Category: mission
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the parable of the wall
Outside the church is a wall. It separates the church from the street. It’s a low wall, just the right height for sitting on. It’s a convenient wall. Passers-by will sit on the wall in order to make a phone call, to eat an ice cream (in the summer) and to wait for someone. And…
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An ant called Declan
Declan was a busy ant, as were all his friends. He spent his day scampering around the countryside looking for food to forage for the rest of the ant colony. One day Declan crawled across a picnic table and came across a jam sandwich. A child had dropped it on the ground and although the…
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mission made simple
Churches seem to have the innate ability to make things complicated, don’t we. Putting aside all of the complexities of Church Meetings, Leadership Meetings, ordinations, inductions, church accounts and finances, child protection policies, insurance, choice of music in services, sitting in our favourite seats, charity law, constitutions, and so much more that goes into running a…
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sitting on a sofa in the middle of the street
The churches in Colchester and the surrounding area are in the middle of a fortnight of focused mission activity. For us it began with a community barbecue on our forecourt on Saturday – 500+ burgers given away, live music, face painting for children, a couple of talks, me doing some magic tricks (why did it…
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the heart of the matter
Sorry about the absence of a bloggage on Friday and over the weekend. On Friday I went to visit a church near Southampton as part of my sabbatical studies, and it was so encouraging. Thank you Gordon and your church for the hospitality and sharing. On Friday evening I stretched out my left arm at…
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unmission
I have just finished reading another book for my Sabbatical: The Fourfold Leadership of Jesus by Andrew Watson. The book has a chequered history. Not the publication, the actual copy. It was a gift to me from a group of people I served while working for the Baptist Union of Great Britain, over four years…
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paying ATTEN-SHUN!
Last night I was at the barracks of the 16th Air Assault Brigade in Colchester. I was invited (along with lots of other people) to a presentation about the Brigade’s recent deployment to Afghanistan. I wondered what I was going to. It was entitled ‘Military Operational Presentation’ and I was not sure whether it would…
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top gear?
On the Pope’s visit to England last year an event happened that slipped under the media radar, but not that of the police. He was being chauffeured in a powerful Jaguar limousine down the M1 motorway in the middle of the night. He was chatting to the driver and said how one of the things he…
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the morning after the weekend before
A few years ago the Queen remarked that she had had an “annus horriblis” (stick it in Google translate for latin if you are unsure). This weekend I have had “trainus horriblis”. I had rotten train journeys going to and returning from the Baptist Assembly in Blackpool. The Assembly itself was a massive blessing and…
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ring ring, ring ring
I have an interesting task ahead of me today. I have been asked to bless someone’s new ring. It’s not a wedding ring. I think it is a ring that they wear to bring them good luck. What to do? All sorts of theological issues are raised. It reminds me of an occasion when I…
nukelearfishing 