Sir Terry Leahy and I have previous. I won't bore you with the details but we were both appearing in a court case where each's evidence contradicted the other and I got it in the neck from the judge who told me he was more inclined to believe Sir Terry. Still, despite the past, I was interested to read the reviews of his new book Management in Ten Words in the weekend press (a slight biblical tone in the title?). You can't deny he's been at the forefront of one of the UK's most successful businesses. For the record (hope this doesn't spoil it for you) the words are truth, loyalty, courage, values, act, balance, simple, lean, compete, trust. What interests me though is what he does with some of those words, according to one review.

For example, and here I'm quoting from the review. "Number one is truth. The truth is not something you usually associate with retailing, says Sir Terry, seeking to shock us with his candour. But what does he want us to do with this truth? He wants us to confront it. The skilled manager does not ignore the truth. He sees it and responds to it."

Well, fair enough. But do you see what he is doing? If I told you the management word was truth you would automatically assume he meant telling the truth, not facing up to it. It's subtle but the context of the word has changed. Less subtle is chapter 3. Courage means "being certain that you are right." Now, that's just a new definition, isn't it? I don't think that's what courage means. Most online dictionaries get this right – the ability to confront fear or danger or uncertainty, etc. 

I shall leave poor Sir Terry alone. What interests me more is that we are always redefining words. It's one reason that the preacher needs to be both careful with his own words and careful with God's words. Bible words mean what they meant. We must not impose 21st Century meanings onto them. And we must be careful that our own words are not open to the worst kind of misinterpretation. It's also why we should be thankful for modern Bible translations and the men and women who tirelessly work to keep them under revision. 

I'm fastidious about to do lists. That's partly because I cannot remember all the things I have to do and partly because I live in terror of forgetting to do things I've promised. Still, it does have its downsides, like this week when it gets longer than my arm and there is simply not enough time in the week to do everything. I've learnt to see that this arises because:

(1) I take on too much
(2) I procrastinate too much
(3) I don't delegate enough

Or, to be real, a deathly combination of all three. Mrs R had some good advice this morning when I was lamenting my failures and the length of the list. "Don't forget to make time to pray" she said. Right. End of post.

Dick and I are off to Newport tomorrow to work with a small group of pastors in South Wales. We love doing things like this, even though it means crossing the border (only joking!). In fact, it's under two hours on the train from London. 

I'm the lead out man with Ezekiel 1, and then Dick is leading two sessions on 2 Timothy. Dick's teaching on 2 Timothy includes this assessment of the reasons why Timothy and his ministry might go astray:

1. satanic deception (2 Tim 2.26)
2. widespread moral breakdown (2 Tim 3.1-5)
3. poor Bible handling (2 Tim 2.15)
4. sinfulness (2 Tim 2.19)

Isn't point 3 arresting. We all know that we must present ourselves as "one approved" but it is not just for our own sake. God forgive that we should ever think of ministry in this way. This injunction is not just so that I would do my best, like my dad might have said to me before I went into an exam. No, it is for the sake of the church, for the sake of God's people, that we must carry on working hard at Bible ministry.

Before the summer kicks in (I wish!) why not take a moment and book a place at our Autumn Ministers Conference. This year we're excited to be joined by Doug Moo, the NT scholar and church elder/preacher. It's worth coming just to see how tall he is…. But seriously, these times away together and precious and important in keeping us going in ministry. The dates are Monday 12 – Thursday 15 November. I look forward to seeing you there. Book online here.

Preaching to the wives this morning on Numbers 11-12. It's pretty numbing stuff. I finished this wonderful prayer from Valley of Vision:

Lord Jesus, I sin. Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself, never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable, to live for Thee and not for self, to copy Thy words, acts, spirit, to be transformed into Thy likeness, to be consecrated wholly to Thee, to live entirely to Thy glory.

Deliver me from attachment to things unclean, from wrong associations, from the predominance of evil passions, from the sugar of sin as well as its gap; that with self-loathing, deep contrition, earnest heart searching I may come to Thee, cast myself on Thee, trust in Thee, cry to Thee, be delivered by Thee.O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that all things are shadows, but Thou art substance, all things are quicksands, but Thou art mountain, all things are shifting, but Thou art anchor, all things are ignorance, but Thou art wisdom.

If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it, but do Thou sit at the furnace mouth to watch the ore that nothing be lost. If I sin wilfully, grievously, tormentedly, in grace take away my mourning and give me music; remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty; still my sighs and fill my mouth with song, then give me summer weather as a Christian.

Several of us are away at our Summer Wives conference and having, I trust, a happy time: Carolyn Ash preaching from the psalms, I'm doing Numbers. Rachel is doing the organising and, wonder of wonders, Mrs R is here too, part of the leadership team. Conferences like this are an important part of the pastoral care of a ministers wife; likewise our ministers conference serve a similar purpose for men. Here is a chance to spend time with those who are also in the unique ministry position that those who are not find very hard to understand. I suggested in my talk today, for example, that ministers and their wives are quite possibly most at risk of neglecting the gospel in the church. That will surprise many church members.

But it also needs to be said that the ministers primary fellowship, and that of his wife, needs to be in the church itself. The church is the thing in God's purposes and the minister or wife who seeks all his/her fellowship outside the church is cutting against the grain of God's economy. It requires wisdom and careful thinking of course, to make it work, but it must be the THE place where we find our solace and help. That's how God's made things. Roll with it. 

We heard sad news this weekend from the family of one man who attended the EMA and a good friend to us – his youngest daughter was killed in a car accident aged just 18. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. It also is a timely reminder of an important pastoral reality – you can't pastor your people through a tragedy unless you have pastored them before it. I don't mean that you need to know someone in your church in order to be able to minister to them when crises hit. I mean, rather, that the unshakeable attributes of God which provide our ultimate comfort in the darkest days need to be learnt beforehand. Then, when the darkness hits, they are laid hold of by faith. But you cannot say to a grieving family, say, 'let me tell you about God's sovereignty' or 'let me tell you about God's goodness.' These are truths we need to teach our people so that they are prepared for the dark days. The crises may reinforce, cement, secure the truths – but I don't think it is pastorally possible to start talking about them and applying them in the midst of the tragedy if you have not done so before. If our preaching in the good times does not prepare people for the rocky path ahead then we are no sort of pastor. 

I watched a fascinating programme on BBC last week about the Group B rally cars. These were the madness years of rallying (early 1980s) when manufacturers were allowed to submit cars with little or no resemblance to production cars and virtually no other rules. This was coupled with one of the most popular spectator sports in the world and in some countries with no spectactor control at all (see picture). Crowds parted at the last minute to let these leviathans through. Deaths were inevitable, and deaths there were. Spectators and competitors. You can watch the programme on the iPlayer for a bit here. 

I remember being enthralled by the sport at the time. The danger and the sheer recklessness of it all was captivating to a teenage boy. But looking back coldly, it was madness. Everyone could see it. But what interested me most is that in the present-day interviews with the drivers and team bosses, there was very little regret. Drivers said it was the best time of their lives. Team bosses went all misty eyed at the memories. These, for them, were the glory days. Never mind the carnage and the deaths.

They knew it was madness. They knew the dangers. But they went ahead anyway. 

When we preach we need to not only convince people that sin is real and sin is bad but that sin is going to lead to destruction. That's why we need the whole gospel. I don't think it's particularly hard to convince people of (1) and (2). (3), however is much harder. The problem is not convincing people that sin is bad, but tearing people away from sin that they like. This is why the Holy Spirit's work is essential. In the world of rally, people knew the logic, they knew the dangers, but still they chose the path of destruction. In the spiritual realms, likewise, people will still choose the paths of destruction unless the Spirit convinces them that the word is true. 

Reflect on Ephesians 2.1-3.

As part of his third day preach on 1 Peter at the EMA, Paul Tripp asked these searching questions. 

1. Have you lost sight of the fact that you deeply need all that you preach?
2. Have you become less than open to the essential sanctifying ministry of the body of Christ?
3. Have you come to expect of others the perfection you think you’ve achieved?
4. Do you assess that you are qualified to have more control over your ministry than any pastor should ever have?
5. Have you lost your sense of need for daily meditative communion with Christ?
6. Are there places where you have come to take credit for successes that only grace can produce?
7. Do you feel entitled to what you could never earn or could ever achieve on your own?
8. Are you now less than watchful and protective when it comes to temptation and sin, than you should be?
9. Do you tend to load more on your ministry shoulders than you can responsibly handle?