Learning to Walk

results day

Today was results day and so, after the initial disappointment of finding out that 2 of my results won't be in until next term, I nervously made my way to the Christology feedback, and... I aced it.  I got 17 which is a really good mark (20 is the highest but you can't figure out a percentage just by multiplying by 5 - I'm not quite sure how it all works really!)  In my children's work I only got 14, which is below my average but is fairly respectable for my first time doing a class in this area.  The lecturer told me that I wrote very well which was not only nice but has got me thinking about the book again...

Then tonight we had the Small Group Pastors over for dinner.  I cooked roast beef and (almost) all the trimmings for the 8 of us.  It was a great evening of spending time together socially and putting our heads together over this area of church life which we all believe is so vital.

training day

Tomorrow morning is the first 'Small Group Leaders Training Morning' since I came into the role of 'Small Group Coordinator.'  This week I have spent a lot of time preparing; for the presentation that I will be giving in the first session, the interactive time that will make up the third session, and producing handouts for all the leaders who will be there.  I have even tried my hand at script writing for a series of dramas to illustrate a point in the middle session.  Tonight I picked up a DVD that one of the church 'techies' put together as a "thank you" to the leaders from their members.  It really is excellent and I hope that it will set the tone for the morning as a whole.

forgetfulness

When we were kids my Mum used to nag me and my brothers to pack our bags the night before to make sure that we weren't in a big rush the next morning.  She made a good point and it is something that I try and do these days - with varying degrees of success!

This morning was one for which I had failed to prepare in advance and so I had to rush around the flat putting lots of things into bags in order to get out in time for YKW to give me a lift (which she was very kindly doing as I had lots of things to bring into college.)  So I got into college, did some emailing for work, and then settled down to do some study only to find that the bag that I had packed full of study materials was still where I had packed it...at home!

But thankfully my forgetfulness has proved to be something of a blessing in disguise as it has allowed me to dedicate the entire day to preparing various things for Saturday meaning that the rest of the week will be slightly less pressurised.  At least that's the theory...

coming up

Having more or less completed my exegesis last week it's onto a new assignment this week, one in which I will be comparing two different types of children's material on the same passage or theme.  I have been finding the 'Using the Bible with Children' course both interesting and enjoyable and am looking forward to the project.

Also coming up this week is preparation for next Saturday's 'small group leaders training day,' the first session of the Freedom in Christ course which a small group of us are starting tomorrow, the first session in a 6 week mentoring course that I am going to be helping someone through, an All Age planning meeting, and it is back to lectures on Tuesday.

All in all, quite a busy week.  At least I won't get bored!

remember, remember...

A morning of exegeting was followed by an afternoon of meetings and then this evening I am visiting one of the few small groups that I have left to visit.  It is always great to meet with a group and to find out a little bit about them although, at the end of an already busy day, I am pretty sure that I will be ready for my bed by the time I get home!

There are a number of things that I am trying to get done for work at the moment and I was reminded today of one that I had forgotten.  I felt bad but the person involved was very good about it.  But it is a lesson to me to work even harder at keeping on top of things even when the time pressures starts to add up.  Perhaps it is time for me to get an electronic thing that beeps at me when I need to remember things rather than the cheaper and more reliable (or so I thought) notebook and biro solution!

looking back

We are already about half way through the term and it is proving to be a very interesting term in many ways: 'Christology' is exciting, mind-blowing, challenging and much more all at once; 'Using the Bible with Children' is interesting (I don't feel that the principles are actually much - if at all - different to using the bible with adults yet whenever I raise that point, although people seem to agree generally with what I am saying, they also say "but it doesn't happen like that"); 'Pastoral Care' is proving to open up a lot of areas which over the coming years I will endeavour to research more; 'Paul's Gospel and Mission' is fascinating.  But probably the most exciting thing about this term is that what I am learning is really impacting my Christian walk and I am also seeing elements of what I learn (in all subject areas) emerge in my practical work through my job at St Silas.

It is also interesting meeting new students.  Looking back the two years since I started the course is a bit like night and day.  I see great value in the course of study that I have gone through over the past 6 terms and I know that it will impact me as I serve in the future.  But I am incredibly glad that I am at this point (3rd and probably/hopefully final year) rather than the setting out stage.  If there is one thing that I have become more and more convinced of it is the fact that I am a practitioner.  A practitioner who recognises that theology and study does and must inform praxis, but a practitioner nonetheless.

patience

I have a meeting tomorrow evening and, when I phoned the person to arrange it, rather than the normal "ring-ring" as I waited for him to answer I was greeted with the Take That song Patience.  He said that it was because often people have to be patient when trying to get hold of him.  Unfortunately for me he was very quick to answer and so I am going to have to dig out the album if I want a better listen!

meetings

It has been a week of meetings.  There were three on Monday evening and one on each of the next three days.  I love meeting with such a range of people as I have this week and I find myself really energised by it.  But that is not to say that these meetings do not bring with them challenges and that is not to say that the fact that they might do is bad.

My meeting yesterday afternoon was one such meeting; it really did bring challenges.  As we really started to dig around and thrash out various theological understandings of the topics at hand I found myself asking questions of myself and the process.  Thankfully these questions were well received, in fact they were seen as a good sign by the person I was meeting with - which was a relief as I was concerned that even raising them may have been seen as a sign of weakness or inappropriateness given the nature of the process.

So it is onwards.  There is much more to consider in terms of responses to the issues at hand but this morning, thanks to my belief that God has led me to this point (and will continue to do so,) wise counsel, the knowledge of support, and the hope for a positive outcome, I go onward with renewed vigour and excitement.  I really do.

conference follow up

I think that after a learning experience it is important to follow it up.  Whether it is a college lecture, a church sermon, even a discussion with friends, I believe that it is important that we use what we have learned in some way.  I know that too often this is not the case however and so, on Sunday morning, I promised God and myself that I would take some of the things that had jumped out at me over the course of the conference I went to at the weekend and put them into 'play' this week.

The first thing that I am trying to do is what was described as 'saturation reflection.'  This is how the speaker described his practice of reading the same chapter of scripture at least once a day every day for a year.  However I am starting with a week.  So every day this week I am reading the same passage of scripture, Acts 2, and asking God to speak to me through it.  3 days in and it is proving to be a great experience.

The second thing that I want to make sure that I follow up on is the whole area of 'shadow missions.'  The speaker talked about 'shadow missions' using the book of Esther to illustrate what he was saying.  He described 'shadow missions' as, "the dark/unworthy/self centred things that life can become about."  The 'shadow mission' is the mission that takes us off our God given mission and the reason that it is so dangerous is that it is so close to our 'authentic mission.'  As the speaker said, "Our 'shadow mission' is our 'authentic mission' hijacked by our ego and our moods."  I plan to spend some time thinking about what my 'shadow mission' is (I already have a pretty good idea - I'm sure for many people it hit them straight away,) and how to prevent it from destroying my 'authentic mission.'

The third thing I am following up on is more in the area of what I would cheekily describe as 'psycho-babble!'  Almost 2 years ago I took the Myers Briggs Type Indicator 'test'.  Going into the 'test' I was extremely sceptical but it has helped me immensely in gaining more insight into how and why I 'work' in the way I do.  I would recommend it to anyone.

At the conference there was a talk about playing to our strengths rather than focusing only on improving weaknesses.  The speaker has developed a test which helps to identify your major areas of strength and the accompanying book helps you to find ways of putting these strengths into practice.  Some of my friends at the conference had used the test and I thought I would give it a go so I bought the book, Now Discover Your Strengths, and yesterday I took the test.

The test gives you 20 seconds to read 2 statements and pick which applies to you most, or you can select 'neutral.'  However the statements are not always opposites and so I don't think that there is anyway that someone could engineer their result - I certainly didn't have a clue what I was going to end up with!  As with Myers Briggs, when I read the sections on the strengths that the test had identified might be areas where I have the potential to be strong, I was amazed at how much of the types of characteristics that were mentioned in connection with those strengths are ones that I already associate with myself.  A good lesson so far, also teaching me that I need to be a whole lot less suspicious of these types of thing.

So 3 things that I am following up on so far, and there will be more...

supporting role

If I were an actor I think that (if I'm good enough at it that is) I would be nominated for the supporting role awards at the moment.  In what may seem to be a bit of role reversal - when we think long term - I am very much playing the role of the 'stay at home husband'.  It has its good points and its bad points.  I enjoy company, and there has been a distinct lack of it on some days but on the other hand it has given me an opportunity to get on with some study.  As I love to cook, especially for my wife, a further benefit of long college holidays can be found in the fact that I have plenty of time to do that.  It has also given me the chance to really throw myself into my job where, as at home, I hope I can play a supporting role to the small group leaders, members and the wider church.

In fact I am preaching on Romans 16 this Sunday, which is not only a great passage but one in which I think the importance of the supporting role can be seen.  And on that note, I'd better get back to it.