We find ourselves in disorientating times. How then, shall we live?  
 
That was a question posed by Alan Donaldson in his Sunday morning sermon at the Baptist Assembly. Rather than a specific three or five point plan, Alan highlighted what he termed a broad direction of travel, one which begins by dwelling in Jesus. Jesus unites us all: he calls us, nourishes us and sends us. We all seek to serve him. Moreover, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus is the only place to start and, as Alan stressed, he holds us as we go.  
 
But where we go from there differs from person to person, church to church, mission setting to mission setting, for while there is much we share, we all live out and understand this call on our lives in different ways and contexts. This much is evident from the Baptist Assembly in May and the edition of Baptists Together magazine which preceded it.
In both, there was a conversation and connection theme where spaces were created to hear from and listen to each other. Many took the opportunity to do so, and this edition reflects some of the messages shared at the Assembly and beyond, and the different ways Baptists are serving Jesus in mission and evangelism.   

It’s a collection of pieces captured by a photograph taken of footprints in the Bournemouth sand when hundreds of us flocked to the south coast in May, and has become the edition’s theme: Diverse people, common ground. ‘Our purpose at the Assembly was to reflect our diversity and celebrate it on our common ground’, writes Craig Gardiner, the Cardiff Baptist College tutor who took the photo. Offering his own reflection of what the image conveys, Craig argues that unity in diversity is perhaps our most compelling characteristic as Baptists, and it is in working through our differences, by being both receptive and hospitable to each other, as well as having a willingness to confront, that we will arrive at a deeper understanding of God, his mission, and our part in it.
 
The times are disorientating, and the way ahead is not clear. But does this give us an idea for how we shall live?


The main articles in the magazine are featured below: