Pioneers...

Yesterday I attended the Pioneer National Churches Forum at Harpenden. Bren and me have been part of Pioneer since the early nineties, and the church I led was then and still is part of the network. We haven't been around many of the network events for a few years, but I decided I wanted to go to the NCF as there have been some changes made recently, and it was a good opportunity to catch up with those changes and meet up with friends old and new. I travelled down to Leeds and enjoyed a good conversational journey with Toby, who did the driving.

Billy & Caroline Kennedy are the new leaders of the network. They have helped Pioneer through a three year period of transition following Gerald Coates pioneering and inspirational leadership from the early eighties. Billy guided us through the days proceedings with grace and sensitivity.

It was great to meet up with old friends John and Christine Noble (to the right). Both now in their seventies, they are father and mother figures in what has become the 'new church' (formerly 'house church') movement. Bren and me met them in the seventies and were impacted greatly by their friendship and vision. Amazing people.



Everywhere I looked in the room there were people who have and are going quietly about the business of being change-agents in their world. Adrian and Pauline are champions of foster care and building church across ethnic groupings. Dave is a stellar singer-songwriter.

Tony is a teacher par excellence... Pete has set up and is running one of the top year-out training facilities for young people in the UK. It was smashing to see them all again.

Jarvis Time and Bede's World...

Yesterday we had a visit from the lovely Jarvis family. Alissa entertained as usual, pulling faces and generally bringing out all her cute moves. Keona took it all in her stride by going upstairs for a nap, and then rejoining the shenanigans later, only to look on with a mild air of indifference to the antics of her older sister.
Today a lazy day.... but starting out actively with a trip to Bede's World at Jarrow to view the Northumbrian Scribes autumn exhibition. I have two pieces in the show this year, which were the result of my time at the Calligraphy Symposium during the summer. Loads of great work has been produced by the Scribes this year and they are a great bunch of people to be involved with, though I have much to learn regarding this exacting art.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

While we were away last week I finished reading 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'. I'm no great shakes at reviews, unlike this guy, but it has been some time since a read a book which delighted, stimulated and challenged me as much as this one did. The author, John Irving, has written a number of books, including 'The World according to Garp' and 'The Cider House Rules'. This book takes us through the life and times of the title character, along with his best friend John.

Here are the opening lines of the book, which while not giving too much away will almost outline the whole book both at the same time!... "I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice - not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God. I am a Christian because of Owen Meany..."

Let me say that this is not a religious book, as you might imagine from reading that sentence, but it does make reference to the writer's faith, and that of Owen Meany. It is simply a life story about the possibilities for doing good in the world, as opposed to doing bad. There is a neat element of fantasy to the story which keeps you guessing right down the line, with the plot and characters also wonderfully engaging. One of the things I really loved was the occasional timeline references to chapters in recent history which I could identify with, particularly news headlines and references to the sixties; Kennedy's, Vietnam, Civil Rights movement etc. I can thoroughly recommend this book and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Post London pics

Been catching up on the inevitable back-log of work this week since our return from that London. Here are a few highlights of our trip... Emma marked our arrival with a special dessert... what an amazing cook she is!

Some bloke Bren met on the Embankment...

And a slightly better catch farther along...

It doesn't get much better than acting the fool in McDonalds with your granddaughters...

Megan taking things slightly more maturely.... writing her memoirs no doubt...

Apparently this is what passes for a beach in somewhere called Brighton...

Summer water fights.... great fun!..

Matt and Leon were dropped off at Stansted en route to Finland...

Aaron and Bren at Carnaby Street...

Thought for the Day...

"There are two ways to be rich: one is to have a lot of money; the other is to have few needs." William Sloane Coffin

Hat Tip: Micha Jazz

Simple Man

OK... U2 are at Wembley... that's nice. But so is this...

Kinnon on sheep

I've been reading about sheep (in relation to mega churches) on Bill Kinnon's blog this morning. He makes some interesting points, including the following, which I hope he won't mind me borrowing...

One of the key words too often used by mega church leaders to describe those in the pews is "sheep." And they, of course, are the shepherd(s). They claim the term as scriptural (it is) but practice eisegesis in its interpretation rather than exegesis. Certain mega-ego pastors have done videos complaining about sheep stealing - from their eisegetical position, of course.

Sheep lack intelligence (I'm being charitable), are obstinate and don't smell particularly good. Shepherds know the lay of the land - where the best grazing is, where the fewest predators are, where they can best guard and care for their flock. And, they know their sheep.

Jesus, when he speaks of himself as the good shepherd in John 10, says the shepherd knows the name of his sheep and they know the shepherd's voice. There is an intimacy that exists between the shepherd and the sheep - they live together. An average shepherd when Jesus spoke these words, was responsible for around 100 sheep. Yes, these shepherds would often combine their flocks with those of other shepherds - yet they still knew their own sheep - they were still responsible for their 100.

Too many pastors (pastor being the latin word for shepherd), create a profound distancing between sheep and shepherd. Sheep are stupid, must be lead, need constant discipline and, apparently, are the property of the shepherd. These hireling shepherds sound an awful lot like the shepherds the Lord describes in Ezekiel 34.

Nice one Bill. Baaaaaaaaa!