Marking the way

Tales from Tanzania

2011-04-27T19:47:00.004+01:00

While I was in the Kenya, one of the big stories, both in the national media, and among Christians particularly, concerned events in the Arusha region of Tanzania, near a town called Loliondo. Significantly, given where we were, this is only just over the border between Tanzania and Kenya, in Maasai territory. A retired Pastor there in his late '70s felt God tell him to provide a "medicine" for people, and has started doing so. This has apparently resulted in miraculous healings of cancer, AIDs and all kinds of ailments. The twist is that you have to take the potion in his compound. If you try and take it to drink elsewhere it can prove fatal.

This is having an enormous impact across the whole of East Africa, and the queues to see Babu (as he is known) stretch for several kilometres. People are taking their relatives out of hospital to get to see him - and some have died before they make it. To get a glimpse of how huge this story is, try typing "Loliondo healings" or "Loliondo miracles" into Google; you'll get pages and pages of results. If you click here, it will take you to a video from Kenyan national TV about it.

Perhaps inevitably, Christians are divided about this. Babu is a retired Pastor, who, I understand, had a respected ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran church; and it seems that the testimony he gives about all this is framed within a Christian context. On the other hand, to others this seems more like the work of a pagan medicine man than Christian healing (but equally we in the West are quite happy to accept the medicine of secular atheism...). All the information I have about this is, of course, second hand, though some of it comes from people who have been to Babu and drunk the medicine. I think, on balance, I was relieved that there was unlikely to be any pastoral necessity for me to have to make a judgement on all this! But equally, it serves as a reminder to pray for those of our African brothers and sisters in positions of responsibility who do. Discernment needed, methinks.

Musings on moments in Maasailand..

2011-04-25T16:51:00.005+01:00

Now for some reflections on the time in Kenya. These are a bit random in terms of order, and signifcance, but here goes anyway. I suppose the one other thing to say that might explain some of these reflections is that I was last there, in the same community, six years ago, in 2005. With all that in mind, here are a few reflections and memories arising out of our time there:

Kenya has changed in 6 years, and there are definite signs of progress in some areas - the road from Nairobi to Narok being one good example. That said, progress is patchy and inconsistent, and there remains a lot of work to be done.

It was fascinating to see how mobile phones have become so widespread, even where people don't have ready access to electricity. Shops where you can pay to charge your phone have become quite common, and there was a nice touch in the church in Naisoya; it has also become common for churches to have a generator from which they might run an electric keyboard and basic PA system...and in Naisoya at least, folk attending church will hand their phones to the PA guy who will charge them while the service is going on.

Inflation has hit Kenya hard. That was obvious in terms of food prices, and especially in fuel prices. A litre of unleaded was around 3/4s of the UK price - and let's face it, the average income in Kenya is a lot less than 3/4 of that in the UK. I guess what all that proves is that global economic fluctuations tend, like so many things, to hit the poorest hardest. It puts moaning about prices in the UK in context, that's for sure.

Spiritually, while there are many Maasai Christians in and around Narok, it remains true that there are many scarcely reached areas, and it was encouraging to hear of David Kereto's still fresh vision that these folk need to be reached with the gospel and have a church planted among them.

The sponsorship fund that we have established from WCF continues to have a significant effect in and around Naisoya; and it was lovely for some of the team to meet not only the sponsored children, but their parents. Not that their gratitude is the reason for taking part in the programme, but it puts a very human face on it, and stops it becoming a completely anonymous donation.

That underlines one of the key memories for me, both with the folk in Naisoya, and with the church leaders who attended the seminar I took. It really is a tremendous privelege to be able to count these people as friends, not just objects of philanthropy. I'm convinced that the gospel makes that possible in a unique way, as we all come before God in the same way, irrespective of our background or status.

Again there's a lot more to say, but hopefully that will give a flavour of things. There's one more thing that was in the background a lot while we were there that I'll post about tomorrow...

Moments in Maasailand...

2011-04-25T11:14:00.006+01:00

How can I sum up the ten days spent in Kenya? With difficulty to be honest, but let's have a go. In terms of the basics, we spent the first week or so in Naisoya. There has been a link between WCF (and the other Harbour Minsitries churches), and Naisoya for around 10 years now; with the church there (now known as CCI Naisoya), and with the schools, via a child sponsorship scheme, whereby around 70 children are now sponsored. This sponsorship enables them to go to school, get uniform and a good meal at lunchtime. What is left once the individual child's needs have been met is then used to fund the (now 5) nursery level schools that the church has begun. Many of the children are now at the local state funded primary school, and some are shortly to begin secondary education. I spent one morning at the newest nursery school in nearby Osonkoroi, and had the privelege in the afternoon of visiting Pereruan, the girl our family has sponsored since the scheme started, and her mother in their home. Not an experience I'll forget in a hurry. The next 2 days I spent teaching a seminar for CCI church leaders (and some from other denominations), in an area just over an hour's drive away from Naisoya, with Patrick, the Pastor at CCI Naisoya, acting as my interpreter. CCI is a fast growing movement in Kenya, and David Kereto, our host and initial contact in Kenya, is the denomination's General Secretary (amongst his seemingly endless list of responsibilities and projects). I really enjoyed these 2 days, the folk were responsive, engaged and very welcoming, and there was a real sense of God's presence among us, with a number of them testifying to real encouragements. The picture below shows some of them outside the church in Ntulele, where the seminar was held, during one of the breaks. Then we spent time visiting other projects David Kereto is involved with, including a water project, some land for a refuge for girls fleeing from circumcision or forced marriage, which is due to be built this summer. In the middle of all that I managed to get my hair cut very short by a Maasai barber in Narok town (the main town of the area) for less than £1 including tip. Sunday saw us worshipping with CCI Naisoya, and I had the privelege of speaking. Then the next day we moved on to the Maasai Mara for a mini safari, before flying home.
There's loads more to say, but I think I'll save my reflections on all this for another post....

Kenya Chronicle

2011-04-18T07:45:00.002+01:00

Just a brief update as we are somewhere with an internet connection, and a little bit of time. It's been a fascinating week, with some great opportunities. Having expected to take a 1 day seminar for Maasai church leaders, I discovered on arrival it was in fact 2 days...but it seemed to be very well received, and it was great to feel friendship and fellowship with church leaders from a very different background. As well as that it's been good to see a little bit of the many projects that the Maasai Evangelistic Association is involved with - water projects, nursery schools and church planting, and the land for a rescue centre for girls fleeing circumcision or forced marriage. There will be photos on here when I get back, and maybe some more detail too...

Updates?

2011-04-10T18:37:00.003+01:00

Well it has been very quiet on here...and it will probably be for a bit longer as well, as tomorrow I'm off to Kenya for 10 days to visit a church and projects we're involved with from WCF, with a small team. If I find power, and an internet connection there might be updates while I'm there (although that combination is quite unlikely, it has to be said). If not, there'll definetely be a report when I get back.

Bible reading programme (2)

2011-03-29T07:39:00.002+01:00

Part 2 of our Bible reading programme at WCF, that will take us from April to the end of June, is now avaiable online here, if you're interested....

Church, but not as we know it....

2011-03-09T16:46:00.005Z

Well, we're now into a week of readings in the book of Acts, giving us a snapshot of life in the early church. There is clearly a gap between the picture of church life presented in Acts and what most of us experience now. What I find fascinating is how different Christians define that gap.

For some, the gap is all about our experience of the supernatural, the work of the Holy Spirit. Linked to that (but not always), for others, the gap is all about evangelistic effectiveness and boldness in witness. Equally, for others it's all about the common life of the early church, their commitment to narrowing the gap between rich and poor. Or it's about their willingness to break out of their comfort zones and take the gospel cross-culturally.

The point is that we tend to read our own priorities back into the New Testament, here as in so many places. It seems to me that when we take the lenses of our own preferences off, it's about all these things and more besides. What we need more and more to learn to do is to let our reading of Scripture shape our preferences and not the other way round.

A dirty word...

2011-03-04T15:08:00.002Z

Going through Mark's gospel in our Bible reading programme, one of the things that comes out from very early on is Jesus' authority; authority to teach, authority over sickness and the demonic, over the weather and the natural world, authority to call people to follow Him.

Even as you come into the final week of Jesus' life, whether in cleansing the Temple, or even in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is so often the one in charge, rebuking the one who struck off the ear of the High Priest's servant. Authority is a bit of a dirty word nowadays; it's there to be kicked against, rebelled against. And frankly, more often than not, my sympathies lie with the rebel, the one who stands up to authority rather than with those who exercise it. I guess it's what comes of having been born post-1960!

The thing about Jesus' authority is that it is authority of relationship, not of status as such. And it comes out of His submission - to His Father's will in Gethsemane, and to His understanding of the Scriptures (see eg Mark 14:49). The fact is, we all desire to have more authority; maybe not status as such, but the ability to take control of our circumstances, for instance. The irony seems to be that authority of that kind comes out of submitting to a higher authority - the highest authority, God's. To reign you have to submit, to gain control you have to let go.

Oh dear

2011-03-02T10:37:00.002Z

Well, maybe the issues around the recent judgement on fostering and Christian views of sexuality aren't so straightforward after all. Or at least, maybe the judgement isn't as clear cut as orginally presented. At least that's the view of some Christians who have studied the judgement see here, and here, for example. Others, meanwhile are still concerned, albeit for different reasons.

Hmm. Where does that all leave us? First, if it is true that Christians, for whatever reason are deliberately reporting this in a sensationalist manner, that is a cause for concern. Second, whatever the facts about this particular case it does highlight the tensions that arise when everything in public life is framed around questions of "rights". Inevitably, someone else's rights will conflict with mine at some point, and if in some way or other, society opts to prefer one set of rights over the other, someone will be unhappy. Maybe Christians have got too used to other people being unhappy for too long. For all that, there are some important questions here about how we bring up children, that the Bishop of Croydon highlights on his blog. Once the dust has settled on this case, I'm sure it won't be long before a similar one comes out of the woodwork.

Fostering tolerance...?

2011-03-01T16:53:00.002Z

Yesterday's High Court judgement about the suitability of a Christian couple as Foster carers because of their views on homosexuality is a cause for concern. I must admit that there are many of these cases that have made the press recently where, in all honesty, I'm not sure where my sympathies lie. Where, it looks like some Christians have a victim mentality, or seem to do their best to come across as narrow minded with an unhealthy focus on sex.

But this seems different. The ruling seems to suggest that holding orthodox Christian views about sexuality makes you somehow unfit to care for children of a certain age. Now I don't claim any expertise on this, and certainly don't want to jump on any hyper-conservative bandwagon; however this is troubling. As always, some helpful comment at the Jubilee Centre website...espcially interesting as they had previously suggested that the Christian B&B owners who were in the news last month were in the wrong (and I happen to sympathise with them on this). I've no doubt this won't be the last we hear on this.

Inside out: the challenge....

2011-02-23T12:18:00.002Z

Well, we're now in Mark's gospel in our Bible reading programme. And there's nothing like a good healthy dose of Jesus' teaching to set us right in our views of human beings and how they work....and of ourselves and how we work. In fact in yesterday's readings in Mark 6:34, Jesus teaches us this stuff as an outworking of his compassion for us. However uncomfortable some of it is, we need to hear it.

And some of it is uncomfortable. Today's passage in Mark 7:1-23, while at first sight seeming to be simply about ancient Jewish regulations, in fact strikes at the heart of our favourite contemporary excuses for ourselves. How we act, Jesus says, is very simply a product of who we are inside...there's no use blaming external circustances, what has happened to us, social influences etc. No doubt these all shape us in a variety of ways. But when all is said and done, it's not what goes into us that makes us 'unclean' but what comes out from us. Ouch!

Objecting....

2011-02-17T11:52:00.004Z

Its one of the quirks of my family history that both my natural grandfathers were conscientious objectors during World War II. That raises all kinds of questions in itself, which are only compounded by the fact that my paternal grandfather's family were actually of German Jewish background. But for all that I'm strangely proud of this fact - I can remember my Gran talking about being "sent to Coventry" for 6 months by the people she worked with because her husband had refused conscription, and how she kept going into work and doing her job in that period.

The thing that strikes me about conscientious objectors is that, by that stage, they recognised that the public mood had moved on, that war was happening, and was even quite popular; but they refused, on grounds of conscience, to be part of it. It seems to me that, just maybe, there's a model here for our engagement as Christians with certain elements of contemporary society. Take sexual ethics as an example. The simple fact is that as far as the vast majority of people in the UK today, especially those under 40, Christian sexual ethics simply don't make sense. As far as those currently in their teens and early twenties are concerned, the Christian attitude to sex - whether in terms of the value of virginity and marriage, or attitudes to homsexual activity - is a foreign language.

There are all sorts of responses we can adopt to that. Some are valid and helpful, others probably less so. But maybe part, at least, of what we need to be doing is seeing ourselves as concientious objectors. Society as a whole seems to have accepted certain courses of action as valid, and shouting more loudly, or trying to influence the corridoors of power is unlikely to change that much. So maybe we should graciously but determinedly acknowledge that we will follow our consciences after all...and maybe we should be looking to train young people who are serious about following Jesus in a way that they realise that this is the deal.

Profiting from the prophets

2011-02-12T15:40:00.003Z

Well this week in our Bible reading programme, we've been with Isaiah. And it's been interesting getting feedback, and realising that some people struggle sometimes with reading the prophets, while others seem to love it. There are all sorts of reasons for that, and all sorts of pitfalls when reading the Old Testament prophetic literature. (Eg, what should apply to us now, what applied to God's people in specific historic circumstances, does some of it apply to modern day Israel?). And there's no doubt that lengthy denunciations of sin can seem hard to digest after a while - though perhaps for precisely that reason we should let them do us good.

For me, the key to profiting from the prophets is to recognise that so much of their writing takes the form of poetry; and poetry is heart language. What we see above all in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habbakuk, Hosea and their fellow prophets is God's heart. Often it is God's breaking heart because of the sin of His people. but even when there is apparent punishment being declared, the purpose so often is to cause the people of God to rediscover Him again, to turn from idolatry, immorality and injustice and rely on God again, to love Him in response to His love. The prophetic books are in many ways love letters - often sadly the letters of a lover who has been jilted - from God to His people, expressions of His heart. And as such they address us in a deep way, even when our external circumstances are vastly different to those of the original hearers and readers.

The week that was....

2011-02-07T18:57:00.004Z

Well, it's been a bit quiet on here over the last week, mainly because it's otherwise been anything but quiet. Our daughter, Isobel, managed to dislocate her elbow and fracture her humerus playing netball (yes, a non-contact sport) in a school tournament. This has involved a rapidly growing acquaintance with Lewisham Hospital - the nearest to where it happened - culminating in surgery last Thursday to wire the bone. The only other thing to say about it is that we've seen the National Health Service at its best through all this. There are no doubt weaknesses and problems with the system, but the care that Isobel has received has been excellent. So three cheers for the NHS!

In the middle of all that, I was invited to attend the Newfrontiers leaders UK prayer and fasting days last week. There were 800 or so there in Peterborough, and it was an excellent time. And for me as an outsider to Newfrontiers, it was a fascinating opportunity to get an "inside" view of what has undoubtedly become one of the most significant movements in UK church life. There's lots more that could be said about that - but for all that I wouldn't go along with Newfrontiers in everything (and there's probably lots that could be said about that too), the overwhelming impression was of a movement in a time of transition, passionate about remaining open to the Holy Spirit and new possibilities in what God was calling them to. The challenge for me was to emulate that attitude myself.

Fighting talk

2011-01-27T12:13:00.004Z

Well, now we're on to the life of David in our Bible reading programme. And it's a bit of a whistle stop tour. But one of the interesting things about David is that he has a clear promise of what God is going to do, from when Samuel anoints him as King; but getting there is long, drawn out, dangerous and at times looks highly unlikely.

And when you come to 2 Samuel 5 it still takes 7 years for the full promise to be realised. And David has to fight for it. Last week, as Moses and the people of Israel came out of Egypt they were told, "The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14). Now David has to take the initiative and fight himself to see what God has promised come to pass. Conclusion: you can't read one bit of the Bible and draw a "simple" principle from it that will apply in every situation. Conclusion (2): God deals with us as individuals and expects us to work through with Him how to handle the specifics of the situations we face. In other words, we mustn't treat the Bible as if it's a book of off-the-shelf answers for all situations. God's Word is far more bespoke and made to measure....more costly to us, perhaps, and requiring more patience, but vastly more precious too.

Eyes wide open?

2011-01-22T13:18:00.003Z

What do Moses and Abraham have in common? That's not the opening to a slightly obscure, embarrassing attempt at a joke (honest); rather a quick reflection on what's come out of the readings on the lives of these two Old Testament giants. In both cases - for Abraham in Genesis 18 (with the three visitors), and Moses in Exodus 3 (with the burning bush) - it would have been easy for them to have been so absorbed in what they were doing, in their priorities, that they missed God seeking to get their attention. Fortunately, hospitality in one case and curiosity in the other, meant that God did get their attention.

But when we're in our daily/weekly routine, I wonder if there's much time and space for hospitality or curiosity sometimes. And I wonder what we miss because of that. At our Biblefresh group this week I was amazed that 4 out of 11 people present could testify to having heard the audible voice of God at some point in their lives. Even so, that's far from the norm. Maybe we just need to keep our eyes peeled (grim phrase, I've always thought) a bit more for the ways that God is trying to get our attention. At least I do.

Last thoughts on Abraham

2011-01-17T18:08:00.003Z

Well, just as we've moved on to Moses in our Bible readings, some final reflections on Abraham.

I was struck by Aeon's comment yesterday (you can listen here) about how Abraham invariably pitched his tents under trees (eg Genesis 12:6, 13:18), and that the shade of trees was considered a holy place where you could meet with God. And then of course, there is the observation that wherever he goes Abraham builds an altar (eg Genesis 12:7)....

Taking these two together I think gives an insight into what sustained Abraham, as he journeyed around, not sure where he was going to end up, and trying to hold on to promises from God that must have seemed more and more unrealistic as time went on. Basically, in the middle of all that, he put himself in places where he would be likely to meet with God. Surely, that speaks to us - in an often hostile environment, where we too struggle at times to hold on to God, we need to be those who deliberately put ourselves in places where we are likely to meet with God; in personal prayer, worship and Bible reading, and in corporate worship and around the communion table. Not exactly rocket science, maybe. But true all the same.

How to read the Bible for all it's worth....?

2011-01-13T16:06:00.003Z

I came across this quote from C.H. Spurgeon, one of the figures from Church history I can't help but admire. It certainly challenges the way I read the Bible:

He [Christ] leans over me, he puts his finger along the lines, I can see his pierced hand: I will read it as in his presence. I will read it, knowing that he is the substance of it, - that he is the proof of this book as well as the writer of it; the sum of this Scripture as well as the author of it.....You will get at the soul of Scripture when you can keep Jesus with you while you are reading.

Who'd have thought....?

2011-01-12T16:06:00.002Z

Well, so there was an (admittedly failed) attempt at theological discussion at the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, initiated by an MP to the Chief Executive of Barclays, who appeared seriously out of his depth....then continued after a fashion on the website of the Guardian newspaper. Click here for more. Strange days indeed.

Questions, questions

2011-01-09T18:06:00.002Z

I continue to be encouraged by the number of people who are taking copies of the Bible reading programme that we are following at WCF. And by what I'm hearing from people who are obviously using it to read their Bibles, and then asking me all kinds of questions on the back of it. (While I'm here, I'll just mention in passing that there are all kinds of other Bible related initiatives at the moment, and give a plug for an old friend of mine who has just started a blog as he reads through the Bible in chronological order this year. You can find it here.)

One of the things that strikes me, especially as we're going through Genesis is that lots of people are faced with all kinds of questions in what they read. Now, you'll probably know that I'm all for asking questions, and not just taking things at face value. But sometimes it seems to me that the questions can also become distractions, red herrings. Things that will actually create distance between God's Word and us, so that we can't hear what it says to us. So, how do we handle this? This is by no means the final word on this - any suggestions you've got, please leave as a comment - but here are a few guidelines that might help with this:

What is the main point of these verses I've read? Do I need to know the answer to this question before I can take that on board?
Does the question relate to some aspect of what we can believe about God, or how we live the Christian life - or is it a question of detail, of history?
Am I trying to read this as if it were a modern day newspaper rather than an ancient, human document - that in ways we'll never fully grasp is also the always relevant word of God?
How can I get nearer to an answer...who can I ask, what resources can I access? Surely it's better to do a little research rather than remain stuck on something. In particular, try & find out how Christians through the ages have answered the question. Let's face it after 2000 years it's unlikely that we'll be the first ones to ask something.
Above all, and I know this might sound simplistic, but why not talk it over with the Lord. If you get stuck on something it could even be that you're meant to take a bit more time over it, thinking and praying because God wants to speak to you through it.

I guess to sum it up - where possible, let your questions be springboards to relationship with God, rather than barriers. Of course, that's not always easy; but that's why we're encouraging small groups to discuss these readings together. Any thoughts?

New Year, new look....

2011-01-04T15:36:00.001Z

Thought it was about time for a change in the appearance of this blog....hope you like it!

Start at the Beginning

2011-01-04T15:25:00.004Z

Well, here's the first post connected to our Bible reading programme...if you're following it, you'll know that we've started with the early chapters of Genesis. So often these passages become footballs of controversy, kicked around by Christians who seem to have lost sight of the fact that they are playing for the same side, and that most of the goals that they celebrate scoring are in fact in their own net. It seems to me that these opening sections of the whole Bible are hugely significant, not so much for the insights they do or don't give into how we got here, but for what they tell us about God, and why He put us here; and why things are the mess they sometimes seem to be.

That's why the focus in Sunday's message (you can listen to it here if you missed it) was on what God wants to say to us at the start of 2011, rather than on a prolonged discussion of creation and evolution. If all Scripture is God-breathed and "useful...for training in righteousness", then we need to be trained by these verses, not simply informed by them. And I pray that will be true for all the rest of the portions of Scripture we look at too.

2010 was when....

2010-12-29T15:58:00.002Z

I had my first experiences of India (see here for more)
I turned 40...
Sheryl & I went to New York to mark both of us turning 40!
The fun of 3 children at 3 different schools began to kick in
I had the privelege of baptising an 8o year old man and 15 year old girl in the same service
My brain and spirit were stretched by the HTB "Holy Spirit in the world today" conference
I got a BlackBerry (!)
Youthwork sped up the agenda at WCF, and we learnt a lot about not being able to control everything as we looked at taking on an Oasis Youthwork student
The boiler at home nearly set the house on fire, meaning that we had to get central heating installed unexpectedly.

There was a lot more besides, but these are some headlines...here's to 2011.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-24T14:41:00.003Z

Keep thinking that I ought to post a kind of review of 2010 thingy, best of bits etc; but as yet I haven't had the time and/or motivation! It might happen next week, though, you never know.

That being the case, I'll wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a great 2011....

Resolutions and readings....

2010-12-15T15:42:00.003Z

As mentioned before, at the start of next year at WCF, as part of the national Biblefresh initiative, we are committing to read the Bible together. The programme we'll be using is now available online here, and there'll be plenty of ways of joining in, including thoughts and comments on this blog. You're welcome to join in with us even if you're not part of WCF!

Christmas - a great opportunity?

2010-12-10T16:08:00.009Z

There's no avoiding it now, is there? Christmas really is approaching fast. I've been pondering Christmas over the last few weeks, and this often repeated assertion that Christmas represents a great evangelistic opportunity for us as churches, as people are somehow more open to think about Jesus at this time of year.

And I think my response is "yes and no". My initial response was "No", I have to say. In fact I remember saying at a joint churches' prayer meeting last month that for a lot of people their exposure to church and Jesus at Christmas is their spiritual equivalent of the annual flu jab - they'll put up with the discomfort of it then in order to avoid any more prolonged exposure for the rest of the year. But I'm beginning to wonder if that wasn't a little harsh. The fact is people are willing, for whatever reason, to go along to church services at Christmas. They may not be going with a great deal of spiritual openness or searching, but they are there. And that is an opportunity; maybe not on the whole, an opportunity to see them make commitments to Jesus, sadly. But certainly an opportunity to gently alter some of their preconceptions of what church is all about, of what Jesus' mission was all about.

So maybe, on balance, Christmas is a great opportunity, but not so much for evangelism but for pre-evangelism. Or maybe I'm just playing with words.

Matters of government...

2010-11-22T19:41:00.004Z

Had a fascinating morning today. Along with 14 0r 15 other local church leaders I went to visit our local MP, Gareth Johnson, at the Houses of Parliament. Visiting Parliament was an experience in itself; so much history in the building, so many good stories. Truly it is an amazing heritage - with the twist that we don't often remember, that it all belongs to us, the British people. And we have the right to visit, to be part of it because it is our parliament.

Having said that, the heritage and the surroundings I think can be a mixed blessing, creating an illusion of significance for the UK which is maybe just not appropriate in the 21st century; and becoming a "bubble" for the politicians at Westminster, remote from everyday life in towns like Dartford.

But the point of the morning today was that our MP wanted to open lines of communication with church leaders - and that has to be a good thing. It will be interesting to see how things develop.

Keeping up....

2010-11-18T14:08:00.001Z

Have just worked out that it's now nearly a year since I started this blog....and it has to be said that posting on here hasn't been very regular. Fits and starts is probably the right expression. But I've found it useful to have as a forum for random thoughts and reflections, so will keep going with it, most likely with the same (ir)regularity.

In the New Year, at WCF we are planning a whole church Bible reading programme to tie in with the Biblefresh initiative, and I've said I'll blog some thoughts on that as we go along. So that will force the issue, I guess. In the meantime, it will continue to be as and when I have a thought/get the time...

Hmm.....

2010-10-21T16:32:00.002+01:00

Have only just seen this piece, so a bit behind I guess; but have to say it left me quite bemused! Any thoughts?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/oct/09/insane-clown-posse-christians-god

Food for thought

2010-09-22T09:32:00.002+01:00

I've been looking again at the writings of Blaise Pascal, probably best remembered now for Pascal's Triangle. I worked in a school in France for a year named after him, in the town of his birth. Interestingly, in light of the last post, he was a devout Roman Catholic, and he has some great insights on the relationship between reason and faith, amongst other things. Anyway, here's a quote for the day:

There is enough light for those who desire only to see, and enough darkness
for those of a contrary disposition.

Is Benedict's visit a blessing?

2010-09-17T09:01:00.007+01:00

Ok, so this may be controversial....but I've been trying to ponder how to respond to the Pope's current visit to the UK and the media coverage it has excited.

It seems that evangelical Christians veer (publically at least) from an ongoing tendency to Catholic bashing in some circles, fighting the battles of 400 years ago as if they're still top priority today; to an uncritical acceptance that it must be a good thing that the Pope has come to the UK as it will raise the priority of Christian faith.

So far, Benedict's pronouncements about the dangers of secularism have no doubt struck a chord with many Christians of all persuasions, and probably others too. And there is much to commend and admire in the Catholic church's willingness to risk unpopularity in order to uphold traditional Christian teaching. But, for all that I've no wish to doubt the genuine faith in Jesus of many, probably most, Catholics, I can't help but struggle still with many aspects of Catholic teaching - not just the bits about condoms and the role of women, but more fundamenental things like the official (at least) Catholic view of how we're saved, what happens when we break bread, how authority is to be exercised in the Church, and where it comes from, the role of Mary and the saints...to name a few.

So, while my starting position with individual Roman Catholics is to assume that they are my brothers and sisters, on the same side, and while I admire the sense of history and catholicity (note small 'c') implicit in the Catholic (large 'c') church, I have to be honest and say that I struggle with it as an institution. Hence, while I pray that there may be good things coming from the Pope's visit, my fear is that many secular people will identify what they see on their TV screens as what Christianity is all about. And for me as a Pastor, that is a concern. So, back to the original question: I think at best Benedict's visit is a mixed blessing; but I'd love to be proved wrong.

The Power of a Preposition

2010-09-09T09:11:00.003+01:00

Just came across this article in the always stimulating Leadership journal. It's particularly talking about children's ministry, but, it seems to me, the basic point could equally apply to youth work, and to adult ministry in church. The big question: are we ministering to, for or with? And my slightly tentative follow-up: are there circumstances when each one of these would be appropriate, in which case the trick would surely be to know what is right in each situation?

Let's hear it for the BBC!

2010-08-09T19:36:00.004+01:00

Well. it's nearly a month since I last posted anything, and now I'm going to post about the trivia of television. But it is August, so I'm sure you'll be understanding.

There seems to be a murmuring from time to time about the BBC; it's wasteful, biassed, dominated by a liberal clique etc. Well, maybe I'm just showing my true socialist tendencies or something, but I think the BBC is great.

Sherlock was a fantastic series - witty, clever, suspense-full, modernising an old text without ruining it. And Rev provided amusement on a Monday evening, was well researched and observed, and seemed to take faith itself with an unusual degree of seriousness for a sitcom (see Johnny's review here).

But for me the beauty of the BBC isn't even in programmes like these; it's in the simple pleasure of watching without advertisments, of not being bombarded by the market every 15 minutes. Yes, the TV License is basically a tax. But at least you see what you're getting for it. And it's a demonstration that there are ways of funding quality other than by market forces. I'm not naive, of course the BBC is under pressure to become more commercial; product placement no doubt still happens in some way, shape or form (I got perhaps alarmingly excited by the fact that in episode 2 Sherlock was using the same BlackBerry as me). But, even if there is waste at the BBC too, perhaps that should remind us of part of its significance - as a symbol of a world where the financial cost of something doesn't necessarily determine it's value. If that's part of what the BBC and it's funding system is all about, long may it continue!

Heart of the Matter

2010-07-10T11:37:00.006+01:00

Came across this from Jack Hayford, American Pentecostal Pastor - unlikely source perhaps, but good point all the same:

It is almost unimaginable to most 21st-century followers of Jesus to think
that three-fourths of the history of the Church, believers had no copy of the
Bible. Even following Gutenberg's development of movable type, it was more than
two centuries before sizable portions of the population could afford a Bible.
Yet for all those centuries, the Church worshiped, the Person of Christ was
exalted and the testimony of salvation through His cross was maintained. It is
because New Testament worship had a center (sic) point - the Lord's table.

The accessible, readily available and mobile resource of
bread and wine - established by the Lord of the Church Himself as the
foundational ritual His people would observe - has, inherent in its elementary
simplicity, a...cluster of worship essential that, to this day, make His table a
universal gathering place...

Football crazy...?

2010-06-24T09:51:00.006+01:00

Well, England are through to the last 16...and all through Jermain Defoe's goal, and he has, in the past at least been credited as having a Christian faith.

This piece from The Guardian makes interesting reading - apparently Wazza now can't do God publicly; is it because football is now meant to be our national faith? I'm tempted to say, heaven help us if so!

Discipling for disagreement...

2010-06-19T10:42:00.002+01:00

Have been thinking recently about how full the early church was of disagreement; Paul confronting Peter to his face, or falling out with Barnabas over whether to take John Mark on his 2nd trip, the seemingly constant disputes between those of Jewish and Gentile backgrounds, Paul pleading that Euodia and Syntyche should agree and so it goes on.

Which all tends to fly in the face of the idealised picture of the early church we sometimes have. At a most basic level, the fact that the New Testament is so full of exhortations to love each other, consider others better than yourselves etc is most likely because it wasn't always happening. So, how do we accept and allow for the fact that we are likely to see things differently, get frustrated with one another and at times fall out like any family without diluting the high standards for relationships between Christians that the New Testament encourages us towards? Should we be discipling one another to get hurt and get over it, and keep loving, or is that an admission of defeat? It seems to me the reason that people at times become disillusioned with church life is because it promises so much - and it's right that it should. The challenge is to allow too for our humanity and weakness, without letting ourselves off the hook too lightly.

Fly the flag...?

2010-06-08T19:20:00.003+01:00

Well, with only 3 days to go until the start of the World Cup I now have two England flags flying from my little Ford Ka, courtesy of my 2 sons. Can't say I'm delighted about it, but then, on the other hand, I didn't want to say no. What is fascinating is just how widespread these flags are; someone round the corner from us has handpainted his garage door as a St George's cross, which is maybe a bit extreme. I guess at one level it's all about identity and the need to belong; and let's face it we're not very good generally at generating anything like that sort of sense of community in 21st century Britain, so if football can do it in a positive way, why not? As long as we as Christians remember that ultimately our identity is formed around another cross, that transcends all national and ethnic boundaries.

Oh, and for what it's worth I reckon England will make it to the quarter finals; maybe the semis at a push. But I guess we'll know before long anyway.

As they said...

2010-05-27T09:21:00.003+01:00

Final thoughts on last week's conference at Holy Trinity, Brompton...or rather some quotes from some of the sessions:

"..the Spirit in us is God pressing us towards what we are made for" (Archbishop Rowan Williams)

"Either Christianity is fire or there is no such thing" (Mother Maria Skobtsova, as quoted by Rowan Williams)

"...the opposite of poverty is not property, the opposite of poverty is community" (Jurgen Moltmann)

"A presupposed spirit is certainly not the Holy Spirit" (Karl Barth, as quoted by Graham Hunter in Ecclesiology seminar)

"The presence of the church introduces a fissure in the citizenship of the state..." (Miroslav Volf)

"The Spirit enables us to see a new beauty in God that we couldn't see before" (Graham Tomlin, interacting with the work of Jonathan Edwards)

"The Spirit enables us to do for ourselves what we could not do by ourselves" (Tom Smail)

"The Holy Spirit hates stereotypes" (Tom Smail)

There were many more - I don't have all my notes in front of me now. But there's a bit of a flavour at least.

Holy Spirit in a material world...

2010-05-24T11:28:00.002+01:00

Well, there's lots more that could be said about the Holy Spirit conference at HTB. Some others are providing in depth reports and reflections (here and here, for example). And there were some great quotes that I'll probably share in another post, too.

But for now, just some thoughts arising from the seminar stream I went to, on the Holy Spirit and Ecclesiology (doctrine of the Church). First thing to note is how overwhelmingly Anglican the attendees were, when we all introduced ourselves on day 2. Now that possibly reflects the conference as a whole; I fear it also reflects a general lack of interests that persists among us Free Church bods when it comes to anything perceived as churchy.

A lot of the substance of the discussion, both in papers presented and the discussion on Friday, focussed around the role of the "sacraments", specifically communion, but also baptism (intriguing concept in a room full of Anglicans, but nuff said about that). This is something that has been threatening to be a bee in my bonnet for a long time, probably since realising that in our churches, if we're not careful, communion can be seen almost as an "intrusion" into the worship time - by which we mean mainly singing. The fact of the matter, at its simplest is that Jesus never commanded us to sing, but he did command us to break bread and baptise. Simples...

But then you get into the question of what is happening in these human activities. It seems increasingly clear to me that they are more than simply symbols and helpful reminders; rather that God is active in the very materiality of bread and wine and water. I've been hugely helped in thinking about all this by 2 books in particular; The Gospel-Driven Church by Ian Stackhouse, and Promise and Presence by John Colwell. So it was encouraging to be with others whose thinking has moved/is moving in similar ways; as well as some starting from a more sacramental Anglican tradition looking to combine that with more direct experience of the Spirit. And that leads me to my final "Yes, but...". It seems to me that the genius of Evanglicalism initially (in terms especially of the doctrine/experience of assurance) and the Charismatic movment more recently has precisely been that they have allowed for and encouraged a direct, (apparently) immediate experience of God through the Holy Spirit. The challenge surely is to recover the value and priority even of sacrament, God meeting his people, often unspectacularly, through the everyday elements of bread, wine and water, while remaining actively open to His meeting with people in all kinds of other, surprising ways.

What God has joined together?

2010-05-22T16:07:00.003+01:00

I've been trying to reflect on the HTB conference on the Holy Spirit that I was at for the last two days. I'm thinking there may be several posts that go back to different aspects of the conference; to describe it as content-rich would be a gross understatement. And, of course, there was the opportunity to "bump into" people who you don't see very often who are on a similar wavelength.

The one incident at the very end of the proceedings that epitomised what the conference was about was when Graham Tomlin, who was hosting the conference (and himself gave an excellent talk) invited those who were involved in academic theology to go to the front of the church, and then invited those invloved in local church ministry to pray for them and minister to them; and then vice versa. There's plenty more to say, but if the conference marks the fact that (seriously high level) academic theology and the real life of local churches can, in the Holy Spirit, bless and benefit each other, rather than being seen as separate worlds, that has to be a good thing.

And now...?

2010-05-17T15:50:00.002+01:00

Thought I ought to post something on here in case it seemed I'd disappeared...The election is all done and dusted now, and it seems to me the new coalition government will either work well and herald the start of the new politics we keep hearing about, or else it will be a disaster. Watch this space.

I'm going to be spending Thursday and Friday at this conference on the work of the Holy Spirit at Holy Trinity, Brompton. Seems an intriguing mix of academic theological heavyweights and worship and ministry. Should be interesting.

Random reflections

2010-05-04T13:32:00.004+01:00

Well, the message on Sunday was well received on the whole. We had a Q & A at the end and there were some good questions, with some interesting conversations afterwards too. It seems that dealing with these types of issues "works" if that's the right way to put it, because very often people do have questions that a lot of the time they just ignore, or try to anyway. Bringing them out into the open and seeking to address them seems a much more positive way of dealing with then.

On another matter, it is interesting to see discussion becoming a little more pointed on Facebook, Christian blogs etc about who to vote for this coming Thursday. For all the debates, hustings etc. it seems to me that the decisions are becoming predictable; those Christians most likely to emphasise personal morality, "family" issues and freedom of expression for Christians are most likely to vote Conservative (although I'm not convinced as yet that they will really make a major difference in these areas), while those who would stress justice, the needs of the poor and oppressed and the envirnonment are more likely to vote Labour or Lib Dem (although the former's record in these areas is far from faultless, and the latter do remain an unknown quantity in terms of government). In a few days time, we'll know, I guess.

Thinking required...

2010-05-01T15:40:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow we are starting a new series at WCF, based around our purpose statement, which is:

To experience, demonstrate and proclaim

The love of the Father
The grace of Jesus
The friendship of the Holy Spirit

I'm hopeful that it will be a positive series in all kinds of ways. My immediate worry, though,is that to start it off I'm going to be speaking about the Trinity tomorrow. Not the easiest of subjects for a whole church Sunday morning slot, but nevertheless incredibly important. But in a church which, in all honesty doesn't really do doctrinal preaching in a big way, this feels like quite a challenge. Oh well, watch this space.

Church and state...?

2010-04-24T08:50:00.009+01:00

Yesterday evening saw the main 3 parliamentary candidates for Dartford taking part in a hustings organised by the local churches. It was a very good event, well supported, and all the candidates will have done their chances no harm, it seems to me. They all came across as genuine, passionate about the area, committed to public service and prepared to give honest answers to questions even when they knew they might not be saying what their audience wanted to hear. Which I suppose brings it back to a choice about policies, which isn't a bad place to be.

The questions (that had been submitted in advance) were interesting. They focussed for the most part on issues that aren't party political; issues, that you could say cynically, are stereotypical issues of concern for Christians - life issues, conscience issues (wearing a cross to work etc), social disorder issues (alcohol, prostitution). In one way that was disappointing, particularly as there were no questions around global poverty and justice (the, admittedly unscientific, very small sample poll on the WCF website makes this Christians' number 1 concern). The answers were interesting, too, and underlined that Christians' views on many of these issues are simply out of step with the rest of society nowadays. Maybe now, more Christians will realise that, and we can begin to order our lives as an alternative society, rather than trying (unsuccessfully) to impose our way of living on everyone else. That doesn't mean we give up on the rest of society, as if God's ways are only relevant for those who profess to know Him. But it probably means that our primary means of persuasion needs to be the quality of our life together. Now there's a challenge for post-christendom.

Westminster Declaration

2010-04-09T16:19:00.002+01:00

Well, I have now added my name to the Westminster Declaration. Despite a few misgivings that I mentioned in my last post, overall I think this gets it about right. It's not about imposing Christian views on anyone else, but on making sure that the right of Christians to hold those views is acknowledged. Have to say that it may not make a great deal of difference in the long run; and that our duty as Christians is to be faithful to our understanding even if it's not widely accepted or understood, and to do so in a gracious and positive way. But, taking the declaration at face value, I felt it was valid to support the other Christians involved in this, even if their agendas might not always be identical to ones I'd feel comfortable with. So why not have a look?

And they're off

2010-04-06T17:51:00.004+01:00

So, at long last, the election race has officially begun. After months of thinly disguised campaigning, the masks are off. It will be an intriguing few weeks. No doubt frustrating too, and by the end of it we might very well all have had enough of it. And it means that, if you're as undecided (and generally unimpressed) as me, then we now have 4 weeks to make up our mind.

On a related note, I've just come across the Westminster Declaration. Not sure yet what to make of this. On a first read through it all seems very admirable at face value. And maybe that's the level it should be taken at. But I just have this suspicion about some of these things, that it's another attempt to turn back the clock almost and re-assert Christian influence in a confrontational, "let's defend our rights" kind of way; which I struggle to reconcile with the way of Jesus. But maybe I'm being paranoid in this case. Something else to think about carefully.

Biblefresh

2010-03-31T16:40:00.003+01:00

Went to the London launch yesterday of Biblefresh, the name for an initiative aimed to tie in with the fact that next year is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, with all the influence that has had on English language, literature and culture. The aim of the initiative is partly to re-enthuse Christians for the Bible, and partly to provide a platform for others to engage at a variety of levels with the Bible too. The beauty of it is that the outworking will be locally-driven; it's not about following a centrally dictated programme. It all has potential certainly. How it works will depend on what individual churches make of it.

Telling stories

2010-03-30T17:25:00.005+01:00

Flashforward is back on Monday evenings, and just as confusing as ever. What was interesting last night was how the episode worked. In terms of new events, happening in the "now" of the story my guess is there was probably about 20-30 mins of action. Take out the inevitable adverts and the full 5 minutes recap of previous epoisodes and the rest of the episode was flashbacks to events in the past which have a bearing on current plotlines; or even, flashbacks to people's memories of their visions of the future, which is a fairly mind-boggling concept.

What the whole concept does, and is underlined by the structure of last night's episode is to heighten suspense by altering the normal straightforward chronological sequence of stories. Of course, this isn't terribly new; lots of stories do that in many different ways, and have done for years. And in doing so, they highlight that the present moment, the now, does not exist in isolation from either the past that has led to it, or the future that will follow, however unknown that is to us.

In one sense, Christians should get this more than anyone. The events we remember this week in particular, of Jesus' death and resurrection, are events in the dim and distant past. Yet our claim is that they shape us now in a more significant way than anything in our personal history, at least in theory. And they point to a future that shapes us too in the now, even though we don't know all the details. As one of the characters in a previous episode of Flashforward put it, "I've seen the future and it's changed my life". I guess we should add our "Amen".

Multi-voiced?

2010-03-22T09:26:00.003Z

I've been thinking quite a lot recently about the practise of open or "multi-voiced" worship. It's very much part of our practise at WCF, arising from a mixture of both charismatic and (in the dim and distant past now) brethren influence. And while there are "risks" involved and issues to handle, there are some wonderful examples of things being shared from the body of the church that have far greater impact than the official voice of the pastor. But sometimes the best bits are when not much seems to be happening. This quote from Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days, reflecting on his (fictitious?) childhood in the brethren, says it all:

There was a lovely silence in the Brethren assembled on Sunday morning as we waited for the Spirit. Either the Spirit was moving someone to speak who was taking his sweet time or else the Spirit was playing a wonderful joke on us and letting us sit, or perhaps silence was the point of it.

Song and dance...

2010-03-20T10:06:00.004Z

Have somehow ended up watching Glee on a Monday evening recently. We've decided that it's basically High School Musical for adults; or maybe not adults but the post-pubescent anyway. Which isn't to say that it's not entertaining in a slightly odd way. What it does illustrate quite well is the value system that dominates the media and the generation a little bit younger than me....

There are some very positive features to this; not least it's commitment to being inclusive of all, non-discriminatory etc. The only downside to that (and this is hardly a new insight) seems to be the inability or lack of desire to ever make a value judgement about certain lifestyle choices, particularly in the area of sexual ethics. But this isn't a whinge. It seems to me that's just the world as it is now, and highlights one of the challenges to Christians who are living a different way.

All that being said, it's fascinating that some of the basic themes explored in Glee are all the things I remember writing about in 'O' Level (yes, that dates me) English essays about Shakespeare. In particular the whole thing of appearance and reality. "Nothing new under the sun", as someone once said.

The narrow way?

2010-03-11T10:22:00.002Z

We've been using the Just People course at WCF over the last few weeks. It's a joint effort between TEAR Fund and Livability, and focusses on justice, compassion and integral mission. And it's been very good, has "grabbed" people and moved conversation along in the whole area of church, community and mission.

Last night we had a couple of guests who I interviewed as part of the evening; the local PCSO and a local councillor. It was an excellent time, eye-opening, challenging and practical. But at one or two points it also raised questions with me. It comes down to this, I think: It would be easy, in a predominantly middle-class community such as ours for the church's community involvement to be co-opted into becoming part of the overall "Let's keep a nice village feel to the area"movement. That may or may not be a good thing; and also may or may not reflect the values of the Kingdom of God. The challenge for us is to walk the tightrope of getting involved without finding that the agenda we are working too is basically someone else's other than Jesus'.

"People are strange"

2010-03-05T08:12:00.002Z

That's a phrase I find myself using a lot, or something like it. The thing about cliches is, they're so often true. Anyway, I found myself thinking about this phrase - why do I use it? What does it really mean?

On one level, maybe it's a failure of empathy - to describe someone's actions as strange might just mean that I can't (or can't be bothered to) attempt to put myself in their shoes. Another worrying thought is that it could mean that I'm setting up how I react, feel, my attitudes and thought processes as some kind of norm. Anyone who doesn't match up to that is somehow odd. But, of course, it could just as easily be the other way round, I could be the odd one...

At the end of the day it's simply a way of describing the glorious unpredictability of human beings. There's so much going on inside all of us, and so many external factors influencing us, that we simply don't function in a machine-like way, where predictable inputs produce predictable results. That is both wonderful and frustrating at the same time. More incredible still, is that the God who made the universe with all its regularity and order became a real human being in Jesus, subject to all the vagaries of real human life. And has chosen to carry on working through people with all their randomness and unpredictability. Now, to my mind, that really is strange.

Twists and turns

2010-03-02T08:38:00.002Z

I spent a good part of yesterday taking a small tree out of our back garden...all seemed a bit of a shame in some ways but it needed to come out. Anyway, it was fascinating to see just how twisted the trunk and branches were, and how all the branches seemed to cross over and intertwine; and it didn't exactly make taking it out any easier! But it was a vivid reminder of the power of life. While that tree was alive it would grow, and if there were obstructions in the way it would grow round them; be shaped by them, yes, but keep growing. Life and growth are two sides of the same coin. Where there is spiritual life, whether at an individual or congregational level, we should expect to see growth. But that growth won't be in neat straight lines - it will be twisted and hard to untangle, and won't look like it's going anywhere at times. Let's hope I remember that.

Inspiration

2010-02-27T15:33:00.002Z

Funny how ideas come when you're not obviously looking for them; how inspiration strikes about things that you're not consciously thinking about...

Maybe that just proves we need more time not doing very much or thinking too hard. The value of washing up and other such exciting tasks lies here, I suspect (not that I'm volunteering...)

What we've inherited...

2010-02-25T10:30:00.005Z

Heard yesterday of the death of Michael Harper. Michael Harper was the leading figure in the Charismatic movement in the Church of England (and through the Fountain Trust, in other historic denominations in the UK) in the 1960s and 70s. Later he became an Orthodox Priest, which is probably a tale in itself.

I always find reading and hearing about the early days of the charismatic movement both exciting and fascinating. There was such a sense that God was on the move, that something new was happening. There was also a lot of immaturity, wrong attitudes and opposition as well; and much of the opposition from very genuine Chrsitians who simply didn't "get" what was going on.

There's lots that could be said about this - I almost ended up starting a PhD on the history of the charismatic movement about 12/13 years ago. Not sure it would really have worked then, so glad I didn't with hindsight. But I'm reminded that so much of what we take for granted in church life nowadays builds on what a previous generation of leaders and ordinary believers discovered and taught, often at some cost to themselves. I guess we need to be careful about what we're passing on to the next generation too.

Roots

2010-02-22T08:43:00.002Z

Fascinating evening at church yesterday, led by a bilingual Israeli tour guide, who usually leads study tours for Christians around Israel. She focussed on the person of Jesus as a real human being in a real historical context. It was certainly eye-opening, and made you re-think preconceived ideas - e.g., it would appear that it's highly unlikely historically speaking that Jesus was more than 5ft2" in height. Hardly crucial to salvation admittedly, but it highlighted for me at least some of the stereoptypical images of Jesus that linger in our subconscious. And if that's true for his appearance, how much more true is it likely to be for our understanding of his teachng and mission. Again, there were plenty of examples where, historically, the way our English New Testament has been translated has effectively "de-Judaised" it (not sure if that's a word but you know what I mean). She was careful not to suggest that was all deliberate and anti-Semitic, though some may have been; more worrying is the effect of all this. You end up with a vague, spiritualised Jesus rather than a real man who lived a real life in a real context. And chances are then you end up with a vague, spiritualised faith as well.

Back to the election build-up...

2010-02-18T19:59:00.002Z

Just thought I'd highlight a couple of useful links to go with the post last week about the forthcoming election....The Jubilee Centre always has useful stuff on social and political issues, and they have here a video quiz to help you to vote ethically! And Care have launched a special election website, with what looks like it will be a series of responses from Christian leaders as to what the key issues will be from their point of view in the election campaign.

It ain't what you say...

2010-02-15T07:55:00.004Z

At the moment at church we're working through a series on the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation. Every week I've been wondering if this week, what we're looking at might be a slightly "easier" message to bring, but 5 weeks in and each week has been challenging at a deep and sometimes uncomfortable level.

One interesting thing, whatever I'm speaking on, is when people comment on the way I've preached, both at WCF and when I'm speaking at other churches. And I guess that, while there is undoubtedly a basic Leveson style that is just how I am when I'm preaching, there are variations in delivery too. The interesting thing is that these genuinely aren't premeditated in any way. It's not like I decide in advance that today will be more passionate or whatever. Reflecting on it a little, I'd like to think that what determines not only what I say but how I say it, is the Bible passage in front of me. Because at the end of the day my task as preacher isn't first and foremost to bring strategic direction to the church (might be my task as leader but they're not necessarily the same), or even to bring a prophetic word (it might happen, and hopefully what's said will have a prophetic edge) but above all, to act as a kind of microphone that makes the Bible speak more loudly and clearly to those who are listening. No doubt there are all kinds of issues with that understanding of the task, but if you start to deviate too much you end up with the preacher's spiritual thoughts. And that's a high risk strategy, at least where I'm concerned!

X marks the spot

2010-02-08T14:18:00.007Z

Well, there's going to be a general election this year, and already I've found myself willing the politicians to just announce the date and get on with it. Interesting post from Simon, another Pastor in SE England, about some of the issue for Christians as they consider who to vote for.

At the moment, I honestly don't know who I'll vote for when the time comes, and the process of trying to work it out doesn't seem straightforward either. Maybe things will become clearer as time goes on. It struck me though that there are all sorts of reasons why people vote in the way they do, including Christians. But many of them seem increasingly inadequate as the pace of change in society continues:

Family/personal history: we've always voted Conservative/Labour/whatever and to do anything else is a betrayal of some kind.
Ideological commitment: only trouble with this is that the gap between the parties ideologically is hardly huge at the moment. There are differences but, on the whole, they seem to be about how we develop a certain kind of society, not what kind of society we want.
Issues perceived as "fundamental": Could be pro-life issues (abortion, euthanasia, embryo experimentation); or maybe family and morality issues; or indeed issues of justice and poverty. Two problems here it seems - first, no mainstream party seems to tick all the boxes for many Christians on these issues, and second, how do you prioritise among them?
Personality: There are various twists on this - so and so seems a good bloke, hasn't been caught with his trousers down or fiddled his expenses too much - to the more "spiritual" one where you vote for a Christian even if they're not from a party you'd normally support.
Working through policies: This sounds like it should be the right answer, and does have a lot to commend it. Reality is, however, that most of us don't have the time or the expertise properly to compare manifestoes, check alleged costings etc
Self-interest: For many, including I suspect many Christians, it maybe comes down to this, crass though it is. But even then, of course, our choices might backfire in any case...

Any thoughts on how we work our way through all this? One thing I am sure of is that easy answers are likely to be wrong ones. I'm guessing we'll need to pray, think, discuss, argue even. Then make our choice and trust God with the outcome.

O...

2010-02-05T06:38:00.002Z

I had the joy of being interviewed by an Ofsted inspector yesterday afternoon. It was all painless enough in the end, it was a "monitoring visit" to make sure the school where I'm Chair of Governors has made sufficient progress since the last full inspection. And the feedback was positive, which was encouraging. The overall process is still dominated by statistics, proving with data that the children are making progress etc. Seems to reflect the obsession of some parts of our society with measuring things, then labelling them. "If we can't put a number on it, how can we know it's really happening" seems to be the attitude. And there's a danger that creeps into church life too. Not just in the obvious ways (bums on seats), but in subtle ways too as we try to "measure" where we're at spiritually and assess it against others. This approach definetely has value and can be helpful; but let's get it in a bigger perspective, in education and in church!

Throw those curtains wide...

2010-01-30T14:50:00.002Z

Nothing profound to say here; just enjoying the clear blue skies and sunshine in the crisp cold of a sunny winter's day. There's definetely something to be said about for stopping and enjoying basic stuff like this....

"Books are Fun"

2010-01-27T20:06:00.005Z

That was the name of a song by Barney the purple dinosaur when Toby was very small. But anyway, that aside, the long hours travelling to and from India (and in India) and some bits of down time while there did give an opportunity to read some bits. Here's a summary:

Divorce and Remarriage in the Church - David Instone-Brewer: A helpful look at a potentially difficult subject; it made, for me at least, a compelling case that the "traditional" way of reading the New Testament on these issues may not be the most faithful.

Home - Marilynne Robinson: This is the "follow-up" to Gilead (see my earlier post) and in many ways tells the same story but from a different point of view. Once again it is wonderfully written, and I could imagine myself re-reading it without any trouble at all. It somehow manages to be sad, regretful and yet strangely hopeful all at once.

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins: Well, I figured I had to read it for myself at some point. Inevitably, there's a lot of rant I suppose you'd call it. But Dawkins does write well, is witty, and makes some fair points. That said, the main point of his argument seems to be a (only slightly) more sophisticated version of the question every child asks: "Who made God, then?". The saddest bit for me was the venom that some "Christians" have poured out on Dawkins...not helpful in any way at all as far as I can see.

The Believers - Zoe Heller: This novel is actually about a family who have strong Socialist values, that starts to fall apart. An interesting enough way to spend a long flight, but didn't really compete for my attention with the others!

India report

2010-01-26T17:44:00.002Z

The report on our time in India I mentioned in the last post is now available online here.....

India Photos....

2010-01-22T16:43:00.015Z

At last, as promised some "colour" to fill out the updates I've posted here:

The "Abundant Life" church on the Liberty Children's Home campus; where Hezekiah is the Pastor. NB the loudspeakers on the corner of the roof (see last post)...

And here's Doug sharing in church with Hezekiah translating...
Meanwhile a little sign (in every sense) of the affection that Doug is held in there:

And some of the children from the Liberty Children's Home, with a warm welcome for me too, though not sure about the designation!

Now a couple from COTR, including some of the students in the class I taught for two sessions:

I'm planning to do a written report for Sunday for WCF. If you're not from WCF then let me know and I'll email you a copy if you're interested.

Summing it all up...

2010-01-20T17:59:00.003Z

Well, having been back in the UK around 24 hours now, I'll attempt to sum up the last couple of weeks in India. Allowing 3 days for travelling, I worked out that I spoke 16 times in 9 days - to children at Liberty Children's home, two church congregations, bible college students and Pastors. And there was time to read, have an encounter with a barber, visit cities, play and watch cricket, go on an outing with the children....so all in all it was a full couple of weeks. The best I can offer by way of summary are the bullet points that follow. If you know anything about India some of them are almost cliches, but true all the same from what I saw.

India is huge. And wildly diverse. Andrha Pradesh, the state where we were, is bigger than the UK in both size and population I think. The languages are different from state to state and I was surprised how few in Andrha spoke Hindi or English the national languages. To be honest, how the country hangs together seems a mystery to an outsider.
You get a kind of sensory overload when you first reach India. Distinctive smells, bright colours. And noise, noise everywhere. Driving around with cars, trucks, rickshaws and motorbikes hooting constantly. Churches fitting loudspeakers on the outside so that all the neighbours can hear what's going on (and to let members know the service has started) seems to be the norm. Not a quiet place.
Wealth and poverty exist side by side in extreme forms. There is money in India; the very wealthy, but also a growing middle class with disposable income (around 200 - 300 million people fall into this bracket according to one estimate). But there are also many people who only just get by, as well as many who don't even manage that.
Spiritually again India is diverse. As far as Andrha Pradesh is concerned, Hinduism dominates, but there is a sizeable Christian community. Here at least the two co-exist peacefully (not always true of political issues though - see here). It raises issues though as to what the heart of the gospel is here. The key issue seems to be "Who is God?" in all honesty; Hindus almost seem to need to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord before they can go onto see him as Saviour.
How does the church make an impact in this culture? Well, from what I saw, the two keys seem to be when Christians are practically caring for those in need, and when the power of God in healing is seen. Works and wonders, that then lead on to the Word...Probably lessons for us all there.

Anyway, I'm sure there's more to say, but that will do for now. And I will upload some photos soon, honest.

India Update: the last one

2010-01-18T03:01:00.003Z

Well, the trip out with the children on Saturday was very good, they all seem to have had a great time. Yesterday was church service, where again Doug shared and I spoke. It seemed to go well. Interesting that some things seem to be features of church life the world over; some of the folk we had met the previous week weren't there, but others were. Encouragingly, they are getting a regular stream of first-time visitors to the services, many from Hindu backgrounds (and one last week from a Muslim background). Afterwards, and after lunch. I had the unique experience of a haircut, shave, beard trim and massage by an Indian barber. Unforgettable!

Anyway, we will shortly begin the first leg of the journey home. An 8 hour car ride to Hyderabad, then flying home via Dubai tomorrow. When I get back I will upload some photos, and maybe try and sum up with some overall reflections, though I'm not at all sure where to start with that for now...

India Update (4)

2010-01-16T05:15:00.002Z

Well, we're just waiting for a truck to arrive to take the children from Liberty Children's Home for a picnic on the hills nearby, so I thought I'd use the time to give a quick update. Yesterday we went into the city of Eluru to a clothes store, which was again an intrigiung experience. Followed by a visit to a Hindu family who are friends of Hezekiah's, and who Doug & Jeannette have visited before. They were very hospitable, plying us with food and drink, and were delighted with the photos Doug gave them that he'd taken on his last visit to them. And they wanted us to pray for them...

One sad piece of news is that the father of two of the girls at the home died this week. He was an alcoholic who drank away all the money the family ever had. Their mother is unwell (with TB I think) too, and before the girls came to the home last September they were living in effect under a lean-to, eating whatever their neighbours could spare to share with them. Sadly, their Dad went out one evening in the week, and basically drank himself to death it seems. I guess it poignantly illustrates the value of what Hezekiah is doing here. Please pray for these girls, and their mother too.

India update (3)

2010-01-14T16:31:00.002Z

Well, I'm now back with Pastor Hezekiah, after a fascinating few days at COTR in Vizak. It was certainly busy, and I enjoyed teaching 3 classes in their theolgical seminary, as well as speaking at 2 services in the College chapel, and speaking at the church that WCF helped to build a few years ago. There was a lot to reflect on during the visit too; it was great for example this morning to sit in on a class taken by a visiting lecturer who is an expert on the history of Christianity in India.

On a less serious note, a 6 hour drive in a car with a driver whose English was only slighty better than my Telugu was also and experience that I won't forget in a hurry!

India update (2)

2010-01-11T17:07:00.003Z

Well, the last day or two have been intriguing in all sorts of ways. Today I was speaking at a conference for 40 or so Indian pastors, all translated into Telugu. They were a fascinating mix of ages and denominational backgrounds, and I genuinely felt it to be a privelege to be able to share something with them. Interestingly, when I suggested they break into groups and pray for each other they seemed a little out of their comfort zones. And these are the pastors. But, all in all it was a postive time.

We've had a fairly prolonged power cut today. All quite normal it seems. But interesting inso far as in many ways Indian society seems quite reliant on technology; maybe "reliant" isn't the right word, "at home with" is better. Certainly more so than Kenya when I was there. But they also seem very accepting of the fact that the electricity sometimes goes off for hours at a time, and goes off for a short while most days it seems.

I've also seen first-hand just how passionate they are about cricket, they play it very seriously and very well. And it catches the imagination of all ages in a similar way to football in the UK, and seems to attract similar amounts of money. Before the power cut today I watched a few overs of a One Day International between India and Bangladesh with some of the older lads, and there was no shortage of advertising and sponsorship...

One final reflection on the adverts. If the people we seen in ads in some ways represent an ideal of what a society considers beautiful or attractive at least, it's interesting at least (and possibly worrying?) that the characters in every ad I saw were very fair skinned, many barely recognisable as Indian.

Anyway, tomorrow I go to COTR in Vizak for a few days, and may not be online while there. But I'll update this when I get back if not before.

India Update...

2010-01-10T09:23:00.001Z

Well, it's certainly been a fascinating couple of days. Yesterday Doug & I went to have a look at the plot of land that has been purcahsed to provide grazing for buffalo and a paddy field to support the work of Liberty Children's Home. It's all being prepared well, the one delay now is waiting for a transformer for the water pump and then things will start moving in earnest. Then into the "village" of Chintalapudi to get a feel for the sights and especially sounds of cars, buses, bikes cattle and people all competing for space on the roads, as well as stopping by the clothes shop for a bottle of "Thums Up" (Diet Coke to us Brits!) with the owner. Then we've already had a church service this morning which was a great occasion. I'm discovering so many hidden talents of Doug's; not only did he share a brief word, but he was given a microphone to lead a song in Telugu. He didn't seem keen to join the worship group at WCF though for some reason. Anyway, there's talk of a cricket match in a few minutes so I need to conserve my strength....more soon.

We're here...

2010-01-08T12:46:00.002Z

Well, amazingly enough, given all the snow and ice at Gatwick and the problems that went with that, Doug & I landed at Hyderabad airport only 1 hour late in the end yesterday evening (or early this morning Indian time). Then a 7 hour drive to Chintalapudi; a chance to sleep a little as well as to sample the sights, sounds and smells of India. Now we're getting settled with Pastor Hezekiah, and looking forward to what the next few days has in store. Watch this space!

Not long now...

2010-01-05T15:40:00.001Z

Just one more day of last minute preparations and tidying up of loose ends to go, and then it's off to India Thursday morning early (snow and ice permitting!). Updates here, internet connection/power supply permitting...

Avatar

2010-01-04T17:35:00.003Z

Went to see Avatar on Saturday night, and was generally impressed. It would be easy to criticise one or two characters as stereotypes etc but on the whole it was incredibly well done, and visually stunning. The presentation of the Na'vi religion was fascinating - why is it that "good" religion in the movies rarely looks much like Christian faith? But a great film, and inspiring in its way too...

New Year blues?

2009-12-30T17:37:00.007Z

Some people seem to get very excited about the whole New Year thing. I have to admit I don't really. After all, it's all a bit arbitrary when we start the year; we could have New Year in April if we wanted. Basically, on 1st January we'll wake up to another day that will be a lot like 31st December in lots of ways.

Or maybe I'm just being a bit grumpy about it all. I think some of it is I don't enjoy the whole "Let's look back and review" thing, and am not really disciplined enough for the serious planning for the New Year thing (as I said in an earlier post it's often the unplanned for that takes up time and energy in any case). Maybe it's a temperament thing, at least in part. My friend Johnny has a great post about planning here; guaranteed to make you feel a worm if you live in semi-chaos a lot of the time like me. And no doubt my friend Gareth will soon email round his review of 2009, with all the countries he's preached in counted and analysed...

Anyway, this is for those of us who are just trying to live a day at a time (sounds biblical enough to me!)....have a Happy Day today and tomorrow and the day after too, whatever the month or year!!

Happy Christmas...

2009-12-24T16:49:00.003Z

The title says it all really. Trust everyone has a great day...

"But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman....." (Galatians 4:4)

What can you say in 2 or 3 minutes?

2009-12-19T15:15:00.003Z

I've been asked to say a few words about Christmas "for 2 or 3 minutes" at several events this year. I don't think I'm long-winded (I guess others might think differently)....but I have found it a challenge! And it probably needs just as much thought-time for 2-3 minutes as it does for 20-30 as well. On the whole it's probably a good discipline and keeps things focussed. Not convinced it will dramatically affect how I speak the rest of the year, but you never know...

21st century carol

2009-12-12T11:50:00.005Z

O shopping mall of Bluewater

How full we see thee lie:

In all the near-surrounding streets

The crawling cars creep by

But lo! Within thy crowded stores

Though finances are tight

The salaries of half next year are spent in thee tonight.

Any suggestions for more verses?

Tales of the Unexpected...

2009-12-07T20:08:00.003Z

Thinking back over the last 12 months, it struck me just how much of what has happened would have been impossible to foresee this time last year. Here are some examples:

That we would have ended up buying 3 computers as a family in one year...
That I would have been seriously trying to lose weight for the last couple of months (well, seriously most of the time anyway)
That Dartford would be top of the Ryman Premier League by such a comfortable margin and with games in hand
That as the leadership at WCF we would had to have thought at some length about the hygiene implications of the common cup at communion
That we would also have had to think through issues of immigration status and homelessness...
That my car radio would now be almost permanently tuned to Capital FM (maybe with children the age of ours something like that should have been predictable, but I didn't see it coming)
That I would finally have succumbed, and started a Facebook account and a blog!

A slightly random list admittedly; but does make me wonder what 2010 will bring.

Ideas have legs?

2009-12-04T19:16:00.010Z

Strangely enough this week I've seen two "peak viewing" type thriller programmes (Flashforward and Paradox) that have featured discussions about the "many-worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics. I don't understand much about physics, but I guess the people who came up with this theory didn't do it mainly to provide plot material for sci-fi writers.

Having said that, it seems such a weird theory to me that only a story can make sense of it, even if the nuances get lost in the process. So what? Well, it seems to me that a lot of academic theology is about as far removed from the lives of most Christians as quantum mechanics is from most TV viewers. Most people simply don't get that excited about the Cappadocian Trinity, the new perspective on Paul, or the finer points of the doctrine of justification. That doesn't mean to say that it doesn't have value, of course. But it does mean that we need, among other things, to tell stories to make the relevance of theology clear; and that the risk for those who do the academic stuff is not knowing quite what it will look like when translated into ordinary life.

Perhaps even more pointedly, we need to realise that even a lot of our basic beliefs as Christians seem as far removed from your average unbeliever as the finer points of quantum mechanics too.

Swiss rules...

2009-11-30T19:08:00.003Z

Reaction to the referendum result in Switzerland yesterday, banning the building of minarets on mosques has predictably been mixed (see here for the story on the BBC). It all seems a bit unlikely in Switzerland of all places, but, then, I've never been there and wouldn't know. What is interesting is how quick some have been to condemn the Swiss decision who you don't hear saying anything very much about regimes which actively discriminate against and persecute Christians (or if they do say anything it's not reported). On the other hand I fear that there are some Christians in the UK who could be alarmingly envious of what has happened in Switzerland, who seem to live in almost perpetual fear of Islam, and regret that we as Christians aren't accorded more special treatment from the powers that be by virtue of the church's role in Britain's heritage. The question such good folk are asking it seems to me is, "What kind of country we want to live in?". And it's a fair question. But I'm not sure it should be the first question we should ask if we're serious about living as followers of Jesus. Maybe that should be something more like, "What kind of church do we want to be part of?". And the answer, for me at least, would include something about being part of a church that's sufficiently confident in the message of God becoming human with all the vulnerability of a baby - a baby, who grew up to die in a uniquely sacrificial way and ultimately defy death itself; sufficiently confident in this message and its intrinsic power that we don't need state support, aren't always after the government fighting our corner and aren't unduly threatened by any other belief system, however belligerent some of its adherents might be. In other words, we shouldn't be after anyone legislating against other beliefs or even in favour of Christian beliefs, as if that somehow proved something - either about us as believers or about the rest of the society in which we live.

One final thought: can you believe they actually had a referendum on this in Switzerland, when we didn't even get one on the EU constitution? Maybe not much else happens in Swiss politics or something...

Song lyrics

2009-11-27T19:31:00.002Z

Why is it that song lyrics sometimes just seem so clever? They don't even have to be profound or great poetry; witty will do, and sometimes it's not even that. Anyway, here are two of my current favourites. First, Pixie Lott:

I got your emails
You just don't get females now, do you?

Classic. Just for rhyming "emails" and "females" really. And then Robbie Williams:

I've been doing what I like, when I like, how I like
It was joyless.

Maybe that's a bit more profound, though hard to be too serious about against the '50s do-wop backing. And Robbie has one of my all time favourites too:

I'm contemplating, thinking about thinking
It's overrated, let's get another drink in

Maybe not something to aspire to, but for all that it's always strangely reminded me of the book of Ecclesiastes. But that's another story.

Schools

2009-11-25T18:54:00.004Z

Heard today that Isobel's school got an "Outstanding" Ofsted report, following a recent inspection. They're naturally very pleased, and it is a great achievement for a mixed-ability school in a grammar dominated area (Toby's school also got an "Outstanding" earlier in the year). But having been a little bit on the other side of the system as a governor at the primary school where Elliot is the last remaining Leveson, it's hard not to have a few questions about the whole system. One of the principles underlying inspections nowadays is that "attainment is a limiting factor" - in other words if results in national tests/exams (SATs or GCSEs) don't reach certain standards then every other area of the school's life is judged accordingly. Now I wouldn't want to knock the value of academic achievement; but I would want to suggest that when it becomes THE significant criteria for judging the value or effectiveness of schooling, then it is in danger of becoming an idol. And one that, while no doubt with the intention of making our world more inclusive, actually highlights the lines that society draws between those who are deemed to be succesful and those who aren't. Anyway, rant over. On a positive note it's good to see groups like the Jubilee Centre seeking to engage with these issues from a Christian point of view. It's certainly needed.

Appearance

2009-11-23T19:54:00.002Z

Well, have been playing a bit with the look of this. Think I like this better now, but time will tell.

Read of the Year...

2009-11-23T11:44:00.003Z

...for me at least has been Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Not new this year I know, but I discovered it this year, read it over the summer and am now reading it again. Not many novels make me want to do that, but this is beautifully written. The fact it's about a Pastor probably helps - it's in effect a series of letters/thoughts that an elderly Pastor in 1950s America leaves for his 7 year old son to read when he grows up. If that doesn't exactly sound gripping, you'd be surprised! It's positive, realistic, sad at times and makes you grateful to be alive. And is full of some great lines that are quotable out of context and still have an impact. Here are just two examples:

"People want to respect the pastor and I'm not going to interfere with that. But I've developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I ever learned anything useful from, except, of course, that some very tedious gentlemen have written books. This is not a new insight, but the truth of it is something you have to experience to fully grasp."

"A good sermon is one side of a passionate conversation. It has to be heard in that way..."

I'm now looking forward to reading Home, the follow-up as such which did come out this year, I think.

Engage conference

2009-11-21T18:57:00.004Z

Just back from a full day at Care for the Family's Engage conference. All in all an excellent, thought-provoking day, with lots of great stories and examples of churches that are really making a difference in their community. And some healthy realism as well, in the midst of it, with some helpful talk about doing one thing well rather than trying to do everything. Lots to think about and work and pray through about what it means for us in our context in Wilmington; but there are some exciting possibilities ahead. Some questions to ponder too, that aren't new or unique to our situation by any means but that doesn't make them any less real:

There is a journey to go on so we're all understanding that getting involved in the community isn't ultimately "about" getting people into church, it doesn't need to be "sneaky evangelism"
How do we best discern what the real needs are in our community and match them to the resources we have available?
Are we big enough to get things wrong some of the time and not give up just because it doesn't all happen at once?

Obviously there are plenty of resources available to help with these kind of questions, but the answers have to be owned or else all our efforts could be short-lived. Finally a couple of observations about the day:

Considering the event was in central London, and given the high proportion of Christians in London who are part of Black Majority churches, they didn't seem well represented at the day. There could be all sorts of good reasons for this, but I was a bit surprised I guess.
It was encouraging that two of the plenary speakers (Rob Parsons and Ian Coffey) made a point of anchoring part of their talks at least in the Bible; but also interesting that most of the attendees didn't seem to expect that. At least, I didn't see anyone who had Bibles obviously with them or open on their laps (in fairness I didn't get mine out of my bag either). Read into that what you will!

Why?

2009-11-20T08:26:00.002Z

Well, this is a bit of an experiment, really...The thought was that if I start a blog then it could be useful for when I go to India in the New Year to give updates as we go (internet connection permitting). But why wait for then? So I'm starting now, and we'll see how we go. Not convinced how regularly I'll post, or whether anyone will read it. And I wonder if the title shouldn't really be "Mark in the way", which seems a pretty good description of how things seem at times! But anyway, it's started now, so we'll see what happens...