For those of you who were looking forward to Sanctuary First on 10 January in Bo’ness I hope you’ll be able to attend the next one. Perhaps the poor weather will give us an opportunity to develop the theme and make it even more interesting. The theme that we’ve chosen for Sanctuary First is based on the message of Jesus to the church at Sardis. It was a wake up call.

Here’s a wee poem I wrote for the service . Its entitled ” Dead men Walking dead men Walking I hope you find it interesting along side this picture that I took earlier today inside the Buchanan Galleries.

Here is a world a community of people who sometimes remind me of dead people walking. Most look fed up most feel they’ve had enough. They just want to get out of the place. Shopping just drains the soul out of a person. Is that not right? Let me know what you think?

If ever the church needs to be waken up from its slumber and its sleep it must surely be today. Sardis was a church that was living off a past reputation. So much of church life today is living off past generations. When it comes to the Church in Scotland so much of what we have and use at the present was never given or purchased by this generation. I’ve come to the conclusion that we do need new wine skins for the new wine. It also means that someone has to go and get the new wine skins and also pour the new wine into the skins. So many in this generation know very little about what Christians really believe and many Christians are no longer sure about what they believe. And if the truth were told there are ministers of the Gospel who are no longer sure about what it is they believe. Remember Jesus spoke out and said if the watchman sounds an uncertain note the people in the city will be confused. I think there is a great responsibility on all of us who have been entrusted with the gospel to make sure we share it in such a manner that the world around hears it and understands.

I think that is where the new skins come in. We need spaces and places and people who are flexible enough to allow the gospel to seep into every aspect of their lives so that they become the new skins that allows the wonderful new life of the Spirit to flow out from them into the world. It means we need new skins in politics we need new skins in the music industry, we need new skins in the media, and we need new skins in almost every aspect of daily living.

I had an interesting start to the day. I went in search of Alan Stewart farmer and road haulier. I’ve known Alan’s family for many years. I wanted to meet up with a real life person connected with the business of sheep farming in order to make a podcast for Sanctuary First. When I finally tracked him down he was busy on the mobile sorting out the many deals he has to negotiate each day as he plans the movememnt of sheep from one part of the country to the other. He jokes with me telling me he’s given up the shepherd’s crook for a mobile phone. Anyway in the process of making the podcast I discovered this newly born lamb and its mother. You can check out the podcast and find out more about the story at www.sanctaryfirst.org.uk when it goes up in a couple of weeks.

An hour later I was down at the Woolworth Store . It was good to have the prayers and the support of the rest of the ministers in the town as we opened the doors to the public.

We believe this is an important opportunity for the church to make a visable presence in the town this Christmas and allow people the opportunity to reflect on the Christmas story in a contemporary setting. It is also a great witness when Christians from all the various denominations work together.

So if your around in Bo’ness over the next few days make sure you drop into the store for a chat and a cup of tea. The labytinth is well worth the visit.

One thing that has been drawn to our attention is how quiet our town is during the afternoons. People seem to get up and do their shopping in the morning. When it comes to the afternoon and the evenings it is pretty quiet. I wonder if this is a pattern in other town? It makes one think seriously about what is happening to all the town centres around Scotland. Where is community locating itself if not in the shops and cafes and pubs of a town? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.

My moble rang- the voice on the other end of the phone was inquiring if I still had a use for the empty Woolwoth store in Bo’ness. I had left a note of interest in the property about five weeks ago. To be perfectly honest I had moved on from the idea and I was preparing for Christmas without Woolworth. Having received the call the question now running through my mind was could we put together a Christmas use for the store in such a short time?

After the meeting tonight it looks as though we might have a plan. I’ll keep you all informed of how our plans are proceeding.

I’m trying to kept a promise I made to someone in India when I was there a few weeks ago. So I’m in Edinburgh this afternoon on church business meeting people at the central church offices. Its a busy place, even more so just at the end of the Festival. Its a cold damp lunchtime. I walk along George Street and suddenly I realise I’ve just walked past a beggar who was sitting on the street outside a restaurant. I was past him before it registered. Then you have this struggle in your head. Should I give him money or do I just ignore his plight. I mean no one sits in a wet damp street begging unless they’re desperate. You think, to yourself, what is a pound to me? Nothing in my economy.  So I walk on window shopping before my next appointment.

Within seconds I was looking at a pair of boots I quite  liked,  they cost over £100.00. The beggar and his plight was no longer in my mind. I didn’t buy the boots, didn’t have my wallet with me. As I turned to head back to the church offices I passed the beggar and put a £1.00 in his Starbucks paper cup. He said “thank you” as I walked past. I had probably just helped him buy his next fix. Now I’m thinking, “did I do the right thing”?

Solving issues is never easy. I can’t remember seeing beggars on the street when I was was growing up. However I do remember the odd tramp at the door. There used to be a guy who walked about St George’s Cross, I think we called him Skipper. I always remember he had a ginger coloured beard and a rope tied round his waist to hold his coat closed.

I’m wondering if in fact we’re now actually going backwards. What kind of society have we become? I guess the drug culture has changed everything. More and more people are experimenting with alcohol and drugs and as a result we are finding there are more casualties. I find I need to continually remind myself that there are needy people in Scotland just as much as in other places in the world.

I started writing this post on the street in George Street on Friday. Its now Sunday evening.  In a few moments I hope to be in my bed, I’m still thinking about the man begging on the street and his cardboard cup.

In my sermon this morning I mentioned the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” It reminds me that God expects us to fight for justice in the present. His Kingdom is not a future tense but a present tense. I guess that means we are all responsible to bring about change in our world. Did I change the world with my pound?  Maybe I did, but was it for better or worse?

My friends Wilfred and Shanti Davidar took us out for dinner the other evening. We ended up at JCs Cafe in Chennai. Its actually quite a cool place. It was also quite busy. It is run by a Christian businessman, who is seeking to reach out to a group of people who are seeking to engage with spiritual ideas. It is a place where people of different faiths and no faith frequent, because they enjoy the ambiance.  I actually think it could be a brilliant place to promote and run Sanctuary First  in Chennai. I spoke to the owner and he seemed quite interested.

Anyway it was an opportunity for us to catch up with the Davidars after spending the day with their staff who run the Raphe Ministry. Shanti is always full of amazing stories and her faith in the Lord is quite irrepressible.

Among the topics we discussed was the work that was started in the Rainy Hospital by   another woman, this time a powerful Scots lady called Christina Rainy, she was ably served by another Scottish lady doctor . Together they founded the Rainy Hospital here in Chennai in 1888.  Christina Rainy had visited this area with her husband Robert Rainy who was the Principal of New College in Edinburgh. She returned home with a passion to establish the hospital and find women doctors who would come and work to establish a service for local women. Christina rainy knew that moist women like to be examined by a woman doctor. So the hospital was established.

I spent sometime looking round the facilities yesterday. I found it very sad to see that the place had been allowed to fall into such poor condition.  I was heartened to meet the senior doctor in charge of the hospital  Dr Chris Roy. I was also full of admiration for the task that he has taken on. He has only been in post a year. He tells me he is fire fighting everyday to raise enough money to pay bills. He is in need of so many resources. he is short of sterilising  equipment, a present he has cannibalised  an  older broken down machine to make the present machine work. It is difficult to know where to start he tells me as he shows me round a hospital that has been allowed to fall into such disrepair. Yet he has nothing but faith and praise for his team of doctors and nurses. He tells me they have just stabilised a young girl who was admitted the previous evening after trying to hang herself in her home. He tells me of the successes he has had with such meager resources. We try hard to keep the wards clean and tidy. We have no infection whatsover in the hospital. However he explains it would be wonderful if we could paint the walls and have the equipment we need to do the heart operations that I’m skilled to do.

I came away moved at the commitment of this man to bring back to life the vision of these two Scottish ladies and I thought to myself I’ll do all I can to help him make that vision a reality. When we get back home there will be opportunities i hope to speak with others who might take up the call.

I’m sure in the past this hospital no doubt has had challenging issues to try and resolve. However with the right support there are no issues that can’t be resolved and indeed turned to good. Pray for Chris Roy as he works tirelessly along with his staff to serve the poorer people in Chennai.

VINE TRUST
We were at a brilliant Barbecue on Saturday in aid of raising funds for the work of the  Vine Trust This was a real heavy duty barbe! Steaks all round! I believe they were bought at the auction in the Roxburghe Hotel last January. So the meat was put to good use to earn more money for the Trust.

I’d like to say huge thanks to Gordon Stewart and his team of helpers  for putting on an excellent event. Of course the weather helped to make it an outstanding weekend.

Anyway here is a preview of the latest Vine Trust Video. We hope to get copies of this out to all the congregations within the next few weeks. Let me know what you think. If you’d like a copy contact the Vine Trust Office or drop me an email. Yes its another great production from SANCTUS MEDIA LTD

SANCTUS MEDIA

Talking about Sanctus Media, I had quite a creative day today working on the material to fill the new Sanctuary First website. We’re hoping to launch this new venture within the next few months however we need loads of content on the website to attract potential users to return on a daily basis. the theme i chosen for the first month is “Faith and Mystery” I think it is a rich seam to develop over a month. The following four topics with be discussed on a weekly basis.

1. The mystery of God
2. The mystery of Creation
3. The mystery of the Church
4. The mystery of Worship

I’ve made a start on the topic of the Mystery of God. part of the structure is to have a daily prayer based on the weekly topic and daily Bible readings centred around the theme. We hope to offer worshippers the opportunity to comment and reflection the weekly topic. Then one a month everyone will have the opportunity to meet together and share in an event centred around the theme of the month. If anyone feels they’d like to get involved with the creative writing side of this project please get in touch.

BOGLE’S PARAPHRASE

I will give you all the strength you need. I myself will even help you. In fact I will hold you up with my own hands. Isaiah 41.10

  THE NATIONAL GATHERING

Lots of things are happening around the church this week. I guess we’re not any busier than normal but it seems that way. The staff of SANCTUS MEDIA are working flat out getting ready for the General Assembly. Rae has just managed to produce a DVD with over three and half hours of footage on it all relating to the 2008 National Gathering. Its well worth a watch, indeed I think you will be able to order it on line from our Sanctus Media web page within the next couple of days.

Talking of getting busy, I’m struggling to keep up with the Discipleship 40 Challenge but I’m not going to give up I’m going to be a pilgrim and press on. So if you get invited by me to take part in a challenge please humour me so that I can complete it. I just wrote another seven challenges this evening. Those of you who are ahead of the game will be delighted to know that there are more challenges coming,your way.

A DAY OF PRAYER

One amazing challenge  is the day of prayer taking place in the church this Saturday. We hope its going to be a wonderful creative and restful day for those who decide to come along and pray. there are many different facets to prayer. We hope to introduce people to different methods. I notice Rae and Adam have been working on a prayer tree.  They’ve taken a branch of a tree and sprayed it with gold paint. They’re getting it ready to be changed from a dry branch to a prayer tree branch. When people come on Saturday they will be able to write on a piece of paper and attach it to the branches like leaves. We got a good write up last week in the Bo’ness  Journal about the Prayer day so let’s hope we get a good turn out. i believe the church is going to be open from 10am-6pm

Here is a short video highlight of tat memorable Summer way back in 2000. We toured round Scotland in a period of 6 days and connected with hundreds of people as we took our multimedia service into cathedrals and churches. Our idea was that we needed to raise funds to get our media project off the ground. in Bo’ness.

Its amazing that 9 years on we have SANCTUS MEDIA working out of the church as a media production company as part of our congregation’s ministry.

This week we will be streaming the General Assembly out live to the world. And to think it all started with a Bike Ride. If someone looked up the minutes of the Assembly for the year 2000 I think they’d find it mentioned. I was trying to get sponsorship for the ride. Who knows where technology will take us in the next ten years. let’s hope that SANCTUS MEDIA can continue to be a servant to the church throughout Scotland.

One of the most memorable evenings was the night we played in Glasgow Cathedral. I think there must have been about 400 people turn up that night. Recently i met someone who told me it was such a meaningful service. we had an opportunity for people to respond. I remember thinking the queues would never end as people came forward for anointing with oil and to receive a stone. It would be great to hear from anyone who was there that evening. What were your thoughts?

I think this idea could be resurrected and tried out again next Summer. Scotland is just a fantastic place to cycle if the weather is good. If you were cycling that week as part of the Challenge let’s hear from you.

This is a post to encourage all the 40 Day Discipleship Challengers. Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve missed one or two of the text messages. Remember some of the suggestions will take time to put into practice. We’re all here to support and help each other not to lay guilt trips on one other. I have a few to catch up with myself and I intend to follow them up.

Life has been quite busy over the past few days and I must confess I enjoy getting a chance to chill out on a Friday evening. The thing is when your a minister the weekend is the time that you begin to wind your self up as you prepare for the Sunday services. Most ministers in the Church have one service to prepare, however because we have kept our Evening Service it means two sermons have to be written.

So when everyone else is winding down on a Saturday my mind is usually reflecting and compiling the sermon. I’ve tried having it all prepared by Wednesday, but you know what, I found when it came to Sunday it felt as though I was heating up last weeks dinner. I guess for my style of preaching I like to have the ideas current in my head. It doesn’t mean to say that the sermon is a last minute rush, I like to plan all the themes and Bible readings well in advance. I guess I just like pulling it all together on Saturday morning and evening and checking it over again on Sunday morning.

Next week is going to be a pretty full one with the General Assembly starting on Wednesday morning. This is the first time they have moved the Assembly to start midweek. Our team from Sanctus Media of course will be there streaming the Assembly out as usual. So if you go to the Church of Scotland web page you’ll be able to get live coverage and even a summary of the days events. However I believe the controversial case concerning Scott Rennie will not be streamed out on the web.

We are living in challenging times and all of us who are in leadership in the church have a responsibility to seek the unity of the church. This is not to say that we cannot speak out our mind clearly, but it does mean that we need to be measured in the language we use. The media just love it when clerics get angry with each other and they love making the angry people look ridiculous. My advice to everyone taking part in the debates concerning homosexuality is this, don’t allow yourself to be made into a caricature regardless of the point of view you hold. Remember we all claim to be part of God’s family. You will never win your opponent over by making him or her look small. You will never change the mind of someone you disagree with if you don’t spend time in their company listening to them. And yes it is possible for friends to disagree. Indeed non of us in the church are enemies, and if Jesus commands us to love our enemies, surely he expects us to be loving to each other, even if that involves discipline.

I well remember Alan MacDonald when he was Moderator commending the Commissioners to go for a coffee with someone who had a completely different theological perspective. Make a friend of someone who holds a differing viewpoint. Most people know that I have a pretty conservative view of what is appropriate behaviour when it comes to sexual orientation, however I feel it is right and courteous to listen and learn from those who have a different view. I have discovered from experience over the years that there is a great deal of fear that seems to come over people when we are confronted with issues and people who challenge our understanding of the truth.

You know what when the debates are going on in the Assembly Hall I’ll be whispering under my breath ” Perfect love casts out all fear”

I pray that what ever happens non of us will be gripped by fear but that the love of God will be spread abroad in our hearts. Difficult choices means that we will never all agree on specifics especially when it comes to sexual orientation. Those of us who hold to more traditional viewpoints need to realise that the world around has adopted a different view on this issue. It is not enough to simply quote scripture. The secular world has moved the whole debate on to the point where many no longer believe there is an issue to debate. We need to explore perhaps with others who hold a more liberal view say on homosexuality, where it is they draw the line of appropriateness, for they will have a line. Especially when it comes to other relationships of a sexual nature within family units. The question then has to be asked by all of us, why is it that we find one type of relationship among the sexes appropriate and another inappropriate? What is it that makes a sexual relationship inappropriate? When we find the answers to these questions we may well be able to express ourselves more clearly to one another. And perhaps realise that a loving relationship is not enough to establish appropriateness.

Writing the journal was easier than I thought it would be. I was reflecting on some of the people I met today. All members of the Church of Scotland but with completely different ideas regarding the shape of the church. How easy it is for us to want Jesus to make us feel comfortable.

Oh yes you’ll be going for a walk with Jesus at some point today. I mean those of you who have signed up for the C 40 challenge ( text Bible 40 to 80806  you’ll get your instructions) Anyway lookout for the Jesus connection today. John Eldridge, in  Walking With God”, lays out an inspiring book in which he gives so many practical tips in how to keep your journal up.

Believe me Jesus will just turn up today in the converstion and invite you to go for a walk with him.  it might mean you take your leave of someone, because he’ll be standing waiting for you on the outside of the circle. Just think how cool that is going to be. Your going to be able to spend quality time with Jesus.  The one thing to remember is to be sure to listen to him. Let him do the talking. there is a brilliant story in Luke 24.15 where it says the disciples were disappointed they were on the way home they thought jesus had ignored them. Something happened Jesus turned up and spent the rest of the day with them.  that meeting changed their lives and their faith. So make sure you take your time out today to go for the walk. Our verse today says “Jesus drew near to them” You know something he is closer to you right now than you can ever imagine.