Its Church Jim But Not As We Know It!
Cartoon by
Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at
We Blog Cartoons.
So that’s it all my assignments done. Now I have twelve months to complete a dissertation. The subject for the dissertation is looking at church in the future.
The U*R*C is currently going through (if that is the right phrase) a process called ‘
catch the vision’. This is looking at how as a church we may need to re-imagine how we do things, how we witness to our faith in order to remain as a relevant church for future generations. Actually its more urgent than that, we need to do this in order to remain.
We see many different expressions of church popping up in different places, each one attempting to connect with the culture in which it exists. I don’t wish to investigate which is the best model because in many ways I think that perhaps it is very much horses for courses.
However, what I do want to investigate is this, what is it about church that we need to incorporate into whichever model we choose. What is it about church that can’t be left behind? They may seem obvious questions and I guess I take basic belief as a given. However, besides those basic essential beliefs (if indeed we can agree on that) if you were to start a new church what would have to be there?
I thought that here may be an interesting place to start that conversation. Please link this wherever you can as I would like to open this up so it becomes a wide debate. It will be interesting to see if we al think along similar lines or as I expect have wide ranging views.
You never know if your ideas spark thoughts I may even use them, having given you full credit first mind you!
Thank you in anticipation of your help.
Stuart.
Its All Good
Assignments finished, pub closed, kebab eaten, 8 days off, life's good!
Senseless
Look in the news and there is no shortage of stories concerning the murder of innocent victims. However
this latest killing seems so much more pointless than every other. I have found myself reading the story and grieving for someone I never knew. Perhaps it is because along with the loss of his life is the loss of potential. Perhaps it is because he was in the same school year as my daughter, whatever it is, it seems so senseless. I just keep praying for the day when people will learn to live alongside one another. Good job I’m the patient sort!
900 Words To Go...
....before I finish the first assignment. Apparently however, they all have to be different words!
Big Bother
The annual freak show that is Big Bother started tonight. Am I the only one who doesn't give a toss who is in the house! Oh well here's to twelve weeks of mind numbing TV, bring back the test card all is forgiven. My mate Matt just had this great idea - "I recon they should send them all in 1 year and don't film them. So when they come out no one is there". Now that would be TV or not as the case would be.
Hang On In There if You Can!
I do envy those of you who can take the ordinary write it in a blog and have me hanging on your every word. When I attempt to do that I kind of get bored half way through. It makes me stop writing, if I’m bored with it, well you get the point.
Any way I have decided to try again, so one of two things is about to happen:
1. You get a short account of my recent life.
2. The post stops and well you don’t get the above.
So far so good we’re still here. My time seems to be taken up with writing at the moment (not blogs obviously) as I have entered assignment time again. It’s strange whilst in the midst of doing them there seems to be no space for anything else in my mind. I wonder if this is the same for everyone, or whether it just highlights my tiny mental capacity. Now whether you want to know or not I’ll tell you what I am writing about. My current literary masterpiece (4000 words of drivel) is looking at how an evangelical understanding of truth may look in a post modern world. Well you did ask, mmmmm, actually you didn’t did you. Moving on, my second is looking at prophetic authority in the book of Jeremiah. So you see at the end of the day when all that is done I just can’t be bothered to blog (sorry)!
Let’s see then apart from assignments, well we finally got
Liz to go home for tea! Football season is now over; kind of disappointing end to the season really, started brightly and well just disappeared at the end. Still some notable victories along the way, alright, alright you got me I’ll rephrase it – at least we beat Utd (at least I’m honest).
Church is good at the moment and I’m enjoying being part of the U*R*C lots of things keeping me busy and the youth group we started just keeps on growing which is really exciting (who say there are no young people in churches).
Well as much as I would like to sit here and waffle on it would not be as a process of sharing waffle to divert me from assignments so I will go, and perhaps it may only be a matter of days before my next post. Well you never know do you, hey we’re at the end I didn’t get bored, oh yes and well done on your perseverance too!
