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