service

Boilers are a bit like dogs, I suppose.

They bring a warmth of a sorts to the house. And by the time they're 13 years old or so, you're starting to sense that they're maybe on their last legs.

Our boiler's been there for close on 19 years, I guess. And for the past few years it's begun to feel (or at least to show) its age.

The annual gas inspection guy who comes with the maintenance contract, he always sort of hums and haws and makes 'Ah, well, you know it doesn't comply...' noises. Very 'knowing' noises.

Like the vet who's seeing to your dog. And wants to break the news to you slowly.

The gas man's been doing that very slowly. For the last few years.

Anyway, there were folk around today to give some quotes for replacing the dodgy boiler ('dodgy', not 'doggy' for those who speed read these posts!).

Because it's the church that pays for this, we need at least a couple of quotes. So we had two different guys round today. One immediately after the other.

It was a fascinating study in contrasts, I have to say. Two very different men. And totally different approaches. I was intrigued and really quite challenged as well.

The first was a 'salesman' at heart. He knew his stuff, could quote you facts and figures, give you illustrations and race through any amount of information in a single breath.

Impressive in his way. Articulate, persuasive and clear. With a glossy brochure to boot.

The second was much more down to earth. No brochure. No 'patter'. No nonsense. He was an engineer. His business is fixing things, making things work.

And he knew his stuff as well, of course. But in a different way. He had 'expertise', I think, while the other guy had merely loads of 'knowledge'.

They both were wearing their company tops. I'm not entirely sure of this, but I thought, if I caught the names aright - I thought the very names were in fact the give-away.

One (I think) was called S_____ Products (I can't give the name in full since that might lead to libel and I wouldn't want to open myself to that - this guy knew his stuff, remember!). The other was W_____ Gas Services.

Those may or may not have been the two firm's names. But that was without doubt the essence of the difference between the two of them.

One was selling a product. The other was providing a service.

I found it very challenging to meet them, watch them, hear them as they went about their work. And see how very different they were.

Challenging because it made me stop and ponder how I live my life myself. Which one of these I am.

The way I live my life, the way I go about the ministry I'm seeking here to exercise - am I simply selling a product? Is that how it comes across?

Or am I providing a service? (And I don't mean the Sunday thing). Am I actually serving people's needs, making their lives work?

Well, it made me wonder, I'm bound to say. Because half the time I think it's all too tempting to become in truth no more than just a salesman. A lot of knowledge, which can seem really pretty impressive.

But people want life to be fixed. They're keen that their lives should 'work'. They're mostly wanting service more than knowledge.

That's what we're trying to create in the communal life that we lead here in these days. We're trying to follow Jesus and we see that means, not knowing loads of Bible texts, but serving people's needs.

We're trying to create an environment where that is the ethos throughout. This willingness to serve. This gift from God in fixing things and making all life work.

We're trying to instil an outlook on life which sees folk willing to serve. Always. With everyone. At every single level of their lives.

No strings attached. No knocking off at 5 o'clock because .. well, hey, I've done my shift.

It's a life we're seeking to live, a lifestyle we're trying to adopt. The life and the lifestyle of this guy Jesus. Who was far more an engineer, I think, than just some sort of knowledgeable travelling salesman.

So I started the day with the making of soups. Service.

It's good for me to start the day like this. It puts me in a place where all too plainly I've a lot to learn. Not by a million miles do I know it all. But I'm ready to learn. Ready to take my turn and give it a shot.

(I know enough, of course, having been on a food hygiene course, to stick within parameters which mean the soups should be safe enough to eat!)

By starting a Tuesday in this sort of way, I'm reminded of what we're about. Providing a service, not selling a product.

And a large part of my day was then with people. Sort of fixing the boiler stuff. Trying to make life work. Trying to figure out with different folk how best to make life work.

There are often situations which are like an ageing boiler. Relationships can be like that. Things can start to go wrong.

What people need when life's like that is not the slick communication skills a salesman has, nor even all the knowledge he can spout. They need a down-to-earth and expert engineer.

A guy who can fix things. Who knows where to start and what to do and how to make it work.

That's what we're seeking, by God's good grace, our life as his people becomes. A people who simply serve. Across the board of life.

If we wore a company coat (and some of the folk who came in today suggested we maybe adopt a uniform dress! But I'm not wearing dresses, no way!), then the name might simply say 'Life Services'.

I've been busy today. A lot of folk to see, right on through 'til maybe 10 or so at night. And not a lot of 'preparation' time. But that's not really all that bad a thing. I'm more an 'engineer', I hope, than just some smart and slickly polished peddler of some product called 'the gospel'.

But I did have some time to think. A lot of 'walking' time. I'd taken the car, which my Mum used to drive - I'd taken it up to be sold at the garage she actually bought it from a good few years ago.

The guy was very pleasant and the deal he worked was good. (I suppose he was another sort of salesman in his way!). But it meant a long walk back. A good four or five miles.

It was great having time like that. No phones. No e-mails pinging in. No people calling by. Just time to get some exercise and do some sort of 'engineering' thinking as I went along. Chewing on the problems that there are. And how they'll best be fixed.

While I was up at the garage in the salesman's room, I noticed the calendar there. It was actually a day out of date, which made me smile.

But it had this quote - 'The best mirror is an old friend'.

Which made me think again. A friend knows you. That's the reason why. Not in the sense of knowing all the details and of quoting all the facts. But having the 'expertise'.

He's lived with you and been with you and knows you through and through. And that's why he can help you see the things you'll not be able ever otherwise to see.

It crossed my mind that that's what we're about in following Jesus Christ.

Yes, maybe we're a day behind in many things. But friendship is the 'engineering' work we do. Knowing folk like that. Like the engineer has come to know these boilers, since he's worked with them so much.

Knowing this guy Jesus, since we've worked with him and been with him spent such time with him across the days we kind of 'know' him inside out. As he knows us.

And getting to know the folk around us here like that as well.

We don't have a product to sell. We're keen only to offer a service.