Ordained....

On Friday 5th December I am being Ordained a Deacon at Nelson Cathedral 7:30 pm - come along if you are in town

New Fresh Expressions Leader

Just Spotted this in the Church Times – B+ Graham is a top bloke – and just the right guy I believe to recapture and reinvigorate the fresh expressions movement…

A NEW Archbishops' Missioner and leader of Fresh Expressions has been announced following the Rev Steven Croft's appointment as the Bishop of Sheffield. The Rt Rev Graham Cray will assume the fulltime role from May and will step down as the Bishop of Maidstone. The new appointment means Bishop Cray can develop many of the ideas put forward by the Working Party he chaired which produced the highly-acclaimed Mission-shaped Church report. Both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Methodist Church announced this week that the Fresh Expressions initiative would continue for a further five years. Fresh Expression is a means of developing new styles of conducting worship and liturgy and has produced some radical forms of church since its genesis. Speaking to The Church of England Newspaper Bishop Cray, well known in some circles for his involvement with the charismatic youth movement Soul Survivor, said he was totally committed to the new role.

"This is releasing me to spend my last years in stipendiary ministry giving it my whole attention," he explained. Discussing his vision for Fresh Expressions he said he wanted to see "more and more parishes and districts take this up and have a go". It was also about developing existing Fresh Expressions, he said. "We have got to help existing ones mature. One of the things to do is to learn the lessons that help projects move from being experiments to securely established and mature Christian congregations." The Bishop also said he would like to see liturgy developed further in Fresh Expressions churches, in particular how it can be conducted in a "light touch way".

Hail to the Thief

I just heard on the news this morning that in the US elections they were expecting a record 65% voter turnout. For a country that prides itself on democracy and patriotism 65% turn out would suggest lethargy. How can such a 'majority' ever claim to be the voice of the people when over a 1/3^rd of the country choose not to vote – any wonder the whole system is open to theft and corruption of the highest order – hail to the thief – I am sure many non US people would be glad to see the back of YOU. One would hope that the next president is far more honest…

Niche Marketing

Just been thinking of the connection between Niche Marketing and being missional, while they are not one in the same it seems to me that every church has a purpose in worshipping and glorifying God in THAT particular community at THAT particular time. I guess then that finding your niche must in some way be key to that. One of our local Churches, Nelson Baptist has set up a ministry to the courthouse – which is just across the road offering a drop in for families who are waiting for court appearances – it brilliant, because they understand their location, they understand their transient community, I suspect that many of our churches could do the same – the world is on our doorsteps and while the gospel of Christ is more than just scratching where the world is itching – it's a good place to start proclaiming it. Now if I could only get a call to the church outside Disneyland….