A New Life

It's been a while.
The Shed has a new home. Somewhere called Staffs. There are lots of trees. Had a pleasant tour yesterday. There were horses running around a lake. Almost too beautiful. God is good.
And the shed survived being uprooted and deconstructed, transplanted and remantled. It was built to last - longer than I expected.

First sermon at a new church on Sunday. It probably requires great wisdom to know what to say on these occasions. My favourite saying about knowledge and wisdom is that you may know that a tomato is technically a fruit, but wisdom is not putting it in a fruit crumble.

There's some low-hanging fruit appearing in the tree by the shed. Not sure what it is yet. Which reminds me to get on with the sermon. By their fruit you shall know them. 

Matthew 11:16-19New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

¹⁶ ‘To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the market-places and calling out to others:

¹⁷ ‘“We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.”

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.’

New International Version - UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Winding Down

The shed was in mortal peril last week!  All that windiness made a tree fall down.  Well most of it anyway.  Thankfully, the tree found an angle that made it miss the shed.  And also next door's fence.
It can be quite difficult to discern intentionality.  As was explained to me by a vicar who shall remain nameross, if you're caught in an avalanche then that's just nature taking it's course.  But if you see a snowball rolling down a mountain toward you, which changes its course when you do - then someone is behind it.
Sometimes we just have to be thankful that things could have been a lot worse.
Wind is seemingly random, Spirit is purposeful.  It's ever so confusing that in both Hebrew and Greek, one word is used for both.  This makes it impossible to translate into English, as we have to decide which of two (or more) words better fits the bill.  Hence in Jesus' conversation (OK, monologue) with Nicodemus, the same word is translated differently by reading intentionality back into the sentences.  Shame.


John 3: (CEV)

4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”

5 Jesus answered:

I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6 Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7 Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. 8 Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.

Illumination

I thought I'd return to the blog this week as I have adorned the shed with pretty lights. 40 solar powered colour changing LEDs. I love the idea of solar lights, bringing light to darkness at no expense to the environment (if one chooses to ignore manufacturing and shipping them of course.)

Also had to revisit the old blog to reread the fascinating comments by the poster known as gospel. Lectionary text for tomorrow's sermons is John 14:1-14. I've preached on this more than any other, it being the reading of choice for funeral services. Still don't really understand it - especially the less preached verses (7-14). A lot hinges on whether you think the house of many rooms is temporary (as does NT Wright) or eternal (as does gospel). It could be that St John had in mind the temporary booths of the feast of tabernacles. Or not. Sheds or mansions? Wood or stone?

I've served my original license term of 7 years here now. Not sure if I'd have to leave the shed behind or whether it could come with me. How much of this world do we take into the next?



John 14 (CEV because I don't like v2 phrased as a question!)
Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father, too. But now you do know him, and you have seen him.”

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

9 Jesus answered, “I have been with you a long time now. Do you still not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you don’t come from me, but the Father lives in me and does his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done. 12 I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. 14 If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.




Found an old unposted post too, so now it's posted.

Location:Shed

Annual

Almost a year since I last posted anything!
What's happened since? Err got a new iPhone. it's like the old one but a little bit longer. Whatever happened to innovation?

Anyway, Just had a holiday and a free Sunday.
Visited a church for an informal service. Tech problems abounded. I resisted the temptation to go sort it out.
The poor minister didn't have a screen to see, so didn't know the words weren't appearing. Hence a very unresponsive section of liturgy! Did well considering, though.
This made me think. The congregation was smallish. Or few. Hence not the largest A/V support team. In fact it was just one chap. But this church has a quite complicated set-up. It usually needs two people at the back.
So, assuming money isn't a problem, is it always best to get as much tech as you can? Or is it sometimes better not to? For instance if you don't have the people to run it, isn't it better to get just the kit that can be used and used well?
Shouldn't the tech fit the people rather than the people fit the tech?
This is of course a driver for the post-pc or rather post-desktop age.

I'm still quite happy with the simple setup we have at St Peter's. One laptop and a projector. The service leader can control it, or give the remote to someone else. It works pretty well.



Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Location:House

Encore

I did say I might add a little bit occasionally.
It's been 3 weeks now since I've been back at work.  And finally, today, I have a zero inbox. All emails dealt with in some way. This is cause for celebration!

In those few weeks I've been asked to lead a workshop on using Audio/Visual in Worship.  I've also written a magazine article on being in a shed.  So the sabbatical was quite useful.
I'm also running a confirmation course with our new curate, Alan, and have been surprised at how much audio/visual media I had used last time, and the time before. That was some time ago: there does seem to be something of an A/V plateau effect.  Once you have your projector and computer, you have to be continually creative to do anything new with them.  I still don't know what comes next!
I've been plodding along with PowerPoint sermon illustrations mostly, with videos reserved for the confirmation class.  And KFC (Kids For Christ).

The main tech news of note recently has been the very sad death of Steve Jobs from Apple.  I don't think I was too mean to him in blogs gone by, looking back.  There aren't many tech people who have such a big impact on society.  He even made the prayers in Radio 4's Daily Service.
I had planned a birthday visit to the Apple shop last Thursday, but decided against it because i wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I think it was flowers, mostly.  And post-it note tributes.

Many people, including myself, noted that they had heard the news of Steve's death on one of his own iDevices.

1 Corinthians 15:13-15 (NIV)

¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

End

Last day of my sabbatical today. I should be enthused and re-energised and ready to get back to work. Should be.
The trouble is it took at least a month to wind down, and so I don't think I'm going to be upto speed for a while yet!

Not sure what the future of this blog will be. I will most likely update it occasionally rather than regularly. I think it will be persistent thanks to the good folks of Google.

Thank you to everyone who's followed my adventures in technology and theology, especially those who have expended more effort on comments than I have on blogging!

Having read several books, I have decided that I really don't like reading. I suppose I will do that occasionally rather than regularly too. Kindle text-to-speech may come in useful.

I'm still playing around in photoshop, imagining projection systems in places that don't have them. Here's a 'photo' from Coventry, somewhere that affected me probably more than anywhere over the last few months.

Revelation 22
20 He who gives his testimony to all this says, "Yes indeed! I am coming soon!" So be it. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.

Location:Shed

Shed

Shed in the news yesterday.  Not mine, but one beloning to Roald Dahl - his 'personal creative space' according to the lady from the museum.  Apparently it's going to take £500 000 to fix it up and move it into the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.  They could have mine for a lot less than that.

So this blog has at least something in common with giant peaches and chocolate factories with no health & safety regulations.

Sheds are excellent 'personal creative spaces'.  Probably something to do with controlling the environment.  They let you start simple, and stay there - only putting really necessary things in there.  (Assuming you have somewhere else for the lawnmower etc.)  Mostly, you can avoid putting distractions in there.  It helps to be in the garden too, away from people trying to get you to join the RSPCA, have your loft insulated or your (perfectly functioning) computer fixed.  Though such isolationism isn't something I can sustain post-sabbatical.

In my distraction-free shed I have  a couple of garden chairs, an old cardigan and a blanket.  This would presumably meet the criteria of most monastic traditions.  The great Celtic monks loved their cells where they would eat, sleep think and pray away their days.
They sometimes had fires for warmth though.  As the weather gets colder, I may have to consider how to keep warm in a wooden shed.  I don't have electricity - so no light either.

That's not too important as I can read my iPad in the dark - and I should mention that I can get a WiFi signal too.  And a 3G phone signal.  So, apart from being able to find almost any piece of information known, and being theoretically able to contact anyone in the whole world, I'm just like one of those heroic Celtic monks of old when I'm in my shed.

Roald Dahl's shed is apparently in a poor state of repair.  Sheds are not really meant to last like houses are. They are temporary dwellings.  Nice to stay a while, but I'll get back into the house and sleep in a warm bed inside, thank-you.  The distinction between a temporary and a permanent dwelling is an important one in scripture.

Tom Wright points out in Surprised by Hope, that the start of John 14 is often misrepresented in the context of bereavement (it's the most common reading at funeral services).  The Father's house of many rooms is equated with heaven and permanently resting in peace.  Since the word translated 'rooms' is mone, meaning a temporary resting place, we should think of this as representing a step along the way to bodily resurrection. And this is what the early Christians had in mind.

John 14 GNB

“Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. ²There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. ³And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. ⁴You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.” 

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?” 

6 Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.