malcolm chamberlain

Wow... it's an honour to be receiving the Thinking Blogger Award, especially from such an inspirational thinker as Maggi Dawn. So, I'd like to begin by thanking my wife and children for continually putting up with my musings without the luxury of being able to close the page down...
I'd like to thank my agent and all who read the blog...

Ok, enough of the acceptance speech. Seriously though, thanks Maggi for your very kind words and for directing others here through this award. I started this blog as a place for me to play with the ideas and discoveries arising out of my MPhil research but, as with most other bloggers, I've caught the blogging bug and am likely to keep this going beyond that formal study. The thing I really appreciate about blogging is the ability to try out thoughts and gain insights from the wisdom of others, either through comments and responses to posts I've written or through their own blogs (which is why I tend to do a fair amount of linking!)

I'd echo Maggi's own reflection that my experience of church has often been that thinking is ok so long as the 'right' conclusions are arrived at, but blogging enables you to play with the 'wrong' conclusions too and not be judged (or not that I'm aware of) for it. Surely this is at least part of what Christian discipleship is about and why Christ, in his wisdom, called us into community as his followers - community (physical or virtual) where we can help one another think and reflect as well as act in seeking and living for the Kingdom of God.

According to the simple rules of the Thinking Blogger Award (see below), I now have to nominate five other blogs to receive this honour - blogs that I regularly read that help me to think, wrestle and grow. So here's my list...

1. Prodigal Kiwi(s) - Paul Fromont and Alan Jamieson. Lot's of links to reflections past and present, with a particular focus on telling the stories of those on the edges of church.
2. the church and postmodern culture conversation - perhaps the most intellectually stretching blog that I read (often way over my head) but well worth dipping in to.
3. Dream community blog - I know this could look like a plug for the community I'm involved in, but Richard White's posts on this site are always thought provoking (the award is his!)
4. Pete Rollins - I'm sure he's had numerous nominations as he's a deep thinker, but he regularly stretches and frequently challenges my own thinking, so I have to have him on my list!
5. Pilgrim's Progress - Richard Lyall's digital artwork inspires me and he's also a deeply honest thinker. His blog strapline "In relentless pursuit of REAL" is deserving of the award in itself (I wish I'd come up with it!!)
   

If any of these blogs are new to you, make sure you take a visit and enjoy the reflections of other thinking bloggers...
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The 'Thinking Blogger' participation rules:

• If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
• Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
• Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

Labels: blogs, musings