7 March 2026 Abraham was obedient but he also exercised tremendous endurance. The writer to the Hebrews captures this beautifully when he describes Abraham and his descendants as ‘ strangers and foreigners on the earth’. Abraham remained forever unsettled, uprooted, vulnerable. He was a stranger. He didn’t belong. He was a foreigner. He lived by different rules. But he didn’t give up. His endurance was sustained not only by the promise but by God’s continual confirmation that his promise would be fulfilled. Abraham lived for a quarter of a century in this uncertain and uncomfortable place. God had made a promise. ‘I will make you a great nation.’ But when was he ever going to fulfil it? Sarah is barren. Abraham is old. They have no children. And even when a son is born, this hardly constitutes a great nation nor fulfils the promise of the starry sky and the sandy seashore! In his obedience, there was much uncertainty. In his endurance, there was much loneliness. Abrah...
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6 March 2026 You have got to admire Abraham’s obedience. God says, ‘Go!’ And Abraham goes and the writer to the Hebrews adds that Abraham went ‘ not knowing where he was going’. (Hebrews 11;8) And if he was going to a place of plenty, a life of ease, a paradise garden, a land flowing with milk and honey we could see the point of his obedience. But there is no such consolation for Abraham. Read on in Genesis 12 – and what do you see? There is famine in the land. What an inhospitable welcome! There is fighting in the camp! What next? I’ll tell you! There’s warfare and Abraham gets caught up in it! Famine, family conflict, warfare! Who would journey on into that kind of world? But it’s the real world as we can see all too clearly today. It is the most authentic context for God’s call to be heard and obeyed. Living with uncertainty is our human lot. But how we resist it! Because God calls, it doesn’t mean to say we will not experience famine, warfare, f...
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5 March 2026 – From My Diary 1996 I had a baptismal visit. The baby was as good as gold. The older child was a toddler and felt threatened by my presence. He clung to his mother. ‘He must get out!’ the child insisted. ‘Come on,’ said his dad, ‘It’s the minister.’ That made no difference. ‘I no speak. He must go in big car!’ When I left the house, I said, ‘Goodbye!’ to the child and mentioned him by name. He replied, ‘No, I no want you!’ There was a restlessness in the house. The father of the child had several jobs. ‘He doesn’t rest.’ said his wife mournfully. ‘And he doesn’t let us rest either.’ The baptism passed without incident. I had greater success in the Secondary School. At Wallace High, I was working my way around all the Second Year classes. I was usually allocated the science class because they had less students in them. I did some work on logos and Christian symbols and we made paper crosses. At the end of my Chaplain’s slot, I was leaving the classroom...
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4 March 2026 I was talking to a group of people about the ministry and, in particular, the duality which exists within the minister of Word and Sacrament. In our tradition, we talk about ‘the Minister and Kirk Session’. It is a neat phrase which reveals the danger of the tight-rope walker. Minister as tight-rope walker is evident in the two roles which she is called to fulfil. In Kirk Session, the minister acts as moderator, chairing the meeting and ensuring that all points of view are heard and discussion is contained within parameters of politeness, theological integrity and legal requirements. This role ensures that the minister cannot favour one side or another in any discussion or argument in Kirk Session. As moderator he must remain impartial. This means that he cannot exercise undue influence over the other elders. Some decisions will be made with which he will not agree. In the phrase ‘minister and Kirk Session’, the minister is detached from the Kir...
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3 March 2026 I have been working with two Kirk Sessions in their preparation of a Parish Profile. They have been listing all that they are doing within the parish and reflecting on the ‘Five Marks of Mission’. Their work is impressive and the work being accomplished is very worthwhile. Sometimes when we are reflecting on these things, we forget to look at the larger picture. We are so focused on fulfilling the task in hand – completing forms, sustaining past initiatives, creating something new, recruiting volunteers that we forget what the church is all about. In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul sings a hymn in which he concludes, ‘ For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross.’ We participate in the ministry of Christ and his ministry is one of reconciliation, making peace through his sacrifice upon the cros...
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2 March 2026 In every vacancy with the right to call a minister, the Kirk Session is charged with producing a Parish Profile. This is the document which applicants for the post of minister will receive. Perhaps they have visited the parish and know something of its geography and history but receipt of the Parish Profile will be the first time they will hear the voice of the Kirk Session. When the Advisory Panel reviewed the Parish Profile, they thought it too present focused. It should be future focused. We need to look into the future and see how things could be developed or initiated. There are two problems with this. Firstly, it requires us to think more deeply about the development of the congregation – its work with young people, its ministry to the community, its pastoral care and so on. Secondly, it leads us inevitably into an unknown future – and this is scary. For this is a future inhabited by an unknown minister and all the changes which may or m...
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1 March 2026 I was speaking to a granny. She told me about two of her grandchildren. One was in the police. The other was in social work. Neither of them were working for the money. They both loved their jobs and, as a result, had a deep sense of fulfilment. I would say their response was vocational. Everyone has at least one vocation – the vocation to be, to be a human being which is given to us in birth. We are all made in the image of God and carry something sacred within us. This shapes our life and our relationships with others. Some have a second vocation – the vocation to be a Christian which is established not in birth but in baptism. This develops in some but not others. You can tell whether someone is a Christian if they bear the fruits of the Spirit in their lives – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The one in the middle is very important – kindness. It doesn’t cost us anything to be kind – to sp...