5 questions to think about this week

1 How did you see God at work in your life this week?
2 What is God teaching you in his word this week?
3 What conversations are you having with pre-Christian people?
4 What good can we do around here and how can we get some of our neighbours in on it?
5 How can we help each other in prayer?

BBC!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6951450/BBC-is-driving-religion-to-the-margins-says-Simon-Mayo.html

Interesting reflections on the BBC from Simon Mayo in todays Telegraph

Mayo expressed concern at the way issues surrounding relligious belief were treated by the Corporation.

Mayo, who has joined The Telegraph as a columnist said: “I’ve just listened to David Tennant on Desert Island Discs. His father was a minister and that was seen to be a problem [by Kirsty Young, presenter]. Religion is increasingly driven to the margin.

“I was listening to a BBC news bulletin during Easter 2008 about services to mark "the rebirth of Christ", “a line clearly written by someone who had no contact with or understanding of the concept of resurrection.

“My brother works for the BBC religious affairs unit and told him I couldn’t believe it.”

The corporation was criticised after it recruited Aaquil Ahmed, a Muslim programme-maker, as the BBC's new head of religion and ethics last year.

Mr Ahmed's appointment raised concerns at the top level of the Church of England, which warned that the BBC must not ignore its Christian audience.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was reported to have told the director general, Mark Thompson, that the "Christian voice" was being sidelined.

Mayo, 51, the former Radio 5 Live presenter, suggested that an anti-Christian theme is now apparent in television comedians from Eddie Izzard down.

"They are at the forefront of the new atheism", he said.

Mayo, who has been presenter of a BBC Radio Five Live weekday afternoon programme since May 2001, will take over the Radio 2 Drivetime show from Chris Evans on Monday.

great quote

Alan Hirsch "The holiness of Jesus is a redemptive holiness that does not separate itself from the world, but liberates it ~ Untamed"

Had our light lunch new year meal today at The Prostar stadium !
Light lunch has been a great ministry for getting to know people better and building good relationships within the church and in the community
Hope 2010 is a great year for it

I believe !

Found this quite a moving song

Reggie McNeal is an excellent writer and his The Present Future and Missional Renaissance are well worth reading so am adding to the reading list!



"The church is not the destination; the kingdom is the destination. Jesus does not say, "Thy church come." He spends 40 days before His ascension teaching about the kingdom. Acts closes with the kingdom. Jesus uses "church" twice, but "kingdom" 90 times. When the kingdom breaks out, things change. People's lives get radically re-altered; their entire worlds get re-ordered."

quote from Reggie McNeal

New sermon series

In the new year we are starting a new and very important sermon series about what it really means to be a missional church
The clue to which book we will chiefly be focussing on is in the title of the series The Forgotten Ways !
I hope at least a few people will take time to read at least one book on this important subject !