2gether Scotland Flowing Oil Leaders Day
I was at a conference yesterday in Perth. It was hosted by the Evangelical Alliance, in St Mark's Church of Scotland. St Mark's has just undergone a major rebuild of their church. They knocked down the 1960s building and have put up a building that enables them to connect with their community as the move into the 21st century. I had to go to this conference because the title intrigued me . (You must bear in mind the impending oil strike could effect the numbers at the CWW National Gathering) , so I was keen to see if there was a prophetic word for me about the oil still flowing. The keynote speaker was Krish Kandiah , he explained to us that he wrote his doctorate on the work of the Church of Scotland minister, who eventually became a Bishop in the Church of South India. Newbigin made an interesting contribution to the Church's understanding of Gospel and Culture. Krish is an engaging speaker, he was highlighting the need for evangelists to understand their culture and discover relevant relevant models to explain the core gospel. The more I engage with this topic the more I am convinced "that faith comes through" I think their is a lot in that phrase "comes through" faith is seldom an instant experience i think it is a journey a process, that beings from the cradle and ends ... well does it ever end? I was sitting next to David Clark the minister of the Steeple Church, as Krish was speaking he was proposing an alternative model to that of the diagram which involves the cross and the bridge. He was proposing the Augustinian idea that man is a restless being and can only find his peace in God. All very interesting. Krish was explaining the fall and then eventually understanding the gospel in terms of creation being restored. I think I've long since moved away from this view, I think that redemption is all part of the whole creation process. I wonder if the Adam and Eve picture in Genesis was ever meant to be understood as the completed creation . Could it be that it was only the start? Could it be that God built into his creation process, an understanding of sin, rebellion, and redemption? Could it be that God in creating the world and the kind of people he created, also planned for am incarnation and a resurrection? The first two chapters of Ephesians would lead us to consider this as a real possibility. For me this kind of thinking is important because it allows me to understand that God's providence is at work in every aspect of creation even today. Anyway, a big thanks to Fred Drummond who organised the day.
