REVIEW OF nd Reading Boys Brigade

Transcription

1 REVIEW OF 2017 Highlighting some of our key activities, the values or principles to which we aspire and some of the books that have inspired us in nd Reading Boys Brigade

2 JANUARY : MEN OF FAITH We started 2017 with a houseparty at Felden Lodge: BB s HQ near Hemel Hempstead, enjoying full use of the main house this year. Inspired by the recently published book by Nick Harding we posed our older Company lads, Seniors, Students and young adults the questionhow can we help you connect to church better? BB has consistently proven that it has the right mix of activities and the underlying principles of providing the strong male role modelling that is required to provide men of faith and character. But as Nick Harding bluntly states, the church must change quickly and radically to incorporate these values if we are to keep our lads in church as men. My observation would be that the church has already lost so many action oriented men and women that it is now in a vicious circle whereby the Apostle Peter s are now seen as the troublemakers to be ejected from church rather than God s choice to lead it. Will be interesting to see how an action man free church fares.

3 FEBRUARY : COMMUNITY One of the consequences of adopting the non biblical and ubiquitous term Personal relationship with God/Jesus is that it has encouraged an individualistic approach to led to emphasising the vertical at the expense of the horizontal. We need to re learn that our faith can only take root and grow and be expressed properly within community. Hence at BB we encourage a community both amongst and between the boys and leaders, though meals and trips etc. A good example of this in 2017 was the Pennine Plod over Feb half term where 32 boys, leaders, families and parents took over a youth hostel and we had fun plodding through the snow. I ve read many books in previous years on both community and how to deepen interpersonal relationships but my 2017 book explores how embracing community can lead to a wider and deeper faith. BB is my family/ church/ housegroup. is often said on a Wednesday evening. Booking is open for our Turkey Trail during February half term. In Norfolk.

4 MARCH : LEGACY In 2017 we celebrated the 100 th Anniversary of the Junior Section (8 to 11 yr olds) with various events, the highlight being the regional fun day at Emsworth where we took 20 of our Juniors for the day. (The over 11s started in 1883). Belonging to an organisation with history provides a sense of continuity and perspective. But we don t do BB because we have nostalgia for the old days. We do BB because the values and principles work, and have been proven over time to work. In the year we (should have) celebrated one of the greatest events in history we need to remind ourselves that everything good about our society today comes from the bible and people like you and me who take the bible seriously. Don t believe me? This book must be my book of the year. It s an amazing overview of how the bible has shaped our modern world. Christianity works. Read the book. It s the best apologetic I ve ever read. It will change your world view for good.

5 APRIL : VOICE Leadership is not about roles and positions; It s about helping others to see and achieve their worth and potential. When you have found your voice, you can inspire others to find theirs. This involves leading by principles, affirming others, uniting them through a common vision, and empowering them with resources and accountability. - Covey Voice is also one of the key aims of the current 5 year development plan for BB, which includes actions such as To consult regularly with children and young people to identify what are the issues in their lives that present difficulties and to work with young people so that their voices are heard. We attempt this through meals, retreats and specific sessions with the older lads but a lot more to do. We also attempt to support initiatives to make much needed change at national level in BB. Covey s masterpiece seeks to inspire others to find their voice as the pinnacle of service oriented living and leadership. An incredible book.

6 MAY : LEADERSHIP Leadership is an abused word. Any adult who turns up to help at an event is automatically a leader but examples of good leadership in our society in our work places and especially our churches are scarce. Few of us would be surprised to find that an aircraft builder who ignores God s physical principles and laws eg. gravity, - produces a mess. However many seem surprised when our church builders ignoring the social laws and principles which God has placed into His universe, eg. Servant heartedness produce a mess. Leadership is the generic term we use to capture these social principles that govern how we interrelate with each other how to lead and how to follow and how to work in a team and how to be servant hearted. This year 3 teams 7 lads and 3 leaders, entered the Waltham Walk in May. They all did very well. It is through events like these and DofE that we introduce and coach the lads in leadership principles. Ken Blanchard is probably the world s most popular writer on leadership through the One Minute Manager series. His inspiration comes from the example of Jesus in the Gospels there are 4 main sections, the Heart, Head, Hands & Habits of a Servant Leader.

7 JUNE : EXCELLENCE Although the normal Wednesday evenings don t tend to get much air time in these reviews as we focus on trips etc the Wednesday evening is the bed rock of BB but providing a quality evening for around boys on average each week aged 6 to 18 for 40 weeks in the year is a challenge. We do it through dividing into 4 sections Anchors, Juniors, Company & Seniors and then having an outstanding team of staff for each section. The standard and the variety of activities across the whole of 2017 has been superb the best in my 10 years involvement. Simply look through the photos here to get an idea A massive thankyou to the team of c. 25 regular leaders over 2017 Often referenced in both secular and Christian leadership books I ve discovered Maxwell this year. A pastor of a large US church who discerns and applies the life and leadership principles found in the bible in a simple, practical and powerful way.

8 JULY: RECOGNITION Once every four years or so (we're not very good at doing badge awards) we finally work out which boys have earned which badge and award them. However, it did mean we had around 200 badges to present to every boy, including 10 Presidents badges (the second highest badge), 3 DofE Silver awards, and 3 Queen's Badges - the highest badge in BB - and the first Queen's Badges to be presented at 2nd Reading for over 30 years. So well done to Ali, Ben & Gideon who finished BB in July by gaining these top awards, which were presented by Rob Wilson - who at the time he was asked to come was our local MP and the Minister for Civil Society. If we want our boys to enter church life as adults these sorts of awards should be presented in church. We need to show that the whole of a man s life is important to God and that noble achievement is valued by God and should be celebrated by his Church. I discovered another pastor/author in 2017 who gets this, understands the male spirit and teaches a fully biblical and broad theology. Douglas Wilson s books Future Men and Father Hunger are full of practical biblical wisdom that covers all of life.

9 AUGUST : RISK Read Hebrews 11 and replace by faith with by taking a risk. It seems to me that we can t take a step of faith without taking any risk. So a key aim of BB is to encourage boys to take appropriate risks. Hence BBXtreme where 12 of us spent a long w/e at the end of July (almost August) rock climbing, kayaking & scrambling in the day and attending the Keswick convention in the evening. A great w/e and we thank members of the BBMC & BBCC who freely gave up their time to instruct us. I came away though feeling dejected why? because the speakers in the main tent had no vision of how the Gospel applies to all of our life. What hope? Over August I read 8 Rob Bell books. Wow, here is someone who does see how our faith connects to all of life and communicates in a way I hope our lads will connect with. Risk involves letting go and allowing the rising generation to work through their theology and their view of the Christian life anew.

10 SEPTEMBER : ADVENTURE Life is an adventure- which is best lived boldly We stepped up both the adventure for our 10th Survival Camp. For the first time ever we had to gut as well as skin our rabbits, and despite a squeamish start, the lads did great. The boys also made their own fire lighters, to give their own fires a little oomph, and then cooked their tea over the flames. For fun, we hired in an assortment of equipment, as well as enjoying the water slide, wide games especially at night, watching films on the big screen and of course building and sleeping in the dens. We also enjoyed wonderful weather. Another fantastic survival camp. oh and Simon brought a fancy coffee making machine, so the leaders were happy! I like Pullman's novels; he s a great story teller- full of adventure ; he hints at another (spiritual) world but unlike Tolkien & Lewis he can t deliver; and the bad guys are the church not the church of true followers of Jesus, but the church which results when there is no check on the power and control of the leaders. Which links nicely to..

11 OCTOBER : CHALLENGE One of the central purposes of Jesus life and ministry was to challenge both himself and others gently or robustly and especially to religious leaders. It is by following Jesus example that Christians have been able to attempt pulling heaven down to earth and transform society for good. However for much of it s history the church has abused it s power and been resistant to change. The church needs to be reformed. Then and now. Always. 31 st October 1517 saw one of the greatest challenges that the world has ever witnessed, resulting in the transformation of the whole world - see Ryrie. In Sept we merged Battalions to form Mid Southern providing a programme of competitive events such as the football 5 aside competitions held in October. Football is a small step, but we need to encourage radical Challenge if we are going to follow Jesus and make a difference. Challenge costs it is painful but nothing good happens without it on any level & we need to be open to challenge ourselves.

12 NOVEMBER : DISCIPLINE The BB vision formulated in 1883 includes the promotion of habits of obedience, discipline, reverence and self respect. How dated eh? Society has moved on. It has, and at a great cost. Fortunately social scientists are increasingly seeing these core values and especially self discipline, as the pillars required to build a successful life upon. Sadly, not everyone is on board yet. BB leaders spend a fair amount of time discussing the discipline found in the boys rarely outrageous but often disappointing and how to improve it. Look out for Yellow & Red cards in 2018! This is a tricky area; the Church has followed society in downplaying discipline; often seeking Holy Spirit experience as a quick fix solution rather than the Spirit s counsel over a long obedience in the same direction. It would be great to explore this area with parents, staff and boys in Peck is currently blowing me away on the importance of discipline in life and the interplay with love and grace. This book is giving me so much to think about and deals a lot with parenting. Anyone up for a study group?

13 DECEMBER : LIVE LIFE WELL 50 boys celebrated 2017 on the last week of term by enjoying Christmas parties at BB. In Dec we also celebrated Patrick s contribution to BB of over 50 years. Patrick came to faith through BB, his life long closest friends were all in BB, and BB has provided Patrick with some of his most meaningful ministry as Chaplain to 2 nd Reading BB over the last 5 years or so. Patrick has now retired as Chaplain. In particular Patrick has role modelled his faith and his preaching. His touch has matched his voice. Patrick has committed significant amounts of time to our young men helping their transition and has become a surrogate grandfather to some. Patrick also started the Preaching class, not only coaching both young men and women in preaching, but investing in their lives personally. Rohr is also referenced in many books I read, but in Nov I finally read this book. Absolutely superb you can see where Eldredge (Wild at Heart etc) gets lots of his ideas. Patrick provides the role model.

14 2017 IN SUMMARY: PURPOSE All of the activities featured in this review and many others & all of the values and principles are not ends in themselves but means to an end.- Likewise, all the books featured in this review and of course many many others if read properly will help us to achieve a purpose which is.. Many Christians over history have agonised in creating a suitable vision statement some of the best ones are ; To glorify God and enjoy him forever. To live life well And of course BB s purpose opposite. To me though it s all about heart work. Working towards being wholehearted. For my last book plug I return to last January. I attended a w/e conference with the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity in late They recommend the books by Brene Brown. They deal with the heart and are simply superb.