|
 hitting home
I used to really enjoy boxing but not since the days of Mohammed Ali or Cassius Clay as we used to know him. He was, in my humble opinion, the greatest boxer there ever was. I can remember listening under the bed covers to the match between him and ‘our Henry’ (Henry Cooper) and when Henry caught him at the end of the fourth and put him on his backside you couldn’t believe it. That picture of Clay suffering from ‘Henry’s hammer’ lives long in the memory. Of course, Ali’s corner played for time, giving him space to recover and the fight was stopped in the fifth but it was a real moment of sporting history. Boxing today is not the same but back then it caught the imagination of the nation and Ali’s rhymes and banter with the likes of Michael Parkinson were magic and legendary. However, if you listen to the sports commentator John Rawling and hear him talk boxing you can feel the passion and the stirrings for the sport and for real contest rise again.
People get excited about what they value.
As a church we value:
Life led by the Holy Spirit
Being good news to the lost, least and lonely
Prayer
Relationships with huge amounts of grace and forgiveness
Discipleship – becoming like Jesus
Being real – not pretending as we become like Jesus
Doing things well
Servant Leadership – that enables people to make good choices
The individual - valuing people no matter what.
Unity – working at harmony
Children – the church of today and tomorrow
Marriage and family life
Being culturally relevant
Generous in time energy money
Now I would give much to see those being hammered home in our church!!
|
Geoff Lawton, 25/09/2009 |
|
|
