Rev.

Hapless inner-city incumbent Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander) is, possibly, today's most-discussed British church leader.

BBC2's new comedy series Rev. came to an end this week, having attracted audiences of up to 2 million.

'Are you watching Rev.?' has become a regular opening line beside the CPAS water-cooler. And it seems that quite a lot of us have been, with varying degrees of approval and identification.

Colleagues with backgrounds in parish ministry seem to recognise the Smallbones' exhausting experience of all-hours bell-ringing (at the vicarage door, not in the belfry), accompanied by frequently bizarre requests for help, food, coffee and cash.

Ditto the surge of new worshippers following news of a good Ofsted report at the church school.

A friend who's a Venerable assures me his management style is almost as terrifying as that of the show's vulpine Archdeacon Robert. I'm hoping his tongue was in his cheek.

At the heart of the show is the crumpled figure of Adam, struggling to find his way through a maze of responsibilities and temptations.

Interestingly, scriptwriter James Wood is at pains to emphasise Adam's sense of having been called by God to a role that, in human terms, is nigh on impossible...

So, to which segment of the CPAS 'leadership doughnut', should we be directing Adam's attention?

Any ideas?

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Or does he simply need a week at New Wine? Therapy? A new Arcdeacon?

Meanwhile (on the Archdeacon's orders) I've offered Adam a complimentary subscription to Church Leadership - and am hoping he'll be back with Series 2 before long.

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Meanwhile in the holy blogosphere. This blogger seems to approve of Rev. and this one certainly doesn't.

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And click here for the best commentary I've seen thus far.

Stations of the resurrection - impact

Si Smith's Stations of the Resurrection continue to make an impact following publiaction in Church Leadership 71.

The Baptist Times splashed them onto the front page.

The Yorkshire Post was eager, naturally enough, to feature the news of the resurrection happeing in Leeds.

Biggest coverage of all came from Church Times: five full pages.

That said, the images remain for the exclusive use of CL subscribers and - hurrah! - the recent publicity has prompted numerous new subscriptions.

Please note - all 19 Stations are now available online.

Good to be got at?

Here's a provocative thought for the day from comedian Frank Skinner.

Church isn't man enough?

This week's Church Times includes a provocative piece by Daev Hopwood - on the perennial propblem of the church's 'missing men'. Here's a brief extract...

WORKING at a conference centre, I regularly meet men who are frus­trated by the nature of Sunday church. I hold sessions where I talk honestly about this and give them a chance to tell their stories. I am often asked: how would you do church? I have thought about it a great deal — but I have not been able to come up with an adequate answer.

The very question comes loaded with baggage about the nature of church in general. Gatherings where people sit in rows, sing songs, pray respectable prayers, listen to one person deliver their own thoughts on some aspect of the faith, and engage in celebrating a “feast” which offers only a morsel of bread and a drop of wine: I would not start from here if I were to attempt to redefine church.

I would go back to the Bible with a simple question: how did Jesus teach the men who were following him?

It is a difficult question because Jesus was a man operating in a cul­ture very different to ours today. He was a rabbi, not a vicar. He grew up under oppression in a small Middle Eastern community. The climate, the culture, and the sensibilities of the day were very different. But, I be­lieve, there are still fundamental, timeless lessons that can be learnt from the way Jesus taught the men around him.

I once sat down and worked my way through the first nine chapters of Mark’s Gospel, noting the aspects of Jesus that ap­pealed to me. Here are some of them:

• Jesus offered his followers a job.

• He gave them nicknames, and tasks to do.

• He took them travelling, went home with them, and ate with them.

• He allowed them to break sabbath laws.

• He made use of their working skills.

• He told stories about men and workers, about violence, revenge, danger, and justice.

He showed them that they were part of something, and displayed his power in the con­text of their daily lives.

Jesus made following him risky and chal­lenging, and sent them out on tough assign­ments. Afterwards, he gave them the chance to debrief. He listened to their stories. And he made himself vulnerable.

Daev Hopwood is creative arts director at Lee Abbey.

Growing good leaders

Church Leadership 71 is currently hot on the press in Doncaster - and will be landing on subscribers' doormats at the very beginning of February.

We're continuing our journey through essential aspects of local-church leadership, this time focusing on the topic of 'growing good leaders'.

And, as always, we're offering unique resources for the coming period of the church year: Palm Sunday, Pentecost and a remarkable series of images and meditations based on the 'Stations of the Resurrection'.

Want to know more about Church Leadership? Click here, please!

Team talk...

Ours is an individualistic culture. No surprise, then, that for most of us the word ‘leadership’ prompts a mental picture of ‘the person in charge’ – singular, not plural.

In CL71 (appearing late January) James Lawrence urges an approach to leadership development that’s as countercultural as it biblical. And he begins with the sad story of Nigel (or Nigella).

Once upon a time there was a church leader called Nigel (it might just as well have been Nigella) .

Nigel arrived six years ago to find the church struggling with a stack of problems: high debt, low morale, no children or young people, and traumatic fall-out from a pastoral crisis in the recent past.

Some of the congregation were suspicious of Nigel. Others quietly hoped he would be their saviour. Fortunately, Nigel was certain that this was where God wanted him to be, and he loved the job and the people from day one.

He poured himself into the life of the church, getting to know people, prayerfully discerning a new direction, and working hard to enable action. In the first year there were small, encouraging signs of change, boosting the congregation’s level of expectation. By his second year financial giving was rising, a new service had started and people felt cared for. And though a few doubters remained, many people now thought that Nigel really was their saviour.

Came year three and things were buzzing. But, of course, the more Nigel did, the more work there was to do. The more he visited the sick, the more unwell people there were expecting a visit. The more he reached out within the community, the more there were to be reached. The more he started new things, the more things needed continuing.

Not surprisingly by years four and five Nigel was struggling. Facing exhaustion, he knew he couldn’t continue as things were. And yet everything was going well in the church – the bishop (or was it the area superintendant?) spoke warmly of what he had achieved. But Nigel knew that work at this pitch wasn’t sustainable. He started looking at job adverts in the church press. In year six, he left to take up a new post.

What would your message be for Nigel / Nigella?

Gospel Imprint

Here's a new source of resources from our friends in the catholic area of the wonderful spectrum of the Church of England.

Gospel Imprint offers a variety of materials including seasonal liturgies, all downloadable free of charge.

What's more, they are thoughtfully provided as Word documents, allowing the user to cut and paste at will.