2008 has been rather 'pants' for Dibley Baptist Church, but today I am doing a little dance around my office because there has been some GOOD news after several months of SAD news.

Tonight I received a request for baptism from one of our folk. This would be welcome news in any church, granted, but especially so for us - the first one in almost a decade and... this is the REALLY exciting bit... it comes from someone in her 70's!  She is meeting me to discuss things further on Wednesday and then I shall be able to tell the church meeting on Thursday. 

Yeay, I'm cheered!

This week at "thing in a pub" we undertook a review of what we've achieved and where we want to go next.  We have plans to the end of 2008, which will culminate in the Radio Leicester 'Sing Christmas' but what beyond then?  Those who were at the review meeting (a whole four of us, with apologies from one) are keen to continue doing something but don't think it is right to try to find speakers to talk to such tiny groups.  They also conceded that no-one has brought anyone along to the events and that even press adverts at £50 a go for genuine big-name (locally!) speakers had only attracted one or two - there is clearly a sense of apathy to be overcome.  But what to do?  I mentioned both 'Lyfe' and 'Pints of View' as ideas to consider, but the latter seems more like branding than resourcing (unless we buy stuff from them, which I'm not about to do on spec.) and the former is more explicitly a new take on Bible study, good stuff, but not necessarily what we are after.

So, has anyone used these materials/resources, and if so how do you rate them? Does anyone have any other ideas for a 'presence' model of church in a pub?  If my people want to carry on - and they do - we need to find something for them to do.  I'd be quite happy if it became a monthly Bible-study that happened to meet in a pub, but I'd be happier if it became something that could engage others in considering the possibility of exploring Christian faith.

As Honorary Treasurer (or some such) of our Association's Ministers' Conference, one of my odd tasks is the allocation of rooms to delegates.  This is a strangely powerful role, as all rooms are not equal!  Some have level access, some require the occupant to climb lots of stairs, some are adjacent to the (noisy) lift and others near outside doors, still others have more space and more beds to choose from!  So, last night I sat down with my pencil and sorted it out and wondered if anyone knows or even cares that there are actually decisions to be made?  As a rule of thumb, I allocate rooms sequentially by the alphabetical list but assign larger rooms to ministerial couples and/or conference speakers (who presumably need somewhere to put all their papers and books) and shift all the bods who are only there for part of the conference to the end of the list.  Then there are a few tweaks to create an all-girl enclave just in case anyone worries about the moral welfare of their ministers... Strange powers indeed!

The IBTS (International Baptist Theological Seminary) in Prague is a special place to, and for, many people.  This week they have launched their own community blog - which tells about their love of their goats, among other things.  Already it shows a good balance of humour and serious thought.  Well worth a visit (to the blog, and to the place itself) and it will be interesting to see how the blog develops over the coming months.

That jolly invention of the last decade of the last millennium: clustering.  That thing that lots of Baptists don't like cos it means talking to other people, being a teeny weeny bit connexional rather than foot-stampingly independent.  I've always thought it was a good idea, but never been that sure it works all that well.  And of course being Baptists clustering is whatever you want it to be - or not, that's the whole point.

Our little cluster works about 50%, that's to say half of the church assigned to it are active within it.

Our little cluster works about 75%, that's to say that when we have cluster meetings, or cluster services or cluster pulpit swaps most of those 50% will be involved (100% for pulpit swaps, less for services and meetings)

Our little cluster works 100%, that's to say, of those who are active within it, we are there for each other and will lend each other our buildings and people (ministers and musicians) if needed.

I was thinking last night about the opening words I use for weddings and funerals (I don't 'do' sentences as I walk in, not only do I not like it (it was not evident in my early experience of free church funerals and I have heard too many droning vicars) I actually find silence more profound and meaningful) which are along the lines of 'on behalf of Dibley Baptist Church and with thanks to D+1/D+2 for their hospitality, I welcome you to...  Such words won't appear in any published liturgy but I think they express - to me, to us, to others - something really important about our cluster, about church, about God even.

I should mention that our local Methodist and Anglican churches have also lent us their buildings for funerals, and I use a similar greeting on those occasions.

Now and again someone comments (favourably) on this situation, and how nice it is to see churches working together.  It is.  Clustering is a funny old thing, but when it works, it's good.