General Chat

My ex brother in law trained at a college in Bristol. He was a Methodist Royal Naval Chaplain, then a Methodist Minister. But he left the church and now (would you believe) runs a funeral service on line.

I had a wonderful Minister when I was in my teens, he was not much more than a teenager himself and really had a great relationship with the youth of the church of whom there were many. He ended up as (I think) head of the Baptist Church in Scotland - I can't remember the official title.

Cynthia you remind me of when I was a young child
many years ago and went to Sunday School.
My teacher was lovely and like you had a lovely way about her
and her teaching of the bible stories.
I enjoy reading your posts on here as I have said before, keep
up the good work.

Emma :-)

Ann, Fight the Good Fight was probably apt for the teachers as they faced the daily fray!!! :-D



Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy go to theological colleges/seminaries - of which there are many.

Applicants have to go through a quite stringent process before they are recommended for ordination..

Depending on their churchmanship - high or low - there are colleges of both persuasions to which ordinands can apply.

There are training courses for those who are in full time employment but who feel called to be ordained and Training Colleges for those wishing to enter both the Baptist/Methodist/URC churches.

My parents were SA officers and were both fully trained in the doctrines of the SA before being 'let loose' on the public...... ;-)

Cynthia yes, Spurgeons college for the Baptist ministers and they did all seem to 'come out of there' the same. Although I remember great excitement when I was in my teens, when we had a set of Spurgeons students come to run a 'crusade'. They seemed to be very outspoken and modern in their outlook. Wonder if they ever actually made it into the ministry? :-D

Rose, yes I wonder why that was such a popular school assembly hymn? that and Onward Christian soldiers.

Cynthia, yes I do remember it, though I've not heard it for a long time. I used to love hymns at school and that was one which seemed to be sung quite often :-)

Hello Rose, Paula and Ann... :-)


I simply speak as I have been taught and as I have experienced for myself.


My public speaking days are mostly over, but I do get lumbe.....er....asked to lead the Mothering Sunday at church each year..... :-D


Maybe I am too traditional but, it is well known that clergy/lay readers etc., from all the mainstream churches have to undergo certain training in the beliefs and doctrines of the church they wish to serve before they are allowed to 'preach'.


That rules me out then.......I can only walk alongside others and share what I have learned.


Rose......do you remember the old hymn.....Fight the Good Fight.... Remember the words.....Faint not nor fear, His arms are near.......... :-)

Ann, I'm afraid I'm of the mind that John is very much aware of what he posts!

I agree with you Ann.......... on both counts.

Paula, you have said what I would have liked to have said. I too had a strong christian upbringing which is why I sometimes struggle with John's posts on the subject versus his posts on other subjects. I would love to hear a 'sermon' by Cynthia.

That is not to say I think John is a hypocrite, I don't, I just think he doesn't always think before he posts.

Cynthia. I do so enjoy reading your comments on all threads. I had a very strong Christian upbringing, I had a loving family and was taught through love not fear and told not to think going to Church on Sundays makes the Lord love you more. We were encouraged to look on everyone as our equals (My father always said " You are no better than anyone else, and no-one is better than you") we were told it is good to have opinions but told to never make judgments without knowing all the facts. To never say you "Hate" anyone, I find it very difficult when people randomly say they "Hate" someone or something. I no longer attend church on a regular basis, but this does not affect my Christan beliefs.

Where I come from, someone of that ilk would be called, in no uncertain terms, a hypocrite of the first order, not a Christian.

Julia in Derbyshire

John you must struggle as a person who preaches to others if you need Cynthia to tell you to ask for forgiveness daily not weekly. Some of the things you say on here I would never have heard from any of our ministers when I did attend church.

"Being angry at something is okay to a point, but it's very draining and can lead us to saying things we don't really mean and alienate us from others......and God."

I think that's very true Cynthia, I'm trying hard. "Faint, but pursuing" !

John. I was rather surprised by your 'IF I am supposed to think, speak and act like Jesus' statement. I thought you would have known for sure, that that is exactly how we ARE supposed to act - 24/7 :-S


Easy it is not, but we need to keep on persevering.


Why do you only take your 'sins along on a Sunday in a skip to ask for forgiveness'? Are you an 'Only on a Sunday' Christian?


I know I once was. Go to church....say the right bits, sing the right hymns....blah blah blah........ come home, forget all about it till next week.


When things changed for me (and I won't go into that), so many things became real and different and wonderful.......and it became a 24/7 faith. But it's hard work and I stumble many times a day.


If you are finding that you are 'tempted' to sin the moment you get up and to make the skip less heavy......why not a quiet prayer before you get out of bed.....why not a daily bible reading with your breakfast? It would at least help to put you onto the right track for the day.


Being angry at something is okay to a point, but it's very draining and can lead us to saying things we don't really mean and alienate us from others......and God.


Jesus condemned the sin - not the sinner.

So John its OK to sin all week cause come Sunday
we can confess them and all is forgiven, and start
again Monday.....learning nothing!!

Emma

Overnight, I have thought of the reason I appear to hate someone famous - whereas of course I don't know the person and certainly don't hate the person.

I was thinking of the money changers in the Temple. Why was Jesus so angry. Why did he hurl their tables over and send their money scattering?

Was it because he hated them as people? Not at all. He loved everybody. He forgave everybody who persecuted him, he forgave all sinners who upset God.

But he detested sin. He detested anything (money, palaces, idols, jewellery) that was worshipped more than God. Caiphas (High Priest and adversary of Jesus) would have had a magnificent funeral - Jesus less so. But which of the two do we remember fondly?

Cynthia. If I am supposed to think, speak and do as Jesus did, I sin as I get out of bed and continue to do so. I have a bad thought, I say a bad word at the TV news, and so it goes on.

I take my sins along on a Sunday in a skip to ask for forgiveness. My slate is pretty full before it is wiped clean.

The only way I can see that I am making any progress towards the goal (the prize of our high calling) is to look back at where I was a year ago, ten years ago and so on. I am getting there, I promise. If slower than I and others would like.

Our lives and our spirituality are not separate John.

As Christians, we are supposed to 'rise above' earthly things and live our lives lead by the Spirit.

Before we consider judging anyone on anything, we need to look at our own lives and repent of any sins - none of us is perfect remember.

May I ask if you are 'whiter than white'?

Of course you're not.

Thankyou for your posts, Cynthia and Rose. I do appreciate that I have appeared to judge someone who has recently died. I have no idea what is thought of this person in heaven - that is not the job of any Christian of any denomination. So in no way can I or anybody judge any person spiritually.

But I do feel that I and everybody can judge on whether the worldly achievements were postive or negative, unifying or divisive. Those are worldly things that have affected all our lives, not spiritual things.