Sam Griffiths Pastor of Wellington Baptist Church, Somerset.
Sunday 27 October 2019
Good article on clergy mental health
https://www.christianpost.com/voice/how-to-truly-appreciate-your-pastor-233590/
Sunday 20 October 2019
Consumption
The language and ideas of consumption are upon our lips every day in these times. Right now, we are trying to reverse our consumption of "things" so that the planet is not worn out - and rightly so. My garage is no longer the traditional home of a motor vehicle, it never actually was anyway, but now it is full of different boxes and bags of different types of recycling. I can't help but wonder if someone has pulled a fast one where, instead of the recycling depot, our garage has now become a recycling processing site!
The word "consume" brings all kinds of images into my head: something or someone consumes what is available, more often than not in a container, and then uses or digests the something, then often throwing away the container as rubbish. Also, in the case of fuel, a vehicle or boiler will consume fuel, and then having extracted energy, exhausts another substance which is what is leftover.
The Christian concept of stewardship is significant here. Christians are meant to be good stewards of that which God has put them in charge of. Good rather than careless. Why? Because the scriptures are clear that we will have to give an account for how we have cared for things and people and a good few other items, I guess. In other words, consumption is a reality, but the manner in which we consume has to be a careful process.
The word consume also suggests from a Christian perspective that we are not simply to be consumers, but that we are to be a people who give something back. We are not to be those that merely suck something dry, but actually, we are to be part of the process of inputting, so that others benefit.
There is a significant pause for caution and reflection here too. The implication of consumption is that that which is discarded is seemingly no longer cared for. It is potentially thrown over our shoulders or dropped onto the floor, and considered as rubbish which we never look back on, because we are only focused on that which we have got out of the process.
One of the side reflections of my dog walk today (on this topic), is that which I am very much concerned with and for as a local church pastor - the local church. Now the scriptures paint a very radical picture of the church. It is not a building or an institution or a kind of dead, lifeless and unimportant object. In fact, Baptist Doctrine which was my training at theological college and is the tradition to which I belong, very clearly paints the church as the people. The church is the committed group of people who make up a local family of believers. There are numerous types of these in local towns and they are all different. And if the local church is the living people who have committed to God and each other, then this is a living and active experience which is about how we give and put into the family, and it's not at all about what we consume. The danger here is all too clear in the context of consumption. Consumption would suggest that we are only interested in what we get out of it - in this sense, the local church. Being a church consumer would suggest precisely this - only what we get out of it, and when we are done with it, we merely discard what we no longer need and move on to something else or indeed somewhere else. In actual fact, the idea of consumption is completely foreign to being a part of a local church. No, this living relationship is a three-way process of giving to God, giving to others and receiving from others. But be in no doubt, the idea that somehow or other the local church is where you might consume or receive only, is a completely foreign, illogical and unbiblical concept which has no place in a Christian's life.
The word "consume" brings all kinds of images into my head: something or someone consumes what is available, more often than not in a container, and then uses or digests the something, then often throwing away the container as rubbish. Also, in the case of fuel, a vehicle or boiler will consume fuel, and then having extracted energy, exhausts another substance which is what is leftover.
The Christian concept of stewardship is significant here. Christians are meant to be good stewards of that which God has put them in charge of. Good rather than careless. Why? Because the scriptures are clear that we will have to give an account for how we have cared for things and people and a good few other items, I guess. In other words, consumption is a reality, but the manner in which we consume has to be a careful process.
The word consume also suggests from a Christian perspective that we are not simply to be consumers, but that we are to be a people who give something back. We are not to be those that merely suck something dry, but actually, we are to be part of the process of inputting, so that others benefit.
There is a significant pause for caution and reflection here too. The implication of consumption is that that which is discarded is seemingly no longer cared for. It is potentially thrown over our shoulders or dropped onto the floor, and considered as rubbish which we never look back on, because we are only focused on that which we have got out of the process.
One of the side reflections of my dog walk today (on this topic), is that which I am very much concerned with and for as a local church pastor - the local church. Now the scriptures paint a very radical picture of the church. It is not a building or an institution or a kind of dead, lifeless and unimportant object. In fact, Baptist Doctrine which was my training at theological college and is the tradition to which I belong, very clearly paints the church as the people. The church is the committed group of people who make up a local family of believers. There are numerous types of these in local towns and they are all different. And if the local church is the living people who have committed to God and each other, then this is a living and active experience which is about how we give and put into the family, and it's not at all about what we consume. The danger here is all too clear in the context of consumption. Consumption would suggest that we are only interested in what we get out of it - in this sense, the local church. Being a church consumer would suggest precisely this - only what we get out of it, and when we are done with it, we merely discard what we no longer need and move on to something else or indeed somewhere else. In actual fact, the idea of consumption is completely foreign to being a part of a local church. No, this living relationship is a three-way process of giving to God, giving to others and receiving from others. But be in no doubt, the idea that somehow or other the local church is where you might consume or receive only, is a completely foreign, illogical and unbiblical concept which has no place in a Christian's life.
Tuesday 24 September 2019
Engaging with local schools
I can't quite believe it, but I've been in Schools Ministry for over 30 years. I find that amazing because I can't say I enjoyed school as a child, except that is for the sport.
And I'm fairly sure that I didn't go to theological college (Spurgeons) with the idea that I had that the gifting in my kit bag for schools ministry, yet before I began thinking about becoming a Pastor, I was working with children as a Crusader Leader. Something seemed to happen once I began thinking about training to be a Pastor which seemed to make me unintentionally serious and boring and forget about those skills with children, and it wasn't until I met a fantastic guy in my first church called Richard Morrison, a schools worker, that I became freshly inspired to engage with schools, their classes, assemblies, staff, governors and structures. Even now whenever I walk into schools, I momentarily flick back to my childhood and think "what am I doing here?"
Over the years I must have connected with a few hundred or so of children who have been on the end of one my school assemblies - a few silly songs, a prayer drill, an animated talk from a story in the Bible - initially using an Overhead Projector (sometimes coloured in) and then progressing over the years to a data/video projector. Mind you, some of the best assemblies involve no electronics and are entirely practical: a tennis racket and ball, a rugby or football, even my bike once, a water pistol, a golf ball and club and probably a whole load of other weird and peculiar items.
Sometimes assemblies are long-planned and quite well prepared in advance, whilst others are fresh that morning and come from a mad idea that is way out. Strange looks and responses along the lines of "you're not going to do an assembly on that, are you?"
I've also had to be keenly aware that sometimes the schools I've gone into have had our own children in, and for better or for worse my kids have ducked at the moment their dad appears at the front with yet another crazy idea.
Also, over the years schools ministry has been in different political cultures. I think that's the best way of putting it. Initially (in my lifetime) under Thatcher etc, a daily act of worship in an assembly was required and invited. This has moved over the years as assemblies with faith have become less popular. The stark reality is that unless a local Christian leader or Schools Worker goes into a school, or unless there is a Christian on the staff of the school, then a Christian assembly - or put another way - a school assembly with Christian input (the two are not the same) then a school assembly today is now reduced to a thought for the day, a presentation of a few certificates, maybe something musical, and then a nice moral "be kind to one another" kind of quick thought. I would observe that years ago the schools phoned me up to chase me for an assembly date, now the boot is on the other foot: unless I phone up and chase the school, then nothing is going to happen. That's quite a significant change.
One of the most frustrating sides of connecting with schools right now and ok, this might seem minor, but it feels major to me, is that having established a connection with a key contact in a typical local school for planning assembly dates, and other activities, and ensuring that we stay connected and communicate with each other, is that then the school seems to change that named person every year now, in the same way that the Maths Lead Teacher or English Lead Teacher is changed. This is completely confusing and means that communication is hard and the relationship has to start all over again every year.
The best connections with schools lead to some great things. In my current experience we see schools coming on to our church site for Harvest Festivals, Christmas Services, Class visits to the church to look at symbols of faith, Live demo full immersion baptisms, and even on one occasion - a live demo of a wedding service. The most memorable moments just now are when I get the teachers out the front for a kind of Blue Peter "make something in a speedy 2 minutes" kind of way, like an Advent clothes hanger candle, all whilst competing against each other. And probably the most rewarding moments are the Christmas carol services.
So I like Schools Ministry very much. Over the years it has led to me being a School Chaplain, a School Governor and it certainly keeps you young!
And I'm fairly sure that I didn't go to theological college (Spurgeons) with the idea that I had that the gifting in my kit bag for schools ministry, yet before I began thinking about becoming a Pastor, I was working with children as a Crusader Leader. Something seemed to happen once I began thinking about training to be a Pastor which seemed to make me unintentionally serious and boring and forget about those skills with children, and it wasn't until I met a fantastic guy in my first church called Richard Morrison, a schools worker, that I became freshly inspired to engage with schools, their classes, assemblies, staff, governors and structures. Even now whenever I walk into schools, I momentarily flick back to my childhood and think "what am I doing here?"
Over the years I must have connected with a few hundred or so of children who have been on the end of one my school assemblies - a few silly songs, a prayer drill, an animated talk from a story in the Bible - initially using an Overhead Projector (sometimes coloured in) and then progressing over the years to a data/video projector. Mind you, some of the best assemblies involve no electronics and are entirely practical: a tennis racket and ball, a rugby or football, even my bike once, a water pistol, a golf ball and club and probably a whole load of other weird and peculiar items.
Sometimes assemblies are long-planned and quite well prepared in advance, whilst others are fresh that morning and come from a mad idea that is way out. Strange looks and responses along the lines of "you're not going to do an assembly on that, are you?"
I've also had to be keenly aware that sometimes the schools I've gone into have had our own children in, and for better or for worse my kids have ducked at the moment their dad appears at the front with yet another crazy idea.
Also, over the years schools ministry has been in different political cultures. I think that's the best way of putting it. Initially (in my lifetime) under Thatcher etc, a daily act of worship in an assembly was required and invited. This has moved over the years as assemblies with faith have become less popular. The stark reality is that unless a local Christian leader or Schools Worker goes into a school, or unless there is a Christian on the staff of the school, then a Christian assembly - or put another way - a school assembly with Christian input (the two are not the same) then a school assembly today is now reduced to a thought for the day, a presentation of a few certificates, maybe something musical, and then a nice moral "be kind to one another" kind of quick thought. I would observe that years ago the schools phoned me up to chase me for an assembly date, now the boot is on the other foot: unless I phone up and chase the school, then nothing is going to happen. That's quite a significant change.
One of the most frustrating sides of connecting with schools right now and ok, this might seem minor, but it feels major to me, is that having established a connection with a key contact in a typical local school for planning assembly dates, and other activities, and ensuring that we stay connected and communicate with each other, is that then the school seems to change that named person every year now, in the same way that the Maths Lead Teacher or English Lead Teacher is changed. This is completely confusing and means that communication is hard and the relationship has to start all over again every year.
The best connections with schools lead to some great things. In my current experience we see schools coming on to our church site for Harvest Festivals, Christmas Services, Class visits to the church to look at symbols of faith, Live demo full immersion baptisms, and even on one occasion - a live demo of a wedding service. The most memorable moments just now are when I get the teachers out the front for a kind of Blue Peter "make something in a speedy 2 minutes" kind of way, like an Advent clothes hanger candle, all whilst competing against each other. And probably the most rewarding moments are the Christmas carol services.
So I like Schools Ministry very much. Over the years it has led to me being a School Chaplain, a School Governor and it certainly keeps you young!
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