no comment!

It's clearly been a bad week! I notice I've not posted a new blog entry since last Sunday & that involved football too! Without comment, for anyone who doubts the religious parallels between faith & football should just note the language being used with the return of Kenny Daglish as the Liverpool manager. One of the oldest jokes I recall from when I first supported Liverpool and in my pre-Christian days was of two guys walking past a poster stating "Jesus is coming back soon." One asks the other "what would you do if Jesus returns?', to which the other guy responded 'move St John to inside-left'. I realise if you don;t remember Ian St John was the then Liverpool centre forward, this wont make a lot of sense, never mind make you laugh.
Yesterday I was at Fishponds Baptist in the morning. A larger Baptist church now embarking on looking for a new Senior Pastor. What struck me, having known the church a little for 20 years now, was how little has changed. OK the music is different, but it felt as if whilst faces had changed they were still comfortably filling their building as they were years ago. What we need is a mindset, which is more focused upon filling the world with the kingdom of God, than filling a building with people. If it's the latter, then it was 'job done' a long time ago, but what strikes me about this church, as many others, is that word 'potential'. there is so much more.
Gloucester Cathedral in the afternoon. We held an ecumenical service of thanksgiving - to make use of the fact of 400 years since the translation of the King James 'authorised' version - to celebrate the Bible. It was pretty good, albeit cold as usual. Paula Gooder was the preacher, which is what had a lot to do with my response. The other hope is churches in Gloucesteershire will encourage their congregations to engage in the lectio divina bible studies we've produced for Lent this year. Hopefully, more people will be released to engage with and listen to the Bible themselves. How many more people are fed up with the packaged small group studies, which whilst something for our understanding, do little for our discipleship?