Confessions of a failed blogger!!

Being perpetually busy has meant that it has been a wee while since I last updated my attempt at a blog.
I hope that in the current chaos that is my existance I will be able to give a little more time to this. There is certainly lots to think about at the moment  and I hope in the next little while to reflect a little more effectively on some of those things here.
Feel free to guess when my next post will be ..........................

Buzz word bingo!

I've just returned from an amazing refreshing but surprisingly exhausting time at Together on a Mission 2010. For the uninitiated (and so I don't completely contradict what I think I am going to write later)Together on a Mission is an annual conference for those involved in leadership within the NewFrontiers group of churches. 

It is the 3rd time I have attended, but the first time that I have had the added distraction of an iphone and a blog. Not entirely sure whether the benefits of this outweighed the distractions, but still was good to be able to see and reflect on how other people were experiencing the conference as  it took place.

I heard some truly gifted people preach and thoroughly enjoyed worshiping with people from many nations. The diversity and depth this brought to the worship was truly awesome. However I can't help reflecting on, particularly in the international context of the conference, the range of terminology  and buzz  phrases we are prone to using as a group  of churches. Whilst I am sure this is not only true of our group of churches, or indeed the wider church, the phrases we adopt and allocate meaning to over the years that become so easily part of our praise, worship and discussions are prone to misinterpretation by not only those outside the church but those within it also.

The terminology used at this years conference, was prolific to the point where it became a bit of a joke, with a tally being kept of the frequency of certain key phrases. I am not for a second being critical of the underlying meaning and intent of these phrases, but we need to consider the fact that references to 'apostolic spheres', 'extension of apostolic spheres' and 'trans-local ministry' may be interpreted, understood and applied differently by those within and those not connected with church. These phrases are based on fundamental principles, so surely then it is  vital that they are understood and applied accurately. Yes, the conference I  attended was a leadership conference, so there was a certain level of assumed understanding. However if these phrases or the principals  they are designed to illustrate are to be passed on to others  in a church context, particularly those new to a church environment ,then I think consideration needs to be given to how accessible they are. I feel passionately about accessible church, and whilst we are good at certain elements of this I think we could benefit from looking at the things we say and the phrases we use to communicate fundamental concepts. 

By way of an illustration and in a bid to end this post with a smile ............please follow this link for a  spot of buzz word bingo. Thanks  to @jammiedd for this link.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2603633/Newfrontiers%20Bingo.pdf

Helmet of salvation

Helmet of salvation - you have been saved and you are continually being saved.
The actual experience of salvation is getting nearer.
Salvation in it's fullest. Entering into eternal glory.

Sword of the spirit

Sword of the spirit - only offensive weapon. Not for protecting a specific part.
Thinking biblically.

Sheild of faith

Shield of faith - able to extinguish fiery arrows. Being busy can mean that the fiery arrows shock us.
Reminds me of the police riot shield we used to demonstrate this protection in a family service recently.
Faith is an activity.

Shoes!!

3) shoes-stability and mobility.
Here I stand I can do no other. Martin Luther.
Chase after relevance can lead us to being irrelevant due to lack of identity and misguided purpose.
Mobility - we are rooted but not stuck in yesterdays battles.

Breastplate of righteousness

2) Breast plate of righteousness. Heart and emotions!
There will be days when you lack confidence. That's when you need a new righteousness. His righteousness has been given to us. It is not the breastplate of performance.We have nothing to offer except the righteousness of God.

Sermon blogging #1

Going to attempt to blog a sermon! This may not end well :)
Terry Virgo preaching on Ephesians 6.
1) belt of truth. Need to deconstruct peoples world vision.this truth is meant to shape our thinking. It is not cold theology but an active behavioural response.

endings (hopefully)

I am currently still trying to finishing the epic battle that is my doctorate. It has all taking rather longer than I anticipated, but can actually see the end now, which is both exciting and terrifying. I am in the process of needing to cut out about 4000 words, which is a fairly painful process given the blood, sweat, tears and chocolate which went into them in the first place.
Not wishing to draw painfully tenuous parallels but this feels a little like the approach I need to take in my life as a whole at the moment. The doctorate has been such a huge part of my life (to the extent that I considered naming my thesis) that it is hard to see beyond that. Life has been very very busy, which I love but I really want to use the time post doc in the best possible way. I love to be challenged and stretched but getting the balance between that and doing what I do well has recently been a challenging one. Am starting to think about what to do next, am excited about being able to spend more time doing what I love doing, hanging out with an awesome youth group, but first things first I need to finish this thing! The way ahead should be an interesting one :) 

So it is now May (nearly June) and a lot has happened since I last blogged. I have written many thousands of words towards my doctorate (not necessarily in the right order), a new government has been elected, the UK  bombed in eurovision again and I have managed to squeeze in a very beautiful holiday to one of my favourite places.
Thinking, reading and blogging space hasn't exactly been plentiful. Although my holiday did give me a bit of breathing space, which served to motivate me to try to finish the monster that is my doctorate, so I can breathe more regularly.
So there we have it, not really a post, more a statement of busy/apology!It is a hopeful one though, as think I can finally see the end of all this and am excited to see what life post doctorate has in store.

Am sitting reflecting on what has been a fairly manic weekend, which up till now has not included a lot of sitting. Friday, was the culmination of quite a few months of planning and general madness, which I haven't had the chance to process until now. For a variety of slightly unexpected reasons I inherited the organisation of a phatfish gig. The gig was primarily aimed at youth and students and was a joint venture between NFI churches and FNX (a termly youth event). It was great fun to be a part of, but have been challenged and have learnt things that I really didn't expect, not just in the run up to the gig but in the days following it. 

Have just managed to get over the post gig blues. I'm sure the general feeling of being lost, dazed and confused was partly due to impending exhaustion, but it did make me stop and wonder how I had managed to fill myself with so much busy that I felt a bit empty after the gig. I think that feeling was actually an opportunity  from God to stop and reflect on the experience of organising something like this, to consider the impact it had on the youth and to pray that we would see much fruit from it. Unfortunately it took me quite a lot of time to figure that one out, but am now putting that post gig feeling to good use, or at least I''m trying to. 

Still lots to learn, feedback to receive and process, much to consider about my ability to delegate and what it means to lead but the main thing is the young people who attended really seemed to engage with what was going on, the gospel was proclaimed faithfully through some amazing songs and hopefully some people have made some steps towards getting to know the God who made them and loves them.
All in all an awesome weekend ......

Stopping

These songs remind me of an amazing holiday I had in Australia in November last year. It was a huge blessing to be able to really take time out, away from everything, experience new things and catch up with old friends. I learnt these songs and a whole new way of doing church at a friends church in Perth. Hadn't been a visitor at a church for quite a while and while I felt a little lost without any job to do, it was great to be reminded of the importance of just stopping, being still before God and just listening.
Another unusual experience for me was that I actually finished reading a number of books while I was in Oz. I'm pretty sure I've not actually achieved this since I've been home and then there is the ridiculousness that I had to travel round the other side of the world to read a book in its entirety, that needs to be considered. This hints at the crazy busy that is my life. I came back from Australia with every intention of getting better at stopping, at reading, at listening, but my resolve didn't last very long and my reading list is still as long as it ever was.
Perhaps I am looking for a purpose for this blog a little too hard, or perhaps the recent few days of enforced stopping due to illness has got to me but think I am going to use this blog partly to describe my renewed attempts to stop. I'm not one for resolutions but I am one for learning from my experiences so................

Am going to attempt to set 30 mins or so a side a week to read. Proper stopping, curling up in an arm chair, reading.

Am going to attempt to do a better job of giving time each day to read my bible, worship, listen. Not just telegraph prayers on the road to meetings!!

Will let you know how the attempts go.............

Introductions

So,I'm new to this blogging thing, which I imagine will be fairly evident to anyone who is vaguely more experienced at this than me! To be honest blogging is something that I have avoided up to now. Am surprisingly not particularly good at this thinking aloud thing for someone who claims to have several psychology degrees. Or more specifically have not felt the need to share with the wider world my incoherent ramblings!
I have now succumbed however. No clue really what this is actually going to look like, what purpose it's going to serve, or if it really needs to serve a purpose.............but here goes!!