Loyal radical

Sharing my story with a homegroup from Newbury Methodist last night gave me a chance to reflect aloud on some of my recent journeyings. A member of the group asked me how I perceived Newbury Methodist after an eighteen year absence. I found it a hard question because this wasn’t a casual enquiry to which I could give a bland or trivial response, but a heartfelt concern about what they might do/have done differently. I sense the questioner was herself dissatisfied or saddened by the perceived failure to attract or keep younger people in the church. I was challenged by the question because in my ten months here I have remained uncommitted to the life of the church, partly through being away at Cliff some of the time, but also because coming from the centre of things in another church it is hard to get involved without being totally involved. Sitting on the edge of things is not normally my style, but it seemed right for the moment in order to help me reassess things and to be honest I ne...

Reflections on seminar in Sheffield on 26/4/07 Led by David Clark Question: How can we as church leaders encourage congregations to see their ‘work’ life as a integral part of their Christian discipleship. How can we learn from the experience of people at work in order to enrich our understanding of God as creator? For examples given by David see here Definition of work as those experiences which derive from our engagement ‘in the world’, ie apart from congregational life. Positive benefits from engaging with the world of work Discipleship as 24/7 Consciously looking for where God is already at work in the world Earthing our church-based Christianity in the ‘real’ world Releasing Christians to engage as part of the Kingdom community To actively witness to the way our faith informs our practice which leads to new ways of doing/thinking about something. Praxis leading to Poiesis: Role of Christian Leader as Community Educator Equipping the laity to think/interpret theologically To releas...