Bring It On!

I've spent the past week being orientated for my new job as UCCF staff worker for Reading and Guildford. It was busy week, packed full of information which it will take a while for me to digest. It was also quite fun. All of the colleagues I met (new and not-so-new staff) are great. I also did some checking, and the three new staffworkers in the South East (Ben, Lisa and me) score a fun rating of 36/30. Good news.

Highlights included getting to know my fellow new staff and people who will be my colleagues for the next few years; Mike Reeves getting VERY excited about doctrine; studying the whole of 2 Peter; the hilarious collapsing camp-beds; getting excited about the theology of Santa Claus and peas (not together, that would be ridiculous); lots of lovely admin (OK, the admin wasn't a highlight, but it was good to have it all spelled out); the invention of an exciting new game - look out for Vegetaboule 2008 at Forum! And there were lots more...

But above all it was great to be reminded constantly what this is all about proclaiming the gospel on campus. I got a sobering reminder of this in a session on evangelism by my new team leader Nay, and Dave Bish, my predecessor in Reading and Guildford. There are apparently 21,000 students in R&G. And there are 190 Christian students involved in Christian Unions. That's a huge challenge, and a huge opportunity. If it was anything else, I think I'd give it up now. But this is the gospel. It's relevant to every single one of those 21,000 students. And it's not just a marketing exercise - it's world-changing news. And I'm really excited to be here to help the CUs take the gospel to those 21,000 students. Bring it on!

All Change

In the last few weeks there have been some pretty big changes going on. Today I officially start working for uccf:thechristianunions as their Reading and Guildford staffworker. As you'll note, Reading and Guildford are quite a way from Southend, so I have also had to move house. I now live in Reading!

I've been here less than a week. In fact, I've only been here for a few days, because I went on holiday to Derbyshire for a bit. But I'm already beginning to feel that I will be able to settle in Reading.

I've already seen God's provision in a big way as I moved. The house I'm in was literally the only option I found. When I came to look at it, I found out it's in a great location (near to the centre, near to the station, and in a cul-de-sac with a church on one corner and a pub on the other!). It's also owned by missionaries, which is quality - I'm supporting world mission by paying the rent!

I'm sure I'll have lots of things to say about Reading in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned. But for now, I'm thanking God that I have a roof over my head (which is good - does it ever stop raining in Reading?!), and it's a pretty nice roof. With no pigeons (long story...).

Later today I'm off to rural Oxfordshire to be orientated (if that's even a word) in my new job. While I'm away, why not have a look at RUCU's new website. And so they don't feel left out, look at Surrey's too.

Amusing Theological Discussions #2

On The Wright Stuff this morning. Richard Bacon, Anne Diamond, Craig Revel Horwood and the woman off of 10 years younger, discussing something like "should religious myths be taught to children?" I especially liked Anne's comment: "Remember, the Bible was written a very, very long time ago." Thanks Anne.

[OK, so I didn't actually post Amusing Theological Discussions #1. But it was June Sarpong on the Andrew Marr show. I think there was lots of talk about knife crime, so they had a young-ish person on to look through the newspapers. I think she was a bit out of her depth when she started discussing the Lambeth conference. Thanks anyway June.]

MRTU: It's a Tragedy

There's definitely more to come on reaching non-readers with the gospel - I've found lots of resources which I'll be working my way through. But I thought I'd take a break to have a More Random Than Usual post...

I'm currently finishing my job. Technically I finished working for Ferndale Baptist Church yesterday, and am unemployed until I start my new job with UCCF on 18th August. Oddly my first day of freedom seems quite similar to yesterday - I'm still sitting at my desk doing odds and ends. I think I may be like Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption, institutionalised and unable to function in the real world...

But it's been having a weird nostalgia-inducing effect on me (I was actually looking at my old school's website today quite randomly). And then I found this on youtube:



Why does no-one do it like this anymore? This was probably my favourite steps cover (even including Better The Devil You Know)! I miss cheesy pop with hideously complicated dance routines. And I miss Steps, (even though they ruined Christmas 2001 by splitting on Boxing Day). So, for your viewing and listening pleasure, here are some more classics...

(Specially selected so you can see the dance moves!)

5,6,7,8


Last Thing On My Mind


And, of course, Tragedy

More on Reading...

Huge thanks to Dave K for this. Yesterday I posted about the place of reading in preaching. And as I've thought more about it since then, there are lots of other ways we make access to the Bible dependent on being able to read. Then Dave pointed this out:

Reaching Nonbook People

Once again, it seems the folks at The Crowded House have got there first. And I'm pleased they have, because there stuff is great. If you're at all interested in this, you should give it a read. I think this sentence basically sums up what I was trying to say yesterday, but was probably a bit scared to:

"being word-centred need not equal being book-centred."

The material at The Crowded House is focussed on 'non-book' people, which means people who choose not to read, even though they can. Obviously this is different to being illiterate, but I think a lot of the issues will probably be the same. And although TCH don't try to suggest how many 'non-book' people there are, I'm guessing it's quite common and this will affect a lot of people.

How Important is Reading?

Last Monday I watched a documentary on Channel 4 called Can't Read Can't Write. Basically, the series follows a group of adults who can't read or write. For one reason or another they had never picked up the skill, and had gone through life trying to cope without being able to read or write. I can barely even imagine what that must be like - I wouldn't be typing this for a start. But even simple things like shopping or driving become incredibly difficult. It was pretty emotional stuff. Linda is 46 and can't read, but she's desperate to be able to read Shakespeare. Her frustration was hard to watch. But Teresa nearly moved me to tears when, at 58, she managed to read a book for the first time.

But, in a similar vein to some other recent channel 4 documentaries (involving TV chefs, and Phil and Kirsty talking about some tax or other), there's a politcal campaign behind the programme too. How is it that these people have never been taught to read? How must our education system change to help them?

But it got me thinking about preaching and teaching the Bible. The show revealed a statistic I found quite shocking. Over 5 million people have a lower reading ability than a 12 year old - many of them can't read at all. And I guess that number probably excludes a lot more people who struggle with reading but can pass the tests. Anyway, it's a huge number of people.

So over the past week I've been pondering whether the way I preach and teach would exclude people who don't find reading easy? I always try to point people to the text of the Bible, to rub their faces in it as I preach. But if I was speaking to someone who couldn't read it, how would they do? Would the fact I'm even expecting them to read be a barrier?

Linked to that, but slightly more subtle, do I expect people to follow the text to see where I'm going? On Sunday, I was talking my way through Colossians 1v15-23, and looking at the different statements Paul makes about Christ. But how obvious is it when I jump to the next one if the people listening can't follow it themselves? And is it obvious when I'm quoting and when I'm not if people can't see the words I'm using?

This is tricky if you believe that the Bible is the Word of God. When I preach, it isn't from my own authority, but God's. I want people to see that. It's the word of God written down which is infallible, not the words of the preacher. But it's through words that the gospel is passed along. I like this from Luther:

Because heresies threatened the living apostolic message, it had to be recorded in a book to protect it from falsification. Preaching reverses this process of conservation again, allowing the Scriptures of the past to become the tidings of the present... The Gospel has been committed to lifeless paper; fresh words can transform it into glad tidings again.

The written word is crucial. But how important is reading?

I'm pretty sure most of the students I'll be teaching in the next few years will be able to read - it's sort of a requirement. But I still think this is a serious question, otherwise millions of people might be hindered in hearing the gospel.

Can't Read Can't Write is on again tonight, Channel 4, 9pm.

Famous Last Words...

Yesterday I spoke for the final time (at least for a while) at Ferndale Baptist Church. In the end I spoke on Colossians 1v15-23. I realised that there wasn't really anything else to speak on but the Lord Jesus, so that's what I did. If you want to read my notes, you can look at them here:

Colossians 1v15-23

I'm going to miss having the opportunities to preach at Ferndale. Although I guess I'll be doing a fair bit of speaking anyway (I've had a few invitations already), it's a different kettle of fish altogether speaking to a group of people you know, and even feel some responsibility for. As I spoke yesterday, I was speaking to friends. I knew some of the details of their lives. I knew what they've been taught over recent weeks and months. And I knew there were definitely some people there who weren't Christians, and I knew some of the issues they're dealing with. Now I've preached for the last time here, I've realised again what a great privilige it is to be a herald of the gospel. I think this quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones sums it up:

“Preaching is the most amazing, and the most thrilling activity that one can ever be engaged in, because of all that it holds out for all of us in the present, and because of the glorious endless possibilities in an eternal future”