Leaders Meeting Cleeve House

For a while, I wasn't sure who the chaplains were, as we found some outside ministers who were doing chaplaincy work. Gradually, of course, I realised what it was. Back to Matthew one, a feeling that often comes to me when I hear first generation talking about the Lord is that the second generation is based on the second, the vanguard and whatnot. I just wonder how the second generation feels about it because somehow I feel like getting a bit annoying myself. If I were a second generation, I would begin to feel a bit annoyed that so much is trying to be put on me, because in any way I might possibly back away from it. I was just wondering how they feel about it since they're sitting at the table.

During a workshop, someone said to me that you want to go out and go on the front line somewhere; you just want to do SDF straight away. That's the type of feeling you have; you're kind of inspired. But then often afterwards, the support isn't felt that much, even though people say it. The actions don't always come through. I was cooking the food that everyone is enjoying right now, so that's why I wasn't in the meeting. Just a simple kitchen job to prepare the food, because that's where everyone is. I think the feeling of the meeting is good, but generally, I think the meetings kind of miss the mark. We ought to be about something, and that something should be a point of continuity between every meeting so that we develop that and ultimately reach a goal based on what it is that we're having the meeting about.

I was responsible for Cleveland for three years, and there are little bits of me everywhere in the house. Things that I did, like in the library, the paneling in the fireplace—I did that. I went outside, found some wood, quickly measured it, cut it, and bunked it in the fireplace, and it's still there. That was in 1985. There are bits of me in the house, and it's actually really interesting to see. I guess because I thought that in a few ways you can go, it could be either really boring or really overwhelming, but it's actually really interesting to see how it's really organised and run. It's really nice to be able to have some input and to really see the back end rather than just the outcome, to see the thinking behind things and how we want them to progress.

I guess, similar to what Kenny said, it's nice to just observe and then also feel free to share some of our thoughts and ideas. Essentially, that's how it's going to develop if you have input from both sides. I'm from South London, and I always see Frank and I succeed all the time, and they're always quite happy and jolly. When meeting them, they're all quiet and focused, going across the points, taking notes, and they're quite serious. You can tell there's a lot of movement; it's not so much business, but they're really trying to invest a lot. They're serious about their investment; it's not just that they're taking it loosely. They're very serious and want to make the right decisions for the movement, which I think is a nice thing to see.