Phils focus

As a child I read ‘The Magicians Nephew’ by CS Lewis. For the uninitiated, the story tells of how Aslan, the Great Lion, the Son of the Emperor Over the Seas, created the land of Narnia. He does so by singing it into existence. He walks across a dark and barren landscape singing as he comes. Those who witness it realise that every beautiful note and chorus in someway corresponds to stars suddenly appearing in the black sky, grass springing up underfoot, trees and plants and birds and animals emerging from the ground, or rivers and waterfalls bursting forth. This scene was beautifully and forever burned into my imagination well before I read the creation story in Genesis, and so I simply overlaid these images as I read the relevant parts of scripture. Aslan then goes on to charge the talking animals with responsibility to take care of this beautiful new land that he has just created, warning them not to return to dumb and witless ways, or they would lose the power of speech become ordi...

Local Transformation Story You wouldn’t recognise our local park from 10 years ago as it had fallen into disrepair and suffered from neglect. Julie became a trustee back then and together with a host of brilliant local hero’s they have transformed it into a thriving hub of diversity and community celebration which thousands more people now access. It is such a joy to see life being enjoyed in each corner of this small but perfectly formed park; Brilliant children’s water park, an incredible edible greenhouse, the fabulous Cat Cafe (initially launched with help of the legend that is Rebecca Maddox), bee hives, bandstand live music and a farmers market most weekends, sports areas, tennis courts and so much more. It has been an amazing blessing to us to watch the park revive and flourish. During our sabbatical we spent much time just sitting here enjoying nature (Sir John Betjeman declare it ‘a strangely beautiful place’) listening to excellent live music, chatting to neighbours, frien...

On Friday I took a day out for silent retreat down at Ashburnham. I encountered the Lord in the car going down and experienced a rich fellowship with him throughout the day. I began the journey in the car by imagining the Lord in the passenger seat next to me. I was intent on paying attention to what he was doing, how he was sitting, where his focus was, etc. Initially he looked slouched and almost ready for a nap. He made some comment about taking the wheel whenever I was ready, which made me laugh. I told him of the tension I was carrying in my body and the fact that my thoughts were all over the place. He suggested we do some breathing together. I thought ‘ok, I’ll focus just on driving and following Jesus’ breathing, and think of nothing else for at least three minutes. Fail  I could barely go two breaths without slipping into thoughts of something else. I could not immerse in the process. So the Lord said. ‘Count to 100 breaths as we do this. ’  The adde...

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations... Matt 28:19 For over 40 years I have grappled with the call to discipleship and mission and in that time I have learned, forgotten, and had to relearn certain core truths. To have  possession  of a map of discipleship in its simplest forms is a treasure. What I find is that the principles carried in these few geometric shapes carry all of the main themes of discipleship.  My years of experience have underlined the value of having a few simple tools, proverbs and principles by which to travel and to hang ones experiences upon. Life-shapes are just such a set of tools. They serve to introduce us to the core themes of the discipleship journey. These shapes serve as 'icons' or windows into key themes of scripture, providing a simple language of discipleship that is easily retained and easy to teach others. An icon on a phone or computer opens up an application that serves to make some everyday task of life a bit...

We have just finished a three month break in which we have been able to relax, talk, listen, read, think, pray, travel, work on our home, spend quality time with family and friends, and dream future plans. Its been amazing.  Let me rewind a bit. Some while ago I sensed God saying it was time to plan a 3 month sabbatical. (for a quick overview on what a sabbatical is see my earlier blog ). When the idea first landed two years ago neither the church nor Julie and I were ready, but as we started 2018 I sensed that for Julie and myself this year was to be a season of rest and listening. So we set aside May through July as season of DEEP LISTENING.  Before we started our sabbatical we attended an Emotionally Healthy Spirituality conference in New York. Julie and I have been on a journey to build a better rhythm of silence, solitude and listening. This is for the sake not only of our own spiritual health, but for the sake of our ministry and long term mission to build a...

Julie and I begin a three month sabbatical from the start of May through to the end of July. This is something that we have been planning for a couple of years in response to a clear sense from the Lord that this should mark a new season of life for us and for the lovely church we lead. Some have been asking; ‘so what is a Sabbatical?’ so here is a quick overview. It is rooted in the biblical principles of ‘Sabbath’. Sabbath is the (weekly) rhythm of rest built into the creation story and echoed by the instructions in Leviticus and Exodus that every seven years the land was to be given a year of rest and remain ‘fallow’ to recover its nutrients. Our understanding of healthy rhythms of weekly Sabbaths and seasonal Sabbaticals are that they are a time to STOP and ask: what do I need to do to really cease from all my work? To REST and ask what kind of things will enable me to rest during this break? To DELIGHT and ask what will replenish my soil and fill me with energy, and to del...

Warning: This blog gets a bit more theological than my more usual testimonial style here. When I listen to some teachers I wonder what bible they are reading. They seem to hold the opinion that God was angry in the OT but that he went through a change of personality after the cross and suddenly becomes merciful, kind and forgiving. The common scripture they reference is Paul’s teaching on the difference between living 'under grace' or 'under the law'. ‘The OT is law’ they conclude and the NT is grace’. Which is all well and good, except that every now and then the same people will suddenly pop up declaring that God is ‘judging’ a place, a person or a city because of their various sinful behaviors. It appears as if God has snapped back into his OT ‘angry mode’ and has forgotten the unconditional love and grace of the NT that they were referencing earlier! This inevitably presents people with a rather schizophrenic view of God and of the bible. To be fair, the chall...