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Here are the thoughts and news of the people in our community. Leave a comment as you wish. If you want to join the blogging ask Mark.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Reinventing Evangelism, part 8

8. We must invite people to become involved in a community of believers as the first step to believing.
Among people who are hungry for authentic relationships and who are resistant to advertising claims, the gospel has to be lived out in order to raise interest levels and raise questions. The sequence for many people coming to faith today is, first, they belong to a faith community that welcomes them and treats them as one of their own, then they come to believe. Perhaps this is what the Church fathers were emphasizing in their insistence that outside the Church there is no salvation (ad extra ecclesiam nulla salus) because participation in the life-giving and salvation-conveying Spirit of God could not be understood apart from direct participation in the life of the believing community. Being in Christ entails being in the body of Christ. This is a vital theological truth to grasp in our hyper-individualistic society, in which so many Church members have, at best, a contractual relationship with the Church, rather than seeing it as a covenant relationship. Many Christians in the Emerging Church movement understand the Church to be a way of life, seven days a week, and not a 90-minute gathering once a week. For them you don't go to church, you are the Church. Put simply, "the gospel will be perceived as a feasible alternative when those who do not know God have some positive experiences with people who do know God."

If there is any one of these that I would put as a number 1, then it would be this one. I have often been fascinated with the "saved and added" theory based on Acts 2 - and often have heard people say about doing the saved bit but not the added bit. I think this is barking up the wrong tree. Gordon Fee asks whether fromt he bibles point of view, you can know you are 'saved' if you are not part of a community of believers. But this goes further, and this is why it is important. This is not a new 'evangelistic technique', rather it is born out of a good theological understanding of God's intentions - it goes beyond individuals to a community - the forming of the people of God. It also takes seriously a changed world that forms belief, not through rationalistic proofs alone, but also through experience that something produces what it says it does, and that adds meaning to life. It deals seriously with people who do not respond well to 'being told' something, but are used to forming ideas through many different relationships and media. It also takes seriously Jesus' example in the Gospels, where he is constantly found eating, sharing with, talking to, being blessed by, healing all kinds of different people, many of whom the religious leaders would not have even considered worthy of their time.

Go and read it again, he says it far better than me!! Where and who are the people who belong to our community but who are still on a journey to faith?

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 10:15 am |

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Reinventing Evangelism, part 7

7. We must communicate in a clear, caring, compelling, and compassionate manner.
An effective evangelist must have a commitment to intercession and waiting upon God. The exercise of these spiritual disciplines will attune our spirits to the initiatives of God and enable us to communicate with relevance and compassion. One practical approach is to regularly pray the Lord's Prayer with our neighbors, family, and friends in mind. Prayer is part of our being partners with God in the whole process of making him known. We demonstrate our sensitivity by random acts of kindness and by showing a genuine interest in the concerns, hopes, and questions of others. Jesus repeatedly used the circumstances of his current situation to convey what he wanted to communicate.
The evangelist shares the message with sensitivity and patience, yet with a sense of urgency that conveys the importance of the message. Such urgency implies a countercultural stance, for the prevailing attitude is that spirituality is a private and peripheral matter. For the Christian, however, "What do you think of Christ?" is a question with life-transforming implications and eternal consequences. Religion without conviction is shallow and worldly. Religion without compassion is rigid and inhumane. Conviction without compassion is harsh. Compassion without conviction is spineless.

There is a lot here that draws together thought from previous entries. I think there are two things i will highlight. Firstly, it is clear here that the evangelist encounter people where they are at. In order to do that he/she starts as a listener. It is a missed opportunity to assume where the gospel engages with this person - it will engage, if in fact it is "good news", but we must listen to fully realise where and how. Secondly, the message of good news is not jsut a 'message' a sequence of words, it is a live giving, life changing, life renewing message of transformation that also includes actions, thoughts and prayers, in addition to the normal conversation skills of listening, questioning and talking. Secondly, this section made me challenged me on this aspect of urgency. I guess i feel urgency has been an excuse for quick-fix evangelism, simplistic one-size fits all responses to people that deals purely with "their soul" and doesn't embrace people as "wholes". Urgency then cannot mean "not thought out" or "not holistic" or "cheap and easy", maybe more it means "intentional". This is not an easy-come easy-go lifestyle, it is a 24hour day reorientation around Christ, that pulls us constantly out of our selfish, individualistic lives, and points us unrelentingly to God and our neighbour. This intentionality is not a pulling up by the bootstraps, but not being scared of working really hard for the sake of others as we allow the energy of the Spirit to have its full way within our hearts - we are impelled and sustained by the Spirit of Jesus to live for the benefit of others.

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 11:47 am |

Monday, April 25, 2005

Reinventing Evangelism, part 6

6. We must assume that God is already at work in a person's life prior to the arrival of any evangelist.
Theologians speak of "prevenient grace", signifying the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual and community prior to a personal commitment or a community turning to Christ. This means that anyone seeking to communicate the good news of Christ must first listen and ask questions to discern what preparatory work the Lord has already accomplished. A deeper look inside those who are not yet Christians will frequently reveal both sensitivity to sin and a sense of incompleteness. People do not go around making announcements about their inside stories. As we listen to their stories, we will learn a great deal about ourselves and have our own presuppositions and prejudices challenged. This is God's world, Jesus died for the sins of it, and his Spirit is a free agent. We must take time to discover what God has already accomplished and listen discerningly, for in addition to God's spirit of truth, Satan's spirit of counterfeit is also at work. By listening, we will discover the groundwork already in place on which we can build by relating the gospel to what they already know.

I heard at the weekend of someone who was just back from visiting China. In a conversation, they were asked what their job was, "Bible Teacher" he replied. "What's the bible" the new friend said. "a book about God, and particularly about Jesus". "Who is this person Jesus" came the final reply. Ah! Where do you start!! That is surely primary missional question: "where do you start". We can no longer assume basic understandings of anything. We must start by listening, listening to connect with those points where God has provided ready soil to see the gospel seed planted. The places where God is already at work.

This fact, more than any other, I think, makes our daily lives exciting. Who knows when we walk out of our front doors who we will meet, what God is doing in their lives, and how, in whatever big or small way, we will participate in God's work. It is enought want to get those communication lines open with God before you go, so you are ready to hear his promptings. In addition to hieghtening the expectation and excitement, it also takes the pressure up. You do not have to go out drumming up excitment, bringing in converts, doing God's work for him; God is already out there doing his stuff. Can you see it?

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 2:32 pm |

Daniel Bedingfield meets COTA

submergence: didn't my lord deliver daniel

Posted by: Mark | 1:41 pm |

General Election

I have to confess that politics aren't my strong point. Although I may not resort to calling Michael Howard a 'cuddly grandfather', I do not know the ins-and-outs of every parties manifestos. The build-up to the general election is a fascinating time.

But how should Christinas be active politically? Steve Chalke boasts he works with all political parties, including housing the conservative social justice think-tank in the Oasis premeises and being invited over to the Prime Ministers house for dinner to discuss NHS issues. Others look to gain advantages in the Government for Christians, and look for the party that is most 'Christian' friendly. Others look for the party that most captures what they feel are the most Christian morals on such issues as abortion, marriage etc. Other looks broader to society as a whole and look for the party that will build healthy communities.

Where would you fall? In a multicultural, pluralistic country, what kind of policies do we think are best, as Christians.

The very nature of politics means this is not clean cut. One mans "Christian policy" is another mans "oppression", even within the church. I have been sent a number of lists of "Questions to ask your candidate" as a Christian. The trouble is they all clearly come from an agenda, it is not simply something that is "Christian". Anyway, succombing to pressure is is one of those: Christians urged to subvert party manifestos. Overall, I like the fact that they are trying to reframe what 'power' is, and calls Christians not to get worldly about it.

Interesting?

Posted by: Mark | 12:57 pm |

Google

I saw this and it made me laugh!!!

Posted by: Anonymous | 9:34 am |

Friday, April 22, 2005

Reinventing Evangelism, part 5

5. The Church must share the good news in the context of the marketplace of ideas and beliefs.
Given the fact that Western societies are rapidly transitioning from Constantinian to secular, neo-pagan, and pluralistic cultural contexts, the Church must recognize that all evangelism has become a cross-cultural activity. In the marketplace of ideas and beliefs, there are no privileged stallholders. We only have freedom to speak to the extent that we recognize other voices with the same freedoms. "Although tolerance is the acclaimed golden rule, the one thing that is not tolerated is intolerance." Christians who hark back to a previous generation have great problems coming to terms with the pluralism of contemporary Western societies. In such a context we cannot hope to communicate by shouting from a safe distance or by circling the wagons and taking up a defensive posture, regarding all those outside our circle as "the enemy." We have to overcome our insecurity, refusing to be intimidated into silence and isolation.
Communicating the gospel in the marketplace of ideas requires both authenticity and humility. In today's world we witness from the sidelines and, in so doing, have to overcome what psychologists describe as the impact of social demotion. We must invite without arrogance. We must propose without trying to impose. We must allow the strength of the other person's argument, and we must admit the limits of our own knowledge. All knowledge and truth belongs to God, not to us, and God has not revealed everything.

Star Trek [original series] to Star Trek Next Generation was a huge shift. From James T Kirk [William Shatner], who strolls in to any new world, all guns blazing, putting wrongs to right to Jean-Luc Picard [Patrick Stewart] the diplomatic, philisophical leader. From a conquering mission to "the prime directive" of non-interference. That is until the Borg. The Borg is a collective, they absorb everything into themselves, and are no respecter of persons. The Borg have a "no tolerance" policy - and that is the the one thing that starfleet and Jean-luc Picard can't stand - the prime directive goes out the window... the one thing that is not tolerated is intolerance.

Here we are called to be secure enough in God to not be forced into a defensive posture, and to return into conversation with every area of society. Genuine conversation where both parties are there to learn. These are the kind of healthy conversations that allow people to genuinely engage with the realities of our faith. It is at that point that we discover whether our faith actually means anything, or whether it is an irrelevant collection of ideas and theories that make no difference to the lives we lead or the world we live in. Does the gospel have anything to say about the environment? abour world poverty? about AIDS? abouyt education? about the NHS? Between us all we better hope so and it better be a message of hope. And we better hope that it has a positive affect on the way we live now and not return us to our well guarded 'circle'. However 'rolerance' is not a destination, because it is not enough. Tolerance says "well that is fine for you, do and get on with it". Jesus called us to a way of love and service. To love our 'enemies', to bless those who persecute [act for their good], to be part of bring the holistic biblical vision of "shalom" [wholeness in every area of life] and justice for the world. That is far beyond 'live and let live'. It is a dynamic engagement with where people are it a way where they experience the loving in-breaking kingdom of god in their lives ... in us, thaking that humble, loveing, serving posture.

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 3:38 pm |

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Viral Marketing

Just playing my part, see the Ford Ka advert here.

Posted by: Mark | 4:22 pm |

Reinventing Evangelism, part 4

4. We understand that decisions for Christ must express a commitment to be a disciple of Christ.
The Great Commission given at the end of Matthew's Gospel by Jesus to his disciples, just prior to his ascension into heaven, is often referred to as "the evangelistic mandate." It is stated as a parallel command to "the Great Commandment" (which occurs earlier in Matthew's Gospel) to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves. I have two problems with this approach. In the first place, the Great Commission cannot adequately be described as the evangelistic mandate, as its clear goal is not the presenting of the good news of Jesus Christ in order to bring people to a decision for Jesus Christ, but to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Second, to distinguish between the two mandates creates a separation that weakens the integrity of the disciple-making process. The Great Commission must not be separated from the preceding chapters of Matthew's Gospel.
The entire Gospel of Matthew shows what a disciple is meant to be. The contemporary church has to face the urgent challenge of its failure to turn decisions for Christ into disciples of Christ. Until it addresses the problem of the un-discipled church member it will not be positioned for effective evangelization for one simple reason: it takes a community of disciples to make new disciples and to invite them into the fellowship. Disciple is not a synonym for "super-Christian" but is the word to describe ordinary believers.

I have quoted one of Dallas Willard's points a lot lately. I goes something like this: "Your systems are perfectly designed to acheive the results you are getting". To put it another way, the means by which we do something, the way we do it, the programmes we have, all "form us" as people. They inform our beliefs and our actions, our values and our priorities. This quote, then, applies to churches as much as it might apply to a car assembly line [not in anyway making more association than that!]. What then is the 'end result' of church? What is our output? I am interested in 'producing' disciples, people equipped, trained and envisioned to live life int he way of Jesus wherever they find themselves. This articles makes the fantastic point that this is clearly also the result of our 'evangelism', which is why the evangelistic task and the church task are so similar - it is just helping people whatever point they are on the journey. In that sense we are all individualls and all at a different point. This quote focuses on Matthew's Gospel. Why? It contains the most used by evangelists when they want us to 'get out there'. It also contains most guidance on living this Jesus following life, not least in the sermon on the mount. It is therefore an appeal once again not to get compartmentalising and to read these gospels as whole books, and therefore get closer to a more complete gospel. Again:

"The contemporary church has to face the urgent challenge of its failure to turn decisions for Christ into disciples of Christ."

Wow, the church needs some evangelising, never mind anyone else!!

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 10:34 am |

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Reinventing Evangelism, part 3

3. Our conviction must be that evangelization emerges from the heart of the Church rather than being fabricated at the periphery.
The Church is a product of mission before it becomes an agent of mission. The Church needs to share the good news of Christ constantly, not only when it gathers as a congregation but during the entire week when it is scattered as salt and light in the world. Evangelization is not a hiccup, but an uninterrupted heartbeat. It is not a program, but a way of life. Every day of our lives, every person and every community communicates a stream of messages. To live is to communicate. The question is, what kind of message are we communicating? The Church is defined by the message that has brought it into existence. It takes a community to communicate that message.
Brad Kallenberg reminds us, "The gospel is sung not as a solo but as a choral piece. The way Christians live with each other can powerfully illuminate the good news. Only then can outsiders say, 'I see what you mean.'" While we must never underestimate the power of individual testimony, we must not overlook the importance of networks of believers with the potential to penetrate into every segment of society.

If I have communicated anything to anybody over the last couple of years, that fact that I love that section will not be surprising. It captures the idea of "missional community". Firstly that mission is at the heart of what church is, not as an activity, but as an identity. If we ARE the body of Christ, then the way that we LIVE incpasulates, or better incarnates the nature of Jesus to the world. Would we be happy to read of Jesus spending his days hiding in a closet? NO! We are glad to here that the prayer closet was a place he visited - but it wsan't a destination!! Secondly this mission is not an individual one, it is one we engage in together, as a body, as a community. It is in that network of relationships that the Spirit can be found residing, that the Gospel is demonstrated practically, and that learning and belief forming occurs. You know what? I find that very relieving and releasing!! You will notice that that latter point is picked very well by the Alpha course set-up.

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 1:44 pm |

Monday, April 18, 2005

London Marathon

Our very own Adrian White was running in the London Marathon yesterday. I haven't spoken to him yet. But his time can be found here... Marathon Results. Just type in his name and his time etc will come up. If you click on his name you almost get his shoe size [but not if he had to "use the bathroom" halfway round...].

He was aiming for 3 hours 15 minutes. That was classed as "good for your age". I am not sure if that is really "good!! ............ for your age", but sounds pretty quick to me [even for my young age!]. Maybe you better follow the link to see if he made it?!!?

Posted by: Mark | 12:02 pm |

Reinventing Evangelism, part 2

2. We must communicate the gospel as the story of God's saving mission in the world rather than as a series of abstract propositions.
Preachers have to become storytellers, covering the epic biblical drama from Creation through to its culmination with the restoring of all things under the universal reign of Christ. This is an even greater challenge than that faced by Peter Jackson in filming the three-part epic of The Lord of the Rings. In order to be good storytellers, we need vivid imaginations. Our education has trained us to analyze, criticize, and conceptualize, but, regrettably, in so doing our childhood powers of imagination have faded. That is one reason why rediscovery of the arts is so important in theological education if we are to adequately train Church leaders who are able to communicate in a culture in which image has assumed such prominence.

I do know if this helps some of my questions about our worship and learning. I am hoping the Phbil Norris at the Retreat Day will also help us with this. If the gospel message is about understanding a new story then we need a multiploicity of ways opf accessing that new story and living in it, and inviting others to live in it to. That is what I dream our church gatherings will be primarily about - helping each other to continue to live in the story of God. Wehave talked before about how logical proofs/arguments are not convincing for many these days - they respond 'well that's lovely for you'. We need more creative ways of living and communicating the story in a way that communicates with their lives and invites them to see things differently.

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 12:57 am |

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Reinventing Evangelism, part 1

I stumbled upon this magazine from Fuller Seminary a couple of weeks ago looking at the challenge of evangelism int he 21st century(link from here. This is a great selection of articles, very helpful constructive and worth a read! The last article is a kind of summary, so I thought I would 'serialise' it here. It is written by Eddie Gibbs [who wrote Church Next, among others], and is called "Reinventing Evangelism". He summarises it into 10 points - so that'll be 10 posts!!

1. We need to be energized by a fresh realization of the radical and comprehensive nature of the gospel.
As we have already noted, the gospel is first and foremost about God. It arises from the way that God relates to his creation. The good news is concerned with the reign of God, anticipated by the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, and inaugurated in the coming of Christ. In him was announced and embodied the kingdom, spreading throughout the world by the proclamation of the good news, until his reign is guaranteed with his return to earth. Thus, the opening statement of the gospel is not that God has a wonderful plan for my life, but that he has a wonderful plan for the world - a plan in which I am invited to share. This was the message that Paul and the first - century believers preached all over the Mediterranean world. The death of Christ secures our forgiveness. His resurrection, ascension, and impartation of the Spirit provide the objective grounds and subjective assurance of our reconciliation and adoption into the family of God. Once we are "born from above" (Jn. 3:3-8) we become part of God's new creation by virtue of our being "in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17).

A corporate, holistic and global gospel message is all that will do to do justice to the work of Jesus. The trouble is that we have minimalised it into 'my' relationship woth God, 'my' forgiveness of sins, 'my' ability to get into heaven. We find ourselves, rather, caught up it a great and wonderful plan for the world, a plan of redemption and recreation for all things. A gospel that is good news for the poor, that brings justice, that brings hope - the hope of resurrection that started with Jesus and ends with all things! A resurrection life that starts now in us and through the work of the Spirit. A resurrection life that is breaking out into every area of life and society.

Labels: mission, reinventing evangelism

Posted by: Mark | 7:12 am |

Friday, April 08, 2005

Books I have Read Recently

Don't know if you are interested, but I thought I would note down a few books i have read recently and some short thoughts on them. It's help me anyway!!

A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren
A fascinating book that seeks to re-posture our approach to what we feel is crucial to our faith and our approach to other Christians. Orthodoxy, he says, has often been a reason to go beating other Christians around the head because they have got it wrong in our opinion. McLaren takes great pains to change the posture and begin to celebrate the distinctives, and make interaction with others great opportunities for learning. A very easy read and very stimulating [and to be honest just a little controvesial!].

Church After Christendom by Stuart Murray
There is much talk these days about Western Culture being in a state of transition. Stuart believes a big aspect of that is the shift from being a broadly Christian society where church is at the centre of cultural life. He says that church must embrace this shift and loose the 'Christendom' mindset, in order to engage appropriately with wider culture. He helpfully works the middle ground of the implications for 'existing' churches and 'emerging' [new] churches, and how they need to work together. An easy read with lots of practical examples.

Perelandra by C S Lewis
This is a fascinating si-fi novel about the planet of Perelandra [Venus] a planet still in its ideal created state [pre-fall, if you like] and its interactions with the possibility of evil entering the world. In a fictional sense it addresses the question "what would have happened if Adam and Eve hadn't eaten the apple", as well as looking forward to 'new creation' and what the role of humanity is in the universe. A good fun read, that requires some stretching of the imagination!! On the "Last Things":

"I do not call it the beginning", said Tor the King. "It is but the wiping out of a false start in order that the world may then begin. As when a man lies down to sleep, if he finds a twisted root under his shoulder he will change his place and after that his real sleep begins. Or as a man setting foot on an island, may make a false step. He steadies himself and after that his journey begins. You would not call that steafying of himself a last thing?"

How to be good by Nick Hornby
A quite humourous disturbing tale of a family with internal relational problems and the role of 'goodness' to make things better or otherwise. What is goodness anyway? It investigates this in interesting ways, but finds it all hopeless, and futile in the end... Where is the hope in being good? What is the hope in being good? Interesting cultural questions from a book that provides no answers.

Any books that you would recommend?

Posted by: Mark | 11:38 am |

Are YOU a Pioneer?

I found this old Frontiers leaflet today in my office. It asked "Are YOU a pioneer?"

- do you have courage and boldness to break into new regions, where there are no role models to follow?

- are you prepared to do new things, to face new challenges

- can you live in the present but build for the future?

- are you willing to not be confined to well trodden paths?

- would you like to know a fresh dimension of God, following his lead and seeing impossibilities become possible?

Scarily and excitingly, that is what we are about as a church community. the vision of Frontiers is to plant churches in muslim contexts. but it struck me that that kind of pioneering spirit is what is required to plant new churches in any part of the world, including northampton. Steve Chalke has described church as "a dynamic network of social and spiritual relationships centred on Christ" - it is kind of a 'minimalist' view on church in some ways, not in order that it should stay minimalist, maybe, but that the detail can be worked out in these new ways that are not 'well-trodden'. It is hard to imagine what it is like in a jungle to not walk on a well-trodden trail - you need machetes and stuff!! The issue with pioneering is not the initial excitement - the energy is all there at that point, the issue is pressing through, readjusting, rethinking, when it gets harder. As you know, it is my opinion that it is the way of thinking that is possibly more important in terms of pioneering in these changing days than it is the way of doing. Changed thinking [or 'paradigms'] opens great vistas of new opportunities that where closed off by the old ways of thinking, whereas a new of doing sends you down one singular narrow path. Are you able to be a pioneering new thinker able to think off the well-trodden paths?

On a lighter note, we are pretty excited about our alpha course, i reckon we will have at least 4 people really keen to be there! What a HUGELY exciting time for us! A time when the rubber really hits the road! Please pray!

Frontiers passion is to glorify God by planting churches that lead to movements among all Muslim peoples through apostolic teams in partnership with others who share this vision.

Posted by: Mark | 8:59 am |

Thursday, April 07, 2005

tattoos

I liked this...

David Beckham has revealed another tattoo to the world, and you don't have to be a genius to know that it's the name of his third son.

'Cruz' lines up at number three along the back, along with Brooklyn and Romeo, and their guardian angel - a human figure with arms and wings outstretched.

The England captain also bears the name of his wife, Victoria, on one forearm and the Roman numeral VII on the other (his England number), along with the words 'Perectio in Spiritu' - 'spiritual perfection'.

Add another angel (to protect his marriage) and a cross at the top of his neck, and the footballer is beginning to look more like a Maori warrior (or former Spice Girl Mel C) than a footballer.

But why does he - and many others besides - sport tattoos? Beckham displays a number of classic reasons - expressing love for his partner, loyalty to his children, superstition over their welfare and a penchant for spirituality. There's also the aesthetics (if you like that sort of thing) and a hint of the rebel spirit.

Some foolhardy punters act on impulse, or to mark a rite of passage (especially, today, from childhood to adulthood); others to mourn and remember a loved one.

Then, there's the postmodern tribal consumers, human billboards for their brand fetishes. The Nike swoosh is the most popular corporate logo requested in the US, along with - get this - Budweiser, Adidas, Corona, Apple Computers, Ford, Chevy and Volkswagen...

While some Christians baulk at the idea of a permanent mark - citing Leviticus 19 as their proof text (or the morbid phrase, as I found on one website, 'love lasts forever, but a tattoo lasts six months longer); others proudly go under the needle to display their allegiance to a Higher Power.

Paul speaks of bearing the 'marks of Christ' in his letter to the Galatians, and while he probably received them not from a tattooist but an angry mob who disliked his hermeneutics, he infers that he is 'branded' for Christ on the outside and the in.

It certainly makes me think: if I were to have a tattoo, to express something of the 'me of me' - what would it be? What would it say about who I really am? And if I chose, in the end, to remain unblemished, then how would I show I'm branded for life in an all-together different way?

Brian Draper

Posted by: Mark | 4:42 pm |

Monday, April 04, 2005

Loving your Neighbour on the other side of the world

"And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" Micah 6:8

Yesterday we enjoyed an informative and challenging talk from Ben Pattison, of Trent Vineyard, on "Who is my Neighbour", particularly in relation to 3rd world poverty issues. I am still feeling deeply agrieved to have represented the bottom 5th of the world's wealth in the chocolate sharing out - the slither i got was pathetic and Michelle didn't even give me any of her 4 bars!! Maybe I should let that speak to me...

I promised a few links to relevant websites to pick up on the theme. Ben mentioned a couple:

www.ethicalconsumer.org
This website gives some interesting information about everyday products from a social and environmental point of view. There is also information about large corporations and how they perform. Their "buyers guides" are probably most interesting. Here are their top ten tips on ethical consuming.

www.fairtrade.org.uk
This website is the home fo the "FairTrade" standard and gives full lists of the various fairtrade products available. I think maybe i need to check out all the fair trade wine and beer ... purely for ethical reasons of course...

...in addition Jenny Dawkins [a Christian Aid worker from Peterborough] sent me the following links:

Christian Aid Worship resources and more here
Theology for trade justice - pdf document
Trade Justice campaign

These guys really beleive that they can change something. They really beleive the Make Poverty History is a coming together of many organisations and influencial in a way that will provide enough energy for a dramatic change. That is pretty cool, i think.

Posted by: Mark | 3:10 pm |

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Leaders Cultivate a Missional Environment

Alan Roxburgh says: "A culture is an environment in which people are shaped by common habits, values and practices. Culture is about a way of life that is more than any single individual or an aggregate of individuals doing similar things. A missional culture is an interdepedent system formed out of a set of common habits, practices, and values. Developing a missional culture is about the formation of a way of life generally not present in current congregations. A congregation with a missional culture understands mission not in terms of what it does, but who it is as God's people. This requires a radical shift in imagination. In order to make this shift possible, you need capacities to create processes whereby people continually engage in dialog with the gospel narratives, their tradition and the context in which they are located."

Posted by: Mark | 7:53 pm |

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