Don't you love it when the Spirit moves us?  This video at David Kerrigan's blog so connects with my views on mission and ministry.  Course if you are offended by the idea of Jesus as a dancing nut, look away now!

No, not delusions of grandeur, that'd be the other guy, just the thought that comes into my head now and again, 'is this how God feels?'

You don't need a degree in detective skills to work out which church I was alluding to yesterday, or why it wound me up as it did.  But, having vented my spleen to a degree, I found myself wondering 'is this how God feels?'

I've never bought the idea of an immutable God, that is, a God who is unaffected emotionally by what happens on planet earth.  It seems unbiblical to say the least, and it plainly is not a God I'd want to worship.  I once raised a few eyebrows by asking if worship might not put a smile on the face of God, not because God needed to be cheered up, but because God actually was capable of joy and pleasure.  I've a sneaking suspicion I might be right!

Once I'd got over being annoyed and then sad, and then wondering if a lot of time and energy had been wasted (no they hadn't, that'd contradict my theology that nothing is wasted!) I ended up realising that this was about people not getting it: a problem Jesus seemed to have often, and which God must experience constantly.

Maybe it does us no harm to find ourselves wondering how God feels about things.  Not the arrogant presupposition that X or Y must make God so angry those involved will burn forever.  But the patient putting up with our bumbling and stupidity as we mess up or fail to grasp what it is we are meant to be about.

So, going back to mission in many modes, God gives us a wonderful planet to live on whether or not we ever respond in faith, gives us the creativity to paint and sing and dance and discover and invent.  Is that true mission?  Or is it just social activity?  Ah well, as I believe in a relational Trinity and will be preaching on Trinity as Divine Dance on 6th June maybe I'm just an incurable heretic!!

Notwithstanding the usual editorial disclaimers, I never thought the day would come when BUGB's daily e-news sweep would encourage us to read an online article thus:

Scotland’s first openly gay church minister has defied his critics and boosted numbers in his congregation over the past 12 months, it has been revealed.

Read more here Yes, it seems that even sassenachs in Didcot read the Herald!!