tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post2323664997557072589..comments2023-05-13T10:21:36.430+01:00Comments on Archive: The President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference: holistic holinessMethodist Media Servicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292918142913285984noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-11835748854168869642007-08-15T12:57:00.000+01:002007-08-15T12:57:00.000+01:00Great to see you on here, Martyn. It's a good init...Great to see you on here, Martyn. It's a good initiative. And so refreshing to see posts really written by the people concerned. (It is a depressing trend in organisational PR for minions to write leaders' blogs for them). Excellent stuff on holiness, of course. Thanks. See: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5575<BR/><BR/>Btw (and as a sinner myself), don't forget that very short blogs can work well too. Just a quick thought, so to speak. That makes it more manageable. Posting more often (rather than longer) builds up a better dialogue.Simon Barrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05366440538616508935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-60221257849310715012007-08-14T09:08:00.000+01:002007-08-14T09:08:00.000+01:00I guess I'd echo Pams thoughts on the need for for...I guess I'd echo Pams thoughts on the need for forgiving and loving communities. When I take time to read back through some of the old class miniutes from my circuit I am often horrified at the way grace was pushed aside and holiness became a brittle thing.<BR/><BR/>I suspect that true holiness is full of grace- we have a God who desires mercy over sacrifice- and yet we need to balance our graciousness with a call to holy living...<BR/><BR/>How?<BR/><BR/>I can only think that prayer and encouraging affirming fellowships are the key.Sallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01759963926280667938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-18864891999545370472007-08-08T14:27:00.000+01:002007-08-08T14:27:00.000+01:00We - and I don't just mean Methodists - need a cul...We - and I don't just mean Methodists - need a culture in church where we can try our best, fail and be forgiven. <BR/><BR/>Many human groupings seem to work on the basis that 'She who tries her best and fails gets all the blame'. <BR/><BR/>Wouldn't it be great if church congregations could model a forgiving community?PamBGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-30601397410265209222007-08-08T11:44:00.000+01:002007-08-08T11:44:00.000+01:00I suppose you can tie yourself in knots trying to ...I suppose you can tie yourself in knots trying to strike the right balance, and thinking too much makes it harder.<BR/><BR/>Maybe the chap was in similar state when he asked Jesus for simplification - ie what is the first commandment of all.<BR/><BR/>Jesus's response:<BR/>1) Love the Lord your God etc...<BR/>2) Love your neighbour as yourself.<BR/><BR/>These two commandments seem to mirror your 'inward' and 'outward' holiness of Methodism.<BR/><BR/>But I think in a way they are really one commandment. I think the words 'as yourself' are key in this because they say something vital about our relationship with others.<BR/><BR/>It is possible to do good for our neighbour while still somehow being divided from them. But we are not to see other people as 'objects' to which we can do good. This is not what God wants - God wants all things to be unified in God.<BR/><BR/>We are to experience others in a way that means we are somehow, mysteriously, unified with them ('as yourself'). This can only happen when we are unified with them in God, in Love, as God's children.<BR/><BR/>So 1) 'Love the Lord your God' comes first, because only in God can you truly love your neighbour and do him the best good - which is to love him/her in as brother or sister in God.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com