Getting to grips with creation and my iPod

I'm still reading Christopher Southgate's book. It's very stimulating and causing me to think through things afresh. I will blog on it at greater length when I have time (and have finished it)It's resulted in me deciding to do a couple of sessions - probably mid-week - on the whole issue of creation, origins, Darwin and theology.

We had a good day yesterday. in particular our Later Service went really well. it's settling into a good pattern of interactive learning accompanied by a slug of teaching from the front to start discussion, respond to questions and stimulate further reflection and response to God's word. I had a conversation with a couple afterwards who are relatively new to the church where they said how at home they felt in the Later Service and how good it was to be interacting with a diverse range of people.

I think one of the things that's helping is that we're working our way, section by section through Mark's Gospel and this is giving us a firm base from which to explore what discipleship is about. Yesterday evening - as we looked at the story of Jairus' daughter and the woman with the constant hemorrhage - we were able to reflect on what it means to trust Jesus in the midst of our real working lives with all their complex and thorny relationships and moral dilemmas.

It was my birthday yesterday and among my gifts was an iPod Touch (from my gorgeous wife). So I have at last (and, I know, not before time) joined the digital music age. Quite apart from its utility in listening to music, I find myself looking at it and thinking that it is quite beautiful, technology and design in perfect balance.

But I can't help wondering if I'm the victim of hype here. Apple is cool. The iPod Touch is the coolest in a long line of cool gizmos that Steve Jobs' empire has launched. After all, it's just an Mp3 player. And yet...

More pictures of Lily soon - just got to get them off the camera, onto the computer....