Congregational Studies Conference 2017

I was with my Congregational friends last Saturday and had a very nice time. I used to see the conference advertised and think about cming along but never made it until last year when Michael Haykin was speaking. Anyway this year Digby James its convenor asked me to speak on libraries (a reciprocation for my asking him to speak for the Evangelical Library perhaps). I spoke on Libraries and their value and enjoyed preparing and speaking.

The other speakers were Paul Lusk on pluralism today a very stimulating non-Christian Institute approach to this whole difficult matter on which Paul has recently published. It being the 300th anniversary of the birth of William Williams Pantycelyn we had a fine  message from young Nathan Munday who is currently doing a Welsh PhD on the sweet singer of Wales. Great stuff.

Digby also gave us a nice presentaiton on the fifty year history of the EFCC.

The papers will be printed in due time. I just sent mine off now.

Next one March 17 in Wesley's Chapel. This one was in the Dr Williams Library.

EFCC Website here.

Dr Strivens on DIssenting Academies

It was a privilege to hear Dr Robert Strivens this afternoon at the Evangelical Library speaking on early dissenting academies. Robert focused on the crucial period 1662-1689. Most of us are quite unfamiliar with this territory and it was a very useful to have this survey before us. We had a good crowd again, which was encouraging. The address was recorded and can be obtained from the Library. The text is on the website here. Robert also alerted us to the Dr Williams Library Dissenting Academies Project which can be accessed here.

And home again

I'm off to the pictures with the boys soon but there's time just to fill in on what's been happening over the last few days. I've just come home having spent much of the day down at the Dr Williams Library in Gordon Square near Euston. See here. I didn't get to do all I wanted but it was a nice time. I'm less familiar with that part of town and so it was pleasant to walk there. The rain held off mostly.

My sister Gail and her eldest have been up to visit friends in Hemel Hempstead (see here for audio sermons) including the new assistant at Hayes Town (see here), LTS man Joseph Pettitt. They also went to see Wicked in the West End and enjoyed it very much. They also enjoyed 'doing' Oxford Street. having been down to the West End for the first time in a while today it reminded me how vibrant and interesting London is. They also had fun in a Wetherspoon restaurant (I'm not sure which) where they saw a mouse. They did complain but were told in a rather blase way that the exterminator was coming the next day. Yeuughh!

The story reminded us of one of the many stories we heard on our last night in Aber when yet another minister and his wife came round. Andrew Bowden is a real raconteur and his stories had us in stitches. besides the one about the mouse we had references to Bible College veterans, an Ernest Hemingway, Hinge and Bracket, a church like the set of and Agatha Christie novel, a dialogue of the death, Mr Lah-di-dah, etc, etc. A real hoot! The night before we had visited our good friends Keith and Janice Hoare. I am preaching for Keith's induction at Herne Bay on September 1.

The final day's addresses at Aber were an excellent one from Ted Donnelly on preaching Christ and a very good and sober one from Phil Swan. I saw Phil briefly that morning and he confessed to lurking here sometimes. I'm flattered. Hi Phil if you're passing. See a full and fair report here at exiled preacher. The whole matter of how to preach is raised by the different addresses. I've been looking at Thomas Adams afresh - Puritan but no 'plain preacher' and thinking about the whole question of how much humour and story telling ought to be in our preaching. No firm conclusions.

We travelled back last Saturday and then I preached here from Titus 3 (a one off) and Psalm 4. Good to be back.