Wow – not blogged for ever. Been so busy recently, and I think my all out assault on the Times Crossword has sucked up more of my time than I realised it had.
Anyway, about to go to bed, so no time for a long one, but I wanted to at least put down a couple of markers.
First of all, a Twitterless Lent. It wasn’t actually too hard, in the end, although I had removed the shortcuts off my mobile devices, which I’m sure helped. The interesting thing was how out I touch I felt with what was “Going On”. I discovered I was finding out the news a day later by reading the paper at work. It was very strange to come into work and see the headline “Pope Francis”, when I’d expected the conclave to last for days.
The weather also caught me out – I was surprised when it snowed, which hasn’t happened for a long time.
On the other hand, being back on Twitter at Spring Harvest was great. The hashtag #sh2013 was the “official” one for tweets, and while the Minehead Jonny-Come-Lately’s kept interrupting, it was an extra dimension to see people’s comments on the same talk you’d been in, or even just the weather. It was a connection between the cyber world and the real world, and Twitter often feels pretty disconnected.
Ah yes, Spring Harvest. Just back from an awesome 5 days or so in Skegness (photos on my 365). All about Jesus as the Source, and how we can “Be”, “Say”, and “Do” the Good News. The main thing the week did for me wass remind me that actually I’m all about Jesus, and advancing his Kingdom – everything else is secondary. I’ve been reading various bits and pieces about mission recently, and this week really helped focus my thinking and bring it all together. I honestly believe (if I was a preacher!), that I could preach for the next 12 months on the material we covered this week, and still not get through it all.
Ness Wilson (the main speaker at the morning bible readings) was fantastic, and I could have listened to her for hours. She really brought 1 John alive, and gave us plenty of food for thought. The “Think” Seminars were spot on, with even more food for thought, and significant challenges, as well as some relaly good ideas (which I intend to pinch for this year’s Growing Leaders).
Add every afternoon at Splash Waterworld, and you’re pretty much onto a winner.
I cannot recommend Spring Harvest highly enough, in case you hadn’t already guessed. I will probably unpack my thoughts a bit further in due course.