A New Term

Well, the new term begins today. After a long summer break spent on placement, revising for exams and work the time has come to pick up the books again. I will be honest and say I am not looking forward to this year, I am not sure if I will enjoy it as much as last year. Yet what I must say is motivation is not lacking.

A summer placement does more than teach you about the life of a minister. It reminds you of the need to be 'on the ball' with your studies. It reminds you of the essential nature of a solid foundation of study and learning. How can we begin a ministry of shepherding if we do not know how to lead the sheep; moreover how can we lead the sheep if we have not been led by Christ?

So a healthy dose of Church History, Hebrew, NT and Systematic Theology is scheduled for the next year.  Lets see how it goes.

Mission

Another key theme i had been thinking about whilst on placement was a missional objective. Yet i do not mean simply a missional objective in the preaching and the preacher but a missional objective which streams from the pews (or chairs)!

The great commission is a reminder to us all that mission is not simply for missionaries, ministers and evangelists but to every Christian. We are all called to spread the gospel in church, work, home and social settings. This is crucial to the building of God's kingdom as it is how He intends us to work.

When we take this missional objective into our lives and live it - as God wants us to - we can begin to help build the Church for God by His power. When we come to Church and feed of the word and worship God we can then go out into our communities and bring others in. When everyone is pulling their weight growth is not a surprise but a pleasure to give God praise for.