Category Archives: theology

don’t they ever learn?!!

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There is one type of Christian that winds me up ….. those that are always ready to jump on a band wagon and condemn something before they have even seen it or experienced it.

In my youth there were those who campaigned against the Life of Brian saying it was ‘blasphemous’. I remember talking to some in school (it was a long time ago!) asking if they had seen it ‘no!’, they said, ‘we’ve been told its blasphemous and so we won’t … and neither should you!’. Well I did and it is still one of my very favourite films.

More recently we saw those campaigning against the Harry Potter stories with a local church school actually banning the book in schools because it was ‘evil’. Again I asked ‘have you actually read any of the stories?’ ‘No!’, they responded ‘it’s evil so we are not going to put ourselves at risk and read that …. and neither should you!’ Well, I did, and watched the films and they are excellent. And … all along these were ‘resurrection’ stories.

In the last few days the lates thing for such people to campaign against is Rob Bell’s latest book ‘Love Wins’. Apparently it’s heretical. Rob Bell has become a heretic. It’s dangerous to read. Yuu can find some comments here, whereas Maggi talks sense here.

But back to those people complaining about the book and saying it should not be read – don’t even bother asking them if they have actually read it or know what’s in it ….. they can’t … it’s not even released until March 31st!

leadership in Bruges

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I have returned from 4 days at St Andrew’s Abbey in Bruges.

The time away was an experience and there is lots to say (and not say!) about the few days but some highs and lows:

lows:
the exclusive nature of the food which meant a couple of our group with dietary needs were excluded.
Vespers in Flemish – I’m sure the service was great but I couldn’t understand a word …
meals in silence  – personally I love silence but meals are a time for conversation, in my opinion
a packed program with little space for reflection

highs
being in a monastery in a totally different setting
I always enjoy the monastic rhythm of life which seems to energise me
space to consider things again about God and leadership
time to laugh and drink with friends and catch up with their stories

The topic of the few days was leadership and we discussed a few papers written by various theologians, although too many of them seemed to be from a Yale and Episcopal background and there are significant differences between the Episcopal model and the Anglican parish/FX model which cause me to question the validity of some of what the papers were suggesting.

On the last day we discussed a lecture given by Rowan Williams at Cuddesdon in 2004. I think this was by the best discussion we had as we considered Archbishop Rowans suggestion of priests needing to be released to be a lookout, an interpreter and a weaver. Essentially here, the Archbishop is saying that leadership is about seeing the landscape, engaging with culture, interpreting what is happening and looking for links as he shows people where Christ is working in communities today.

Any lecture that advocates any of us taking time to watch and attempt to understand before acting is worth considering in my opinion … so why not go and have a read. I think I found it encouraging too as Archbishop Rowan has given me a language to articulate what I have been attempting over the last 2 years.

It’s good to be back in Rochester. The time away was ok, I can’t say it was great as it wasn’t, but being with friends who both know when to laugh and when to be serious was a good experience – thanks guys and girls!

letting go and being carried away

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But whenever you set out to do something extraordinary, there comes a point where, like Erickson on the horse, you have to choose between trying to control everything – or letting go and getting carried away by something bigger and more powerful than yourself.


I stumbled on a new blog, Lateral Action, today from a post on Wishful Thinking which I have been following for a while. I hope to get to a workshop run by Mark in the next 12 months … I have failed as they have clashed with other things in the past.


As I have been pondering the questions of my earlier post this week I have been both encouraged and challenged by Mark’s post on Lateral Action called the Benefits of Losing Control. Mark talks of allowing the unconscious mind to have more control and concludes his article with the quote i opened this post with. For me, the unconscious self is that part of me that is most guided by God’s Spirit …. so here’s to ‘letting go and being carried away by something bigger and more powerful!’

originally blessed?

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I have been back in England for four days and back at the cathedral for two. It has been a real joy returning and seeing everyone. It is interesting, though, how quickly the body and mind fall back into old ways. I have returned and it is starting to feel is as if I have never been away.

I don’t think that is a negative thing. I think it is an example of the great and wonderful way that God has created us. In just four days back, however,  I have come across people who, for one reason or another, deny that fact about themselves. The fact that they are created great and wonderful.

While driving back froma  great lunch with Jeremy today, this led me to think about the whole doctrine of being born with original sin and how this fascination that ‘we are inherently bad’ seems to have become entwined with our identity.

We are reading Genesis at the moment in the lectionary in Morning Prayer. In the first chapter we read of the creation account and God says, of creation, that ‘it was excellent’. Initially creation was good. Humanity was not only part of that creation, but humans were, and are, unique in that we are created in God’s image. Verse 28 of that chapter also tells us that God blessed humanity. It follows then, surely, that we should talk far more of being originally blessed rather than having original sin. I don’t think I have ever heard this preached in church.

I remember a while back when director at Gillingham YFC that we ran a Christmas quiz. We were shocked to learn that the young people we were working with have incredibly little knowledge of the Christmas story. The one question that 100% of the young people got correct was a question to do with what ‘sin’ was. We concluded that the church, as a whole, was failing to teach the exciting good news …. but it was seemingly quite good at talking about sin.

We talk a lot of original sin and I wonder if this has resulted in many of us developing quite a negative view of humanity and particularly ourselves.

maybe we would be a lot healthier as people if we stopped viewing ourselves as being bound with origianl sin due to the intrusion of satan into the garden, but rather as being origianally blessed due to God’s initial magnificent creative act.

Day 11 : Space Needle or Reflections on the city

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Saturday I had a day off so explored more of Downtown Seattle.
I started by catching the monorail from downtown Seattle to the Seattle Centre. A nice quick ride. From there I ascended the 520 feet at 10 mph in the lift, sorry elevator, to the 360° observation deck of the Space Needle. Despite an overcast day the views of the city were still quite stunning. The structure of the building is pretty impressive too, and it is hard to believe it was constructed in the 1960’s.

I had a coffee (there’s a surprise) while I looked out across the city. As well as taking lots of photos, I also walked around with the flip video and you can watch that here if interested.

Looking at the patterns and variation of the city caused me to reflect upon more of whay I am here and how varied, yet ordered God is. You can tell from the video and photos that Seattle is a fairly varied city. There is Pike Place market, the area around the Space Needle, the water, the skyscrapers, the low apartment blocks, industrial areas, dock areas …. I could continue to list. It’s very diverse and yet it is all Seattle.

Like wise, you can’t point to the Space Needle and say ‘that is Seattle’. As much as I, and many others love Pike Place Market, you can’t point to it and say ‘that is Seattle’. You might like the waterfront, but again you can’t point to it and say ‘that is Seattle’. Seattle isd a collection of them all. Without one part, something of the character of Seattle would be lost. To get an understanding of Seattle I need to visit a variety of areas. I am told to get the best understanding of Seattle I need to go on the underground tour. This shows the original Seattle that has been built on top of. To understand Seattle, I would need to look underground to learn something of its history.

In many ways this is similar to how we can grow in understanding of our faith in God. Our different interpretations of scripture or prayer are as varied as the buildings and neighbourhoods of Seattle. To understand more we need to observe and listen to all areas. To gain greater understanding of God we need to go underground with him, and explore the past roads of faith.

As we do this we need to realie that we will never come to a full understanding of God! Sermon over!

After all this reflection I soent money on gifts for the family to take home and then I met up with Ned to listen to some music in the 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea House – (just look at all these coffees they offer!)a pretty cool end to the day!

Day 10b Pub Theology

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Tonight (Friday) we met up in a bar for Pub Theology. This is a format that COTA have been using for a while and was started by Jon Myers. I think it is pretty self explanatory but people go to a pub, have a beer, something to eat and talk theology.

Jon said that on the first week he took a topic to discuss, but he never had to do that again for over a year as people kept suggesting thinsg, or things simply developed from the initial topic and were carried over into the next week.

I like the concept, and not just because I like pubs. I like the idea of people getting together to chat theology in a normal natural environment. The idea of giving a relaxed space to explore questions, to argue, to share understandings, and misunderstandings, speaks a lot to me of what the church should be doing. I like the way this takes the ‘academic’ out of theology and, as Jon says, ‘there is something very refreshing about being in a pub, drinking beer, being very open about our frutrations and our doubts and hanging out together at a pub. At a pub I can be a little more free.’  I think this is probably the easiest thing yet that I could just ‘lift off the shelf’ from Seattle and try out in the UK.

I recorded the ‘interview’ and have posted a clip of it here to listen to.

In Seattle it works pretty simply … every 2 weeks, this pub at this time, come if you want to! I’d like to start a little research now from a distance – why not email or message me if you would be up for something like this in Medway. I’d love to pull together a group and see how this goes.

Snow as a sabbath

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There has been a lot of reflection upon the snow, some still love it and want more, others are fed up with it and are wishing for the big thaw …. I’m not sure which camp I’m in really. Snow certainly disrupts, but in my experience is has not caused a shut down, but required a slowing down.

On my travels, both in car and on foot, I have experienced people thinking they can act normally and travel at their normal speeds in snow. I have watched them get into difficulties. People running and sliding onto their arses! People revving car engines and traveling sideways. I’ve noticed others slowing down as they walk, drivers gently pressing their accelerators and completing their respective journey’s with no problems at all.

Last week, I re-tweeted this from twittugies:

Snow slows our world;
deepens our sense of silence.
Places our plans on hold.
Calls us home.
Snow in its own way is a Sabbath.

Snow as a Sabbath – I like that thought!

thermometer vs thermostat

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It’s cold outside, and it’s very white. It looks beautiful. I love snow, but I must admit I am getting a bit bored of this now as de-icing car doors to get in and scrape the inside of the windscreen is becoming monotonous. I love plying in the snow, but I also love my role in Rochester and after being away for a week over Christmas, and being away for 3 weeks a week from today while in Seattle I want to be able to get in to Rochester.

So – I’m going to reflect on something different, but related. I was thinking about temperature and thermostats the other day because the heating had broken down in the house of a colleague. The thermostat had stopped working properly. I got to thinking about the difference between thermostats and thermometers. Thermometers simply record the temperature, while the thermostat controls and influences the temperature. By sheer accident I came across this quote from Martin Luther King speaking of the early church:

The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.

That has challenged me in my thinking and forces me to ask – ‘am I merely a thermometer that refects the status quo, or am I a thermostat that looks to make a transforming difference within society?’

I’m not sure I want to be a ‘history maker’ as Delirious sing, as that sounds full of self importance to me, but I do wish to see transformation both in my life and in the lives of those I spend time with.

As I was having these thoughts I discovered that the Epistle reading for the 8am BCP Eucharist which I am responsible for on Sunday morning is Romans 12:1-5 …. where Paul talks of transformation by the renewing of the mind …. a bit like being a thermostat. I think I may have my homily sorted for Sunday morning!

Free Indeed??!!

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Following some discussions I have both had here and am involved in currently this cartoon from Naked Pastor caused a wry smile of acknowledgment.

Shack Relationships

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Over most of the summer I relaxed with the family and laughed a lot.I read a little bit, but to be honest not too much.
I caught up with many that have read The Shack. I found this an interesting book which caused me to think more about relationship and how God the Trinity exists and operates in relationship, and particularly how the relationship of perichoresis of the Trinity affects how I operate in relationship with others.

This became the subject of some discussion between myself and Sarah, and later on our second holiday with Chris and Gary as well. A topic we spoke a bit about was relationship and leadership, particularly in relation to the church.

There were some parts where relationship is discussed in terms of not being about power or winning and losing, but about love and respect. ‘Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself – to serve…. we don’t need power over one another because we are always looking to serve .. once you have a hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it and you end up with some kind of chain of command …. you rarely see or experience relationship apart from power. Hierarchy imposes laws and rules and you end up missing the wonder of relationship that we intended for you.’

As I said … we chatted. Surely you need leadership for church to work, after all who will make decisions. But … if relationship is all about serving then a hierarchy of leadership is not needed. I’d love to see this in operation in the community gathering – but it is so alien to us that it will be difficult to work in such a way. I thnik I agree with the book – I cans ee how our need for leadership and systems can cause us to miss out on relationship. Proper, genuine relationship needs all to limit themselves and seek to serve each other – I wonder that if we can achieve this can we really gain greater understanding of and something from God that is seriously missing from our lives and our churches.

A church where all serve all with no need for anyone to adopt a power chain of command … that’s the sort of church I want to belong to. Actually – I wonder whether we can even use the term church, which all the negative word association that has for many, to describe such a community.

There are some interesting reviews around for The Shack – it has caused a stir here and there.
There is one here from the Evangelical Alliance and another one from the Ship of Fools. Personally, I didn’t love it or hate it. Nothing particularly annoyed me, but then nothing particularly wowed me either. It was a good summer read! I read it because I wanted to be able to join with what others are saying. It has certainly made me think about some stuff and I enjoy anything that can possibly enlarge my image and understanding of God. Maybe The Shack did, I’m not sure yet.