15th September 2023

It was a great pleasure to attend the retirement service of Simon Carver at Dagnall Street Baptist Church in early September. Simon had been the minister of New Road in Oxford when we were in membership there and our two families remain firm friends. The whole day in St Albans was filled with fun and laughter, just as Simon wanted, I guess.

At his final service he left us with a few thoughts one of which I want to pass on. He calls it GPS theology and says it is probably not original, but I have found it nowhere else.

God is like the SatNav in your car (with apologies to those without cars or SatNavs but I’m sure you will get the idea). You have a destination and your SatNav has worked out the best route. But when the SatNav says “take the next left turn” and you decide to go straight on there are no histrionics from the slighted device, it doesn’t stop the car and switch off the engine, it just gets on and re-calculates the best route from where you now find yourself. And it doesn’t matter how many times you pig-headedly go your own way; when you find yourself stuck in a jam not knowing which way to turn your SatNav is there patiently waiting for you, showing the way if you will just pay attention.

Of course, it might have been easier to have followed it in the first place.

Nick Parsons