‘Every once in a while a shaft of blazing beauty seems to break out of nowhere and illuminate these companies: Word of God-shaped, Holy Spirit-created lives of sacrificial humility, incredible courage, heroic virtue, holy praise, joyful suffering, constant prayer, persevering obedience.’

During last week as my official last few days, it was a roller-coaster of events and emotions. The church gave us a wonderful last Sunday and truly awesome goodbye bash on Tuesday. On Sunday I taught my last sermon, David Chaput gave a wonderful tribute, the children led a special prayer for us, and then the church gathered round us to pray. Tuesday had people gathered from far and wide, tributes, a live jazz band, and generous gifts. We were blessed with so many generous gifts, words and memories. I’m still amazed by the heartfelt things that were said to both of us.

Though I am confident that becoming Senior Minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church is God’s will – a role I am thrilled to receive – I leave PBC with a deep mix of sadness and thanksgiving. As I had no idea how the journey would turn out at PBC, I’m sure the same will be true of our time at Tonbridge Baptist Church, and I look forward with expectation to see how God will move us all forwards into the things of His heart.

“You are not where you once were. You are not where you’re going to be. You are in a confusing zone. Welcome to The Land Between.” – Jeff Manion.

In this coming five-week series we will learn to encounter God’s goodness through life’s transitions. Based on a new book by author Jeff Manion, we’ll spend five weeks using the biblical story of the Israelites journey through the Sinai desert as a metaphor for being in a transitional space.

After enduring generations of slavery in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob travel through the wilderness (the land between) towards their new home in Canaan. They crave the food of their former home in Egypt and despise their present environment. They are unable to go back and incapable of moving forward. How can this ancient story provide wisdom for our journeys through transitions or even seasons of prolonged difficulty today?

October 3^rd 10am:             Complaint

October 10^th 10am:             Meltdown

October 17^th 10am:             Provision

October 24^th 10am:             Discipline

October 31^st 10am:             Growth

Our ‘fast-food, buy-now, instant credit, microwave dinners,’ culture avoids waiting. I’ve been thinking about what God teaches us and develops in us when we wait. I’ve been thinking about how the act of waiting shapes and moulds us, and can strengthen our relationship with God and understanding of him. Yes, it can bring on stress and prematurely bring on grey hairs (don’t look), but it can also teach us patience. It can also help us to practice the presence of God in the present, rather than some ‘imagined’ better future. It can remind us to trust in God rather than in what we want Him to bring our way.

For Jem and I, the long time of waiting is over tomorrow evening. Whatever the outcome, God has shown me through this whole process that those who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength.

‘Think different’? It’s a brilliant axiom for design and innovation, whether it’s technology, business or church, but the irony about the power of this product was that it caused my fellow waiters in line and I to think the same thing: I want one.

Was it worth the 40 minute wait? Yep. What about the signal issues that have been identified with the new device? No issues so far.

I love this video; it reminds us of the power of words. It’s one reason I love teaching. I love crafting words, stories, tone and humour to move hearts and minds with the story of Jesus and I’m pretty much obsessed at getting better.

But I heard a great reminder this week that good speeches don’t raise the dead or heal the sick. When the man at Bethesda has been lying begging for 38 years, he couldn’t have been inspired to get up, even if Blair and Obama at their oratorical best had played tag-team on the stage. Only the words of Jesus could transform that man’s life and make him whole. We need preaching that transforms, and that’s the work of God’s spirit. Steve Holmes, Senior Lecturer at St. Andrew’s says this, ‘We don’t implore people to change, we confidently announce the presence of God that makes all things new, and take our part as ministers to bring this truth to pass, to see this new world into being in our service.’

So when you get up to speak, wherever you are, speak with conviction, and know that when our words and God’s spirit work together, miracles occur.

I got home and spoke to my daughter, about the fact this morning was the last time we’ll be at PBC for a couple of months. She looked bright eyed and excited before saying, ‘Great – we’re never going to church again. Great!’ When we replied, ‘Not quite darling, we’ll be visiting other churches,’ she said with a smile, ‘Great – we’ll go to other churches!’ I think that’s the definition of being easily pleased, and kind of sums up how I’m feeling as I recover from my burnout. If I never went to ‘big’ church again, and instead hung out with a few friends for prayer and the Christian walk, I feel like part of me would be ok with that. But I also know that there is a huge part of me – if it can be renewed and refreshed – that longs to learn a rhythm of living that helps me to be fully alive in the midst of leading a large church with all its potential, joys and sadness that it involves. God knows I need Him to replenish me and help me to recapture that first love for Him, as well as for his Body.

I aim to record lots of my sabbatical journey on here, and I hope you’ll consider staying for the ride. Right, now to finish all my e-mails, tidy the office, write a few letters and close the door…

It was a precious time for me in the midst of a demanding ministry season to meet a great friend and to receive a huge dose of wisdom and guidance. We walked back to the station, sat on the steps outside Charing Cross and prayed, as London carried on its busy life around us.

When I reflect on the formational impact that the guidance and support of key friends like Derek has had in my life, I am left with a deep sense of gratitude to God for them, and it inspires me to also mentor and invest in others. In his excellent book, Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybels says ’Those of us who are more seasoned in leadership must order our lives in such a way that we can carve out time in the next generation of leaders. It is our responsibility. We imperil the church and the world if we don’t take that responsibility seriously…We must identify emerging leaders, invest in them, give them kingdom responsibilities, and coach them into effectiveness. Then we can each experience the thrill of watching them soar.’

Like the woman that Jesus defended, may we do what we can with what he has given us, and may we invest our lives in others so that we can see people grow, develop and soar.

In his usual fashion, Andy states that ”Direction, not intention, determines destination” in his book “Principle of the Path“. His analogy is of a journey: your intention (or vision) might be to get to London, but if your direction is south on the A21 towards Brighton, your destination has been decided. You’ll get to Brighton, not London. The person with the “purest” of intentions, can end up in the wrong destination if they are headed in the wrong direction. Likewise, a church leader can share a vision (intention), but the destination is ultimately decided by the direction or path the church is taking.

The only way to change our destination is to change “paths”. Andy recommends that leaders need to enable churches to realise the consequence of a vision and the need for change and a change of paths.To stay relevant every church has to change, but unless people are helped to know how, after hearing a vision each person will go back to work and do what they did yesterday, which will lead to the same results and destination as before and not the fulfilment of the vision. It’s a recipe for massive frustration if we have a dream of a different future but are actually behaving in ways that will prevent that destination being reached. So the vision of a church might be to impact every child in the village, but do nothing about meeting in the little huts it currently meets in. Or a church might have a vision for being relevant, but rarely uses normal everyday language on the platform. Or a church might have a vision for a multi-cultural community, but only gives a certain type of person time on the platform or opportunities for leadership.

There are signs and warnings to look out for:

• When the culture of the organisation is in conflict with the vision of the organisation, the vision is always trumped.
• If the leaders do not embody the agreed values (behaviours) of the organisation, a culture and path is determined that trumps the shared vision.
• An individual ministry’s model can compete with the stated vision. In a church, everybody can get behind the intention/vision, but the model within the church of how decisions are made, processes and who reports to who, what teams are operating etc are often left the same (because people fear and resist change). This means that model trumps vision and determines destination.

So what can we do? We need to examine where we are…Determine where we want to be and through the power of God, put yourself on the path that leads to that destination.

Andy recommends that leaders need to: 1) Paint a compelling picture (share the vision of what could be and what should be) 2)Examine the models already existing within the organisation and discern what is working, what needs adjusting and what needs to stop 3) Invest financially and prayerfully in that vision 4)Examine the daily behaviours within the organisation that works against the agreed vision.

This is why vision is hard to see become a reality. This is why so many churches in the UK fail to grow. Because vision is shared but necessary changes are not made. Because these steps involve challenging conversations and difficult decisions. But it is only through taking this stuff into account that a church will be helped towards reaching its intention/vision. May we at PBC passionately seek God’s vision for our church, have the courage to examine our models and behaviours and be willing to change anything that might be working against us achieving the vision.

On Christmas Day, Simon picked up the space seamlessly after our funny Dragon’s Den drama, building from the message of that drama into a short talk that would have spoke to the whole spectrum of people that had gathered; from those who have been to church for 90 years every week, to those who only go on Christmas Day. It’s a real challenge to layer and craft a message on a normal Sunday, so that the whole variety of people who gather are ‘fed’. It’s even more of a challenge on a Carols By Candlelight or Christmas Day service, yet arguably even more important because of how well attended these events are. Simon rose to the challenge and exceeded it.

We are very blessed to have him here as one of our Pastors for his wisdom, leadership, Godly heart and pastoral concern. These gifts are all expressed in his leadership responsibilities so well, whether its in his teaching, his input to the Eldership, his leadership over Youth and Children’s or his worship leading. He manages to juggle more roles than one person should be able to. It’s so exciting to think of how God will use Simon in his ministry over his lifetime.