Mission – Ministry – Life
So Baptist Assembly (BUGB / BMS) has begun with an afternoon of seminars and opening evening Celebration during which Chris Duffett started his year as BUGB president.I’ve blown hot and cold about the idea of a president over the years but one advantage is it helps us listen to people whose insights can get squeezed... Continue Reading →
Today sees Baptists gathering for their annual assembly (well the BUGB / BMS one anyway). But things will be a bit different this year:- We are gathering in London. This means it is commuting distance for a larger number of people but also that fewer people will attend the whole event.- The Saturday events follow... Continue Reading →
I’ve been meaning to write more about the Futures process for some weeks. But since Baptist Assembly meets this weekend I wondered if a short summary might be more helpful: What’s the issue? 1. Why are we talking about it? Because we (BUGB and Associations) are spending more money each year than we are getting... Continue Reading →
Today is the Rev Professor Paul Fiddes 65th Birthday and I, like many Baptist bloggers around the globe, want to pay tribute to his contribution to systematic theology as well as Baptist thought. Others have blogged with lists of Paul’s publications (for a flavour see Wikipedia ). For me, one of his most significant contributions... Continue Reading →
My normal Easter routine has gone a bit awry this year. Spending two weeks in Iquitos, Peru and then returning for Holy Week has meant that most of the week I’ve been suffering jet lag. Nevertheless, the usual run of services has come to a great conclusion with an Easter Sunday baptism. Yet half the... Continue Reading →
Yesterday saw C of E Archbishop Rowan Williams announce his retirement. I believe the church in the UK owes him our thanks. We may not all agree with him but he has made a good fist of an impossible job; and is a model of how to lead a denomination through difficult issues. The Church... Continue Reading →
So March Council is now over; but what to say? Hopefully there will be a brief on line account of the material the ‘Futures Group’ shared in the next 24 hours (if not I’ll have a go at summarising). [Futures update gives the background here but not the suggested ways forward] Good: Overall it feels... Continue Reading →
I had deliberately refrained from blogging about Council's concerns over the use of social media but having mentioned it on twitter I seem to have started some debate. So for those who want to know: 1. Concern has been expressed by people using social media whilst at Council. The original Council documentation described this as... Continue Reading →
BUGB Council meets again. 400 years after the first Baptist church in England we are starkly reminded that our faith should not be placed in institutions, our treasure should not be in investments and our confidence should not be in numbers. As we recall Jesus walking purposefully to Jerusalem we are reminded that he invited... Continue Reading →
Over the last few weeks I've been thinking about how we might move the conversation forward; particularly since BUGB Council meets again next week. So I have produced two things. The first is a video giving an overview of the steps we need to take. The second is a longer paper giving more detail (here).... Continue Reading →
Distinct Reflections 