!

So the Bishop of Reading thinks that Jesus would more likely shop at Aldi or Asda rather than Marks and Spencers….. which is a slight surprise given that the Anglicans like celebrating the saints and you would have thought they would have supported Jesus shopping at St Michaels !!

Actually I think Jesus would be a typical modern shopper…. he would shop at the places he felt welcome,cared for and provided what he was looking for. These, I’m told, are the by-words of the big supermarkets these days which is why ‘Customer care/service’ is supposed to be high up on the agenda; why some shops have ‘greeters’ who are ‘happy to help’ and why the stock they hold is constantly being replaced because they know that if they don’t have certain products, the customer will go elsewhere .

Those three elements: welcome,care and providing for peoples needs are 3 key factors of any good church too. I always ask new people to our church why they come. Their answer is virtually always at least one of those three. It is noticeable that over the last 20 years very few people now come because it is a ‘Methodist’ church. Why do we do focus on the three elements ? Because we read the Gospels especially, and see how Jesus welcomed,cared and responded to peoples needs. We are Christ’s Church !

Here at FMC we hope to meet those 3 features of welcome,care and meeting people’s needs….have a look at the rest of the web site for more information

After a couple of weeks on holiday, I now come back to the reality that there’s no more sabbatical or holidays on the horizon….it’s back to normal !!

And then this week I got older with a birthday. Someone in Junior Church said i looked 55 !!!!

And today my daughter has just received her GCSE results – 4 A* and 6 A’s . Both Dorothy and I are frantically trying to work out where she got her brains from as it’s not from us. I left school with 1 O level; 1 CSE grade 1 and not alot else… ! (I then took a ‘Gap Year’ to do some O levels !!)

 It’s all shocking stuff, so i need to sit down and take it all in………………….

Ah that’s better. So what do i think ?

First, a reminder of the great privilege of ministry as we start a new Methodist year next Tuesday

Second, I am NOT 55 (even though some days I feel at least that age !) and each new year/day is a gift from God

Third SHE DID IT…and I’m SOOOOOOOOO proud…that’s my girl   !!!!

 What a week… last week we had over 90 children for our Holiday Club (see the web site for pictures) and I had a ball … I think the children did too !! It included: making paper spectacles(…as you see I simply decorated mine !)  and wrapping up leaders in white toilet paper and then unwrapping them just to illustratethe story of Lazarus !

What I really enjoyed was simply leading a group of 10 children through the week and getting to know them…which makes a nice change from being in the ‘up front’ role !!  It was amongst those 10 children I was able to be reminded of a child’s eye view of  what God is like and who Jesus is (the Miracle maker – our theme !) Notice I say child-eye view and not childish view… for children can teach us adults a lot about God as often we over complicate faith in God

Which leads me to think that Jesus would have LOVED to be a leader at a Holiday Club. He loved being amongst children and on one occasion he stood a child amongst the crowd and said ‘unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of God’ (Matthew 18.2)

So look out for, and learn the lessons children can teach adults about faith…and about life. As someone once quipped when asked the question ‘Why do children ask so many questions?  His answer was:’ To see how little, adults really know !!!’

 On the day that the 40th Anniversary of the first moon landing was marked, I came back off sabbatical ! “That’s one small step….one giant leap.. ” !!!!!

In many ways it seems like these 13 weeks have flown by and in other ways that Dad’s and Lads weekend seems years ago !

So what have i learned or been reminded of ? Lots of things for which there is not enough space here ! But i guess it is all summed up in the Bible passage for today: Luke 8v1 “Jesus travelled around…. proclaiming the kingdom of God.”  That’s my focus as a Christian Minister. Jesus did not travel around getting bogged down by ‘churchianity’ ; he was first and foremost about enabling lives to be changed and trasformed by God’s kingly rule (=the kingdom of God)  I’m up for that,both for myself and as I minister to others !!

And so,to use John Wesley’s words afte his conversion experience, I commit myself to be ‘more vile’ for God in ministry…and I hope you see that in it’s 18th century use of the word,not the 21st century usuage !!

And the first test of all of this is Church Council tonight !!!

But probably week 12 !

What a brilliant week last week. I spent 3 days with my brother (who i rarely see alone) which was a good chance to do some ‘bonding’ as well as eat whatever we liked. we also went to the Royal Agricultural Show  where we saw one of our old school teachers (he wasn’t in the show,but he was showing some animals !)

Then i moved on to North Wales to catch up with some friends and do my ‘editorial’ task with the forthcoming ‘Science and Genesis’ book. On Friday I took off alone to walk Tryfan,Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr …all over 3,000 feet mountains as my legs still remind me ! (picture coming soon !) On top of Tryfan is ‘Adam and Eve’ (see picture) which is the ultimate test of nerve and manhood as it is a sheer drop if you miss the 4 foot gap in between…did I do it…… guess by comments  !!

So this is the last week of my sabbatical and inevitably ‘this time next week’ begins to be the order of the day. But before then a few other niceties like going to London tomorrow with Kathryn and then on Saturday Dorothy and I are going out for the day to celebrate 25 years since we started going out…. and who said it wouldn’t last (a few people at the time,actually !!)

speak to you all again soon

BTW …just joined Facebook so see you there as well !!

It seems I’ve missed a week..as I only have 2 weeks left of sabbatical so the heading should really be ‘Sabbatical week 11….or maybe I should have an extra week off to ‘catch up’ ?!!!!

This last week I’ve been doing lots of reading as well as stuff like watching Mark play cricket (rain stopped play last night for the first time !). Last Sunday Mark and I did a ‘church crawl’ in London. First we went to ‘Hillsong London’ which meets at the Dominion Theatre (which for the rest of the week hosts ‘We will Rock you’) This was ‘theatrical’ church with lights, sound,visuals and given they have 4 services on a Sunday with the theatre 2/3’s full each time, they must be doing something right ! On Sunday afternoon we went to Westminster Abbey for Choral Evensong (going back to my roots !)…which reminded me why I’d moved away from my roots ! Then a move across to Holy Trinity Brompton (home of the Alpha Course) where we walked into people playing Wii on the big screen before the service !!

Many reflections and thoughts about Sunday…. the variety of worship; the God we worship; the style of worship. But here’s the big one….. I wonder whether many churches try and put too much variety and too many styles into one act of worship ? There would be catastrophy if you tried putting these three styles together one Sunday morning service….but that is sometimes what we try to do !!  The three examples on Sunday clearly showed that when you focus on one style per service, it ‘works’ as you remove elements of ‘compromise’.  But that doesn’t mean to say you can’t have more than one ’style’ per church…as the HTB Sunday programme of services shows.  So that should get the ‘regulars’ at FMC worried about what that means in practice for us ! ‘I don’t know’ at this moment in time…but worth a discussion and prayer for God to lead us

So the mind starts,inevitably, to thinking of two weeks time and return to work..which reminds me… all those clerical shirts I packed away when I started sabbatical I’ll need to get back out and iron !!!!!

How time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Lovely weather…this is why sabbaticals are best taken at this time of the year !!

It’s a been a mixed last week. On the family front, Kathryn has officially left school marked by her ‘Prom’ last Thursday (a rare sight…Kathryn in a long dress…or any dress come to think of it !! ) Then on Monday it was off to Sixth Form college to learn about the next chapter.

I’m really delighted that I have about 60 returns for my Questionnaire on men in the church (and more to come, I’m told by the late brigade!) so the task of collating all that info starts now. This last week I’ve also been on a ‘journey through time’. A good friend of mine, Paul Edwards, has written a book ‘Science and Genesis’ and he’s asked me to look through it before sending to a publisher. The book finds no incompatibility between science and religion in terms of the creation….but going back billions of years slightly does your head in…let alone makes you feel ever so slightly insignificant in the grand scale of things !

Quote of the week (2 for this week !)

1) From the book I’m reading ‘Why men don’t listen and women don’t read maps’   ’It’s obvious that women are smarter than men. Think about it – diamonds are a girls best friend; man’s best friend is a dog’ (Joan Rivers)

 2) From the TV Show ‘Mary Queen of Shops’ (where she is trying to improve a charity shop) ‘Just because you are volunteers doesn’t mean that bad behaviour is acceptable’ !

Isn’t time flying !!

This week the Questionnaire has gone out and already I’ve had about 40 responses which is incredible. They have to be in by 30th June so if you still want to be involved, see last weeks details

Last week I had two ‘doses’ of Tony Campolo, an American Preacher/ writer/lecturer who is now 75 years old. I’ve quoted him often in sermons so good to hear him ‘live’  (see: http://www.stjohnsegham.com/)

It was there that I heard a hymn that really struck my soul. Stuart Townend andKeith Getty are really writing some superb Christian hymns and in particular ‘There is a hope’ has been not far from my ‘humming’ all week….so FMC members can expect to get to know it well !! (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyMWBx6vvJo)

Also just started reading ‘Why men don’t listen and women can’t read maps’. An excellent look at the difference in sexes that so far points everything back to men being hunters and women being child bearers/homemakers. Can’t really be as simple as that in 2009 but some interesting avenues to explore

Oh yes, the major event this week….the publication of the Premiership Fixture list….now I can start filling in my diary around the Gunners fixtures !

Quote of the week ‘ To sing ‘Rooney,Rooney’ at Old Trafford is worship ; to sing ‘Rooney,Rooney’ at the Emirates Stadium is Evangelism

Well what a week ! Last week I walked the Isle of Wight Coastal path travelling 70 miles in four and a half days. As you can see from the weather, it was perfect…though the first three days were roasting hot and I understood that phrase about ‘only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in such weather’ !

For me it was a challenge…and one that enabled me to gauge my limitations for mileage per day; it was a delight….seeing things on the island I had never seen before and only can be seen on the path rather than from the roads ; I concluded the walk by thinking (and singing !) primarily ‘How great is our God’ but also if I were to die tomorrow I would be content !

I also started reading William Young’s book ‘The Shack’ (see www.theshackbook.com) which is an incredible theological book wrapped up in fiction style. I’m very tempted to recommend that all preachers in the circuit should read it to challenge their view of God…but not just preachers..ANYONE !

This week I’m doing more work on men and the church and putting together a Questionnaire to send out to men in the church or ‘on the edge of church’ . If you would like to receive one to help me in that, contact me at sabbatical2009-men@yahoo.co.uk