On a freezing beach this afternoon

Bitterly cold on the beach this afternoon, I managed to be gloves off for a few pictures for just six minutes. After that, very numb indeed. I've just joined a camera club and am in turn inspired and despairing when I see some of the work of the other guys - some seriously talented people there. But I think I am learning a little from them and one of those is the effect of a simple filter (an ND grad apparently) on this scene. As you see from the before and after, it makes a huge difference to the sky in this one and black and white suits it better too.

I've a long way to go but after this afternoon no-one can ever accuse me of just being a fair-weather photographer.

Christmas Flash Mob

I do love this. It's almost a radical act - a guerilla raid on consumerism in the Christmas season. It made me cry, though that might be partly explained by a lack of sleep after staying up too late watching cricket.


Take a look at the link at the top right hand side of the page to see for yourself.

Funny fishermen

I have been reading The Message as a way of keeping my own bible reading fresh recently and came across these words from Mark 1, when Jesus called his first followers:


"A dozen yards or so down the beach, he (Jesus) saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee's sons. They were in the same boat, mending their fishnets."
Either a wonderful Christian innocence in Eugene Peterson (the translator) or it doesn't have the same connetations in America.

Far too shirty!

True story. A week ago I was in the study finishing some work while my wife was in the next room, putting away clean washing. She calls through to say that there is no more drawer and wardrobe space for her to put my shirts away. I shout back not to disturb me as I am writing a sermon on greed.

On reflection I realised I had a choice. Tear down my wardrobe and build bigger ones (or at least put together bigger ones) or do the right thing and redistribute the wealth.

So I had a sort through this morning and am as embarrassed as I was surprised to find that I was able to lose 23 shirts and still have plenty left to wear. Felt pleased with myself until I counted what was left. I still had too many, so a second cull was called for.

This time I got expert assistance; my wife helped. Another dozen were added to the pile. I am rather ashamed that I was able to be rid of 35 shirts. I still have plenty.

The result? I find out some things about myself. Last week I had over 60 shirts. I am surprised because I think you'd be fairly hard pressed to find anyone who would describe me as fashion conscious. I guess I have aquired shirts here and there and not thrown out or donated at anything like the same rate. I am embarrassed because I realise that this is an example of greed, something I don't like to associate with myself. Sometimes the evidence is a lot less attractive than what we like to picture in our heads.

I dare you to count your shirts. You may be almost as bad as me.

The picture is of a man who came up with a different solution and decided to wear all 120 shirts at the same time.

Japan, Heaven 17 and Joy

There is plenty wrong with the internet. Only yesterday a woman called Phyllis wanted to be my friend on Facebook and sent me a naked profile picture to encourage me. I declined but did report it. Possibly more destructive for me is the opportunity to waste time on it - browsing, shopping, blogging...

But one of the ways the internet is fantastic is in finding stuff that someone has an interest in that few others have. Thanks to the www. I was able to trace and purchase an album that very few people bought at all, let alone on CD. Neither is it available as an MP3 download - at least not legally. And now I have replaced my cassette copy of the final Heaven 17 album (until they reformed) with the CD.

All this is thanks to a fellow with an unpronouncable name in some corner of Japan who cleared out some of his CDs one day - quite possibly at his wife's insistance. (Some things are pretty universal). About a tenner and just 7 days later it lands on my doorstep. The result is a singular joy - in that no-one else in my family shares it - and a slight feeling of guilt that I still know most of the words a mere 22 years on.

Coming soon - I hope - Pleasure One, the CD before, which lost the race to arrive first, coming from Washington DC. Can't wait.

The top right hand column has one of the tracks linked to it. Nothing to see but it'll give you something to listen to.

Mad old woman and the men's books

No the heading has nothing to do with my wife's birthday this week.

With a little time to kill today I found myself in Bridgwater Indoor Market, possibly the most depressing place in Somerset. Even then, it's hard to pass by a pile of books that need to be browed through and I was leafing through when the volunteer (I was in a charity shop) informed me that the men's books were on the shelves 'over there'.

Slightly wary of what I might find, I saw that she was directing me to pile of thrillers and war books. Some odd choices in amongst them - Harry Potter a men's book? - but they were all of a genre.

In the end I made my choice, a Will Self novel that was in the other section. Tongue in cheek, I asked if it would be okay to buy it, even though it was in the women's section. "Whatever, I don't care if you're AC/DC", came the reply.

Good old Bridgwater.

Mosiac

Went to play golf today on my day off but the rain beat us and so I've been mooching around the house instead. Thanks to my good friend Catherine I found out how to make one of these, all taken last month in sunny Brixham. Makes me want to revisit soon.

All the stuff to play with photos was in the bighugelabs website. A fun thing for a rainy day.

Alice Cooper - Odd but heartening

Stuck in traffic yesterday on the way back from hospital visiting, Alice Cooper was talking on the Richard Bacon show. One of the questions was asking him about his religious faith and it was odd but very heartening to hear him describe himself as the Prodigal Son, how he reads the Bible every day, believes it is the word of God and how he would make a lousy god.

I thought he came over really well, you can check it out for yourself on http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/dailybacon.

It's under "Alice Cooper and Bill Bailey", starts at 12 minutes 55 seconds and lasts four minutes.

Playlist for Changing Lanes

More fun preparing for the Reel Issues evening this month. I am slightly apprehensive that we are showing the 15 rated Changing Lanes this time but it's a great film that brings out some interesting moral / spiritual / ethical questions.

As usual I have prepared a playlist for pre-film. A pointless exercise, I suspect, as I am probably the only one who recognises the songs or realises that they are themed. But it's light relief on a Monday morning and I enjoy it. Note the intrusion of Belle and Sebastian, a relatively modern beat combo.

Always Crashing In The Same Car - David Bowie
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word - Elton John

Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car - U2

Crash - The Primitives

I Love My Car - Belle and Sebastian

Another lovely day on Burnham beach

After church this morning I tried to photograph the speedboats racing in the bay but they were way out of range. Quite like this though, after some Photoshop fiddling.

Exeter City 2 Brentford 4

A crazy game, people. It's the often disbelieved claim of the fan that we was robbed but man, this one took the biscuit. Awful goalkeeping cost us this one and yet it would have been six had he not saved two penalties. The stats show that we were all over them, more shots on target, more off target, more corners, blah, blah, blah. But what matters is scoring goals and we conceded three very soft ones.

An extract written by a Brentford fan confirms:

"well what can i say.

two pints of guiness and time to reflect with a pub full of exeter city fans.

Basically outplayed and outpassed for 80 mins. won 4 : 2 had one disallowed and missed two penalties. Who said this is a strange game.

Came away thinking we had got away with it and really deserved nothing from the game.

Three points is three points and on we go. Unfortunately it was exeters fpptball i would rather watch each week.

Not being negative but very honest after a very strange game.

I would suggest Andy Scott does the lottery tonight though."

Never mind, hey? Onwards and upwards. Let's see, who's next? Ah, top of the table Brighton away on Tuesday. Hmmm...

I consoled myself with taking a few pictures. In order, Ryan Harley - playmaker signed from Weston Super Mare; Liam Sercombe; Jamie Cureton and his second (consolation) goal.

Church Weekend Away

Had a great weekend away last week as half of the church decamped to Paignton. We had a great time together, my friend Chris Spinks doing an excellent job of teaching some of what the Bible tells us about prayer. In the week that followed I am encouraged that I have had several conversations with people who are trying to get into new habits - indeed I am one of those people. Not that I had a conversation with myself but you get what I am trying to say.


We were also blessed with a musician who led us in some new songs - so nice to sing live songs rather than CDs as we usually do in church services. And to top it off we all went along to a terrific service at Brixham Baptist Church on the Sunday morning. It was a combined family service for harvest and the festival of the sea and was SO creative that you really did not know what was going to be happening next - a rare thing indeed in a church service.



Followed the weekend away with a few days in Brixham, a truly beautiful place to relax in. And play with a camera at.

Replanting a church

Despite being au fait with the concept of church planting - indeed having been involved with helping plant one - I had never heard of replanting a church until recently. Most of the church leadership were on a day conference on Reading and reaching your community when Martin Robinson used this term. As it became clearer in the course of things, this is when the church undergoes changes to get back on course in terms of it's mission to the community it is in.

One of the churches present shared a story of how they made some structural changes to the fabric of the building which marked a new beginning to who they were and what they were doing as a church and it struck us very clearly that this is what we had done as well.

We were left a legacy as a church just after I got here which meant we could update our building. We took out the pews, installed chairs, rid ourselves of some 'sacred furniture', removed the pulpit. All the kind of thing that religious people hate you for doing but nearly all the negative comments we had were from people who don't come to our church and like to look in on dark wooden pews and panelling when they visit every umpteen years.

Without intending or realising it, it seems we put a new stamp on the place and it has signalled a new start for us, or a replanting if you like. I am quite excited to find that we have been doing this without knowing and it helps us to make sense of what we are doing. We have a long way to go but without having done all this we would still be fighting tradition at every corner. Instead we can move on and fight battles that are worth fighting.

Made in Dagenham

Terrific film. Really enjoyed it. If you like Calendar Girls then you'll like this. A good British cast, funny, moving, thought-provoking. To think that the battle for equal pay was still raging when I was a toddler. What did people think that they were doing, paying women less for doing the same? Seems like a weird thing from this distance.

The Hurt Locker

Anyone know how this finished? We started it last night and then got scared and couldn't finish it.

We own our football club

Living with a Liverpool fan, it's hard not to have some sympathy for the farce that teh club have been through over the last few weeks. Seems all is done and dusted now - at least for a while.

Down a couple of divisions I support a team that is owned by their own supporters - the only trust owned team in the football league. It came out of similar mismanagement some years ago and now, safely promoted from non-league football, Exeter City seem to be punching above their weight as we rise to 7th this evening in League 1. It's a family orientated club with a genuis manager and a great crop of players. The side has been built steadily over the past five years or so and there seems to be an eye on the long term stability of the club. Being owned by the fans works well and it is a joy to support.

It seems to work well for Barcelona too.

Any excuse for cake

On Sunday we celebrated 167 years of being on the premises, though the church is at least 12 years older, having met in a house at least as early as 1831. So we had cake and are in the happy position of needing two cakes to make sure everyone got some. Interestingly we have at least two people who have been at the church for more than half of those 167 years!

Southampton 2 Tranmere 0

On Saturday I defied the camera ban at St Marys (without realising it) and took a few pictures of the game I was at. Only took my wee compact but I hadn't remembered that the club had controversially banned press photographers from the ground in order to do all photography in house. So I got a few snaps before a steward came over and had a word. Laughable really considering that we were shoved up in the gods. This picture is taken from my allocated seat even though eagle-eyed viewers will see that there were a few spare seats closer to the action. Of course, by shoving the away fans up and out of the way, you minimise any potential problems and make it harder for people to get behind their team.

I was in the away end to support a Tranmere supporting friend, I was his chaplain really. His team were woeful, Soton were excellent. Don't be fooled by their start to the season, I'd be very surprised if they aren't promoted this year. Tranmere, I fear, won't escape the drop for a second successive year.

Anyhow, bids for an exclusive action shot from the game will be considered - this is Soton's number 19, ex-Exeter City man Danny Seabourne in action. Not that he had a lot to do on the day. Taken on maximum zoom from up there, you can see why they were worried!

PS - Nigel Adkins new positive thinking regime has yet to reach the man who operates the tannoy. First song played on entering the ground - miserable and (sometimes) magnificent Morrisey.

The Truman Show

Had a great night last night, watching this film in a proper cinema. The print quality wasn't great but then it is 12 years old. I was surprised at how few people had seen it before, which might tell you something of the kind of place we are in. Some struggled with what the film was about, some loved it but UP was definately more popular last month.

In the end, is it a film that is sympathetic to the Christian faith or is it antagonistic? I think it can be argued either way. It probably comes down to whether you believe Christof to be representative of God or not - and again there is ambiguity there. He claims to be the creator but only of a show - not Truman himself. Perhaps the 139 on the sail of Truman's boat is deeply significant - refering to the Psalm. It certainly fits with the conversation between Christof and Truman that follows. Truman 'dies' in a crucified pose but is resurrected and ascends the steps to... where or what? Is the parallel with CS Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader deliberate? Or does the film argue that a True Man only finds how to truly live on turning his back on God? Or is it post-modern and just playing with images?

A number said that they felt they needed to watch it again. I have already promised to lend the DVD. We had a good conversation on the night and 54 came to watch, which was pleasing. Wondering what they will make of Changing Lanes next month. Expecting a smaller crowd for that, less well-known and a 15 for strong language.

Finally, great topical joke in Truman - newspaper headline that reads, "Who Needs Europe!" on the day we beat the US in the Ryder Cup. Good film.

Playlist for The Truman Show

We have the second of our Reel Issues films at the cinema tonight and this is what I have chosen for the playlist beforehand.

Real, Real, Real - Jesus Jones
Absolute Reality - The Alarm
Somebody Up There Likes Me - David Bowie
Watching - The Thompson Twins
Even Better Than The Real Thing - U2
Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads (You may tell yourself, this is not your beautiful house, with your beautiful wife...)

Looking forward to it!

Highs and Lows

Bit of a roller-coaster weekend. Saturday started at 5am to finish some stuff for a wedding and Sunday's service. The wedding was fantastic. A couple who have been with us about a year and such a joyful occasion. This is the second wedding I have taken at this church, I hate to think how many funerals - not a good ratio. Really thrilled for them. Some of the church take a special pride in seeing their minister in a suit for once.


The afternoon was very sunny and warm and the family sit outside to watch the boy at a tennis tournament. There is a McEnroe moment or two and he's now saving for a new racquet. He is back on an even keel soon enough though and we get back for a good Indian meal with old friends to round off a really good day.


Sunday is mixed. I have to confess to some disappointment at Back to Church Sunday. We have ninety attend the service, which is better than average for us, but none of the ten people / families I have invited come along. In the end I think we have five extras attend due to being invited for BTCS. It doesn't seem many but without knowing how many were asked it's hard to know if this is a sign that people didn't feel able or inclined to invite friends or whether their friends (like mine) didn't fancy it. From what many think of as "church", I don't blame them and maybe it's a sign of the size of the task that we face.


Evening service is okay, we are boosted by four holiday makers but some noticeable absentees due to it being the informal prayer and praise. Our youth discussion group afterwards is loud and seems to make little progress. I come back with a headache and feel low. This is not my greatest strength and I need to work harder and prepare better for it.


Monday brings some refreshment - meet and pray with an old chum who offers some perspective, which in my tiredness I have lost. Listen to some good sermons read some helpful things and then Tuesday brings fine weather and a game of golf on my day off.

Glad to be refreshed and thinking straighter. Need to be - six talks and two groups to lead in the following five days.

Back to Church Sunday

This Sunday we taking part in the national Back to Church Sunday campaign. We have never done this before but thought it was worth a go. The idea is very simple, we invite friends, neighbours, and family to our church service and make them welcome. Hardly rocket science.

In our context we are aware that the church some people left, or have never been to, is not the church they will find if they come on Sunday. For some that will be a bad thing, others will love it. It will not look like Mr Bean Goes To Church, which I intend to show during the service.

Some research by Tearfund estimated that 3,000,000 people in the UK would come to church if invited by a friend. So let's see. Exciting!

Long Away

It's a plot to make parents feel older. My son's homework in music this week was to answer questions on Queen. At last, homework I can help him with! Offered to play him some songs but he seemed pretty underwhelmed.

Exeter City 2 Peterboro United 2

What a game! Peterboro arrived top of the table and with a fearsome scoring record. So best not gift them one, hey lads? Ahhh. Lots of early pressure from the away team as they pressed and a mix up between centre back Troy Archibald-Henville (imagine the cost of that on the back of a shirt!) and keeper Paul Jones sees an own goal give the Posh the lead. One nil is the score at half-time but Exeter are easing back into the game and finish the half strongly.

Second half and Exeter have the upper hand. Goals from new boy Nardiello and very old boy Jamie Cureton see Exeter take a deserved lead before an equaliser from Peterboro with about ten minutes to go. From then on it's described as "playground football" as the teams take it in turns to attack, looking for that illusive winner. The very last action has Archibald-Henville's headers hacked off the line and at the final whistle the opposing benches are all smiles and handshakes - you just know that they have enjoyed a thrilling game of football. My man of the match was Richard Duffy at centre half, a terrific performance with some very timely tackles when we were under the cosh in teh first half. A Wales recall cannot be far off.

Slightly worrying is that the attendance was a little down on normal. The Exeter Chiefs are at home and now that they are a Premiership rugby team, has this made a difference? Away support was lower than usual too but then it's some trip down. More games like this and attandance should hold up though, terrific entertainment.

It's been a good start to the season and my prediction at the beginning of the season (which raised some scorn in the family) that we'd be somewhere between half-way and just missing out on the play-offs this season, may not be so far out. We'll see. Early days. Happy days.

Terry Jones and Intolerant Christians

It was planned months ago but last Sunday I found myself preaching on Intolerant Christians in the week that a pastor in the States was planning to burn the Koran.

The series is on objections that people have to the Christian faith and week two was called, "I'd like to believe but religious people are too intolerant". Good old Tel provided me with a perfect illustration, though I wish he hadn't.

By way of contrast I spoke on John 8.1-11 and the woman caught in adultery. Can't help but marvel again how Jesus said to her, "I don't condemn you". How different we often are. Grace is so outrageous. Caught in bed with a guy and Jesus tells her this!

I had one person walk out - to later return to tell me I was off-beam on this. Trouble is, he missed the second point - Jesus tells her to go home and stop living this way. There's a Charles Spurgeon quote (think it is him) that says that if a person is scandalised by grace to the extent that they think you are in danger of being too soft on sin, then you are probably preaching it well. So I hope it was that. But, of course, I may be kidding myself.

I suspect that people like Terry Jones would be picking up rocks. It isn't the way of Jesus.

Old Toys

Like lots of other people I have boxes that follow me from place to place which never get unpacked. Following the need to clear out a few things in order to make the house attractive to potential buyers I took the decision to get rid of my old Subbuteo bits and pieces. All that this required on my wife's part was about 15 years (reasonably) gentle encouragement.

So I photographed them (to general family amusement) and listed them on eBay. They aren't laughing anymore. Everything was sold. Some of it for silly money. Four Leeds players for £8.49 for example. The nine Feyenoord players that survived those heady European nights wing their way to Italy for £26. The rest was much more modest but I wish I hadn't repainted and ruined a few of them.

To mark this momentous time in my life I give you (in the top right hand corner) a link to The Undertones and My Perfect Cousin - the only song I know that mentions Subbuteo. The couplet, "His Ma bought a synthesizer, Got the Human League in to advise her" is sheer class.

New Toy

I was able to play with my new toy for the first time at the weekend. Still trying to work out lots of the buttons and settings but was pleased to get a few in focus. The potential picture quality is amazing, now I need to try and tame it. This is quite heavily cropped but still looks sharp and all I did afterwards is warm it up a bit. I'm quite pleased with it but at the end of the day it's a only a picture of a bird on a feeder. Beware - more dull photos can be expected in the coming months.

Reel Issues - Up

Last night we put on the first of our Reel Issues film nights at the local cinema. Got there 45 minutes early to be ready to greet people and check everything was alright for the projectionist (and get the CD played). Asked how many had pre-booked and was told "One". As the screen holds 110 this was a little disconcerting.

But book it and the people will come as another film famously (almost) puts it. And in the end we had 57 people come along to watch the film and of them 50 must have stayed for the discussion afterwards. Discussion was relaxed and insightful and quite quickly one lady raised the main theme (certainly according to the film makers) that adventure isn't just out there, it's happening everyday as we do stuff together with other people. I was really pleased with the event, it was a really good evening and I think most people will come back.

In focusing on the sadness of the film at the beginning I has forgotten how funny it was overall and being in a cinema with people who haven't watched it before was a great experience. If you've not seen the film you must, it's fabulous.

Next month we watch The Truman Show together.

Up - the playlist

Had fun choosing songs for the playlist for music before tonight's showing of Up. Settled for these in the end:

The Last Balloon - XTC
In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Up, Up and Away - The Beloved
Castles In The Air - The Colourfield
Tonight We Fly - The Divine Comedy
Up, Up and Away - Andy Williams (different song to The Beloved)
99 Red Balloons - Nena

Am very excited about tonight's film. The very first in our series Reel Issues, organised with the local churches. We have hired the cinema, rented a film and are offering the chance to discuss some of the issues it raises afterwards. Have done some homework so as to appear intelligent in discussion and just hope I am not there with only my family for company.

Yesterday

Was a full on day but was quite encouraging all the same. Whatever possessed me to think that speaking on The God Delusion, having people back for lunch, leading the communion service and preaching on Romans 8, and then hosting a barbeque for the Youth Group later that evening would be a good idea?

We had a number of new people around for the first 'proper' morning service after Holiday Club, some extra kids, some Mums (because everyone knows Dads are too hard to go to church) and the Dawkins thing turned out to be less scary than I feared. Was surprised by how feeble some of the professor's arguments are. He is (presumably - it's hard to tell with O level Physics) a brilliant scientist but his theology is very poor. Wasn't the greatest sermon ever but got a few thank yous from people who seem to have appreciated it.

Lunch was lovely, with a family 'home' from Ethiopia who popped across to speak in church about the work they are doing. Rather humbled by what they have chosen to do in order to do their work, in terms of such a different country and culture. As always, interesting to hear what they find odd about UK compared with five years ago when they left.

Grabbed a little sleep (a Pastor's secret weapon on a Sunday afternoon) before the evening service, where I think I completely woke up about 20 minutes into the service. Great to be able to preach about the complete freedom that there is for Christians, how the slate is well and truly wiped clean. "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". Reflected on the difference between feelings and fact. There are times when we don't feel this but it is still fact. Glorious.

Then one burger too many at the BBQ but great to see extra kids come along. Three were new because they have just become old enough to attend, two are on the fringes and have hardly been around at all. Hope this will encourage them to join with the other six and that we'd grow into something great for the kingdom.

A long day. A good day. The next few days are busy too but predictably I was get to sit and read and rest for the best part of the day this morning because the dentist was running late. Is it healthy when you look forward to a filling and the time you have to spend in a waiting room?

2020 Vision

A very encouraging day yesterday. Each year the leaders of the church go away for the day to think and pray and plan. This year we were helped by Nigel, who helps a bunch of churches in this area, as we thought about the future.

We started by looking at the last five years and were asked how things are, compared with then, in four areas - Numerically, Spiritually, Relationally, and Missionally. Some of those things are hard to gauge of course (we didn't even reach consensus on some of the numbers). But even though we know that we are far from the finished product it was encouraging to see how we have changed and, dare we say, progressed? There is much to be thankful for and sometimes you need to sit down and have these discussions in order to appreciate how far we have been brought on our journey.

It's impossible to know what the future holds, of course, but we then discussed what we might look like in 2020. Firstly, if current trends continue, and secondly, our best (realistic) hope. We have been blessed with growth this past five years. If it continues, or even increases, (and it's a big but possible "if") then what steps do we need to take to play our part in seeing it happen? And what will church need to look like in terms of support structures and the like if it does come to pass?

It confirmed a lot of my thinking and was very helpful in that Nigel drew these things out of us far better than I would have communicated them myself. Plus he had a good number of further insights which helped us all. As a result of the day we left as a group closer to sharing a vision rather than me just assuming everyone knew what we are doing - because, hey, it's obvious isn't it? We have some things to mull over and put into place after the day and that is going to be helpful to us as a group.

A good day, only enhanced by being able to eat outside in warm September sunshine.

September (2)

Don't think it's the end of the summer holidays, or the end of the cricket season - more likely the earlier sunsets - but September always brings with it a certain sense of sadness. Consequently I always find myself humming the song of the same name by David Sylvian at this time of the year. Short but (bitter) sweet, it's at top right hand side of the screen if you are already nostalgic for long warm summer evenings. But don't wallow, listen once and move on!

September

Enjoyed a hot day at the cricket today with my father and kids (an odd way for them to spend the last day of the holidays). Gloucestershire needed 125 in their second innings to win and fell 55 short, thus being in the unenviable position of bowling Derbyshire out for 44 in the first innings and still losing.

Enjoyed playing on the outfield at the lunch interval and as I walked off at the end of the day - well just before tea on the second day when it all finished - clutching an old Gray Nichols I felt like it was thirty years ago and nothing had changed. Gloucestershire weren't any good then either.

More popcorn Vicar?

Very excited about a series we are running in the local cinema from next Monday. On the first Monday of every month we are showing a film in the local cinema and inviting people to discuss it's themes afterwards. As well as getting us to think about what we watch, we get to see some great films on the big screen - as God intended. We'll try it for four months and see if people show up. The worst that can happen is that we lose a bit of money.

Next week we start with Disney Pixar's Up, which we are showing in 3D. Having seen the film on DVD I am really looking forward to seeing it bigger and in an extra dimension. Will probably blog further as I think about it over the next week. In October we will show The Truman Show - another film I don't think I have seen on the big screen, in November it's Changing Lanes and then we will kick off the Christmas season with It's a Wonderful Life.

It's very exciting to have a digital projector in our small town and an independent cinema owner who is so cooperative. More to follow no doubt!

Xpedition Force

This is one of the most tiring and stretching weeks of the year. It is also one of the most rewarding and enjoyable ones too. It's Holiday Club week.

We have 60 kids each morning for the usual games, songs, stories, craft and bad jokes. As usual, one of the things I love most is the way we work together so well as a team - there are probably nearly 30 of us helping out in different ways.

One of those is the retired signwriter who puts together the scenery - which changes each day as we progress up the mountain. This is what it looked like this morning. Don't worry, the church building isn't on fire, it's low cloud supplied by a smoke machine. This afternoon it had already changed again ready for tomorrow!

Adam Stansfield piece in the Daily Mirror today

There was a moving (and long) piece in the Daily Mirror today about Adam Stansfield written by Oliver Holt. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/oliver-holt/Why-players-like-Exeter-s-Adam-Stansfield-have-a-connection-with-fans-that-the-rootless-millionaires-of-the-Premier-League-never-will-Oliver-Holt-Column-article562879.html

One of the things that I think it highlights is the sense of connection that you get with supporting a smaller club rather than being distantly yoked to a Premiership outfit.

On a lighter note, did you know that Oliver Holt's mum is the actress that played Emily Bishop in Corrie? Me neither.

Spooky Birthday

Today is my birthday. I spent some of it at the church's holiday club where I am helping out. It was going well until, when asked to guess my age, one of the ten year olds said 60. And then kept going down in intervals of two years. We got there - reasonably quickly.

Should I be concerned that on my birthday the second hand of my watch fell off?

Top tune of the day is the very appropriate "Older" by TMBG. It should be available to listen to on the link in the top right hand corner.

Exeter City 2 Bristol Rovers 2

It was always going to be about much more than football as Exeter resumed their season by playing their first game since the death of striker Adam Stansfield. The club made a good job of marking the occasion without going over the top. Particularly moving was the way that the away fans started the minutes applause before Barry Fulls even had a chance to finish the announcement - they were a credit to their club.

The game itself was much better than you might expect for such an emotional charged match. Exeter took an early lead through Nardiello who then limped off later in the half. Rovers always looked dangerous and were level at half-time through Kuffour who was a handful throughout. Duffy was sent off for City within minutes of the restart for bringing down the last man and when Rovers took the lead a few minutes later it looked like it was going to end in defeat for Exeter. O'Flynn (the second new signing to score today) impressed throughout though and with fifteen minutes to go scored a penalty to earn a point. A good result considering Exeter played with 10 men for half the game.

A deserved draw, City are looking strong on this showing and once the team settles (they were without Harley and Taylor today - arguably their best players) we should be safe from the last match of the season nerves that we had last year when a goal ten minutes from time kept us up. If we keep this side - and more importantly this manager, I predict mid-table with a sniff at the play-offs which is never quite realised.

Mirror Mirror

Must make mention of a terrific book that I read on holiday. Mirror, Mirror is a book on self-image written for a primarily Christian audience. Its basic premise is reasonably simple. We tend to get our self-image from what we think people or our culture think of us and so are prey to the vagaries of fashion, mood-swings, passed comments and the like. While that is one mirror that we use, Graham points out that there is a truer mirror in knowing what the Bible says we are like. If this is true then we can live stable and secure lives rather than be blown around by whatever is going on any particular day because we know who we really are.

The book is well illustrated and really well applied – it’s a really practical book. And timely. Self-image is a massive issue for teens (amongst others!) and I guess I have become very aware of this through being more involved with this age group recently. All I seem to hear is self-image from this age group to the point that I fear some will follow Christ so long as he makes them feel good about themselves. But what happens when suffering and persecution come along? What happens when they feel rough and down on themselves or when they realise what a mess they really are?

These are not exclusively teenage problems and I don’t harbour the illusion that I am fully worked out and balanced. Most of us are self-absorbed to an unhealthy degree, some even blog about themselves like they are at all important! But this is a book that will be useful to work through with the teens I am working with and I am looking forward to using it with them.

Holiday Club

Back to work, back to reality. We’re back in Somerset and already preparing for the madness and mayhem that is Holiday Club which starts next week. Really looking forward to it, it’s always a great week and we have 64 kids signed up, a few less than previous years. The theme this year is Xploration Force – aimed at dyslexic adventurous types – and so we are busy copying resources, planning programmes and learning lines. I have been given the part of a grumpy and bad-tempered character in the drama – I know, but I’ll manage it somehow...

Five Years

It’s surprising how much stuff you can accumulate in five years, hence the grand clear out. Family recollections differ about the actual date but five years ago we packed our stuff and headed west. Now, after about 500 sermons and talks, who knows how many meetings, and not enough visits, we feel more widely loved and supported and being here feels less strange, comfortable even. Whether this means we are simply used to the situation or have become strange and therefore fit in is for others to judge.

Looking at the church now and then, things have changed a great deal. A lot of good people have worked hard to see this happen and we have had a very encouraging year with people becoming Christians and being baptised. Hope these are the first of many. A mark of the change is that we are taking part in Back to Church Sunday next month and I, for one, feel much more confident in inviting people to a service than I would have previously. More on this in due course.

Moving On

We came back to spend three busy days sorting rubbish and charity shop runs as we tidied the house ready for the estate agents to come and take pictures of the house. We should be on the market in a few days time. We are not planning on leaving on Burnham but the church has decided it is time to move the Manse to a more suitable property. This will be a good move, the kitchen is tiny and there is no downstairs loo which means we cannot actually have some of our more frail members of the church around for food. Would love to be in a new place by Christmas but these things usually move very slowly, so will have to be patient.

Adam Stansfield

We came back to England to rain on the runway and a decidedly cooler temperature on the day that Adam Stansfield, Exeter City’s number 9, lost his battle with cancer. So desperately sad to see a 31 year old, who was still playing in March, die so young. He was diagnosed in April with bowel cancer after suffering stomach cramps and leaves behind three children. The team was told straight after the game they had played against Ipswich that evening. Terribly, terribly, sad and it puts the game of football into perspective.

Exeter’s game at Dagenham was postponed at the opposition’s suggestion – a gracious act. Which means that the home game against Bristol Rovers on Saturday is scheduled to be the first game after Adam’s passing. We ordered tickets before going on holiday and I want to be there and I don’t want to be there.

Adam’s funeral is on Wednesday at Exeter Cathedral.

Church - "French" style

Went to a church in France and upon finding it was a little disappointed to find it was a service in English for a completely ex-pat congregation. Apparently we’d shown up for their monthly most formal service. Another shame.

Frankly it was probably a good experience for me to be bored in a church, it doesn’t happen much. When lots of the service is sung and you aren’t in on the tune they always use then it’s hard not to feel like an outsider. At no point in the service was any mention of the world or the country outside made. We could have been in England had the weather outside not been a giveaway. It did make me wonder how many of our churches are happy to go through the motions and play church while the rest of the world goes about its business unaware and unaffected.

The sermon was ten minutes long and should have been shorter. The preacher contradicted one of the readings at one point during the sermon – though I don’t think they even realised – and missed a great opportunity to expound on a wonderful passage of the gospel. Instead we just got some rambling reflections on what faith is. I didn’t need their opinions, I needed to know what Jesus said. Sadly, I didn’t get that.

I feel mean being this blunt – they were lovely people and this being a French congregation the coffee was fantastic. But it was a timely experience for me. I had read Bill Hybel’s book “Holy Discontent” earlier in the holiday. Basically he advises discovering what winds you up to the point of you having to do something about it. He reckons we all have something that we are driven to do something about in this world and I think mine is about wanting church to be interesting and accessible and creative and showing that the gospel is relevant to everyone today. I appreciate that people like different styles and approaches but in church here I felt alienated and it felt that someone had done their best to hide God. And I think the vast majority of my friends would feel the same way.

Which is why I do what I do.

Rant over. Sorry.

Highwire Days

Never been more frightened. Only 20 metres up but was plenty high enough of me. Was only there to support daredevil daughter. When she said she was scared I knew it must be bad. Wife thought I was going to have a heart attack and only on later reflection did it occur that I didn’t see anyone older on the course all day. File under “Will NEVER do this again”. Not in France, not nowhere.

Holiday

Long time, no posts, so let’s catch up. We have been away on holiday for the best part of three weeks and I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I have enjoyed being away from the computer and the internet.

We had two great weeks in France. The first week was spent in a converted barn in the middle of nowhere. It was a fantastically relaxing place to be and we slept a great deal which I think we all needed. The second week was in less good surroundings but we met some lovely people and were ready to communicate again so that was good. Lots of days out, plenty of baguette, cheese and red wine, some games of Risk, sleep and reading books – a terrific time.

How to install a new printer in a few easy stages

1. Pluck up courage
2. Clear away old printer and defunct computer (which has only gathered dust for months)
3. Take new printer out of the box and read the instructions
4. Look for the USB cable they claim to have sent
5. Try the cable that they sent instead
6. When this doesn't work, search through the drawer of cables and wires at home
7. Tidy them and throw some out
8. Go into office to find a USB cable in cupboard or in box by sound desk
9. When this fails, try the music shop opposite - a long shot
10. Then the shop on the corner which is bound to have one
11. Then the shop round the corner - a very long shot but recommended by #10.
12. On being told best place is in the next town, go home to collect machines to be taken to dump on way.
13. Discover why they call it a hard drive - break hammer.
14. Go to the dump and dispose of machines
15. Go to Asda on way to comuter shop and buy a USB lead!
16. Get home and discover they didn't mean a USB lead at all but a lead I had all along.
17. Follow very complicated instructions for setting up a wireless network
18. On failure realise that I have been talking to myself for quite a while.
19. Finally get contact, without ever really knowing how.
20. Print a page
21. Calculate that this simple process took just under three hours

Tom Jones

Something different today - Tom Jones has covered Bob Dylan's "What Good Am I?" on his latest release and done a terrific job of it. Recently celebrating his 70th birthday and still has a great voice. There's something of his age and experience of life that really lends itself to a haunting song like this. Click on the song under "Our Friends Eclectic", you won't regret it.

Clevedon v Exeter City

Went to a wet and windy Clevedon during the week to see Exeter's first pre-season friendly of the year. Not many of us there, (a couple of hundred?). I guess in church terms this was like going to the mid-week missions meeting - only for the very keen. I went on my tod, drawn by the chance to see some of the new faces I had read about. David Noble looked a long way from fitness after a long lay-off but clearly has class. Joe Heath got up and down and looked useful. So did Jake Thomson, very nippy, and Daniel Nardiello scored a good goal. Lots to be positive about and worth getting wet for. Good to get some air as well after a day off spent doing my tax return at home. Simple pleasures for a boy.

You are kidding right?!

It hit me square in the stomach when I read this morning that today is the 25th anniversary of Live Aid. My first reaction was that 'It can't be' and the second was, 'How did that happen?' Today has become another day when I feel quite old.

You see, I was there. That thing that they will wheel out as a history piece on the news this evening which will look visually odd compared to the HD images of today, I was one of the many in the crowd. I endured both the heat and Spandau Ballet and I once had the tee-shirt to prove it.

I remember it as being a day of celebration and hope, despite Spandau's best efforts. So many snippets come flooding back:

• Quo opening, Rocking all over the world being the perfect start.



• Geldof stopping mid song after the line, "The lesson today is how to die"



• Missing U2 because you had to go to the toilet sometime.



• Bowie using a song slot to play the incredibly emotional Cars video instead.



• Queen



• Booing Paul McCartney because his microphone didn't work. Completely unfair but everyone was so hyped up.

My friend Martin went and queued for tickets - an heroic effort. I haven't seen anyone else in the car load of people that went up to Wembley for 20 years I guess. Long time ago.

Tom Robinson wrote a good song about this on his Love Over Rage album (I think) called Days That Changed the World, concluding "Humanity's still waiting for the day that changed the world." You can get the link at the top of the right hand side of this page.

Me? I'm looking for my slippers and going to have a quiet sit down to listen to Howard Jones.

They Might Be Giants at the Royal Festival Hall

More than a bit tired after a fantastic day out in London on Saturday. It was a hot day and London was looking great; good to walk along the river and take in the sights and sounds - so many different accents and languages. We trained in from Reading to Waterloo and then walked further than we realised to the Tower of London. A lot of bling.

The reason for the big day out was the rare appearance of They Might Be Giants (TMBG) on UK soil. They played the Royal Festival Hall as part of a Science Festival, one of their kid's shows in the afternoon and then a show for grown ups in the evening. We were in the audience, along with Mark Ronson, Jonathan Ross and a whole bunch of nerdy middle aged people.

It was a brilliant gig. They are known as quirky and clever but you'd be daft to overlook the hook laden songs and the musical virtuosity of them. 14 albums (I think) and still going strong(ish). The trip to London being such a rarity TMBG were greeted with such obvious affection that they would have struggled not to have had a good time. They didn't disappoint. Some storming rock, much whimsy and sock puppets added to a heady mix. Highlights for me were "Why does the sun shine?" in pirate style followed by "Why does the sun really shine?", a later song written in the face of new scientific eveidence. "Doctor Worm" and "Don't Let's Start" are great songs and a rip-roaring version of "Your Racist Friend" was possibly the pinnacle. A good time had by all (with the possible exception of my son) and so many encores that we missed our train and then the next one. And not caring, even though we didn't end up rolling back into town until just after three this morning. A long and expensive day out and one that I think will live long in the memory.

Postscript - Found someone's ticket in the bar before the gig and handed it in at the door that it was valid for. A minute or so later I have a grateful German fan wishing to buy me a beer. He had flown to London especially for the gig as he feared that this might be the last time he would get the chance to see them. He was flying out again the following day. And I thought I was putting in a bit of an effort! I declined his kind offer, though after the football today I wish I had taken him up on it.

Invite people!

It has been interesting that in the screening of the football World Cup games that we have been on local TV and radio, newspaper and website and though we had around 50 people in for the second game, only one of those was a stranger - and he was there because he was invited by a friend. This is a lesson for when we take part in Back To Church Sunday in September. All the posters and publicity in the world will be no substitution for a personal invite.

Church does something normal and interesting shock!

Read all about it!

Following my previous blog entry I thought I would report that the local paper didn't run anything on the Cumbria shootings in the end, seems like the story faded quite quickly.

As an after thought I wrote them a quick press release about the fact that we are screening the World Cup football on the big screen in the church building and asked if they could give it a plug in a corner of the paper somewhere.

Well, it must be a quiet news week because they sent a photographer and I am your page three stunner this week. (Knocked off the front page by the theft of lead from another church building in the town). The town's website (which has three times the circulation of the paper - interesting sign of the times) also sent a photographer, local radio have picked up on it and I just stumbled across our local TV news reporter in the car park and did a brief piece for Points West, the local TV news, tonight. I'd have shaved if I knew he was coming.

All makes for an interesting day at the office but it feels odd as well. Because what we are doing just seems so normal to me. We are screening a football match and inviting people to join us. Just basic low level outreach and hospitality. Quite sobering to think that this is deemed newsworthy. I'm not sure if this is an indicator that the church is so out of touch with the rest of the world or vice versa. Could well be the case that the world is so out of touch that they are surprised when a church does something very slightly out of the box.

Derrick Bird

It's Monday morning. I have a call from the local newspaper asking for a comment on the awful events in Cumbria last week. Where do you start? I am sure I could do better than this but this is what I came up with. Wonder if they will use any of this...

The terrible events of the Cumbrian shootings, as well as the terrific response of people in the aftermath is a reminder to us that we are all capable of both great good and great evil. For most of us our actions are nowhere near as extreme but we have all given vent to our anger at some time and we have all been responsible for acts of courage and compassion.

More will probably come out about Derrick Bird’s actions and motives in due course but these tragedies underline what a dangerous thing anger is in our lives. We are said to live in an increasingly angry society but here we see how awful the fallout is if we store up bitterness.

Seeing the awful consequences of these shootings underlines for me why the Bible’s advice to deal with anger before you sleep each night is so sound. Hoarding up grudges does us no good and in more extreme circumstances is literally, sadly, deadly.

The alternative is to deal with anger and bitterness. Forgiving other people is rarely easy. I cannot imagine how long it will be before relatives of victims of these shootings can have some kind of peace in their lives. But the alternative to forgiveness is to be eaten up with bitterness for the rest of your life.

As well as praying for the families and friends of everyone involved we would be wise to drop the grudges we carry around. Our anger will cause less pain than Derrick Bird’s did but we’ll end up hurting others and ourselves if we don’t get rid of it.

Grace, it never gets old.

I have been annoying my (very) significant other recently by reading a book over the last few weeks and raving about how good it is. It is Extreme Righteousness by a man called Tom Hovestol and it is brilliant, one of the best books I have read in a long time. It is about the Pharisees and the lessons that we can learn from them. Here’s an illustration from near the end that underlines how pathetic our efforts at building up spiritual brownie points are compared with what Christ has already done for us:

“Imagine that you were a shrewd businessperson who had built a nest egg of $50,000. Bill Gates, the multibillionaire founder of Microsoft, befriends you and later decides to bequeath much of his considerable wealth to you. What would you do? Probably you would view all the money you had worked so hard to accumulate as unworthy of your attention. You might even eliminate it from your accounting, for it is as rubbish next to your newly acquired billions. In the asset column you would have great difficulty writing an amount because the figure is too large. Instead you may simply write “Inheritance from William Gates.” Furthermore, any future assets that you would accumulate from your job would seem inconsequential in comparison.

So it was for the apostle Paul:

If others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Philippians 3:4b-7

So it should be with us.” (Hovestol, pages 219-220)