Monday, January 30, 2012

Some get tips for preaching in schools...

Often I am asked to preach in Chapel for school services. David Campbell, Chaplain at Fettes College, added these tips to his website [LINK], which I think are helpful and true...

Here are ten of Campbell’s handy tips:

  1. Long-windedness, in this context, as perhaps everywhere, is invariably a disaster.
  2. Knowing what you want to say and going for it without anything written down is usually best.
  3. Eye contact is everything.
  4. Having just one central theological point and reinforcing it with a cheerful or challenging illustration always makes sense.
  5. Humour is grand, but never for the sake of it – the troops remember the jokes and not the underlying message.
  6. Using too many biblical or even classical allusions is rarely successful – the troops just don’t know them and get it.
  7. Christian clichés such as ‘salvation’ and ‘redemption’ or other advanced technical terms are also best avoided in such a short homily.
  8. So is trying to be something that you are not – and so is patronising.
  9. If you’re middle-aged and greying (as I happily am now) please don’t pretend to be cool and trendy – it is, as the kids say, “awkward” or worse than this in the scale of teenage crimes, “cringe.”
  10. Be sincere.

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

This is the kind of world we need to create...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I Believe...

I Believe…
A Death Certificate shows that we died
Pictures show that we live!

I Believe…
That just because two people argue,
It doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue,
It doesn’t mean they do love each other.

I Believe…
That we don’t have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.

I Believe…
That no matter how good a friend is,
they’re going to hurt you,
every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe…..
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I Believe…
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.

I Believe…
That it’s taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.

I Believe…
That you should always leave loved ones with Loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe….
That you can keep going long after you think you can’t.

I Believe…
That we are responsible for what
We do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe…
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe…
That heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I Believe….
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing
and have the best time.

I Believe…
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re
down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe…
That sometimes when I’m angry
I have the right to be angry, but that
doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe…
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had
And what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I Believe…
That it isn’t always enough,
to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn
to forgive yourself.

I Believe…
That no matter how bad
your heart is broken,
the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I Believe…
That our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are, but,
we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe…
That you shouldn’t be
so eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life forever.

I Believe….
Two people can look at the exact same
Thing and see something totally different.

I Believe…
That your life can be changed
in a matter of hours
by people who don’t even know you.

I Believe…
That even when you think
you have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.

I Believe…
That credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe…
That the people you care about
most in life are taken from you too soon.

I Believe…
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything they have.

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Friday, January 13, 2012

Then and Now...

Social media explained

Thursday, January 05, 2012

A Commitment to Stoke

© Jongilanga
Maira Gall