Coming down the steep path from the stunningly beautiful ruined castle at Monsegur, one passes a stone memorial to the 220 cathars who, following the overthrow of this seemingly impenetrable fortress, chose not to submit to the power of Rome. They were burned at the stake in the field at the foot of the hill. It's hard to square such horror with the staggering beauty of the surroundings.
Monsegur was the last stronghold of the Cathars overthrown in 1244. It was the end of a fifty year crusade against the heretical movement that had cost thousands of lives and extended the writ of the French king southwards to the Languedoc and Carcasonne (the key city of the region).
The cathars were a heretical sect, a dualistic blend of gnosticism and Christianity, which was embraced by the leading families of the region probably because it set them apart from growing French state to the north. It is undoubtedly the case that the crusade launched against the movement in the late twelfth century was as much about that state extending its powers over the fertile areas around Toulouse and Carcasonne.
The early leader of the crusade was Simon De Montfort. Growing up in Leicester, I had known De Montfort as a pioneer of democracy, one of the barons that forced King John to Runnymede to sign Magna Carta. Streets and halls, even a university are named after him in my home city. It was only when I when I first went to southern France about 15 years ago that a different picture of De Montfort emerged, a man who cut a bloody swathe through the region, a crusader of stupendous brutality.
As I stood on the low rising hill before the steep climb to Monsegur, I reflected on the fact that people should be allowed to be wrong. No one should die just because they choose to worship in a different way from their neighbours. Perhaps a key aspect of being a follower of Jesus is that we accept that some will get what he's about and others won't. One of the great insights of the Baptist pioneer, Thomas Helwys, was that everyone had the right to be wrong, that everyone had the right to choose what religion or philosophy they would follow and the state had no right to enforce one option over another.
Monsegur is testimony to what happens when that insight gets forgotten as it has so frequently through our bloody history
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Back from a great holiday
Well, we're back from a great holiday in Mirepoix in a part of France we've not visited before.
Mirepoix is a great bastide town with a fabulously preserved central square and a cathedral with the widest nave of any church in France. It's a wonderful place. We spent mornings sitting in the square drinking coffee and watching people come and go.
Afternoons were spent touring great historical sites - the area is dripping with history as it was the centre of Catharism in the twelfth century (more on that later) - or swimming in the local lake.
Evenings were spent eating either in our gite or in one of the numerous local restaurants.
All-in-all it was everything a French holiday should be.
We stayed in a place called l'ancienne pharmacie. It's the first year that the owners have been letting it out, I gather, and it's a great three-storey town house just off Mirepoix's main square. It's very well equipped and decorated and even has a small roof terrace. You can check out the website here.
More when I've recovered!
Mirepoix is a great bastide town with a fabulously preserved central square and a cathedral with the widest nave of any church in France. It's a wonderful place. We spent mornings sitting in the square drinking coffee and watching people come and go.
Afternoons were spent touring great historical sites - the area is dripping with history as it was the centre of Catharism in the twelfth century (more on that later) - or swimming in the local lake.
Evenings were spent eating either in our gite or in one of the numerous local restaurants.
All-in-all it was everything a French holiday should be.
We stayed in a place called l'ancienne pharmacie. It's the first year that the owners have been letting it out, I gather, and it's a great three-storey town house just off Mirepoix's main square. It's very well equipped and decorated and even has a small roof terrace. You can check out the website here.
More when I've recovered!
Friday, September 03, 2010
Breaking the back of my dissertation
I've put the final full stop at the end of the final sentence of the third substantial chapter of my dissertation. So my supervisor now has 37,715 words to chew over (though the first chapter will need recasting and will probably come out a little longer).
All that remains is topping and tailing with an introduction and conclusion plus the slightly tedious compiling of the bibliography (hopefully in alphabetical order) and it's done.
And as if that's not good news enough ahead of a holiday... today I heard that John Drane has written a lovely endorsement of my forthcoming Lion book to join the one that Peter Oakes has already written.
I can lay back in the warm glow of achievement until work rears its ugly (or do I mean lovely?) head again in a fortnight...
All that remains is topping and tailing with an introduction and conclusion plus the slightly tedious compiling of the bibliography (hopefully in alphabetical order) and it's done.
And as if that's not good news enough ahead of a holiday... today I heard that John Drane has written a lovely endorsement of my forthcoming Lion book to join the one that Peter Oakes has already written.
I can lay back in the warm glow of achievement until work rears its ugly (or do I mean lovely?) head again in a fortnight...
Thursday, September 02, 2010
The slippery, scintilating sound of eels
Went to see Eels last night at my favourite rock venue, Brixton Academy. It was a cracking evening - though it started slightly bizarrely with a ventriloquist!
E's band, however, were tight and loud (much louder than I was expecting!). I gather E is not a big fan of live performance and it shows a little in his awkward manner when speaking to the audience and a lot in his tendency to play everything slightly faster than on record. But there were some great moments, terrific versions of tracks for the new record (which I think could be seen to be a classic Eels album), great selections from the back catalogue (one of the most impression in recent rock) and a blinding cover of Summer in the City.
E writes beautifully, his lyrics are often simple but profound and suffused with a world-weary wit. Sometimes last night the subtlety was squashed by the speed of delivery but it was still possible to appreciate the light and shade in his songs. A great gig.
E's band, however, were tight and loud (much louder than I was expecting!). I gather E is not a big fan of live performance and it shows a little in his awkward manner when speaking to the audience and a lot in his tendency to play everything slightly faster than on record. But there were some great moments, terrific versions of tracks for the new record (which I think could be seen to be a classic Eels album), great selections from the back catalogue (one of the most impression in recent rock) and a blinding cover of Summer in the City.
E writes beautifully, his lyrics are often simple but profound and suffused with a world-weary wit. Sometimes last night the subtlety was squashed by the speed of delivery but it was still possible to appreciate the light and shade in his songs. A great gig.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Lessons from the workshops of Corinth
So, I'm pondering the second half of my chapter on the social location of the Pauline communities (while listening to Chacago Transit Authority) and formulating a thesis (as you do when writing a dissertation - though some might think I should have formulated a thesis already, but let's not go there!) and it strikes me that it might have implications for how we understand church today.
The thesis is simple (and not very original - but I'm doing a review dissertation, so originality is not expected): Paul was a craft worker - a tentmaker, probably a worker in leather rather than a weaver of cloth - who worked from sunrise to sunset in a workshop with others in the same trade. He probably slept at the back of the workshop or on a mezzanine floor above his bench; maybe in a first floor room. He would have eaten there or in the popina (the Roman equivalent of a fast food outlet) on the corner of the street, where for a few pennies he'd have picked a chunck of bread and vegetable stew.
So, where did church and mission happen? In the workshop. As he worked, he talked; his audience was his fellow workers, customers, passers-by drawn by a vigorous conversation. Nearly everyone who heard him speak would have been craft workers or slaves from customers houses come to place or collect orders. This explains why the Pauline communities were dominated by artisans and why there's such a stress on working for a living and sharing what you've made with those who haven't had such a good day or week as you.
It possibly has implications for how we read 1 Corinthians 11-14. Scholars generally agree that this teaching refers to the gathering of believers around a meal for what we now call 'worship' (Paul wouldn't have called it that, however). The apostle envisages prayer and prophecy, teaching and learning all in the context of a meal, at the heart of which was a remembering of Jesus and the cross. Many reckon it was loosely based on the Graeco-Roman symposium (and they are probably right).
But what if, instead of taking place in a family home or appartment, Paul envisages the Corinthians gathered in a workshop, eating together at the end of the working day? In fact, it wouldn't have been like this for all the communities in Corinth because it's clear that one of the problems in some gatherings was that some started eating before others arrived. This implies that some didn't need to work until sunset, suggesting a degree of wealth (though not at all suggesting membership of the tiny social elite as some have argued). But it would almost certainly have been like this in Thessalonica where, from Paul's letters, we get the flavout of a small gathering that is very workshop-based.
It all leads me to the conclusion that Paul's communities were socially located in craft workers shops and appartments and therefore consisted overwhelmingly of poor to moderately ok working people. The typical member of a Pauline community was someone who had to work each day to ensure they got to eat, who worked long hours with their hands, who lived in a space not much bigger than a modern British garage and who were drawn to the faith of Paul by his stress on grace and forgiveness, sharing and economic mutuality.
And what does it tell us about church today? Possibly that it needs few of the trappings that we think are essential. Where a small group of people meet to eat, remember Jesus, pray for and support one another, there is church. So, why can't it be happening in pubs and restaurants, cafes and workplace meeting areas?
I've changed the music to Bowie's Station to Station as I return to dissertation writing wondering what this picture of the chruch says about the role of full-time paid ministers...
The thesis is simple (and not very original - but I'm doing a review dissertation, so originality is not expected): Paul was a craft worker - a tentmaker, probably a worker in leather rather than a weaver of cloth - who worked from sunrise to sunset in a workshop with others in the same trade. He probably slept at the back of the workshop or on a mezzanine floor above his bench; maybe in a first floor room. He would have eaten there or in the popina (the Roman equivalent of a fast food outlet) on the corner of the street, where for a few pennies he'd have picked a chunck of bread and vegetable stew.
So, where did church and mission happen? In the workshop. As he worked, he talked; his audience was his fellow workers, customers, passers-by drawn by a vigorous conversation. Nearly everyone who heard him speak would have been craft workers or slaves from customers houses come to place or collect orders. This explains why the Pauline communities were dominated by artisans and why there's such a stress on working for a living and sharing what you've made with those who haven't had such a good day or week as you.
It possibly has implications for how we read 1 Corinthians 11-14. Scholars generally agree that this teaching refers to the gathering of believers around a meal for what we now call 'worship' (Paul wouldn't have called it that, however). The apostle envisages prayer and prophecy, teaching and learning all in the context of a meal, at the heart of which was a remembering of Jesus and the cross. Many reckon it was loosely based on the Graeco-Roman symposium (and they are probably right).
But what if, instead of taking place in a family home or appartment, Paul envisages the Corinthians gathered in a workshop, eating together at the end of the working day? In fact, it wouldn't have been like this for all the communities in Corinth because it's clear that one of the problems in some gatherings was that some started eating before others arrived. This implies that some didn't need to work until sunset, suggesting a degree of wealth (though not at all suggesting membership of the tiny social elite as some have argued). But it would almost certainly have been like this in Thessalonica where, from Paul's letters, we get the flavout of a small gathering that is very workshop-based.
It all leads me to the conclusion that Paul's communities were socially located in craft workers shops and appartments and therefore consisted overwhelmingly of poor to moderately ok working people. The typical member of a Pauline community was someone who had to work each day to ensure they got to eat, who worked long hours with their hands, who lived in a space not much bigger than a modern British garage and who were drawn to the faith of Paul by his stress on grace and forgiveness, sharing and economic mutuality.
And what does it tell us about church today? Possibly that it needs few of the trappings that we think are essential. Where a small group of people meet to eat, remember Jesus, pray for and support one another, there is church. So, why can't it be happening in pubs and restaurants, cafes and workplace meeting areas?
I've changed the music to Bowie's Station to Station as I return to dissertation writing wondering what this picture of the chruch says about the role of full-time paid ministers...
Monday, August 30, 2010
Taking a break before the final stretch
Just back from a lovely weekend in Reims with friends - lots of good food, champagne, walking and laughter. The cathedral boasts three truly amazing Marc Chagall windows - absolutely stunning: wonderful colours and shapes telling a variety of stories from the Christian tradition and Old Testament.
This week I am hoping to finish the chapter on the social location of the early Pauline communities which will complete the rough outline of the thesis. I have to revisit the economic material to make the argument I am making somewhat sharper (assuming I can still find it among the welter of statistics).
We're off to see Eels on Wednesday which will be the week's cultural highlight.
This week I am hoping to finish the chapter on the social location of the early Pauline communities which will complete the rough outline of the thesis. I have to revisit the economic material to make the argument I am making somewhat sharper (assuming I can still find it among the welter of statistics).
We're off to see Eels on Wednesday which will be the week's cultural highlight.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Soundtrack to fresh thoughts about history and mission
Do listen to the new Eels album. You can hear the whole of Tomorrow Morning here. But it's worth acquiring for your iPod, car CD player, etc because it's simply lovely.
Great tunes, sharp lyrics, imaginative arrangements, the talented Mr E is feeling at peace with himself and it oozes through the whole album. It could the best thing he's done since Blinking Lights and Other Revelations.
It forms a suitable backdrop to much thinking about social status, place, relations in the Roman Empire and the early Christian groups. Two and half thousand words down so far, just 10,000 more to go (so it probably won't be written by close of play today!)
In the course of my reading yesterday evening I ended up in the Seventeenth Century dipping into a couple of Christopher Hill's books. It was good to be reminded what a great writer he was. But in the course of chasing down an argument about imposing present understanding and frameworks on past events, I came across this:
'In mid-seventeenth century England there were no buildings labelled "Baptist church", "Leveller party", "Society of Friends." There were individual groups gathered around a charismatic preacher or leader. From this milieu of free discussion Baptists, Muggletonians and Quakers ultimately emerged, after many disputes. We can see them as sects, retrospectively, because they survived. Ranters, like Levellers, Diggers and Fifth Monarchists, were suppressed because they were thought dangerous. They never achieved the degree of organisation which was forced on Baptists, Muggletonians and Quakers later in the century.' (A Nation of Change and Novelty p173-174)
He argues that in those turbulent years of revolution in the mid-seventeenth century, new ideas were emerging, taking wing or crashing in flames. There was no certainty that any of the groups generating those ideas would last long.
'It is perhaps misleading to differentiate too sharply between politics, religion and general scepticism. We know as a result of hindsight that some groups - Baptists and Quakers - will survive as religious sects...In consequence we unconsciously tend to impose too clear outlines on the early history of the English sects, to read back later beliefs into the 1640s and 50s. One of the aims of this book will be to suggest that things were much more blurred.' (The World Turned Upside Down p14).
This resonates in all sorts of ways with what I'm pondering in relation to the emergence of communities of Jesus followers across the empire in the middle years of the first century AD. It also resonates with my thinking on how the heirs of those groups are navigating today's choppy waters as they seek to embody the same values as their ancestors in such a different world.
Great tunes, sharp lyrics, imaginative arrangements, the talented Mr E is feeling at peace with himself and it oozes through the whole album. It could the best thing he's done since Blinking Lights and Other Revelations.
It forms a suitable backdrop to much thinking about social status, place, relations in the Roman Empire and the early Christian groups. Two and half thousand words down so far, just 10,000 more to go (so it probably won't be written by close of play today!)
In the course of my reading yesterday evening I ended up in the Seventeenth Century dipping into a couple of Christopher Hill's books. It was good to be reminded what a great writer he was. But in the course of chasing down an argument about imposing present understanding and frameworks on past events, I came across this:
'In mid-seventeenth century England there were no buildings labelled "Baptist church", "Leveller party", "Society of Friends." There were individual groups gathered around a charismatic preacher or leader. From this milieu of free discussion Baptists, Muggletonians and Quakers ultimately emerged, after many disputes. We can see them as sects, retrospectively, because they survived. Ranters, like Levellers, Diggers and Fifth Monarchists, were suppressed because they were thought dangerous. They never achieved the degree of organisation which was forced on Baptists, Muggletonians and Quakers later in the century.' (A Nation of Change and Novelty p173-174)
He argues that in those turbulent years of revolution in the mid-seventeenth century, new ideas were emerging, taking wing or crashing in flames. There was no certainty that any of the groups generating those ideas would last long.
'It is perhaps misleading to differentiate too sharply between politics, religion and general scepticism. We know as a result of hindsight that some groups - Baptists and Quakers - will survive as religious sects...In consequence we unconsciously tend to impose too clear outlines on the early history of the English sects, to read back later beliefs into the 1640s and 50s. One of the aims of this book will be to suggest that things were much more blurred.' (The World Turned Upside Down p14).
This resonates in all sorts of ways with what I'm pondering in relation to the emergence of communities of Jesus followers across the empire in the middle years of the first century AD. It also resonates with my thinking on how the heirs of those groups are navigating today's choppy waters as they seek to embody the same values as their ancestors in such a different world.
Friday, August 20, 2010
What's the point of studying?
It's been a busy week. I've written the chapter on the physical location of the Pauline communities for my MA - an examination of what archaeology, especially in Pompeii, Rome and Corinth, tells us about where people lived and what kind of accommodation best fits the evidence we have from the NT. I'm fairly pleased with the 12,500 I've written.
I've also been reading the second version of the page proofs for my forthcoming Lion book. I am really pleased with the way it looks and reads. The cover is great and the back features an endorsement from friend and rising New Testament scholar Peter Oakes about which I am hugely chuffed!
It's also been Holiday at Home at church this week, our annual outreach to senior citizens. It's been going really well as far as I can see - I've been in to do a couple of midday thoughts and will be taking part in the musical finale this afternoon.
Last night we were celebrating with our next door neighbours. Their daughter got her A Level results yesterday and did very well. She was having a party and we went in to help serve food and keep order. I have to say that it was great to be with 50 or so good mannered and pleasant young people. Many of them are getting ready to go off to university, others are planning to take a year out to travel and boost their CVs.
It strikes me that there's huge pressure on these young people to perform - as there has been throughout their school career. Education seems to be more and more about landing a high paid job. Only once in yesterday's extensive and over-heated coverage of the story on radio and TV, did I hear that universities were about training people think analytically. And not once did I hear anyone say that knowledge was good in itself.
My fear is that if just see a degree as a ticket to a higher paid job, there'll be a lot of disappointed young people graduating over the next few years. Isn't tertiary level education about something more than a meal ticket?
My MA is not going to raise my salary; land me a dream job; that's not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because I have burning questions about the shape of the New Testament communities that I want to answer for myself and maybe for others through what I read and write. I want to add - albeit in a small way - to the pool of knowledge about the communities that gathered around the worship of Jesus in the cities at the eastern end of the Roman empire in the middle years of the first century.
I've also been reading the second version of the page proofs for my forthcoming Lion book. I am really pleased with the way it looks and reads. The cover is great and the back features an endorsement from friend and rising New Testament scholar Peter Oakes about which I am hugely chuffed!
It's also been Holiday at Home at church this week, our annual outreach to senior citizens. It's been going really well as far as I can see - I've been in to do a couple of midday thoughts and will be taking part in the musical finale this afternoon.
Last night we were celebrating with our next door neighbours. Their daughter got her A Level results yesterday and did very well. She was having a party and we went in to help serve food and keep order. I have to say that it was great to be with 50 or so good mannered and pleasant young people. Many of them are getting ready to go off to university, others are planning to take a year out to travel and boost their CVs.
It strikes me that there's huge pressure on these young people to perform - as there has been throughout their school career. Education seems to be more and more about landing a high paid job. Only once in yesterday's extensive and over-heated coverage of the story on radio and TV, did I hear that universities were about training people think analytically. And not once did I hear anyone say that knowledge was good in itself.
My fear is that if just see a degree as a ticket to a higher paid job, there'll be a lot of disappointed young people graduating over the next few years. Isn't tertiary level education about something more than a meal ticket?
My MA is not going to raise my salary; land me a dream job; that's not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because I have burning questions about the shape of the New Testament communities that I want to answer for myself and maybe for others through what I read and write. I want to add - albeit in a small way - to the pool of knowledge about the communities that gathered around the worship of Jesus in the cities at the eastern end of the Roman empire in the middle years of the first century.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Catching God's rhythm
Today I'll be reflecting on Psalm 4 at our afternoon and evening gatherings.
It's one of those psalms we tend not to notice but which is foundational for the spirituality of the book as a whole. It forms a pair with Psalm 5, the latter being a morning Psalm, while Psalm 4 is an evening psalm. Together they draw us into God's time zone.
They put prayer into the rhythm of Genesis 1 with its refrain of 'evening and morning' as it counts the symbolic days of creation. They are rooted in God's core principle that we work from rest and not vice versa - hence the evening coming before the morning in God's time zone (this is why the Jewish sabbath starts on Friday evening and ends at sunset on Saturday).
We see it in the fact that human beings were made in God's image to carry out his mandate of managing creation on day 6, then on day 7, their first full day on the planet, everyone rests: we work from a place of resting in our relationship with God.
And that's what this psalm is calling us to at the end of the day, before we go to sleep to be refreshed for the adventure of the coming day.
And as it does, it reminds us that without our relationship with God, without his Spirit at work in us, his word giving our lives shape and meaning, we are, like the earth at the start of Genesis 1, formless and void. Hence the psalm starts with anxious asking - playing out the anxieties the day has so often left us with - but ends in quiet trust in the one who gives our lives shape and hope.
In between verses 1 and 8, in a framework of trust and gratitude for all that God has given, it commends an evening dialogue with ourselves as we settle into bed that reviews the day, lays open its disappointments and failures and offers ourselves afresh our lives as living sacrifices to the God who calls us through sleep into the working day ahead (v5).
This psalm (along with its close partner) is God's gift of a rhythm of life built on trust and partnership with the creator who shapes our days according to his grand design. Why not weave it into your daily devotional pattern?
It's one of those psalms we tend not to notice but which is foundational for the spirituality of the book as a whole. It forms a pair with Psalm 5, the latter being a morning Psalm, while Psalm 4 is an evening psalm. Together they draw us into God's time zone.
They put prayer into the rhythm of Genesis 1 with its refrain of 'evening and morning' as it counts the symbolic days of creation. They are rooted in God's core principle that we work from rest and not vice versa - hence the evening coming before the morning in God's time zone (this is why the Jewish sabbath starts on Friday evening and ends at sunset on Saturday).
We see it in the fact that human beings were made in God's image to carry out his mandate of managing creation on day 6, then on day 7, their first full day on the planet, everyone rests: we work from a place of resting in our relationship with God.
And that's what this psalm is calling us to at the end of the day, before we go to sleep to be refreshed for the adventure of the coming day.
And as it does, it reminds us that without our relationship with God, without his Spirit at work in us, his word giving our lives shape and meaning, we are, like the earth at the start of Genesis 1, formless and void. Hence the psalm starts with anxious asking - playing out the anxieties the day has so often left us with - but ends in quiet trust in the one who gives our lives shape and hope.
In between verses 1 and 8, in a framework of trust and gratitude for all that God has given, it commends an evening dialogue with ourselves as we settle into bed that reviews the day, lays open its disappointments and failures and offers ourselves afresh our lives as living sacrifices to the God who calls us through sleep into the working day ahead (v5).
This psalm (along with its close partner) is God's gift of a rhythm of life built on trust and partnership with the creator who shapes our days according to his grand design. Why not weave it into your daily devotional pattern?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A good year for music
I've now been listening to the new Arcade Fire album, the Suburbs for the past fortnight and I can report that it's almost certainly the best album that will be released this year. It's an hour of exciting, sublime music, packing intelligent and funny lyrics musing on what makes us the people we are.
It's been a good year for music so far - great albums already from the National, Cherry Ghost and Tracy Thorn - and there's still the debut album of the wonderful Smoke Fairies to come later this month or early next.
So, come the end of year charts, there'll be lots of good music vying for a place but I'd be surprised if anything knocks Arcade Fire off the top spot between now and then.
It's been a good year for music so far - great albums already from the National, Cherry Ghost and Tracy Thorn - and there's still the debut album of the wonderful Smoke Fairies to come later this month or early next.
So, come the end of year charts, there'll be lots of good music vying for a place but I'd be surprised if anything knocks Arcade Fire off the top spot between now and then.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Taxes and loving our neighbours
Another day, another crackdown...
Every government has tried to cut benefit fraud. So it's not surprising that the current collection of millionaires want to stamp it out. It's estimated that around £2bn is fraudulently claimed or paid due to administrative cock-ups. It's quite right that this money should be better used. I'm not sure the credit-rating agencies being employed as bounty hunters is the answer, however.
I look forward to the same amount of government zeal being put into chasing the estimated £30bn that is not being paid by UK tax payers because they've found interesting ways of defrauding the Inland Revenue. When in opposition, the Lib Dems were always going on about targeting tax evaders. But now the Lib Dems have disappeared without trace and with them, any sensible policies they used to promote.
So David Cameron says in today's Manchester Evening News says: "We need to do more to stop fraud – £1.5bn of hard earned taxpayers' money is being stolen from the taxpayer. This is simply not acceptable. Nor is it right that only £20m of benefit fraud-related debts are recovered each year. Or that three in four of those caught don't get prosecuted." adding: "It's quite wrong that there are people in our society who will behave like this. But we will not shrug our shoulders and let them get away with it any longer. We will take the necessary measures to stop fraud happening in the first place; root out and take tough action against those found committing fraud; and make sure the stolen money is paid back."
I'll be cheering when he says the same about tax evaders, also robbing ordinary hard-working tax-payers. until then, I'll just assume this is yet another tough talking gimmick.
I think the only bit of tax advice in the Bible is in Romans 13 where Paul says that we should pay our taxes as a way of expressing our love for our neighbour (v6-7 in the context of what it means to be living sacrifices, 12:1-13:14).
We pay taxes to ensure that those who are suffering in straitened economic times are not thrown to the wolves. I am pleased that my taxes go to support those who are unemployed, need help with their housing costs, are struggling to make ends meet because of ill health or difficult family circumstances. It's love of neighbour in action.
Every government has tried to cut benefit fraud. So it's not surprising that the current collection of millionaires want to stamp it out. It's estimated that around £2bn is fraudulently claimed or paid due to administrative cock-ups. It's quite right that this money should be better used. I'm not sure the credit-rating agencies being employed as bounty hunters is the answer, however.
I look forward to the same amount of government zeal being put into chasing the estimated £30bn that is not being paid by UK tax payers because they've found interesting ways of defrauding the Inland Revenue. When in opposition, the Lib Dems were always going on about targeting tax evaders. But now the Lib Dems have disappeared without trace and with them, any sensible policies they used to promote.
So David Cameron says in today's Manchester Evening News says: "We need to do more to stop fraud – £1.5bn of hard earned taxpayers' money is being stolen from the taxpayer. This is simply not acceptable. Nor is it right that only £20m of benefit fraud-related debts are recovered each year. Or that three in four of those caught don't get prosecuted." adding: "It's quite wrong that there are people in our society who will behave like this. But we will not shrug our shoulders and let them get away with it any longer. We will take the necessary measures to stop fraud happening in the first place; root out and take tough action against those found committing fraud; and make sure the stolen money is paid back."
I'll be cheering when he says the same about tax evaders, also robbing ordinary hard-working tax-payers. until then, I'll just assume this is yet another tough talking gimmick.
I think the only bit of tax advice in the Bible is in Romans 13 where Paul says that we should pay our taxes as a way of expressing our love for our neighbour (v6-7 in the context of what it means to be living sacrifices, 12:1-13:14).
We pay taxes to ensure that those who are suffering in straitened economic times are not thrown to the wolves. I am pleased that my taxes go to support those who are unemployed, need help with their housing costs, are struggling to make ends meet because of ill health or difficult family circumstances. It's love of neighbour in action.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Meeting the housing shortage
So, having unsettled council tenants by threatening an end to lifetime tenancies, the government now plans to incentivize councils by offering them tax breaks for every council house they build. There's surely a much better way to ensure a larger supply of council homes - stop selling them!
If they want to incentivize council house tenants to buy a property, then give them the cash saving as a deposit for a home locally that's not owned by a social housing provider.
We have a chronic shortage of social housing largely because we've sold off so much of it since the right to buy was introduced in the mid-80s, a right that was not matched by a commitment to build. That legislation should have insisted that councils had to use the money raised by the sale of council houses to build more council houses. Instead, the legislation expressly ruled out using the cash raised to add to the housing stock.
Ideology, hey...
If they want to incentivize council house tenants to buy a property, then give them the cash saving as a deposit for a home locally that's not owned by a social housing provider.
We have a chronic shortage of social housing largely because we've sold off so much of it since the right to buy was introduced in the mid-80s, a right that was not matched by a commitment to build. That legislation should have insisted that councils had to use the money raised by the sale of council houses to build more council houses. Instead, the legislation expressly ruled out using the cash raised to add to the housing stock.
Ideology, hey...
Thursday, August 05, 2010
More thoughts on weddings
Giles Fraser was on fine form on yesterday's Thought for the Day (available now on the BBC website), waxing lyrical about the absurdity of some modern weddings. With a price tag for the couple averaging £20,000, he pointed out that even attending a wedding these days could cost a guest - if you include the present (usually from some overpriced store list), travel, overnight accommodation and an outfit - upwards of £500.
He added: 'And yes, I blame the media here, not the happy couple. For the pervasive influence of the media on the look and feel of weddings - not least those weddings that are featured in celebrity magazines - has encouraged an atmosphere of narcissism and self-promotion to work its way into the very fabric of the modern wedding celebration. Little wonder that, at their worst, some weddings can feel like an overblown vanity project, all justified by foot-stomping references to "my special day"'.
And today, as if to prove Fraser right, the editor of one of the wedding magazines was on the programme defending the amount spent on the day because it was so important for the bride to feel special on her special day.
Since when did feeling special have anything to do with the price tag? Surely feeling special is about knowing that today you are committing yourself to the man you've chosen to spend the rest of your life with because you're head over heels in love with him, in the presence of those people who have made you the person you are - your family and friends - and who will stand with you, supporting this choice you have made through all the ups and downs of married life.
This is what we saw on Saturday at David and Ruth's wedding where family and friends came together to create a truly memorable day for a couple they loved dearly. And it really was a special day despite the bill being a fraction of the twenty grand average; special because at the heart of it was the commitment of two people in love, pledging themselves to one another in the presence of those who love and support them.
He added: 'And yes, I blame the media here, not the happy couple. For the pervasive influence of the media on the look and feel of weddings - not least those weddings that are featured in celebrity magazines - has encouraged an atmosphere of narcissism and self-promotion to work its way into the very fabric of the modern wedding celebration. Little wonder that, at their worst, some weddings can feel like an overblown vanity project, all justified by foot-stomping references to "my special day"'.
And today, as if to prove Fraser right, the editor of one of the wedding magazines was on the programme defending the amount spent on the day because it was so important for the bride to feel special on her special day.
Since when did feeling special have anything to do with the price tag? Surely feeling special is about knowing that today you are committing yourself to the man you've chosen to spend the rest of your life with because you're head over heels in love with him, in the presence of those people who have made you the person you are - your family and friends - and who will stand with you, supporting this choice you have made through all the ups and downs of married life.
This is what we saw on Saturday at David and Ruth's wedding where family and friends came together to create a truly memorable day for a couple they loved dearly. And it really was a special day despite the bill being a fraction of the twenty grand average; special because at the heart of it was the commitment of two people in love, pledging themselves to one another in the presence of those who love and support them.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
What church is really all about
We were at a great wedding yesterday that showed us once again what church can be like.
David and Ruth tied the knot at a service of real emotion and joy and then had a reception in our church hall transformed into a Bedouin tent and catered with love and expertise by their home group.
It was evidence of what happens when take seriously the idea that church is a community of folk who are there for each other, to enable them to achieve things they couldn't have achieved on their own.
The home group had dedicated themselves to weeks of planning and long days in the run up to yesterday of hard work and commitment. The result was a day of joy and celebration where the presence of God in both the service and reception was palpable.
It was yet more proof that church is best when it's small, when a group no bigger than can fit around a large dining table commit themselves to each other, to share their lives with one another and encounter the risen Jesus in their midst as a result.
So a big thank you to everyone involved in making it happen. Thank you for showing me the potential there is when a group of disciples take seriously the idea that church is a family.
David and Ruth tied the knot at a service of real emotion and joy and then had a reception in our church hall transformed into a Bedouin tent and catered with love and expertise by their home group.
It was evidence of what happens when take seriously the idea that church is a community of folk who are there for each other, to enable them to achieve things they couldn't have achieved on their own.
The home group had dedicated themselves to weeks of planning and long days in the run up to yesterday of hard work and commitment. The result was a day of joy and celebration where the presence of God in both the service and reception was palpable.
It was yet more proof that church is best when it's small, when a group no bigger than can fit around a large dining table commit themselves to each other, to share their lives with one another and encounter the risen Jesus in their midst as a result.
So a big thank you to everyone involved in making it happen. Thank you for showing me the potential there is when a group of disciples take seriously the idea that church is a family.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Talking pants for justice
Today I thought I'd talk pants. Many of you probably think I talk pants most days but we'll let that pass.
I cam across a wonderful new-ish company this morning as I was trawling the Guardian website. This story alerted me to whomadeyourpants? a Southampton worker co-operative that utilises the skills of refugees and migrants in the manufacture of ethical underwear.
This is a fantastic project at so many levels...
In a world where most garment workers are still earning less than $2 a day (even in those workshops where companies are putting pressure to raise standards; see this report from the War on Want website), here's a company offering good quality jobs to people, paying reasonable wages.
In a world where fashion houses and high street stores are urging us to buy ever cheaper, almost disposable clothes of dubious provenance, here's a company making quality garments of good design quality that founder Becky Johns says you can wash and wash and wash without them falling apart.
In a world where people throw up their hands in the face of injustice and inequality, here's a company founded by a woman who said I can do something to make a difference. You can read about this initiative in an inspiring Guardian story here and check out the company's website here and Becky's blog here
And soon the company plans to offer ranges for men - we have ethical underwear needs too! So, if you're buying pants, ceheck out this site.
It's great to come across initiatives like this one; it lifts the spirits on a morning when the news from Afghanistan and Westminster is depressing to come across someone making a real and positive difference to the lives of the poorest and most marginalised in our society.
It inspires me to think what can we might be able to do here with the refugee projects that we have connection with.
I cam across a wonderful new-ish company this morning as I was trawling the Guardian website. This story alerted me to whomadeyourpants? a Southampton worker co-operative that utilises the skills of refugees and migrants in the manufacture of ethical underwear.
This is a fantastic project at so many levels...
In a world where most garment workers are still earning less than $2 a day (even in those workshops where companies are putting pressure to raise standards; see this report from the War on Want website), here's a company offering good quality jobs to people, paying reasonable wages.
In a world where fashion houses and high street stores are urging us to buy ever cheaper, almost disposable clothes of dubious provenance, here's a company making quality garments of good design quality that founder Becky Johns says you can wash and wash and wash without them falling apart.
In a world where people throw up their hands in the face of injustice and inequality, here's a company founded by a woman who said I can do something to make a difference. You can read about this initiative in an inspiring Guardian story here and check out the company's website here and Becky's blog here
And soon the company plans to offer ranges for men - we have ethical underwear needs too! So, if you're buying pants, ceheck out this site.
It's great to come across initiatives like this one; it lifts the spirits on a morning when the news from Afghanistan and Westminster is depressing to come across someone making a real and positive difference to the lives of the poorest and most marginalised in our society.
It inspires me to think what can we might be able to do here with the refugee projects that we have connection with.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Reading Romans in community
Off to lead a bible study on Romans, slightly fearful of dishing up yet more gobbets of information for people to process.
I'm hoping to avoid this by earthing the text in the real lives of its original hearers (with the help of Peter Oakes' excellent new book Reading Romans in Pompeii) and thence in our lives. I'm also hoping that the learning will be mutual, with everyone there sharing their insights.
First, I have to get over the hurdle of everyone thinking that Romans is only and all about how God puts individuals right with himself. But mine are an intelligent bunch, so this shouldn't be too difficult.
I'm hoping to avoid this by earthing the text in the real lives of its original hearers (with the help of Peter Oakes' excellent new book Reading Romans in Pompeii) and thence in our lives. I'm also hoping that the learning will be mutual, with everyone there sharing their insights.
First, I have to get over the hurdle of everyone thinking that Romans is only and all about how God puts individuals right with himself. But mine are an intelligent bunch, so this shouldn't be too difficult.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Over-fed over there - and over here, too?
There's a good blog on suburban church stuff emanating for the US but featuring some thought-provoking posts, including this one about teaching becoming something of an idol.
Author, Michael Wallenmeyer, offers some pretty sharp observations. So, it's worth checking out.
The subject came up again last night. One of my leaders and I had a conversation about what we do with sermons. At the end of the day when I delivered two sermons that he'd found really helpful, he was concerned about how we follow this stuff up and ensure that it's not only earthed in people's lives but actually changes the way they live them (albeit incrementally).
I still can't escape the feeling that I'm a Sunday morning and evening entertainer for people with a penchant for the Bible. Wallenmeyer seems to feel the same in his context.
On Tuesday this week I'm beginning a Bible study series on Romans. This is great. There seems to be a real desire for people to study scripture and I am keen to meet that desire and help people engage with it, delving into the context of these fabulous texts, getting an overview of the message and, most importantly, helping people apply it to their daily lives.
This is all good. but I'm still fearful that we engage in information overload in our churches. We offer chunky gobbets of stuff each week and yet very little opportunity for people to work out what to do with it. It's like inviting people to visit a gourmet restaurant every day, making them eat a substantial slab of the menu and not give them the opportunity to exercise before we do it again.
The thing is that this isn't making disciples. It's making people who consume church stuff, judging what they get each week against the standards of the best teaching they've heard both in our church and elsewhere, opting in and out of programmes on the basis of whether they like the sound of it.
As Wallenmeyer points out, we're doing church better than we've ever done before in terms of the offer we're making - nice environment, lively music, great child-care, good coffee - and yet we're shrinking as a movement.
There's lots to think about here....
Author, Michael Wallenmeyer, offers some pretty sharp observations. So, it's worth checking out.
The subject came up again last night. One of my leaders and I had a conversation about what we do with sermons. At the end of the day when I delivered two sermons that he'd found really helpful, he was concerned about how we follow this stuff up and ensure that it's not only earthed in people's lives but actually changes the way they live them (albeit incrementally).
I still can't escape the feeling that I'm a Sunday morning and evening entertainer for people with a penchant for the Bible. Wallenmeyer seems to feel the same in his context.
On Tuesday this week I'm beginning a Bible study series on Romans. This is great. There seems to be a real desire for people to study scripture and I am keen to meet that desire and help people engage with it, delving into the context of these fabulous texts, getting an overview of the message and, most importantly, helping people apply it to their daily lives.
This is all good. but I'm still fearful that we engage in information overload in our churches. We offer chunky gobbets of stuff each week and yet very little opportunity for people to work out what to do with it. It's like inviting people to visit a gourmet restaurant every day, making them eat a substantial slab of the menu and not give them the opportunity to exercise before we do it again.
The thing is that this isn't making disciples. It's making people who consume church stuff, judging what they get each week against the standards of the best teaching they've heard both in our church and elsewhere, opting in and out of programmes on the basis of whether they like the sound of it.
As Wallenmeyer points out, we're doing church better than we've ever done before in terms of the offer we're making - nice environment, lively music, great child-care, good coffee - and yet we're shrinking as a movement.
There's lots to think about here....
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Booking the great getaway
Today I booked our proper summer holiday - two weeks in September in South-west France. We've found a fabulous looking small house called L'Ancienne Pharmacie in a small bastide town called Mirepoix in the Ariege department of the Midi-Pyrenees. It's the first time we've gone for a property in a village rather than in a converted farm complex. So it should be an adventure!
Outside the school holidays it will be quiet. The property is near a cafe in a covered colonnade and has a roof garden where we'll be able to sit and read and sip chilled Chablis and other beautifully textured grape-based beverages.
And we go in six weeks - yay!!!!!
Outside the school holidays it will be quiet. The property is near a cafe in a covered colonnade and has a roof garden where we'll be able to sit and read and sip chilled Chablis and other beautifully textured grape-based beverages.
And we go in six weeks - yay!!!!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Summer news and soothing sounds
Pity the poor people of Guildford. Not only do they have to live in Guildford but they are struggling to understand the ticket machines found at railway stations. And people suggest that educational standards are rising...
This was not the only slightly surreal report on this morning's breakfast show on the beeb. Just after 8am they interviewed a 15 year old festival goer (she'd been at Gilfest in Guildford over the past weekend - I see a theme emerging) about how to stay safe at festivals.
She seemed very sensible and gave good answers to the questions she was asked. But no one asked why a 15 year old was at a weekend festival with a group of friends but no adult to offer light-touch supervision and help keep them safe.
The festival story was based on the fact that there have been five incidents at festivals over this summer so far involving potential harm to women festival goers. It didn't seem much basis for a panic given the numbers attending these events - though it is almost the silly season.
Today, I'm expecting a delivery of wood to build a screen behind our newly laid decking to complete our sitting area and will be reflecting on 2 Corinthians 12:10 - possibly the climax of this complex and compelling letter. As I do this I'll be listening to some free music - new songs from Sarah Masen (via an excellent music called noisetrade) and two whole albums from an American band called Evils that Never Came, gentle indie rock with great hooks and interesting lyrics. I don't anything else about them as their website gives almost information about them but I'm always grateful for free music (click here)
This was not the only slightly surreal report on this morning's breakfast show on the beeb. Just after 8am they interviewed a 15 year old festival goer (she'd been at Gilfest in Guildford over the past weekend - I see a theme emerging) about how to stay safe at festivals.
She seemed very sensible and gave good answers to the questions she was asked. But no one asked why a 15 year old was at a weekend festival with a group of friends but no adult to offer light-touch supervision and help keep them safe.
The festival story was based on the fact that there have been five incidents at festivals over this summer so far involving potential harm to women festival goers. It didn't seem much basis for a panic given the numbers attending these events - though it is almost the silly season.
Today, I'm expecting a delivery of wood to build a screen behind our newly laid decking to complete our sitting area and will be reflecting on 2 Corinthians 12:10 - possibly the climax of this complex and compelling letter. As I do this I'll be listening to some free music - new songs from Sarah Masen (via an excellent music called noisetrade) and two whole albums from an American band called Evils that Never Came, gentle indie rock with great hooks and interesting lyrics. I don't anything else about them as their website gives almost information about them but I'm always grateful for free music (click here)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
More thoughts on work
The trouble with being away, is there's so much to do when you get back. We had a great time, however - I can still smell the salt on my finger tips (though that might be from the fish and chips I had in Ramsgate yesterday!)
I've been reflecting on work and Ecclesiastes ahead of preaching on Sunday. And part of that reflection has been watching Alexander Payne's wonderful film About Schmidt. Starring Jack Nicholson, an actor who seems to get better and better as he matures (like a good cheddar, really), the film is a black comedy about retirement and loss and whether life amounts to a hill of beans. It's very funny and extremely sharp.
I shall be using a scene near the beginning of the scene where Warren Schmidt visits the young high flier who's replaced him as assistant VP at his insurance company to see if needs any help getting to grips with all Schmidt's left him. He says no, that he's on top of everything but that he'll ring if needs anything. As he leaves the building, Schmidt sees all the files he'd carefully arranged for his successor, stacked in a garage awaiting disposal; his entire working life consigned to the garbage. It's fabulously observed.
As Qohelet says: 'Oh yes, I know what they say: "if you obey God everything will be alright, but it will not go well for the wicked...But this is nonsense. Look at what happens in the world' (8:12-14 GNB). And 'what do workers gain from their toil (3:9 TNIV).
I have been listening to the new album from Cherry Ghost. Beneath This Burning Shoreline is a huge step up from Thirst for Romance. The first album was the product of a singer-songwriter; this work is the product of a band who sound as if they've been hardened by touring. Simon Aldred's writing remains as sharp as ever and his voice is a soulful delight.
I've been reflecting on work and Ecclesiastes ahead of preaching on Sunday. And part of that reflection has been watching Alexander Payne's wonderful film About Schmidt. Starring Jack Nicholson, an actor who seems to get better and better as he matures (like a good cheddar, really), the film is a black comedy about retirement and loss and whether life amounts to a hill of beans. It's very funny and extremely sharp.
I shall be using a scene near the beginning of the scene where Warren Schmidt visits the young high flier who's replaced him as assistant VP at his insurance company to see if needs any help getting to grips with all Schmidt's left him. He says no, that he's on top of everything but that he'll ring if needs anything. As he leaves the building, Schmidt sees all the files he'd carefully arranged for his successor, stacked in a garage awaiting disposal; his entire working life consigned to the garbage. It's fabulously observed.
As Qohelet says: 'Oh yes, I know what they say: "if you obey God everything will be alright, but it will not go well for the wicked...But this is nonsense. Look at what happens in the world' (8:12-14 GNB). And 'what do workers gain from their toil (3:9 TNIV).
I have been listening to the new album from Cherry Ghost. Beneath This Burning Shoreline is a huge step up from Thirst for Romance. The first album was the product of a singer-songwriter; this work is the product of a band who sound as if they've been hardened by touring. Simon Aldred's writing remains as sharp as ever and his voice is a soulful delight.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
The hard work of having a blast
Today's been hard work.
This morning I was trying to master the art of lying on a surf board and paddling it in such a way as to catch a wave. As someone who's body-boarded a lot over the past twenty years or more, I thought this would be easier than it turned out to be.
For a start, instead of using your legs for propulsion - as you do when body boarding - you have to use your arms because your body is prone on the board with your legs up in the air out of the water. Then there's the problem that a little shift in your centre of gravity on the board tends to tip you off it in a somewhat embarrassing way.
There was a point when my brain was yelling at my body 'you don't have to do this; you're on holiday.' Bu it was wrong. I did have to do it because I had chosen earlier in the day that today would be the day when I started to see whether I could ever get the hang of a long board. And it's hard work. But, of course, nothing worthwhile ever comes without effort and toil.
I reckon that if I did what I did this morning for an hour every day, I'd get the hang of lying on a surf board and paddling it into position in about six months! So onward and upward...
This afternoon we were chilling at Graham's studio (art rather than music) and I was trying to finish a song that I started about 15 years ago. It's gone through many drafts but I've never been happy with it. The tune's great - a sort of early Elvis Costello-influenced durm und strang. I've always loved it but never thought I'd sing it because of the words.
Following a lunchtime chat about the process of creating in which Graham reminded me that it's 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, I set about reworking the lyric. Writing, crossing out, testing combinations of sounds and words, finding the rhythm and metre of the language, even sometimes counting syllables and seeing if, within the lyric, they actually communicated something.
It was hard work. At times it was like pulling teeth; at other times it was like being just below the crest of a hill, knowing that a great view was about to hove into view but discovering that there is still a lot more walking and climbing to do before you get there. It's like having a word circulating in your brain, coming and toying with the tip of your tongue and then running off into a dark corner and disappearing without trace.
Eventually, however, I got there. The new lyric says something very different from the old one, I think; and it says it better. Indeed as I ponder it, I wonder what it is saying - which is good because slightly elusive and elliptical is what I was searching for. I'll need to give it a few days to simmer and I'll need to try it out a time or two before I know whether it's finished.
We tend to think of holidays as a break from work. But perhaps they are about work of a different kind; the work of enjoying and expressing ourselves, good work that leaves one feeling knackered but strangely satisfied.
I'll have to try it all again tomorrow - especially the surfing - to see if I'm right.
This morning I was trying to master the art of lying on a surf board and paddling it in such a way as to catch a wave. As someone who's body-boarded a lot over the past twenty years or more, I thought this would be easier than it turned out to be.
For a start, instead of using your legs for propulsion - as you do when body boarding - you have to use your arms because your body is prone on the board with your legs up in the air out of the water. Then there's the problem that a little shift in your centre of gravity on the board tends to tip you off it in a somewhat embarrassing way.
There was a point when my brain was yelling at my body 'you don't have to do this; you're on holiday.' Bu it was wrong. I did have to do it because I had chosen earlier in the day that today would be the day when I started to see whether I could ever get the hang of a long board. And it's hard work. But, of course, nothing worthwhile ever comes without effort and toil.
I reckon that if I did what I did this morning for an hour every day, I'd get the hang of lying on a surf board and paddling it into position in about six months! So onward and upward...
This afternoon we were chilling at Graham's studio (art rather than music) and I was trying to finish a song that I started about 15 years ago. It's gone through many drafts but I've never been happy with it. The tune's great - a sort of early Elvis Costello-influenced durm und strang. I've always loved it but never thought I'd sing it because of the words.
Following a lunchtime chat about the process of creating in which Graham reminded me that it's 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, I set about reworking the lyric. Writing, crossing out, testing combinations of sounds and words, finding the rhythm and metre of the language, even sometimes counting syllables and seeing if, within the lyric, they actually communicated something.
It was hard work. At times it was like pulling teeth; at other times it was like being just below the crest of a hill, knowing that a great view was about to hove into view but discovering that there is still a lot more walking and climbing to do before you get there. It's like having a word circulating in your brain, coming and toying with the tip of your tongue and then running off into a dark corner and disappearing without trace.
Eventually, however, I got there. The new lyric says something very different from the old one, I think; and it says it better. Indeed as I ponder it, I wonder what it is saying - which is good because slightly elusive and elliptical is what I was searching for. I'll need to give it a few days to simmer and I'll need to try it out a time or two before I know whether it's finished.
We tend to think of holidays as a break from work. But perhaps they are about work of a different kind; the work of enjoying and expressing ourselves, good work that leaves one feeling knackered but strangely satisfied.
I'll have to try it all again tomorrow - especially the surfing - to see if I'm right.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
What does the worker gain from his toil?
Yesterday my friend Janice suggested that we both blog about work. And since in a couple of weeks I'll be preaching, as part of our Ecclesiastes series on work (the heading is Ecclesiastes 3:9), I definitely warmed to the idea. So here's part one of who knows how many...
A few minutes ago I was looking at the side profile of my daughter's laptop. It's sleek, the width of the CD tray, matt black and stylish. It's sitting on the coffee table in our lounge next to my wife's laptop. I'm typing this on my netbook, sitting on the step of the French doors, occasionally looking up at what happening in the garden.
The ubiquity of portable work machines, constantly and effortlessly linked to the web (or should I say, integrated into the cloud?) is something we take for granted. We go to them without thinking to we check our email, update our facebook status, comment on our favourite blogs; we take them with us when we leave the house, not just laptops and netbooks but smart phones and games machines as well.
When I began work as a journalist - one of those professions most transformed by this technology - I used a manual typewriter and my copy was marked up by hand before being biked to a printer for typesetting. It was 1979. We were on the verge - not that we knew it - of a revolution that would touch every aspect of our lives.
When I began work as a minister, I wrote sermons by hand, I used books for research and drew overhead transparency slides using pens and templates. It was 1989. Yes, I had an Amstrad but it was not flexible or clever enough for weekly sermon prep or congregational record keeping.
When I began work this morning, I switched my laptop on at 6:15am, checked emails, what was happening on facebook and in the blogs and checked my diary (part of outlook) to clock the meetings that lay ahead of me today. I opened the documents on 2 Corinthians that I am currently working on - study notes (prepared in MS Publisher), sermon notes (in MS Word) - then went to the library (the University of Wales library, journals section, of which I am a remote user) and down-loaded a paper by a Greek Orthodox theologian from the St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly on Paul's collection for the saints. I was then ready for my breakfast meeting.
Looking at my daughter's laptop, something I see everyday (and pay very little attention to) I realise that boxes like it, now shape my life in ways I couldn't have predicted when I started work in 1979. The question is: 'is all this technology just a way of doing the same job better or has it changed the nature of our work altogether?'
Watch this space?
A few minutes ago I was looking at the side profile of my daughter's laptop. It's sleek, the width of the CD tray, matt black and stylish. It's sitting on the coffee table in our lounge next to my wife's laptop. I'm typing this on my netbook, sitting on the step of the French doors, occasionally looking up at what happening in the garden.
The ubiquity of portable work machines, constantly and effortlessly linked to the web (or should I say, integrated into the cloud?) is something we take for granted. We go to them without thinking to we check our email, update our facebook status, comment on our favourite blogs; we take them with us when we leave the house, not just laptops and netbooks but smart phones and games machines as well.
When I began work as a journalist - one of those professions most transformed by this technology - I used a manual typewriter and my copy was marked up by hand before being biked to a printer for typesetting. It was 1979. We were on the verge - not that we knew it - of a revolution that would touch every aspect of our lives.
When I began work as a minister, I wrote sermons by hand, I used books for research and drew overhead transparency slides using pens and templates. It was 1989. Yes, I had an Amstrad but it was not flexible or clever enough for weekly sermon prep or congregational record keeping.
When I began work this morning, I switched my laptop on at 6:15am, checked emails, what was happening on facebook and in the blogs and checked my diary (part of outlook) to clock the meetings that lay ahead of me today. I opened the documents on 2 Corinthians that I am currently working on - study notes (prepared in MS Publisher), sermon notes (in MS Word) - then went to the library (the University of Wales library, journals section, of which I am a remote user) and down-loaded a paper by a Greek Orthodox theologian from the St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly on Paul's collection for the saints. I was then ready for my breakfast meeting.
Looking at my daughter's laptop, something I see everyday (and pay very little attention to) I realise that boxes like it, now shape my life in ways I couldn't have predicted when I started work in 1979. The question is: 'is all this technology just a way of doing the same job better or has it changed the nature of our work altogether?'
Watch this space?
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Spend a little, live a lot
After the weekend's lacklustre G20 and G8 meetings, it takes an economist to cut through the cant and tell it like it is. Paul Krugman does that in today's Guardian (a piece that first appeared in the New York Times.
The Nobel laureate is one of the world's leading economic thinkers. He has been consistently accurate in his analysis of recent events - often before they actually happened - so his is a voice worth heeding.
He argues we're on the verge of the third depression (the first being in the years after 1873 and the second in the 1930s following the Wall Street Crash. The first was long and the second was deep). And he lays the blame squarely at the door of policy makers and governments obsessed with cutting deficits.
He argues that the G20 is looking at and therefore treating the wrong symptoms. They are fearful of inflation when deflation is the biggest risk facing the world economy and they are tightening their belts (meaning, our belts) at a time when the world is massively underspending and therefore demand is too weak to secure a recovery. In the words of Aldi, we should rather 'spend a little, live a lot...'
This isn't just academic number-crunching, however. This is about the lives of millions of people across the globe as well as in our neighbourhoods who, as a result of government policy here and in the other G8 nations (especially in Europe), might never work again.
And he suggests that such policies don't really even satisfy the financial markets, even though governments (especially our hysterical chancellor) are constantly talking about fiscal rectitude being needed or the credit agencies and bond markets will give us the thumbs down. In fact, Krugman argues, the markets appear to be telling us that long-term fiscal rectitude is good but slashing spending in the short term, weakening demand and raising unemployment is not a recovery strategy that they want to invest in - hence the continued weakness of stock markets around the world, driven by fears for corporate profits.
And this comes on the day when Frank Field - for the second time called in by a government to think the unthinkable about welfare reform - suggested that young men should have their benefits removed completely if they don't accept a job offer. The trouble is Frank, there aren't any jobs for these young men to be offered that would not result in them becoming homeless and indebted.
Welfare reform is vital but it has to go hand-in-hand with economic recovery ands the creation of jobs that pay wages sufficient to support a family - and minimum wage jobs in most of the UK do not come close to that when housing, travel and living costs are factored in.
However, it was heartening to hear Frank say that the new Government's decision to scrap the jobs fund (which guaranteed work to young unemployed people) wasn't very clever. It looks like unemployment is going to be the touchstone in the next few years as it was in the 1980s and early 90s. Plus ca change, hey?!
The Nobel laureate is one of the world's leading economic thinkers. He has been consistently accurate in his analysis of recent events - often before they actually happened - so his is a voice worth heeding.
He argues we're on the verge of the third depression (the first being in the years after 1873 and the second in the 1930s following the Wall Street Crash. The first was long and the second was deep). And he lays the blame squarely at the door of policy makers and governments obsessed with cutting deficits.
He argues that the G20 is looking at and therefore treating the wrong symptoms. They are fearful of inflation when deflation is the biggest risk facing the world economy and they are tightening their belts (meaning, our belts) at a time when the world is massively underspending and therefore demand is too weak to secure a recovery. In the words of Aldi, we should rather 'spend a little, live a lot...'
This isn't just academic number-crunching, however. This is about the lives of millions of people across the globe as well as in our neighbourhoods who, as a result of government policy here and in the other G8 nations (especially in Europe), might never work again.
And he suggests that such policies don't really even satisfy the financial markets, even though governments (especially our hysterical chancellor) are constantly talking about fiscal rectitude being needed or the credit agencies and bond markets will give us the thumbs down. In fact, Krugman argues, the markets appear to be telling us that long-term fiscal rectitude is good but slashing spending in the short term, weakening demand and raising unemployment is not a recovery strategy that they want to invest in - hence the continued weakness of stock markets around the world, driven by fears for corporate profits.
And this comes on the day when Frank Field - for the second time called in by a government to think the unthinkable about welfare reform - suggested that young men should have their benefits removed completely if they don't accept a job offer. The trouble is Frank, there aren't any jobs for these young men to be offered that would not result in them becoming homeless and indebted.
Welfare reform is vital but it has to go hand-in-hand with economic recovery ands the creation of jobs that pay wages sufficient to support a family - and minimum wage jobs in most of the UK do not come close to that when housing, travel and living costs are factored in.
However, it was heartening to hear Frank say that the new Government's decision to scrap the jobs fund (which guaranteed work to young unemployed people) wasn't very clever. It looks like unemployment is going to be the touchstone in the next few years as it was in the 1980s and early 90s. Plus ca change, hey?!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Eating, drinking and renewing our faith
In keeping with my policy of publishing my church magazine perspective piece on my blog for those at church who don't read the magazine (and a wider audience who might be interested), here's Summer 2010's offering (slightly amended):
I’ve just got back from having coffee with a friend. I’ve not seen this particular friend for a while so we had a lot to catch up on. It would be true to say that over recent months we have not seen eye-to-eye – he votes differently to me, moves in different circles, likes different music.
But as we sat nursing our coffees – mine a cappuccino, his, a black Americano (we don’t even see eye to eye on beverages!), I realised that I’d missed seeing him to chew the fat and put the world to rights. More than that, I realised that for all the things that divide us, so much more brings us together.
I left the café with a spring in my step, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
As I listened to him to sharing his thoughts on what had happened in his life over the past few months, how he saw things in the church where he worships, what his family’s been up to, I realised that God so often speaks to us through our friends. I found myself nodding, smiling with recognition at what he was sharing, warming to his insights.
The summer’s a good time to catch up with friends. The weather is conducive to spending time sitting in the sunshine or shade, chewing the fat. The normal routines of our lives wind down a little, giving us more space to see people in a relaxed way.
Often we recommend using the summer, when the church’s programme is lighter, to focus on renewing and recharging our spiritual batteries, often through reading a good book or trying a different spiritual discipline to refresh our relationship with God.
But as we’ve been finding as we’ve read 2 Corinthians together over recent weeks, our relationship with God is intimately bound up with our relationship with one another. In fact it’s probably true to say that it is impossible to have a relationship with God if we do not also relate to his people. That after all, is the gist of what Paul is arguing in the first 7 chapters of his wonderful, intimate and emotionally-charged letter.
So, how about using the summer to sit and chill with a friend or two. You can do it a local café – Bromley has a surfeit of them these days, so you’ll never find yourself unable to get in and find a seat! You could do it at one of prayer picnics – an opportunity to catch up with one another, shoot the breeze and pray for the needs of the community and wider world. You could use the gaps in your week left by the shutting down of various church programmes to invite people round for coffee or a meal.
Jesus spent as much times eating and drinking with friends as he did in synagogue (more probably) or praying alone. Why? Undoubtedly, because he wanted us to learn something from his practice; he wanted us to see that being together in a relaxed and extended way was good for our souls. But was it also because it was good for his? Did it refresh and renew his faith to spend time chilling with friends over a meal?
So, if this was the pattern of Jesus’ life, shouldn’t it also be the pattern of ours. We cannot grow in our relationships with one another as a church through sitting in rows at services. Services help us grow in our faith in a variety of ways. But they do not help us to develop the kind of trusting relationships that are essential to our growth as Christian disciples.
I have often said that church should be no bigger than the average dining table, no bigger than the number you can comfortably share a meal with. This is because church is a place where we grow to know God through sharing with one another, where we meet Jesus in one another’s lives, where we find strength to face whatever life throws at us through the support, prayer, wisdom and laughter of our brothers and sisters.
So, get our your diaries, lift your calendars down from the fridge and start marking those dates through the summer when you’ll be getting together to share a beverage and chew the fat; where you’ll be deepening your relationships with one another and with the God who calls us into community.
I’ve to go now because a friend has just rung to say he’s on his way for a coffee and will be here in twenty minutes. Now, where shall we go….?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Nick and Hannah's awfully big adventure
We were at Nick and Hannah's wedding yesterday and it was everything a wedding should be. There was so much joy and good will on display you could almost taste it.
I conducted the ceremony at church which went really well (I think), a good balance between the formality of the words and the joy of the occasion. We then had tea, coffee and cakes for anyone who'd been at the service in the church hall. It was heaving and the happy couple got to talk to most groups who had come.
We then decamped to Sundridge Park for the reception - fabulous surroundings and excellent food. And we were joined in the evening by a load nore people for yet more food and dancing.
Undoubtedly the weather helped since we could be meandering and chilling outside, especially during the long evening, but there was such a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed catching up with people I see at church but rarely have time for more than just the briefest of conversations.
Sitting chatting and laughing, sharing memories and stories, reminded me yet again that church is about relationships; it's about what happens when people make connection with each other and share their hearts with one another.
In many ways the wedding service itself captures something of this with its stress on committed relationships, on the couple coming together within a community that will support and offer strength to them in their developing relationship. Well, yesterday certainly lived up to that. It was particularly lovely to see the way that the two families were knitting together around the love of these two young people.
So, I wish Nick and Hannah many long years of joy and pray that their relationship may be a beacon of hope to many.
I conducted the ceremony at church which went really well (I think), a good balance between the formality of the words and the joy of the occasion. We then had tea, coffee and cakes for anyone who'd been at the service in the church hall. It was heaving and the happy couple got to talk to most groups who had come.
We then decamped to Sundridge Park for the reception - fabulous surroundings and excellent food. And we were joined in the evening by a load nore people for yet more food and dancing.
Undoubtedly the weather helped since we could be meandering and chilling outside, especially during the long evening, but there was such a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed catching up with people I see at church but rarely have time for more than just the briefest of conversations.
Sitting chatting and laughing, sharing memories and stories, reminded me yet again that church is about relationships; it's about what happens when people make connection with each other and share their hearts with one another.
In many ways the wedding service itself captures something of this with its stress on committed relationships, on the couple coming together within a community that will support and offer strength to them in their developing relationship. Well, yesterday certainly lived up to that. It was particularly lovely to see the way that the two families were knitting together around the love of these two young people.
So, I wish Nick and Hannah many long years of joy and pray that their relationship may be a beacon of hope to many.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Singing for a more just world
There's a great story in today's G2 about Hannah Atkins and her husband offering a failed asylum seeker a place to eat and sleep for a few months. It's a great story about how hospitality - a key Christian virtue - can make a real difference in a world of injustice.
Check it out at the Guardian's website.
And then go to Hannah's website. She is a singer-songwriter with a wonderful voice and a neat line in catchy folk-tronica. Clearly committed to some great causes, she writes with a disarming honesty and the production is first rate.
Check it out at the Guardian's website.
And then go to Hannah's website. She is a singer-songwriter with a wonderful voice and a neat line in catchy folk-tronica. Clearly committed to some great causes, she writes with a disarming honesty and the production is first rate.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
So, who speaks up for the poor?
When I was a financial journalist, Budget week was a time of frenetic activity and excitement. I and my colleagues would pore over the red book and talk to city analysts and economists about what the measures announced in an invariably dull speech actually amounted to.
Budgets are always full of bogus statistics, massaged numbers and big claims. This one was is no different. The specious Office for Budget Responsibility, run by one of Mrs T's favourite economists, hardly offers a fig leaf for George Osborne's voodoo numbers.
It's a bad week for the poor. Even on the government's own figures the poorest 10% of the country are the second hardest hit group after the richest 10%. As John Humphries asked Nick Clegg this morning 'why should this group be paying anything?'
We're in a global recession that has been caused by two things. One was a failure of international financial regulatory systems - the IMF, G20, and national governments (including the one that left office here in May). The major cause was free-wheeling banks creating ways of making money for their shareholders on the backs of the world's poor. The rich - for they are still making huge profits and paying enormous bonuses - plunged us into a recession that the poor are now being asked to pay to get us all out of.
The banks were in receipt of getting on for £140bn of direct support plus some £800bn+ of indirect support in the financial markets to keep them from going under - and still they are not lending to small and medium-sized business in anything like the way needed to get us out of the mess we're in.
The cost to them is a paltry £2bn levy announced in this budget. A Robin Hood Tax would have raised £20bn a year, something like a fair contribution from the banking sector for the deficit it's caused.
With VAT rises, a freeze on child benefit, the linking of other benefits to the consistently lower inflation measure, caps on housing benefit (coupled with the disappearance of any target for building affordable homes) and swingeing cuts coming in the public services that the prosperous never have to rely, this was a bad budget day for the poor.
Budgets are always full of bogus statistics, massaged numbers and big claims. This one was is no different. The specious Office for Budget Responsibility, run by one of Mrs T's favourite economists, hardly offers a fig leaf for George Osborne's voodoo numbers.
It's a bad week for the poor. Even on the government's own figures the poorest 10% of the country are the second hardest hit group after the richest 10%. As John Humphries asked Nick Clegg this morning 'why should this group be paying anything?'
We're in a global recession that has been caused by two things. One was a failure of international financial regulatory systems - the IMF, G20, and national governments (including the one that left office here in May). The major cause was free-wheeling banks creating ways of making money for their shareholders on the backs of the world's poor. The rich - for they are still making huge profits and paying enormous bonuses - plunged us into a recession that the poor are now being asked to pay to get us all out of.
The banks were in receipt of getting on for £140bn of direct support plus some £800bn+ of indirect support in the financial markets to keep them from going under - and still they are not lending to small and medium-sized business in anything like the way needed to get us out of the mess we're in.
The cost to them is a paltry £2bn levy announced in this budget. A Robin Hood Tax would have raised £20bn a year, something like a fair contribution from the banking sector for the deficit it's caused.
With VAT rises, a freeze on child benefit, the linking of other benefits to the consistently lower inflation measure, caps on housing benefit (coupled with the disappearance of any target for building affordable homes) and swingeing cuts coming in the public services that the prosperous never have to rely, this was a bad budget day for the poor.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Applying the lessons learned at the latest conference
Back home from NAMs to a day of sermon preparation. In the light of Steve Holmes' reflections on the sermons - which were very thought-provoking - this task will be an interesting challenge.
This Sunday we're kicking off our series on Ecclesiastes, reflecting on how this enigmatic author urges us to see that life is not a rehearsal. Steve's central case is that the sermon is for inspiration not information; it is for inspiring the listener to live up to the call of the gospel, rather than informing her of the content of the gospel.
Perhaps this is what Qohelet was doing: looking life squarely in the face and calling his hearers/readers to live life out of what they know to be true about the world and God. We'll see.
Having completed all the corrections on the manuscript of The World of the Early Church, I returned home to an email asking another set of questions of me. Hopefully, these will be straight forward. I have to say that I'm really quite pleased with the way the book's turned out; I think it looks and reads really well. All being well, it will be in bookshops next March.
This Sunday we're kicking off our series on Ecclesiastes, reflecting on how this enigmatic author urges us to see that life is not a rehearsal. Steve's central case is that the sermon is for inspiration not information; it is for inspiring the listener to live up to the call of the gospel, rather than informing her of the content of the gospel.
Perhaps this is what Qohelet was doing: looking life squarely in the face and calling his hearers/readers to live life out of what they know to be true about the world and God. We'll see.
Having completed all the corrections on the manuscript of The World of the Early Church, I returned home to an email asking another set of questions of me. Hopefully, these will be straight forward. I have to say that I'm really quite pleased with the way the book's turned out; I think it looks and reads really well. All being well, it will be in bookshops next March.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Defending the sermon
Day 2 in the NAMs house saw us paying rapt attention to Steve Holmes. He was excellent, mounting a determined and powerfully argued case for the monologue sermon. He asserted that the sermon is crucial for inspiring rather than conveying information. His monologue contained good pictures and movie clips, as well as the requisite dose of humour and helpful illustration.
I'm not sure I bought his case entirely. But I'm reserving judgement until tomorrow when he delivers part 2.
Apart from that, it's been a good day. The ministry matters session did not contain last year's not entirely convincing assessment of social networking. rather, we were told that a report is being put together on the appropriate use of such new technology. In the meantime there's a good Grove Booklet in its youth work series that tackles the issue.
I'm not sure I bought his case entirely. But I'm reserving judgement until tomorrow when he delivers part 2.
Apart from that, it's been a good day. The ministry matters session did not contain last year's not entirely convincing assessment of social networking. rather, we were told that a report is being put together on the appropriate use of such new technology. In the meantime there's a good Grove Booklet in its youth work series that tackles the issue.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Chilling in the spring sunshine in Leicestershire
Day one in the NAMs house and we're all still playing nicely!
It's been good to catch up with friends and meet new people. The programme is relatively light so there's plenty of room for chatting.
This evening we watched the film 2012 - chosen because it contained no swearing to speak of, no sex and no strong violence (bar the obliteration of whole continents!) - and I for one was so pleased it didn't cost me anything. Clunky dialogue, ridiculous science and pretty average CGI - and this from the director of Speed and Independance Day (obviously having an off day). It was hysterical, though that was a bi-product of the dreadful script.
Tomorrow I'm looking forward to hearing Steve Holmes.
It's been good to catch up with friends and meet new people. The programme is relatively light so there's plenty of room for chatting.
This evening we watched the film 2012 - chosen because it contained no swearing to speak of, no sex and no strong violence (bar the obliteration of whole continents!) - and I for one was so pleased it didn't cost me anything. Clunky dialogue, ridiculous science and pretty average CGI - and this from the director of Speed and Independance Day (obviously having an off day). It was hysterical, though that was a bi-product of the dreadful script.
Tomorrow I'm looking forward to hearing Steve Holmes.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Dodging the raindrops in good company
I spent a very happy morning yesterday with my MA supervisor. The first chapter of my thesis got the thumbs up (it needs some pretty major tweaks, but the general thrust and level of engagement was deemed ok). So now I have to write the other two over the summer, recast the first and submit it.
I shall be making an argument that we can locate the early Pauline churches - economically, socially and physically - in a way that makes good sense of the broader social context and of the theology of the letters that Paul wrote to those tiny communities.
On my way to and from St John's Wood (trying to dodge the showers), I listened to the new Tracey Thorn album, Love and its Opposites. Thorn was one half of Everything But the Girl with long-term partner (and now husband), Ben Watt, who first came to my attention back in the early 1980s on a Cherry Red records sampler album. She has a silky smooth voice and keen eye for life's foibles. This new album is a mature woman's take on family life, identity, heritage and love. And it's truly wonderful. It'll be one of the albums of the year alongside the National's equally sublime High Velvet.
And last night I finally got to watch Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland last night. It was full of typical Burton wit and playfulness; the performances were uniformly excellent, the human actors more than holding their own against the animated ones. The story bounced along at a fair lick, the dialogue sparkled and the special effects did what they needed to without overwhelming proceedings. All in all, a hugely enjoyable two hours
I shall be making an argument that we can locate the early Pauline churches - economically, socially and physically - in a way that makes good sense of the broader social context and of the theology of the letters that Paul wrote to those tiny communities.
On my way to and from St John's Wood (trying to dodge the showers), I listened to the new Tracey Thorn album, Love and its Opposites. Thorn was one half of Everything But the Girl with long-term partner (and now husband), Ben Watt, who first came to my attention back in the early 1980s on a Cherry Red records sampler album. She has a silky smooth voice and keen eye for life's foibles. This new album is a mature woman's take on family life, identity, heritage and love. And it's truly wonderful. It'll be one of the albums of the year alongside the National's equally sublime High Velvet.
And last night I finally got to watch Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland last night. It was full of typical Burton wit and playfulness; the performances were uniformly excellent, the human actors more than holding their own against the animated ones. The story bounced along at a fair lick, the dialogue sparkled and the special effects did what they needed to without overwhelming proceedings. All in all, a hugely enjoyable two hours
Monday, June 07, 2010
Meaning in the mayhem?
For our first foray of the summer into the Old Testament, we doing a short series on Ecclesiastes, five Sundays beginning the week after next. The idea is to tackle some issues that people talk about around the water cooler and at BBQs, when they're not talking about the world cup; things like 'why do I work so many hours?' 'where does all the time go?' 'Why aren't we having any fun?' 'Why's the government so incompetent?' Why's family life so demanding?' You know the kind of thing...
So, in preparation for this I have been been dusting off commentaries and looking for angles. Of all the things I've read, Greame Goldsworthy's Gospel & Wisdom is still the best. This book, which covers more than Ecclesiastes, helped me form my view of the wisdom material while I was at college. A close second is Robert Davidson's The Courage to Doubt. Eugene Peterson also has good thoughts in Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. Of the commentaries, Murphy and Longman are exhaustive and Kidner is full of insight. Finally, Robert K Johnston's Useless Beauty: Ecclesiastes through the lens of contemporary film is a feast of good things.
All I've got to do now is create a series, brief my preaching team, tell the church what we're doing so they can invite friends along and launch it. Happy days!
So, in preparation for this I have been been dusting off commentaries and looking for angles. Of all the things I've read, Greame Goldsworthy's Gospel & Wisdom is still the best. This book, which covers more than Ecclesiastes, helped me form my view of the wisdom material while I was at college. A close second is Robert Davidson's The Courage to Doubt. Eugene Peterson also has good thoughts in Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. Of the commentaries, Murphy and Longman are exhaustive and Kidner is full of insight. Finally, Robert K Johnston's Useless Beauty: Ecclesiastes through the lens of contemporary film is a feast of good things.
All I've got to do now is create a series, brief my preaching team, tell the church what we're doing so they can invite friends along and launch it. Happy days!
The heart of communion
It was communion at the Later Service yesterday, so we did a version of the communion we'd used at Prism this year (HT to James), namely, we had cake and wine to remember the partying Jesus and bread nailed to a plank to help us reflect on the suffering Jesus. I think it worked well.
Communion as we practice it in our churches (certainly Baptist ones) can be a strange affair. A couple of days ago, David Kerrigan blogged about the vicar of Soham offering communion to everyone attending church in the wake of the killings there and describing it as a moving expression of mission. I'm sure he's right.
But wasn't it also the most natural thing to do. Isn't communion a picture of Jesus inviting us all to sit and eat and chat with him? And isn't it entirely right that the group sitting round the table with him will be a mixed bunch? Certainly every meal, banquet, feast and party Jesus attended contained a pretty mixed bag of guests - pompous religious folk, hookers, local crime bosses, ordinary working people trying to make sense of the economy and where God had gone.
We've turned communion in our churches into a solemn recollection of how Jesus died for me. Our habit of taking a morsel of bread and sip of wine reinforces this: just enough to tickle the taste buds with the thought that this is all about me and my salvation.
But when Jesus came to the aid of the bride groom at Cana, he made enough wine to keep party going for a month because the whole point of eating and drinking together is not the eating and drinking but the conversation that happens between mouth-fulls.
When Paul condemned the table manners of the Corinthians, it wasn't because they were eating and drinking with the unsaved or allowing those who didn't know who Jesus was to eat with them. It was because some were eating and drinking their fill, while others - mainly manual workers - arrived at the end of the working day to find only scraps left.
The point of communion, says Paul, is that poor and rich are equally catered for and that in sitting and sharing together around the meal table in a way that stresses the equality of people in Christ makes that meal a memorial of Jesus.
Communion as we practice it in our churches (certainly Baptist ones) can be a strange affair. A couple of days ago, David Kerrigan blogged about the vicar of Soham offering communion to everyone attending church in the wake of the killings there and describing it as a moving expression of mission. I'm sure he's right.
But wasn't it also the most natural thing to do. Isn't communion a picture of Jesus inviting us all to sit and eat and chat with him? And isn't it entirely right that the group sitting round the table with him will be a mixed bunch? Certainly every meal, banquet, feast and party Jesus attended contained a pretty mixed bag of guests - pompous religious folk, hookers, local crime bosses, ordinary working people trying to make sense of the economy and where God had gone.
We've turned communion in our churches into a solemn recollection of how Jesus died for me. Our habit of taking a morsel of bread and sip of wine reinforces this: just enough to tickle the taste buds with the thought that this is all about me and my salvation.
But when Jesus came to the aid of the bride groom at Cana, he made enough wine to keep party going for a month because the whole point of eating and drinking together is not the eating and drinking but the conversation that happens between mouth-fulls.
When Paul condemned the table manners of the Corinthians, it wasn't because they were eating and drinking with the unsaved or allowing those who didn't know who Jesus was to eat with them. It was because some were eating and drinking their fill, while others - mainly manual workers - arrived at the end of the working day to find only scraps left.
The point of communion, says Paul, is that poor and rich are equally catered for and that in sitting and sharing together around the meal table in a way that stresses the equality of people in Christ makes that meal a memorial of Jesus.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Blessing everyone, saving some
Last night at our leaders gathering we used part of an excellent new resource from Girls Brigade. Called bridge the gap, it's a DVD and group study resource on how to be missional people. On episode 1 Ruth Gilson, GB's national director, says that GB is about blessing everyone and saving many (or something like that). In other words, GB exists to bless all who come to it whether they find faith in Jesus or not.
This statement jumped out at a number of our leaders. One asked if as a church we would ever do something that was not intended to bless people. And of course, when phrased that way, the answer is obviously 'no.' Sadly, though, we inadvertently or carelessly do all sorts of things that don't bless people.
Churches can be places of petty vindictiveness and long-running feuds between members that render its witness anything but a blessing to those coming in off the street. Such visitors catch a whiff of cordite on the air and twig that they have wondered into a war zone and need to beat a hasty retreat. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3, everywhere we go we kick up a stink; the trouble is that sometimes it is anything but the aroma of Christ.
It means that we have to work at being good news on two fronts simultaneously. The first is the obvious one of what we do to reach out and embrace people of all kinds, offer to bless them and bring good into their lives. It's the ministry that Jeremiah urged on the exiles in 29:7: 'seek the shalom (the well-being, peace, wholeness) of the city where I've sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its shalom you will find your shalom'. Everything we do should be good news, aiming to bless people regardless of how they respond to us.
The second is less obvious but equally essential: the community we build must be a place of wholeness and acceptance, a place where the barriers between people come down, where there is genuine forgiveness, where past hurts are not allowed to fester or ossify into stumbling blocks to one another. I think this is why Paul spends so much time in his letters talking about our relationships with one another. Time and again I come back to Philippians 2:1-5, 11-18 and see that this is key to being a missional people.
We will not be able to be good news to the world unless we can be good news to and for one another.
This statement jumped out at a number of our leaders. One asked if as a church we would ever do something that was not intended to bless people. And of course, when phrased that way, the answer is obviously 'no.' Sadly, though, we inadvertently or carelessly do all sorts of things that don't bless people.
Churches can be places of petty vindictiveness and long-running feuds between members that render its witness anything but a blessing to those coming in off the street. Such visitors catch a whiff of cordite on the air and twig that they have wondered into a war zone and need to beat a hasty retreat. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3, everywhere we go we kick up a stink; the trouble is that sometimes it is anything but the aroma of Christ.
It means that we have to work at being good news on two fronts simultaneously. The first is the obvious one of what we do to reach out and embrace people of all kinds, offer to bless them and bring good into their lives. It's the ministry that Jeremiah urged on the exiles in 29:7: 'seek the shalom (the well-being, peace, wholeness) of the city where I've sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its shalom you will find your shalom'. Everything we do should be good news, aiming to bless people regardless of how they respond to us.
The second is less obvious but equally essential: the community we build must be a place of wholeness and acceptance, a place where the barriers between people come down, where there is genuine forgiveness, where past hurts are not allowed to fester or ossify into stumbling blocks to one another. I think this is why Paul spends so much time in his letters talking about our relationships with one another. Time and again I come back to Philippians 2:1-5, 11-18 and see that this is key to being a missional people.
We will not be able to be good news to the world unless we can be good news to and for one another.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Are we good news to anyone?
At the end of our cafe church on Sunday, a man walked in looking for the pastor. He was looking for help, any help we could give him. He'd been a bike messenger in the City - carrying documents between some of the leading financial services companies in the country - and had a flat. But six weeks ago he'd lost his job and a month ago, lost his flat. He'd slept rough in Bromley the night before. What could we do to help him?
He's the tip of a vast iceberg; people who clung to a life through the boom who've been washed up on the rocks as the wave has broken.
As we phoned round the usual agencies, we discovered that there's virtually no help for such homeless people. Nearly all the hostels only take referrals from their respective local authority and have waiting lists as long as your arm; everyone tells you to call Shelter - wonderful organisation - but their helpline isn't available at 9pm on a Sunday.
We found him a hostel place - somewhere he'd stayed before but couldn't afford to to anymore - and booked him a couple of nights and wished him well. I'll call him at the end of the week to see how he's doing.
But is that it?
Sometimes in the face of need, I feel so impotent. More than that, I feel fearful; afraid that acting, doing something will lead to a situation where I am not in control. And so, I hesitate...
Over on thinking mission, David Kerrigan has mused on what it means to be radical. It's good stuff; go and read it. In particular, he's asked us 'why, if we are good news, do so few recognise us as such?' And he adds: 'I am pleading that we have the humility to look at how we live, how we gather, and how we express our Christian faith in a world riddled with injustice, where power is used and abused in a way that has little in common with the way Jesus encouraged his followers to live.'
London faces a housing crisis that if current projections are to be believed will get much worse over the next ten years because we are just not building enough homes for everyone who needs one. For those of us on the property ladder already, this is probably good news because it means rising property values.
But for those in poor, inadequate, over-crowded housing and those sleeping on a mate's sofa or in a box in the park, this is really bad news. Their plight will get worse. Again, the poor land at the bottom of the heap. And who will lift them up?
It's trite to ask 'what would Jesus do?' But I think it is worth asking, as David does, because I think we need to look into our collective hearts and ask ourselves 'what kind of people do we want to be?' and 'what kind of people do we think Jesus wants us to be?'
He's the tip of a vast iceberg; people who clung to a life through the boom who've been washed up on the rocks as the wave has broken.
As we phoned round the usual agencies, we discovered that there's virtually no help for such homeless people. Nearly all the hostels only take referrals from their respective local authority and have waiting lists as long as your arm; everyone tells you to call Shelter - wonderful organisation - but their helpline isn't available at 9pm on a Sunday.
We found him a hostel place - somewhere he'd stayed before but couldn't afford to to anymore - and booked him a couple of nights and wished him well. I'll call him at the end of the week to see how he's doing.
But is that it?
Sometimes in the face of need, I feel so impotent. More than that, I feel fearful; afraid that acting, doing something will lead to a situation where I am not in control. And so, I hesitate...
Over on thinking mission, David Kerrigan has mused on what it means to be radical. It's good stuff; go and read it. In particular, he's asked us 'why, if we are good news, do so few recognise us as such?' And he adds: 'I am pleading that we have the humility to look at how we live, how we gather, and how we express our Christian faith in a world riddled with injustice, where power is used and abused in a way that has little in common with the way Jesus encouraged his followers to live.'
London faces a housing crisis that if current projections are to be believed will get much worse over the next ten years because we are just not building enough homes for everyone who needs one. For those of us on the property ladder already, this is probably good news because it means rising property values.
But for those in poor, inadequate, over-crowded housing and those sleeping on a mate's sofa or in a box in the park, this is really bad news. Their plight will get worse. Again, the poor land at the bottom of the heap. And who will lift them up?
It's trite to ask 'what would Jesus do?' But I think it is worth asking, as David does, because I think we need to look into our collective hearts and ask ourselves 'what kind of people do we want to be?' and 'what kind of people do we think Jesus wants us to be?'
Monday, May 31, 2010
Cafe Church thoughts
Well, Starbucks is pretty deserted on a Sunday morning between 10:30 and midday. I've been twice now and it was the same - people leaving as I arrived around 10:30 and barely a handful coming in between that time and about 12:00.
So, it looks like it would be a good time to have St Arbucks; plenty of space for us to move around in. But it would only work if people brought their friends. And the question is 'is this a good time for our friends to come for a coffee, a breakfast panini and some conversation about life, the universe and God?'
So, it looks like it would be a good time to have St Arbucks; plenty of space for us to move around in. But it would only work if people brought their friends. And the question is 'is this a good time for our friends to come for a coffee, a breakfast panini and some conversation about life, the universe and God?'
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday mornings in Starbucks
I'm having my second 'don't go to church Sunday' this morning! Instead, I will will be going to Starbucks to sit and watch and listen and probably pray. For those who fear that I'm backsliding, I shall be going to church twice later today to lead and take part in two services.
The first time I did this - at the beginning of the month - I caught up with a friend and got a picture of the traffic through the cafe at the time we're holding our morning service. The medium-term aim is to assess the value of having a monthly cafe church at Starbucks that starts around 11:00am. Having done this research, I shall convene our cafe church planning group and see whether this is a way forward.
At the same time, we are exploring whether to run a cafe church type event for the families of our GB girls, running from 5:45-6:45 on a Thursday evening at Starbucks and offering parents an opportunity to chill and find out a bit about what their girls are doing and what the Christian faith is all about.
The first time I did this - at the beginning of the month - I caught up with a friend and got a picture of the traffic through the cafe at the time we're holding our morning service. The medium-term aim is to assess the value of having a monthly cafe church at Starbucks that starts around 11:00am. Having done this research, I shall convene our cafe church planning group and see whether this is a way forward.
At the same time, we are exploring whether to run a cafe church type event for the families of our GB girls, running from 5:45-6:45 on a Thursday evening at Starbucks and offering parents an opportunity to chill and find out a bit about what their girls are doing and what the Christian faith is all about.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
God on the airwaves
It's interesting that both Ashes to Ashes and Lost seemed to be suggesting that the afterlife begins with something akin to purgatory (I confess that I didn't watch Lost after season 1 because it seemed to me that the scriptwriters were more lost than the audience!). Interesting because both prime time shows were set in an afterlife at all.
For a culture where atheists and agnostics apparently dominate the media, there's an awful lot of god on the airwaves at present. Yesterday evening's Radio 4 show, Heresy, debated whether atheism was rational. A first rate trio - the ever-reliable Marcus Brigstocke, Natalie Haynes and Rev Richard Coles - discussed whether faith made more sense than Dawkins. it was both funny and enlightening. You can catch it on iPlayer here.
Are we to think that people are more interested in debating what life's all about and whether God has any place in that than we've been led to believe? I reckon so. I'm listening to the absolutely sublime new album from the National, High Violet, and it's full of gorgeous meditations on life's frailties and foibles and the possibility of faith. Earlier I was listening to Mumford and Sons - still not sure it's as good as everyone claims - and was struck by the presence of God in most of the songs.
There's something in the air. And that has to be a good thing.
For a culture where atheists and agnostics apparently dominate the media, there's an awful lot of god on the airwaves at present. Yesterday evening's Radio 4 show, Heresy, debated whether atheism was rational. A first rate trio - the ever-reliable Marcus Brigstocke, Natalie Haynes and Rev Richard Coles - discussed whether faith made more sense than Dawkins. it was both funny and enlightening. You can catch it on iPlayer here.
Are we to think that people are more interested in debating what life's all about and whether God has any place in that than we've been led to believe? I reckon so. I'm listening to the absolutely sublime new album from the National, High Violet, and it's full of gorgeous meditations on life's frailties and foibles and the possibility of faith. Earlier I was listening to Mumford and Sons - still not sure it's as good as everyone claims - and was struck by the presence of God in most of the songs.
There's something in the air. And that has to be a good thing.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Cutting the future to pay for the past
So the first round of spending cuts were announced yesterday and it looks like they'll do exactly what many feared they would. With Russell Crowe filling our screens as the latest incarnation of Robin Hood, maybe it's time to see his tax ideas enacted across the globe.
Owen Tudor, a spokesperson from the Robin Hood Tax campaign, put his finger on the issue when he said: “The spending cuts spelled out by George Osborne represent a profound sign of injustice. Those who bear no responsibility for the global recession will have to pay the price, while the financial sector, whose reckless behaviour has largely contributed to the mess which we are in, can continue business as usual.
The banks in the UK have been bailed out to the tune of £850bn and yet it is probably young people in my neighbourhood who will pay the price for their casino activities. Bonuses show no sign of abating but local authority spending had been slashed by more than £1bn. This means that a lot of projects offering front line support to some of our society's most vulnerable young and old people will be axed.
Something feels wrong about that. It's hard to see how a slash and burn approach to public finances fits with all the talk of a big society. The thing about a big society is that communities and churches can rise to the challenge of meeting real social need more efficiently than government can. But they can't do it for nothing. They rely on statutory funding as well as charitable giving to pay for their activities. Perhaps Goldman Sachs executives could make a start by donating their entire bonus pot (a smidgen over $16bn) to projects working with the poor and vulnerable in our communities.
“Cuts will not only affect a significant portion of public sector workers who will lose their jobs or see their pay frozen,' says Tudor, 'but also the general public who will no longer be able to rely on essential public services. One way of avoiding these large-scale cuts would be to introduce a Robin Hood Tax on the financial sector, which would raise at least £20 billion a year in the UK alone. Such a tax would be fair as it would target a sector that played a pivotal role in the economic crisis and that has the financial resources to cope with a levy.”
Robin Hood Tax campaigners say that the revenue raised would help reduce the public deficit, protect public service jobs, tackle poverty at home and abroad, as well as fight climate change. You can find out more about Robin Hood here
Owen Tudor, a spokesperson from the Robin Hood Tax campaign, put his finger on the issue when he said: “The spending cuts spelled out by George Osborne represent a profound sign of injustice. Those who bear no responsibility for the global recession will have to pay the price, while the financial sector, whose reckless behaviour has largely contributed to the mess which we are in, can continue business as usual.
The banks in the UK have been bailed out to the tune of £850bn and yet it is probably young people in my neighbourhood who will pay the price for their casino activities. Bonuses show no sign of abating but local authority spending had been slashed by more than £1bn. This means that a lot of projects offering front line support to some of our society's most vulnerable young and old people will be axed.
Something feels wrong about that. It's hard to see how a slash and burn approach to public finances fits with all the talk of a big society. The thing about a big society is that communities and churches can rise to the challenge of meeting real social need more efficiently than government can. But they can't do it for nothing. They rely on statutory funding as well as charitable giving to pay for their activities. Perhaps Goldman Sachs executives could make a start by donating their entire bonus pot (a smidgen over $16bn) to projects working with the poor and vulnerable in our communities.
“Cuts will not only affect a significant portion of public sector workers who will lose their jobs or see their pay frozen,' says Tudor, 'but also the general public who will no longer be able to rely on essential public services. One way of avoiding these large-scale cuts would be to introduce a Robin Hood Tax on the financial sector, which would raise at least £20 billion a year in the UK alone. Such a tax would be fair as it would target a sector that played a pivotal role in the economic crisis and that has the financial resources to cope with a levy.”
Robin Hood Tax campaigners say that the revenue raised would help reduce the public deficit, protect public service jobs, tackle poverty at home and abroad, as well as fight climate change. You can find out more about Robin Hood here
Monday, May 24, 2010
Picking through the ashes of Pentecost
Ashes to Ashes ended on Friday and everyone's favourite bigoted 1970s/early 80s copper turned out to be something akin to an angel of mercy helping dead officers find the way to heaven (pictured as a pub from which a warm, rich light emanated). If his nemesis, DCI Keats was the devil, trying to take Gene's team on the down elevator to somewhere hot, Hunt appears as a Christ figure, fighting for the souls of those who've fallen in the line of duty.
It was great telly that left you with a warm fuzzy glow. I do seriously doubt that the series creators had this ending in mind when they embarked on the odyssey that began with Life on Mars. Of course it raises loads of theological issues that are too obvious to mention (but I might return to it)!
We had cafe church yesterday evening. It's the first one we've done at church for a long time and it seemed to go well. We're doing another one next week. Maybe it'll catch on. One or two people said how pleased they were to see it's return.
I went to see Shane Claiborne on Friday and he was excellent; an engaging and modest speaker who seems to have put his finger on key elements of the gospel that the church in the West has neglected. In this he is not unique but his voice has an youthful urgency that needs to be heard and acted on.
One of the issues he's highlighted is that our churches have mastered the art of entertaining people but forgotten how to make disciples. And coupled with this, we have broken the link between economics and spirituality.
The early believers, filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, pooled their possessions, used their resources to ensure there were no needy people among them, modelled an alternative way of living in an acquisitive society. As a result of these followers of Jesus taking their master at his word, God poured his power into their lives and amazing things happened.
Have we lost something in our rush to be entertaining, cutting edge, on the technological front line? I think we might have done. But what are prepared to do about it?
It was great telly that left you with a warm fuzzy glow. I do seriously doubt that the series creators had this ending in mind when they embarked on the odyssey that began with Life on Mars. Of course it raises loads of theological issues that are too obvious to mention (but I might return to it)!
We had cafe church yesterday evening. It's the first one we've done at church for a long time and it seemed to go well. We're doing another one next week. Maybe it'll catch on. One or two people said how pleased they were to see it's return.
I went to see Shane Claiborne on Friday and he was excellent; an engaging and modest speaker who seems to have put his finger on key elements of the gospel that the church in the West has neglected. In this he is not unique but his voice has an youthful urgency that needs to be heard and acted on.
One of the issues he's highlighted is that our churches have mastered the art of entertaining people but forgotten how to make disciples. And coupled with this, we have broken the link between economics and spirituality.
The early believers, filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, pooled their possessions, used their resources to ensure there were no needy people among them, modelled an alternative way of living in an acquisitive society. As a result of these followers of Jesus taking their master at his word, God poured his power into their lives and amazing things happened.
Have we lost something in our rush to be entertaining, cutting edge, on the technological front line? I think we might have done. But what are prepared to do about it?
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Marking the end of an era
I had my last Assembly Project Team meeting yesterday. After five years of running Prism, I have hung up my flip flops and made way for someone else to take the Assembly's alternative to new heights.
It's been a great ride from the first Assembly planning meeting I attended where I suggested giving the Assembly a multi-focal feel by offering an alternative way of accessing its themes. Many large Christian gatherings already offered an alternative programme and hundreds of churches across the country had been moving away from the one-size fits-all approach to events for more than a decade.
So Prism was a response to those trends and an attempt to help the Assembly appeal to those who are sceptical about the well-managed set piece celebration event so beloved of evangelicals over the past generation.
And I reckon that it has offered a fresh and worthwhile alternative to what's happening in the other place at the Assembly, giving delegates a chance to explore our faith in a more interactive, participatory and, let's face it, more personal because smaller, space.
There's no doubt that The Assembly needs this kind of fresh thinking if it's going to attract the large - and growing - numbers of Baptists who are not attending our annual gathering. In particular, we have to address the fact that the under 50s aren't turning up in the numbers we'd hope and the under 30s are conspicuous by their almost total absence from the event.
I don't think Prism is the whole answer. But I do think that it embodies an approach to gathering that could be attractive to people who currently don't make the annual pilgrimage to the seaside. So, I wish whoever takes it on every success and will be praying that they bring fresh thinking and boldness to making Prism (or whatever it will be called) better and better.
It's been a great ride from the first Assembly planning meeting I attended where I suggested giving the Assembly a multi-focal feel by offering an alternative way of accessing its themes. Many large Christian gatherings already offered an alternative programme and hundreds of churches across the country had been moving away from the one-size fits-all approach to events for more than a decade.
So Prism was a response to those trends and an attempt to help the Assembly appeal to those who are sceptical about the well-managed set piece celebration event so beloved of evangelicals over the past generation.
And I reckon that it has offered a fresh and worthwhile alternative to what's happening in the other place at the Assembly, giving delegates a chance to explore our faith in a more interactive, participatory and, let's face it, more personal because smaller, space.
There's no doubt that The Assembly needs this kind of fresh thinking if it's going to attract the large - and growing - numbers of Baptists who are not attending our annual gathering. In particular, we have to address the fact that the under 50s aren't turning up in the numbers we'd hope and the under 30s are conspicuous by their almost total absence from the event.
I don't think Prism is the whole answer. But I do think that it embodies an approach to gathering that could be attractive to people who currently don't make the annual pilgrimage to the seaside. So, I wish whoever takes it on every success and will be praying that they bring fresh thinking and boldness to making Prism (or whatever it will be called) better and better.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The trouble with words
A man from the midlands, asked on Breakfast TV whether he ate cauliflower, replied that he thought cauliflower was 'an inept vegetable'. I wonder if his expectations of the humble brassica have been set a little high. Has he been bringing them home from the market and asking them to do a little DIY only to find they're all fingers and thumbs?
I'm a big fan of cauliflower but have no expectations of it except that it will lie in the pan for 12 minutes and taste great afterwards. But apparently, we're not buying as many of the lovely vegetables as we used to and one theory is that it's because they are white (well, at least the bit you eat is) and we are being told to eat more greens (all part of the five-a-day thing), so people are avoiding them in favour of broccoli and cabbage.
It's good to start the day with a chuckle. And I think Britain's cauliflower growers would like you to buy more of the glorious white vegetable. So, that's my public service announcement for the morning.
I'm a big fan of cauliflower but have no expectations of it except that it will lie in the pan for 12 minutes and taste great afterwards. But apparently, we're not buying as many of the lovely vegetables as we used to and one theory is that it's because they are white (well, at least the bit you eat is) and we are being told to eat more greens (all part of the five-a-day thing), so people are avoiding them in favour of broccoli and cabbage.
It's good to start the day with a chuckle. And I think Britain's cauliflower growers would like you to buy more of the glorious white vegetable. So, that's my public service announcement for the morning.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Praying on the tourist trail
One of my meetings was cancelled today so I had a bit of time once I got into London. I strolled up Whitehall, picking my way over the trailing cables and manoeuvring in and out of gaggles of tourists and journalists waiting for something to happen and into the National Gallery.
It was as ever a place of tranquility and calm. There were groups of primary age children crowded round a painting having it explained to them and a few others wondering between paintings, whispering to one another.
I spent a good deal of time looking at the two wonderful Piero Della Francesca paintings the gallery has in their own viewing space.
The better known of the two is the Baptism of Jesus, a painting of such stillness it is impossible not to stop and contemplate it. The figure of Jesus is serene and prayerful but captured leaning slightly towards the viewer, as if inviting us to share his moment of commitment to John's movement. Above him a perfectly stationary dove waits to complete her descent on to God's Son. It's as if Piero has frozen the action and invited the viewers to come and linger over the scene: Jesus at the start of his public ministry - what does it hold for him, what does it mean for us?
It was as ever a place of tranquility and calm. There were groups of primary age children crowded round a painting having it explained to them and a few others wondering between paintings, whispering to one another.
I spent a good deal of time looking at the two wonderful Piero Della Francesca paintings the gallery has in their own viewing space.
The better known of the two is the Baptism of Jesus, a painting of such stillness it is impossible not to stop and contemplate it. The figure of Jesus is serene and prayerful but captured leaning slightly towards the viewer, as if inviting us to share his moment of commitment to John's movement. Above him a perfectly stationary dove waits to complete her descent on to God's Son. It's as if Piero has frozen the action and invited the viewers to come and linger over the scene: Jesus at the start of his public ministry - what does it hold for him, what does it mean for us?To the right of it is his less well known nativity. The painting looks unfinished, yet the backdrop appears very similar to the one in the baptism painting, suggesting it's drawn from Piero's own home town where he did a lot of his work. The simplicity of the execution looks intentional on Piero's part. This is not the cluttered nativity so commonly found in the work of his contemporaries. It is a sparse scene: a simply dressed Mary kneels before her infant who reaches up to his mother. A choir of angels with lutes sing to him. Joseph and the shepherds chat in the background.
Again Piero captures a moment of stillness, contemplation and devotion. Mary prays while Jesus reaches up to her, a suggestion that the Son of God responds when we call. And yet Jesus is also 'calling,' wanting feeding, affection, the tender human touch of a mother.
These are works of genius, beautifully composed and executed. But they also appear to be works of deep faith inviting the viewer into the life of prayer that is at the heart of them. It's wonderful to be able to able to step out of the bustle of Trafalgar Square into this holy space.
Praying for our new government
It's interesting listening to the various guests on the Today programme asking for clarity on the nitty gritty of policy. We're apparently obsessed with having everything nailed down, every 'i' dotted and 't' crossed. But this is day one of a new and exciting era and the rule book is being re-written.
It's to be hoped that it does signal a radical realignment of politics in this country. In particular, it is hoped that the tribal nature of our politics will decay in favour of a politics based on cooperation rather than competition, a weighing of issues on their merits and working constructively with people from parties other than my own.
Writing to the Philippians, Paul talks about the politics of the Kingdom of God with these words: 'do nothing according to rivalry or empty conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interests of the others.' (2:3-4 in the TNIV).
My prayer for David Cameron and Nick Clegg and everyone else who this morning commits themselves to making this new coalition work, is that these words, in some form or another, will echo in their heads and inform every conversation they have with one another.
These are the values that could make this coalition work for the good everyone. My prayer is that it will work and that as a result we are able to live 'peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' (that's the reason Paul says we should pray for our government - whether we chose it or not).
Let's all commit ourselves to pray for this new government in the coming days that this bold experiment will work for the good of the whole country - especially the poorest, weakest and most vulnerable.
It's to be hoped that it does signal a radical realignment of politics in this country. In particular, it is hoped that the tribal nature of our politics will decay in favour of a politics based on cooperation rather than competition, a weighing of issues on their merits and working constructively with people from parties other than my own.
Writing to the Philippians, Paul talks about the politics of the Kingdom of God with these words: 'do nothing according to rivalry or empty conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interests of the others.' (2:3-4 in the TNIV).
My prayer for David Cameron and Nick Clegg and everyone else who this morning commits themselves to making this new coalition work, is that these words, in some form or another, will echo in their heads and inform every conversation they have with one another.
These are the values that could make this coalition work for the good everyone. My prayer is that it will work and that as a result we are able to live 'peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' (that's the reason Paul says we should pray for our government - whether we chose it or not).
Let's all commit ourselves to pray for this new government in the coming days that this bold experiment will work for the good of the whole country - especially the poorest, weakest and most vulnerable.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Good listening
Michael Portillo has just started an excellent new series on democracy on BBC Radio 4. You'll be able to catch it on the iPlayer and I recommend that you do.
His first programme was a fascinating look at the progress of democracy since 1945 and the threats that it faces today. Interesting one of the things he said was that income inequality within established democracies such as ours was one of the key threats to democracy that any incoming government would have to address.
From thatcherite poster boy to mature political thinker....
His first programme was a fascinating look at the progress of democracy since 1945 and the threats that it faces today. Interesting one of the things he said was that income inequality within established democracies such as ours was one of the key threats to democracy that any incoming government would have to address.
From thatcherite poster boy to mature political thinker....
Counting the winners and losers
Well, it's getting lively down in Westminster - the comings and goings of men in suits trying to work out how to move the country forward into what could be a fascinating new politics.
I just wish the BBC would stop talking about unelected Prime Ministers. We never elect a prime minister. In our system we elect an MP to represent the constituency in which we live. The leader of the largest party (someone we never elect unless we are a member of that party) is then asked by the queen to form a government and hence become Prime Minister.
Since the war, many party leaders have stood down and been replaced by another person who has become PM as a result - Blair, Thatcher, Wilson, Macmillan....
In the new politics we also need to stop talking in terms of largest party and begin to look at share of the vote since we need leadership that reflects what the majority of the nation wants. After all, that's how democracy is supposed to work. So on share of the vote, the numbers stack this way: 36.1% voted Tory, 29% voted Labour and 23% Lib Dem. So 52% - more than half the electorate who voted - expressed a preference for parties of the centre left. If we add votes for the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales, that figure rises to around 55%
So who won the election? The honest answer was given by Ken Livingstone last night when he said 'everyone lost'; and he's right. Under our old broken, first-past-the-post system, no one got a governing majority.
But maybe we all won. If we get a government that reflects the views of a majority of the voters, haven't we all won in a way that the electorate haven't won in any election in recent history.
And a footnote. If Labour and the Lib Dems form a coalition and put a budget that proposes cuts in public spending aimed at reducing the deficit, are we really expected to believe that the Conservatives, who have been baying for such cuts, are really going to vote against it? What would that say about our politics?
And doesn't this show that in the new politics, MPs are going to have to vote on each issue as it arises in the best interests of the nation rather than narrow party interest (with implications for whipping the House of Commons). And if we want to learn it might look like, perhaps we should examine what's happened in Scotland and Wales since devolution. If we look carefully, we'll see that the world hasn't come to an end and that government has worked pretty effectively (even if we don't personally like every decision they have taken).
I just wish the BBC would stop talking about unelected Prime Ministers. We never elect a prime minister. In our system we elect an MP to represent the constituency in which we live. The leader of the largest party (someone we never elect unless we are a member of that party) is then asked by the queen to form a government and hence become Prime Minister.
Since the war, many party leaders have stood down and been replaced by another person who has become PM as a result - Blair, Thatcher, Wilson, Macmillan....
In the new politics we also need to stop talking in terms of largest party and begin to look at share of the vote since we need leadership that reflects what the majority of the nation wants. After all, that's how democracy is supposed to work. So on share of the vote, the numbers stack this way: 36.1% voted Tory, 29% voted Labour and 23% Lib Dem. So 52% - more than half the electorate who voted - expressed a preference for parties of the centre left. If we add votes for the nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales, that figure rises to around 55%
So who won the election? The honest answer was given by Ken Livingstone last night when he said 'everyone lost'; and he's right. Under our old broken, first-past-the-post system, no one got a governing majority.
But maybe we all won. If we get a government that reflects the views of a majority of the voters, haven't we all won in a way that the electorate haven't won in any election in recent history.
And a footnote. If Labour and the Lib Dems form a coalition and put a budget that proposes cuts in public spending aimed at reducing the deficit, are we really expected to believe that the Conservatives, who have been baying for such cuts, are really going to vote against it? What would that say about our politics?
And doesn't this show that in the new politics, MPs are going to have to vote on each issue as it arises in the best interests of the nation rather than narrow party interest (with implications for whipping the House of Commons). And if we want to learn it might look like, perhaps we should examine what's happened in Scotland and Wales since devolution. If we look carefully, we'll see that the world hasn't come to an end and that government has worked pretty effectively (even if we don't personally like every decision they have taken).
Monday, May 10, 2010
Looking for a leader...
Our new series on 2 Corinthians - being a holy people in an unholy world - limped into life yesterday. I say limped because I'm not at all you'd say it was launched. I'm not convinced that I was on top of the material. Still, we'll see what subsequent weeks hold.
I finished Hilary Mantell's Wolf Hall last night. It's a very satisfying read, if a little long (since it only tells half of Cromwell's life as Henry VIII's key servant) but it's made me want to read more about my favourite era in English history. So I've got myself John Schofield's The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell, the most recent scholarly life of Henry's right hand man, which looks pretty good.
So, Gordon has resigned and the talks between Nick and David are taking a long time. Who knows, we could still see a progressive alliance that brings voting and political reforms. Perhaps we need a man or a woman of the stature, humanity and political savvy of Thomas Cromwell to help us navigate these uncharted waters. If only...
I finished Hilary Mantell's Wolf Hall last night. It's a very satisfying read, if a little long (since it only tells half of Cromwell's life as Henry VIII's key servant) but it's made me want to read more about my favourite era in English history. So I've got myself John Schofield's The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell, the most recent scholarly life of Henry's right hand man, which looks pretty good.
So, Gordon has resigned and the talks between Nick and David are taking a long time. Who knows, we could still see a progressive alliance that brings voting and political reforms. Perhaps we need a man or a woman of the stature, humanity and political savvy of Thomas Cromwell to help us navigate these uncharted waters. If only...
Friday, May 07, 2010
The change we still need
The dust is still settling. The outcome is uncertain. Still time to make our voice heard. Why not go here and sign the petition. You could even turn up in Westminster tomorrow to make your voice heard for genuine rather than cosmetic change.
Some good results, though; the best of them being Caroline Lucas' victory in Brighton and the trouncing of Nick Griffin.
More evidence of the brokenness of our current system were the numbers in mainly urban areas shut out of polling stations, who couldn't cast their vote. As the electoral commission has already indicated, local officials should have done better. Results might well be challenged and changed in the coming days.
Some good results, though; the best of them being Caroline Lucas' victory in Brighton and the trouncing of Nick Griffin.
More evidence of the brokenness of our current system were the numbers in mainly urban areas shut out of polling stations, who couldn't cast their vote. As the electoral commission has already indicated, local officials should have done better. Results might well be challenged and changed in the coming days.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Will we grab the chance to fix the democratic deficit?
So, we're all off to vote.
What a privilege it is to choose the people who will make the decisions about how our country is run. This is the creation mandate democratised, everyone having a say in how we till the garden.
This is not to say that there aren't problems with our current way of operating, of course. Wonderful though it is to be able to vote, it is galling to think that the election will be decided in just about 100 constituencies (and mine isn't one of them!), leaving 500+ constituencies facing a democratic deficit of some kind.
And whichever party emerges as the biggest will still only have the backing of between 25 and 35% of the popular vote - hardly an overwhelming endorsement of any party programme!
The case for reform is pretty overwhelming. Add to that the hopelessly muddled and outdated way our second chamber is filled and it's not hard to see why many overseas observers are doubtful that if we were an emerging nation, our system of elections would pass muster.
But what chance is there that this creaking system would be overhauled by a government that squeaked home with a working majority under our first-past-the-post system? Not much judging by the past 30 years!
So a hung parliament could well be the best outcome of this voting round, providing it gives rise to a serious attempt to reform our democratic institutions, making the link between voters and parliament stronger by ensuring that everyone's vote counts.
The markets won't like it but then you know what happens when we allow bankers to run the world!
What a privilege it is to choose the people who will make the decisions about how our country is run. This is the creation mandate democratised, everyone having a say in how we till the garden.
This is not to say that there aren't problems with our current way of operating, of course. Wonderful though it is to be able to vote, it is galling to think that the election will be decided in just about 100 constituencies (and mine isn't one of them!), leaving 500+ constituencies facing a democratic deficit of some kind.
And whichever party emerges as the biggest will still only have the backing of between 25 and 35% of the popular vote - hardly an overwhelming endorsement of any party programme!
The case for reform is pretty overwhelming. Add to that the hopelessly muddled and outdated way our second chamber is filled and it's not hard to see why many overseas observers are doubtful that if we were an emerging nation, our system of elections would pass muster.
But what chance is there that this creaking system would be overhauled by a government that squeaked home with a working majority under our first-past-the-post system? Not much judging by the past 30 years!
So a hung parliament could well be the best outcome of this voting round, providing it gives rise to a serious attempt to reform our democratic institutions, making the link between voters and parliament stronger by ensuring that everyone's vote counts.
The markets won't like it but then you know what happens when we allow bankers to run the world!
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Unpacking the Prism offer
Well, Glen has created a new compound noun - Prism-Style-Worship (I'm not sure I'd go for capitals there, Glen; sounds like you're shouting!) - and raised two really interesting points (see the comments on the previous post).
I think prism-style-worship taps into Christian tradition and practice through story telling and ritual acts. The Sunday morning communion is a case in point. our celebration of the Eucharist happened in three parts. The first involved cake with individual wine glasses stuck in it and as we sat around the tables we told stories of when Jesus partied, when he was guest at a dinner or host; what he did and what he said on those occasions.
So people spontaneously told the story of the wedding at Cana, the feeding of the five thousand, the tea with Zacchaeus, the bread breaking at Emmaus and many more. We shared how we felt when we heard such stories, what they meant to us, what they revealed to us about Jesus and why we want to follow him.
Then we produced a French loaf nailed to a plank of wood and invited people to share stories of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, from Palm Sunday, through Maundy Thursday to Good Friday, stories of adulation and rejection, bonhomie and betrayal, friendship and fearful denial; and ultimately stories of the lonely death of the one who more than any other revealed God to us.
The contrast between the cake and the loaf caused a sharp intake of breath among a number of people around the table, even some tears. It was a stark reminder of the meaning of the meal. The stories of Jesus' suffering seem to be given context by the ritual, something tactile and visual, even visceral, was entered into our memory and story telling. And it was powerful.
In the course of these two sections - lasting about an hour, probably slightly less - worshippers were exposed to more scripture than the average church goer gets in a month. Not only that, there was opportunity to reflect on that scripture and extract reactions and responses to it.
This is just a single example of how this approach to constructing a gathering enables people to interact with one another and the Christian story at quite a deep level.
Because prismstyleworship (see I've now made a single word of it) is interactive and participatory, those engaging in it are able to ask questions, seek clarification, add insights, unwrap, probe and explore a single thought at length, write something down, draw or paint a response or reflection. The learning that happens in such a context is likely to be more lasting than that gained from just listening.
I think it ought to be an essential part of the mix of activities we offer in church but probably not the only way of teaching and learning, engaging with God and encouraging one another because one size does not fit all.
I think prism-style-worship taps into Christian tradition and practice through story telling and ritual acts. The Sunday morning communion is a case in point. our celebration of the Eucharist happened in three parts. The first involved cake with individual wine glasses stuck in it and as we sat around the tables we told stories of when Jesus partied, when he was guest at a dinner or host; what he did and what he said on those occasions.
So people spontaneously told the story of the wedding at Cana, the feeding of the five thousand, the tea with Zacchaeus, the bread breaking at Emmaus and many more. We shared how we felt when we heard such stories, what they meant to us, what they revealed to us about Jesus and why we want to follow him.
Then we produced a French loaf nailed to a plank of wood and invited people to share stories of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, from Palm Sunday, through Maundy Thursday to Good Friday, stories of adulation and rejection, bonhomie and betrayal, friendship and fearful denial; and ultimately stories of the lonely death of the one who more than any other revealed God to us.
The contrast between the cake and the loaf caused a sharp intake of breath among a number of people around the table, even some tears. It was a stark reminder of the meaning of the meal. The stories of Jesus' suffering seem to be given context by the ritual, something tactile and visual, even visceral, was entered into our memory and story telling. And it was powerful.
In the course of these two sections - lasting about an hour, probably slightly less - worshippers were exposed to more scripture than the average church goer gets in a month. Not only that, there was opportunity to reflect on that scripture and extract reactions and responses to it.
This is just a single example of how this approach to constructing a gathering enables people to interact with one another and the Christian story at quite a deep level.
Because prismstyleworship (see I've now made a single word of it) is interactive and participatory, those engaging in it are able to ask questions, seek clarification, add insights, unwrap, probe and explore a single thought at length, write something down, draw or paint a response or reflection. The learning that happens in such a context is likely to be more lasting than that gained from just listening.
I think it ought to be an essential part of the mix of activities we offer in church but probably not the only way of teaching and learning, engaging with God and encouraging one another because one size does not fit all.
What in the world are we doing?
A final thought on the Baptist Assembly. Glen (here) has raised an interesting question in his reflections about the style of what we do at Prism that I want to muse on. I think alt worship is actually a bad name for what we do because it implies that we are merely seeking a replacement for the more traditional activities that the church calls ‘worship’ (wrongly in my view – but that’s for another post) such as singing and listening to sermons. Rather, I think we are seeking to do a number of things simultaneously.
The first is to help people see the world differently, from a strange, even obtuse angle with unexpected shafts of light falling on it. We were helped in this by the theme of the Assembly – One World, One Mission – but it is one of the key considerations I always have uppermost when planning an event – be it, a church Sunday gathering or home group. This is because we gather to engage with God who calls us to embody his values in the world in which we live and work. So having an understanding of that world is important.
It means that we need to hear what the world is saying about itself and not only what we want to say about it. Now, I appreciate that the world speaks with many voices and we will inevitably be selective in what we turn our ears and eyes to. But it seems to me that it’s essential that we hear voices from the world as clearly as we can.
The second is to suggest that God is to be found already working in this world and that if we look carefully we’ll see his shadow falling across it, notice his finger print on all we’re seeing. So, we listen to a Patty Smith album and become aware that she talks more and more intelligently about God than the average ‘worship’ album; or we see a movement working justice that inspires us even though its motivation is avowedly not religious; or we see vital theological issues being played out in a movie or the plot of a novel.
This helps us in the key task of bridging the gap that Christians are often guilty of maintaining between the world we live in day-by-day and the faith we express in our worship; the gap we express when we say ‘I come to church to focus on God without being distracted by all the awful things in the news’ or ‘we are going into the world to take the presence of God with us.’
The third is to help us see ourselves in a different way as a result of the first two. In focusing on what’s going on the world, we see that God is bigger and that our lives are more significant than we thought. We find ourselves caught up in the story of God, the creating, covenant-making, coming King; and we see that God has given us a key role in how that story unfolds in our world.
My hope is that people leave an event like Prism, with a fresh way of living in the world. I guess this is the hope of traditional gatherings, but I wonder if the traditional model tends to focus on me and God and take the world for granted as a fixed entity from which we’ve withdrawn in order to worship before we go back into the world with a changed view of ourselves and perhaps a better take on God.
The trouble is that it tends to treat the world as a given on which we will act rather than something which acts on us as we seek to identify the shape that God wants us to take on to effectively embody his values in that world.
After the first Prism – which seems like a lifetime ago in Brighton in 2005 – I wrote a series of articles for the Baptist Times on ‘alt worship’. It’s my intention to dust those off over the next few days and re-post them here.
Finally got round to listening to the Mumford & Sons album - a fascinating and rather wonderful example of hearing God in the unlikeliest of places!
The first is to help people see the world differently, from a strange, even obtuse angle with unexpected shafts of light falling on it. We were helped in this by the theme of the Assembly – One World, One Mission – but it is one of the key considerations I always have uppermost when planning an event – be it, a church Sunday gathering or home group. This is because we gather to engage with God who calls us to embody his values in the world in which we live and work. So having an understanding of that world is important.
It means that we need to hear what the world is saying about itself and not only what we want to say about it. Now, I appreciate that the world speaks with many voices and we will inevitably be selective in what we turn our ears and eyes to. But it seems to me that it’s essential that we hear voices from the world as clearly as we can.
The second is to suggest that God is to be found already working in this world and that if we look carefully we’ll see his shadow falling across it, notice his finger print on all we’re seeing. So, we listen to a Patty Smith album and become aware that she talks more and more intelligently about God than the average ‘worship’ album; or we see a movement working justice that inspires us even though its motivation is avowedly not religious; or we see vital theological issues being played out in a movie or the plot of a novel.
This helps us in the key task of bridging the gap that Christians are often guilty of maintaining between the world we live in day-by-day and the faith we express in our worship; the gap we express when we say ‘I come to church to focus on God without being distracted by all the awful things in the news’ or ‘we are going into the world to take the presence of God with us.’
The third is to help us see ourselves in a different way as a result of the first two. In focusing on what’s going on the world, we see that God is bigger and that our lives are more significant than we thought. We find ourselves caught up in the story of God, the creating, covenant-making, coming King; and we see that God has given us a key role in how that story unfolds in our world.
My hope is that people leave an event like Prism, with a fresh way of living in the world. I guess this is the hope of traditional gatherings, but I wonder if the traditional model tends to focus on me and God and take the world for granted as a fixed entity from which we’ve withdrawn in order to worship before we go back into the world with a changed view of ourselves and perhaps a better take on God.
The trouble is that it tends to treat the world as a given on which we will act rather than something which acts on us as we seek to identify the shape that God wants us to take on to effectively embody his values in that world.
After the first Prism – which seems like a lifetime ago in Brighton in 2005 – I wrote a series of articles for the Baptist Times on ‘alt worship’. It’s my intention to dust those off over the next few days and re-post them here.
Finally got round to listening to the Mumford & Sons album - a fascinating and rather wonderful example of hearing God in the unlikeliest of places!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
From the Assembly to the real world
Back from the Assembly and beginning to recover. I had to hurry off yesterday morning to get back from Plymouth to chair an election hustings meeting last night (200+ people on bank holiday Monday evening, not bad!).
I can only comment on Prism at the Assembly because it's all I got to - five sessions plus a double seminar slot. I gather from the blogs that the Assembly overall was better than it's been in recent years which is good to hear.
Prism went really well. The final session on Sunday evening where we welcomed the ministers about to have their hands shaken on the stage in the other place, looked at how we communicate the good news, interacting with Billy Graham, Rob Bell and Where the hell is Matt? The fact that we shared deeply with one another and ended up dancing probably means that something gelled!
The team were great and worked really hard to make the whole event go really well. It almost makes me want to do it all again, but....
Meanwhile, back in the real world, I have a leaders meeting tonight that I'm really looking forward to. With our newly elected team of nine trustees, we will be starting the journey into the future that God is inviting us on. Let's hope we catch the right wave!
And the spell checker button has reappeared - thank you blogger!
I can only comment on Prism at the Assembly because it's all I got to - five sessions plus a double seminar slot. I gather from the blogs that the Assembly overall was better than it's been in recent years which is good to hear.
Prism went really well. The final session on Sunday evening where we welcomed the ministers about to have their hands shaken on the stage in the other place, looked at how we communicate the good news, interacting with Billy Graham, Rob Bell and Where the hell is Matt? The fact that we shared deeply with one another and ended up dancing probably means that something gelled!
The team were great and worked really hard to make the whole event go really well. It almost makes me want to do it all again, but....
Meanwhile, back in the real world, I have a leaders meeting tonight that I'm really looking forward to. With our newly elected team of nine trustees, we will be starting the journey into the future that God is inviting us on. Let's hope we catch the right wave!
And the spell checker button has reappeared - thank you blogger!
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Baptist Assembly update
Day three in the Baptist Assembly house and all is well. Four sessions in, it's possibly the best Prism ever - good numbers, excellent atmosphere, real engagement with the issues and a tangible sense of the presence of God in unexpected and rather wonderful ways.
We had a particularly good communion this morning - but Prism communions have been special from the first. But all the sessions have gone well and, possibly for the first time, I think we have created a trajectory through the weekend and are taking delegates on a journey.
The cost of all this is that I'm totally wiped out, we've one session to go, then we've got to de-rig the space and I've got to get back to Bromley to chair a hustings meeting tomorrow night. Ah well! Tuesday I shall sleep - until the leaders' meeting in the evening.
We had a particularly good communion this morning - but Prism communions have been special from the first. But all the sessions have gone well and, possibly for the first time, I think we have created a trajectory through the weekend and are taking delegates on a journey.
The cost of all this is that I'm totally wiped out, we've one session to go, then we've got to de-rig the space and I've got to get back to Bromley to chair a hustings meeting tomorrow night. Ah well! Tuesday I shall sleep - until the leaders' meeting in the evening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
