Church is

Church is . . .

A retirement reflection – or is it a doodle?

Having served South England Conference members east, west and in-between, Pastor Jonathan Barrett has recently retired from pastoral ministry. I have always appreciated Jonathan’s careful use of words, thoughtful and intentional – the hallmark of an excellent preacher! Reflecting on church life, he put those thoughts on paper and did an A-Z of words in church life, called ‘Church Is . . .’ Any he’s left out?

AYS, ADRA collection, anointings, announcements, arguments, altar calls, all in favour, abusers, affairs, areas, amen

Bulletins, Bible, Bible study, BUC, business meetings, board meetings, boredom, births, building projects, baptisms, brothers

Conflicts, communion bowls, continuity, cold rooms, change, Christmas service, chatting, choruses, church growth, church schools, church buildings, church officers, church budget, cultures, children’s story, couples’ evenings, community centres, cookery classes, conference session, congregations, cleaning days, culture days, creativity, Camp Meeting, campaigns

Daniel seminars, deacons, deaths, defensiveness, dedications, dress code, door-to-door, disappointments, divorces, disagreements, disfellowship, discipline, diaries, Doug Batchelor, doctrines

Emmanuel Osei, encouragement, emails, excuses, expectations, exclusivity, Ellen White

Fellowship, feet washing, Focus magazine, foolishness, false hopes, Fun Run,

greetings, God bless you

Hats, happy Sabbath, health screenings, health seminars, helpfulness, hearers, hope, hymns

Isolation, illness, inward focus

Justifications, Joseph Bates

Kitchen rotas, KJV

Laughter, late starts, lunches, livestream, listeners, leavers, lost keys, lights left on, loneliness

Marriages in trouble, marriage preparation, Messenger magazine, messy church, moving chairs, Mark Finley, ministerial fraternals, music days

New piano, new ideas, narrow-mindedness, Neal Wilson, no drums, nominating committee

Operations, old guard, old ideas, offerings

Power struggles, potlucks, PowerPoint, plans, platform party, people, prayer, pastors, pastoral visits, preaching plans

Quarrelling, quadrennium

Rejoicing, Revelation seminars, risk assessment

Sabbath, Sabbath School, speakers, sermons, services, sunset, SEC, store cupboards, scripture readings, suits, socials, song services, saints

Town Hall rooms, TED, tension, thieves, thirteenth Sabbath, trip hazards

Unannounced, unmute yourself, unpleasantness

Visitors, VBS, votes

World church, worldviews, workers’ meetings, WhatsApp groups, welcome into fellowship, week of prayer, warmth

Xenophobia

Youth emphasis Sabbath

Zoom meetings