Over the past few weeks I’ve been talking to a number of people about Norman’s lecture. Helping people see the “Magic” is an important aspect of mentoring and encouraging leaders and even friends.

I know we don’t always succeed but I’m sure we all agrree that it is so important to try to bring out the best in the people we work alongside. Its so easy to be negative but there is a real joy that comes from connecting people to the “Magic” that Norman Drummond talks about. Encouraging people to rise to their real potential. I also liked one of Norman’s memoralble phrases when he spoke of our culture that is so often all about “valuing targets rather than targeting values.”

Norman’s theme was of special interest to two young teachers with whom i met up with last week. We had arranged a meeting to talk about ways in which we can help contribute as a Church, to the Curriculum for Excellence in our local Secondary School.

Both of the teachers were really passionate about what they were trying to deliver in their classrooms. They were also enthusiastic about the opportunities Curriculum For Ecellence will bring them giving them the freedom to create much of their own material.

It was good to work along side Lilias our Youth Worker as together we were able to make a contribution to the way christianity will be taught in the school. We’re hoping to use the Jesus Manifesto as reported by Luke at the end of Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4 as the starting point from which to introduce Christianity to all the first years.

I think its going to work. It will also allow the RE Department to engage with all kinds of links across the curriculum and also the community. While we were talking about all this the ‘Magic” appeared and it wasn’t long before we could also see the wisdom we wanted to share appear.

Using the words of Isaiah, Jesus tells his listeners, in the Gospel of Luke, that he has fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. He suggests to them he will “bind up the broken hearted, set prisoner free, heal the sick, and give sight to the blind.”

Using this quotation from the Gospel, we will be able to make links for the school to the local prison, and connect the children with our various Church Outreach programmes, which are all connected in some way with healing.

In the school there are lots of connections with other subjects that can be formed. The history of Art, will allow the Art teachers if they so desire to see the importance of the parables of Jesus as retold by many of the classic painters. What I’m realising is that there are many opportunities available to share the gospel in schools through these creative educational opportunities.

The purpose of the day was to introduce a new constituency to Alpha and also to show that there was a sound theological ethos surrounding the whole course. The framework of Hospitality, Encounter, Catechesis and Community were all duly explored as key elements to the course.

It was actually well done. However one couldn’t quite help thinking how a course that has been run for years put in the hands of a theologian can be repacked in such a way that one would almost think that it had been designed that way in the first place? Don’t get me wrong this comment is not meant to be a criticism it is more a revelation. Sometimes we do things and we don’t see the shape or the structure that lies behind what we do. I guess it was this that I found helpful and yet left me asking the question, when they designed it. did they think this structure?

The guest speaker was Graham Tomlin. He is on the Alpha staff at Holy Trinity Brompton and an Oxford Don to boot. If I closed my eyes I thought I could have been listening to David Cameron. However there the resemblence ended, because there was real substance to his contribution.

He has recently written a book entitled ‘Provocative Church’. Tomlin’s presentation was spot on helping us all to think through how we can best engage with a generation that is very suspicious of people who want to evangelise them. The summary of his thesis it seemed to me to be saying, Its more how you live it rather than saying why you believe it. Believing comes later belonging comes first. The how comes first, the why later.

I totally agreed with his analysis of our post modern or post Christian culture here in the UK. We are in a different place from where we were 50 years ago. The rise of pluralism has made it difficult for Christians to talk about world evangelisation in the way we once did. Religion in this new world order has been given a different place. When it is brought into the public arena it has to be branded in such a way that it speaks an inclusive language. How do we do this without comprimising our belief in the exclusive flavour of the Christian gospel is a question we need to be wrestling with on a daily basis?

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference 2010 this coming June. This will be an international gathering of Christian leaders and academics engaging with the current ethical and moral topics facing Christianity today in the light of Christian tradition and culture. One thing is for certain it will be a different conference from the one held in Edinburgh in 1910 exactly 100 years ago. It from this conference that the worldwide missionary movement of the 20th century has been attributed.

Today we need to be continually asking the question, how do we share the gospel of Jesus Christ in this changing world where different cultures and faiths demand an equal respect and acceptance. It will also be of interest to see how the Lauzanne Congress in Cape Town later this year engages with these very same same topics surrounding pluralism and evangelisation. This whole dialgue takes us into the area of philosophy and sociology of signs and symbols. It also challenges the whole concept of truth. Indeed we are back to Pilate’s famous question to Jesus.

In the conference yesterday Tomlin introduced a quote from the famous 20th Century French thinker and commentator Jean Bandrillard. I think it went something like this,( if I’ve got it wrong someone will correct me) ‘ None of our societies know how to manage their mourning for real… as a result we try to reproduce an endless searching after the real.” It was an interesting quote which he used to suggest that what people are in search of today is reality. To put it in my words they are asking of us the simple question ” Does it work? ”

All this is a challenge to evangelicals to realise that there are many different ways to communicate the gospel. Christians who have a passion for world evangelisation need to realise that Britain is in a post Christian pluralist culture. The fact is the prevailing “plausibility structures”, have a profound aversion to evangelism. The political classes have no desire to see one religion promote itself above another.

The rise of fundemalism and the whole experience of 9/11 has caused a fear factor to be projected by commentators around the ideas and actions of over zealous religious people. Too many of our role models for evangelism have been rooted in the American Culture of the 1940s and 50s spiced up a little bit to look and feel more attractive for the 21st century. The tele- evangelists of the current God Channels in the UK are on the whole connecting with people who agree with them and many of the contributers on reflection may well be adding to what I call the commercialisation of the gospel. Whether this is a good thing or not can be debated. The facts remain they are talking to a narrow ghettoised audience. We need to be in the business of broad casting rather than narrow casting.

The truth is that there is much we can learn from other Christian cultures, especially those in the east, who have lived with pluralism and know well very the challenges that pluralism brings to Christian witness. I for one am indebted to the insights of Bishop Newbign who spend a huge part of his ministry in india living our gospel principles in a society that has over 33 million gods. Newbign was of course a Church of Scotland missionary before becoming the first Bishop of the Church of South India in Madras.

All this means that the authenticity of the gospel will only prevail when Christian men and woman earn the right to talk about faith becuase they have been living the reality of the gospel in their communities. We must become people who live out the reality of kindness, grace, forgiveness, service and integrity.

On a more personal note, I was delighted to be able to film a number of church leaders for our next round of video podcasts coming up on Sanctuary First. Make sure you take a moment to check out their contribution over the next few weeks. And a huge thanjk you to the organisers of the Alpha Training Day it was a great success.

We started a new Alpha Course tonight in the Inchyra Grange Hotel in Polmont. It was a good evening. Apart from the food which everyone seemed to enjoy the interaction and standard of the questions was very engaging. Alpha is a great opportunity to listen to others share their views and also to hear the questions and concerns of people as they wrestle with issues of faith. We’ve joined up again with Polmont Old Parish. I find it really rewarding and relaxing to work with Jerome the minister of Polmont Old.

Tonight we were asking the question “Who is Jesus?” We ended up having a great discussion regarding the identity of Jesus pre- resurrection and post resurrection. So here is a question. How different was the post resurrected Jesus from the pre-resurrected Jesus? We know he had a different kind of body. So what was the significance of that body for his post resurrection life on earth? what does Matthew mean or hint at when he suggests in the last chapter of his gospel that this same Jesus will return again in like manner as he has gone into the Heavens? What is the significance of the resurrection for human beings as we live out our daily lives? Is there a link between the idea of self denial and death and rising again as a new creation in Christ? Could their be a spiritual death and spiritual resurrection for all of us to encounter in time as well as in eternity? If so what would it look like? Go on get writing.

Do you know how difficult it is to take photograph of a flag flying. I think I must have pressed my iphone thirty odd times before I captured a few pictures that I liked. This is taken from the top of the church tower looking down the Forth to the Bridges.

I’m looking forward to hearing and reading some of the childrens’ stories as they begin to get posted on the blog. So here are the questions: At what time and date was the flag raised up on the Flag Pole? (Guess a time if you need to) Tell me a little  bit about St Andrew and tell me why it is important to celebrate using St Andrew as our Patron Saint. The child that writes the best story and gets the time closest to the actual for the flying of the flag will win £5.00. We had the local paper taking some pictures today of our preparations of the big day on Sunday. So lookout for the picture when its published in the Journal

I climbed up the Church Tower this afternoon and Rae filmed my weekly podcast looking out over to the Forth Bridges. It’s quite a trek climbing up the narrow stairway that leads to the top of the tower. As you climb you are confronted with the dust and the cobwebs that are to be encountered on the stairs. Its a kind of parable often to get to the real view of life you have to fight through the cobwebs of past generations.

It was well worth the climb to look out over the Forth and see the whole of the land unfold before my eyes. I pray that God will help us see the opportunities that we have as a congregation to serve Bo’ness and Scotland.

We are also having a quiet day on Saturday in the church. its a chance to talk about the Holy Spirit to a group of people who have been part of the Alpha Course. I think we all need times of quiet reflection in order to grasp the wide panoramic view of life that God wants us to have. Pray is key to understanding the view.

We had our second ‘Alpha Night’ at the Inchyra last night. There was a good mix of people from different backgrounds and I’m sure its going to be once again an interesting life changing experience for a number of people.

Our theme last night asked the question” Why did Jesus die?” It is an opportunity to talk about the central theme of Christianity namely, “Forgiveness” it seems to me that this is one of the central issues that faces all of humanity. All over the world people are looking for ways and means where by they can forgive. Last night I tried to explain the classic Christian doctrine of Justification. I also tried to explain the fact that the cross of Christ is like a diamond it has many sides to it and each side has an explanation that seeks to illuminate our hearts and our minds to the nature and power of the love of God.

One thing is for certain the cross of Christ has much to say to people who feel they are carrying sacks of guilt about with them. The cross is where God in Christ took upon himself our sinful humanity and became sin for us so that we might feel free from the consequences of our actions.

Inmyplace.mov

A few years ago we filmed the above clip as part of our TGI Sunday Service in may ways it is another facet of the cross and it is a diamond worth reflecting upon. I think the idea that total forgiveness invites us to let go of the things or the feelings that have hurt and abused us and then asks that we might never speak about it again is all about forgiving and forgetting. Finally receiving the grace to remember to pray a blessing for those who have wronged you is the ultimate sign of forgiveness. These three steps hopefully will be purued our various Alpha Groups. So what do you think of the idea of forgiveness?

I believe everyone has had an excellent experience and I pray that all of us have been drawn closer to God. It would be great to hear from some of you who have been on Alpha. How did it measure up to your expectations? has your faith been strengthened. Are there any questions to which you are looking for answers? maybe you’d like to share your story out lining your faith journey.

One interesting thing that has come out of this Alpha is that we hope to organise an Alpha Ceilidh hopefully towards the end of February. This will be an opportunity for anyone who is interested to come along and have an enjoyable evening and discover what Alpha is all about.

So many people say to me what is Alpha like? What do you do? Would I like it? The answer is you probably would. We meet in the Inchyra Hotel Polmont , which is a 4 star hotel, near Falkirk. The food is excellent and the company is really quite engaging. We all talk about a lot of things before we get down to thinking about faith issues. We had a really good night last Thursday. So I thought I’d try this out if you think its worth doing I could prepare some of these talks and put them up as a podcast. We had a discussion about sharing prayers and I suggested that we could put some of our own homemade prayers up on my blog. So if you’d like to write an Alpha Prayer go for it. We’ll publish it here on iTalker.

I was at Alpha tonight and I was talking about how we can be sure about our faith. One of the points in the talk is that we can trust Jesus because when he makes promises he keeps them. There was a great atmosphere tonight at Alpha, we were at the back of the restaurant and we were all round one table. The food was good and the fellowship was warm. And you know what, I felt the Holy Spirit was really speaking to all of us. It reminded me of the words of Jesus, ” Look I stand at the door and I’m knocking, if anyone hears me and opens the door, I’m ready to come in and share a meal with them” (Rev 3.20)

Holman Hunt the famous victorian painter used the title to paint a picture of the risen Christ standing knocking at the heart’s door of everyman. One thing I’m sure of we all have to make the choice to open the door.

If you look closely at the painting you’ll notice the handle is on the inside. Someone once said, Jesus Christ never forced his way into anyone’s life, he is the perfect gentleman, he waits to be invited.

If you were at Alpha tonight and you opened the door to invite Christ into your life, I’d love to hear from you.