Social media a force for good ?

As someone who has a blog ,does Facebook, and has got a twitter account in the last fortnight,I think I understand the value of new media
Not everyone however is convinced and it's fair to say that there are people who think blogging ,Facebook and twitter are a complete waste of time and really not something Christians should indulge in
While I readily accept that like everything else these things can be used well or badly,I think they have real value in enabling a wider conversation to happen 
Anyway don't take my word for it ,see what Steve Holmes says
here

Last minute banquet video

We showed this in the service yesterday and it made quite an impression!

I would love to do this one day maybe in 2013? Meanwhile we have got our Christmas brunch to look forward to

Leaders away time 2012

The leaders of Shrewsbury Baptist Church had a wonderful 24 hours together at Cloverley Hall website here in North Shropshire
We had a great time together in a wonderful place, in lovely countryside that served great food.

I won't write much here about the content or the encouraging and hopeful, outcome of our discussions, but suffice it to say that while these days are often a struggle to organise, (because it is tough trying to clear the diaries of some very busy people)they always prove to be very worthwhile,we get a lot done.

It is so good to have time to pray,share, laugh and even cry together ,it is good to share our hopes and dreams for the future of the church we serve.It was good to have a walk, on a starry night, back from the pub together. I suspect we get more out of these quality times together than we do from half a dozen evening meetings when people are tired I am looking forward to the next time already

Shrewsbury Street Pastors Celebration@Central

It is a year since Shrewsbury Street Pastors first patrolled the town and last night there was  a  very good turn out at a service at Central to celebrate the first anniversary
.
There really was quite a lot to celebrate and it was good to hear from the street pastors, members of the local community and others, just how well the project is going. Speaking to the local MP and the town Mayor afterwards they were equally impressed.

During the first year of Shrewsbury Street Pastors not one patrol had been cancelled



To my surprise I found parts of the service very moving as people shared what Street Pastors or being a Street Pastor meant to them as individuals.
I was also struck that during the first year of street pastors alcohol related incidents had declined by 19% from the previous year and even more importantly there had not been one death in the river.So this is a ministry that has not only helped and comforted large numbers of people but also very possibly saved lives.

The 18  street pastors themselves come from a number of different churches in the town and judging from some of the conversations happening afterwards there are a number of  other people willing to sign up

All in all a very encouraging evening for a great project

LICC Imagine day at Central

There was a good turnout of local church leaders from Shropshire for the Imagine day at Central yesterday.
The day was led by Neil Hudson from LICC who spoke helpfully, and with engaging humour, and very helpful power point slides about how churches can equip,envision and support their people to be fruitful on their daily front lines wherever they are.
There was a tremendous emphasis on the importance of making disciples and I particularly appreciated  the very practical nature of the teaching.
We were being challenged throughout the day as to exactly how we could put the teaching into practice in our own local church context in order to equip people for the time they are not in church
It was also great to spend time with other local church leaders ,some of whom I had not met before

It was an excellent day and if you get the chance to go it is well worth the £15 that it cost per person.
LICC IMAGINE details here

I was personally encouraged to see Central used for this day .It really lends itself as a building to this kind of event and 6 months on from the opening is becoming an increasingly busy place to be.;

The inmpact of Fresh Expressions on Denominational Structures

Interesting piece  by Michael Volland press here