Phil's weblog

Hasn’t been so easy to keep updating on the road! Sorry.
We spent a great week in the UK, catching up with friends Piers and Carolyn Bickersteth, in ministry at Arborfield-Barkham C of E. Piers’ gospel centred, Bible teaching ministry is bearing real fruit; the church is alive and well and growing.

From there, we’ve moved on to Stellenbosch, just outside Cape Town. Susie and Maddie joined us safely last Friday. Church on Sunday at St Pauls was terrific. Again, very similar in tone and style to mpc. I preached, which made it even more similar in tone and style I guess!

For the next few days we’re at Plettenberg Bay, six hours drive along the bottom edge of South Africa. Very nice beach town. More news soon.

CityNet is a network of likeminded Presbyterian churches in Philadelphia committed to helping one another plant new churches. CityNet has a clearly defined mission statement and core values (which I will link here shortly.) The genius of CityNet is in the way it overlays the denomination, works alongside it, and leverages the efforts of individual churches. More on this… (more…)

Friday in Philadelphia was spent exploring American history. This is where Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franlin and other luminaries hammered out the Declaration of Independence and later, the American Constitution. The main drafting role was given to Jefferson, because he was a respected wordsmith. These guys were smart. They had studied constitution and government, they knew the checks and balances they wanted to build in to the system… and they crafted words to say exactly they wanted to say, in an elegant, and almost poetic way. They succeeded. Words can shape and direct an organisation - like the USA - in a profound way. Postmodern confusion has left the world wondering if words can convey meaning. They can do more. They can shape emerging realities. Even now, public buildings are adorned with “mission statement” words from the past that verge on the poetic… “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor snow… ” on the New York Post Office is enough to inspire any postman. (more…)

Not content with a Tommy Emmanuel concert (http://www.tommyemmanuel.com/) off Broadway last Wednesday night, we were treated to a fantastic Phil Keaggy (http://www.philkeaggy.com/) concert in Philadelphia on Friday night. Our host, Malcolm Osborne, had bought three tickets just in case we had “heard of” Phil Keaggy. I’ve been a fan for years. Malcolm has treated us like royalty. Yesterday he took us for a tour of the Amish areas outside Philadelphia, which was fascinating, and just as green and beautiful as you’d expect if you’ve seen “Witness.” From there is was a great night out with Aussie expats Doug and Rosemary Green; Doug lectures OT at Westminster Seminary and was fascinating to chat with. He shares my conviction that Deuteronomy 30 has a fundamental role in summarising the biblical metanarrative. More on other aspects of Philadelphia in a seperate post.

A picture of the auditorium, which was completely full at the end.

New York is just as lively as everyone says. People everywhere, all the time. Our two day conference at Redeemer Presbyterian Church was very informative. For more info on Redeemer, follow the “Redeemer” link.

We’ve just spent three balmy days in Los Angeles… which is probably more than enough. Santa Monica beach was a highlight. Universal Studios wasn’t. This morning we flew to Vancouver, where we’ll be spending the next few days before heading to New York for the Redeemer Presbyterian Church conference. Take a look at Redeemer’s website at http://www.redeemer.com/- hope they’re ready for us!