More thoughts on living up to our image

We went to see Coldplay at Crystal Palace on Monday evening. A group of us sat on the hill overlooking the stadium watching the gig on giant screens and through binoculars. It was great. Coldplay are a really good live band. They sang songs from each of the three albums and Chris Martin was chatty between songs. They are growing in stature.

Part of the conversation inevitably touched on church. A friend from Glasgow was describing his church in ways that made me really envious!

For one thing he talked about his 'community'. Indeed all the language he used suggested that the Christian group he's a part of is less an institution and more a family. That thrilled me. But even more wonderful was the fact that the group's main mission strategy is making friends and having parties. How good is that?!

As we speak, I'm working on a 'party strategy'(!) for our church to talk through at our leaders' awayday in July with a view to launching it in the autumn. Such a strategy could be the way to open up a dialogue about the Christian faith on the estate we live on. It's long term and has integrity. On top of that, it sounds a great deal of fun!

Spent a lot of time in the car yesterday, during which time I fell in love with the album by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama called There will be a light. Gloriously life and faith affirming gospel blues - and it's only £4.99 in the HMV sale!!

Living up to our image

Preparing for cafe church on issues of life and death - namely abortion and euthanasia - I have been struck afresh by the wonder of the thought that humans are made in the image of God.

We often think this has to do with some attribute - like personality, reason, emotions, language. And it maybe does include all those things and more.

But commentators seem to agree that the key to this is relationship. God, a trinity eternally existing in a love relationship in him/herself, creates beings also able to relate to each other and to him/her (I use both pronouns because the image of God consists in the man and the woman together (Gen 1:27).

There is much stress in our culture on autonomous individuals having the power of choice over their own lives and destinies. I wonder if this is at the root of the epidemic of loneliness and broken relationships. We are alone in our choices, isolated in a world where we have to stay on our toes just to survive. In space no one can hear you scream, said the tag line for Alien. The same is true in our neighbourhoods.

Genesis stresses that we are beings made for relationships, people intended to make choices out of those relationships, knowing the support of family, friends, colleagues; including them in the decisions we make about our lives so we benefit from their wisdom and experience; recognising that our decisions effect others for good or ill.

I think, too, that God's image lies in us taking responsibility for our calling. After all, God gave us the task of managing his world. And I wonder if it's also seen in us working for redemption. Again, following the Fall, God didn't give up on us. Instead he immediately set in motion a plan to redeem and restore his creation and the people he created to be at the centre of it. So to reflect something of God, we too will be people who do not give up on 'lost causes', but rather work for redemption, believing that in the power of God, guided by his agenda for the planet, we can make a contribution to ensuring that all people enjoy the fullness of life God wants for all.

I'm looking forward to cafe church on Sunday; I hope it proves to be life-affirming. I hope it also encourages all of us to live up to our image.

more music

Busy week of conferencing and planning meetings. Away four out of five days, living out of a suitcase.

The conference was excellent but it's good to be home.

I've been listening to two new albums as I travel - driving is a good time to vet new music.

The first is Coldplay's new one X&Y. Yes, I know it's cool to be disparaging of Coldplay's output - too earnest, over-produced and grandiose. But - as George Michael once said - we should listen without prejudice. And what we hear are great tunes, lovely singing, faultless playing and bucket loads of emotion. Chris Martin can't help it if he believes that it's possible to work for a better world, that people could be nice to each other and that there's more to a pop song than boy meets girl.

I know he can be over-wrought and that he has a tendency to over-parade his insecurities. But he writes interesting songs - high praise in a terrain of bland and unchallenging music.

The other one is the debut by The Magic Numbers. This is bright, breezy, guitar pop with a decidedly hippy bent. The four-piece from Hanwell in West London have been hailed as a new Mamas and Papas - a reference surely lost on anyone under 40! It's not a bad comparison, though. Their harmonies are sensational, their tunes gossamer light, fragile explorations of love and life in a troubled world. It's great stuff.

diving deep

Just back from a church weekend away and about to leave for a ministers' conference. Ah, flaming June!

Over the weekend I was leading fifty people from a church in West London on an exploration of how we do church in McWorld (post-modern, post-Christendom, globalised, all-embracing conumer society, etc) by working through themes in Philippians. I've been reading Philippians through these spectales for a year or more and am finding myself diving ever deeper into the mind of the apostle and the heart of God.

This week I'm at the Baptist Union's Newly Acredited Ministers' Conference. I always enjoy this gathering. It's a chance to meet old mates and help ministers in the early stages of their of first pastorates reflect on what's happening in and through them.

I shall be continuing to read Philippians. Having led five sessions on this letter over the weekend, I am more and more aware of the fact that I have only scratched the surface of Paul's argument.

In my own study of this letter I have been particularly helped by Peter Oakes' monograph Philippians: From people to letter - a truly inspiring PhD thesis examining the social and economic context of the letter and Paul's theological response to it. There have also been a raft of helpful articles exploring the relationship between Philippians (and other Pauline letters) and the power structures of the Roman empire (particularly in JSNT but also in three collections edited by Richard Horsley).

What has struck me afresh over recent days is how Paul has based his whole argument on the life of Jesus. A pattern emerges where Paul talks about Jesus as the exemplary servant in chapter 2, shows how he has modelled his life on that of Jesus in chapter 3, and calls his readers to do the same. His use of the language of 'thinking' and 'serving', in particular, leads us to ask profound questions about what we are living for, who we are trusting and whether our Christian faith has any relevance for our lives outside church.

It is this last thought that I have been particularly wrestling with over the past few weeks. It seems to me that Paul sees no distinction between our lives 'in church' and our lives in 'the world'. Wherever we are, we are to live lives of humble of service, looking out for the interests of others, doing nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, considering others better than ourselves, not complaining, grumbling or arguing but shining the light of kindness, grace and care into our workplaces, homes and sports clubs, as much as into the church.

At the same time, he is certain that will only be possible of churches are places where we learn these values and live them as examples of what happens when Jesus truly takes hold of a group of human beings and they begin to embody the values of the coming Kingdom, God's agenda for the whole of creation.

This is exciting and scary in equal measure. Can you imagine what would happen to our communities if Christians actually lived this way? Paul says that we should have the same attitude as Jesus (2:5). How about it?

prodigals and post-Christendom

I'm listening to Moby's lovely Hotel album - possibly up there with his best work; some tracks are just bursting with life-affirming energy, I can't help grinning broadly as I type. There is a very revealing interview with the artist in the current issue of the excellent Relevant magazine -arguably the best Christian magazine on the market - in which Moby talks candidly about his faith in Jesus and his exasperation with the church and Christians.

He strikes me as typical of one type of so-called prodigal - those who grew up with some church connection and faith, but who have stopped attending. Some prodigals have walked out on their faith, viewing it as a phase of their life that they passed through, as well as church. Others - and I suspect the majority - have given up on the church but are still intrigued by Jesus and would like to know him better.

Thousands of people are leaving the church in Britain every week - Stuart Murray has the figures in his book Church After Christendom (which is well worth reading, by the way). But many of those are doing so, not because they've lost their faith in Jesus, but because they can't deal with church anymore.

Maybe this trend is part of the breakdown of Christendom; people are realising that the institution can be separated from the faith and they're choosing the latter but rejecting the former. Maybe it's part of trends in our culture away from high-commitment activities, away from joining organisations and towards greater autonomy in terms of consumer lifestyles...

Now there are problems here, of course. The New testament would find the idea of a solo Christian a totally alien concept. As someone has said, it takes a church to raise a Christian. But the question 'what is the church?' has never been more pressing than it is today.

Is church what happens in ecclesiastical buildings up and down the land Sunday after Sunday? or is it something else. Stuart Murray suggests we start using 'church' as a verb not a noun. Church is something we are and something we do, rather than something that is.

But the question is what will that look like? We're so used to talking about church in terms of hymns and songs, sermons and Sunday schools, centrally planned mission activity, ministers and volunteers, that we cannot begin to ask what church might be like without any of these things.

But maybe the presence of so many prodigals in our midst means that we need to start asking these questions. Many of them are still interested in Jesus. In fact, many of them still find Jesus the most compelling, dynamic, intriguing, beguiling and wonderful person they've ever met. Is this a challenge to our current churches or what?

As Moby sings on Spiders 'we just had to ask/maybe someone out of heaven/would hear us down here'.

Sun, sea, surf, etc

I've just returned from a few days with friends in Devon. Lots of walking in the sunshine and God's amazing creation. A chance to recharge batteries and focus on what matters.

I am always acutely aware of God's presence in some of the places we go - Bantham, Hope Cove, Soar Mill Cove. Perhaps it's because significant encounters have occurred in these places in the past, perhaps it's because they are particularly numinous, maybe I am just particularly touched by the landscape.

Now it's how I translate these encounters into ministry over the weekend.

Next weekend I'm doing a church conference on post-Christendom issues. Actually my title is 'Christians in McWorld', focusing on my favorite Pauline text at the moment - Philippians 1:27-4:2, how we stand firm in a difficult place. I've been reading Stuart Murray's two books on post-Christendom, however, and they are excellent - full of stimulating analysis and ideas.

This whole post-Christendom idea - coupled with Brueggemann's picture of the church in exile - is very helpful in charting our position in these interesting times.

Been listening to Arcade Fire's Funeral - quite the most amazing music to have come out of Canada in this millennium! Reminiscent of early Talking Heads, but full of wit and musical diversity.

cafe church debrief

We had our second cafe style church on Sunday. We tackled the tough issue of why a God of love allows so much suffering.

A good number came - possibly a bit down on the first one.

This time was more liquid in structure - if that's not an oxymoron. We gathered together in the worship area - laid out as a cafe - for introductions and preliminary inputs. Then we dispersed to a labyrinth that offered resources for creating a theology of suffering based on the themes of creation, fall, hope and faith. There was also a 'gazebo of life' where people could pray in a variety of ways - using art materials.

Then we reconvened for some more input and feedback. We had a lot of good comments and impossible to answer questions texted to us through the evening - so there was plenty of interaction.

Again the major comment on the evening was that it was too short - it ran for an hour and 40 minutes. Lots of people appreciated the labyrinth and especially the chance to think for themselves. Some left wondering if we'd given them enough of an answer - but I think that's inevitable given the subject.

It took a lot of setting up - but I had a great team helping me - but was less stressful than the first one.

All in all, a good experience. Roll on the next one....

prayerless days

There used to be a cheesy poster displayed outside our churches saying 'seven prayerless days makes one weak.' Ffortunately we don't do that kind of thing anymore.

Sadly, like a lot of cheesy things, it contains an essential truth that we might have lost when we threw the posters away: we need to pray. If God's people want to see God working, we need to pray. If we are in need, we need to pray. If we are rejoicing that everything in our lives is hunky dory, we need to pray.

Another cliche suggests 'prayer changes things'. Like lots of cliches, it's true.

When Tony Blair was re-elected, I wrote to him, saying 'well done' - a third consecutive labour term is historic. My concern for his third term is that he drives forward the agenda on making poverty history in his role as chair of the G8 and EU this year.

I also assured him that we would be praying for him. The Make Poverty History agenda is unachievable without prayer. There are too many deep-rooted structural powers that will not be shifted by human effort, argument and dialogue. They are spiritual and are shifted only through the exercise of spiritual power that is tapped and unleashed through prayer.

So as we march and write, campaign and inform, we also need to pray. If we want fewer children to die of stupid poverty (Bono's phrase), we need to pray. If we are to have the energy to sustain this campaign for this year and beyond, we need to pray.

The cliche has it that 'prayer is the powerhouse of the church'. And that's true too. Prayer releases God's power in our world that is vital for achieving anything.

So let's not have prayless days otherwise we will be too weak to change the world.

Blogging addiction

Mark Goodacre on ntgateway.com suggests he might be addicted to blogging. He has to blog everyday. I have the opposite addiction. I have to read his blog everyday - it's broad, informative, essential - and I get twichy when he doesn't post for a day or two!

Yesterday I was preparing for cafe church and watched Pay it Forward - a film starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and the remarkable Haley Joel Osment (the boy in Sixth Sense). I had intended to watch a couple of scenes but got hooked. It's an absorbing tale of what would happen if people acted towards others with grace, doing favours for those who don't pay them back but do something for someone else (three people, in fact) as a result of someone doing them a favour - paying it forward.

It sounds a bit cheesy - but actually packs an enormous punch at the end (well, it had me in tears!). I guess I was stirred by the suggestion that an individual can do something that impacts the lives of hundreds of others. It struck me as a deeply Christian idea.

I'm not sure how it helps me prepare for Sunday but it's given me ideas for other events.

Opening the cafe again

Our next cafe church is looming. The tough issue this time is why does a God of love allow so much suffering. It's a big, intractable issue that we can't do justice to in an hour and half - but we'll have a go at provoking some questions, some thought and some empathy for and with those who suffer.

It's always struck me that suffering is a complex of problems not a single issue. It's to do with philosophy and morality, ethics and metaphysics, of course, but it's also about politics and how we organise ourselves as communities and nations. It's a good topic to follow on from Make Poverty History. How much of Africa's suffering is made by us and the way we organise things like trade and aid?

And then of course, suffering is an emotional and pastoral issue. It's a problem because it hurts. And it hurts so much it's hard to think straight.

So on Sunday evening we're going to try and tackle some of this using video clips - Apollo 13, Bruce Almighty, Schindler's List, I Giant Leap - drama, a bit of talking and music - especially the Vigilantes of Love's Resplendent.

On top of that we're going to have a gazebo of life in our welcome area - a place to pray about suffering (mine, my friend's and the world's) using words, paint, crayons, clay and whatever else comes to hand. And we're going to build a sort of theological labyrinth - a series of stations that will take us on a theological journey into the heart of what our faith says about suffering and how we think about this issue in the presence of God.

The aim as always is to make people think. On top of that, I feel that we also need to help people express themselves - their anger, pain, joy, frustration and faith. And we need to realise that however hard we think and pray, we'll not get an answer, just pointers to help us live better, more faithful lives in the mess this world is.

I'm excited and scared stiff in equal proportions...

Lots of balls in the air

Vigilantes of Love Audible Sigh arrived a few days ago. What a blinder - song after wonderful song.

It's been the soundtrack to a busy time. Lots of balls to keep up - a men's Bible study, cafe church planning, developing the worship group, hosting a series on spirituality for everyday life, getting down to thinking about how I'll edit Talk (the magazine of the Mainstream network), planning an outreach on the estate we live on and visiting people interested in exploring the Christian faith.

It's the usual stuff of a minister's life.

Reflecting on it, it's possibly one reason why there's so little experimentation at the heart of churches. You'll recall that I've been thinking about how we can improve the quality of learning among our people - especially in the evening services. But services are one thing we ministers know how to do, so when there are lots of balls to keep airborne, we can do services on autopilot.

But this needs to be resisted. Services lead to many of the other things we do - conversations about discipleship, rites of passage and guidance. They also do something intangible - they set the tone, the 'feel' of the church; they create the atmosphere in which everything else happens and which determines whether or not people access all the other things the church has to offer.

So it matters that we keep thinking about our services, keep raising the quality, keep pushing the envelope of experimentation.

However, we also need to recognize that for increasing numbers of people, services are one part of the church's life they don't participate in at all. They might come to a mid-week gathering - parent and toddlers, youth work, an English class - but never on Sundays.

So, here's a load of other balls to juggle with. How do we help these people access all that the church is about and not just the single activity that they are drawn by. For example, the mum or couple who comes to a parent and toddler group might not think of coming to anything else, might not even realise that anything else happens in the church that might interest them. So, how do we open up to them the range of possibilities that the church offers for social and spiritual activities and growth?

The Vigilantes of Love earth all this talk, reminding me what really matters - the quality of our relationships and the need to depend on God (even when he seems a little out of focus).

It's not 1997, but...

Living now in a constituency where they weigh the Tory vote, there was little chance of me feeling this morning like I felt on that spring morning in 1997 when I left the count in Peckham with the sun rising on a fresh new dawn of hope and promise (Ah nostalgia...!)

But it is significant that Tony Blair has won a histoiric third term. The Labour Party is no longer the means by which the electorate punishes the Conservatives which it otherwise sees as the natural party of government. It now genuinely offers an alternative way of running the country; one that marries economic competence with social justice. And it has forced the Tories to rethink some of their attitudes - it's notable that they don't seem to be committed to abolishing the minimum wage, for example.

The significantly reduced majority might make Labour's third term very different from his first two, but I for one hope that we don't now have months of tiresome speculation about how long Blair serves before handing over to Gordon Brown.

My hope is that this result will be good for the world's poor. Although it figured very little in the campaign, Blair is the only UK and European leader committed to doing something about debt and trade - as is shown by his commission on Africa. My prayer is that he will be able to achieve some of the goals of the Make Poverty History campaign, starting at the Gleneagle's G8 meetings.

Perhaps like a US president in their second term, Blair, knowing that he never has to face re-election, might be emboldened to seek his place in history as the world leader who actually made a difference to the lives of the one and half billion living on less than a dollar a day. What better lagacy for a man committed to social justice could there be?

More great music

Some time ago I waxed lyrical about Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love. This morning I took delivery of Locketfull of Moonlight, a 2002 release by Mallonee. And it's quite wonderful.

There's a remarkable provisionality about Mallonee's music, the sense that next time he performs a song, it'll be different. In some bands this would be indication of under-rehearsal. With Mallonee, it's a result of the depth of what he writes; different performances bring out different aspects of a song's richness.

And there's richness aplenty here. In particular the song Overflow is a gem. Simply performed and taking its cue from a celtic blessing, the song celebrates the saving power of love and the vitality of grace and the desire that Mallonee's friends - possibly, friends about to marry (it would certainly make a fantastic wedding song) - will know both in their lives and relationships.

The song expresses that Mallonee provisionality again, this time in the sense that all our experiences here are to be lived and enjoyed to the full, but they are only a foretaste of what's to come

There is a British version of the album - mine came from the States - which has more tracks on it, but I've never seen it anywhere and at the current exchange rate, buying CDs in America has rarely been better value.

wherever you find it, find it - and I'm sure you'll love it.

let's hear it for...

I've been in the garden most of the day. Boy, do I ache....

On the CD player at the moment, the wonderful Kaiser chiefs' Employment - bright breezy, blur-like brit-pop. Not a bad tune in sight, lots of great hooks and some nice lines.

It's replaced the Eels new masterpiece, a double album with not a duff track in sight. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, Mark Everett's mature reflection on life and loss, is curiously uplifting. If you're not familiar with Eels, they've been around 6 or 7 years and have produced a string of very listenable albums. E - as Mark Everett is known - is a Gen X popster of some skill. Following the first album, he was hit by the detah of his mother and sister and has written quite a lot about that experience. This latest album is probably the final word. Well worth checking out.

Following last week's cafe church triumph, it's back to regular church tomorrow evening. I've found preparing for it difficult. I keep thinking of things we could do cafe-style with the theme...

Cafe church revisited

The verdicts on our cafe church on Sunday night are universally positive.

People have spoken of the inclusive atmosphere, the valuing of all contributions, the stimulating nature of the input, the mixture of serious discussion and humour.

So it's down to me to enter the caveats, I guess (though I'm sure others are on their way!).

Firstly, it took a lot of work. If you're ging to do anything like this, set aside three or four working days and get people to help. A small group generating ideas with individuals going off to work ideas up into timed contributions is the best way of doing this. Also be aware of the sheer physical effort of reconfiguring the seating and putting it all back again afterwards.

Secondly, we prepared far too much material for Sunday evening. And it was difficult to edit as we went along. Consequently, I think we overran by at least 20 minutes - though one group who were still talking half an hour after it finished, said they thought it was too short!

So, I think the small group needs to generate ideas, get some of them worked up a bit and then edit out the ones that aren't absolutely top-notch.

I also thought we needed to leave more space to let things sink in. For example, we had a good piece of drama, excellently performed, but weren't able to leave space around it for people to ponder its impact.

Thirdly, I felt that it was a bit static. people sat for the best part of two hours (though no one complained aboutb that). I would like to get people moving at the next one. My thought is that we'll have three areas of operation, with everyone all together for some of the time and dispersed around the zones at other times.

Those are small caveats really. I thought the evening went really well. My major headache is that we've no room for growth in our space. we had 130-ish in our worship area and it was full! Apart from knocking the building down and building a bigger one (not an option), what can I do to fit more people in?

Cafe Church

We held our first cafe-style evening service yesterday. So I'm knackered...

First impressions are that it went really well. There are lessons to reflect on (which I will do later in the week). A good number turned up - well, we ran out of chairs and tables and people had to go upstairs. Lots of people sent text messages - too many for us to answer all their comments and questions. There was a great atmosphere and everyone - whatever age group they came from - said they really enjoyed it. In fact one group - who didn't leave church until 8:40pm - said they thought it should have gone on longer!

We tackled the issue of poverty - why Christians should be in vanguard of the make poverty history campaign.

Next time we're looking at suffering - why a God of love allows it. We'll tackle it differently. I think we'll have to adopt a more liquid approach and get people moving throughout the church building.

Liquid worship

Michael Moynagh and Tim Lomax have written a very interesting Grove booklet on Liquid Worship. Taking their cue from Pete Ward's book of the same title, the authors outline strong theological and practical reasons for adopting a more liquid approach to our gatherings.

By liquid they mean that worship services are created around a series of zones that participants visit in an order of their choosing. The group might come together for some activities - such as communion or coffee - but by and large each individual chooses their way through the zones and how long they stay in each zone.

'Liquid worship...has the potential to create an entirely new framework for worship,' they say. 'By giving individuals choice, it moves away from top-down worship. Worship is no longer 'done to' the individual, with worshippers standing, sitting , kneeling as they are told. Worshippers have to decide actively what route to follow through the zones.'

But liquid worship is not entirely 'democratic'. The leaders of the service establish the zones. 'A dialogue can occur between personal choice and best practice in worship.'

The authors suggest that increased participation by worshippers offers greater opportunity for transformation of both individuals and communities.

I'm reading this because we're about to embark on a series of cafe-style services - one a month between now and July. We're aiming to tackle tough issues - Make Poverty History is our first topic - through a mixture of drama, music, video and discussion. We will set the agenda by introducing the topic but the 'worshippers' will determine how we tackle the topic through their questions and comments.

In a real sense the body of the congregation will determine what is said from the front. So this is a liquid approach to a service where we are all stay together in a single zone. I know where I want to end up but I'm not sure where we'll go along the way or what we'll discover.

One of our challenges - shared with every church in the UK, I suspect - is put succinctly by Moynagh and Lomax: 'the challenge is no longer to create community among people who enjoy doing the same things together at the same time, as in traditional worship, but to build community among individuals who are very different.' These differences are not just about age but taste and expectation, life experience and preferred learning style.

I also think thay are about attention span. Some people can concentrate for long periods - hence the sermon. Others can't - hence the glazed look that comes over the front row five minutes into a twenty minute talk! Liquid worship works with different length attention spans in a way that, hopefully, enables them to engage throughout our whole time together.

We're hoping cafe-style church will help us bring people together while recognising that people learn in different ways and are looking for different things out of our gatherings. I'll keep you posted.

Displacement activities

I think blogging is a displacement activity. I've got tons to do, but here I am...

I do feel that it's a good displacement activity, however. Over the next few minutes the jumble of thoughts in my brain about a number of sessions I have to plan for at church will begin to get ordered. Blogging enables us to think through our fingers, see words taking shape on the screen which in turn helps our thoughts to take shape.

I'm pondering Micah 6:8 - one of the OT's catchier verses - and yet its very familiarity makes it difficult to bring into focus. Doing justice, loving mercy/kindness, walking humbly with God - of course, any Christian will want to do that. Next...

The context is that God's people are having a moan that God's ignoring them. Rather more importantly, God is suggesting that they have abandoned him and he wants to give his case against them an airing in front of reliable and venerable witnesses - so he chooses the mountains as a jury and outlines his case: his people disregard him despite the fact that he is the one responsible for their life as a free nation. He rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He led them safely through the wilderness. He protected them from bullies. He generously gave them a good land. Now they disregard him.

Having heard the case against them, God's people ask what they can do (verse 6). They suggest the usual ritual activities taken to extremes in a bid to show that they want their relationship with God to be right. The prosecution - in the form of the prophet - tells them that they know what to do (verse 8).

What emerges here is really a debate about worship. The people think ritual is what matters; providing they get the ritual right, they'll be ok. So we'll sing the right hymns or new songs; we'll follow the Prayer Book or Common worship; we'll have a beautifully constructed hymn-prayer sandwich or a gloriously Spirit-fuelled free-flowing time of singing and silences.

The prophet says worship is about relationship and the lifestyle that flows from it.

Ritual can be contained to an hour here and there. We can give the ritual our fullest attention, wear our nicest clothes, bring treasured possessions as gifts. But for the rest of the time, we live how we want to. Relationship is not something we turn on and off. It is a 24/7 thing. More than that, it changes us. We'll want to be like the God who invites us into this relationship. If God rescues, leads, protects and generously gives, then we'll want to be like that. This is what doing justice and loving kindness will look like.

This means worship is a choice about shopping and politics. Our world is full of people who need rescuing - from debt, extreme poverty, hunger, illness; protecting - from tyranny, the effects of poverty, injustice, unfair trade, the shifting forces of nature; leading into a better future; and being given a shot at life in all its fullness.

So walking humbly with our God means we might become people who do such rescuing, protecting, leading and giving.

That's the simple bit. The tougher bit is what will my life be like if I live this way? And more importantly, what will the world be like if all God's people live this way?

The Vigilantes of Love

For some time I've had a mini-album called Free for Good by the Vigilantes of Love. VoL were led by songwriter Bill Mallonee. If you haven't heard them, check them out. Mallonee writes sharp, beautiful songs from a wistful Christian persepctive, songs that chart pain and love, faith and hope with great originality.

Check out www.billandvol.com/music for downloads and lyrics, news and bio

God in surprising places

Yesterday I met some friends up from Devon for a 24 hour gallery tour. We went to see the Anthony Caro exhibition at Tate Britain.

I have to say that I knew very little about Caro - apparently Britain's greatest living sculptor - and the first 9 rooms were pretty uninspiring. They did not prepare us for room 10 which contains a single work called The Last Judgment.

This sombre, striking, awesome piece of work was made between 1995 and 1999 and confronts the viewer with a set of pieces asking questions about ultimate values, the worth of human life. It picks up news from our warring world and probes our culpability for the state of life of earth.

It is a secular piece - there is a gate of heaven, even Jacob's ladder, but interestingly no God. And yet standing in front of these pieces I was acutely aware of the brooding of the divine presence, the weeping of our God of justice for his broken world. Art often does that.

Sadly the retrospective ends on 17 April and the piece usually lives in Germany - so you haven't got long to get to the Tate to see it.