The Mystery God in Creation

Creator God
Here am I
A created being
Thinking
Feeling

Praying to you

The Almighty

Its just something within me – I can’t control
I’m pushing on an ever opening door
The door itself is the revelation
It tells me your presence
Is all around
In blues, greens, reds and yellows
I need to speak your name
I need to reach out and touch
The mystery of the one who made me
Oh God how majestic You are.
You take my breath away
Such beauty
And you made me
So I could appreciate all this wonder filled creativity
How absolutely amazing
And I know there is more
I can’t see
If I could see your entire creation
I’d die of wonder shock
So here I am a created being
Speaking to you the creator
Through an open door
In the shape of a Word
Its just another one of your mysteries
O Lord
Deal with this soul patiently
For I may well forget my place
As I gently tread
in and out of your Creation

( This article has been reworked in the light of a comment on the blog.)

Michael Jackson and the Bo’ness Fair - what do they have in common?. Perhaps more than you might think. The fact that he died yesterday on the Bo’ness Fair E’en, will live on in the memory of his many Bo’ness fans who were once children who danced and performed to his music as part of the Fair.

Of course the sad thing is that Jackson rightly or wrongly will always have a suspicion hanging over him when it comes to children. His friends say he was the victim of his own success. Moving from a child star to a teenage pop idol, to a global superstar in the 80s.  All this hero worship  and I believe a very  strict and at time abuse father, had an impact on his life. What ever the truth is, there is a great sadness in the story  of his life , because as I read it, it seems to me, he was a man in search of his lost childhood.  Ask yourself what ever happened to the wee boy in the picture

Jackson’s search for childhood is no different from many of our own longings. Physiologist tell us that we all at different stages in our lives try to be children again. Frank Lake a clinical theologian talks about the child parent role that we all alternate between instead of engaging with the adult we can all become. Too often we play the child to get our own way, or we play the parent often to put another down and win a point.

If only we could turn back the clock.  But we can’t and its dangerous to try.  When we do it often not only affects us but can have ruinous effects on other people. None of us can live in the past, we can learn from it but we have to live in” the now”.

Take for instance scores and scores of mums and dads have been building arches for the Bo’ness Fair. When my children were young  I did it myself. I think it’s quite magical to see a father working on an arch for one of his children, but everything has to be kept in perspective. We  all need to accept  especially in a world where there are increasingly limited resources that the simple can be the most effective.  I always remember the phrase, when it comes to art and music less can mean more .

Jackson’s love for children and his extravagant development of “Neverland” might be likened to the shear extravagance that many feel the Bo’ness Fair shows to children. I find myself alternating between two opinions. Delighted, entertained, and overwhelmed by the shear creativity of this community, and on the other hand left wondering is this the best use of resources?

It is the same challenge I find myself facing as we consider the refurbishment of the church. Should we spend thousands on a building or give it away to make a difference in the lives of the poor, or can we do both?

While saying all this it would be churlish of me not to commend the outstanding contribution that many hard working mums and dads are making to the the Bo’ness Children’s Fair. For them their work is a labour of love to help them engage with their children and the community.

The sad thing is for some  parents the fussing and preparation for the Fair is more about them reliving their own childhood rather than listening to their children. The truth is,  given the option of a huge expensive Fair experience, or the pleasure of Mum or Dad’s company on a daily basis, I know what most children would prefer.  Sometimes we can underplay the significance children attach to the most simple of gifts or actions.

All of us need to examine the motives that lie  behind the activities with which we get involved, be it in church or the community, or at work , especially when it come to our children.

Sadly too often for many of us, and I include myself in this,  the big gestures  in life can be made out of our  guilt complexes rather than our genuine engagement with an issue.  I have come to the conclusion honest involvement always creates the most effective community spirit.

No other town I know of  can match the enthusiasm of this community for a Festival centred around children.  Last year the Fair celebrated its 100th Anniversary. have a look at this clip from Youtube.

For me the challenge is to take the Fair to another level all together. To move from being a little less  inward looking to becoming outward looking. To become an International Children’s Fair.

Highlighting the predicament of so many children around the world who are caught in the trap of slavery and abuse, could be the greatest contribution that the Bo’ness Children’s Fair could make to the lives of children world wide as the fair moves into its second century  of “Fairness” .

I’m certainly encouraged by the response that many of our young people are making to the challenge of injustice and inequity already.  Indeed as a town let’s remember  it was people from our community  who set up the   Vine Trust nearly  25 years ago . Today  it is famous for  taking aid to street children in Peru.

Over the last six years this Trust has built over 5 orphanages,  in various parts of Peru, set up  a Medical Centre, from which two medical ships, now operate out of in the Amazon and the surrounding area. The Trust is also sending over 300 volunteers a year to make this work happen.  Yes there is much good will and good work in our town. It now needs more good people to catch the vision.

There is a sadness I feel as I finish this post.  The Jackson story will never be properly understood, but who ever does try to make sense of it   - one thing is for sure , children and his childhood must feature largely in it. There is little doubt that our childhood has a profound effect on the rest of our lives so lets help the children we know and even don’t know live happy and fulfilled lives as children.

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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.

Recently I’ve been reflecting upon the whole notion of confidence.  We mere mortals need to be more humble as we pass through time into eternity. Especially those of the evangelical kind. Sometimes we can act as though we know everything, or we can give that impression. We leave no room for doubt or those who might want to question.

Dare I say it, I’m sure when growing up I was even part of that merry band. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we cannot speak of what we have come to understand with a certain amount of confidence. Peter  in his epistle tells us to be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have deep within us.

I’m simply saying we need to remember, we don’t see or understand the complete picture. We  only see through a glass darkly, as Paul says in Corinthians 13. Anyway here are some musing on the topic. While You read  have a listen to ” Gabrel’s Oboe, “Gabriel’s Oboe” from the Mission. I find this piece of music has a wonderful reassuring quality saying all will be well.

TIME ETERNITY ON THE TANNOY

To be standing in the midst of chaos

Like a traveller passing through the night

To feel there’ll be no tomorrow

If you don’t get on the next flight

An announcement on the tannoy

Tries to re-assure your mind

But the voice is so familiar

You  could be listening to yourself

To be walking in the midst of protest

Like a prophet fool of doubt

To know there will be a judgement

Even if the Jury’s out

Then you read a headline in the newspaper

Of what you dreamt the night before

And it sounded so familiar

Like the opening of a door

To be stumbling on the edge of freedom

Like a blind man gaining sight

To take one step forward

And begin dancing in the light

And a voice like a thousand rivers

Roars a welcome not yet heard

And etermity spins in silence

Leaving time to close the door

I’ve been working on the sermon for church later today. There is going to be a bit of a tie up between the morning service and Sanctuary First. I’ve been reflecting upon that great little text in 1 Corinthians 16.9 where Paul says this ” a great door of opportunity has opened up for me, but i face many adversaries. I going to be encouraging every one of us to make the most of our life opportunities. We can’t live our lives in regret. never can we live our lives in fear. Too many people over the years have held back from the call of God on their lives because they could only see the obstacles rather than the opportunities. So tomorrow will be “Open Door Sunday”

I think the evening service has the potential to be really interesting. One of the themes we will be looking at is the living dead that inhabit the church. Here’s a sample of the material we’ll be reflecting upon.

A scene of first aid - blue lights flashing emergency noise soundtrack - someone being brought back to life. Paramedics flat on the ground - receiving the breath of life from a passer by. The point is that the church is facing an emergency. The scene depicts the struggle for the Christian who is slipping back into the world. The church is called to be like the rescue ambulance seeking to strengthen Christian life. However the church is dying no longer able to carry out rescue missions.The passion for renewal and revival is now outside the church in the most unexpected places. God is Emerging in the lives of people who would normally pass by.

GET REVIVED OR DIE? - ALBERT BOGLE
(The actor pacing up and down looking at the audience then at the paramedic flat on her back Desperation can be detected from the voice)

They’ve got to wake up!
You better wake up!
So much to do
It’s absolutely ludicrous
I can’t believe what I’m doing
I can’t believe what I’m saying
I can’t believe what I’m seeing
This is a crisis.

Religion is dead
Church is dead But I,-
We need something to believe in

Imagine
Para medics being resuscitated
By the patients
If you where told that
You’d laugh in disbelief
But we’re living in an upside down world
How did the church get into this state?
Something happened!
Something terrible is happening
The world has gone crazy
And the Church with it

Oh what ever happened to you?
Why have you stopped talking?
Why have you stopped explaining?
Why have you stopped believing.?
It was your job to bring us back to life
To bring us hope
Salvation
Meaning and purpose
But you lost
Your heart
Your passion
You got side tracked
into alternative programmes
You stopped believing people were sick
You became sick yourself
believing lies
You got caught up in a counterfeit world

You’ve got to wake up
Start coughing
Breathing
O Please just start
Living again
Loving again
Singing again
Caring again
Healing again
Believing again

I’m the outsider here
I’m not into rescue
I need to be rescued
I’ve got my own problems
My own plans
But people like me need help
Children need love

Don’t look at me like that
You look dead
I’m not like you
I’m the outsider here
I’m not a Church
I can’t do it your way
I’m into relationships
I like it minimalist
Not too complicated
O Please wake up
Strengthen the things that remain

Song - Bob Dylan – From the “Slow Train Comin” - When You Gonna Wake Up

I was speaking to someone at the end of last week. We ended up talking about the fact that God often uses the things in our lives that we are ashamed of to make us into better people. The cracks and the scars still remain but they make us more valuable.

I told the person this story. When I was a young minister i used to take my daughter out on some of my parish visits. One day an elderly lady gave SJ a present. It was a dolls cup and saucer, one that she had when she was a little girl. It must have been at least 80 years old.

Well we took it home and duly put it on a safe shelf in the house. SJ was warned it was something she should keep - it was really too fragile for play. Well one day she stood up on a chair grabbed the cup, and of course the whole thing came tumbling down fell on the floor and the saucer broke into pieces. You can imagine it was tears all round. We gathered up all the pieces and put them in a bag and forgot about them. A few months later i was relating to someone the story of the broken saucer. the lady told me that her father loved fixing things and she was sure he could piece together the saucer, which he duly did.

The story doesn’t finish there. I was telling the story as an illustration of God’s patience and kindness in one of my sermons. A member of the congregation, Ann Mahoney was taken on with the story and she wrote some words inspired by the sermon. When we were recording an album of songs another member of the congregation, Ian Walker wrote a tune to fit the words and Ian sang the song on the album. Well it doesn’t finish there. A year or two later I visited a member of the congregation who was in hospital nearing the end of his life. I noticed he had been listening to some music through his earphones. “So what were you listening to,” I asked. “The church praise album,” was the reply. He then continued, ” I’ve been playing the song, ‘Broken Lives Worth Mending ‘ over and over again all day. You’ve no idea the comfort I’m getting from it.” He continued, “Its such a comfort to think that God thought I was worth fixing”

And all that happened because i took SJ on a parish visit. Makes you think how all our lives are inextricably linked to each other and to God.

It could be easy to get depressed when you read about the current economic crisis. I must confessed I’m a bit of a current affairs junkie. It might be the Irish bit in me. I find it fascinating that Peter Mandelson is back in the Cabinet. It is reported that he and the Prime Minister have resolved their differences and are now going to work together for the good of the country. It is stories like this one that makes the old adage ” a week it a long time in politics” believable. Certainly in the political world Mandelson is seen as a shrewd operator only time will tell if this appointment has been a successful.

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Viewing all this from a theological perspective there is something either foolish or faithful about this story. There is a part of me that wants to believe in the full of faith bit. Its about friends who became enemies who have become colleagues again. Both men have taken a big risk, I wish them well if for nothing else, I like the principle of people making moves to be reconciled to each other.

Later on today hundreds of people will be descending upon our little town for the “Father’s Heart Conference”. Ken Whitelaw the local Apostolic Church Pastor has worked hard to bring this event to the town. I wish him well and hope that the whole day is a great success. Last year I visited the Clan Gathering in St Andrew’s and heard Dr Mark Stibbe, the day before I took a group from the church over to India to visit our partner churches. He is an excellent communicator and I found myself engaging with his message. He is a man of great compassion. Much of what he said was a preparations for us as we headed out to India.

I believe Mark has a passion to encourage people to think about God as a caring and loving father. He believes we are living in an age where people feel lost and alienated from their heavenly father. Many people feel they have little sense of what fatherhood is, because they have experienced poor role models in this area in their own lives. Father’s Heart is a call to everyone to re-engage with the love of God as expressed in the person of God the Father. Tom Smail another brilliant theologian has engaged with this subject long before Stibbes in a book entitled ” The Forgotten father

We had a very interesting weekend at church. The Must Be More Festival turned out to be an interesting start to the coming church session. I pray that we are on the right tracks.

At present we’re in the midst of a capacity building exercise. This calls us to look at the way we organise ourselves so that we can become more effective as an organisation. I’ll tell you more about this in the coming weeks.

We have come to the conclusion that we need to be continually reviewing the way we structure ministry. The picture of scaffolding on the left is one that I saw in India last year. It was pretty dangerous looking, made up of pieces of wood tied together with rope. Got me thinking that while the structure needs to be flexible it also requires to have an element of security about it. However the structure cannot in the end determine the shape and the purpose of the organisation. The shape and vision must determine the structure required to support its function.

Part of our vision in St Andrew’s is making church relevant for those with young families this  is one of our priorities as a church. The Children’s Holiday Club was well attended last week and it was great to see many of the children and their parents return to church for the Sunday service. We need to be reflecting on the right things to do that will keep attracting the children to worship. I’ve noticed thatwe don’t always get the same children eturning i the following weeks to the Holiday Club. the question is do we need to change the way we do Children’s ministry?

Got me thinking about how we do church at the present. At one time we used to have three services on a Sunday. An early morning one which was especially focused on young families. We ran it for nearly seven years. Eventually we merged the two services. Sunday morning last week was a great service focused on the children, it got me thinking about how we might further develop such services in the future. I must say a big thank you to Craig Hannah and his team for doing such a great job.

This week I’ve started working on a series of sermons centred around the book of Nehemiah. I think it is going to be very useful to us all as we consider this winter what is going to be the way forward for us as a congregation. We have had a group looking at the refurbishment of our present building to help us bring it up to standard for the 21st century. We also have a group as i mentioned before looking at the way we organise our administration. The shape of all this is determined by our vision.

I’m looking forward to exploring all this with the congregation. Nehemiah is all about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. There will be lessons for us all to learn as we consider the walls that we need to rebuild in our ministry and the ones we need to tear down in order to fulfill our ministry to be a local congregation with a global calling. We’d love to hear from others who are going through a restructuring. there is much no doubt we can learn.

We have an internal  broadsheet in the Co f S that is printed for ministers. Its an opportunity for ministers to share among themselves ideas and issues that are troubling them. Recently at least two ministers have written about their belief that there is no real theological underpinning in the Church Without Walls Movement. In the May issue one such minister questioned whether CWW was radical enough in its approach. He seemed to think that it was a centrally driven programme. Nothing of course could be further from the truth. It calls for the empowering of the local church. The CWW report came out of a great deal of theological thought and prayer. It calls the Church to follow Jesus.  This in itself is a radical and challenging mindset to adopt. Perhaps though for some, to talk of following Jesus is too simplistic. Perhaps they  want a bundle of teaching that is heavy and burdensome.  However Jesus told us ” My yoke is easy and my burden is light” The wonderful thing about the gospel is that it is a call to live in freedom knowing that the one who will judge you is the one who has saved you. Calvin in his Institutes, reminds us that repentance can only come about in the heart of the sinner  because of the great hope that salvation brings.  To repent without hope is to miss the grace and love of God. The cross always points to the hope beyond the suffering.  Paul speaks of this in the Book of Philippians. So CWW  calls the church to allow itself to be shaped by the Gospel and encourages us all to reflect at great length on the doctrine of justification by faith and to live lives that embrace the Grace of God.  It reminds us that the church needs to become the “Friend of Sinners” following the example of Jesus and calls us to consider what it means to be  a church shaped by friendship.To be a church that lives in  and for the companionship of Jesus. It also calls the church be become engaged with the culture around but not to be “squeezed into its mould” as Eugene Peterson suggests in his translation. Finally the report calls the church to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in allowing the Gifts of the Spirit to shape its ministry and mission. This then is to invite local congregations to engage with Ephesians 4 and begin to consider what it means to “grow up into the full stature of Christ.” The report further encourages the church not to forsake the call to stand for justice which the prophet Micah speaks of, but rather  to engage with the issues of power and powerlessness with in the church and her structures and also within our society at large.. These to my mind are just a few of the theological issues that underpin the work and vision of CWW. The second minister in this months edition believes that many Church of Scotland ministers are afraid to engage their congregations with weighty theological issues. Indeed he believes that he is one of the few ministers who has been published in recent years and bemoans the fact that he believes that ministers are not reading substantial christian material. How he comes to know all these facts is beyond me. One more thing, I was somewhat saddened by this minister who wrote in the June edition, he was pointing  out the moats in the eyes of his fellow ministers,  yet omitting to see that he could be accused  of having a very large plank called “intellectual superiority” sticking out of his own eye. I have come to the conclusion that it is not our intellectual rigor that will win men and women into the Kingdom, although that is important and must not be dismissed.  It is  surely the rigor of our daily lives that count. It is the epistles of our lives and actions  that are being read by the watching world and not necessarily the epistles of our minds. So where is the theological underpinning in CWW? We’re pinned to JESUS! By the Grace of God  nothing will separate us, for he has broken down the walls of partition reconciling us to God.