Meeting the stranger on the beach 

Most of Andrew Rollinson's pastoral ministry has been near the sea - so it's no surprise it provides the backdrop to his new book, which is rooted in John's gospel and features reflections on discipleship, ministry and mission. He explains more 

Conversations by the Sea is a set of 14 reflective essays based on the conversations of the Risen Lord with seven of his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. The whole book arises from an extended theological and pastoral meditation of John 21, a chapter replete with evocative images about discipleship, ministry and mission. The project explores these themes in a sort of ‘midrashic way’ moving from exegetical accuracy, to theological exploration, to pastoral imagination and application. It includes some areas of ministry and mission rarely touched on. 
 
It so happens that most of my own pastoral ministry (over 40 years) has been near the sea. Ministry began for me in the rather lonely context of rural evangelism on the East Coast of Yorkshire. Many a day I would walk the beaches, sometimes discouraged or lonely, to pray. 

Full-time pastoral ministry ended in St Andrews in Fife; the iconic West Sands of Chariots of Fire fame being a great context for many a pastoral conversation.  For eight years my role as Ministry Advisor for the Baptist Union of Scotland allowed me many a conversation with colleagues overlooking stunning Scottish island seascapes. Reflections on my own experience and personal illustrations are included but it is by no means autobiography, even less a ‘how to’ book!  
 
The book is primarily intended for church leaders – deacons, elders, mission/ youth/ community workers and pastors. But I hope its emphasis on ministry as ‘exemplary discipleship’ will give it a wider appeal. Those who have already read it have said that, though it is academic in part, its feel is warm, accessible, devotional, down-to-earth and encouraging. I hope this is the case.   

Each chapter tackles a ‘live issue’ so I hope it will spawn many an honest conversation. The opening chapter, for example, is on ‘disappointment and disorientation in ministry’ (based on Peter returning to Galilee, fishing all night and catching nothing.) There are key chapters on what characterises discipleship (a comparison between Peter and the Beloved Disciple), on ministry starvation and its remedy (breakfast on the beach), on self-awareness and self-deception in ministry (‘Lord you know all things, you know I love you’), on ministry failure and restoration (Peter’s re-commissioning)…..and so on!   
 
The Fourth Gospel is such a rich text and its final chapter is, for me, not an add-on appendix but the narrative climax. The whole Gospel can be characterised as a celebration of God’s gift of fullness and fruitfulness through Christ, with the first ‘sign’ being Jesus turning water into a ridiculously large amount of wine and the last ‘sign’ a jaw-dropping catch of 153 fish.  The whole text is an invitation to live and serve with the promise of such fruitfulness. John’s Gospel ends, not with closure, but with a delightful openness to the future. The central need of all of us, I argue, is to meet the ‘Stranger on the Beach’ and to spend our lives being renewed and resourced by his living, resurrected, joyful presence. 
 

Conversations by the Sea - Reflections on Discipleship, Ministry and Mission by Andrew Rollinson was published by Handsel Press. 

It can be purchased through the Handsel Press website (Santus Media) or Amazon, or directly from Andrew on andrewrollinson@hotmail.com 

Andrew Rollinson served Baptist churches in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh and St Andrews. For eight years he was full-time Ministry Advisor for the Baptist Union of Scotland. He is now retired with his wife in the Scottish Borders.

Do you have a view? Share your thoughts via our letters' page.