Circuit Meeting

Tonight was Circuit meeting, it ran as smoothly as one would expect, with one real highlight.

It was an absolute joy to listen to the testimony & call to ministry of one of our local preachers who is candidating for the Methodist Ministry. The lady in question is a member at one of my chapels & it has been a privilege to be part of God's moving her along on this journey. I have seen her ministry & faith at close hand & am a big fan!

She spoke tonight with such passion vulnerability & heart; it was so inspiring to hear how God by His Spirit had kept gently speaking until she was ready to answer the call. It was brilliant to see that the whole meeting could sense God's Spirit working in her life & leading her on, & she was given a unanimous vote in favour.

The worst Preachers I have seen in action are those who think they know everything & can do the work in their own strength. Thank God this lady's greatest asset is that she is so aware that in her own strength she cannot do what God is calling her to, but in His power all things are possible. 

It was a joyful privilege of be at Circuit meeting tonight - now you dont get to say that very often do you!

Clerical collars

This is a very personal post written to answer those who have asked why I am now wearing my clerical shirts again after years of avoiding them like the plague!

Clerical collars & I have been on an interesting journey; I have swung between wearing mine always, sometimes, never, & now back to almost always.

When I left Theological College I wore my collar proudly everywhere; in Church, out of Church, shopping at ASDA, even at home doing the washing up!  

Sometime in 1998 after that first year I stopped wearing them unless I was leading worship service or funerals & weddings, partly because it was expected of me I guess. 

I had grown quite tired of the way the collar made me feel around other people, & particularly with people who had no contact with Church. The collar seemed to make some people nervous & stop me from being able to interact with them. Given that I felt called to work beyond the Church not just within it that was a huge problem. 

One group of people accused me of not wearing my clerical shirts because I was ashamed of God & doubted my calling which really hurt.

Though my faith is very different to to when I entered the ministry I have never been ashamed of God. 

I have always been immensely proud of being a one of Mr Wesley's preachers, & always felt called to be a Minister of Sacrament & Word. The collar though felt more & more like a barrier to doing that & being relevant in this generation.  

Sometime around 2003 I stopped wearing my clerical collar completely. I guess because the Church, Schools etc were used to me working without a collar no one seemed to notice, & very very few people asked me about it. 

I felt a lot more comfortable & I think I was more effective in communicating with those on the fringes of Church because I was just like them. I didnt have that ring of confidence, & people seemed to treat me as one of them instead of being different. 

But quite a few in senior positions in the Church especially in one appointment have made taking the collar off a big issue & there has been a big personal & professional cost for me & the family to bear. 

That said I wouldnt do anything different at all. I took the collar out because I felt led by the Spirit of God to do so. 

This last year, most of it spent off sick because of my back, I have reflected long & hard again & when I returned to work in May I felt led to do so wearing my collar, & it has felt really right to do so. I feel completely at ease with the decision even though I still think the collar is at times a barrier & when I need to I will take the collar out. 

That little bit of plastic does open doors too though, & I always said I would do as I felt led & all this time later the collar is back; I have come almost full circle, perhaps if I hadnt got so much abuse in another place I would have done so earlier!

Highlight of my ministry so far

When God called me to the ordained ministry in the Methodist Church I began wondering what on earth He saw in me. Yet at my ordination service at the Southport Conference (in Birkenhead Methodist Church) the Church said they saw in me what God had laid on my heart, & set me apart for leadership as a Methodist Presbyter / Minister. 

Since then there have of course been ups, downs, joys & sorrows but in everything I have known that God has walked with us & ahead of us; He has always given me the words to share with people.

I wouldn't have missed this roller-coaster journey for anything!
I am proud to be one of Mrs Wesley's preachers - I cant imagine ever being anything else.

I never imagined though for one moment that I might be used by God to help inspire someone else to give their life in service of God in the same way & actually be part of the ordination of another, yet at this years Methodist Conference again at Southport things have come full circle.

In the Methodist tradition those being ordained get to choose someone who has been part of their journey to be part of the ordination process & I am am so humbled that tomorrow I will be one of those Assisting Minister's at a Methodist Ordination service in Chester Cathedral. http://www.methodistconference.org.uk/ordinations  http://www.chestercathedral.com/

I feel so humbled that God used me to encourage my friend & am so proud to stand with her & assist in her ordination.

Praise God!