malcolm chamberlain

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

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Letter From God To Man (released 28 July 2008)

I love this track! I'm not usually into hip-hop but I have to say that this is a really clever song, and the way that Radiohead's Planet Telex is sampled is pretty cool too. The track can be downloaded from iTunes - well worth the 79p price!

The lyrics are inspired (though I'm not sure about the 'survival of the fittest' bit)! You can read them in full 'here' - this is one of my favourite verses, which kind of shows the general tone...

So I’m writing to apologize for all the horrors committed in my name,
Although that was never what I intended, I feel I should take my share of the blame.
All the good I tried to do was corrupted when all the religion got into full swing,
What I thought were quite clear messages were taken to unusual extremes.
My teachings taken out of context to meet the agendas of others,
Interpretations taken to many different ways and hidden meanings discovered

I don't know where Dan Le Sac or Scroobius Pip are coming from with regard to faith, but their lyrics seem to suggest that God is not at fault for the bad in the world but voluntarily takes responsibility for it. Seems to be a pretty orthodox understanding of the cross to me!

I found the below video on YouTube too which sets the song to some powerful images (flash required)...

Labels: art, popular culture, religion

'This', from Bishop Alan's blog, is brilliant - a warning to those who spend too much time hunting for 'dodgy'! Go read...

Labels: church, debates, religion

'This' is a great post from Steve Hollinghurst, and well worth a read especially if you're a church minister in the UK! I've lost count of how many times I've read or been told that England is a Christian country, and it's often a statement masking a more sinister unspoken view that either verges on racism or anti-youth sentiment. Steve hits the nail on the head when he writes:

"the reality is that a modern democratic society can never by identity be a 'Christian country' and the use of this phrase does not promote the Church's influence i think it actually undermines it. it simply serves to remind everyone that the church is a thing of the past, that we used to be a Christian nation and that whilst some bits of that legacy where good we no longer need the Church to tell us that, we the citizens now decide what are 'good Christian values' and what are 'bad traditional religious morality'. anyone caught using the phrase 'we are a Christian country' is at best well meaning but irrelevant and at worst a power mad oppressor who wants to run the country their way and not our way. Christians need to wake up to this and start admitting we are not a Christian country." (bold highlights mine)

I've recently been teaching the 'Mission in Britain Today' module on a regional course training people for lay and ordained ministry in the anglican, methodist and baptist churches. Interestingly, the session on post-Christendom has been met with differing, sometimes strongly held, views. Some people do grieve the passing of Christendom; that is until we start to dig a bit deeper and read our history in the context of the New Testament and the mission of God. I'm of the belief that continuing to live with a Christendom mentality is perhaps the thing, above any other, that paralyses the church with respect to mission.

It seems that Steve is in agreement...

"... when we stop trying to claim some privileged position because 'we are a Christian country' and admit we are not we then get freed up to start fulfilling a calling to offer vision in our nation in the only way we can, by inspiring individuals, whether in government or in the local street, by what we say and what we do."

Read Steve's full post 'here'

Labels: mission, post-christendom, religion

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

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

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

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 a great post from Matt Stone. In it he writes...

"Isn't giving what Christmas is really about? Giving? Do we think for one second that the magi that rocked up to the original Christmas gathering had their theology all straight? Particularly given their means of divining what was going on? Can you imagine Joseph at the stable door blocking their way with the words, hey, you guys aren't exactly kosher? Or Mary having a go at her Jewish neighbours for not celebrating the birth of her son in a suitably Christian way? By the same token, can you imagine the angels toning things down their heavenly praises to make them more PC?"

Go read...

Labels: religion, spirituality

A friend emailed me this morning and told me of the following recent experience...

...in Starbucks yesterday [I was] reading Gordon Lynch's new book when 'Imagine' comes on over the system. I'm thinking, 'Actually that's no different to Revelation: no sun and stuff. Lennon's doing the same thing as John.' The old woman in front starts talking to the young guy passing her with his coffee:
"What's that song? I've just been writing about it all and there it is in words... No heaven... a perfect future... "
The guy doesn't know, so I pipe up, " The song's Imagine"
The woman and the guy fall into conversation about the song, and I return to my book. And the woman says, "When things like this happen, they're a sign... lots of signs". And the guy says, "In the end, it comes down to the individual. Do you know Jesus?" And the woman says, "Of course, Jesus is among us..." And I think, 'Here's the book, alive in front of me: the traditional individualistic religion meeting the progressive searching community model...'

I wonder which model you most easily relate to?! It seems that the more 'churched' we are (especially in the evangelical tradition), the more we will struggle to relate to the progressive searching community model, in favour of the safer confines of individualistic religion with its neat theologies. And yet, it's the more 'messy' model we find in abundance all around us (expressed most explicitly in places like 'this'), which doesn't seem a million miles away from the approach taken by Jesus, along with his 'searching community' of 12 (plus extras!)

Thanks Steve for the story and for your permission to post it here.

Labels: community, religion, spirituality

The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus is fast becoming one of my favourite blogs. Jon Birch has a knack for capturing realities and challenging attitudes through wit and humour. If you haven't yet encountered his cartoons, go here and see for yourself - there's 138 of them (to date) to catch up on!

To be going on with, here's the ASBO on...

faith...

church culture...

and mission

click on each to go to original better quality version!

Labels: church, fun, mission, religion

As Pakistan celebrates its 60th anniversary today with fireworks, street parties and 21 gun salutes, the Christian communities in Peshawar and elsewhere live in fear following further threats from Islamic radicals. These most recent threats, delivered last week to Christian settlements throughout Peshawar, echo those delivered to the Christians in Charsadda district in May, which I blogged about 'here'.

The mentality of the extremists is summed up in a letter that was received by a church leader, which stated, "There is only death for the communities who share similar religion with America and are his agents. Our mosques, and children are being martyred at American orders therefore the Churches will also be wiped out from the face of earth. We will write new history with the blood of the infidels and our suicide attackers are ready to attack the Churches. The death of infidels, their extinction from the face of earth is the foremost objective of our holy war."

A letter from the Christian community in Peshawar, urging fellow Christians to pray for the situation, said...

"... In the present unstable political scenario the Liberal community of Pakistan, the security agencies of Pakistan and the vulnerable minority communities are being threatened and targeted by the Militants. Various suicide attacks have been recently carried out against the Pakistan Army resulting in heavy causalities. The Church and the Christian colonies have always been a soft target for the fundamentalists, and in past, numerous mob attacks have been carried out.

The Christians in Pakistan continue to follow the path of the “Prince of Peace”, Jesus Christ."

The final statement sat with me for some time... as followers of Christ, we resist violence and retaliation, following the way of the Prince of Peace even to death. Easy for me to write as I don't face threats such as these, but for Christians in Northern Pakistan this is a daily reality and a living witness to the good news. As I've urged many times in this blog before... please pray for Pakistan.

Labels: news, Pakistan, religion

I received an email from a friend in Pakistan about 'this' a week ago, but did not post anything about it for fear of making an already threatening situation worse by putting a 'private' prayer request into the public domain. However, seeing that the story has hit the news anyway, it seems right to draw attention to it.

Extremist threats such as this one are very real for minority Christian communities, and they have to be taken seriously if past track record is anything to go by. The Christian community in Charsadda is literally living in fear of imminent attack, causing some to flee their homes in search of safety. As Michael John, the head of Pakistan's Catholic Church and a minority Christian parliamentarian, says: "We are in great danger and need protection".

It does beg the question... what kind of religious belief and fervour causes one human being to treat another in this way? I, for one, cannot recognise an action like this as being in any way fuelled by a 'divine decree', no matter what faith is being observed (and there are a fair few skeletons similar to this in the 'Christian' closet too). As I've requested on more than one occassion before... pray for the peace of Pakistan.

read the full BBC report 'here'

Labels: news, Pakistan, religion

Ben Edson has posted a link 'here' to this 'prophecy' for the UK from a Kenyan conference. Ben has some helpful things to say about such 'words from the Lord', and I too share his scepticism even though I do believe in the prophetic voice and role. Ben is going to revisit the 'prophecy' at the end of next year to see if it has been fulfilled, as a way of holding this particular statement to account. However, as I commented on Ben's post, there is a typical get-out clause in the pronouncement that we, as a nation, should 'return to the Lord'. What's the betting that if mass revival does not break out in 2008 there will be another 'prophetic word' chastising us for not doing so?!

The thing I'm most intrigued about though (in a slightly cynical way) is the call to 'rent your hearts'... I'm wondering how much I'd get for my heart if I did, and whether it would be ok to enter into a short-term letting agreement!!

Labels: musings, religion

... a great cartoon by Dave Walker (which I can really relate to!), highlighting the ridiculous predicament we've got ourselves into with labels, traditions and the like! Bring on a more 'Generous Orthodoxy' (along with the tea!)

Labels: art, fun, religion

"To be a Christian, you have to believe three things that start difficult and get harder..."

How to... be a Christian, according to Guy Browning of The Guardian, is worth a read! I like the bit that goes...

"As a highway code, Jesus gave us his life and works, a refresher on the 10 commandments and a group of trainers (of varying quality) known as the apostles."

Labels: fun, religion

Pete Rollins posts a fascinating reflection concerning the problem of entering the 'is Christianity true' debate. He writes...

"it is [the] very acceptance of the question, ‘is Christianity true’, that lies at the heart of why Christianity is losing the popular debate being brought to the fore by the ‘new atheists’. For there is a much more basic question that one must ask before this question can be understood properly. The question that one must ask is not, ‘is Christianity true’ (at least not yet), but rather ‘what is it that Christianity claims when it claims to be true’. To put it another way, the issue is not to attempt to ascertain, on rational or empirical grounds, whether or not the claims of Christ are true, but rather to work out what did Christ meant when he claimed to be the truth." (bold highlight mine)

Read the whole post 'here'.

Labels: debates, religion, theology

According to 'this Guardian report', Dawkins and his followers are now organising themselves into a movement of sorts. I always thought that movements or organisations gathered around a central belief system roughly equates to 'religion', but I guess that Dawkins would argue otherwise! After reading the article and the posted comments, I felt compelled to add...

"Dawkins provides us with the ultimate meta-narrative! So is this action a last gasp attempt of modernity to hang on to its credentials in a culture that has largely left it behind? I have a feeling that, in the postmodern age, Dawkins and his followers will face (and are facing) the same marginalisation as institutional (conservative) religion - that will make for interesting bed-fellows!!"

I'm just waiting now to see if this provokes any response!!

hat tip... Mark Berry

Labels: debates, news, religion

'This' new blog from Jon Birch is well worth adding to your reader!

Labels: art, fun, religion, spirituality

I love 'this' by Eddie C. Go read...

Labels: musings, religion