Extolling Protest

I went to a demo in London today to protest about a bill that threatens to undermine one's ability to speak freely on matters of faith & religion in the UK. Several thousand Christians were there of every kind of denominational persuasion and ethnicity. It was WONDERFUL, so special to be part of such incredible unity, fellowship with total strangers, real worshipfulness, deep intercession. I got there and was moved to tears with the sheer beauty of God's church around us in contrast to the grievous occasion of our gathering.

I met an old friend, Bernie who I had ministered with in the past. It was good to see him again. We prayed together with his friend and just as I was leaving, a Pakistani Catholic I had met a little earlier at the gathering introduced himself to Bernie and his friend Mike, saying he didn't know why he needed to speak to them both. So I told him that Mike has links with a Catholic parish out in Pakistan. I didn't know which of them was more surprised at the cooincidence! I slipped away and thanked the Lord for his incredible capacity to make things happen.

The singing was incredible. The presence of God evident. Thanks Lord.

http://www.religioushatredlaw.info/

Lost in TRANSLATION

Oh rats. I just was writing a long post of a story I heard from a fascinating African man I met when I accidentally deleted it. How DISAPPOINTING. I'm not going to retype it now.

What goes round, comes round

When pastoral visiting, you go to give but invariably end up just as encouraged yourself, especially when visiting older folk. I shall have to get used to tea and biscuits.

I heard tonight someone was minding their p's and q's around me because I was "like a vicar". That was a little odd: a total stranger changing their behaviour around me because I was 'in ministry.' That's something to get my head around. When did I change into a different person?

Someone once said, 'If you are called into the ministry, don't stoop to being President of the United States.' Quite right.

If I Wait Forever...

... I will never get motivated to write something. I wanted to write all about my trip, now that I have returned, but there is so much to write about, just starting becomes a massive event in itself.

So instead of that, I will put up a picture I took from the Hancock Tower in Chicago, which is just a breathtaking view.

The Sears Tower is in the distance. This photo was taken on the 95th floor, where you can have a delicious dinner. Your ears may pop while you take the elevator and ascend upwards.

I must go to sleep. I have meetings tomorrow.

What a Return

So now I am back. What a great feeling.

When I Return

I have some great stories for when I return from Wheaton to England. But there is something to be said for bringing a personal report of all that has happened in my time here. So that's why I haven't blogged some of the stories and pictures.

But after I return and have spoken with friends, then I may well blog about my trip. To be more accurate, the people that matter will be reading this and I don't want to tell them via this blog and show them the breathtaking photos, I want to share the time with a face to face meeting.

But I can't wait to blog it and also to see people I love dearly. I travel back into my new pastoral ministry position feeling so blessed, so privileged, so refreshed, so loved by God and those I have had the privilege to interact with. It's been so good. Praise God for Christian friendship and family all around the world.

Here endeth the lesson.

Who are you?

I've just completed my profile. How are you supposed to condense into 1200 characters what God gives you a whole lifetime to work out? Still, it is worth a try.

But I am feeling a little antsy and irritable today and I wonder how much of that has coloured my first attempt so here is an alternative.

I am a person created for relationship, of great destiny, promise, purpose and future. I need not apologise, criticise, defend or justify, just laugh, love and live. I am the only version of me there will ever be.

I have a shared context with other people, who are equally fascinating, valuable and worth knowing and interacting with. I share with them in the life that is uniquely theirs. I am in a world pregnant with opportunity and fraught with paradox, faultlines and vulnerability.

That's me. It's somewhat generic but hey ho. It's a trustworthy saying.

A whole new world

I’ve seen the promised land. At least, I went to its entrance. And I can report that there is a distinct possibility that C S Lewis’ wardrobe in the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College does indeed lead to Narnia.

I spoke to a friendly receptionist called Rachel, who was most solicitous for the entirety of my visit there. She informed me that I would be allowed to take a photograph of the very wardrobe that C S Lewis wrote about in the Narnia series. Not only that, being the only visitor there at that time, I was allowed to open the doors and have a good look inside. The fur coats were there, the wardrobe was as magical as it should be with little slivers of light at the back through cracks in the wooden boards. It was perfect.

And might I add, at the back of the wardrobe, there was indeed something of a surprise, which means it actually might be possible that there is something beyond those fur coats. I can only say that you should go and see. Or ask me for the photo. But, I'm not sure. I mean, it may not work for everyone...

All I can say is, take a visit. The magic is in being able to touch and feel and look inside. On a more serious note, the center houses almost every book written by and about C S Lewis, a lot about Tolkein too, also G K Chesterton and others. I spoke to the archivist there, who helped set up the system in 2001 and she is also most friendly. (We need a few people like that in the UK; it really cheers your day up! And boy do we need cheering up in England. I mean, the weather.)

She opened up a file of facsimiles of C S Lewis' correspondence and it fell open on a handwritten letter that Lewis had written to a young reader. He simply wrote that although he sometimes writes in his books about things that were horrid, he had been in the trenches in the 1st World War, and he had seen things that were he to write about them, they would be too horrid (underlined) for anyone to read. The underline said it all.

So go there, and if you ask Rachel nicely, she may even take a picture of you next to the wardrobe...

What? And in Word too?

So I am checking out how on earth I can blog via Word and bypass a browser completely. How cool is that? Now I can journal and upload within seconds. What would we do without computers? Probably read books and sharpen pencils.

I absolutely love it here at Wheaton. The theological resources they have here, just in this one section of the library alone, are just breathtaking.

I am preparing some sermon series on the book of Philippians for when I get back and start ministering, so I just helped myself to Chrysostom, Calvin (that left the other two sets of volumes + those in the original Greek and Latin versions for others), Spurgeon, Silva, O'Brien, Rogers&Rogers, Lightfoot, Interlinears (sorry Prof. Walton) etc, etc.. I piled them up on my desk and on a chair next to me, sighed in bliss and then got stuck in. It is theological heaven. And not only that, I made such good progress yesterday. I was hoovering it all up. I leave in five days. It's enough to bring you to tears. As I leave, there will be the sound of fingernails being dragged along the carpet. And screaming.

I'm not kidding, in the Billy Graham library (the other one, sheeesh!) there are rows upon rows of books on revival by Finney, Whitefield, Wesley, Baker, etc, etc, etc. I want to stay here and just hide in the library for about a year, WRAP myself up in curiosity and IMMERSE myself in the voices of the most dynamic people who have lived on earth. But I don't want to have to pay $130,000 to come here. Cos I don't have the cash.

Do these people know what they have here? I hope they do.

Today in Wheaton

Well I am in Wheaton, Illinois, right now, staying with some wonderful, new friends who have opened their home to me.

Today I was at a staff meeting at 1st Independent Baptist in Wheaton, sitting in and observing how they run their show. In the afternoon, I strolled round the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, on Wheaton College campus.

The photo below of me was taken right outside the historic Wheaton building. Once inside the Billy Graham Center, I discovered someone else had stood at almost exactly the same spot as me over 52 years ago.

Sloppy Joe's for supper this evening, followed by a home group meeting.

Wow. So I am here...

...into this strange new world. It feels like emerging into the light and not quite knowing what to do with all the space; I must be having an existential moment.

This blogging lark is introspective, isn't it? And slightly egotistical too. I better come up with something worth saying. I'll sleep on it.