Thought for the Day

As delivered at BBC Radio Bristol this morning:

 

I am interested in the continuing conversation about people feeling forced to move out of their council homes because of an empty bedroom.

 

I was at a conference last week for pioneers. Maybe you wonder, 'Isn't a pioneer an old-time prospector saying 'There's gold in them there hills. I'm going to get me some?''

 

Or an army team, building bridges and roads so others can advance.

 

People who go on ahead. Yupp. Churches in this country are investing in pioneers. Who do not work within traditional models of buildings with spires or towers but with people, engaging where they are.

 

It is part of what I do, which is why I was at the conference.

 

Once you build you can forget that the church is nomadic - on the move looking to share and grow. But I do have a nice home - a safe place where I can rest, feed and restore my soul.

 

On the road, Jesus responded to a questioner saying 'The son of man has nowhere to lay his head.' His journey was to his death. His followers were volunteers. Still are.

 

We like settling down. To feel at home. We feel affronted if forced to move. Or someone finds gas under our house, or builds pylons at the bottom of the garden. It almost touches our very soul; our safe place. No-one wants to be made to up sticks.

 

If you are struggling with this right now, or know someone who is, I offer my prayers. The pioneering spirit has to be a personal decision. There is a big difference between being a pioneer and a refugee.