Pilgrim's Progress

It Started With One Glance

Literally.

We were on our way to a baseball game (Toronto Bluejays at the Skydome) and someone points out the window, and says "there's a new prayer community called GOHOP (Greater Ontario House of Prayer) that meets in that building" (which houses a large Christian broadcasting company - shown on the right).

And so the seed was sown.

To cut a long story short, one thing led to another, and I'm going to be involved with GOHOP for a few months doing creative stuff\prayer\worship\intercession and so on, that same building.

So from that once glance, a seed was sown, which grew over the months into an idea, into a possibility, and finally into a reality.

This has happened before. Other big life changes have been triggered by seemingly insignificant events - a word, a throwaway comment, a thought that came from nowhere.

And so my prayer is that each of us will learn to live more attentively, to be alert to these "glances" that might be the beginning of something significant.

I'm hoping to chart the journey here in coming months ... so watch this space!

One Way Ticket

This is it. This is my last full week in my current post. After 6 years in parish ministry in the UK, I'm taking a sabbatical in Canada with a community of Christians who meet to pray in all kinds of creative ways. This will involve such things as laptop DJing, digital art, improvised worship, prayer and intercession and so on.

I'm looking forward to a change of scene, of pace, and of focus for a while. As well as being a positive step in itself, it's also a chance to think about the future. It's time to step back and have a fresh look at things.

After that I have no idea what will happen. As things stand I'm heading to Canada on a one way ticket, without a job or a home to come back to. It feels a bit like this ...

This trip captures everything that Pilgrim's Progress blog has been about in its 3 years. Living every day with a desire to be in God's house, but until that day finally comes, to journey with that glorious destination in mind, to live intentionally, and to seek to live by what is REAL. I've fallen far short of this too often, but it remains my goal.

Psalm 84 captures it ...

Blessed are those whose stronghold[1] is in you
In whose hearts are pilgrim highways.
They grow in warrior courage
Till each of them appears before God in Zion.

Notes:
[1] Stronghold. Translates a word that means refuge, place of strength.
[2] Warrior Courage. The Hebrew word commonly translates as "army", "valour" or "might".

P.S. Pilgrim's Progress will keep running - that's the beauty of the web - I can update it from anywhere, and I hope to post some of the art & music that emerges from my involvement with the folks over there.