Well can you believe it the Bogle Band is out on he road for the second time this Summer. Carberry Featival last month and ” Doon the Watter” this month. Tomorrow evening Iain and I will be performing on the world famous Waverley Paddle Steamer. Have a look at the picture above. She really is a bonnie boat.

Anyway all the money being raised tomorrow will go to the work of the Vine Trust. Keeping close to the Vine is a good thing. You know, our motto is ” Connecting People to Change Lives” However for me there is a wee sermon in that phrase, it is really all about connect people to the VINE to change lives. What we are really saying is, when people get connected to Jesus their lives are changed. I never cease to be amazed at the number of people outside of the church who have drawn alongside us to help us fulfill our purposes.

I convinced that God sends them our way. Tomorrow night is no exception. What a wonderful step of faith one guy thought to himself. I could rent the Waverely for an evening and raise money for ssomeof the poorest children in the world. Guess what? He took the risk hired the boat, and believe it on not he has sold his 650 tickets. Not bad for someone just thinking up an idea. Makes you think. Just think Lilias our Youth Worker last year promised to take some of her teenagers to India, and guess what ? Yes she did it, well worth reading their blog. Go to India

You never know who is hanging around the church. Especially if the church is St Andrew’s Bo’ness.

It could be a group of teenagers preparing for the Children’s Holiday Club. You might even meet the phantom gardeners who turn up unannounced and have turned a wilderness into a garden.

If you stay long enough you are bound to catch up with some young musicians hanging about waiting to rehearse. Then there might be a suspicious bunch of old guys that could talk the hind legs of a donkey making as much noise as the Rolling Stones on a good day! You could be excused for mistaking them for the “Last of the Summer Wine”

Then there are the people who drop in for a chat, for a coffee, or to be part of a planning group. And just in case you are looking for a bit of culture there is the piper who turns up to rehearse in the church because his neighbours have a contract out on his life.

Of course there are the members of staff who work in the middle of all this, who feed off this. One of them will no doubt be writing a proposal for a grant to fund some aspect of the church’s outreach, another will be talking on the phone to a parent looking for advice, another will be up dating the sermons on the web page, while another is editing the latest video commission. Meanwhile if it is a Wednesday the morning service will have finished and a faithful group of praying people will be interceding for us all while we’re at work ,in Edinburgh, Glasgow, or at home. The phone will ring and it is Captain Thacker from India checking up on some aspect of our partnership. Or it might be Willie from the Vine Trust looking for me.

So who ever said church life is boring? They need to spend a week with St Andrew and you know what they will meet a whole lot of saints they never knew existed. Truly anything can happen here, and nothing should ever be a surprise. Oh and one more thing the place is a lot quieter now that Erica Bonnar is on her Soul Touch Trip.

Talking with the script writer

I went to see the movie “Mamma Mia” last night. I really didn’t know what
it was all about. I thought it was the story of ABBA, instead it was
really a Chic flick. I realised I should have taken a rain check when
I had the opportunity. So all I could do was to slip lower down in the
seat, as the film progressed. Two guys at the front of a cinema full
of women! Mamma Mia? One thing I was right about there is an ABBA
connection. The whole two hours is full of wall to wall ABBA hits.
I never liked them the first time round. However I must
confess in my old age I think some of their songs are better 30 years
on. Anyway when the lights went up there we were, ( my nephew and I ), in the midst of a cinema
full of women singing ” Thank You For The Music” We were cringing as we left. However they really did enjoy it. So who am I to argue.

Let’s face it the stage show has sold over 30 million tickets, and no doubt the movie will net a few million more. So I’m going to keep my critical voice silent. If anything is was a fun movie. But you know what there was a serious side to the whole plot, (which wasn’t very good). Its all about the past catching up with you. In the clip above Donna is trying to forget her past but she is being tempted to have another look. Going back in time is never a good idea. And that is the message of the song Meryl Streep sings so powerfully when she gives an amazing performance of The Winner takes it all

We went for a walk through the Queen Elizabeth Forrest Park the other day starting at Kinlochard. It was a brillant day for walking, the sun was out but there was also a breeze blowing. We walked for about three hours. At one part of the walk we reached a summit which gave us an magnificent view looking over to Ben View.  We felt truly refreshed and aware of God’s  finger prints everywhere. A few hours later we were exhausted but back in Callander. We had a great meal at a wee cafe called “The Butt and Ben” they were selling authentic Scottish quicene. It was great to get a big plate of mince and tatties.

On the way back we walked through the centre of the town. At heart of the town is a converted Church building, which has been turned into an attraction centre to highlight the life of Rob Roy McGregor. After having admired the creation for the past few hours, I was brought back to the reality of life in the 21st Century. There is little place in the centre of our lives for God.  Scotland  today is all about tourism. So here in the heart of the Trossachs is a church building now dedicated to the admiration of a rather dubious folk hero - depending of course on whose side of the Union you support. However some things never change it was closed!  A great tourist attraction.

I came across a fellow blogger while on holiday in Orkney. Andrew Jones is quite a well known writer especially on the topic of the Emerging Church . He was telling me that he set Jonny Baker up with his first blog

Anyway I looked up the Skinny Kiwi and found he was writing this week about an article that appeared in the Washington Post about churches in America rethinking their short term mission projects. One church spent over $30,000 in airfares to build a $2,000 dollar house. No doubt the economics need to be looked at, but what was missing from all of these American programmes was the recognition that the mission is not just the house building but it is the journey and the mix of people who go on the journey. The journey itself is mission. We always need to allow space fro the seeker and the doubter to journey with us on mission.

However used in the right way, going on a short mission trip can change the outlook and purpose of many a person. When it comes to the Vine Trust just think how many people who started out on the journey to Peru with no faith are now discovering that God can be encountered in the face of the poor. Just think how the work party trips to Peru has influenced someone like Erica. Today she and Lorna ( Known in the blogging community as Soultouch ), are in the forefront of the new missionary movement. Using technology to help bring about change by allowing ordinary people to have a voice.

I think it is really exciting when we begin to think what we have achieved to date. However there is a much bigger prize awaiting those who are prepared to think “out of the box ” when it comes to engaging with the Spirit of God. Have a look at our present worldwithoutwalls web page its only the beginning but already we have over 130 movies up with around 30 partnerships all telling their stories. Before the end of the year I hope that we will be engaged in a couple of projects that will take WWW to another level. And you know what when something is missing you go looking for it. You don’t give up. So ell me what do you think ? What’s missing from short term mission?

Its hard not to be reminded of the imprint past generations have left on the earth, when visiting Orkney. The islands are full of ancient historical sites. Today we visited the Rings of Brodgar. Here is an ancient place where men and women in the ancient mists of time sought to find God. This reaching out to God shows a humility and an intelligence that somehow has by passed many in our self absorbed world. We have now progressed so far that we are even more moral than God. Well, I sometimes feel that, when I hear some of the “politically correct speak” that comes from all kinds of sources in our society. We have grown out of the humility that stands in awe of the God of Creation. The prevailing view in the Western World today is, we have the right, the power, and the moral understanding to create our own world, and make our own moral laws. I often wonder what the outcome will be for future generations.

What will be the marks that we will leave behind, and how will these impact on future lives? Since so much of what we produce is ephemeral what will we leave that is lasting and good ? When it comes to media will they have the computers to read what we write? What will be the lasting legacy? Will it be huge coffins filled with nuclear waste? Will it be a world devoid of rain forests?

Here in Orkney we can see some of the marks that Neolithic man has left. Stones still standing reminding us of their search for God. Yet today archeologists are still discovering more and more about these very sophisticated people. As I walked around the site at Skara Brae and also Broch of Gurness, I was reminded of what I’ve seen in the past when visiting Machu Picchu.

I know the buildings are not exactly the same but there is something that echoes a similarity, at least in my mind.The Inca people centuries later were still trying to find a connection with God through stones and the sun. However it is also a reminder to us that we too are leaving a mark as we pass through this amazing world. Have a look at some of the pictures that I’ve left on the gallery this evening for those of you who have time to view them. GALLERY

I’ve spent the last few days in Orkney. Its quite a place, amazing sea views. There is nothing quite like a walk along the cliffs. Orkney has a wonderful shoreline. As you walk you become aware of the amazing power of the sea. It is this sea power that can change a coastline.

We visited a place called Skarabrae. It is on the southern shore of the Bay o’ Skaill, in the West Mainland parish of Sandwick. It is here that the Neolithic village of Skara Brae was discovered in the mid 19th century. Today, it is one of Orkney’s most-visited ancient sites. It was certainly busy when we viewed it yesterday. I believe it has achieved world heritage status. It is truly worth visiting

In the winter of 1850, a great storm battered Orkney. The notorious Orkney winds and extremely high tides stripped the grass from a large mound known then as Skerrabra.

What was revealed was in fact the outline of a number of stone buildings. The discovery intrigued the local laird, William Watt of Skaill, so he embarked on an excavation of the site. The Lairds house is close by and today you can visit the house and wander around the rooms. Its a facinating place that was built in the 17th century as a home for Bishop Graham.

Anyway back to the story. By 1868, after the remains of four ancient houses had been unearthed, work at Skerrabra was abandoned until 1925, when another storm damaged some of the previously-excavated structures. A sea-wall was built to preserve these remains, but during the construction work more ancient structures were discovered. Today it is well and truly secured and worth a visit. Makes you think though. Here is a civilization that dates before Abraham its over 5000 years old. As you ask questions you find they too were looking for answers seeking after God. Anway I hope you enjoy the pictures. They’re meant to get you to think - to begin to put life into a proper perspective. People have been before us and will be after us. We too have to make our contribution. Looking out from where we are