Ever get the feeling that we’re not quite getting this Christianity lark?!   I know that there is supposed to be difficulty, even suffering, as well as joy and peace, but I kind of get the feeling that even difficulty should feel different for the Christian who is being obedient. We are meant to be God’s Easter people, the resurrection community, but while from time to time that is true, it doesn’t really mark my life as I think it probably should. Prayer should not be boring but often is, and worship should be joyful, without deliberately singing more loudly or it depending on whether I like the tune or not! In the midst of these challenging questions, there has been a coincidence of reading, the reading group have been looking at Spiritual Fitness, and I’ve been re-reading Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline, Dallas Willard’s, “The Spirit of the Disciplines” and John Eldredge’s, “Waking the Dead”, all of which echo this sense that there is more than this to be claimed. But they challenge us with some important questions… To follow Christ means to copy his example as well as to be where he is. Are we really copying his example? How many of us spend any significant time alone as he did? How many spend time in silence as he did? How many of us fast (go without food) at all? As Christians we are generally taught about the importance of praying and reading the bible and caring for others, but how many of us really follow Christ? Do we celebrate the festivals and the fasts? Do we give sacrificially to the poor both in time and as well as money? Are we regularly part of a small fellowship which care for us and challenge us to better ways of being a Christian? …but surely that’s all that medieval clap trap that went out with the reformation? Yet these have been the practices of the likes of C S Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A W Tozer, Wesley, Roy Castle, Cardinal Newman, Mother Teresa, and countless unknown Christians who by their lives have set an extraordinary example. These are the things that Jesus did and generations of our brothers and sisters in order to know God’s presence in their lives and in order to release God’s power in their lives – following Christ. Perhaps in our day in which we worry about how much stuff our children and grandchildren have and want, they are actually following our example, for I suspect the very thought of going without food for 24 hours, being alone for any length of time, sitting in silence without any other noise would make everyone in the church go “Why?!” let alone the rest of the population. And yet these were a regular part of Jesus’ life, and these were the things that made his taking part in parties, his sitting in the company of all sorts, his active service of others, his suffering and his joys have meaning, direction and power. Through Lent in the preaching and the lent courses we are going to be seeking to explore what it means to follow Christ today and how we can do that in the context of work, family, community and rest. Best Wishes Chris

Read past messages: In Charge of Change Chris Rankine February 2007 From Mary's Desk Mary Vickers March 2007 Is the Parish Priest Being Bossy? Chris Rankine April 2007 Changing Times Chris Rankine Are You Fit Mary Vickers Of Life and Death Chris Rankine November 2007 Building Foundations for Life Chris Rankine December 2007 Ever get the feeling...? Chris Rankine February 2008