Rockingham Mini-Cooper driving experience

I have been waiting for this for over a year and a half. It was a case of third time lucky, as the saying goes. Not that I believe in luck, if I hadn't kept trying to get it booked, I would never have got to the third time. This time round there was no bad weather, no traffic jams - there or back, no real idiots on the roads. Apart from some less than pleasant coffee at the Little Chef, the day went really well.
Remembering the route a little bit made getting there easier - we followed the signs, and ended up at a locked gate, the gate looked familiar, but not the scene behind it, so we drove off to look for the entrance we had used last time. We soon found that, and were admitted by a much friendlier guy with a very strange (northern European?) accent.
We booked in, and wandered round the pits. While we were looking at Lamborghinis and Ferraris there was a screech of tyres, followed by a cloud of smoke, and a strong smell of burning rubber. We went back to look at the scene, one of the single seaters was in the wall. The ambulance went out, and the fire truck, they were there a long time, the single seaters were called in. Eventually the ambulance pulled away, and disappeared into the middle of the track somewhere. Later we watched as the car was carried back, with both its left wheels missing.
Then we came to the drivers briefing. A bit about Rockingham – one of only two banked ovals in Europe, it was built for Champ Car (Indy Car). We would be on the in-field, not on the banking. How to drive a fast car round a track - brake before the corner, run round it across the apex, and once past start to accelerate out. Sounds familiar, it what they tell you on F1. Then down to the pits proper, where the minis are. Here we are split into groups, and have to find helmets. The instructors do up the helmets. They are uncomfortable, and too tight round the ears. There are three to a car, but only one travels in it at a time.
Andrew went first in his three, I went last in mine. I went to watch, although there isn't much to see. You can only really see what the cars are doing on the pit straight, I timed a couple of his laps - about two minutes a lap, but difficult to tell if it was good or not because you can't tell how much traffic there was on the rest of the circuit. All the cars came back and swapped to their second driver, except car 1. About five minutes later car 1 returned, it later transpired that Andrew was in a group of two, not three, so benefited from extra time! Andrew got out of the car beaming, with the instructor telling him he wished he had driven that well at 19. His score: an impressive 85%, and rated 'A' in a number of categories. Something for me to beat.
Car 2 came back in again, and I took my place at the wheel. We started going round in third, braking at the cones, stopping braking at the next, and hitting the third (well almost). I was enjoying myself, and getting faster each lap. Half way round the second lap I realised I didn't have my seat belt on! The instructor asked what car I have, and if I'd done anything like this before. I haven't. He helped be get the racing line improved, and the first time I drove almost straight through the chicane, I was amazed at the speed we took into the next corner. There was also an unbelievable long left hander, which you just seem to be able to go through at any speed, it forces you against the side of the car. There's a lot to do on each lap, and you cannot loose concentration for a second. I made two errors - probably lots more, but two I remember clearly. I missed third in a change down, and went across the apex in neutral! The other one was more serious, I approached the tight right hander much too fast, and the instructor had to use the dual controls, or they would have had one less mini.
I'd been on the course for about 15 minutes, though it didn't seem more than five. I was just beginning to have enough time to start enjoying myself, and the track time was over. My score: 90% - I think that deflated Andrew a bit, but one of the other instructors did mention that 30 years extra experience must count for something!

SPAMALOT

http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/

Monty Python's Spamalot garnered14Tony nominations, the most of any show this season

And no surprise there .....

Remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail, well this is a rip-off of that well loved film, but as it’s a musical you will find some songs that you might not normally associate with THIS film. “Always look on the bright side of life” is perhaps the most famous python song, and is slotted in very nicely to the show. From the very start its python – the announcer sets the scene 1192 England and the next song is Finland. No live moose are hurt in this production of course. We move through many of the memorable scenes “I’m not dead yet” a new song (a slogan on T-shirts after the show), with dancing corpses, and a very realistic looking spade, used very effectively to solve the aforementioned problem. The Swallows, the Taunting Frenchmen, anarcho-syndicalist commune with the watery tart throwing swords to people. “but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!” She may not provide the basis of a system of government, but she is certainly now the love interest. She is also very upset about not being in enough scenes. Sadly the witch burning was too expensive and was cancelled. There are some nice twists, as times have changed since the original, and some very nice new and extremely non-PC songs and jokes. I won’t include them here as I don’t want to spoil the show for others. The original mix of 1192 and 1974, is maintained, but in a different way appropriate to the setting and times. The black knight, the knights who say “Ni!”, brave Sir Robin, the ‘rescue’ of Herbert Prince of the Swamp, and Tim the enchanter (watch him fly – Harry Potter eat your heart out) are all there, but not the bridge of death, because the clue protected by the killer rabbit is quite different.

It all fits together very well, and the cast are very professional and deliver an excellent show.

There were killer rabbit glove puppets on sale at the end of the show!!

A highly enjoyable night, even if we were above the display of the words for the sing-a-long part of the evening, way way up in the balcony. If you’re a python fan – don’t miss it! If you're not don't go near it!

Now back to the Majestic Moose .....

Today's sermon - Matthew 7:7-12

Setting

We are still looking at the Sermon on the Mount. How long has Jesus been speaking? At least since the start of chapter 5 – at these are just Matthew's notes!

Remember the scene, Jesus had met a crowd, so He went up a mountain, sat down and started teaching. His spoke to them about the Kingdom of Heaven, and what its subjects should be like. Right at the start He recognises that people are less than perfect – Blessed are the poor in spirit (5:3)

Let's have a look at a small part of this sermon in a lot more detail. I'm going to break it down into three sections, I'll start with verses 7 & 8.

Ask, Seek, Knock (vv 7 & 8)

The Amplified Bible states this passage as “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.”

The verbs that Jesus uses are in a tense which imply a continuous activity – so “Keep on ...” or “Continue to ...” is the sense of what is being said.

Ask

Ask for What? If you take this passage on its own it could be anything, like a new Mercedes? - How Likely would that be – pretty unlikely, but what would happen if I prayed today and one was delivered on Tuesday?. What would happen when the story got around – do you think there might be a sudden increase in church membership? Would there be an increase in the number of Christians? - no.

It's based on need - for the Kingdom, for another or yourself. We've already seen that in Jesus teaching on prayer earlier in Mt 6. “Give us today our daily bread.”; “Forgive us our debts”; and “Lead us not into temptation”

Sometimes God will grant the request at the first prayer:

Mattress Story

An African church had been called together by the new pastor to pray. He asked them what needs they had, that the church could pray for. After a rather long silence, an elderly woman stood up and said “I need a mattress”, she was clearly in some pain. Well it wasn't what he was expecting, but He'd called them there to pray, so they asked God for a Mattress. During the week someone gave her a mattress. At the next Sunday service, she was praising God loudly all the way to church. - It was a turning point for the pastor and his church.

and sometimes you have to keep on asking:

Scott Hoezee's tells the story of his 95-year-old great-grandmother:

One of her six sons had wandered pretty far from the church. But then, nearing his 70^th year, he suddenly settled down, married a fine Christian woman, joined a church, and soon became elected elder in that congregation. And I so well remember my great-grandma saying, "I prayed for that boy for 50 years, and now look at him! Just goes to show what a little praying can do."

We keep on asking because it might work, because we believe the God will grant our request.

We keep on asking because that's way we learn about our Father. It's what children do when they repeatedly ask – they learn about their parents and how they respond to requests, what is in their will. If your 6-year-old asked for the carving knife and announces that she will carve the joint for you this Sunday, you will say “No”. If she asks for biscuits 20 minutes before lunch, you'd probably say “No” as well. If you've been for a long walk, and arrived home cold and tired, the response is likely to be different – You'd get the Jamie Oliver cook book, and prepare her a proper meal – much more than she was hoping for.

The Bible says some other things about asking God:

1 John 3:22 We receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

No Mercedes then!

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Seek

When we think of seeking, we are usually thinking of a task that will take some time and effort. We say that we are seeking out that beautiful view, or secluded garden, or we seek peace and quiet.

find the view point on IoW

Two weeks ago Jo and I spent our holiday on the Isle of Wight. After the Service at St Blasius we spoke to some of the congregation, who also turned out to be non-residents, and told us of a path across the downs to Ventnor. We said goodbye and followed the path out of the back of the church, and up the hill. Some way up the hill we met a woman coming down who told us of a view point on the top of the down, where you could see about half the island. We followed the path, but it seemed to lead in the wrong direction. Eventually we found ourselves walking along a thick hedge, which I was fairly sure we should be on the other side of to reach the view point. After a while I spotted a stile in the hedge, and we were able to go through the hedge and enjoy the view. It was worth the walk, and the concentration looking for the path.

What is Jesus saying we should seek for? He's already told us in Mt 6:33 “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.

We are to be seeking the Kingdom of God, and Gods righteousness. We are to be alert and concentrating - looking for any evidence of God and his Kingdom. There's plenty, both in us and around us. If we look carefully we will find it. It has always been true, God is there for those who seek Him even in the OT:

Psalm 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Hosea 5:15 Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.

Amos 5:4-6 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: Seek me and live;do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no-one to quench it.

Isaiah 55:6-9 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Knock

The idea of Doors Opening seems to be the description of an opportunity in the New Testament, as is for us also.

Acts 14:27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

1 Corinthians 16:8-9 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

So if we see opportunities to server God, we should try -knock on the door – to see what happens. That is part of what I am doing in my training – as they keep reminding us – we have been selected for training – not licensing. Four year seems a long time to keep knocking, but I'm sure people have been knocking at doors for longer than that before they are finally opened.

Evil Parents (vv 9-11)

After telling us to Ask, Seek and Knock, and promising to grant our wishes, Jesus then goes on to compare Evil parents with the Heavenly Father:

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Why does He use these particular images? A stone could looks quite like a small loaf of bread, by a snake he may well mean an eel, the Jews were not allowed to eat eels – thats in Leviticus 11:9 & 10 – if you want to check it out!

Lev 11:9-10 " 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to detest.

Bread & Fish are staple foods of the time. So Jesus is assuming that parents will give good things to their children, and not tease, trick or frustrate them. All people (parents or not) are evil but do some good. The good they do is tainted. God is Good, so he will do Good that is not tainted by evil.

Remember this as you ask, seek, knock.

vv 11-12 The Golden Rule

Rabbi Hillel (about 20 years before Jesus' birth) was asked by a Greek considering Judaism to summaries the whole of the Jewish law in the time he could stay standing on one leg. His response was "What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole law; all the rest is only commentary"

Something like the golden rule exists in most philosophies and religions, lets take a look at some:

Greek: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you."
-- Socrates (the Greek philosopher), - circa 470-399 BC

Confucianism Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.
Analects 12:2

Buddhism Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
Udana-Varga 5,1

Hinduism This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.
Mahabharata 5,1517

Islam No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
Sunnah

Judaism What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.
Talmud, Shabbat 3id

Taoism Regard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.
Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien

Zoroastrianism That nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.
Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5

21^st Century British culture: “Do unto others before they have the chance to do unto you”

Jesus has a slightly different take on this common saying, instead of a negative, He has a positive. “do to others what you would have them do to you “ This is typical for Jesus and entirely consistent with the rest of his teaching.

The sheep and the goats

If you use the negative version of the saying and apply it to the story of the sheep and the goats (Mt 32-42) the sheep are much harder to distinguish from the goats. The goats may have never done anything to others that they would hate. Jesus requires more, it is not sufficient to be passive – we have to be active, taking the initiative, doing good to others.

Problems with the Golden Rule

“The Message” states the rule as “Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” There are problems with this:

As some of you know I'm hoping to go on a driving experience at Rockingham. When I got the present I was very pleased – a great thing to do. So following this rule perhaps I should buy something like it for Jo – I enjoyed having this gift given to me, she will enjoy having the same gift given to her – won't she?

Probably not: - lets re-phrase it:

“Treat others as you want to be treated”

An Example of the Golden Rule, as it should be: The Stoke Gifford weekend

Last weekend we took Liz to her new home, where she is doing a year out. Its in the Parish of Stoke Gifford, just outside Bristol. I'll remember the weekend for a long time. They had planned it all for us, they took us out to eat on the Saturday evening – and paid the bill. They put us up in somebodies house, and gave us the key so that we could come and go as we pleased. The lady in the house also provided us with breakfast. I think this is an excellent example of the golden rule in action!

Lets hear what some others have to say on the golden Rule:

To keep the Golden Rule we must put ourselves in other people's places, but to do that consists in and depends upon picturing ourselves in their places.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life.
Edwin Markham

The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize it is your move

Frank Crane

Don't worry about who they are – the quotes stand on their own.

Now to finish here's another story that illustrates how the Golden rule should work:

The Golden Rule Story – an Illustration, Benjamin Franklin

There was a man who died and was being taken to heaven by angels. But first, they wanted to show him hell (just for the hell of it I guess).

The angels then took him to a place where there was a great bowl, so great that it was as big as a lake. The bowl was filled with a nutritious stew. All the way around the sides of this bowl were people. Emaciated, starving, miserable people. These people had spoons to eat the stew with, that were long enough to reach it from the shore (about 12 feet). The trouble was, while they could scoop up the stew into the spoon, they could not get it into their mouths because the spoons were so long the stew would fall off before they could get it to their mouths. So here were all these pathetic people, suffering and moaning in agony, constantly trying to eat the food that was abundantly in front of them - all in vain. Next, the angels took the man to heaven. To his surprise, he saw the same scene! There it was, a giant lake-like bowl of the same stew, surrounded by people with 12 foot long spoons. Yet something was different here - all these people were smiling, happy, and healthy looking!

"Why? What is the difference here that these people are happy and well fed?", the man said to the angels.

They replied, "Have you not eyes to see?". The man looked more carefully, and observed that one person would scoop up the stew, and bring it to the mouth of another. Then someone else would scoop up stew and feed it to the other.

The angels smiled and said, "Here the people feed each other. Here are the people that learned the way of Love."

Cars

Details on IMDB.

The story of a racing car rookie who is likely to win the most prestigious trophy in his sport, and be the first rookie ever to do so. This is Pixar animation at its best, unfortuneately its also creepingly disney. By which I mean its overly sentimental and moralising. I've heard a review that said its a film for eight year old boys and the love interest was tacked on to gain a wider audience. Maybe, but its a seamless addition, if its an addition at all. this is a less punchy film than I've come to expect from Pixar, have they lost their edge? No, if nothing else stay for the credits and watch them - that's more like it! There are some good jokes in the film and they are nicely set in the story, I particularly liked the tractors.

Overall its watchable, but not nearly as funny as I was expecting.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Details on IMDB.

There is a plot outline on IMDB, read it if you must, but the plot is not the main reason for seeing this file. The story is darker than the first, but nevertheless great fun and very funny - people were laughing loudly in a very packed cinema. We had to see the second showing after the one we intended to - it's so popular. Worth the wait - YES!

Johnny Depp is now really good at this character - the way he walks, talks, and 'over-acts' as Captain Jack Sparrow is brilliant. There are some excellent 'cartoon' jokes - Jack tied to a pole, and escaping is worth seeing again and again. There are no lines to match "not impossible - just improbable", but the there are plenty of complex statements for our Captain as he lies and cheats and runs away, all to a good ending. Its fast paced fun almost all the way through as each of the characters pursues his or her own aim, with the compass coming to their aid when they're not sure what they really want. Don't expect any surprises there, if you saw the last one the personal relationships will be no surprise at all.

There are some impressive special effects too, the wheel being the most obviously impressive. The black pearl, moored on the beach did actually look real, so if that was blue screen it really was VERY well done. Davy Jones and his crew are also impressive, as is their ship, but I can't believe enough water was displaced when is goes under. Watch that scene carefully and see if you agree.

So to the actors - Johnny Depp easily gets a brilliant, as you will have already guessed. Was Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) wooden - no, but perhaps a little too earnest. Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann) was at her best when pretending to be a boy on the ship, as 'love interest' she was just a bit too obvious. Jack Davenport (Norrington) - belligerent, dark, and evil - but too small a part really. Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), suitably over dressed and somewhat understated, straying into the realms of a Dr Who monster - should have been scary but never quite made it.

Excellent - go see...

Oh nearly forgot the cliff hanger - but no more on that!

The Provocative Church

The Provocative Church
Graham Tomlin
SPCK
ISBN 0-281 05476-2
The book at Amazon.co.uk

This is another book I have to read for my training course. Its is such a good title, I've always believe that the church should be noticeable, challenging, and something that people would look at and like or dislike. Jesus was not the sort of person people ignored – so His church should be like Him. With expectations nicely set I open the book. The first chapter is about evangelism. Hmmm, not quite what I was expecting, but interesting nevertheless. The book continues, with chapters like “King the Kingdom, the Book” and “Evangelism makes me feel guilty” and “Transforming communities”. Its all good common sense stuff, it reminds me of lots of the things I thought Christianity should be when I was first a Christian. There's lots more, and one or two practical examples as well. Most importantly this book comes across as open and honest. For example "Digging beneath the surface of many even apparently successful churches, it doesn't take long to discover a common feeling that our Christianity occupies a parallel universe from the rest of our lives. And the effect on evangelism is huge, as it eventually leaves Christians bored, frustrated and going through the motions. And if that's all Christian life is, then out of kindness to their non-Christian friends, they quietly ignore all the well-intentioned pleas to bring them to church." That of course is not what Christian life should be. Christian life should be different, and the hows and whys are both discussed. So if you really don't want to live a 'provocative' life – or at least be made to think about why and how – then leave this book on the shelf.

Otherwise I recommend you pick it up and read it, go on give it a try.....

Reader Training - Weekend away.

We travelled to St. Marks college to spend the weekend studying and practicing the Pastoral Cycle. Its a tool for understanding issues or problems, and coming towards a resolution, or maybe agreeing that there is no resolution. We were put in groups of four and asked to present an issue. the facilitator helped us to use the cycle on the issue. To do it four times may seem like overkill, indeed thats what I thought at lunchtime. In the second two sessions the process became almost automatic, and the facilitator had to spend less time and effort guiding us. Each session was followed by a break, or a meal. This gave us time to rest our brains. Concentrating that intensely for seventy five minutes is quite tiring. We now have a basic understanding of the tool, and hopefully will be able to use it at some stage before we forget what we have learned.

The training was very good, the facilitator for my group was very capable, and insightful. The overall management of the weekend was pretty good too. The food was nice, if a little old fashioned. The time set aside for 'free' time was useful, and the weather was brilliant. The film shown on the Saturday evening "Sideways" was OK, a nice little story of a couple of teenagers (in their thirties probably) finally beginning to grow up. A number of people said the wine snobbery thing was a bit annoying, some people just drank wine. Personally I think being annoyed by that was part of the film - teenage obsessions are annoying!

What didn't I like? The accomodation. St Marks is designed for children. Sharing a room as an adult is a different ball game altogether, and is something that everyone seemed unhappy with. I had a really poor nights sleep on Friday. The curtains don't close properly, the stairs (which were almost a ladder) have an automatic light, that detected all movement updtairs and switched on the light. So I turned over, and on came the light! I covered the PIR on Saturday, so no light. The bed was also too short, and very uncomfortable. The choice of date was also less than ideal. Some of the participants have young children, and Sunday was Fathers Day in England.