A Long Day

An interesting and unusual day yesterday. Al and I had agreed to go to the West Midlands Group fraternal of the FIEC in the morning. (The city of Birmingham sits at the centre of the region represented.) Though it is an FIEC meeting they are open to visitors from other evangelical churches, like us. Normally they have a speaker speaking on some doctrinal or pastoral issue. But this time they were discussing FIEC business. Interesting nonetheless. Some random thoughts:

• A good number there. Always a good sign.


• A good proportion of young men in training. Another good sign.


• A clear concern for the propogation of the gospel, partnership and sharing of resources.


• In the main presentation, a map showed the distribution of FIEC churches round the region. I was struck by how in the urban centre there is only one FIEC church. There are other churches there apparently.


• I got a distinct sense of 'hierarchy' in the FIEC organisation. This was kind of wierd for a group that is founded upon independency. It was a clash I found difficult to resolve in my own mind.


• I was extremely grateful for the hospitality, welcome and the opportunity for fellowship in the gospel.

I spent a large chunk of the afternoon in Solihull Public Library. I have study to do for up-coming exams. It's a nice place. It was busy. There were lots of students there, perhaps from the local college. I must be getting old. They looked like kids to me.

I dropped by the local Starbucks later in the afternoon for coffee and some more reading. More 'kids'. Oh, and one elderly gentleman with a blazer and tie reading the paper.

I suppose it is because of what I am turning into - a church planting pastor - but when I go to the places like the Library, Starbucks or just around town I am constantly thinking, "How do we reach these people with the gospel?" Frankly, I don't know. In the face of this I can only think of three options: freeze, run or pray.

Evening. Meal with Al and Julie. James turned up as well. Followed by fellowship/Bible study - eight there altogether. Good time, as always. Finally, got home 11:30pm. I find I can't go to bed straightaway. There are too many things going round my mind. So, bed at 1am. A long day.