Back from the annual Baptist trip to the seaside which was an excellent weekend. Here are my highpoints. Three good things: Worship. This year was an enormous improvement. The range of resources from Taize, Northumbria Community, traditional hymns and mainstream worship songs were used in well planned acts of worship. Whilst I would change... Continue Reading →
Baptist Assembly
Off to Baptist assembly today. Since I’m not taking the laptop I doubt there will be updates whilst I’m there. Assembly takes an enormous amount of work to put on and folk have been working on the planning for months. Many people, BUGB and BMS staff as well as volunteers put in untold hours over... Continue Reading →
Baptists doing theology – northern theological consultation
I attended an excellent theological reflection day on Tuesday. Organised by Northern Baptist Learning Community and others it was great to have an opportunity to listen and talk together, something that we need to encourage among ministers. For me the highlight was a paper delivered by Richard Kidd developing the theme ‘the silence of... Continue Reading →
BU Council
As Council moves towards a close it has been an odd few days. In many ways it has been a good council; well organised, gracious and getting through the agenda on time. However, two of the items of business have shown why denominational life can be slow going. First, the debate about women in... Continue Reading →
Council meets again
Off to Baptist Union Council again tomorrow; this usually gets me blogging grumpily from the back. I guess it is the nature of denominational gatherings that they have some inbuilt frustrations either because ‘strong leadership’ stifles debate and deliberation or a lack of coherent vision ensures endless discussion without resolution. In part the problem... Continue Reading →
Deep river?
Every so often a group of ministers emerge in Baptist life seeking to change the course of the Union. In the 1950’s it was about baptism; seeking to promote a more sacramental understanding. In the late 70’s and early 80’s concern about decline in the denomination led to the formation of Mainstream and many of... Continue Reading →
Is there anything that every minister should know?
I intended by earlier post about books to be followed by one which listed five books that every Baptist Minister should read. But I can’t decide what should be on the list not least because no book is so important that every minister should read it. There is a certain baseline of knowledge that... Continue Reading →
Building a ministry team
We are searching for an Associate Minister, a more stressful task than I anticipated. I’ve been through the Baptist settlement process twice as a candidate and once as a church moderator but looking for someone to join the team here brings out different questions. Some while ago I came across Bill Hybel’s 3 C’s for... Continue Reading →
A radical idea for BUGB?
This week I’m at Baptist Union Council which has, so far, been a positive experience. As I listen to the various reports and discussions I find myself wondering whether we need to create a new role for someone to help the Union move things on. A kind of development officer who would help the Union... Continue Reading →
Challenges facing baptists: some random thoughts
ABP in the US are running a series of essays about Baptists asking hard questions (here), thinking particularly about the challenges facing Baptists today. Understandably they have a US focus which got me thinking what are the top challenges facing UK Baptists? So here are some thoughts….. 1. Change. Leaving aside questions about the... Continue Reading →
Distinct Reflections 