Clearing the Road

Hope: it's raining again

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 21:32:00 +0000

I was in the supermarket recently paying for the usual weekly shop when the discussion about the British weather came up in conversation with the shop assistant. It started with the amazement that it was actually raining, even though I've been on this earth for 40 odd years and have never been disappointed about the ability of our meteorological conditions to cause precipitation. Whenever I have this conversation about rain, my thoughts wonder off to Gene Kelly dancing in the puddles in Singing in the Rain. He seemed very happy, but not sure it would work where I live! There seems to be a pattern when people talk about British weather starting with surprise, then indignation which is followed by acceptance and, "I do hope it stops soon." The word hope here replaces 'I want the rain to stop but I know it isn't going to happen, better get use to getting soaked'.

When Jesus talks about hope it's not with the same baggage of years of disappointment and accepting our lot, but of security and shelter. Paul the apostle who in his various journeys experienced hardship in pursuing God's kingdom including, being ship wrecked, relationship break-ups, financial struggles, imprisonment, lashings, beatings and muggings yet he found hope and wrote about this to the Roman believers by asking them to rejoice in their suffering.

By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. Christ has also introduced us to God’s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love. Romans 5:1-5 (CEV)

It doesn't mean that the bad stuff, that is around us, stops, but, with new eyes we can view it from a different perspective enabling us to be more equipped to handle these situations. It's difficult with the definition of hope that we use in conversations about British weather, or even in conversations about subjects of real disappointment in our lives, because there is a negative baggage attached to our use of the word hope. Our day to day use of the word hope predisposes us to negative expectations; we hope it wont rain, but expect it will, we hope a bad situation will change, but in a very British way expect that if it does, it will be for the worse just like the weather. The hope that Jesus talks about of security and shelter while following Him, brings empowerment and equipping enabling us to look with a different view point of life. Keeping close to Jesus means we find a friend that walks with us through the difficulties and failures, teaching us on the way and through the Holy Spirit being able to love others through times that it is difficult to love them. That is the hope that Jesus talks about which includes an eternal friendship with Him.

Hope In Our Community

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 22:34:00 +0000

This is a ministry I'm praying about at the moment to bring the love of Jesus to local communities by using a van to create a space for the local community to access wifi/phone/laptop, free cuppa and chat and more. To get more information please visit www.hopeinourcommunity.uk.

Living life among believers

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 22:40:00 +0000

A few years ago my car broke down and with the help of a friend I managed to get it to the garage. The post car inspection report didn't look great and unfortunately the car was deemed beyond repair. Like some people who find themselves in this situation, I didn't have the cash to buy another and finance wasn't an option, but needed it for work. One particular person from the local church had taken me under their wing helping me along my bumpy ride (excuse the pun) learning more about God. He seemed to genuinely care and this wasn't just in the words he spoke but in his actions. On many occasions he lent me his car to help out, but living in a rural village without regular transportation I was grounded. At this point I realised how much I had taken my car for granted. On one particular day he gave me a call and said something that blew my mind, "someone from the church would like to get you a car". I just couldn't believe it, firstly someone would want to do that and secondly I certainly didn't deserve it. Well the car arrived and I felt really special. To this day I don't know who did that.

It is for this reason that there's a bit in the Bible that really stands out for me because of that experience. It shows what can happen when a group of people get together. Where people are making friendships and helping each other out and actually wanting to be together. Dare I say look forward to getting together to eat food and break bread. They focus on what they have in common and not their differences. These friendships are so important that when they see a need, as a group they meet it. Actually seeing meeting these needs far more important than the possessions they own. Together they encourage each other and learn about the heart of God, seeing each others lives changed because the Holy Spirit is among them and they are thankful. A compelling atmosphere full of signs and wonders of God's kingdom. The Bible verse is of course Acts 2:43-47 about the early church.

"Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." Acts 2:43-47 (NRSVA).

Personally I think this model of church is as relevant today as it was then. People experiencing what it means to be a community, where faith is lived out with each other.

Easter what's in a word?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:56:00 +0000

It fascinates me how Christians get themselves worked up about whether Cadbury or some other chocolate making factory are dropping the word Easter from Easter Eggs or if the name Christmas is being dropped to just being called holidays. An issue that could be raised about these organisations is how ethically do they source the cocoa used in these eggs. That said, each time these days come around there's a social media storm about how society is becoming less 'Christian'. We then see a group of people who moan and complain about how the world has changed because these words are being dropped in an attempt to defend Jesus, like He needs defending. Another group spend time reassuring the other group about how its all fake news and nothing is really changing whilst sharing their wisdom about the history of each celebration. There's a large audience who really don't care, watching 'Christians' working themselves up into a frenzy.

Do you think we miss the point sometimes (and I'm talking to myself here)? The Jesus I know shows compassion to people who society have ignored and kindness to people who are hated and unloved. He has a heart for social justice, seeing the most vulnerable people in our society thriving and communities growing in love. Surely all of that energy we use to argue or reassure that Christmas is Christmas and Easter won't be just an egg could be used in areas that are on Jesus' heart, doing this one step at a time?

Up, in and out - modelling Jesus in our communities

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 13:46:00 +0000

I came across this video from Hope Whitby website (hopewhitby.co.uk), who describe themselves as a missional community. Leigh Coates Senior Leader of this community was a speaker at the Missional Leaders Seminar recently and explained one of the principles he encourages within the community is the principle of Up, In and Out. This video reinforces what he spoke about. The three things that stand out for me are:

Jesus was intentional with His time and where He spent it.

He understood the importance of spending time with His disciples and developing them for their mission.

He knew that the only way to reach the people was by being out where they were. He knew that the things that people did wrong affected their relationship with God, themselves and their community. Today we live in a world of injustice, just look at what is happening in our local communities. There is hope in learning more about Jesus and His heart for people and the impact that can have on the lives of people around us.

Here is the video

Leftovers after Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 14:05:00 +0000

How was your Christmas? Was it a time filled with joy which advertisers want us to believe is the way to do it or was it a time of stress during the preparation or on the day in an attempt to get that ultimate Christmas this year? Okay you can hear the cynic in me. My personal experience when younger is that Christmas was largely a pressure cooker of relationships where people were forced together to enjoy a day that I never really understood and understand even less now as a follower of Jesus. Tonya is still working on changing my experience which I'm pleased to report is slowly happening and learning its more about people getting together enjoying a meal than anything.

I still don't really get the bells and whistles of Christmas as a religious event including carols where I feel like I'm singing happy birthday to Jesus even though really it's not His birthday. The short story around Christmas is that it originally was a time when Romans worshiped the sun god (obviously not called Christmas), after Constantine 'converted' to Christianity. He wanted to combine the worship of the pagan god and Christ which the church accepted. Christians prior to Constantine had always been stripping pagan festivals to find elements that point to Jesus, which we are still doing today. So Christmas as we see it now is a mixture of secular and Christians attempt to take or create elements that point to Jesus.

Recently I was in my local supermarket listening to the Salvation Army. It reminds me of Christmas Eve when I lived near Durham as a child. They played Christmas carols outside to our next door neighbour which was very loud. Yet the noise wasn't important because I thought how lovely of them to play to the neighbour as he was unwell and his family had requested for them to go around to spread joy. William and Catherine Booth the founders of The Salvation Army in 1865 spent a lot of time telling people about Jesus and ministering to the homeless outside of the church building.

During one particular Salvation meeting William Booth heard Charles Fry and his three sons play at a meeting. Instantly William looking for ways to engage local people with the Gospel message, could see this as a tool to evangelise. The first ever Salvation Army Corp Band was formed in County Durham in December 1879. So even in the 19th century they were looking at innovative ways to meet with people, yet some 140 years later we are still met with these bands at our local supermarket.

On the news yesterday I watched a story about Euston Station, opening up for Christmas Day to serve homeless people with a Christmas meal supported by local businesses. The manager from the station talked about homeless people being very much apart of the local community on a daily basis and they just wanted to ensure they were safe on Christmas day. Practically the people who came were handed out walm clothing and sleeping bags. A community church in Middlesbrough, put on meals for people who were lonely or in need on Christmas day, as a way for people to spend time with others. We hear about foodbanks and other local churches providing support to people who need it. These are brilliant stories of our local community serving each other and without necessarily the bells and whistles of Christmas being central to the day.

Christmas day morning I received a message from Ned Lunn, a Vicar (@NedLunn), which read, "We often think of darkness as a scary absence but darkness is also a creative place where new life is born. Creation was carefully crafted in the dark and, for Christians, so too the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection. The mystery manifested in Mary’s womb, the tender secret of Christ’s tomb went without witness, shrouded in a holy darkness. Whatever darkness you are walking through, to you a great light is given, on you a light has shined and he is called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. The enduring comfort of God be yours this Christmas. Ned"

Are you in the darkness of Christmas sorting through the leftovers, thinking there has to be more than this? Maybe following Jesus, 'Christmas' is not that important, but knowing that God is with us everyday is important. Christmas can just be another day where we can show and experience God's love and His light in our families and local community.

First term over - Cranmer Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 23 Dec 2017 09:25:00 +0000

So the first term is over at Cranmer Hall and I survived with my faith intact.There have been various challenges faced but God has resolved them at each stage.

It's been an interesting term understanding the various denominations within the Christian church and where they stand in their beliefs dependent on their tradition from Anglican high church with bells and smells to low church with their freer view on worship. Throw into that pot people from the free church including Baptist, Kings, Community, Vineyard and others there is an interesting dynamic in beliefs, opinions, experiences and backgrounds. I suppose if it wasn't for Jesus we certainly wouldn't be at a theology college in Durham together. That's the great thing that Jesus has put us together. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." It's going to be interesting to see what God does over the next couple of years.

😀

Clickerty Clique or exclusion by a group

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 23:12:00 +0000

According to Cambridge Online Dictionary a clique is a small group of people who spend their time together and do not welcome other people into the group. I would like to add to this definition if I may, or are perceived to be unwelcoming to others.

You may have experienced this starting a new job, school or taking up a new hobby or sport with others and felt unwelcomed by the group. Sometimes this can be unintentional, for example when we meet up with a group of close friends we haven't seen for a week, naturally we want to catch up on the latest news, but without realising it we have made others wanting to join in feel excluded. There is also another side where we intentionally exclude people. It could be because we feel threatened, hurt or upset by an individual or a group of people. We then start to build a group who feel the same way as we do, who are allies and anyone who thinks differently to the group are excluded, with some of the worst being bullying as a form of exclusion which I and many others have experienced.

These cliques tend to be safe places for the group of individuals, but are unsafe places for people outside of it, having a huge impact on ‘outsiders’ and creating that feeling of exclusion and loneliness yet to often seen in our communities. These cliques when apart of a larger group can create tension and division. Where discrimination is prevalent and exclusion is part of the culture. If you are in the ‘in crowd’ then we are ‘alright mate’. When this happens in church the culture becomes no different to the world people have come from who are seeking to know Jesus.

In James 2:1-13 we are challenged about cliques by the analogy of a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes (smelling wonderful) or someone wearing shabby clothing (a bit smelly). Who are we most likely to gravitate towards. In an ideal world I would like to say someone wearing shabby clothing, but I'm not so sure. It’s understandable that we gravitate towards the people who we are most comfortable with OR who may share our thinking, but is this at the exclusion of others. Finally we are challenged, “Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? ...” Could these ‘poor’ just be the people we have excluded from our group?

Church what's it all about

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 10:39:00 +0000

What's the difference between the 'real' world and church. Assuming of course you are coming from the angle that church is a group of people gathering and not a building? In which case if you are coming from the latter you are probably better comparing it against a housing estate. Well I'm coming from the people angle comparing people with people. Actually people in both cases whether 'real' world or chuch, have to deal with the same issues financial, relational, health, unemployment and lots more. Both groups are still find their place in community, learning to be in a relationship with others. Still messing up and dealing with the consequences of that.

What's the difference between the 'real" world and church. It's an obvious answer, Jesus. You would be quite right in saying, "Andy, but it doesn't feel like that sometimes". Consider this, that the church is the 'real' world with all the mess with Jesus amongst it all. Tim Watson, Beatliturgist wrote a poem called Church Without Love, in which he says, "church without love is just a meeting about a bloke".

This love is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 , Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

Could the church without love be the 'real' world without Jesus?

Water from the web heats homes

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 15:20:00 +0000

I was reading on the BBC website recently that a city in Sweden was using the internet to heat homes. Basically water used to cool data servers is redistributed to homes, therefore enabling them to be heated. This sounds like a great idea. Does that mean in countries where politicians are prolific at using social media, everyone would get an extra boast of hot air, sorry I mean heat? Oh it could catch on :-)

That funny seat on the bus

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 22:05:00 +0000

I haven't travelled on a bus in ages, but now it has become a regular occurrence going to Durham as it actually works out cheaper than parking there. My grandad would be proud of my frugalness!

My experience of travelling on public transport early in the morning, as a die hard car driver, is a bit like getting up, going downstairs and seeing a bunch of strangers sat around your dining room table in silence either playing on their phone or reading The Metro. All going in the same direction, knowing we need to press the stop button at some point and getting ready to stagger down the bus just before it stops. Because we don't have enough confidence in the "shop like" bell and under whelming "bus stopping sign" communicating to the driver, "STOP". I do like the introduction of the next stop announcement. I think by the end of the year I'll have an encyclopedic knowledge of bus stops on the road to Durham.

So while I'm sat on the bus fascinated by the shiny plug sockets to charge mobile phones, easily pleased, I'm amused by an out of place single chair behind the driver. I'm not sure what bus builders were thinking. On the 1st day let there be a chasis and wheels. Day 2 let there be an engine. Day 3 let there be a body and all the other bits needed to get the bus running and day 4 let there be an interior. Day 5 let there be passengers. Day 6 we've missed something. I know a single seat behind the driver that looks weird. Day 7 after that I'm having a holiday!

Take a look at the photo of the seat, there's not much distance between face and wall, probably less when the driver breaks. Is sitting there a subtle way of saying to people I'm not sitting with the great unwashed, or I have no confidence please don't talk to me, a wise place to sit to avoid knocking into other passengers while looking for an available seat or could it be a genuine place for someone to get their thoughts together without distraction (but not the rattling engine) before starting work, school, college or some other activity?

Who knows and who cares it's just a seat that someone sits on?

Thoughts and learning about an evangelism course in Newcastle

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 19:22:00 +0000

I attended an evangelism course in Newcastle on Saturday. Here are some of my thoughts and learning from it. The course was delivered by Scott McNamara a gifted evangelist from Causeway Coast Vineyard.

We head off to Newcastle...

Saying the word evangelism to many people in the church elicits different emotions largely guilt and fear. Leading to thoughts of "I know I'm supposed to do it but, I am not very good at it, besides we have people who can do that." etc. Scott who delivered the course was clear at getting the message across that guilt and fear are emotions that holds the church back. The message Scott had for us was completely opposite to this, God wants us to be in partnership with the Holy Spirit, and wants to empower us to share the good news.

It's about trees...

Scott used an image to describe this partnership with the Holy Spirit. Imagine being in an orchard with apple trees. Some of these apples are ripe and ready to be picked and others are still firmly attached to the tree because they are yet to ripen. The ripe apples represent people who are receptive to hear about Jesus' love; in Scott's analogy they are waiting to fall. The Holy Spirit shakes the trees just as He shakes lives and we are there to catch them to point them to Jesus.

It's reaping not sowing...

One thing that struck me was that the church is good at sowing in many ways with various activities or events, for example messy church, fairs and foodbanks, all of which are great ministries but are about sowing. In John 4:35 Jesus told us to open our eyes spiritually to reaping the harvest not sowing. Think about it in these terms, if we are running around sowing seeds and there are ripened apples ready to pick and we don't, they are going to fall and die on the ground, these people won't be saved. There is an immediacy in what God calls us to do. When we look at the world with worldly eyes we make judgements on who is going to be receptive and who isn't. It is with spiritual eyes that we have no prejudice, no assumptions and no judgement in seeing people who are receptive to the Gospel message and pointing them to Jesus.

The Gospel message is at the heart...

It seems obvious, the Gospel message has to be at the heart (Acts 2:38) of what we share with others, spoken with kindness (Romans 2:4). When Jesus comes knocking on the door of our heart, it is because He loves us, we choose to open the door to Him and not feel manipulated to do so. This includes the acceptance that we have done things wrong in our life and that we need to turn and follow Jesus.

Go...

In Matthew 28:16-20(NIVUK), then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

At the end of the course and Sunday morning I was left with the question "Will I go?"

To find out more about Scott McNamara visit https://www.jesusatthedoor.com/about/

9 things I have learnt about Facebook and Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 20:35:00 +0000

As a hobbyist social media type person, I have had the opportunity to talk to few great people who are experts in this field. Here are the top 9 things, I can remember them saying (roughly) to me that I have tried. When I refer to Facebook I am talking mainly about Facebook Pages, but some of this stuff can be used with personal accounts.

1. Never link Facebook and Twitter together or visa versa. People using Twitter tend to want to view tweets and not URLS redirecting them to Facebook, because the text was too long to post. People on Facebook don't really want to see '@' mention signs that comes from a tweet.

2. Never update Facebook as often as you would Twitter. I was always told around 9 or 10 status updates a week for Facebook and no more than 14 Twitter updates in a day making sure you don't tweet more than once an hour. It's easy to be perceived as a spammer by over sharing.

3. Spread your posts over a week (if you have time) this will increase your engagement and reach.

4. Interact with your audience on both Twitter and Facebook, If someone responds to one of your status updates its good practice to acknowledge them. It keeps them interested and shows you are friendly.

5. Post a mixture of original and others content (retweets and shares), but remember to acknowledge who has produced it. Original content engages your audience and this can take the form of original thinking about someone else's work, e'g a review or response to a post you have read/watched or heard. Always remember to reference them.

6. Use photos with your posts that illustrate your point,

7. Think about your audience and what they would like to read, watch and hear, post content accordingly.

8. Read the statistical measurements that are available on Facebook Pages and Twitter, e.g. engagement and reach for each post and have fun experimenting with different content to see what happens.

9. Post different types of media, e.g video, audio, photo and written. Variety really does engage the audience.

The disclaimer, a few people who know me, may say that I don't always apply these points, and they are right. I think that it's about experimenting in your context (see point 8).

Struggles and stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 07:38:00 +0000

I was thinking about 2 Cor 12 and Paul's thorn. There is a lot of speculation about what that thorn is, me personally I don't know. But these verses say to me about Paul's struggle and his humaness. A man chosen by God with a clear mission and yet he has his own personal struggle. I find that really encouraging that God has a clear purpose for each one of us, even on the days when stuff seriously gets on top of us, our own personal struggle. God still has a calling on our life.

Just a thought #1 - What should I be thinking right now?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 21:10:00 +0000

So the preacher has finished his sermon and says, "Let's wait in God's presence, " followed by either silence or music depending on the type of service. Sometimes when I get asked to sit and wait or similar requests, my brain thinks that its a cue to suddenly go off on some tangent. Normally starting with, looking forward to Sunday lunch, broccoli or cauliflower? Or sometimes, planning what I am going to do in the afternoon, grass cutting or something a bit more fun? I may even be looking around to see what other people are doing, should I be doing that? My focus of attention moves ahead of me. What are the worship band doing? The worship leader looks like she or he is into what they are doing. What's that, the band have their eyes closed this must be a serious bit. What's for dessert after Sunday lunch?

That's the thing with the brain you just never know where it will take you. On the other hand, have you every experienced nothingness, where the brain has gone completely blank, in my case it does that very quickly! It's that feeling of numbness, best described as nowhereness (if that was actually a word), a sensation of emptiness. In both situations, I ask where is my God are you in the silence or the busyness of my brain? If I'm honest I don't know, but I know He is not apart of the accusations that I hear in my head on a Sunday morning, "do you think you are any good", "you are a failure" or maybe that voice is saying, "you are beyond God's love".

To cut a short story even shorter, if you are struggling, there is probably someone else struggling and they could be sat next to you. Yes, God does communicate with us in many different ways and not always in our brains. He is always present, we just might not be aware of that sometimes.

Acronyms, I'm confused!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:11:00 +0000

A few years ago I worked in the telecoms sector and remember many a meeting. They were just like meetings in other companies but you knew you worked in the industry by the acronyms that were used, BTS, BSC, TSCs the list was endless. Any ideas what they mean? It was great if you had some experience because you would have a fighting chance of understanding a little bit of what was discussed, having said that I am sure a few people didn't and probably preferred not to show their ignorance for fear of looking stupid. Anyone who had never worked in this sector ran the risk of feeling alienated and disengaged about what was going on.

Why do we do it, that is use acronyms or words that can only be understood by the 'in crowd'? Is it because we are worried about using up too many words or because we just get into a habit of saying them. That's the thing when we become the member of a club or join an organisation, it doesn't take too long before we start using the language used by that group.

Now here is a real problem, what if the group wants to have an open door policy, yet the language used is very much the opposite, it closes doors and turns the group into something that is exclusive. Wannabe members may get the wrong message and think it's not for them because they do not understand the 'lingo' as it were.

As Christians, we are not immune to this situation, words like justification, sin, fellowship, redeemed, and acronyms like CCM, (Contemporary Christian Music) WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) , ACTS (Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication) are used in churches everyday, and can be difficult to understand (even for the regulars) and be a barrier to people who want to engage with church. Maybe we just need to explain what we mean? 1 Corinthians 14:9 (CEV) leaves us with a challenging thought, "That’s how it is when you speak unknown languages. If no one can understand what you are talking about, you will only be talking to the wind.".

What are you called to do?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 16:52:00 +0000

This YouTube video has done it's rounds on many occasions, if you haven't tweeted it then I probably have. Sometimes I struggle communicating what is on my heart and what being a Christian means to me. How about you? I think sometimes we get pulled into the glitz and glamour of everything, we have good intentions, but get lost and really forget what we are called to do. The video is called 'This is Discipleship'. If you haven't seen it please watch it. If you have seen it please watch it again, and ask yourself what am I really called to do?

Learning from the Northern Vineyard Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 21:35:00 +0000

So Leeds was on the radar for the Northern Vineyard Leaders Conference. The message was, 'you are the project'. Whatever you are involved in as a leader, not only are you serving others needs, but God is also working on you. That's the thing here, we can easily remove ourselves from this experience and take a distant role, where we are directing, but are not involved in it for fear it may have an impact on us. In my fairly short Christian life I have met people who appear to have become cynical, distant and disconnected from their ministry, it has become more about the task and less about people. I'm sure things didn't start like that, but lets face it people can be difficult, just like ourselves and unfortunately that takes it's toll on us. If we are to be the project then we should allow ourselves to be more vulnerable and put ourselves in situations where we can only push further into God to become powerful in our ministry. Where the experience becomes as much about deep learning on our part as well as meeting people's needs. Where we start from an intimate relationship with Jesus that flows into our relationships with others and the people we serve. That's what I have been thinking about after a trip to Leeds.

Off to a Christian New Media Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 21:33:00 +0000

So I'm off to the Christian New Media Conference in London tomorrow and thought I would post a few thoughts before setting off. Firstly, I have to say I'm really looking forward to going to the event and excited about the whole experience.

West Auckland Community Church (WACC) a rural fellowship who has been using new media for sometime now including website, blogging, social media, podcasting, internet radio and video. The growth of social media to share the Gospels has been really interesting, because this activity has not just been from official WACC accounts but through personal accounts from people who are part of the WACC family. We have dipped our toes in different aspects of new media with a real heart for getting God's message out there. I just can't help but think there is more? What I mean by that is not more areas for us to explore but more depth in what we are already doing in this ministry. Depths that reach and engage with people on the fringe, people in the community we are called to serve and people who are looking for more.

I am going to this conference with questions to be answered, a desire to learn and share experiences but above all to meet with God.

Can language engage or alienate our audience?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 15:34:00 +0000

I haven't blogged for sometime so here is an attempt to get a few thoughts down.

We (West Auckland Community Church) had the first part of our preaching training course last night with Kate Bruce (CODEC, St Johns College, Durham). I am looking forward to the other 4 days yet to come. We covered quite a few areas in this huge arena of preaching. One of the main themes that came out for me was thinking about the audience and do we use language in a way that is relevant to our audience. This got me thinking about accessibility and how easy or hard it is for people to engage with what we are putting out there. Can we as Christian's use language that really doesn't have any meaning for our audience or at worst turns people off to what we are trying to say? It's completely understandable, since our language and what we have to say is influenced by our experiences and our faith. This really sets a challenge for us in our ministry and not just in a preaching ministry, but others. The people we are attempting reach, may not have the same experiences. We therefore run the risk of alienating individuals or creating a situation where only Christians would feel comfortable and able to participate in what we have to say.

I just want to leave you with this image. Imagine someone who has been brought to 'rock bottom' by the experiences in their life, with their head low, would they hear God's Love in what you said? Is what you are saying accessible to them or a load of words that only the harden church goer would understand? That's what challenged me on the first day of the preaching course.

Response to Fairtrade Teabags

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:42:00 +0000

A week or so ago I had a discussion with a couple of friends on twitter about Fairtrade and how Sainsbury's were able to sell teabags at their local store in Coundon for 27p and call them Fairtrade. I contacted Sainsbury's and Fairtrade, here are their responses which were received via email.

Sainsbury's

Dear Mr Mitchell

Thanks for your email and patience whilst we looked into your query further regarding the pricing of our Fairtrade tea bags.

As mentioned with my colleague Kevin, we contacted the relevant team who has advised we are absolutely focused on providing Fairtrade to our customers for free. So where Fairtrade is the only own-brand option in our stores, as is the case with bananas, we make sure that our prices remain on a par with those of our non-Fairtrade competitors. This encourages customers to continue to shop with us and to continue to buy Fairtrade.Our tea bags may be cheaper than other retailers however; we still pay the fair-trade premium.
Sainsbury's has become the world's largest retailer of Fairtrade products. Almost one in every four pounds spent on Fairtrade in the UK is spent at a Sainsbury's store, and the supermarket's annual Fairtrade sales have increased by around 10 percent on this time last year, up to £218m.Please have a look on to our cooperate website www.j-sainsburys.co.uk were you will learn lots more about the work we do.I hope this information is useful, however If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be more than happy to help. We take all our customer feedback seriously as this allows us to constantly improve our products and services.

Fairtrade Foundation

Dear Andy,

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the pricing of Fairtrade products.

As I am sure you are aware the FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent product certification label which guarantees that disadvantaged farmers in the developing world at the very bottom of the supply chain, are getting a better deal - recognising that they are at the sharp end of exploitation and injustice in international trade. Fairtrade works to ensure these farmers are receiving a fair and stable Fairtrade price and Fairtrade premium.

We are not, however in a position to dictate the retail pricing policy of any company in the UK market. A higher price for the producers of raw materials doesn’t necessarily result in a higher retail price. This depends very much on the company’s retail strategy. In other words the final price of a product is not a reflection on how fairly the product has been produced. I am sure you can think of plenty of examples where conventional ‘non-Fairtrade’ products are traded at extortionate prices yet are still produced on exploitative terms.

Often companies see it as advantageous not to increase the relative price of Fairtrade products. A good example of this is when Sainsbury’s switched to 100% Fairtrade bananas, they did so without raising the retail price, instead they chose to absorb the cost themselves.

We are always keen to hear the views of our supporters, please get back to me if you have any further questions.

Stoptober: Breaking the habit of a life

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:49:00 +0000

I was prompted to write this blog post because it's NHS Stoptober. Where smokers all over the UK come together during October to become smoke free for one month. This event reminded me about the positive side of being smoke free and how easily we fall into habits, without realising they become part of our lives. This post is not about me being a reformed smoker and getting all self-righteous because I remember too many times, all my failed attempts at stopping. It's actually more of an account of how easily in life we can slip into habits of behaviour that we think we are in complete control of, when we turn our back, suddenly that habit becomes a way of life.

I started smoking at Uni, something a lot of people did, well at least the people I hung around with. Smoking came with coffee and a chat or a beer depending on the time of day. Without even realising, the move from a 5 a day man to 10 a day and then 20 was made with ease. Something that I appeared to be in control of, moved into being a major religion in my life.

There was always something about going to a stressful meeting at work and then ending up in the smoke room to relax. Well that was my thinking at the time. The scary thing was that the damage to my body was never considered. Even with the government health warning that death was inevitable didn't scare me. I decided to stop for the first time pretty much straight away. This was very difficult especially when every cell in my body cried out "cigarette". At the time, people seemed more friendly in the smoke room at work and I had to say goodbye to all of my smoking buddies. So I moved to the room where "no-one talked" (sounds crazy now). Unfortunately the cravings were too hard for me to handle, so I started smoking again.

Life threw out more stressful situations and the temptations of smoking were greatly increased. The cigarette had become a coping mechanism and I suppose it became the catalyst for the start of the day with a cuppa. The thought of giving up just wasn't there. When people said to me, "You should stop, don't you know it's killing you" or "Why do you smoke when you can see that government health warning" and many more statements of truth that fell on deaf ears. A feeling of guilt was enough for me to nod in the right places after receiving thiscadvice. The habit was becoming entrenched. I had been completely caught up in the ritual of getting up in the morning, having a cigarette; going to work and having one on the way; arriving in the office, grabbing a coffee and having a smoke; or generally any other excuse to light up. You could pretty much set your clock to my smoking activities.

Okay just in case you have switched off, I had better tell you the reason for stopping. Each reason is personal and very complex for to the individual and not necessarily about health, wealth or family. I woke up one morning with a realisation that I no longer wanted to be trapped by this habit that had gripped my life for so long, and wanted to be free from the religion of smoking. I didn't stop straight away, but made plans and set a date with real hope. Being aware of all the traps from my previous attempts at stopping, meant there were things I could preempt. I put a support mechanism of friends and health services like the NHS in place and off we went on this smoke free journey.

The first few days were intense with physical and psychological cravings, but I managed to get my hands on a leaflet from the NHS that explained the changes happening in my body and some of the symptoms of stopping smoking. That really helped me put things into perspective. It wasn't an easy road to travel, because it involved me avoiding situations where I would be tempted to smoke and plenty of early nights. The journey does become easier and now I am smoke free for 3 years +. My advice is get help from the NHS smoke free services. Here is the link http://smokefree.nhs.uk/

Deafened by the darkness

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:50:00 +0000

A life of service to the Shepherd or is it about fulfilling our own selfish desires?

We are not serving Him but our endless all encapsulating fear.

Sometimes we are so far away, an outpost on the edge;

Shattered and torn apart we sit and wait.

Grasping at anything that is tangible, measureable and acceptable to the world,

Sitting in this place like a carcass, an empty shell, waiting to be devoured by the darkness,

A place where the shadows seem more irresistible and the pull into the abyss is inevitable,

As we move deeper into this pit the ease at which we accept the tainted deception is frightening.

Where the light and the dark, merge together and become so hard to distinguish- who can tell?

Hearing the impatient finger tapping- are we waiting for more or simply procrastinating?

The pit calls again and we respond with ease,

Familiarity with tainted deception, pulling ever deeper,

Arrogance, insecurity, anger, self-pity and a controlling nature become gifts of the shadows.

Deafened by the darkness, we are in our own Gethsemane, abandoned by all.

People are no longer the problem

Are we alone?

Listening to our inner compass turning us 180 degrees

Finally seeing the darkness, we head back to the light.

The deception is over, for now.

Keith Getty Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:42:00 +0000

Recorded on 3 May 2012 using Skype. Keith discusses Getty Music's Northern Celtic Island Tour, writing 'In Christ Alone' with Stuart Townend. He also discusses worship music in the 'modern' church, the mistakes in using music to attract "the next generation" to Church and more. I hope you enjoy the as much as I did doing it.

A badge of dishonour or freedom?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Mitchell- Clearing The Road) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:02:00 +0000

Is it me, or do we seem to sit back, ever more comfortably while the world measures, sorts and labels us? It would appear that we are more than happy to take part in this process ourselves as we judge, sort and label others, in an attempt to put them in a neat, tidy, little box that we can put into some semblance of order at a later date. Many supermarket reward schemes do this, based purely on a few questions we are asked during the application process for the reward card and then based on our shopping habits of a lifetime we are measured, sorted and labelled. Using this information they send us promotions that are suitable to our needs and even put the right products on the shelf in the right geographical locations. Technology at it's best? It's scary to have a label placed on us especially if things change and the information is not kept up to date.

I am not a psychologist or sociologist so unfortunately you will not get an expert opinion in this post. But, I know that I place labels on people, based on observations of their behaviour, often over a very short period of time, I make judgements about their choice of music, their ability to indicate at roundabouts and more seriously about the way people deal with different situations; for these categories we have labels such as rock head, organ lover, Sunday driver or man with hat, stress head and the sulker and the list goes on and on. Labels can be good if they are apparently positive, i.e. that person is reliable or trust worthy. Be warned even these positive labels can have a negative consequence. They create expectations, which can lead to disappointment, if or when we fail to live up to the standards they set. Having failed to live up to the so called 'good' label we are re-categorised into failure or a letdown or one of many other negative labels; we receive our badge of dishonour. I suppose this makes a good argument to receive your badge of dishonour at an early stage in a relationship so that you don't have these expectations placed on you and no one gets disappointed!

That's the problem with labels they define us; not only in other peoples' eyes but in our own. Labels are rarely true representation of who we really are, but are based on a few assumptions made about behaviours we observe. At the moment we accept Christ into our lives, Jesus forms the foundation of our living and sets us free from labels (Colossians 2:6-8) but remember scripture teaches us that we should not use this freedom as an excuse to hurt ourselves or others (1 Peter 2:16) . Does that get us off the hook? Again, in my not so expert opinion: it does not. Why? Because there is another part to this issue, the problem is not just the labels given to us, but the labels we place on others.

In Matthew 7: 2 Jesus tells us that we will be judged as harshly as we judge others, a sobering thought when issuing our labels and badges of dishonour. Clearly He tells us not to judge others, when asked by Peter in Matthew 18:21-22 how many times should I forgive? Jesus says 77 times, an example of Jesus' humour here, because He is telling us to keep forgiving. A challenge to us all.

The world will always judge and label us inhibiting us from achieving our true potential, but there is a freedom in living in Christ that sets us free from this restriction, in John 8:33, we are told 'if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you will be free indeed.' Is your life still measured, sorted and labelled by the world or are you living in the freedom of Jesus?