Assembly Reflections
Lots of blog posts about the Baptist Assembly (listed here, so far!).
Fear I'm becoming an Assembly junkie as I've been every year for the last while (trying to count, might be as many as 10!). I like the vibe, catching up with people, having coffee etc.
The demographic of grey haired, ageing, mainly white population still concerns me (but maybe those who weren't were all at Prism, which I never made it to).
It would be easy to get into what I did and didn't like - fair to say we are a diverse Union. Many bloggers commented on enjoying the worship at one of the sessions that I struggled to relate to. In fact I overheard one punter near by say "if this was Songs of Praise I'd definitely turn off"!
I appreciated the emphasis on listening to God and one another. Always a good thing, and I think that was a positive move forward, to drag us back to an assembly from a conference.
I am concerned by some of the blog and conversation reactions to the event (and to church life) which seem to have an almost snobbish dislike of popular evangelicalism, and its connected styles of spirituality and worship. Of course it can be overly sentimental and triumphalist, lacking in theological depth etc. But it can also be a blessing! And sometimes people need something uplifting.
Rant over!
So Assembly 2010 has been and gone.
And it was good to be there.
And I shall continue to enjoy lurking on the blogs to see what others have to say!
Lots of blog posts about the Baptist Assembly (listed here, so far!).
Fear I'm becoming an Assembly junkie as I've been every year for the last while (trying to count, might be as many as 10!). I like the vibe, catching up with people, having coffee etc.
The demographic of grey haired, ageing, mainly white population still concerns me (but maybe those who weren't were all at Prism, which I never made it to).
It would be easy to get into what I did and didn't like - fair to say we are a diverse Union. Many bloggers commented on enjoying the worship at one of the sessions that I struggled to relate to. In fact I overheard one punter near by say "if this was Songs of Praise I'd definitely turn off"!
I appreciated the emphasis on listening to God and one another. Always a good thing, and I think that was a positive move forward, to drag us back to an assembly from a conference.
I am concerned by some of the blog and conversation reactions to the event (and to church life) which seem to have an almost snobbish dislike of popular evangelicalism, and its connected styles of spirituality and worship. Of course it can be overly sentimental and triumphalist, lacking in theological depth etc. But it can also be a blessing! And sometimes people need something uplifting.
Rant over!
So Assembly 2010 has been and gone.
And it was good to be there.
And I shall continue to enjoy lurking on the blogs to see what others have to say!
Labels: Baptist, Baptist Assembly, Blogs
