Virtual Methodist

In the light of the piece I wrote yesterday, the rekindling of my love affair with public transport and with more than a passing reference to Heather Morris's Presidential theme of "A People Invited to Follow..." here is a reblog of a short poem I wrote for the Connexions event at Dublin Conference nearly a decade ago. Some people don’t like travelling on public transport Beside other people; smelly people; Rude people; poor people; Noisy people; nosy people; Young people; old people; Some people don’t like people… They prefer cars… Jesus likes people… People like you and me; People not like you and me; People not liked by you and me; People who don’t like you and me; People who don’t know you and me; But Jesus knows them And he knows you and me And despite all that he knows he invites us all to join him on his journey. I think Jesus would have liked public transport. (© David Campton 2004) Selah

In this season where we celebrate the incarnation, of the one who was said to come "full of grace and truth" is it any wonder there are a number of commentators who are suggesting that some look on Julian Assange, the editor in chief of Wikileaks as a pseudo-messiah? Don't think that Jesus was accused of sexual assault, but he was accused of associating with some dodgy people, was imprisoned on trumped up charges and executed as an enemy of the state. Is Julian Assange a tireless champion of freedom of speech, a self-seeking sociopath, an IT terrorist, or a post-modernist messiah? Or is he just a very naughty boy? Most of the "disclosures" on the recent ambassadorial cables told us things that anyone in the chattering classes had already uninformed opinions about... Israel and Saudi Arabia want the US to bomb Iran - you don't say! Sarkozy is short and Berlusconi is an old letch - never! The Americans think British soldiers in Afghanistan are useless - amazin...

As I said yesterday, I am not here, if by here I mean at my desk in Belfast doing my usual last minute preparations for worship in Dundonald tomorrow. Instead I'm in London and going to sit anonymously in a pew with my wife tomorrow. But by the miracle that is scheduled posts, I thought I would share this gem by Kim Fabricius over on Connexions . He posted it a while back and I've been trying to think of an appropriate time to link to it or post it... This is as good a time as any Why are we here? We are not here to “do a bunk” from the world. We are not here to “get in touch with our ‘inner selves’”. We are not here to “recharge our batteries”. And God help us if we are here to “make a deal” with God: “Lord, if you do this for me, then I’ll do that for you.” Why are we here? We are here because the world is not right, because we are not right, and because we are angry about injustice, sad about suffering, and ashamed of ourselves. Why are we here? We are here because God so lo...

It's not often that I reblog someone else's piece in its entirety, but this is too good not to... I picked it up through Richard Hall over at Connexions (a great site for picking up material from across the blogsphere when it is not being assailed by Zionists) but it is originally by Ben Myers over on Faith and Theology . Its on a theme I've been touching on a lot recently (clearly my time of life!!!) but it isn't a theme that is covered by many Christian writers. It also mashes well with the song by Andrew Peterson I've posted at the end of the article. 1. The precursor of the human smile was the caveman’s savage grimace ( Angus Trumble, A Brief History of the Smile , p. 3). The invention of dentistry is the main difference between this threatening grimace and the polite social convention of the modern smile. 2. In the Protestant West today, smiling has become a moral imperative. The smile is regarded as the objective externalisation of a well ordered life. ...

David Clawson, a former member of Dundonald Methodist who is now Assistant Minister at Craigyhill Presbyterian in Larne, was back in Dundonald speaking at our Youth Fellowship service... He (and indeed the whole service led by the young people) was excellent... He was speaking from Jonah 1 & 2... Prompting me to post a series of pieces based on the book of Jonah... the complete antithesis of what a prophet should be... Originally I delivered this first one covered in water and swathed in seaweed... I also adapted it for use in the Connexions event at the 2004 Dublin Conference, and delivered it standing knee deep in a fountain. You just wouldn't believe it! The week I've had. It all began with a message from God... Recorded delivery, so I couldn't even pretend it had got lost in the post. It was addressed to Jonah, Son of Amittai, Prophet of Israel... That's me... But I was in no way ready for what was inside. It said "Dear Jonah, I would like you to go and tel...

Given some of what I was saying in my previous posting on Trivial Pursuits , and the news that Belfast isn't going to get a light railway but a few bendy buses, I was reminded of this poem I wrote a few years ago for the Connexions Event at the Methodist Conference in Dublin. Some people don’t like traveling on public transport Beside other people; smelly people; Rude people; poor people; Noisy people; nosy people; Young people; old people; Some people don’t like people… They prefer cars… Jesus likes people… People like you and me; People not like you and me; People not liked by you and me; People who don’t like you and me; People who don’t know you and me; But Jesus knows them And he knows you and me And despite all that he knows he invites us all to join him on his journey. I think Jesus would have liked public transport. (© David Campton 2004)