Term 2 end

As the school holidays approach, the second "term" of my new job has ended. I have enjoyed the daytime alpha course immensely as I had just the best team and we spent many hours praying together in the autumn before the course started in January. Such a good way to form a team! Our guests bonded really well and we love these women. They are so precious to God. Because I love them I can never force them to accept or believe anything, but trust God who just loves them even more! This is why I like the Alpha course so much as it presents information for guests to mull over/process.

I've also got the prep for the summer club here well underway....finding a venue was a high priority as the current building accomodation is too small. Every venue I tried - school, community centre, other churches...said "no" to a hire for a variety of reasons but I just knew that I needed a space outside the church building to use and I finally got one.........but it's not cheap. I have to say that I really don't care about the money side of it, although I am careful (this is a word to K!)and I do budget pretty tightly for all activities and plans I make year on year in ministry.

I just feel its time to take the church out of the building.

One thing that has really thrilled me this term is a group of 13 children who make up a discipleship group. They are absolutely awesome kids. When they start praying, I can hardly get them to stop. I think taking prayer and Bible study outside of a Sunday (we meet on certain Saturdays) has been the best thing. They listen well, interact well and eat well (we have Pizza Hut pizzas!) I really love them already and I have only been here for a few months. What will I be like when they are older?

(I had a weepy moment this week when I heard of some kids being baptised at Easter in my previous church, Not being there to see that is hard. I feel like they are like my own kids)

I wanted to spend time bringing God's word to the discipleship group kids - time is always so tight on a Sunday - so we are unpacking some biblical truths about how God sees them. I am also using this group as an opportunity to train and release a young man with fabulous potential into working with children. How the boys need to see a guy who loves Jesus so much and talks about him with a passion.

I've also written parent history maker sheets to go along with the things the children are learning and doing so that some time is spent talking and praying adult-child/child-adult during the week. My prayer is that this will really help some of the parents in particular who either don't come to church at all or are very new Christians themselves, giving them suggestions of things they could pray for together or share with one another.

Finally I've started to prepare for a weekend away with all Primary 5s, 6s and 7s and again I am delighted to have such great leaders coming with me. I am REALLY, REALLY excited about the weekend away. Ones in the past (last church) have seen incredible moves of God amongst the children and their faith growing in leaps and bounds.

I am really looking forward to a Sunday off (this week). Followed by some days off to do a few social things, we hope, with some of our new found friends perhaps, and also for me, some reading on "children and spiritual gifts". Got to present a paper on this by the end of May.

Traditional

When we use the word "traditional" - what do we mean?

Traditional as in....we feel comfortable with it?
Traditional as in....it's the way we have always done this?
Traditional as in....better?


What is traditional kids work? Get your flannelgraphs out....
(that sounds a bit rude!)

Someone's just asked me if one of our Easter services will have a traditional flavour. Ummmm. Does that mean marching, shouting, dancing, blowing trumpets and horns, sacrificing animals with still-beating hearts or....? My point is: at which point in history does "traditional" refer to?

One thing I know - at Easter we focus on the cross and on all that was accomplished there and on the power and might of God who resurrected Jesus from the dead - and what relevance that has for us today.

If that's traditional, I'm all for it!

Keys

I have lost my keys again.........

It's actually putting me off going into the office, mainly because
(a) I can't get in (!)
(b) I'll be teased
(c) the office manager will be really annoyed

(at least the keys don't say "hi, we're keys to confidential storage" on them. They look like anonymous house keys)

Prayer appreciated, they always come back when I pray, but I'm turning round in circles with boxes to pack and things to take to charity shops.

I need a thick lanyard that doesn't dig into the neck so I wear it all the time, like the staff and volunteers of a large beautifully refurbished church with great facilities and storage for children and family work near us (not that I'm envious!) and/or a whistling keyring so I can find the keys........

Moving House

Moving house on Saturday. And my little boy is off school sick while I try to work on an independent study paper. Am worried that I may be suffering from slight stress.

~ Found a sock in the lawnmower............

~ Got inexplicably emotional about my daughter's coming home from hospital outfit as I unpacked boxes of baby clothes to give away..........

~ Shouted at a goldfish...............

~ put a pen in a knife drawer and a knife in my pencil case.........

I am hoping for fun times with some friends after this weekend.

Feel in need of night out that's not for a church meeting!
What's your top stress-busting tip?

A warning about theology

Jesus said: "who do you say that I am?"

The theology student replied: You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being; the kerygma by which we will find ultimate meaning; the existential interface in all our interpersonal relationship encounters."

And Jesus said: "WHAT?"

3 posts in one day - new record

Just have to post this as it's so apt for all that I have written about.

Interesting Link

Here is a link to the article on new monasticism in mega-churches that I referred to in one of the comments below. For some unknown reason the comments form won't allow me to post the full address.