This page comes from the newsletter of Broadmead Baptist Church, known as The Record. The Record has been produced since 1934.
The Broadmead Cross
This cross, like all representations of the cross of Jesus Christ, symbolises his suffering and death for all humanity.
The arms reach outwards, like the arms of God, in love and forgiveness, gathering all suffering to himself
The space between the two upright members represents the fact that Christ is no longer dead. Beyond the cross there is the Resurrection.
The upright members point upwards to denote Christ's Ascension.
From The Record - Standing back
From time to time, the newspapers print a humorous photograph of a miss-spelt road sign. Most people can raise a smile when confronted with “schol” painted on the road in metre-high lettering! I recently came across a video introducing the Greek alphabet which had inadvertently missed the letter ‘d’ out altogether!
Such errors are difficult to see because we are too close to them. If we stand back, either literally or metaphorically, we can see more clearly. Even better, we can ask someone else to check what we have done. Like most people, I find it difficult to spot mistakes in what I have written because when I read it back I know what I meant to say and therefore my brain supplies the missing words or subtracts any additional letters. I often ask my wife to read through a manuscript that I want to be accurate. Even then it will not be perfect, of course, but two pairs of eyes catch a remarkable number of errors.
Let's consider these two different ways of reducing errors; standing back and getting someone to look over your work. Both have a place in normal Christian living.
Standing back. I hope that you will be able to get away for a holiday during the summer or, at the very least, that you will benefit from the slacker pace in church life during August. We keep our services at the normal times on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and the Undercroft continues to serve the many people who rely on its presence, but otherwise we do not hold any meetings. Enjoy this chance to stand back. You may be able to see more clearly as a result.
Travel together. I am convinced that Christian discipleship is much more difficult if we try to do it on our own. Over the last two or three generations our society has become focused on individuals and we increasingly consider faith a private matter. It is worth remembering that Jesus sent his disciples out into the villages in pairs. The author of Ecclesiastes begins a passage about relationships by observing that ‘Two are better than one, for they have good reward for their toil’.
The Christian life is not easy and we all make a mess of it from time to time. Try to stand back and to travel with fellow pilgrims. We can watch out for each other.
John Houseago
Last updated: 26-07-10