First thoughts

Rain. I love it when a weather forecaster talks about 'more organised bands of rain' marching across the country or somesuch. Sounds slightly sinister, like the rain is plotting to assault the county and make people's life a misery. If you ask me, disorganised rain is bad enough.

Was walking back through Glasgow city centre after housegroup last night. I often find being out and about in the bright lights, or mingling with the general public in other ways like sitting on the bank in Kelvingrove park surrounded by the mellow crowds, provokes reflection. Basically, how does my faith, and the church, relate to all this, and to all these people? It can be quite an earthy thing. Wandering down the bottom end of Sauchiehall St, for instance, with its fast food outlets, fish and chip wrappers, clubs, people wandering down the street in weird and wacky attire and possibly in some state of inebriation... I wonder, maybe not so much how does my faith relate to this, but how is my faith, and God, relating to this? How on earth is the church and the gospel going to touch this culture, these people?
I think getting my mind round this kind of thing has been part of the journey for me, of integrating faith with the world out there. At times it's been quite unsettling. I recall the time 6 years ago mingling with the crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, witnessing that fiesta of human energy and creativity, but thinking, only a tiny minority of these people will be Christians and go to church. I had the feeling, which at the time caused a mini crisis of faith, that the whole thing seemed just BIGGER than my little world, including my Christian world, of the time. But of course it didn't end there. More later.
I'll be writing about some lighter stuff too (phew!) But want to get cracking with some of the big stuff that exercises (and sometimes bugs) me.