It's not every Sunday I arrive at church with a screw loose - but that's exactly what happened this morning. Today was our annual 'pulpit exchange' - the Sunday when the ministers in our local five baptist churches preach elsewhere. This year I was off to Harston, on my bike. About 1 mile in with 5 miles to go there was a funny noise from my back wheel which got so bad I thought I'd better check.
I was missing a screw. One of the screws that held my pannier rack in place was missing so the luggage rack was resting down on the rear wheel - rubbing a nice grove into the side of the tyre due to the weight being carried - shoes, change of clothes, laptop, iPad, Bible. It was like having the brake half on and eventually would have caused the tyre to fall apart.
One small part - missing - meant the whole thing ground to a halt.
This morning we were looking at Spiritual Gifts and seeing how God designed the church such that everyone is equipped for a particular area of ministry/service and that it is only when we are all doing what God calls us to that the church is built up and functions properly.
Every person is important and has a role to play.
Here are links to the two video clips that we used.
The Florist
The Fishing Trip
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Going behind my back
'Literally' has to be one of the most overused words in the English language - it should be one of those words that you literally never see or hear. But earlier on today my youngest daughter, who is six, took something I said literally - which is what children do of course - because they haven't learnt the complexities of language yet.
Many of you will know that as a family we're following 40Acts throughout Lent. As well as the daily challenges for the adults there is a wall chart for children with their daily challenge too. Today's children's challenge was 'say something nice about someone behind their back'.
A few minutes later my daughter crept up behind me and whispered, 'I love you'. Needless to say that made my day.
Many of you will know that as a family we're following 40Acts throughout Lent. As well as the daily challenges for the adults there is a wall chart for children with their daily challenge too. Today's children's challenge was 'say something nice about someone behind their back'.
A few minutes later my daughter crept up behind me and whispered, 'I love you'. Needless to say that made my day.
Monday, 23 February 2015
Fairtrade Fortnight
Today is the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight. Fairtrade has continued to grow and grow over the twenty years it has been raising awareness. It's not just about tea, coffee and chocolate - it's about footballs, clothes, wine, flowers and so much more.
Many of us have already made the switch to Fairtrade items - this fortnight is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of Fairtrade on many communities across the globe, and to encourage us to have a think about how and where we spend our money.
For those of you who are following the 40 Acts Lent programme you will know that today's focus is on Fairtrade - making the switch and raising awareness.
If you want to know more then check out the Fairtrade Foundation website here.
If you want to see what else I've written about Fairtrade in the past, then use the dates on the right of the screen and check posts for this time each year.
Many of us have already made the switch to Fairtrade items - this fortnight is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of Fairtrade on many communities across the globe, and to encourage us to have a think about how and where we spend our money.
For those of you who are following the 40 Acts Lent programme you will know that today's focus is on Fairtrade - making the switch and raising awareness.
If you want to know more then check out the Fairtrade Foundation website here.
If you want to see what else I've written about Fairtrade in the past, then use the dates on the right of the screen and check posts for this time each year.
Thursday, 19 February 2015
Seventy Seven Days and counting
There are eleven weeks to the General Election.
This week the Evangelical Alliance released results from its research into the views of evangelical Christians ahead of May's General Election. What issues are important? Will you be voting for the same party as last time? (Read the detail here).
Also this week the Church of England has attracted attention for writing a letter in which it encouraged all of its members to take part and vote in the forthcoming General Election. This has received a range of responses - from those supporting all involvement in the election process to those criticising the Bishops for their apparent left wing stance. (Read the full 52 page letter here). (Read the BBC's report here).
There have, no doubt, been those whose view is that the church should stick to doing what the church does and stay out of politics. Such a view is nothing new, and goes hand in hand with those who think that 'faith' is something that is fine for the individual but should be practised at home, behind closed doors. It is a private matter - and has no place in the public sphere. But such thinking displays a total misunderstanding in the way that genuine faith works.
True faith is not something that you can switch on and switch off. It is not, for example, something that you do in church, but outside of church you do something different. Of course, that describes how many people treat church, but it cannot be made to fit genuine faith.
What we believe affects the way that we behave - in every area of life. When there is a difference between our Sunday faith and our Monday-Saturday behaviour we should probably ask whether our Monday-Saturday actions demonstrate what we truly believe and Sunday is just a routine that we go through.
So what is the role of the church in the forthcoming election? Is it to tell people how to vote? Should I start wearing red, blue, purple or green on Sunday mornings to send subliminal messages to my congregation?
Or is the role of the church to equip people with the confidence to read the Bible and prayerfully come to their own conclusions as to how they should vote? As a Christian what should I think about...or...or...? What are the issues that God has created me to be passionate about?
And therefore, I'm going to vote for ...
Of course there will be a variety of answers to that last statement. And that is the way it should be. We each have a little under three months to prayerfully reach a conclusion, so that on May 7, we vote, and our decision is based upon our understanding of God and his world.
This week the Evangelical Alliance released results from its research into the views of evangelical Christians ahead of May's General Election. What issues are important? Will you be voting for the same party as last time? (Read the detail here).
Also this week the Church of England has attracted attention for writing a letter in which it encouraged all of its members to take part and vote in the forthcoming General Election. This has received a range of responses - from those supporting all involvement in the election process to those criticising the Bishops for their apparent left wing stance. (Read the full 52 page letter here). (Read the BBC's report here).
There have, no doubt, been those whose view is that the church should stick to doing what the church does and stay out of politics. Such a view is nothing new, and goes hand in hand with those who think that 'faith' is something that is fine for the individual but should be practised at home, behind closed doors. It is a private matter - and has no place in the public sphere. But such thinking displays a total misunderstanding in the way that genuine faith works.
True faith is not something that you can switch on and switch off. It is not, for example, something that you do in church, but outside of church you do something different. Of course, that describes how many people treat church, but it cannot be made to fit genuine faith.
What we believe affects the way that we behave - in every area of life. When there is a difference between our Sunday faith and our Monday-Saturday behaviour we should probably ask whether our Monday-Saturday actions demonstrate what we truly believe and Sunday is just a routine that we go through.
So what is the role of the church in the forthcoming election? Is it to tell people how to vote? Should I start wearing red, blue, purple or green on Sunday mornings to send subliminal messages to my congregation?
Or is the role of the church to equip people with the confidence to read the Bible and prayerfully come to their own conclusions as to how they should vote? As a Christian what should I think about...or...or...? What are the issues that God has created me to be passionate about?
And therefore, I'm going to vote for ...
Of course there will be a variety of answers to that last statement. And that is the way it should be. We each have a little under three months to prayerfully reach a conclusion, so that on May 7, we vote, and our decision is based upon our understanding of God and his world.
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