les Davey de France

A day off - with few plans !

2012-01-30T13:25:00.000+01:00

It's good to have a quiet day off today. I have little planned. There's a meeting of the bureau of the schhol of music this evening and I have a trombone lesson this afternoon. That's all. Pat is meeting a student for lunch. Catrin and Gwilym are eating at school so I'll have lots of peace and quiet, too.

Yesterday was a marathon worthy of the crazy week that had preceded it : I was preaching am and pm and my preparation had been hurried, superficial and interrupted by events on Saturday. Still things seemed to go OK. I felt sorry for the folk in the evening as we were interrupted a bit by the arrival of the young people returning from Rodez and frankly I was not at my liveliest !

I need to tell you about what's happening in the church at the moment - it's like a fresh wind blowing through. People are praying together, speaking constructively about the future, planning together. Two weeks ago I wondered if it was possible for the church to look forward again. Two weeks later it's like a different church.

Meanwhile a chap who's been visiting a few weeks now said he'd been touched by the preaching last week when our friend Samuel was here, and this week. It's a wonderful time. There's lots to do but we have begun to do it.

Today my throat is a bit swollen and I need to take it slow and easy. Just a few phone calls and Skype calls to make.

Thanks for praying. Don't stop now !

Thanks for your continued prayers

2012-01-28T15:50:00.001+01:00

We heard today from the church in Grenoble that after reflection, discussion and prayer they have decided not to continue discussions about a possible move there as pastor.

Thanks for your prayers over the past months and please don't stop now. We need your prayers in Bordeaux and the church in Grenoble also needs your continued prayers for the future !

That was the week that was

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000+01:00

Well phew. Wednesday was nuts. Nuts with a capital N. Thursday wasn't a lot better.

I don't know what it is. It's like some crazed mania strikes the week on Tuesday evening and doesn't subside till Friday lunchtime.

Still, at the end of the week we're all alive and well, and the kids are off to Rodez in the South of France for a Youth Weekend with our friend Stephane Kouyo who's the minister down there. This will leave the house unnaturally quiet for preparation for tomorrow !

After a nutty week the PJB rehearsal is great therapy, especially when some of my fellow trombonists do a kind of instinctive, natural comedy act. Does you good to blast off.

Wow ! What a marathon !

2012-01-26T09:51:00.000+01:00

It began at 8h30 when we all left the house, well except for Gwilym who leaves at 6:45. We dropped Catrin off at school then Pat went to her meeting near the church and I went to meet with the FAC team to prepare the Passerelles study.

Passerelles is a home-grown French course for introducing the gospel, in the manner of Christianity Explored or Alpha. It has three parts : A video of a vox-pop or scene, then a video of a short Bible talk given in a kind of studio setting, then a Bible study/discussion in groups. We watched, discussed, prayed, redid all the questions and finished at about 1:30.

This was just in time for me to go home, eat a main meal and get out to the church for 3:30 to meet up with Patrick before the church council meeting. I had a nice ham salad with a baked potato and zoomed off happily, trombone in hand just in case.

The council meeting went very well. As you can imagine, we have LOTS to discuss, and we finished at 18:30. This was a pity because I was due back at the FAC flat at 18:30 to prepare the next café philo, but as we say, tant pis. It isn't easy for me to sneak out of church council meetings early at the moment because I am "acting pastor", Dik being in Holland till mid-February and actually on his way to Holland for good. We didn't manage to discuss everything we needed to, even then. Still.

So off to the FACflat for the Passerelles meeting, busily chomping on the sandwich Pat had made me. The meeting went very well, we were about 15 people. Afterwards Pierre kindly gave me a lift back to the church and I hopped in the car and got home about 11.

This morning I am hung over, and running about 2 hours behind ! However I don't think I have any meetings scheduled until this evening. It's like this in Bordeaux at the moment - you have to use the times of calm to recover from and prepare for the times of ... lack of calm.

Essential advice (in French) on how to wash out your nose

2012-01-24T13:12:00.002+01:00

Read it here.

So after dinner

2012-01-24T08:56:00.000+01:00

we left the studio, which is very near the bus stop for the N° 4 that takes you back to Pessac.

What time's your bus, Alan ?

I don't know. What time is it now ?

It was 11:30 and we watched the 11:30 bus pull away. I couldn't stop it because I didn't have a ticket anyway, or any money. I had to visit the ticket machine at the tram stop.

So I did, then waited for the next bus at 12:11. It was a mild night. Bordeaux goes to bed at midnight, so the cafés and restaurants were closed and there were very few people in the streets. The buildings looked wonderful and my phone was completely dead !

Oh well...

Hopelessly overawed

2012-01-24T08:53:00.001+01:00

Two of our student friends invited us for a meal last night. (Poor Patricia was on ferry duty for solfège...) We met up in their studio and were treated to prunes in bacon, little sausage rolls of hotdog sausages, something else delicious that I can't remember, salad with quiche and savoury cake of crab and salmon (extremely good !), home made mushroom soup and Fiona's banoffee pie. All home-made in a studio on a two-ring baby Belling.

We're going to do a return invitation but we have to admit to being hopelessly outclassed.

Bordeaux is brilliant

2012-01-24T08:33:00.000+01:00

A friend works in the probation service, a long way from Bordeaux.

"Well he'd like to come back to this area, but there's no jobs", said his mother.

"Well maybe there's no jobs now, but..."

"No, there's never any jobs, there's just not enough delinquents in Bordeaux."

Un héraut dans le net !

2012-01-22T08:20:00.000+01:00

One of the chaps drew my attention to this site. I haven't had time to explore it yet, but it looks interesting.

Cleaning the church

2012-01-21T20:14:00.000+01:00

Mrs Davey organises the cleaning rota so after a fairly normal Saturday morning with the kids (what about those shoes ? what about ordering Narnia 2 ? what about pocket money ? what about us going bowling with the kids from church ?) we scuttled off to the church where Mrs Davey did the kitchen and the kids room while I did the main church room.

After dusting the benches, rearranging the furniture, getting the heating going again (who turned it off and why?) and washing the floor I measured up the windows for cheap Ikea nets. We aren't allowed to have them long-term, but the architect said "fine" to putting them in the windows short-term just to blur the view in.

Then home via Aldi to get sorted for today. I'm only preaching once today, and that's in English in the evening, but I've been organising the morning service.

Friday Afternoon and Evening

2012-01-20T22:59:00.000+01:00

Firstly meeting to prepare the student Bible Study next Friday and to try and find a room.

We've asked a church near the campus if we can use a room there. We also asked the University Maison des Associations, but they held out no hope. There is a nice common room that we could use, though, as long as we bag a table early enough.

Then in the evening the Groupe de Maison Bordeaux-Sud. We were six, I think, at Cadaujac to begin studies in James - this evening an introduction to the book. It seemed to go pretty well.

Tant pis

2012-01-19T16:07:00.000+01:00

I heard today that the EMW Christian Bookshop in the Hayes is closing down.

The message said "mid-January" so it may already have closed.

Boy that brings back memories.

Theological scrapping with Matthew Evans.

Auntie Bessie putting backbone into me.

(I could do with you just now, Auntie Bessie !)

Mark Finnie claiming he knew I'd been in because nobody else bought the books I bought.

Meanwhile here in Bordeaux our bookshop has become "Associative' - it's now been passed from the Swiss Maison de la Bible organisation into the hands of a committee drawn from the Bordeaux churches with all volunteer staff (including Pat).

We really hope that we can keep the bookshop open in Bordeaux, even without the base of large churches that Cardiff enjoys. A Christian bookshop in a city centre is an important resource for Christians and a centre for outreach - especially in Bordeaux where churches are harder to find.

On moving from iPhone to Android

2012-01-19T15:00:00.000+01:00

Well that's over a week now that I have been on Android rather than iPhone. And so far so good.

The good.

A big screen, easy to read.
A led flash and flashlight app useful for finding your slippers in the morning
Micro-SD card slot
It reminds me to do my daily readings !
Almost all the applications I used on iPhone are available on Android (Kindle, Skype, iReal B, Biblereader, etc.)
It's great for your calendar, too - month at a glance that you can read.
Battery life is good - if you remember to switch wifi off when you leave the house !
Easy to switch wifi on and off as well as rotation.
Great for notetaking, etc.
Good camera and movie-making ability.
So much cheaper than iPhone 4S
You can buy Kindle books easily within the Kindle app.

The not so good

It's not as cool.
Gmail doesn't actually delete messages when I tell it to, it just deletes them off the phone.
It's a bit big to fit on the music stand as a tuner / metronome.

I'll say this much for my friend, the JW

2012-01-19T09:59:00.001+01:00

he's very gracious...

We were about to start reading from where we left off some weeks ago, in John 6. We finished at this : "celui qui croit en moi a la vie éternelle." I noted before we set off that Jesus says "a", not "aura peut-être".

"Well he will if he fulfills the conditions", was the reply.

Yes, "He who believes in me has eternal life", now, Jesus chose the tense, not me.

But what about those who don't.

Jesus says they do.

But they don't.

Jesus says they do. Maybe the problem is what you define as believe...

So off we go.

By the way, how do we translate notitia, assensus and fiducia into French ?
I used connaissance, accord and confiance and went to my favourite example of the chair.

When you see a chair you have to know what it is, then you have to accept that it is what they say it is and that it is designed to take your weight, but then you have to sit on it.

Some friends have an African chair that is just two planks of wood slotted together, and I have the connaissance that it's a chair because they told me. I am in agreement that what they say is true and that it is designed to sit on. However I have yet to summon up sufficient confiance to entrust my frame to its angle.

Well there we are. Next time John 6.

Don Carson on Acts 18 and Nehemiah 8

2012-01-18T12:49:00.000+01:00

SOMETHING IS TO BE GAINED BY bringing today’s two readings, Nehemiah 8 and Acts 18, into juxtaposition.

Much of Acts 18 is devoted to preaching and teaching the Word of God and to the issue of how to understand God’s revelation aright. When Silas and Timothy arrive in Corinth from Macedonia (Acts 18:5), presumably bringing with them some support money, Paul is set free to devote himself “exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 18:5). Eventually the heat of opposition drives him to spend more time with Gentiles. No longer free to use the synagogue, he uses the house of Titius Justus next door. Soon the synagogue ruler himself is converted (Acts 18:8). Some Jews mount a legal challenge against Paul, but the local magistrate perceives that the dispute essentially involves controverted interpretations of Scripture (Acts 18:12-16). The end of the chapter introduces Apollos, learned in the Scriptures and a powerful speaker, but still somewhat ill-informed regarding Jesus. He “knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). He may well have known enough of John the Baptist’s teaching to announce the coming of Jesus and perhaps even details of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; but like the “believers” at the beginning of the next chapter, he might not have known of Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit. After all, many Jews from around the empire visited Jerusalem at the time of the feasts and then returned home. If Apollos and others had left Jerusalem after the resurrection but before Pentecost, it was not impossible that years could have elapsed before they became better informed. And information is precisely what Priscilla and Aquila provide Apollos, explaining to him “the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).

In Nehemiah 8, Ezra begins a seven-day Bible conference. He carefully reads “the Law” to the assembled crowd. The Levites join in; they “instructed the people in the Law…. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read” (Neh. 8:7-8). The expression “making it clear” could be rendered “translating it”; after all, the Law was written in Hebrew, and by this time most of the people spoke Aramaic. The Bible had become a closed book to them. Whether through translation or exposition or both, the people are understanding it again. Joy dawns “because they now understood the words that had been made known to them” (Neh. 8:12).

Whether under the old covenant or the new, nothing is more important for the growth and maturation of God’s people than a heart hungry to read and understand what God says, and people to make it plain. (Italics mine)

The big weekend - Monday morning

2012-01-18T10:39:00.003+01:00

By now I had a headache.

Monday morning found me in the tram heading for Saint-Bruno for the meeting to discuss the future months in the student outreach. It was a fine time, and we're very thankful for the situation we find ourselves in.

We have lots of contacts, in fact more contacts than we can really follow up adequately. In addition there is the possibility to start some Evangelistic Bible Studies.

So we plan :

to stop leafleting and surveying on the campus for the moment (this makes us all sad, but we need to do it)
to make the Wednesday evening Bible Study suitable for those with little or no background.
to start a new Friday lunchtime Bible Study on or near the university campus, this aimed at building up believers.

Café Philo and English Classes to continue.

The big weekend - Sunday evening

2012-01-18T10:28:00.000+01:00

For the English service we were 22 with some new faces and some regulars missing.

We started talking about Rom 12:2 and the renewing of the mind, and we rounded it off with coffee and left over cake from lunchtime !

The big weekend - Sunday afternoon

2012-01-18T10:27:00.000+01:00

Church lunches in France - well you have to see them to believe them. French pizzas are the best, even Italian friends say so, and quiches etc are great.

One family had brought a curry and were worried that it was too hot. For British friends I would rate it at about a Korma... They're so sweet. They don't know what hot means.

Afterwards the big discussion of the way forward. We will meet together regularly to discuss the way ahead and to define our identity as a church and what we hope of a future pastor. It is clear that there's some distance to travel before we could call anyone.

We dispersed at about 4 or 4:30 and we got the room ready for the English Service.

The big weekend - Sunday morning

2012-01-18T10:22:00.000+01:00

Sunday morning found us bright and early on the way to church to drop off Pat and the kids so I could go off to preach at Anglade.

It was a lovely day to make the hour's journey through the vineyards to the little church there, where we were 11 gathered.

The message was from Revelation 2 - when the essential is gone - remember, repent and redo. Except in French of course. It's great to think that there is always a way back. Thomas and Charlotte had heard the message the previous week at Cenon, but they didn't seem to mind.

After the service I high-tailed it back to Cenon, arriving at about 1.

The big weekend - Saturday evening

2012-01-18T10:19:00.000+01:00

The first of the Chinese arrived at 5 to begin the preparations for the meeting - that is to begin cooking !

I went in a lower room to do a bit of trombone practice in order to clear my head and blow away the cobwebs a little.

Peopel arrived from about 6 and we ate delicious food then sang in Cantonese before handing over for the talk.
We had planned that this would be in French, but a few people had little French so in the end I spoke in Englich with Mandarin interpretation from François Liu. The message was from Mark 7 - on the need for real purity in the heart, not ritual purity from ceremonies or restrictive laws.

I committed a faux-pas when referring to verse 19 - where Jesus declares all foods clean. One girl said "but not blood, right?"
I said ,"All foods clean."
"Yes, but not blood."
I was afterwards told that Chinese churches ban blood-based foods, from Acts 15.
1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 didn't help. OK.

Still, we learned that these peripheral questions need to be put to the periphery and not discussed in the big group. Pat and the kids came from the youth meeting and so I got to go home in the car rather than bus and tram. Luxury !

The big weekend - Saturday morning

2012-01-18T10:10:00.000+01:00

The big weekend started at 10 (or thereabouts) with a BIG committee meeting uniting :

Church Presbyteral Council
Comission Générale de l'Evangélisation
Région Sud-Ouest of UNEPREF

We reviewed the life and activity of the church here with its different outreaches etc.
We talked about the building and the projects for the future.
Then we talked about the financial situation and the practicalities.

The upshot is that the suggestion is that the church pass a year without a new pastor.
At one point during the meeting it seemed likely that I would have to pull out of the student outreach completely and assume the pastoral ministry here, though as we talked together we concluded that such a step would be impossible without a call from the church here.

After the big committee meeting several church folk came to talk with everyone. We dispersed just before 5.

It's the big weekend!

2012-01-14T07:36:00.000+01:00

Two days chock full of Bible teaching, of prayer, of discussion and, please God, of decision. Here's for a BIG MOMENT in the life of the work here.

The couple of days ahead

2012-01-13T13:08:00.000+01:00

Today is about preparation and also about the Conseil d'Administration of the Maison de la Bible this afternoon at 3.

Saturday

10:00 till 16:00 - Church Council meets up with the Comission Générale de l'Evangélisation to discuss the way ahead

18:00 - Preaching for the Chinese Group.

Sunday

10:30 - Preaching in French at Anglade

13:00 - Church lunch followed by discussion and prayer following Saturday

18:00 - English Service

It's a full weekend - I need to have everything together by this evening !

Language

2012-01-13T09:31:00.001+01:00

Sometimes people say nice things about my French. On Wednesday some folks said, "how long have you been in France? You don't have much of an accent!" Last night some others got onto discussing language learning and said nice things about my French again.

OK - first thing - when people say nice things about you the first thing you learn is that the people want to be nice to you. That is, their comment says as much about them as it does about you. It's right to take their remark seriously, but not TOO seriously !

Second thing - it does make me feel that all those hours in the tram practicing mouth positions and trying to be aware of the position of my tongue etc. were not totally wasted. I work hard at this language thing.

Third thing - I am an insufferable mimic. It's a nightmare sometimes. I met this Quebequois recently and heard myself adopting his nice vowels.. Aarrrggghhhhh ! Still it's good to know that this atrocious habit does have a good side...

Fourth thing - and really this is the first thing - God gives giftts and aptitudes. None of us has anything that he has not received. We use it badly. We use it well. But it's all a gift.

The wood stove

2012-01-13T09:26:00.001+01:00

It was sad.

While I was lighting the stove this morning I spotted a little cricket, sweet little thing. It was fascinated by the burning wood and it advanced into the stove to get nearer the warmth and the carbon dioxide. I tried to provoke it into jumping out, but I couldn't get it out of the stove. Then I saw the spider - the running, jumping, hunting kind - also moving closer and closer to the flames.

Poor beasts. They love the warmth and the CO2. It gets them all excited and lively. Briefly.

Maybe it's better than slowly freezing in the woodpile outside. Maybe.

Hurrah for Free !

2012-01-12T08:58:00.000+01:00

Our internet is with Free, and I like them very much. They're very geeky, they have lots of gadgetty things (like a remote control for the TV box that works by wifi) and the bill is reasonable. They also support Open-Source software very actively.

The boss of Free announced some time ago that Free wanted to move into the mobile phone market and "Halve the mobile phone bill for French families". It's true that mobile phone bills are REALLY EXPENSIVE in France compared to the UK.

Anyway the legal process is long, but eventually they launched their offers yesterday - 16€ / month for unlimited calls, unlimited SMS etc and 3GB of 3G data - speed reduced after that, and Skype use and mobile tethering all allowed. Also unlimited calls include those to UK landlines.

Well there was a feeding frenzy. It was fun to see friends trying to connect and reporting their frustration.

Didn't work for me either. Firstly I couldn't get into the website. Then I couldn't get it to accept my password. Then it wouldn't accept my bank details. I gave up.

Tried this morning. All fine. Signed up. Yipppeeeee ! Once everyone else is out of contract we can all move across and cut our mobile bill enormously.

Soirée trois - Semaine Universelle de Prière

2012-01-12T08:50:00.000+01:00

Last night was evening three and I was to bring the brief message before prayer. I had Romans 12:17 - 21 and Psalm 37 : 1 - 11 set as texts. And the weather was FOUL !

There was fog. Thick fog. The Latresne church is down by the river south of the city so everyone basically has to use the ring-road and then drive through the dampest, soggiest, thickest, foggiest bits of Bordeaux. There were huge tailbacks on the ring-road - apparently SEVEN cars broken down, one after the other. It's the damp. Still that was going in the other direction and with care and a few scares and slowdowns I got to the church in good time.

I wondered who else would brave the soup, but we must have been between 40 and 50 and all went off well. Marc Stefanini, who himself is Corsican (quand même !) teased me about how cold and damp it is in Wales. "Et tu dis qu'il ne fait pas froid et humide ici ?" as we waded through the car-park to our sodden cars.

The highlight for me was talking with the folks from the NEW CHURCH AT MERIGNAC ! It's a church plant from the CMA group of churches in France. Nobody has moved here, but preachers come from Limoges, Toulouse, etc... so there's always a preacher each week. I am so glad to see someone start something in Mérignac. It's a town of 50 000 people and till now the only evangelical witness has been a little Bible Study group started many years ago by a Catholic priest.

Semaine Universelle de Prière - soirée deux

2012-01-11T18:04:00.000+01:00

Last night was at the Eglise Evangélique Bordeaux République. The most numerous church in Bordeaux as far as I know, it meets in a really big building, a converted cinema just off the boulevards. I've only ever been to the church for a Mark Experience afternoon, but I have several friends who go there and I know the pastors : Patrick Berthalon and David Renault. It belongs to the Assemblées de Dieu. The speaker last night was Michaël Razzano from the Eglise Baptiste de Caudéran.

Culturally it's very different, with much more lively music, a worship leader (David), times where people sang without words and times where people prayed all at the same time. Although I don't feel any desire to change church culture, I did think that it must be great to be in a big church like that with lots of people. Parking is an issue, though...

Michaël got the best passage to speak from - Psalm 2 - and he did a good job. We talked afterwards about an ex-neighbour who has recently started attending the Caudéran church - very encouraging.

Some friends have blessed us with a washing machine

2012-01-11T14:43:00.002+01:00

(it seems that that's how you say that now....)

Looking back, it's hard to believe how well-organised our life was in the UK and what a shambles it is now.

In the UK we had a wonderful plumber. He could plumb anything, anywhere, anyhow. He lived just up the road and he was reliable and cheap. He'd put the heating system in our house and he just knew what was what. Here, too, we have used the plumber who installed the heating in our house, but it just isn't the same. Not at all.

The boiler-servicing man was great, too. I think because it was a small town and the church was a decent size generally you could find the contacts you needed.

Our mechanic. He was great ! I used to tease him because he just loved BMWs, but he still worked on our Toyotas, then Citroens. Obviously Toyotas are better than Citroens, but we spent more on repairs to the Toyotas than we have for our Berlingos. New radiators, all sorts.

We also had this brilliant washing-machine repair man. We looked forward to him coming. He kept our Hotpoint going for a supernaturally long time (certainly over 15 years) and when it was nearing the end of its life he told us plainly to run it till it died then dispose of it decently. Here I called a guy from Yellow Pages. Oh the shame !

Anyway when we came to France we needed a washing machine so we bought a basic model from a big store that gave good after-sales service and all was fine till just before Christmas when the 32 minute wash started to take hours and the programmer knob would go round and round and round. I phoned the guy from Yellow Pages and he charged us 50€ to tell us that it would cost almost 300€ to fix. I am not sure it cost that much to buy... Anyway. Disappointed by the shortevity of our washing machine (6 years is somewhat brief, surely) we considered our options. Pat on Facebook urged the machine to continue till Christmas at least. Apparently the machine uses Facebook. It heeded her plea.

Meanwhile enter certain knights in shining armour who also use Facebook. "How much does a washing machine cost in France? How can we send you money for one?"

French law is pretty tight on trying to stamp out corruption, so any money that comes from your employer with your wages is deemed to be additional wages, taxable etc. This means that it is best now NOT to send additional gifts of money for workers in France via their mission (check with the person / mission beforehand - don't take my word as gospel !)

So this morning a new washing machine was delivered from a local association called Envie. They specialise in refurbishing second-hand machines and also in obtaining new old stock machines and selling them on. Last week we went in to see what they had, and they had two natty Hotpoints - 9kg load ! (the old one took 5) and 1400 rpm spin speed (the old one did 800). They were new old stock and the price seemed good for what they were (Google is your friend on these things)

Four loads later and the thing is a marvel. It's so quiet. We had to go in and stare at it to make sure it was working. And the fact it takes almost twice the load will cut by half the number of washes we do.

Well Wednesday is unfolding well so far

2012-01-11T09:34:00.001+01:00

Stove lit.

Kids off to school (Catrin has been ill the past few days)

Washing machine delivered and working - VERY QUIET !
And whereas the other one took a 5kg load, this one takes 9 !

Preparation for tonight in hand.

If I manage to sign up for Free Mobile, then I'll know the day is going very well indeed....

.

It's now that you feel a long way away

2012-01-10T18:47:00.001+01:00

A grand old dame of the congregation in Deeside has died.

She had a right to, she was 99, but it's a pain that we can't be there with folk, talk with her family, reminisce...

Well I will reminisce here - boy there's so many stories !
.

A busy time ahead

2012-01-10T10:29:00.003+01:00

I'm not blogging much these days, I realise, and I'm sorry about that. I'll explain the reasons.

Firstly it's a fairly busy but routine time. This week is the Evangelical Council's week of prayer and we hosted the prayer meeting last night. When we agreed to do that Dik thought he'd be here but he's in Holland so it fell to me to sort out accompanist, projection of hymns and songs, welcome folk, chair the meeting etc. In fact I didn't have to chair the meeting because our elder was unexpectedly able to be present so I asked him to chair and work the videoprojector so I could help the accompanist. An evening like that is very stressful, but of great benefit. One of the ADD pastors was speaking and he spoke warmly and enthusiastically, though I am not sure now what he said as such. Lots of people prayed.

On Wednesday I have to speak at the prayer meeting, so I need to get my preparation sorted. One of the problems with the week of prayer is that they suggest themes for our reflection and prayer, and you risk getting five messages which all say more or less the same thing about the same subject... We'll see.

Thursday the English Classes restart. Also we have a parents' meeting at Gwilym's school at 17h30, so timing will be of the essence.

This week the outreach on campus restarts, though it's exam time for most of the students. It'll be good to get back out amongst folk and the weather here is very mild.

Sunday I am preaching for the Chinese on Saturday evening (Mark) and then in French at Anglade on Sunday morning and in English in the evening.

Whatever happens it seems that over the next few months I'll be preaching more in French on Sunday mornings and I also hope to do systematic visiting of church folk. This will entail freeing up at least one evening a week and I don't yet know how to do that, though I have one or two ideas that might work. Watch this space... On Sunday mornings I plan a series on Philippians.

We also need special prayer for this weekend - we have a visit from the Comission Générale de l'Evangélisation to discuss the way ahead for the church here in the light of Dik leaving us in June. This will involve the church council meeting with the commission on Saturday, then a church lunch and afternoon prayer and discussion time on Sunday.

Lots of folks are asking us about Grenoble, we haven't heard anything since mid-December. There's been illness in the church there, then Christmas holidays intervened and now David Vaughn is in Burkina Faso teaching pastors there, so I don't expect to hear anything till February. However, as we used to say at Honeywell, "till you see the ticket in your hand you're going nowhere". And there's work to get on with here !

Lunchtime concert at the Pessac Médiathèque

2012-01-07T16:02:00.000+01:00

This was the encore.

Six words

2012-01-07T10:25:00.000+01:00

A tip someone once shared on preaching is to give your sermon a title fairly early on in your preparation, and to make this title revolve around a verb in the imperative.

So "Live out your union with Jesus", or "Glorify the goodness and patience of God", or "Pray in the Spirit always" for example.

The goal is to stop you rambling on all around the houses about this and that and not having a point, let alone never getting to the point. You may or you may not announce your title, but hopefully people would realise what your point is !

Well this whole 'six words" things made me wonder whether we coud sum up the point of a message in six words. For example, from Rev 2 to the church in Ephesus it would be Get back to your first love ! or similar...

Again any tip if it helps - it's all grist to the mill !

The washing machine is dead, long live the washing machine

2012-01-07T08:36:00.001+01:00

For some time the washing machine has been behaving eccentrically.

Ever the trusting husband, of course I had to test it myself.

I put it on a 32 minute wash. It took hours.

After unbelief comes denial. Weeks of denial.

We called a repair man. He came and charged us 50€ to tell us that it would cost 280€ to fix. If we asked him to fix it the 50€ would count as a deposit.

Second cycle of denial for a couple of weeks.

This came to an end yesterday when we went to our local branch of Envie.

Envie is an association that takes second-hand appliances and reconditions them, then sells them on with a one-year guarantee.

They had some New Old Stock Hotpoint washing machines for a very reasonable price. 1400 revs spin and 9kg load. We saw. I came home and looked for reviews and stuff on the internet. I returned and paid. They're delivering on Wednesday and taking the old washing machine away. I suppose they may recondition it or they may use it for spare parts or something...
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Sinclair Ferguson on the Practice of Mortification of Sin.

2012-01-07T08:00:00.002+01:00

The Practice of Mortification

by Sinclair Ferguson

The aftermath of a conversation can change the way we later think of its significance.

My friend — a younger minister — sat down with me at the end of a conference in his church and said: “Before we retire tonight, just take me through the steps that are involved in helping someone mortify sin.” We sat talking about this for a little longer and then went to bed, hopefully he was feeling as blessed as I did by our conversation. I still wonder whether he was asking his question as a pastor or simply for himself — or both.

How would you best answer his question? The first thing to do is: Turn to the Scriptures. Yes, turn to John Owen (never a bad idea!), or to some other counselor dead or alive. But remember that we have not been left only to good human resources in this area. We need to be taught from “the mouth of God” so that the principles we are learning to apply carry with them both the authority of God and the promise of God to make them work.

Several passages come to mind for study: Romans 8:13; Romans 13:8–14 (Augustine’s text); 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Ephesians 4:17–5:21; Colossians 3:1–17; 1 Peter 4:1–11; 1 John 2:28–3:11. Significantly, only two of these passages contain the verb “mortify” (“put to death”). Equally significantly, the context of each of these passages is broader than the single exhortation to put sin to death. As we shall see, this is an observation that turns out to be of considerable importance.

Of these passages, Colossians 3:1–17 is probably the best place for us to begin.

Here were relatively young Christians. They have had a wonderful experience of conversion to Christ from paganism. They had entered a gloriously new and liberating world of grace. Perhaps — if we may read between the lines — they had felt for a while as if they had been delivered, not only from sin’s penalty but almost from its influence — so marvelous was their new freedom. But then, of course, sin reared its ugly head again. Having experienced the “already” of grace they were now discovering the painful “not yet” of ongoing sanctification. Sounds familiar!

But as in our evangelical sub-culture of quick fixes for long-term problems, unless the Colossians had a firm grasp of Gospel principles, they were now at risk! For just at this point young Christians can be relatively easy prey to false teachers with new promises of a higher spiritual life. That was what Paul feared (Col. 2:8, 16). Holiness-producing methods were now in vogue (Col. 2:21–22) — and they seemed to be deeply spiritual, just the thing for earnest young believers. But, in fact, “they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:23). Not new methods, but only an understanding of how the Gospel works, can provide an adequate foundation and pattern for dealing with sin. This is the theme of Colossians 3:1–17.

Paul gives us the pattern and rhythm we need. Like Olympic long jumpers, we will not succeed unless we go back from the point of action to a point from which we can gain energy for the strenuous effort of dealing with sin. How, then, does Paul teach us to do this?

First of all, Paul underlines how important it is for us to be familiar with our new identity in Christ (3:1–4). How often when we fail spiritually we lament that we forgot who we really are — Christ’s. We have a new identity. We are no longer “in Adam,” but “in Christ”; no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit; no longer dominated by the old creation but living in the new (Rom. 5:12–21; 8:9; 2 Cor. 5:17). Paul takes time to expound this. We have died with Christ (Col. 3:3; we have even been buried with Christ, 2:12); we have been raised with Him (3:1), and our life is hidden with Him (3:3). Indeed, so united to Christ are we that Christ will not appear in glory without us (3:4).

Failure to deal with the presence of sin can often be traced back to spiritual amnesia, forgetfulness of our new, true, real identity. As a believer I am someone who has been delivered from the dominion of sin and who therefore is free and motivated to fight against the remnants of sin’s army in my heart.

Principle number one, then, is: Know, rest in, think through, and act upon your new identity — you are in Christ.

Second, Paul goes on to expose the workings of sin in every area of our lives (Col. 3:5–11). If we are to deal with sin biblically, we must not make the mistake of thinking that we can limit our attack to only one area of failure in our lives. All sin must be dealt with. Thus Paul ranges through the manifestation of sin in private life (v. 5), everyday public life (v. 8), and church life (vv. 9–11; “one another,” “here,” that is, in the church fellowship). The challenge in mortification is akin to the challenge in dieting (itself a form of mortification!): once we begin we discover that there are all kinds of reasons we are overweight. We are really dealing with ourselves, not simply with calorie control. I am the problem, not the potato chips! Mortifying sin is a whole-of-life change.

Third, Paul’s exposition provides us with practical guidance for mortifying sin. Sometimes it seems as if Paul gives exhortations (“Put to death…,” 3:5) without giving “practical” help to answer our “how to?” questions. Often today, Christians go to Paul to tell them what to do and then to the local Christian bookstore to discover how to do it! Why this bifurcation? Probably because we do not linger long enough over what Paul is saying. We do not sink our thinking deeply into the Scriptures. For, characteristically, whenever Paul issues an exhortation he surrounds it with hints as to how we are to put it into practice.

This is certainly true here. Notice how this passage helps to answer our “how to?” questions.

1. Learn to admit sin for what it really is. Call a spade a spade — call it “sexual immorality,” not “I’m being tempted a little”; call it “impurity,” not “I’m struggling with my thought life”; call it “evil desire, which is idolatry,” not “I think I need to order my priorities a bit better.” This pattern runs right through this whole section. How powerfully this unmasks self-deceit — and helps us to unmask sin lurking in the hidden corners of
our hearts!

2. See sin for what your sin really is in God’s presence. “On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (3:6). The masters of the spiritual life spoke of dragging our lusts (kicking and screaming, though they be) to the cross, to a wrath-bearing Christ. My sin leads to — not lasting pleasure — but holy divine displeasure. See the true nature of your sin in the light of its punishment. Too easily do we think that sin is less serious in Christians than it is in non-believers: “It’s forgiven, isn’t it?” Not if we continue in it (1 John 3:9)! Take a heaven’s-eye view of sin and feel the shame of that in which you once walked (Col. 3:7; see also Rom. 6:21).

3. Recognize the inconsistency of your sin. You put off the “old man,” and have put on the “new man” (3:9–10). You are no longer the “old man.” The identity you had “in Adam” is gone. The old man was “crucified with him [Christ] in order that the body of sin [probably “life in the body dominated by sin”] might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom. 6:6). New men live new lives. Anything less than this is a contradiction of who I am “in Christ.”

4. Put sin to death (Col. 3:5). It is as “simple” as that. Refuse it, starve it, and reject it. You cannot “mortify” sin without the pain of the kill. There is no
other way!

But notice that Paul sets this in a very important, broader context. The negative task of putting sin to death will not be accomplished in isolation from the positive call of the Gospel to “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14). Paul spells this out in Colossians 3:12–17. Sweeping the house clean simply leaves us open to a further invasion of sin. But when we understand the “glorious exchange” principle of the Gospel of grace, then we will begin to make some real advance in holiness. As sinful desires and habits are not only rejected, but exchanged for Christ-like graces (3:12) and actions (3:13); as we are clothed in Christ’s character and His graces are held together by love (v. 14), not only in our private life but also in the church fellowship (vv. 12–16), Christ’s name and glory are manifested and exalted in and among us (3:17).

These are some of the things my friend and I talked about that memorable evening. We did not have an opportunity later to ask each other, “How are you going?” for it was our last conversation. He died some months later. I have often wondered how the months in between went in his life. But the earnest personal and pastoral concern in his question still echoes in my mind. They have a similar effect to the one Charles Simeon said he felt from the eyes of his much-loved portrait of the great Henry Martyn: “Don’t trifle!”

The video Gethin shared, for those as didn't click on his link.

2012-01-07T07:55:00.002+01:00

The weekend ahead

2012-01-06T11:27:00.000+01:00

Saturday afternoon a training session with an aspiring preacher.

Sunday morning - preaching in French at Cenon.

Sunday afternoon - Preaching in English at Cenon.

Monday evening - hosting CNEF united prayer meeting at Cenon.

What to do if neither you nor your pastor is John Piper...

2012-01-06T08:52:00.001+01:00

For all those pastors who are not John Piper, here's a nice angle on preaching - I liked the logos and pathos thing.

For all those whose pastors are not John Piper, here's a nice angle on hearing preaching - I liked especially "The mature worshipper is easily edified."

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Come on ! Perk up !

2012-01-06T08:16:00.001+01:00

Reckless or what ?

2012-01-05T09:55:00.000+01:00

Despite a very important appointment on 12th May, I have booked my place for this.

It's difficult to know quite what to post on the blog at the moment

2012-01-04T09:58:00.001+01:00

It's a time of planning and preparation and odds and ends :

1) Planning and preparing for the CNEF Universal Week of Prayer next week. I have to host Monday night at the church and speak on Wednesday night at (I think) Lormont.

2) Planning and preparing for the new series of messages on Philippians for the mornings in French. Starting in Acts 16 this week.

3) Planning for the months ahead when there's going to be LOTS to do ! Important meeting this afternoon at 17h30.

4) Sorting out mobile phones. Catrin was given a Blackberry phone by someone some time ago, and her sim card doesn't include Blackberry access, so I sorted that out. Gwilym has been eyeing up my phone, so I've been trying to work out how to pass my phone on to him and move to something else myself. I have an aging iPhone 3GS and I don't want to go iPhone 4 or 4S - too expensive and not enough change to warrant the cost... So that's involved some messing about with phone shops, etc. Not quite over yet.

5) A bit more sorting out to do regarding Gwilym's driving lessons - hopefully he'll be signed up next week if I can find all the documents he'll need !

6) The car is due its next service - this'll be a biggie with discs, pads, diesel filter all needing changing as well as the normal things. We also have a "roture" to replace once the front tyres are worn out. You need to change the tyres and roture at the same time because you have to do the tracking, apparently. Still. The car's running well.

7) On the possible move to Grenoble we wait to hear.

There's paper flying in all directions at present ! Still... Things will settle into their rhythm soon.

I "like" this little cartoon someone found

2012-01-04T09:48:00.002+01:00

End of the school hols

2012-01-02T21:45:00.000+01:00

Well it's been great while it's lasted, but all good things come to an end.

The best thing for me has just been to spend a little more time with the children and get to know them better. Because I am out most evenings we tend to just cross each other's path during term-time, but these holidays have been different, and although the house has often been full of people, or we've been doing things at church, usually we've been doing things together. We also got the wonderful opportunity to spend a couple of days in sunny Provence visiting friends. This afternoon we went to see the Hugo Cabret film, the best film I've seen in a long time.

Tomorrow it's all over and we hit the road again - this week planning. Next Sunday preaching at Cenon. Next week is the Semaine Universelle de Prière of the Conseil National des Evangéliques de France, we're hosting the Monday evening and I am speaking at the Wednesday evening, so there's lots of stuff to do !

Student activities restart the following week.

Aix en Provence

2011-12-31T16:20:00.000+01:00

Surely it MUST rain there sometimes ?

Mérindol in the Lubéron

2011-12-31T16:19:00.000+01:00

More Mérindol in the Lubéron

2011-12-31T16:15:00.000+01:00

Yup, it's Mérindol in the Lubéron

2011-12-31T16:09:00.001+01:00

As the year draws to a close, and next year is sure to bring many changes

2011-12-31T10:27:00.002+01:00

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

There and back again

2011-12-30T21:37:00.001+01:00

A while ago Pat received a small grant from a trust fund to enable her to take a break. It was never specified whether she should go alone or take us along (she wanted us to come too) and the holiday had to be taken by, I think, the end of February.

Meanwhile some friends had invited us to go down and visit them in their new place in Provence, in a wonderfully crazy house in the middle of a rural fertile valley not far from the Luberon. It's a long way, and fuel and motorway tolls would normally have been prohibitive (100€ in tolls alone) Aha ! But we have the grant to use.

So we just got back. Our friend is a Westminster PhD with a library to die for. He's a systematician in my opinion and has worked for some time training pastors in difficult countries. They have lots of delightful home-schooled children! and Provence was beautiful and sunny, though the mistral tried its best to blow us off a hill !

Photos will follow.

Well the eight turned into twelve

2011-12-25T22:54:00.001+01:00

We were due to be eight for Christmas lunch, having invited the students that were still in Bordeaux - but then this morning three anglophone students turned up and one of the Chinese students was at church, too, se Pat invited them and we requisitioned a table we'd previously put in the church to augment our seating capacity. In the immortal words of an old friend, "You can always stretch a chicken", and we had two chickens !

At 4 the Queen was on and it coincided with the end of dessert, so we made everyone watch it. Well Pat did really. There wasn't much resistance, if we're honest. "Is the Queen a christian ?", someone asked, and I gave the answer you'd expect. Hang on, she's starting... The commonwealth people were glad to see the bit about the commonwealth and then the Queen urged us to seek forgiveness in the Saviour. :O !

Games ensued : Scrabble, Othello, Jenga, etc... I had a nap. I woke up in time to ferry people to their respective tram stops.

One of the nicest things about this holiday season has been getting to know my kids better.

My favourite Christmas Brass Quintet

2011-12-25T08:09:00.002+01:00

Happy Christmas !

2011-12-25T08:08:00.000+01:00

Joyeux Noël !

2011-12-25T07:36:00.003+01:00

Let earth and heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made Man.

Driving lessons

2011-12-24T09:01:00.000+01:00

It's time the boy learnt to drive. In France you can do what they call conduite accompanié from the age of 16. Here's how it works :

1) You sign up and do your code de la route training and test.

2) After that you get 20 hours minimum of on the road driving tuition.

3) Then you get to do 1000 km of accompanied drivign with your folks.

4) A meeting to review progress.

5) A further 2000 km of accompanied driving.

6) A final meeting to review progress.

7) Driving test.

There's good news and bad news.

Bad news first :

It costs a lot. However you can pay in four instalments at points 1, 2, 3 and 7.
The code de la route tuition. He can only possibly do classes on Wednesday afternoon or Saturday morning.

Now the good news :

Both Pat and I can accompany his driving.
There's no reason why our British driving licences should prevent us doing this.
Insuring him for the car won't cost anything.
He'll get cheaper insurance once he gets his own car.

Jingle Bells in New Yoyk

2011-12-24T08:04:00.000+01:00

Well that made her day

2011-12-23T17:00:00.001+01:00

I was at the Mairie de Pessac this morning and while I was there I thought I'd register to vote. So I did.

The lady said "Vous n'êtes pas Français ?"

"Non, je suis Gallois, mais j'habite ici, j'ai le droit de voter dans les élections municipales, et puisque ils sont en train de réfléchir..."

She made a face showing that she thought it unlikely that foreigners would be given the right to vote in French national and presidential elections...

"Ben, je vous inscrirai pour les municipales et les européennes.. ben... la nationalité..."

"Oui, Britannique..."

"Il n'y est pas.. disons Grand-Bretagne... non. Royaume-uni... ah non... Gallois ... non"

"Ben il faut mettre Anglais, peut-être ?"

"Ouais, mais vous n'êtes pas Anglais..."

"Oui je sais, mais normalement..."

"Ah non ! On ne met pas Anglais ! Bon, Anglais existe, je le modifierai, voilà, Britannique..."

And is it yourself, shepherds ? Top of the dead of night to yer !

2011-12-23T09:01:00.000+01:00

See amid the winter snow, pachelbelesque

2011-12-22T09:10:00.002+01:00

Hmmm.....

2011-12-21T18:42:00.002+01:00

Christmas Kids Klub

2011-12-21T13:12:00.000+01:00

Monday and Tuesday saw the first Kids Klub held at the church under the capable leadership of Harriette. Pat was helping on crafts and Catrin and Gwilym on everything. The first day one kid came from a non-church family and the next day he brought three friends. A good start.

Plastic trombones in a Christmas concert

2011-12-21T13:10:00.003+01:00

So far so good

2011-12-20T09:53:00.000+01:00

Day one of Christmas Hols :

Kids Klub went well, Pat Gwilym and Catrin happily ensconced.

Tree bought and various other secret jobs done.

Lovely evening meal with Dik and Hetty. Raclette, green salad, fruit salad.

Day two - Town Hall, Christmas food shopping, sundery other secret jobs.

So far we're 10 people for Christmas dinner. I reckon 2 kilos of sprouts should do.

I know that I shouldn't laugh, really

2011-12-20T09:41:00.000+01:00

Read about when le Père Noël turns nasty here.

Who among us has not wished to do the same ?

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay

2011-12-20T08:56:00.000+01:00

This isn't at all Christmassy but it's very beautiful

2011-12-19T17:53:00.002+01:00

Championnat de France des Râleurs

2011-12-19T09:20:00.000+01:00

I started to watch Direct8's programme, Le Championnat de France des Râleurs on Youtube but it's too long and there's too much strong language.

But râler is a phenomenon worth mentioning.

It's when you turn "Victor Meldrew" and it all comes out.
It's an adult tantrum.
It's when you throw a hissy-fit.
It's throwing your toys from thr pram.
It's when you say "Could you give me a hand with this, please ?" and suddenly World War 3 breaks out.

The fact that there's so many ways of expressing this in English indicates that the Brits do it too.

Club bonne nouvelle pour enfants en école primaire

2011-12-19T09:02:00.000+01:00

Today and tomorrow there's a Club Bonne Nouvelle at the church for kids of primary school age. Led by Harriette, Patricia is in charge of crafts and is well-organised. Gwilym and Catrin are little helpers.

Meanwhile I am on a quest for a Christmas Tree. Ikea ?

There will be glue.

Christmas tubabones

2011-12-17T15:56:00.000+01:00

Here's some photos of the Christmas trombones and tubas at Bordeaux :

The final proof that duck is good for you

2011-12-17T08:46:00.001+01:00

I was paying my monthly visit to Getafix to get my life-giving herbs and magic potion.
While the cauldron was bubbling I idly read the boxes of medicines.

Contre états grippaux - Trucmachinbidulle... (Against symptoms of flu - Oojamaflip)

Interesting, I thought. What's in it ?

Extraits de foie et de coeur de Anas Barbariae. (Extracts of liver and heart of Barbary Duck.)

Duck ? Duck liver and heart ?

So I asked Getafix, "In your opinon, does this work ? After all, it's duck."

He laughed, "Let's just say that there's hundreds of people who take it... Perhaps the effect is psychological but if it makes you feel better, who cares."

It looks like the children are having a wind day

2011-12-16T07:18:00.000+01:00

It's windy here. Very windy.

Perhaps not as bad as the big wind of 2009 which entirely removed the garden fences, took off £600 worth of roof tiles and completely removed the roof of two houses round he corner.

But still very windy.

I slept through it all so I thought the forecast had come to nothing but in fact it's very windy.

Too dangerous for the kids to go to school and for Mrs Davey to go to the feminine circle.

Oh well. We still have power and the phone line still work

Bordeaux on Tuesday night

2011-12-15T17:44:00.001+01:00

When I left the Couleurs Café there were CROWDS of people coming out of the Cathedral, so I sneaked up to the previous tram stop to get on before them.

Je suis FURIEUX !!!!

2011-12-15T13:23:00.000+01:00

Patricia a écrit une lettre au professeur d'EPS ce matin pour lui demander d'excuser Catrin de la pratique de sport. Le professeur a lu la lettre et a obligé Catrin de le faire quand même !

EXCUSEZ-MOI !!!! C'est qui la personne responsable ???? Qui paye l'école (et donc en partie votre salaire) ????

J'ai écrit une lettre au professeur où je remarque que Patricia est la personne responsable ET qu'elle est infirmière avec une vingtaine d'années d'expérience !

Well I am TAMPING !!!!

2011-12-15T13:15:00.000+01:00

(tamping - a South Wales word meaning furious)

Patricia wrote a letter to the PE teacher this morning asking that Catrin be excused from sport. The teacher read the letter and made her do it anyway !

EXCUSE ME !!! Who's the legal responsible person here ? Who is the one who's paying the school fees ?

I have written a FURIOUS letter to the teacher, pointing out that Patricia is not only the person legally reponsible but also a nurse with years of experience.

Catrin's singing debut

2011-12-15T07:48:00.000+01:00

I was glad that no student event was planned for yesterday evening because Catrin had her first concert at the Ecole de Musique de Parempuyre. Her teacher gave us the address and we set off in good time to find a town plunged in utter darkness. One building was lit up - feebly - by emergency exit signs and a plaque said it was la maison des arts so we went in and Renaud prof de chant was there. There were lots of people singing, of varying standards. One guy was pretty good - singing a kind of Police - Walking on the moon style thing. After a while the electricity came and went, causing endless fun for those who sang with microphones or sheet music. It stayed on for Catrin's song which you can hear below. We left before the end because poor Gwilym has two days of tests today and tomorrow so we didn't want to be late home.

More music for the season

2011-12-14T09:01:00.000+01:00

The week ahead

2011-12-13T09:19:00.000+01:00

Tuesday evening is the FAC Café Philo Soirée de Noël. I am to give a short talk.

Tomorrow night is Catrin's singing debut - at the Ecole de Musique de Parempuyre.

Thursday night is the English Class Christmas Film Night.

Friday night last big band rehearsal of the year and also Christmas Service at Blaye

Saturday morning Gros Tubes de Noël in Bordeaux centre.

Saturday evening preaching for the Chinese group

Sunday am Last Sunday of Advent - Dik preaching.

Sunday afternoon - United Christmas Celebration with the Chinese, the English Service and the French Church.

'Tis the season for music

2011-12-13T09:04:00.000+01:00

The morning after the evening before

2011-12-12T09:27:00.002+01:00

So we were 22 for the English Service Christmas Meal and Message. This happened to be the exact number of places we had set at table and the most our lower room could accommodate, and we needed to be in the lower room as that's the one with heating. A number of folks brought friends and all was mighty fine !

There's a problem with the church electricity supply at the moment such that you have to be careful not to plug in too many things at once or the trip ... trips. Despite this constraint Mrs Davey managed to produce a turkey roast dinner with spuds in two kinds, runner beans, broccoli, sprouts of course and gravy. She was aided and abetted by myself, Gwilym and Catrin and the Chinese group's hostess tray.

People brought aperitifs and desserts, including pecan pie, pumpkin cake, mince pies and a kind of raspberry cheesecake.

Between the main course and the dessert I did my brief messagette, getting everyone to recount the visits to the infant Jesus and then talking about the responses of Herod, the religious leaders and the magi to his birth. Everyone responds - will you respond with apathy, with hostility or will you want to know more like a wise man ?

We said a fond farewell to Paul whose stay with us has been too brief but very happy. We'll miss you, Pole.

Now, looking back, it is hard to believe what everyone achieved in our embryonic kitchen.

I'm on a roll here

2011-12-12T09:03:00.000+01:00

The Carol Service

2011-12-10T21:26:00.003+01:00

We had planned to all go to the Anglican Carol Service at 17h on Saturday.

The logistics were complicated because I was in Mérignac till 16h30 for the Gros Tubes de Noël rehearsal while the children and Pat were scheduled to be in Cenon till 16h at Club Lampadaire (the youth group). So the plan was that Pat and kids come by tram to Mérignac and I pick them up in the car to go to the Carol Service.

However the best-laid plans go oft awry, and a minor malaise meant that Pat and Catrin stayed home, Gwilym went home from the club by tram and bus and I went to the Carol Service on my own.

It was very different this year, with readings in Spanish, German, Italian, Welsh (hurrah !), Arabic and French - the text in English being printed in the order of service. The choir sang "For unto us" from Messiah, plus some Palestrina, Willcocks (Lord of the Dance) etc.. The middle of the service included a kind of western-style nativity tableau done by the kids and the christening of a lad. Afterwards I stayed behind too long to talk with my friend Didier, who is a devoted anglophile.

Everyone was agreed that the lady who read in Welsh was by far the best reader and - would you believe it - I was sat next to an elderly lady I had never met before who is from Newtown and a Welsh-speaker. Did we ? Well of course we did.

Music for this time of year

2011-12-10T09:11:00.000+01:00

Commission des Ministères and the weekend ahead

2011-12-10T07:38:00.001+01:00

Having spent a quiet two days in trains, plus a good old grilling at the Commission des Ministères - warm and friendly but all the hot potatoes came up - they voted to accept me as a Pasteur Associé. I told the chairman that they're madder than I thought they were.

I tell you what, Nîmes is a rum old place ! J-P drove me from his family home to the high-tech UNEPREF head offices - the nerve center - through a neighbouring ZUP. I have never seen so many huge blocks of flats in one place - ever. Astonishing !

Now it's the first nutty weekend of Christmas. Here's the schedule :

Now - headcount for Bordeaux Church Meal and Message

Then - order of service type-up for service tomorrow morning

Then shopping for Bordeaux Church Christmas Meal and Message.

Then lunch.

Then rehearsal for the Bordeaux Trombone Christmas Extravaganza.

Then dash to pick up family at tram stop yet to be decided.

Then dash to Anglican Church Camel Service. "Away in a Manger" and "Wahay Yule".

Then home, eat, sleep.

Tomorrow Church 10:30, me leading first part, Dik otherwise occupied.

Prepare room. Meal and message at 18h.

Music for the season

2011-12-09T09:08:00.000+01:00

As Christmas approaches my mind always turns to Chalcedon

2011-12-08T12:53:00.000+01:00

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach people to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood;

truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body;

consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood;

in all things like unto us, without sin;

begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood;

one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably;

the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten God (μονογενῆ Θεὸν), the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ;

as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

Nightime photos

2011-12-08T11:18:00.000+01:00

Last night the church council finished at about 6pm and the café philo started at about 8, so it wasn't worth driving home and then getting back into the centre of Bordeaux. Instead I heated something up at the church then took the tram to the café.

Except that the square Stalingrad was so pretty I got off the tram to look and to take some photos. Then I decided to walk the rest of the way, over the stunningly beautiful Pont de Pierre and up to the café.

Honestly, every corner you hold your breath because you know that something lovely awaits you ahead. Bordeaux is a lovely place.

Yet more seasonal music

2011-12-08T09:05:00.000+01:00

I can't imagine that I'll be able to keep this up till Christmas !

Catrin's Brevet blanc

2011-12-08T08:32:00.001+01:00

Today it's History and Grigraphy. Then normal lessons this afternoon.

Science tomorrow.

Additional seasonal music

2011-12-07T09:03:00.000+01:00

I have not yet perfected Porage Belle Hélène.

2011-12-07T08:28:00.000+01:00

I know what it would take. A drizzle of very rich chocolate sauce over the top of the diced pear in porage.

Maybe for Christmas.

The music schools - the way ahead

2011-12-07T07:49:00.000+01:00

Up till the 1970s in France I think music tuition was pretty much like it is in Britain today. Keen parents would look for instrument teachers for their kids and musicians gave lessons on the side to keep some bread on the table.

Since the 1970s France has institutionalised the teaching of music in various ways and at various levels. I won't bore you with all the details but you have music schools and conservatories. Music schools exist at town level. Conservatories at town, department, regional or national level. Some music schools call themselves conservatory when they aren't really - it's a question of recognised and assured standards of achievement, etc, teachers who have passed their civil service exams,...

Anyway, town music schools can be municipal (run by the town hall) or associative (or I imagine, private). Pessac being a big long narrow town, we have two music schools. There's the one where I am on the committee and where Catrin does her singing lessons and I play in the jazz band, and there's the other where I have my trombone lessons. Both music schools function in a very similar way, both are funded about half by a subsidy from the town hall and half by what parents pay.

For a couple of years, and for the foreseeable future, the subsidies the town hall pays have been frozen. No increases. However the salaries bill for the teachers goes up every year. A couple of years ago this provoked a BIG crisis. The music school had to think deep and hard (not long, there wasn't time for long). Essentially the problem was how to do as much with less money.

The answer found was to bring in group lessons. Firstly for intermediate levels. Then the following year for beginners. At present the advanced students still get individual lessons. Also prices for families rose. Also the time spent on each student has been reduced. (Incidentally, this led to me switching music schools.)

One of the music schools asked a government funded group to look at how we work to see what could be done to make things work better, to do as much with less. The group suggested looking at both music schools together, and last night the report was delivered in the presence of various officials from the Town Hall, both elected and non-elected.

The upshot is that we are doing what we do very well. There's no obvious way to cut costs or to raise more money. The only thing that could be beneficial is sponsorship by rich individuals. (I thought of one chap in Pessac who might be interested). Other than that the music schools could become municipal (which would cost the town a whole lot of money and also raise big issues with the staff because they would become civil servants and have to have passed or pass the exam so to be or be paid less and have fewer advantages...) The model of departmental music school was also mentioned, but in the Gironde, with all these big towns etc, that's something outside our power to do.

It's great to attend meetings like this. For one thing you learn a whole lot about the way associations work in France. For another thing, you're a Christian presence in town life. Again, the problems the music school faces we all face. Many churches are wrestling with falling incomes, the need to do as much or more with fewer financial resources.

Today's agenda

2011-12-07T07:28:00.000+01:00

10h Pastoral meet-up in Bordeaux
12h Tracting somewhere (I hope to make this)
15h Church council meeting
20h Café Philo

In between I need to get to a railway station to get my train ticket for tomorrow, write and send several emails and also phone my JW friend to tell him not to come round this week again.

This week

2011-12-06T15:26:00.000+01:00

has begun big and will continue in like fashion :

Sunday was the visit of the Comité d'Accompagnement when we spent pretty well all afternoon discussing the way forward for the church in the light of Dik and Hetty's decision to return to Holland in June 2012.

This evening a 41-page report is being delivered on the life of the two schools of music in Pessac. I am on the committee of one of the music schools, though the fact that I work evenings means I am not the committee member with the best attendance record. Still, we do what we can.

Café Philo on Wednesday night (subject silence), meeting up with Dik Wednesday morning, Church Council Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday morning we have our next Skype meeting for the UFM people in France. Thursday afternoon I leave for Nîmes by train (probably) for an interview on Friday with the Commission des Ministères with the aim of formalising my relationship with the national union of churches.

Also LOTS of email exchanges and maybe other Skype calls.

Women, Stop Submitting to Men

2011-12-06T15:14:00.000+01:00

Women, Stop Submitting to Men

They've called off the strike...

2011-12-06T15:05:00.002+01:00

Dare I go to Nîmes by train after all...?

The mock week

2011-12-06T12:42:00.000+01:00

Catrin has her mocks this week, her brevet blanc.

In a way that I am incapable of understanding, it does count towards her brevet
even though the real exams will take place early next year.

She had a day revision leave yesterday and she has another tomorrow.

She's done her French this morning, this afternoon it's Spanish and English.
Then later she has Maths, Geog, Hist, Science, Tech, etc. etc.

Further seasonal music

2011-12-06T09:02:00.000+01:00

Seasonal music again

2011-12-05T09:01:00.001+01:00

Late night skaters beside the

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Christmas cathedral.

Bordeaux bus queue

2011-12-03T17:43:00.000+01:00

les Davey de France

A day off - with few plans !

Thanks for your continued prayers

That was the week that was

Wow ! What a marathon !

Essential advice (in French) on how to wash out your nose

So after dinner

Hopelessly overawed

Bordeaux is brilliant

Un héraut dans le net !

Cleaning the church

Friday Afternoon and Evening

Tant pis

On moving from iPhone to Android

I'll say this much for my friend, the JW

Don Carson on Acts 18 and Nehemiah 8

The big weekend - Monday morning

The big weekend - Sunday evening

The big weekend - Sunday afternoon

The big weekend - Sunday morning

The big weekend - Saturday evening

The big weekend - Saturday morning

It's the big weekend!

The couple of days ahead

Language

The wood stove

Hurrah for Free !

Soirée trois - Semaine Universelle de Prière

Semaine Universelle de Prière - soirée deux

Some friends have blessed us with a washing machine

Well Wednesday is unfolding well so far

It's now that you feel a long way away

A busy time ahead

Lunchtime concert at the Pessac Médiathèque

Six words

The washing machine is dead, long live the washing machine

Sinclair Ferguson on the Practice of Mortification of Sin.

The Practice of Mortification

The video Gethin shared, for those as didn't click on his link.

The weekend ahead

What to do if neither you nor your pastor is John Piper...

Come on ! Perk up !

Reckless or what ?

It's difficult to know quite what to post on the blog at the moment

I "like" this little cartoon someone found

End of the school hols

Aix en Provence

Mérindol in the Lubéron

More Mérindol in the Lubéron

Yup, it's Mérindol in the Lubéron

As the year draws to a close, and next year is sure to bring many changes

There and back again

Well the eight turned into twelve

My favourite Christmas Brass Quintet

Happy Christmas !

Joyeux Noël !

Let earth and heaven combine,Angels and men agree,To praise in songs divineThe incarnate Deity,Our God contracted to a span,Incomprehensibly made Man.

Driving lessons

Jingle Bells in New Yoyk

Well that made her day

And is it yourself, shepherds ? Top of the dead of night to yer !

See amid the winter snow, pachelbelesque

Hmmm.....

Christmas Kids Klub

Plastic trombones in a Christmas concert

So far so good

I know that I shouldn't laugh, really

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay

This isn't at all Christmassy but it's very beautiful

Championnat de France des Râleurs

Club bonne nouvelle pour enfants en école primaire

Christmas tubabones

The final proof that duck is good for you

It looks like the children are having a wind day

Bordeaux on Tuesday night

Je suis FURIEUX !!!!

Well I am TAMPING !!!!

Catrin's singing debut

More music for the season

The week ahead

Let earth and heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made Man.