a new religion?...
Monday, June 29, 2009
'This' is an interesting article by Rowenna Davis from the Guardian comparing religion and environmentalism. Dave Walker offers some interesting reflections on it 'here', not least the observations that "many... find it important to combine religious belief with environmental action."
I was at a conference last week in which Jim Wallis was speaking. In one of his sessions he made the observation that there are two great hungers amongst young people in the USA and UK today - the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice. Wallis argued that the two must be held closely together - spirituality without the desire for justice simply leads us into a selfish consumer-driven 'feel good' faith, whilst the quest for social justice without a spirituality offering hope simply leads to cynicism and anger. I reckon Jim Wallis got it about right, and that it is up to those of us that claim faith in God to make the connection for those who don't but are deeply passionate about justice. It seems to me that this is the very stuff of the kingdom of God.
Labels: mission, politics, spirituality
the moyles lowdown on lively church...
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Chris Moyles and his breakfast team talk about an experience they had of 'lively' Christian worship. Stay with it until the end - it's a fascinating insight to perceptions of the church...
hat tip... Church Times Blog
hat tip... Church Times Blog
Labels: church, popular culture
perspective...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
open tables...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I've been asked to write something about sacraments for some pioneer ministers in Liverpool to comment on as part of their networked learning, but I’m keen to open the discussion out more widely, so feel to comment whoever and wherever you are! Be warned, this is quite a lengthy post for this blog!
I’ve blogged before about Eucharist 'here', following a conversation I had with my Bishop about what policy I practiced in admitting people to Communion who have not been baptised, let alone confirmed. I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable with the question until he assured me that he wasn't trying to catch me out! He went on to recommend a book by Timothy Gorringe called 'The Sign of Love' and lent me the book, which I reviewed 'here'. The gist of Gorringe's argument is that the Last Supper was, for Jesus, a continuation of the table fellowship that had so characterised his ministry, and through which he had included those often considered outsiders by the religion and culture of his day. Gorringe sets out a clear case for Jesus using table fellowship redemptively, which culminates in the Last Supper. Therefore, he suggests, Communion should be offered widely and becomes, for many, the means of connecting with God's grace and the community of faith. Rather than admission to Communion following on from baptism, Gorringe argues that the Eucharist should be offered unconditionally to all, and may itself become a significant part of a person's story leading them to a fuller identification with the community of faith.
For some time I've been unsatisfied with the Evangelical Anglican fudge concerning invitation to receive the Eucharist! I used to trip off the standard "if you love the Lord and know him as your saviour then you are welcome to receive", thinking I was being radically inclusive by not demanding that participants be confirmed. But I've become dissatisfied with this because it is still surrounding Jesus' unconditional table fellowship with certain requirements, those being ‘loving Jesus’ and ‘knowing him as saviour’, so why not go the whole hog and demand the traditional Anglican line of confirmation?! Nowadays, in my parish ministry as well as in pioneer ministry, the invitation I give is totally open – something like "if you'd like to come and receive you are welcome to do so - this is not my table or the church's table, but Jesus', and he welcomes all." I'm not sure how this would go down at a Bishop's team meeting, but given the fact that Eucharistic ministry seems to be so central to emerging churches because, in its mystery and non-cerebral engagement, it is missionally attractive, it seems that the Spirit is leading us to step down from our hierarchical protectionism regarding gifts of God's grace and get back to the Jesus way of offering hospitality to all.
In a similar way, my position on baptism has changed over the years too! I used to want to put baptismal candidates (or the parents and godparents of children being baptised) through a thorough course to ensure that they properly understood ‘the gospel’ (or, at least, my version of it) before going ahead with baptism. Now, as with Communion, I have a much more open approach. There is a significant difference with baptism, however, and that is that the candidates or their sponsors are making some public statements of belief and intention regarding life direction (turning away from all that is against God and turning to Christ). For this reason, I like to meet up with parents and godparents to go through the words of the service, so that they know in advance what is being asked of them, and try to answer any questions they might have, offering in the process alternative arrangements (such as thanksgiving or dedication services) if they felt unable to make these statements with integrity. But that said, I don’t see it as my role to ‘judge’ whether they are taking the rite seriously or being completely honest with me. If they say they are ok with all this and that they want to go ahead then that’s good enough for me – after all, baptism too is a visible sign of God’s grace, so who am I to ring-fence it or deny access to people? Surely it is between them and God, and the sacraments are God’s initiative and invitation, not ours.
In pioneering mission all of this takes on a sharper significance in that we want members of the new emerging community, who may not yet have owned faith personally, to be fully included in all aspects of community life and worship. What do we do if we are involved in taking a baptism and someone else in the community shouts out, “I’d like to do that too”? Do we insist on a future baptism after some instruction or do we simply baptise them there and then? It seems that the way of John the Baptist, and Jesus following him, would have been to simply get on with it!
And what about the words we use? At Dream we often write our own Eucharistic prayers, rooted contextually in the community and the occasion, but that has gotten us into trouble in the past! Should pioneer communities be restricted to the authorised form of words that the Church of England (or whatever sponsoring body) has decreed acceptable or should there be liberty to reframe sacramental worship in the culture of the host community? And I haven’t even touched on the ‘lay’ or ‘ordained’ question! When it’s a recognised and often stated fact that many ‘fresh expressions’ are lay-led (surely a cause for celebration!), what is gained by shipping in an ordained person from outside the new and fragile community just so that the community can experience the grace of Jesus’ table fellowship? If the Eucharist is a visible demonstration of the physicality of God – God incarnate, flesh and blood, bread and wine – why can’t we allow it to be fully incarnate in a community that has no ordained person present?
This is a splurge of thoughts and I’m looking forward to the comments, but just to finish it’s worth mentioning that I am seeing people beginning to identify with Christian community and own faith for themselves through their experience of the sacraments, be it in emerging church or conventional church communities. Being welcomed into the mystery of the Eucharist, or being trusted to take on the promises of baptism without a faith grilling, has enabled people to feel included and a sense of belonging - that they are a part of what God is doing, that they matter. My fear is that our past (and still current) attempts to ‘uphold the integrity’ of the sacraments, by building walls around them, have only served to undermine their integrity as tangible vehicles of God’s grace and unconditional love.
I’ve blogged before about Eucharist 'here', following a conversation I had with my Bishop about what policy I practiced in admitting people to Communion who have not been baptised, let alone confirmed. I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable with the question until he assured me that he wasn't trying to catch me out! He went on to recommend a book by Timothy Gorringe called 'The Sign of Love' and lent me the book, which I reviewed 'here'. The gist of Gorringe's argument is that the Last Supper was, for Jesus, a continuation of the table fellowship that had so characterised his ministry, and through which he had included those often considered outsiders by the religion and culture of his day. Gorringe sets out a clear case for Jesus using table fellowship redemptively, which culminates in the Last Supper. Therefore, he suggests, Communion should be offered widely and becomes, for many, the means of connecting with God's grace and the community of faith. Rather than admission to Communion following on from baptism, Gorringe argues that the Eucharist should be offered unconditionally to all, and may itself become a significant part of a person's story leading them to a fuller identification with the community of faith.
For some time I've been unsatisfied with the Evangelical Anglican fudge concerning invitation to receive the Eucharist! I used to trip off the standard "if you love the Lord and know him as your saviour then you are welcome to receive", thinking I was being radically inclusive by not demanding that participants be confirmed. But I've become dissatisfied with this because it is still surrounding Jesus' unconditional table fellowship with certain requirements, those being ‘loving Jesus’ and ‘knowing him as saviour’, so why not go the whole hog and demand the traditional Anglican line of confirmation?! Nowadays, in my parish ministry as well as in pioneer ministry, the invitation I give is totally open – something like "if you'd like to come and receive you are welcome to do so - this is not my table or the church's table, but Jesus', and he welcomes all." I'm not sure how this would go down at a Bishop's team meeting, but given the fact that Eucharistic ministry seems to be so central to emerging churches because, in its mystery and non-cerebral engagement, it is missionally attractive, it seems that the Spirit is leading us to step down from our hierarchical protectionism regarding gifts of God's grace and get back to the Jesus way of offering hospitality to all.
In a similar way, my position on baptism has changed over the years too! I used to want to put baptismal candidates (or the parents and godparents of children being baptised) through a thorough course to ensure that they properly understood ‘the gospel’ (or, at least, my version of it) before going ahead with baptism. Now, as with Communion, I have a much more open approach. There is a significant difference with baptism, however, and that is that the candidates or their sponsors are making some public statements of belief and intention regarding life direction (turning away from all that is against God and turning to Christ). For this reason, I like to meet up with parents and godparents to go through the words of the service, so that they know in advance what is being asked of them, and try to answer any questions they might have, offering in the process alternative arrangements (such as thanksgiving or dedication services) if they felt unable to make these statements with integrity. But that said, I don’t see it as my role to ‘judge’ whether they are taking the rite seriously or being completely honest with me. If they say they are ok with all this and that they want to go ahead then that’s good enough for me – after all, baptism too is a visible sign of God’s grace, so who am I to ring-fence it or deny access to people? Surely it is between them and God, and the sacraments are God’s initiative and invitation, not ours.
In pioneering mission all of this takes on a sharper significance in that we want members of the new emerging community, who may not yet have owned faith personally, to be fully included in all aspects of community life and worship. What do we do if we are involved in taking a baptism and someone else in the community shouts out, “I’d like to do that too”? Do we insist on a future baptism after some instruction or do we simply baptise them there and then? It seems that the way of John the Baptist, and Jesus following him, would have been to simply get on with it!
And what about the words we use? At Dream we often write our own Eucharistic prayers, rooted contextually in the community and the occasion, but that has gotten us into trouble in the past! Should pioneer communities be restricted to the authorised form of words that the Church of England (or whatever sponsoring body) has decreed acceptable or should there be liberty to reframe sacramental worship in the culture of the host community? And I haven’t even touched on the ‘lay’ or ‘ordained’ question! When it’s a recognised and often stated fact that many ‘fresh expressions’ are lay-led (surely a cause for celebration!), what is gained by shipping in an ordained person from outside the new and fragile community just so that the community can experience the grace of Jesus’ table fellowship? If the Eucharist is a visible demonstration of the physicality of God – God incarnate, flesh and blood, bread and wine – why can’t we allow it to be fully incarnate in a community that has no ordained person present?
This is a splurge of thoughts and I’m looking forward to the comments, but just to finish it’s worth mentioning that I am seeing people beginning to identify with Christian community and own faith for themselves through their experience of the sacraments, be it in emerging church or conventional church communities. Being welcomed into the mystery of the Eucharist, or being trusted to take on the promises of baptism without a faith grilling, has enabled people to feel included and a sense of belonging - that they are a part of what God is doing, that they matter. My fear is that our past (and still current) attempts to ‘uphold the integrity’ of the sacraments, by building walls around them, have only served to undermine their integrity as tangible vehicles of God’s grace and unconditional love.
Labels: community, emerging church, mission, musings, theology, worship
more on the flash mob...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Theo Hobson has posted an interesting (but not entirely accurate!) observation about the Dream flash mob on the Guardian's 'Comment is Free' site, in which he states,
"This might sound like the trivial stunt of a few oddball God-botherers to you – I beg to differ. I think it the most significant bit of Christian culture I've come across in years. It's one of the first "alternative church" initiatives that has made me feel positive about this vague movement."
Sadly, some of the comments there are less than constructive so I added my own (under the user name 'foxile') - scroll down and contribute if you want! Read Hobson's post here.
"This might sound like the trivial stunt of a few oddball God-botherers to you – I beg to differ. I think it the most significant bit of Christian culture I've come across in years. It's one of the first "alternative church" initiatives that has made me feel positive about this vague movement."
Sadly, some of the comments there are less than constructive so I added my own (under the user name 'foxile') - scroll down and contribute if you want! Read Hobson's post here.
we are the champions...
What a difference a year in football makes!! At the end of last season it was all doom and gloom for Leicester City, made worse by the fact that Forest were promoted and Ben was able to have a good gloat on the pages of his blog. But how the tide has changed - Leicester City are League 1 champions at the first attempt, and Forest are struggling for survival in the Championship!I remember Ben telling me at the end of last season that it would be grim in League 1 (after all, Forest did struggle to get out of it!), but I have to say that, a few dodgy away grounds aside, I've quite enjoyed winning nearly every week!! Even so, I'm looking forward to the challenge of next season and a push towards the Premiership. Of course, it would be poetic justice if Forest are relegated but, if not, it will be fun beating them next season! Congratulations Leicester - bring on the Championship!
Labels: news
liverpool flash mob...
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Dream did their first Guerrilla Worship on Saturday in the new Liverpool ONE shopping mall in the city centre. The Times religion correspondent, Ruth Gledhill, writes that this is "thought to be the first time 'flash mob' has been used to generate a 'random' act of Christian worship." If you want to read more about it, go here, but take a look at the below video!
One Dream member who took part commented: I was on the middle level at 4pm and was amazed to watch almost the whole concourse clear, with people making their way up the steps, shoes in hand. Store assistants were coming out the shops pointing and saying "there's another one!" "what's going on?"
Great stuff!!
update... we've had over 1000 YouTube viewings in the first two days of the video being posted, and made it onto the TimesOnline website and the Church Times blog! Read all about it by clicking the links!
One Dream member who took part commented: I was on the middle level at 4pm and was amazed to watch almost the whole concourse clear, with people making their way up the steps, shoes in hand. Store assistants were coming out the shops pointing and saying "there's another one!" "what's going on?"
Great stuff!!
update... we've had over 1000 YouTube viewings in the first two days of the video being posted, and made it onto the TimesOnline website and the Church Times blog! Read all about it by clicking the links!
is the Old Testament Christian?...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I've just finished reading 2 Samuel, and have once again been struggling with the apparently bloodthirsty God found in its pages, and how we understand this portrayal of God as followers of the Prince of Peace. And then I came across this interesting post by Matt Stone at Glocal Christianity, which explores how, as Christians, we must read the Old Testament through the reframing lense of the New Testament. Matt argues that we cannot see the Old Testament in and of itself as a 'Christian text', since it is clearly Jewish and is upheld by other faiths as Scripture even though they might come to differing conclusions about God. If we follow this line, the Old Testament becomes a 'Christian text' when it is reframed by the New, such that we reinterpret what we find there. Matt writes:
"I find the movie Sixth Sense provides a good analogy. If you have seen that movie, starring Bruce Willis, then you’d know that the ending of the movie has a killer twist. In the final moments Bruce Willis’ character has a revelation that reframes everything that was going on up to that moment.... The realization affects his identity and transforms his entire story.... For Christians the coming of Christ is, similarly, a killer twist. Jesus transforms our understanding of God, and hence, our understanding of the Old Testament and how we read it. Reading the Old Testament in isolation from the New Testament is like watching Sixth Sense but walking out fifteen minutes before the climax. You’ll never understand Christianity by viewing it that way, and you’ll never truly understand the Old Testament by reading it that way."
If I understand Matt correctly, the New Testament is the Christian's 'text' (in a Derrida sense) - our interpretive framework through which we see the world, including the Old Testament. Of course, Matt makes a huge leap in the final line of the above quote as other faiths would certainly argue against needing the New Testament in order to "truly understand the Old Testament", but as a Christian believer myself I'm happy to go along with him here!
The question remains though... what do we do with the Old Testament narratives of the boodthirsty God and the faithfulness of his people being seen in their willingness to comit mass slaughter? Do we simply reject such texts as ancient misconceptions of God, based on the new understanding arising from the teaching and sacrificial example of Jesus, or is there a more subtle way to reframe the Old Testament?
Read Matt's whole post here
"I find the movie Sixth Sense provides a good analogy. If you have seen that movie, starring Bruce Willis, then you’d know that the ending of the movie has a killer twist. In the final moments Bruce Willis’ character has a revelation that reframes everything that was going on up to that moment.... The realization affects his identity and transforms his entire story.... For Christians the coming of Christ is, similarly, a killer twist. Jesus transforms our understanding of God, and hence, our understanding of the Old Testament and how we read it. Reading the Old Testament in isolation from the New Testament is like watching Sixth Sense but walking out fifteen minutes before the climax. You’ll never understand Christianity by viewing it that way, and you’ll never truly understand the Old Testament by reading it that way."
If I understand Matt correctly, the New Testament is the Christian's 'text' (in a Derrida sense) - our interpretive framework through which we see the world, including the Old Testament. Of course, Matt makes a huge leap in the final line of the above quote as other faiths would certainly argue against needing the New Testament in order to "truly understand the Old Testament", but as a Christian believer myself I'm happy to go along with him here!
The question remains though... what do we do with the Old Testament narratives of the boodthirsty God and the faithfulness of his people being seen in their willingness to comit mass slaughter? Do we simply reject such texts as ancient misconceptions of God, based on the new understanding arising from the teaching and sacrificial example of Jesus, or is there a more subtle way to reframe the Old Testament?
Read Matt's whole post here
Labels: musings, post-modernity, theology
extrmely dangerous...
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, was interviewed on Al Jazeera English by Sir David Frost on 12 March 2009. He spoke about the threat from domestic terrorism in Pakistan saying that the 'situation is very grave'...
"The situation in Pakistan is extremely dangerous. I would say it's very grave. I think Pakistan faces a mortal threat, not from India, but from domestic terrorism. And that domestic terrorism is so grave that I think that politicians in Pakistan need to come together.
At the moment the politicians are pointing their fingers at each other. In fact they should be coming together and pointing their fingers at those who threaten the Pakistani people and those are terrorists on the Afghan border, terrorists in the Punjab who struck with such deadly effect in Mumbai and terrorists who after all claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007."
"The situation in Pakistan is extremely dangerous. I would say it's very grave. I think Pakistan faces a mortal threat, not from India, but from domestic terrorism. And that domestic terrorism is so grave that I think that politicians in Pakistan need to come together.
At the moment the politicians are pointing their fingers at each other. In fact they should be coming together and pointing their fingers at those who threaten the Pakistani people and those are terrorists on the Afghan border, terrorists in the Punjab who struck with such deadly effect in Mumbai and terrorists who after all claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007."
cadbury goes fairtrade...
Saturday, March 07, 2009
no line on the horizon...
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I'm just listening to my 'advance order' copy of the new U2 album, that arrived this morning and I have to say that so far (8 tracks in) it's great! OK, so anyone who knows me knows that I'm an unashamed U2 fan (why should I be ashamed about it?!!), but this really is a great album!Q magazine gave it a full 5 stars (but then they love U2 too!); NME gave 7 out of 10, despite a pretty critical review (maybe U2 are not 'alternative' enough for NME). The only negative review I've seen to date is from Time magazine... but then what do they know about music?!!
Labels: popular culture
the christian thought police...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Once again Jon Birch comes up trumps! If you get a chance, check out the brief conversation arising from my Tuesday post, and add to the discussion.
crystals vs christ...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Mark's in the news again!! This is a pretty interesting article from the BBC, looking at how the church in Telford is engaging (or not) with what it calls the 'spiritual-but-not religious brigade'. It features 'Safe Space' and even a quote from 'emerging church guru' Ian Mobsby (is that a title that he's been officially given?!)Read the article and then go to Mark's blog to read his reflections on it...
Labels: emerging church, popular culture, religion, spirituality
the opposite of faith revisited...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
What I love about blogging is that no matter how quiet you might be (and, let's face it... this blog has been pretty quiet of late!), there's always a chance that someone new will visit your blog, pick up on a previous post and continue the conversation. And so, I was grateful to get a notification of someone adding a new comment to 'this post' that I originally wrote 2 years & 2 months ago (to the day!)
If you want to read the original post and conversation, including the new contribution 'click here', but I thought I'd post my latest response for those who are short of time...
'Anonymous', please don't think that I was suggesting that the pursuit of knowledge is a bad thing - in fact, quite the opposite. What I was challenging in this post is the viewpoint held by some that they already have 'The Truth', and so leave no room for God to disrupt their faith with fresh revelation, or, indeed, to have their 'knowledge' challenged and possibly changed by another person's 'knowledge'.
It seems from reading Scripture that God is often in the business of disrupting and even subverting people's 'knowledge' about him. One such clear example is Peter's vision in Acts 10 in which God seems to be telling Peter to disobey the Word of God (or, at the very least, Peter's understanding of it) concerning what is clean and unclean.
Of course we must study and be learners as followers of Jesus, and seek to understand more and more as we journey with Christ and one another. However, surely a religious viewpoint that leaves no room for surprise and fresh perspective is one that has given up on learning, believing it has already arrived at 'The Truth'. It seems to me that such a viewpoint has also jettisoned the very essence of faith.
What do you think?...
If you want to read the original post and conversation, including the new contribution 'click here', but I thought I'd post my latest response for those who are short of time...
'Anonymous', please don't think that I was suggesting that the pursuit of knowledge is a bad thing - in fact, quite the opposite. What I was challenging in this post is the viewpoint held by some that they already have 'The Truth', and so leave no room for God to disrupt their faith with fresh revelation, or, indeed, to have their 'knowledge' challenged and possibly changed by another person's 'knowledge'.
It seems from reading Scripture that God is often in the business of disrupting and even subverting people's 'knowledge' about him. One such clear example is Peter's vision in Acts 10 in which God seems to be telling Peter to disobey the Word of God (or, at the very least, Peter's understanding of it) concerning what is clean and unclean.
Of course we must study and be learners as followers of Jesus, and seek to understand more and more as we journey with Christ and one another. However, surely a religious viewpoint that leaves no room for surprise and fresh perspective is one that has given up on learning, believing it has already arrived at 'The Truth'. It seems to me that such a viewpoint has also jettisoned the very essence of faith.
What do you think?...
the story in sand...
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
alternative worship...
'This' is great!
Labels: fun, popular culture
merry christmas...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
OK, so I've not exactly been a prolific blogger over the last few weeks (months!) - the demands of life (work, family, etc) have cut into blogging time (you might say, 'real' life has won the day!!) I've also been working on our new church website (let me know what you think!)
I'll try to post some more in the New Year, but for now...
Happy Christmas to all (if there's anyone left checking out this blog!)
and best wishes for 2009!
This was an image I put together for the St Mary's Christmas services, stealing an excellent background image from 'macmonkies'
I'll try to post some more in the New Year, but for now...
Happy Christmas to all (if there's anyone left checking out this blog!)
and best wishes for 2009!
This was an image I put together for the St Mary's Christmas services, stealing an excellent background image from 'macmonkies'
Labels: news
surprise!...
Monday, November 17, 2008
vote for greenbelt... again...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Following on from 'this post', Greenbelt has made it to the final round of voting in the UK Festival Awards in the following two categories...Best Family Festival
Best Toilets (!)
The good news is that you can vote for a second time now the shortlist is published, but voting closes on 20th October so you'd better be quick. Click here to vote...
P.S. yes, that is me in the photo scratching (but definitely NOT picking) my nose!
Labels: Greenbelt
open letter to mark brewer...
Monday, October 13, 2008
This morning the following letter was emailed to Mark Brewer on behalf of the members of the 'We support Dave Walker' Facebook group. It seems like a fair letter to me, so come on Mr Brewer... please make your response. If you're not aware of Dave Walker's case, Matt Wardman has blogged a useful introductory guide 'here'.
Dear Mr. Brewer
We are writing on behalf of 498 supporters of cartoonist and blogger Dave Walker, a group which includes bishops, national journalists in the UK and US, lawyers, clergy, and concerned members of the public.
We would like to ask you please to contact Dave Walker and withdraw the demands made in the 'Cease and Desist' letter which you sent him in July. Your letter, as far as we know, instructed Dave to remove all his posts about the recent history of SPCK bookshops or face action for libel. With the pressures of the impending Lambeth conference, and a very short deadline given by yourself, Dave complied. He commented at the time: “I have therefore removed all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this blog, as, although I believe I have not done anything wrong I do not have the money to face a legal battle. The removal of these posts is in no way an admission of guilt.”
Many of us have read the posts concerned, and are surprised, to say the least, that they could be called libelous. Indeed, the first three posts make no mention at all of yourself, the Society of St. Stephen the Great, or anyone associated with you. The 4th post reports your takeover of the bookshops with the comment “this is splendid news.” Another post is a simple link to your SSG video on YouTube. Other items include verbatim reports of your own statements, and in the simple post on the death of Steve Jeynes, dozens of people used the comments to expressed their grief and condolences to Steve’s family.
Dave is a reasonable man, and if all critics were as fair as he is the world would be a better place. If you were able to reconsider, and point out specific statements and claims you were unhappy with, we are sure Dave would be happy to correct them where appropriate. This is the normal process of debate on the internet, and in real life, and follows the strong tradition of free speech for which our countries stand and are rightly proud.
So this is a polite request from all of us: please contact Dave Walker, advise him that your ‘cease and desist’ communication no longer stands, and let him report freely.
Yours sincerely
8 signatories representing the ‘We Support Dave Walker’ group
Dear Mr. Brewer
We are writing on behalf of 498 supporters of cartoonist and blogger Dave Walker, a group which includes bishops, national journalists in the UK and US, lawyers, clergy, and concerned members of the public.
We would like to ask you please to contact Dave Walker and withdraw the demands made in the 'Cease and Desist' letter which you sent him in July. Your letter, as far as we know, instructed Dave to remove all his posts about the recent history of SPCK bookshops or face action for libel. With the pressures of the impending Lambeth conference, and a very short deadline given by yourself, Dave complied. He commented at the time: “I have therefore removed all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this blog, as, although I believe I have not done anything wrong I do not have the money to face a legal battle. The removal of these posts is in no way an admission of guilt.”
Many of us have read the posts concerned, and are surprised, to say the least, that they could be called libelous. Indeed, the first three posts make no mention at all of yourself, the Society of St. Stephen the Great, or anyone associated with you. The 4th post reports your takeover of the bookshops with the comment “this is splendid news.” Another post is a simple link to your SSG video on YouTube. Other items include verbatim reports of your own statements, and in the simple post on the death of Steve Jeynes, dozens of people used the comments to expressed their grief and condolences to Steve’s family.
Dave is a reasonable man, and if all critics were as fair as he is the world would be a better place. If you were able to reconsider, and point out specific statements and claims you were unhappy with, we are sure Dave would be happy to correct them where appropriate. This is the normal process of debate on the internet, and in real life, and follows the strong tradition of free speech for which our countries stand and are rightly proud.
So this is a polite request from all of us: please contact Dave Walker, advise him that your ‘cease and desist’ communication no longer stands, and let him report freely.
Yours sincerely
8 signatories representing the ‘We Support Dave Walker’ group
which are you?...
Thursday, October 09, 2008
brilliant...
Thursday, October 02, 2008
mankind is no island...
This short film by Jason van Genderen, shot entirely on a cell phone, has just won the 2008 Tropfest short film award. It is well worth the three and a half minutes to watch it - profound, moving and inspirational, a deserved winner (not that I know much about making short films!)...
hat tip... Matt Stone
hat tip... Matt Stone
Labels: art
vote for greenbelt...
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Greenbelt Festival is up for several award categories in the UK Festival Awards 2008, including...- Best Medium Festival
- Best Line-up
- Family Festival Award
- Grass Roots Festival Award
- Best Toilets
You can vote 'here' until 20th October; though each category is narrowed to a short list of ten on 13th October so vote early to ensure that Greenbelt stays in the race! There is more info on the Greenbelt website.
Cast your vote and get word about Greenbelt out there!
Labels: Greenbelt
joining the conspirators...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
In preparation for a round table discussion with Tom Sine, that I'm involved in tomorrow, I've just read the first two chapters of The New Conspirators (I thought I'd better!) The chapter 'Emerging, Missional, Mosaic and Monastic' is an excellent, and pretty up-to-date, overview of what Sine describes as 'four streams of renewal' in the church at present (the four streams being those in the chapter title).
Last Friday I was interviewed by BBC Radio Merseyside as part of the run up to 'Back to Church Sunday', and was asked if I was concerned by the state of the church and, in particular, by its decline. I said that I wasn't, because I was hearing so many stories of new life and (to use the phrase) 'fresh expressions' of church that were much more rooted in the realities of communities, cultures and real life. I mentioned that, for me, a faith that didn't touch base with, and affect, reality was a faith not really worth having!
For people who are concerned about the state of the church, the first two chapters of Tom Sine's latest book will come as both an encouragement and a challenge. An encouragement as you read of the many ways in which new communities of followers of Jesus are taking root and making a difference, and a challenge as your eyes are opened to these new realities and your existing church (and faith) paradigms are shaken, even subverted. The kingdom of God is, of course, so much bigger than what we've allowed it to become in our Christian sub-cultures, and Sine's book is a wake up call to join in with the missio dei.
I love the invitation at the start of the book to "become a part of something 'really, really small,' a quiet conspiracy that is destined to change our lives and God's world." (p23) I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the book and to meeting and discussing with Tom Sine tomorrow.
Labels: church, community, mission, post-modernity
worship...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Jonny has posted some really helpful and challenging posts about worship, arising out of a symposium he was involved in at London School of Theology. He makes some pertinent points (and echoes those of others) about fully contextualised worship grown "in the soil of your local culture". Read his posts here, here and here.
Labels: alternative worship, church, musings, popular culture, worship
the end of the world?...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the world yet? News just in...
hat tip... Maggi Dawn
hat tip... Maggi Dawn
Labels: news
what would Jesus construct?...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
This is a good thought-provoking post from Richard Sudworth. Maybe with his 'IS, NOT and BUT' statements, Richard has made some profound (and not always comfortable, depending on where you're coming from) observations. Inclusion, community and equality are concepts I warm to, and I love Richard's appeal to 'the story' which transcends narrow doctrinal prescriptions and, at the same time, embodies certain themes which are to be embraced in remaining faithful to and journeying in the Christian tradition.
Labels: churchless faith, musings, theology
they like Jesus but not the church
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Ok, so it might just be a pretty long (7 minutes) advert for this book and course (which I haven't read/participated in, so can't comment on), but it is worth a watch all the same...
Labels: church, churchless faith, post-christendom, spirituality
blah manchester - Tom Sine...
Monday, September 01, 2008
Sadly I won't be able to go to this, but hopefully I'm doing my bit by giving it a plug!...
We are excited to announce that Tom Sine will be coming to Manchester this Autumn. He’ll be spending 24hrs with us where we’ll be exploring his recently published book ‘The New Conspirators’, discovering more about him and learning about the hopeful mustard seeds that are being sown here in Manchester.
This non residential conference will take place at the Nazarene college in Manchester (Dene Road, Didsbury, M20 2GU) from 30th Sept until 1st October. There will be three sessions during our time together plus plenty of time for networking and discovering more about what God is doing in the North West.
30th September, 15:00 - 17:00. Session 1: Travelling in Turbulent Times with the New Conspirators.
30th September, 19:00 - 21:00: Session 2: Taking Turbulent Times Seriously.
1st October, 10:00 - 12:30: Session 3: The imagination of the Future.
For more information about the sessions click 'here'
Book online 'here'
Alternatively send a cheque made payable to CMS to: Alice Morgan, CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ and include a covering note stating that the cheque is for the Tom Sine event in Manchester.
This event is hosted in partnership between Blah...manchester and Network Manchester/EA
‘The New Conspirators’ with Tom Sine.
We are excited to announce that Tom Sine will be coming to Manchester this Autumn. He’ll be spending 24hrs with us where we’ll be exploring his recently published book ‘The New Conspirators’, discovering more about him and learning about the hopeful mustard seeds that are being sown here in Manchester.
This non residential conference will take place at the Nazarene college in Manchester (Dene Road, Didsbury, M20 2GU) from 30th Sept until 1st October. There will be three sessions during our time together plus plenty of time for networking and discovering more about what God is doing in the North West.
30th September, 15:00 - 17:00. Session 1: Travelling in Turbulent Times with the New Conspirators.
30th September, 19:00 - 21:00: Session 2: Taking Turbulent Times Seriously.
1st October, 10:00 - 12:30: Session 3: The imagination of the Future.
For more information about the sessions click 'here'
Book online 'here'
Alternatively send a cheque made payable to CMS to: Alice Morgan, CMS, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ and include a covering note stating that the cheque is for the Tom Sine event in Manchester.
This event is hosted in partnership between Blah...manchester and Network Manchester/EA
that was Greenbelt 08...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Had a great time at Greenbelt 08! Each year people ask 'what was the best thing about Greenbelt?' and, although I always manage to catch some great seminars/worship/discussions/bands (sometimes completely by accident), I have to say that the best thing about Greenbelt is... Greenbelt! Sounds corny but Greenbelt is just great; nothing makes it great apart from itself - the atmosphere, the environment of active exploration.So no one thing stood out this year as 'the' thing that made Greenbelt for me, but I did enjoy Brian McLaren, Pete Rollins, Philip Yancey, the discussions in The Cooker and (though I know it's not everyone's cup of tea) the Beer 'n' Hymns in the Jesus Arms (organic beer tent which gets bigger every year!)
The Dream at Dawn service seemed to go well, as did the Spirited Exchanges seminars - below is a slide show of some piccies from the Dream service (flash required) - you can see them in full 'here'...
I'm Malcolm Chamberlain
from Liverpool, United Kingdom
. I'm married with two young children and, in addition to Liverpool, have lived in Leicester (for the first 18 years of my life), York, Peshawar (Pakistan), Oxford and Walsall. I've been actively involved in the emerging church since 2001, as a founding member of Dream in Liverpool City, and coordinator of the Dream network. I'm currently engaged in research into emerging missional communities, and work as a parish priest and pioneer minister.
