2. I said I'd let you know on news of the thing that I've been working on that might have happened. It hasn't, which is a shame and feels like nine months of prayer, ideas, potential and effort down the swanny. However, I've been doing this long enough to know nothing is wasted in the kingdom. Did I mention this post and that I wrote 'Why plant churches?' 8 years ago? In it, I quoted Ruth Gledhill who wrote this in the Times:
'Some senior clergy believe the entire parish system could be at risk. They have warned that, with as many as four out of ten clergy due to retire within the next decade, the next ten years are crucial in determining whether the Church of England survives as a visible entity or turns into "little more than a sect" run by unpaid volunteers.'
The Times, 2011
The Times, 2011
As I look from time to time at Thinking Anglican's (where I discover who's been appointed to the see of this or that) I can't help being reminded that if you keep doing what you're are doing you will keep getting what you getting. Keeping on with a 'more of the same' process is fine if you are looking to curate a museum, but not if you are seeking to usher in the things of the kingdom of God. Or in Cranmer speak 'to declare the gospel afresh to this generation' which is as I understood it is the call upon the church of this land. I heard someone in the upper echelons of oversight of the good old C of E say recently that '....we're about to go over the edge of the cliff'. On Ruth Gledhill's 'a decade to go' timetable we have a year or so left to run so maybe, just maybe, it's time we cracked on.
3. I have started writing more in my journal. I used to journal all the time but someone this discipline got lost in everything else. I've pulled Ron Klug's 'How to keep a spiritual journal' off the shelf again to inspire me.
4. John Mark Comer's book on hurry is all the rage at the moment and it's a reworking of Ortberg's 'The life you always wanted'. I'm enjoying it and it's helpful on the spiritual disciplines. The older I get I see the bright young things of the day simply discover the basics of the faith and repackage them for their generation. It was ever thus.
5. 'The Marriage Story' looks like an interesting but painful watch.
6. Charlie Mackesy is number one in the Times bestsellers with this book. A gift idea for Christmas?
And here he is speaking about Christmas....
7. A couple of blog posts from J John as we approach the election.
a. What wrong with the country?
b. .....And what can we do about it?
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