Having moved from a congregation most of whom would not recognise a blog if it bit them to one that avidly follows the adventures of this Baptist minister inevitably means some changes in what, when and how I write.  Not massive changes in content - I have never posted something I would be unhappy for me folk to know about or said anything I would not be willing to defend - but more a recognition that my 'working out' of sermon ideas will be much more 'offline' otherwise they'll all know what I'm going to say before I say it!  That said, 'boundaries and barriers' is one of the ideas I'm playing with this week (but you'll have to wait until Sunday for the others!!).

One of the things I have really enjoyed the last couple of days is rediscovering a separation of home and work that has not been easy, OK, has just not happened, over the past few years of working from home with no one around to say 'stop.'  The short walk from my temporary home to church and back acts as a welcome buffer between the two, allowing my brain to change gear in a helpful and healthy way.  It is fun (how sad!) to be part of the morning journey to work once more, to see the shop workers preparing for the days customers, to observe the joggers, students and parents setting about their daily routine and even someone working in an office above me who calls out 'good morning' onhis way in.  It is a helpful reconnection with reality after six years of munching my cereal whilst my PC cranked itself into action!

So, boundaries are important, and so are buffer zones, but not, I feel, barriers.  Tonight I have what anywhere else would be called a Deacons meeting at my flat.  We will meet informally over tea/coffee and biscuits (when I've bought them) to begin to tease out how we might work in the coming weeks, months and years.  I like holding small church meetings in homes rather than large buildings, and think that hospitality is an important aspect of ministry.  There is something about churches with slightly fuzzy edges in all sense of the word that feels good and Godly.

Btw, for those who want an online name for this new place, you'll have to wait a while yet.  After all, Dibley wasn't named in a day!