London - October 12-19 - Holy Trinity Brompton

My apologies to the blogosphere. I had plans for a 10 segment blog about London. Then I got a vey bad chest cold. I'm hip deep in papers again and don't see be being able to post very extensively. I longed to give you detailed info. Any posts now will have to short. Here's a quick precis of the significant highlight of the trip: a visit to Holy Trinity Brompton, the home of the Alpha Course.

Basically, London was amazing. We attended Sunday evening services at Holy Trinity Brompton. There were 850 people there and 80% were younger than me. We also worshipped at St. Paul's Shadwell earlier that morning (parish of the likes of Captain James Cook and Jane Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's mother). Some 50 families from HTB sold their homes and moved to the SPS parish to re-launch it. That's dedication. There were 200 in worship, again about 80% were younger than I was. We also attended a Wednesday Alpha meeting at HTB. We visited with Nicky Gumbel and Sandy Millar as well.

I was intrigued by this model of recolonizing churches. The archbishop of Canturbury is totally behind it, as well as the Bishop of London. I'm starting to feel a tug in that direction for the long-term goals of any new church that Becca and I will plant together. Time will tell if this tug is a call. Nevertheless, I think that we can learn from this model. The Church of England (through HTB) has re-colonized (re-launched is their word) 12 churches in the London area. Some of these are in the poorest areas of London now and are meeting with some success.

Many have asked me what I'm learning in this adventure. After seeing HTB, I'm learning that somehow in our United Methodist churches we are not preaching and teaching a message that would make lay people sell their homes and move to be in ministry. It is message so powerful that laity would itinerate. Imagine that.

I have ideas about what that message is. I admit I don't know what that message is ... exactly. If I did, I'd publish it and the UMC would be out of its dolldrums in 18 months.

But we all know Who that message centers on. That's the message that Becca and me would bring home to North Alabama. So pray for Becca and I. Pray for renewal. Dare we, oh yes, pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit?

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

October 12 – The London Journey Begins ...

It is difficult to describe what has just happened to us; all of us in fact. In a way we went home, to our deepest roots. We walked along side Wesley. We ran along side his most recent heirs, not in the Methodist Church, but in the Church of England. It touched all of our hearts. What follows is the story of a gift, a gift of the Holy Spirit.
We flew out of Lexington a couple of hours late. Becca sat by me on the place ride to Chicago traveling to Jacksonville, Florida to visit her family. It was good to sit with her and hold her hand up until the last minute. I would not see her again for a week, the longest time that we had been apart during our marriage. The weather was good, yet as we deplaned, Chicago earned its nickname again and again: the Windy City – cold and blustery. All the more reason for last minute hand holding.
We were traveling light by order of our guide The Rev. Dr. Tory Baucum. He is a professor of preaching at Asbury Theological Seminary, a one time episcopal priest and candidate for Bishop, who is now attached to the Anglican Church. He is more precisely attached to the Holy Trinity Brompton Church in South Kensington area of London. People will know this church as the home church for the Alpha Course, an evangelical tool that is finding remarkable success all over the world. I kissed Becca ‘goodbye-for-now’ and she flew off to Jacksonville. With the rest of the Beeson pastors, I hopped on the plane for London.

October 11 - Write, Read, Write, Read, London ...

For the last three weeks I have had my head buried in books and my fingers gliding over keyboards. The anthrology class went well, however, I was hoping for more dicussion of American culture. The reading provided much more on that.

And, yes, yes, I know ... Auburn lost ... and lost to the hairy be-tusked swine of Ar-Kansas. I'd still rather go 0-12 every year and never win in the SEC again than to dress up in red and white polyester (and call it fashion) or worship dead Bears (and call it football). There's always next year!

Right now I'm gearing up to preach for Dr. Ellsworth Kalas again on October 23. I've a paper due in Theology of Ministry class due on November 15. Advanced Leadership Class is set to begin on November 13. The final paper in there is due December 1. So it's read, write, read, write. Write some more. Reflect more. I like it. I'm learning.

We all got together and had a late Sunday afternoon of model rocket launching. Travis Must and his son John David launched their first pair of rockets as father and son. I launched three rockets: Rhett's Rocket (named after my famous nephew), the Rudy Rocket (named for my illustrious father-in-law), and the Cobra-1500-A (a rebuild of a rocket that my father and I fits with back in 1979). All flew flawlessly, reaching high altitude, parachutes deployed. Nearly 15 of the Beeson children were there and ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the rockets. Beyond the sulpher fumes and running a quarter mile to pick up rockets, there was light and wonder in their eyes. I hope that I haven't started something.

We're off for London tomorrow. The main purpose of our journey is to see chruches that flouish in urban European environments. Much of it, we are assured is transferable to the United States. We will go up to Oxford ... one could never go DOWN to Oxford ... it's just not cricket.

We will see a play "Wicked" ... aparently a great morality play of how the wicked witch of the west became so wicked. Doubtless she was brought to the dark side by a be-horn-ed Sith Lord with a double-bladed lightsaber ... wait. That's Star Wars. Who cares? It's another storyline that declares that a villan is not responsible for their actions. It's some Calvinist destiny thing. As you can tell, I'm not high on anything Calvinist or from Ar-kansas ... and is there really a difference?

Anyway, London ... I shall take many pictures and post them accordingly. I'm looking forward to this trip ... have been for nearly two years now. We're packing very, very light so that we don't have to check any bags in. Our leader is Dr. Tory Bauccum, one time candidate for Bishop in the Episcopal Church. However, now he has affiliated with the Anglican Church in America (yes, there's apparently a difference) since the Episcopal Church has chosen to submit to the whims of 90210-culture and turn to the dark side. But, of course, I suppose that's not their fault either.

Cheerio,
Trav Wilson