To be in His presence

When people outside church ask what I do? and I tell them that I am a church leader ,a fair amount still say "What a great job you only work one day a week"! I smile weakly, and try to give the impression I have never heard that joke before.

Perhaps it is just because I am getting older,but even by recent standards this has seemed an incredibly busy year. I suspect that is a combination of a demanding building project , the need to plan for future ministry and raise finance, and perhaps a slightly higher number of pastoral issues.

I am conscious too how hard others in the church are also working,in many cases at the same time as holding down demanding jobs, or looking after busy families .I thank God for these fellow workers and for their commitment to building The Kingdom

I love what I do .I love working with the people I work with.I always have, and I hope and think I always will.I am so grateful for the encourager's who have walked with me down the years and still do.

However I am an activist by nature if there is a visit to do ,a meeting to hold or an email to write my temptation is to get on with it

The danger with this is that even in prayer my mind drifts to things that need to be done, or phone calls that need to be made.

How I need to learn to Be Still in God's presence. How I need to learn  again that God's work needs to be done in God's strength and not my own.Like many people Hymns and worship songs really keep my mind focussed on Jesus and enable me to examine my heart and soul.

I love this one which sums up what I believe God is calling His people to do

The lines "Keep us from just singing,move us into action" are especially powerful and for me at least act as a reminder that God calls us to be in His presence but He also sends us out to a needy world

Worship and Mission belong together!

As the song puts it fill us up and send us out

Worship

Cartoon by Matt Glover says it all!

One of the genuine blessings of a sabbatical is time. Time to think ,to pray ,to plan , to talk, and yes to worship

Most mornings I put some Stuart Townend or Tim Hughes on the mp3 player and contemplate God as I listen to powerful words ,Today I was greatly helped by this from Tim Hughes for example;



It all begins with worship but as Mark Labberton says "Worship turns out to be the dangerous act waking up to God and to the purposes of God in the world ,and then living lives that actually show it."

Labberton's point is that if worship doesn't make us disciples, it probably is not true worship. So as Alan and Debra Hirsch point out in "untamed" worship is not just about singing ,or praying or liturgy it involves loving our neighbour ,seeking justice,evangelism and the renewal of true community (see Hebrews 13v15)
Helpfully, Debra and Alan suggest 4 practices that help us reflect on the nature of worship and whether we are worshippers

1Submit yourself to a regular inventory of idolatry ,what is it that stops God having first place in our heart ? What is it that stops Jesus being Lord?
2 Worship beyond singing ! Offer your whole world back to God
3 A life of learning read CS Lewis , Yancey and other writers who nourish the soul
4 Act your way into a new way of thinking Risk being led by God's Spirit into new things- This could be a great adventure !

We may think we have no time but one lesson I am learning is that if I am really going to be a disciple I must make quality time for these things or I will be ineffective as a disciple and church leader.

Family service

People often have mixed feelings about Family services, but this morning we enjoyed a really excellent one which pesented the Christian message clearly using a variety of media including puppets, a dvd ,great songs and a talk. It was really well done and had a very positive response from everyone . A great beginning to an important and very busy week; Our annual holiday club which promises to be fantastic this year!
A family service really make you work hard at presenting the faith in relevant ways!

Saturday night worship!

Our church is in a time of great transition
We are thinking about what it means to be a church that proclaims an ancient faith to a modern world
To that end we are reflecting on what changes we need to make to the services and ministries we engage in

Part of that process involves seeing what others are doing, and one of the purposes of this blog is to capture those ideas in one place for future consideration not necessarily future implementation with that proviso I was interested in this on the Sydney diocese website



Saturday night gets ‘sacred’
Emma Orsborn
July 13th, 2009
Jannali Anglican Church is the most recent church to pick up on the Saturday night service trend, and two months on from their first service it is proving to be a success.

Following in the footsteps of churches like St Paul’s, Menai and Church by the Bridge, Jannali Anglican rector, the Rev Andrew Barry thinks Saturday night suits a lot of people.

“In our area there is a ‘Sunday morning culture’ that’s a long way from church,” he says. “A lot of people are involved in sport and work on Sunday.”

The service began in May and has already attracted a lot of new people, especially families with children.

“We have a very mission-minded set of church leaders,” says Mr Barry. “Saturday night seemed to suit many people not already at church”.

Mr Barry also says a big advantage of Saturday night church is the opportunity to spend time together – “sometimes people stay until midnight, you just can’t do that on Sunday night”.

Christians who have joined the service are excited about inviting their friends, and Mr Barry says one person told him the Saturday night service was like “church in manual, not automatic”.

Next month they plan to send letters to local organisations, such as hospitals and police stations, where employees work on Sundays, to let them know there is a church service that is easier for them to attend.

Meanwhile St Paul’s, Menai began Saturday night church seven years ago and it is now their largest service.