Scratching the Surface and Digging Deep

Bit of a heavy day teaching yesterday. The morning and afternoon were spent with undergraduates on our
weekend programme looking at various aspects of the churches’ response to the mission challenges and opportunities in today’s Britain. We spent time reimagining church, rethinking evangelism, responding to the new spirituality and reengaging with community. I always come away from such sessions frustrated by the sense that even after seven hours with the same group we have barely scratched the surface.

Then it was off to Rawtenstall to spend time with my friends at Kay Street Baptist Church and others from further up the Rossendale valley. Being the fifth Sunday of the month Kay Street were holding one of their Going Deeper sessions and it was my job to kick off discussion on the theme of how Christians should relate to God’s world. It’s very encouraging to come across more and more churches experimenting with conversation as way of grappling with God’s word and the challenges of discipleship. The hunger for substantial theological reflection and the embrace of dialogue has to be a sign of good health.