Annual Report

It’s that time of year again and I don’t like it. I don’t like it because there’s something in me that rebels against having to do something because, quite simply, I’m told I have to. I know there are lots of things I don’t want to do that are good for me. But this one doesn’t count for that. I’m only doing it because I have to. And I don’t like that. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s Annual Report time! And I don’t like writing the Annual Report. It’s way too much typing and I’m not great at typing. I get all the right letters, just in the wrong order and I spend as much time correcting mistakes as I do trying to write anything. And then I can never actually remember what happened from one year to another. I love writing sermons because there’s a creative edge to it: where is this going? What am I, what is God trying to say? How can I best express this deep and profound truth? What might God want to do here? There’s an excitement to it. Not for me with the Annual Report. I feel I’ve got to “get it right” because someone I’ve never met, and will never meet, might actually read it to see what’s been happening in Crawley Baptist Church to make sure we’re not doing something we’re not supposed to. Mostly it’s about money! I mean, mostly it’s about making sure we’re using the money we’ve been given properly! Not that long ago the report was mostly accounts. But not anymore! I understand there are others who love Annual Reports and look at them as a great way to tell our story. That’s fine. I’m just not one of them. But here’s what I will concede: it’s a good thing from time to time to look back. Looking back tells us about the journey we’ve been on and are still on. I’m not the same person I was before the pandemic. I’m not the same person I was five or ten years ago. I’m not the same person I was was I began in ministry at CBC. And I say “Thank God” I’m not. But I only know that by looking back. I’m a different person, a different minister. I have different theology, which is a good thing because it means I’m learning. Someone once said the me: “Ian never let go in the darkness what God has taught you in the light.” Wise counsel. But I can only do that if I can look back to what I learnt in the darkness. When Jesus met two people on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) he told them all that had happened through the life of Israel and the scriptures. He looked back. He looked back at what God had done to help them make sense of the death of Jesus. Actually, looing back over the last year in the life of CBC reminds me of what God has done. And that’s no bad thing. Maybe I should I should do it more. And maybe, so should you. Although, if anyone wants to write the Annual Report I’d be your friend for life!