malcolm chamberlain

Sure enough, there is something very familiar looking about this...


by Dave Walker at the Church Times Blog

Labels: fun

this video is fantastic, freaky, artistic and a great laugh all rolled into one! How would you have reacted?...

Labels: fun

So is 'this statement' from the Church of England a case of "well said' or last ditch wishful thinking and covering over the cracks? I tend to think that there is a lot of truth in the statement and particularly in how church statistics are unfairly compared to those of other faith communities, but it's also a little bit too early to be patting ourselves on the backs! Nice to see a mention of chaplaincies alongside fresh expressions too!

Labels: church, mission, religion

clever...

Labels: mission

Ollie Sickened By Defeat... he's not the only one I can tell you! So who's to blame?... where do I begin?!

1. Ollie, though a nice bloke, has not exactly set the world alight since his move to Leicester has he? OK, so we were in trouble when he arrived, but it got worse. As he himself said in the Guardian, "Statistically, I'm the worst Leicester City manager in history". Still, I'm not convinced he should go and the blame is not all at his feet...
2. The players - they may well have been crying in the dressing room at the end of today's match; shame they didn't show the same passion on the pitch week in week out. With the exception of three or four (Hume, Stearman, McAuley, Kisnorbo) all those 'players of promise' simply haven't been up to it. I bet the big guns who haven't performed will be the first to ask for transfers now - good riddance to them I say. Time for another clear out at the Walkers Stadium.
3. Milan Mandaric - unfortunately we need his cash but any chairman who meddles in footballing affairs as much as he does is bound to be a problem. Sacking Martin Allen because the manager didn't want to bring in Hasselbaink and MM did was a scandal - why has he employed a manager if he won't let him manage. I guess this is all a bit academic as I reckon MM will be off now (sadly with his money) anyway. When he came to the club two years ago he said Leicester would be in the Premiership in three seasons or he would have failed, and that he doesn't fail... err, I've got news for you Milan!

All in all, a dreadful day in the life of a Leicester supporter - in fact, the worst ever. The promotion of Forest yesterday makes it all so much harder to swallow. At least Derby suffered the drop too. Still, humble pie time... we're a league below them both now. Time to go and weep into a pint!

Labels: news

a great little post from Ben Sternke on missional church.

Labels: church, community, mission

here's something I wrote recently for our church magazine...

For us as a family the dominating item over the last few weeks has been the dreaded box! On the Tuesday after Easter the Pickford’s team arrived at our then home in Aigburth and began packing all our worldly goods into boxes – nearly 200 of them! Then, two days later, they delivered those boxes, along with our furniture, to the Rectory opposite St Mary’s – and so began for us the lengthy (and still ongoing) process of unpacking boxes and finding new homes for all our stuff (minus the things we’ve bravely thrown out!)

And all this has got me thinking about how our lives are so often characterised by ‘boxes’ of sorts. We all have our preferred ways of doing things and understanding things. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong in having those ‘boxes’ – they generally offer stability and security, our own little known world in the sometimes frightening and often-unstable big world. The problems arise when I think that my box is the only valid box or, more specifically, that God only functions and dwells in my box because he only approves of my box. Sadly, churches can be masters at trying to box God up like this – whether it’s in terms of tradition, musical style, doctrine, what is considered ‘reverent’, or a myriad of other ways.

The gospel writers tell us that as Jesus breathed his last, hanging on a cross on that hot dusty Friday afternoon, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. This ‘curtain’ was not some flimsy fabric, but a formidable screen that had previously separated the perceived place of God’s dwelling from ordinary people. In this dramatic action it was as if God was visibly breaking out of the box that religion had tried to put him in. The implication… God cannot be contained or, as C S Lewis’ Mr Tumnus says in the first Narnia film, “Aslan is not a tame Lion”! It became clear at Pentecost that this ‘breaking out of God’ was so that he could relate personally, through his Spirit, to all people. No longer can we presume to ‘house’ God in any one specific place – God is making his home in countless places, in countless lives.

As I write, we’re still finding new homes for the things we’re taking out of boxes at the Rectory. I wonder what new homes God may find in this season of Easter? Will he find a new home in someone’s life, maybe even yours? Will he find a new home in your conversations and relationships? Take courage and allow God to break free from the boxes you’ve, maybe unwittingly, attempted to contain him in – you never know, you may just be pleasantly surprised!

Labels: religion, spirituality, theology

I love this...

thanks Jon at ASBO Jesus

Labels: fun

So it was on the 23rd March that I went quiet due to moving house! The house move went remarkably smoothly (though we're still unpacking the boxes), which is more than can be said for the switch of the broadband service!! Several phone calls (to national rate numbers), over three weeks, and a raft of broken promises lead me to eventually cancel my contract last Friday in disgust! And, lo and behold, today I have broadband (it's just come online!!) All in all... I feel unable to recommend Tiscali to anyone (understatement of the year - I'll withhold the profanities) but am now in the interesting position of having broadband without contract or direct debit to pay for it!! I've also written a letter of complaint! It's a bit of a mess... what should I do?!

Anyway, I'm catching up with blog posts from the last three weeks and a backlog of emails, all while trying to carry on with the new jobs (which seem to be going well - I'm enjoying the new challenge)!! All good fun. Hopefully, I'll get back to more thoughtful blogging soon!

Labels: blogs

... so go the lyrics to the iconic Bjork song! So why has this blog been so quiet recently?...

1. New job! I've been settling into a new job 'leading' a church in Liverpool and beginning to develop and encourage missional church in the deanery. I guess it's meant throwing myself into building new relationships in the 'real' rather than the 'virtual' world. It's not just the blog that's suffered as a result... there are several emails awaiting to be dealt with too (sorry if yours is one of them!)
   
2. New House! As a Church of England minister, a new job means a new house! The house attached to my new job needed a fair bit of work doing to it which we've been trying to keep up with and, now it's finished, we're about to move!

All of this I guess has meant less time to muse on the blog (and I miss it!). It's about to get worse (if that's possible) because this week we are actually moving house and so I'll be plunged into the position of no broadband until the provider can switch my service from one place to another ("It could be 10 working days" they tell me!) , not to mention buried in boxes such that blogging will unlikely be on the top of my priorities list!

So, here's the request... please don't give up on this blog! I haven't, and, to be honest, this space could prove to be really valuable to me as a sounding board and a place for reflection as the new things in my life develop! It'll be pretty non-existent for a few weeks but, in the words of another early 1990's icon, I'll be back!

Labels: blogs

Tracey Messenger, from Church House Publishing, has written a helpful and in-depth review of Leslie Francis and Philip Richter's 'Gone for Good? Church Leaving and Returning in the 21st Century' (Epworth Press, 2007)

You can read Tracey's review on the Spirited Exchanges UK website 'here'

Labels: churchless faith

Richard White, from the Dream network, just sent me a link to this to see if I missed those wonderful Windows sounds since making the transition to Mac. The short answer is 'no' but it's still well worth having a listen to this...

Labels: fun

Last night I began teaching a twelve session course, Mission in Britain Today, for the SNWTP; a partnership of the Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed churches across Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Chester, training people for church ministry and leadership. I had a great time with the group I'm teaching and we began a fascinating discussion which is likely to continue throughout the course. I'm blogging about it here because I'm interested in your response too!

By way of introduction to the theme of mission, and as a basis for understanding mission, we looked at the concept of missio dei and discussed the implications of believing in a God who is constantly engaged in his (please note that I'm using the masculine pronoun here to personalise, not to genderise (sic), God) mission in and beyond the structures of the organised Christian Church.

As part of this discussion, I sketched the two well documented alternatives regarding the implication of the missio dei for the Church. The first (put forward by such as A.T. Van Leeuwen and J.C. Hoekendiijk) is the suggestion that the Church is pretty much incidental to the success of the mission of God. The argument goes that, since God is engaged in mission and uses various agents to bring about his purposes of justice and salvation, it makes little difference to the success of this mission whether the Church has got its act together or not - God will achieve his purposes with or without the Church. Nor is it significant to the overall mission of God as to whether the Church is growing or not - God's mission is beyond, though it does include, the Church.

The second alternative to understanding the implications of the missio dei for the Church is that argued by such as Andrew Kirk and Wilbert Schenk. They emphasise the belief that, although God is indeed active beyond the Church and although the ultimate purpose of the divine mission is the Kingdom and not the Church, nevertheless the Church, as the community of those who have entered consciously into relationship with God, is central to God’s way of working in mission. The Church, they argue, is both an embodied sign of the Kingdom and a foretaste or sacrament of the Kingdom, and, furthermore, it is the only intentional agent of the Kingdom. Therefore, it does matter whether the Church has got its act together or not - although God is not restricted to working only through the Church, he has established and called the Church as the primary agent and visible sign in the missio dei, and so the mission of God will suffer if the Church is not fulfilling its calling. Likewise, Church growth is evidence of the success of the missio dei.

Of course, the proviso for this second alternative has to be what we understand by 'the Church'. Church growth does not simply mean more bums on seats in organised churches. But it does surely refer to the community(ies) who consciously identify themselves as followers of Christ engaged in the mission of God, rather than some vague and undefined concept. Indeed, it's this conscious identification that differentiates the Church from the wider Kingdom, of which it is a part.

So that was the gist of last night's discussion. Over to you... is the Church incidental and inconsequential to the missio dei, or is it the central agent through which God choses to work his purposes? Does it matter whether the Church has got its act together or not?

Labels: church, mission, theology

... I hope and pray that it's worth it; that the newly elected Pakistani government, whoever it may be, respect the immense price that many ordinary Pakistanis have paid for these elections, in the hope of better and more stable times ahead.

See Pakistanis vote in tense election

Labels: news, Pakistan, politics

'This' is great - I love the artwork and the reflection that follows... "Where do we "put the camera" when we read a particular story in the gospels? " is a brilliant question. Thanks Richard!

Labels: art, theology

Another bomb blast in Pakistan as the country gets closer to the scheduled February 18th elections. This time 18 people were killed - a tragic waste of human life and, I suspect, not the last in the days ahead. Keep Pakistan in your prayers.

Labels: news, Pakistan, politics

Various people, over the last couple of days, have asked me what I think of the Archbishop of Canterbury's remarks regarding Sharia law and British law, and I've avoided doing so because, to be totally honest with you, any comment would be made out of relative ignorance. I don't claim to be an expert in any way on Sharia law and I'm pretty sure that most of the voices we've been hearing recently are in the same boat! What do they say about ignorance breeding contempt?!


And so, with my reluctance to comment noted, here's what I wrote in an email to one such inquiry...

Re: Rowan’s speech – I haven’t read it in full (which is the problem with most comments being made about it!). That said, I’m not sure I totally agree with his conclusions BUT (a very important 'but') I find it very sad that most of the debate that has ensued has had little to do with what he actually said or with what he wanted people to be debating. I think he has some very good points – my concern is where it may end or what it could lead to, rather than with what he suggested per se.

I get really angry though with people who use one interpretation of Sharia to whip up a frenzy of anti-Islamic sentiment. That is the worrying thing, and it seems to be happening a lot at the moment - one example is the completely misleading and downright prejudiced comments of Douglas Murray (from the Centre for Social Cohesion - how on earth did he get that job?!) on last night's Newsnight program. On the other hand Prof Tariq Ramadan spoke a lot of sense on the same program. He confirmed that most British Muslims are not calling for Sharia as a separate code of law, stating that "equality before the law is our Sharia". In other words, Prof Ramadan was arguing that for the majority of British Muslims, British law is already in keeping with Sharia and so is sufficient.

I guess the Archbishop wanted to take things slightly beyond this though and raise some discussion concerning family law in particular. But why are people going on about public flogging and hands being cut off – that has nothing at all to do with what Rowan Williams was talking about, and just serves to direct the discussion away from the important, if uncomfortable, issues that he was raising!

The Archbishop's website has posted a very helpful article, What did the Archbishop actually say? (with a link to the full text of the original lecture) and there are several measured posts from people more qualified than me to comment such as those from Richard Sudworth, Kester Brewin and Maggi Dawn. If you missed last night's Newsnight, you can read about it and watch it again from 'here'

Labels: debates, news, religion

Bishop James models the humility we all need; that which enables us to say, "sorry, I was wrong"

Labels: news

A man who clearly has much in common with David Beckham, who famously said, "I want Brooklyn to be christened but don’t know into what religion yet"...



hat tip... Matt Stone

Labels: fun, religion

'This' is an interesting reflection from Tony Jones, that relates to the question I was posing in my last post. Go read...

Labels: post-modernity, theology

'This' is a fascinating post offering some reflections on Alternative Worship and Emerging Church from Kevin Corcoran, an 'outsider' (not my description) who spent time with various practitioners and communities. There's a lot in his description that rings true with my own experience and, on the whole, I think he paints a very fair and accurate portrait.

I've been thinking particularly about one of the features he identifies...

"emerging Christians tend to be theologically pluralistic and quite suspicious of tidy theological boxes. They believe that God is bigger than any theology and that God is first and foremost a story-teller, not a dispenser of theological doctrine and factoids. Theology for them, therefore, is conceived as an ongoing and provisional conversation. Emerging Christians are also allergic to thinking which fixates on who is going to heaven and who is going to hell, or on who’s on the inside and who’s on the outside. They stress the importance of right-living (orthopraxy) over right-believing (orthodoxy). What’s important, they often say, is whether you engage in God-love and neighbor-love. Or as one of our conversation partners put it, “We’re more interested in doing truth than believing ‘truths’.”"

As I read this I identified completely with it and yet on a second reading I'm left slightly uneasy! I, for one, don't want to be fixated on who's in and who's out or on neatly tying up following Jesus into a predefined theological and doctrinal package. For this reason, I am 100% behind the emerging church project (as some have described it). However, I guess my unease kicks in when I think about the parameters for Christ-led discipleship. Are there any? Is it really a journey without any givens? Is theology really provisional? If so, how do we prevent this journey of discipleship from being a completely subjective experience, once again playing into the hands of modern Western individualism - "who are you to tell me where my journey with Jesus should be going?"?!

I guess this is why the notion of community is so important to 'emerging Christians', such that "a premium is placed on togetherness, journeying with and alongside others" (Corcoran's words). But even in this community experience (and perhaps, especially in it) are there any givens or norms? Is it a case of anything goes or are there beliefs and values that define the community?

In the emerging churches I've experienced there are often very clear values and/or beliefs underpinning them. Indeed, to say that there are no theological givens is in itself a theological given! I'm convinced, given my reading of the gospels, that orthopraxy is, at least, as important as orthodoxy, but this doesn't render orthodoxy unimportant... does it?

Labels: alternative worship, emerging church, musings, theology

a timely contribution from Dave Walker! I think paperwork (and read 'emails' into that) is the thing that stresses me out more than anything else. It's great when I can finally see my desk... shame it usually only lasts for a very short time!

Labels: fun

... change your leaders."

Bono on the political challenge of global poverty and climate change



see also Bono and Al Gore at the World Economic Forum

hat tip... Andrew Jones

Labels: justice, news, politics

"There are two kinds of spiritual journeys or two ways to "be on the way" as Caputo would put it, the first (which is all too familiar to many of us evangelicals) is to know the way ahead of time and then just try your hardest to get there, the second is to be on a trek to find the way but all the while being a bit lost. The postmodern person understands that being lost and at the same time being "on the way" are entirely compatible. Far from falling into the black abyss of relativity that some critics might fear, this kind of a spiritual journey boasts a healthy Christian understanding of the via negativa."

The above quote, which I find really helpful, comes from a post by Charlie Lyons Pardue engaging with John Caputo's What Would Jesus Deconstruct? Read the whole post 'here'.

Labels: post-modernity, spirituality, theology

Jesus' Musings is well worth checking out - make sure you read the comments for each post to get it. It's wonderful satire that gets right to the point!

See also 'Weblog of Jesus Stirs Controversy Among Faithful' for more 'comments'. My favourite of the bunch has to be the one (supposedly) written by Christian tract publisher Edward Muehler... "I prefer a gospel that is streamlined, one that fits in a little pamphlet... I know that Jesus has a lot to say about things like poverty and peace, but these things distract from the true nature of the Gospel: freedom

hat tip... Ben Sternke

Labels: fun, theology

Every now and then you read something that could have been written specifically for you at the current stage in your life. A few days ago I came across the following blessing from John O'Donohue's Benedictus: A Book of Blessings. Given the changes in my life at the moment, it has really spoken to me and given me courage as I step out into new beginnings. John sadly died on January 3rd, so it seems fitting to post this as an illustration of one more life touched by his work...


hat tip... Paul Fromont

Labels: art, musings, spirituality

Bishop Tom Wright has a wonderful way with words, as can be seen in this recent interview with the Wittenburg Door's Becky Garrison...

"In Christian theology, such phrases [as "the authority of Scripture"] regularly act as “portable stories”—that is, ways of packing up longer narratives about God, Jesus, the Church and the world, folding them away into convenient suitcases, and then carrying them about with us. Shorthands enable us to pick up lots of complicated things and carry them around all together. But we should never forget that the point in doing so, like the point of carrying belongings in a suitcase, is that what has been packed away can then be unpacked and put to use in the new location. Too much debate about scriptural authority has had the form of people hitting one another with locked suitcases. It is time to unpack our shorthand doctrines, to lay them out and inspect them. Long years in a suitcase may have made some of the contents go moldy. They will benefit from fresh air, and perhaps a hot iron."

Go and read the full interview!

hat tip... Paul Fromont

Labels: debates, theology

'This' is great - no need to apologise Jon!

Labels: church, churchless faith, fun

So 2008 is underway and it's a year of changes and new challenges for me! Just before Christmas I signed off on over 8 years of University chaplaincy to take up a new dual post at the end of January. It's a move that takes me back into parish church ministry, becoming 'priest in charge' (a term I really don't like!) of St Mary's, Wavertree in Liverpool. As has become my pattern since 1999, this is only one half of a dual post! For the other half I'll be the deanery pioneer minister for the Toxteth and Wavertree deanery, enabling and encouraging emerging church communities and fresh expressions of church in the area. This will keep me connected with the Dream network, in particular Dream in Liverpool City which meets in the Deanery, as well as giving me opportunity to hook up with some other exciting initiatives (such as this one) and joining others in dreaming up new approaches to mission in the area.

It's both exciting and daunting but it feels like a good move! The people of St Mary's are very friendly and welcoming - it's a church with a long and rich history that doesn't want to remain rooted in the past but wants to build on it in meeting the needs of its community today. I'm also really impressed by their commitment to fair trade and social justice, and look forward to belonging to this community. Watch this space to read reflections and news over the course of time!!

Labels: church, mission, musings

Words fail me... for all her faults (and she had a few, but then don't we all) I genuinely think that Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan's best bet for a more stable future. I feel some of the grief that many Pakistanis will experience in a much greater measure, as well as a degree of despair over where Pakistan goes from here. This is a country in the grip of desperation - Pakistan and its people need and deserve our prayers at this time.

Labels: news, Pakistan, politics

In January 2006 Dream featured as one of Steve Taylor's 'Emerging Church Postcards'. For the third consecutive year Steve is running the series again with new 'postcards'. To find out more about the series and how to get your community featured visit here!

Labels: emerging church

Labels: fun

Had a great time last night at the Liverpool Nativity. As with the Manchester Passion, I was impressed by the creative way in which the story of Jesus was communicated afresh to a (post) modern audience. I haven't yet had a chance to watch the TV broadcast but, from being there, I certainly felt that this was another excellent piece of mission and gospel proclamation. I particularly liked the way that the nativity story was narrated alongside a powerful social comment regarding 'outcasts' of our contemporary society (asylum seekers and the homeless most notably) and felt that this was a good contextualising of the Christmas good news message.

Although the main stage stuff was carefully stage managed (with cues on the screen and a lengthy 'rehearsal' beforehand) there were several points during the production and, in particular the crowd singing, where I felt a real sense of worship being offered. There was something sacred in those moments of people singing along to popular songs whilst reinterpreting them around the central message of the Incarnation. It brought a new meaning and significance to some well loved songs! It also felt as though I was standing in a crowd of people who were, in some way, caught up in the stuff of God - many of whom, I'm sure, would not identify themselves as being 'Christian' or religious. Maybe, as Kester posts 'here', the rich Christian heritage in our culture is not that deep below the surface after all (even Richard Dawkins seems happy to identify with this!).

So what if there were a few duff notes hit by one or two of the singers (it was very cold after all!) - the power of the production lay in the ancient story re-framed for the 21st century.

(the photo is of the star above the main stage - taken on a camera phone hence quality!!)

Labels: mission, popular culture

A powerfully honest post from Kester is well worth reading, but be warned... don't bother if you're comfortable just the way you are and don't want to be challenged.

I blogged about TTIS in Liverpool 'here'

Labels: justice, news, politics