A New Adventure?

It is now public knowledge that Anne and I will leaving our current church setting in a few weeks time. It's been a hard decision to make in many ways, but the truth is it was probably the only decision to make. I'm not about to dissect what has been happening that has brought us to this point. It's enough to say that things haven't really worked and it's time to recognise that.

The question is: What next?

The answer is: We don't know!

What we do know is that it's unlikely that we will be going to another church with me as the minister. We're not leaving the church or rejecting the church or losing our faith or anything of the like. God has, or at least I think he has, been challenging us both about the nature and expression of what it means to be the church. We've tried to explore this in an established church seeing, but it's become increasingly difficult to do so.

So, before we get too old, it's an opportunity to explore simpler, more organic ways of being church. I'm going to retrain in order to become self-financing if possible, and we're going to look to settle into a community and put down some roots.

This post is by way of introducing the plan, such as it is, and to open the way for me to share thoughts and conversation with others about the journey we are about to take. There is much that scares us. Finding a house, getting a mortgage, learning new skills, getting a job or starting a business/practice (I'll blog more about my ideas later), are all big things. But probably scariest of all is setting out on an uncharted journey without any maps and no familiar landmarks by which to navigate.

At the moment we feel very much alone in this, but by God's grace we will meet others who will join us on our journey, keep us company and keep us sane! As news develops I'll try to reflect on it through my blog. Please feel fee to enter the discussion through comments.

Books, books, books, and more books

I can't believe how many books we have. Note "we". I'm not the only book addict in the house. In fact I might even dare to suggest that the majority of "our" books are in fact not "my books"!

Okay, I think that might be the proverbial straw towards which I'm stretching a tired hand this afternoon, but I think I've almost unpacked my study books bar a box I must have missed (my NT Dictionary and a few others haven't surfaced yet). I've collected the equivalent of two boxes to recycle and my bookshelves are pretty much full now.

Then there's all the other paraphernalia I had in my study. I can't believe the amount of stuff I've still got to sort out. High time some might say. I think I agree. The problem is deciding what to ditch and what to keep. For example, I have boxes of photographs. Boxes of the things. I hardly ever look at them, so why do I keep them? Perhaps it's laziness. Perhaps it's history.

Another box is full of audio and video leads and connectors. Now I did throw some of those away before we moved (does any normal person need 12 power leads?). Envelopes is another box that desperately needs pruning. If you ever need an envelop, just come and see my collection! Some have come because I've ordered cards that come with envelopes, some I've bought because I thought I needed more. More? If I find anymore of the things I'll start serving meals in them just to use them up!

So I'm in a bit of mess but slowly things are being sorted out. I have a box of things to sort out and two boxes of books to re-home. Another couple of boxes have been opened and then quickly closed because it was too much to take seeing their contents and not knowing what to do with them! Out of 20 odd boxes I think I've done quite well and when I've fed the cats (I'm being told it's tea-time as I type, I think I'll attack one more box and then start cooking. Or maybe I'll just cook.

Maybe I should look for a recipe book!

Moving in

Surrounded by boxes, we've made it into our new home. There is much unpacking left to do, but Anne has been working through the rooms. I've been sorting out the kitchen. Our cooker is wider than the original gap between the cabinets, and I thought it was just a simple matter of moving a single cupboard a couple of inches to make room.

Not quite so easy, I needed to make some alterations to the worktop on the other side so that the lid opened into the gap between the wall cupboards. Having done that, I connected up the cooker only to discover that there was no gas! It appears that the supply line from the meter has been re-routed and no longer supplies gas to the cooker point. Ah well, these things will get sorted out eventually. It will have to go on the list along with the TV arial that's there but not providing a signal.

On a positive note, the new wardrobes look good, just the handles to fit. Both 'phone lines have been installed and BT have connected Anne's business broadband without a hitch.

Today we will be off to church for the first time. It will be really good to see everyone and get a feel for things as they are. I wonder how long it will take for me to learn all the names and connections!

The Joy of Moving

So it's now August and that means 6 weeks to moving day. There's so much to sort out, but at least we are working through the house room by room looking at what's going and what's not. So far I've sold my Palm PDA on eBay and my golf clubs are up for sale. I gave up playing a few years ago and it just seemed like a good time finally to say good-bye to them.

Hopefully they'll be sold by Monday and then there are a few other items I might submit to the auction world. I've found a Marshall effects pedal and a few more golf things like my bag and a bag stand. Even my old trolley might be worth something.

We've had a few trips to the tidy tip to get rid of some stuff and I think there will be one or two more trips to the charity shop and tip in the next few weeks.

Decluttering is a great feeling and apparently a lucrative business if you've got something to offer to anyone who is living a cluttered life and needs a little help. I've always thought, but found it hard to practice, a regular routine of three-monthly sort outs would be a good thing. I think it's because as the pile of things to go gets bigger it gets harder to add to it. Eventually you start keeping stuff because you can't conceive of getting rid of it all. So by doing it every three months you might actually get rid of more rubbish a year than you do by having a annual purge.

It's a theory.

So, as I look around my study and contemplate a day sorting out this room, a positively frightening thought, I'm looking forward to having less and hoping to find a home for many items marked "no longer needed". Which reminds me, if anyone needs an old Nokia charger, I've got three on my shelf that I don't know what to do with!

Leaving Bedford

This morning at church we made the announcement that we are leaving Bedford. It was an emotional time as I shared with the church how God has called us to a new setting. We've been here for 8 years and we love living here and being involved in local church life and local community life too. 

The anatomy of moving church in Baptist circles can be quite a long process, but God has once again be gracious to us and what began in January came to its conclusion last week with an invitation to become the pastor at Upminster Baptist Church. I've wanted to blog bout the spiritual process, but I haven't been able to do that because of the circumstances that surround moving.

I may look back through my journal and see if there is anything worthy of posting, if only to let you see the process from the inside. As it is, I can at least begin to blog about preparing to move and how we handle moving etc.

So a new chapter opens up. I'd have happily stayed in Bedf0rd until retirement, but it wasn't to be. Perhaps we'll come back in 13 years time when I reach 65!!