: Excuses have their uses

Never thought I’d be quoting 80s crooners ABC in my blog, but just a quick thought from my morning reading. From my time in the police I heard sone people ‘caught bang to rights’ as we said come up with some fantastic excuses. One drunk I arrested protested ‘I’m just an innocent stybander!’ I love how real (and really lame) Aaron’s response is when he gets nailed for his part in getting the whole nation in trouble. Moses asks him, ‘what happened here?!!’ Uh oh… What do I say? ( I paraphrase) ‘Er….well it was everybody else, they wanted to be bad but not me…’ Exodus 32:24 ESV “So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”” See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/Exod32.24.ESV This great big golden calf thing everyone’s bowing down to instead of the real God ‘just happened!’ Caught red handed With your pants down Your hand in the till The lie found out What do we […]


Gossip – talk at Ivy MCR by Sarah Small

Sometimes we think it’s quite a trivial thing, but it’s not. We are surrounded by Facebook opportunities to pry into other peoples reality. Cf Levenson enquiry – media stooped so low – why? Because we wanted to ‘read all about it.’ We think it’s ok to put it out there. What they said and did. And it’s in churches too. It can make you feel awful. To have a confidence broken. There are ‘prayer group gossipers.’ but you don’t need to know everything to pray about anything Or we say something negative about someone – but finish it off with ‘bless them.’ Or the one who says ‘I’m just putting it out there’ – as if delivering a helpful truth, when in fact we are assassinating a character. The more quantity – the less its likely to be helpful. Prov 11;13 16:28 26:20 18:8 These verses tell us of serious consequences! Are you a trustworthy friend or a perverse gossiper? Let the fire go out – don’t put petrol on it! Gossip is tasty! To be ‘in’ on something, to […]


@AlanHirsch – ReOrganise at #NWNLC12

Don’t create systems that create dependences. If you want to destroy a movement – don’t make it easily reproducible.We believe in the priesthood of all believers, but it’s largely a doctrine not a practice. As long as you’re wearing a collar it speaks louder than your words. You’re representing the institution. It’s very hard to get a person to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it.


Playing to my strengths

Tomorrow we go away as a staff team. In recent weeks I’ve asked everyone to do the Clifton Strengthfinders test, most of them have come back from it saying it’s ‘scarily accurate.’ Here’s mine – I took the test a few years ago but I don’t think it changes that much so I haven’t redone it. If you know me, does this sound like me? Have you done the test – or do you prefer others? I’ve done DISC and Myers-Briggs. I certainly don’t agree with the last sentence of the first one. Anyway, I have to be going… Activator People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient. Maximizer People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb. Adaptability People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they […]