I think I am quite excited today!  I had a meeting with one of my deacons who is an absolute star.  Quiet, lacking confidence, but capable and creative (though claims not to be!) she combines strong loyalty with honest reflection and has real depth of faith and spirituality.  We talked about all sorts, finishing up with the 'New Thing' the church has agreed to start in a pub next year.  The ideas were flowing and suddenly I began to see a shape for this rather nebulous 'thing' that God might be doing.  I have to wait to see what the church folk think but this is where I've got to...

We are hoping to attract the 20-40-ish agegroup - which given I'm nearly 44 and the youngest member of the church...  Some folk thought we should 'do' Alpha but it really isn't the right starting place for people for whom 'church' or 'Christianity' aren't even on the radar.  Why did Jesus die? Well someone executed him - it's not a question that has meaning beyond the walls of Christian community.  What I am suggesting is a three-stranded approach with different 'entry points' which might appeal to different people.  I would be interested to 'hear' the views of those who are younger and/or involved in this kind of 'stuff'

The three strands are, crudely, 'relationship', 'faith' and 'spirituality'

'Relationship' will begin with food (Alpha gets some things right!) and chat at each monthly event.  It will extend to a couple of socials a year but hopefully also deepen into real friendship.  It seems that actually the granny generation relate well to the 20-somethings, so let's give it a go...

'Faith' will be not be about doctrine or theology, but about trying to explore how faith is relevant to real life.  We hope that by inviting in outside speakers we can look at 'faith and sport,' 'faith and health,' 'faith and politics,' 'faith and science,' even, quite brave for my lot, 'faith and faiths.'  Trying to avoid the Christians setting the agenda for discussions could be interesting but it has immense potential.

'Spirituality' will run alternate months to 'faith,' not because they are separate but because the styles will be vastly different and rather than a hotch potch I'd rather do each well.  Also it gives two different entry points for people who might be interested in different aspects.  Without hymns, without a sermon, but with lots of multi-sensory 'stuff' it will endeavour to create a space for encounter with God, for praise, thanks, admitting struggles, finding strength for tomorrow, reflecting on scripture and responding to what is heard.  A bit like 24/7 prayer things but not quite.

Finding a name that does not include 'Dibley,' 'Baptist' or 'Church' is essential - but it needs to be something people will live with too.  Accepting that this venture may lead people to faith but not membership of DBC (or any other church in Dibley) is tough for my oldies but is part of the ethos.  Commitment to disappointment, a long slog and endless criticism - well, hey, what's new there?

Right now, I am excited at the prospect - I hope my deacons and others can catch the dream!

Way back in the early 1980's, when I was younger and more foolish, I belonged to the 'Word Record Club' as a 'tape' subscriber in the 'contemporary' stream!!!  More often than not I was not quick enough to say 'no' to this month's selection so have a great heap of tapes I never listen to, but among them was one which had a song inspired by Lloyd Alexander's 'The Chronicles of Prydain.'  I liked the song, which spoke of getting in touch with our inner child (not exactly typical1980's Word music stuff!) and for over 20 years (how sad!) I have, now and then, tried to find these books. Now, finally, thanks to Amazon and the renewed interest in stories of this type, I have managed to get hold of them.

Originally published in the early 1960's, they reflect a more innocent age of story telling and yet explore timeless themes of what it means to be 'noble', to be a 'man' (or a 'young lady'!) of growing up and so on.  While the stories are utterly different from either Narnia or Harry Potter, the parallels with the latter, especially, are quite striking.  The flawed hero (Harry - Taran), the feisty, slightly stroppy girl (Hermione - Eilonwy), the buffoon companion (Ron Weasley - Fflourdor Fflam), the loyal creature who wails all the time (Dobbie - Gurgi).  As a genre, these stories seem to have a very clear style and expectations.  I am enjoying reading the Chronicles; they are far less sophisticated than Harry Potter, and nowhere near as dark; they are not the allegories of Narnia, but contain some equally important truths.

If you have children ready for fantasy stories but not for J K Rowling's 500 page epics, then these might be a good place to start.  Though after Gurgi's moanings and groanings, Dobbie may not seem so much fun!

I feel slightly mean, but only slightly, about what I said about my visit to Manchester.  My philosophy on life that nothing is ever wasted means that there are things I will have gained from it, but at the same time I aware how readily we collude with things by our polite niceness.  The balance between naming as poor that which is poor whilst affirming the worth of the individuals involved is a tricky one to get right, and I can't help feeling that nice Christian people are particularly bad at it - why else do we end up with people fulfillig roles for which they are clearly not skilled?  I'm not entirely sure this 'niceness' is consistent with what Jesus did, and certainly not the way it has been throughout history.  Is this a post modern phenomenon?  I have not a clue.  Is it helpful?  Somehow I doubt it.  Yet I collude.  Mia culpa (or however that is spelled).

So, some thoughts about the weekend. 

I noted that maybe Ken Leech is so adept at theolgical reflection that it is now entirely intuitive.  Maybe the inconsistencies I detected are more about my understanding of what he was saying than his work?  Back in the days when I did a 'real' job I went on a course to learn how to assess the likelihood of human error invarious different scenarios.   The reality is, in case you ever wondered, that, in so-called hazardous industries, the disasters get caused by people not technology.  People who are under pressure, people whose world view influences them for good or ill, people who are tired, people who are inadequtely trained... you get the drift.  Anyway, part of what we were taught was about stages in learning to do something, and somewhere at the back of a cupboard I still have the notes.  Essentially there are three stages: first, a person has to be shown/told each stage of a task and effectively follows instructions; second, the person can perform the task independently but has to think it through; third the task becomes intuitive and the person performs it without thinking about it.  Since driving a car is one of the most complex tasks we learn as adults, this is the usual example given: stage 1, the driving instructor talks you through every gear change step by step.... stage 2, you can change drive but are still totally conscious of what you are doing (and  likely to crash if you try to change gear and steer at the same time!).... stage 3 you drive along merrily and simultaneously hold a conversation, tune in the radio and notice the speed camera ahead...  maybe Ken is so much at stage 3 that we lesser mortals are not equipped to grasp what he's doing, and he has forgotten long ago what it is like to be at stage 1 or 2.  Or maybe I was just looking for clear evidence of a method/process because that is the nature of my research, and would need more information/time to uncover it?

One big theme that emerged for me was the subjectivity of what was shared.  Being born into a certain place at a certain point in history had been of immense significance - but also became a set of blinkers though which the world was viewed.  I was intrigued by the potential for lifecycle factors (e.g. Shakespeare's 'seven ages of man') to colour not only our expereince but our research.  Some of my fellow students recongised and empathised with what was said, for those of us under 50, it was not so straight forward.  Having a father who idolised a certain Mrs Thatcher, and clear recollections of the impact of 1970's 3-day week and power cuts under Labour, well my outlook is a bit different.  Mrs T was certainly no saint, but the devil incarnate as some seem to suggest... no it's too simplistic.  Teen years are times of 'absolutes', middle years more times of reflection and uncertainty - all reflection is subjective, and every researcher has an agenda: self awareness is of key import.  Maybe later years are the time of reminisence and tale telling?

My final thoughts are on 'learning styles' and the way things get delivered in these courses.  Back in my industry days it was simple - you went on a course, they gave you a programme and they delivered it.  Sessions started and ended on time, you had some definite input and then some sort of exercise to check you had understood it.  In the last few years thinking about education seems to have undergone a major shift and everyone uses buzz words like 'learning styles.'  There has been a big shift to make things more appealing to kinesthetic and visual learners, ignoring the more traditional auditory methods; in experiential learning which uses four catgories of 'reflective,' 'theorist,' 'pragmatic' and 'activist' it often feels that the needs of reflectors and theorists are neglected in favour of the other two.  Whilst the greater accessibility to knowledge is to be applauded, the potential for alienating those of us who are (apprarently) auditory reflective-theorists (albeit with pragmatic tendencies) needs to be recognised and addressed.  Rightly or wrongly, at higher levels of education the proportion of adults (i.e. those over abour 25) who are involved are likely to be those who thrived in the auditory regime of the older educational models; whilst we need to be challenged and stretched, and taught how to engage with others who work differently, we also need to be indulged, just a little bit - please!

This all still sounds a bit negative, but I feel that be recording it I can put it down and move on.  Hopefully I have also learned some tings that will keep me a bit more self aware in my research as I seek to identify ways theology has been 'done' by Baptists and to be a 'critical friend' of my own tradition.

No, I am not about to post on the London underground announcement used at Bank station for as long as I can remember but about the One World Week service which we held today.

To be honest, the last place I wanted to be this afternoon was at church: it was cold and wet (very), I was tired and half my deacons and both my pianists were away (we borrowed an Anglican organist).  The Methodists due to do the drama had dropped out and been replaced by others and the preacher announced he was not intending to preach on the set text.  It could have been totally awful.

I arrived to discover that the deacon on setting up duty had never done so before and had to be told what was involved and then shown how to do most of it; a few folk from one of the other churches announced that they had been assured there would be lots of signs to tell them where to go and they hadn't been there (I don't recall agreeing to that, but hey).

Mind the gap - between rich and poor, male and female, black and white, faithful and faithless...

Mind the gap - between words and actions, then and now...

In the end it all somehow held together, people taking part managed to move to the right place at the right time without needing to be announced; the set prayers and hymns, the extempore prayers and the sermon did on the whole hang together; most people stayed for tea/coffee afterwards.

Mind the gap- between what I 'want' and what I 'need'

Mind the gap - between 'desire' and 'devotion'

Mind the gap - between 'fun' and 'faithfulness'

Mind the gap - between 'fellowship' and 'worship'

It would be exagerating to say that it was a particularly wonderful service, the heavy dependence on the 'humane invention' of 'preprinted formes', as the C17 Baptists would have said, wasn't entirely to my liking, but did serve to enforce the message about the gap between 'faith and deeds' in which we so often find ourselves.  It was, however, a good atmosphere and the congregation at around 50 was a good size for a united service.  With an Anglican preach (at about 7 minutes) it was also a short service despite having a drama and lots of liturgy.

I am still tired, it is still raining and all the people are still away, but somehow there was blessing to be had by being there today.

I have just got back from three days in Manchester where I've been at the first residential for my doctorate in practical theology.  It was a busy time, I met some great people, caught up with some friends and had quite a good time but I came away somewhat befuddled.

I had not aniticipated the library tour being almost at the 'this is a book' level, nor a guide who did not how how to register to use the computers in order to reserve or renew books from offsite.  Thank goodness for the nice people on the help desk who in exactly 20 seconds completed the process for me!  Highlight of the library tour was probably the fire alarm going off.  I am sure our guide is a lovely person who adores books but please...

A public lecture and 'master class' by the grandaddy of urban theology Ken Leech kind of set the scene for the whole weekend.  He has some great stories to tell of his time in East London, but I'm not too sure how much I gained to help me in my own research in terms of insights into method, research ethics, etc.  Shame really, I had hoped to find something to help me; maybe he has just been doing it for so long that it is intuitive?

Most surreal part of the 'weekend' was a visit to the Greenhouse vegetarian restaurant near Rusholme.  We arrived at a place that looked pretty well derelict, were greated by an ageing hippy who announced that half the menu was 'off' but that he had various other things not on it.  Organic, vegan, gluten-free roasted thingamajig - very tasty when it arrived, but an hour's wait between ordering and serving - roast table leg would have been good by then!  Nothing Fairtrade though - ummh.  Still, it was a good opportunity to chat to people and it became the talking point of the rest of the event (maybe should have been the subject of the theolgocial reflection exercise we were set?!)  Picture stolen from their website, btw.

I came away knowing, finally, who my supervisors are to be and vaguely what the first year deliverable is, so at least I can now begin to ask the questions I really want to ask and get going on what I really want to do.

A lot of work went into creating the weekend, and I admire the self-giving of the staff who organised and ran it.  It is easy to criticise, I know, but I am a little concerned that I am spending a lot of my hard earned cash being some kind of guinea pig (perhaps when Dibley manse collapses they can put me in a cage with a wheel to run on).  I am bemused, bothered and bewildered but hope that in due course the mist might clear.