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The philosopher Edward de Bono uses words, pictures and symbols in something called a Random Entry Toolkit to stimulate creative questions in difficult situations. The objective is “to constructively challenge the status quo”. You can read more at www.debonoconsulting.com/Lateral_Thinking.asp

I like the idea behind de Bono’s approach. I’d like to suggest that the idea behind the tool is an excellent theory for asking questions of the seemingly senseless. If I come to a situation and perceive an impasse, how do I move forward? We’ve all been in such a situation. It might be a work dilemma that’s exhausting us or it could be an unspoken brokenness we sense in a relationship. In those moments I find that many people literally run out of words to describe the way forward. People can often verbalise the impact on them, but the mouth runs on empty as to ‘what next’ and ‘how’.

It doesn’t have to be a big situation to bring you to a word-halt. A parent who has 3 children in 3 schools, 2 after school clubs to get them to, a dog to walk alongside caring for an elderly relative probably encounters, and uses, Random Entry Theory without realising it. That is, until another weight is added to the daily activity. At that point it can begin to crumple. No-one would notice because our words keep coming out as we keep going; but our perception, our sense, is that something isn’t quite right any longer.

The problem, as I see it, is found in de Bono’s statement about “challenging the status quo”. We long for status quo, for constancy, for things to stay the same and controllable for just a little bit longer. I remember speaking to a work-place psychologist once about how people organised their desks. One person keeps order through a tidy desk but another person keeps disorder at bay through that which appears to be untidy. The untidy desk is actually controlled – the person knows exactly where each item is. You can test this – go to a work desk, or your partner’s place they keep notes and re-order it, and stand back for the fireworks.

We can all cope with a certain degree of lack of order but there is a point at which the organisation which we create around ourselves can begin to unravel unless we have something in the arsenal which helps us to see things differently.

It seems to me that something like this is occurring around us. On the one hand we are staying up late to watch England play in the World Cup in Brazil or hoping to celebrate an England win in the rugby. These events roll round every four years. We know the pattern but our aspirations are always heightened. We shout ourselves into oblivion in joy or despair, but life will go on and we know the pattern. On the other hand the front page of the papers is full of utter mayhem across large swathes of the World. The familiarity that we are used to seems to be under enormous pressure and in the midst of it there are many voices shouting short-term ‘solutions’ but the words of the wise seem to have fallen into silence.

When the words run out, whether it is on a global scale or in a relationship or your situation, I have few words of my own to share. To me, de Bono has part of the answer: it is time to look at it differently because the old way of seeing it might just have run out of words of wisdom. This, for me, is a question of looking at life spiritually. Yet de Bono does not offer answers – he offers, as he himself describes it, a ‘toolkit’ to raise new questions. I have found that the only answer is found in the wise words of Jesus when he made a unique offer: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (The Bible John 14:27).

The single word when all other words run out? Peace. Have a peaceful Summer.

Here are the documents for APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting).

The APCM meeting will be held on Sunday 26th April…

Hambledon: 10.30am

Busbridge: 7.15pm

It’s not something you’re going to want to miss!

The new edition of the Busbridge&Hambledon Church Directory is now available! You can pick up your copy from the back of services or from the Church Office. A suggested donation per copy is £1.50.

Please note: you will only be included in the Church Directory if you had signed and returned your data protection form to the Church Office. If you would like to included in the next directory then please email us for more details.

Each summer I try and read a book which I would not see myself as being naturally inclined to pick up. This summer I have begun reading a book by a research professor at the Institute of Psychological Sciences in Oxford. The author, Roger Scrutton, is a modern philosopher. He also plays the organ at Malmsbury parish church.

I do not know how well Mr Scrutton plays the organ but his writing has challenged me in ways I was not expecting. A few weeks ago I was preaching on the importance and centrality of prayer in the Christian life. I found myself quoting Scrutton. More recently I was invited to address a regional meeting of Church of England advisors on Distinctiveness in Church of England schools. Scrutton found himself being referenced… twice. Then I sat down to write this Rector’s Reflection and I realised that I would be mentioning this philosopher again.

Here is a quote from the book:

“The England that I knew as a child in the 1950s was not godless. Most people declared some kind of Christian attachment, and churchgoing, though a minority pursuit, was not a target of ridicule. Those intellectuals who… questioned the dogmas of the… church were not evangelical atheists, but spirited agnostics like Jacob Bronowski, who conceded that they could not be entirely sure about God’s non-existence… The Anglican Church was represented in school assemblies… and the Bible was widely read both in the classroom and at home.” P4

In another place he makes reference to a piece by Philip Larkin called Church Going where he argues against what he calls “enthusiasm” and “doctrine” (– ie: certainity in belief?) and in favour of “seriousness” and “routine” in Christianity and in life. I am not sure I fully agree with him and would say all four as central to Christianity but it certainly challenged me to ask how a routine of Christian faith was expressed in my life.

In another section Scrutton explores his personal experience of how Christians walk together yet disagree and compares this to how people with differing (or apparently no) belief and life structures approach conflict or debate. It has led me to reflect on my approach to decision-making. What is distinctive about a Christian view of decisions to be made? Perhaps its foundation is in the requirement of Jesus Christ that I see all people as created in the image of God so having value and being valuable even if I disagree with them?

Scrutton says that the Church of England has a theology of what is called a conciliar approach to debate. In an age where almost evangelical extremes of view and position seem to abound around us which reduce at least one ‘side’ or people to numbers, unpleasant names or ridicule: the black and white of right and wrong: equal vs unequal: where political strength is to be unbending: good leadership in business is maximised profit: education could be interpreted as economics of raising little-adults: tying up beds and pressurising hard-pressed hospital staff is reduced to statistics: the conciliar Christian approach of speaking, listening, seeking to trust, names before reducing people to numbers, time to care, seems like Scrutton’s age gone by of the 1950s.

And yet the very day I was writing this Rector Reflection someone came to the door of the church office on Brighton Road. His name was John Graham Taylor and he arrived with his brother, Tim. John had been baptised at Busbridge Church on the 16th July 1933(!) and on the 80th anniversary he had decided to make quite a journey to revisit that place of Christian initiation. There was something timeless – not of the past – but of eternity – in the conversation with the two brothers. They were not “serious”. They held a deep joy in their faces. It was not a joy of fleeting enthusiasm but of something else. It was a joy of what I would like to call ‘intentionality’. They knew, they just knew, that their faith had meaning, purpose and identity and nothing would shake them in this. It was written on their faces without a word having to be said.

All this challenges me, as Rector of a growing, vibrant and busy Christian community available for all people that success as a church is not about numbers, economics, time-management, quality of my space, strength of leadership or profit. Success is found in my intentionality of remaining faithful to Jesus Christ to the end of my days. In years to come I long to have a face like those two strangers who became fleeting friends. If it challenges me, I hope it is a positive challenge to you too.

If you would like Roger Scrutton’s book it is called ‘Our Church’ published by Atlantic Books. My copy came from Waterstones in Godalming High Street.

I have been asked “what is the story, vision and mission of Busbridge&Hambledon Church, your Church of England church, in your area?” It could be summed up as ‘aspiration for something different’

There is a general election coming up. It may be tempting to withdraw, be cynical, see only failed aspirations and seek isolation or darkness. This temptation is as old as time itself. The philosopher Plato wrote “we can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light”. (Plato, c350BC). He could have been writing about our lives, today. Fear seems to be quite a strong currency; whether it is fear of uncertainty, losing control, absence of hope or vision, illness, ‘found out’ for who you really are, bewilderment as to who or what our nation is about, or just plain resignation that things can be different.

Lots of organisations have vision and mission statements. Here’s one that I find inspirational: “A world where all children grow up feeling safe, loved and joyful”. It’s by a firm called ‘Life is Good’. Their core product is T’Shirts. It’s an impressive aspiration for a T’shirt manufacturer.

What if Busbridge&Hambledon Church of England Church had a core value, identity and purpose? What would it be? This question has led our church to form a vision and mission description shaped around the story of who we are as a church.

It may be obvious, but our story as a church is about Jesus Christ – the easy bit. It is more difficult to work out what this means: is it a true story? Even if true, what does this mean today? How do you share such a story in a world that is more than slightly sceptical of religion? Is a church that has this story only for those who believe it, or is it meant to be there for everyone at every stage of their life?

We see our place here as threefold. It’s a mission of playing our part in transforming the local community, loving God and making disciples.

Transforming Community. Is about being and doing what the Bible calls ‘good work’. Being a Christian is, in our view, a good thing. It means that we as a church must do good things in, for and with the community. It is about asking what a church can do and be to help improve the area. If we have nothing to add then we are not a truly Christian family but just sitting on the hill serving our own ends. It’s a constant challenge for us: do we live what we believe? If the wider community thinks BusbridgeandHambledon church family is only interested in itself then we’ve failed in our mission to bring good transformation to the local area.

Loving God. Is about recognising God for who He is. Research in recent years has found that many people today have absolutely no awareness of mystery, awe or transcendence. People are not against this, it is just that their world is so full of things, activity and stress that space for deeper meaning has been eroded. Our mission is to help people seek and experience the presence of God. Do we get this right all the time? No. BusbridgeandHambledon church is about as perfect as a chocolate teapot. The important thing is that we know this, but also know a perfect, forgiving and incredible God.

Making Disciples. Is where the rubber hits the road. We want to be a church that is intentional about helping people learn about Jesus, change habits to reflect this, and have a different view of the world and people based on active Christian faith. People grow into all sorts of shapes, sizes, personalities and mess-ups. Being a disciples of Jesus means we treat people as important because they are created by God rather than for what they can give us, do for us or help us achieve. We treat money not as ours, but as given to us by God for good works. We treat ourselves as part of God’s beautiful creation, and learn to value ourselves based on this rather than external trappings.

So our mission as a church is Transforming Communities, Loving God and Making Disciples. This leads us to ask what the mission is about. It should feed into our overall vision. This is about our core purpose – something that is summed up in a clarity about what we aspire to here.

We believe that this nation is in great need of a reawakening into Christian faith. We think the Godalming area is important in this and has a crucial part to play in improving Society. So, our vision is to bring the nation to Christ, starting right here, and unfolding in BusbridgeandHambledon. It means playing our part in and for the good of the community, rather than about just serving our own needs; we draw attention to the powerful existence of God; we offer ways to learn about Jesus which brings change for good into individual lives and families.

So, what can we all do? Whether you are a Christian or not, one thing we can all do is vote. Voting is an exercise in expressing belief and values. By crossing one box you are revealing to yourself, in the privacy of that moment, not only your beliefs but also that which you do not stand for. The system may not be perfect, the people voted for are known to be imperfect and we, the people, are certainly far from perfect but if we fail to vote we are withdrawing into darkness and that darkness is partly about ourselves.

For me, voting is partly about a vision for a nation that comprehends the incredible love of Christ. It starts here, in this area with each of us.