Saw on the news today that everyone in Liverpool is being encouraged to read the same book over the next month and then talk about it with everyone they know – and even those they don’t.
This is a great idea and one which will end up in sharing of ideas, different interpretations, views, likes, dislikes and so on. It would great to know what happens.
I wonder if a church or online blog ‘community’ could do something similar? IF we did, what suggestions for books would there be?
I remember that I have not finished my posts on this pretty cool book. I finished it a while ago but then got distracted with emotional goodbyes, cars, jobs and wifi so have not finished my ‘reiew’. There is loads that could be written but I would just like to reflect on the book generally. It is one of the most thought provoking books I have rad in a while that resonates with me. Lots of books you think ‘yes … that right’. This one seems to hit home and settle probably because it says things I love to hear I guess.
With the title you can guess the thread running through the book. The church should be provacative in all that it does. I could leave it at that but I gess you may get the wrong idea.
I think Graham Tomlin is basically saying that as Christians (a group of christians=church) we spend a lot of time and effort trying to nswer quesions that people are not yet answering. We are taking too much knowledge for granted. Our methods of evangelism are therefore, not that successful as we are starting at step 6 when people are at 1.
Tomlin suggests that the church should do things to provoke the questions. ‘Why are you doing this?’ ‘Who is this God?’ ‘Who is Jesus?’ ‘Can I have the same relationship that you have?’and so on. It suggests that all we do should aim to provoke an interest or questions. This way people ask the questions they are really thinking, rather than us thinking we know the questions and answering what they are not asking! At least i hink that it was I mean.
But the book goes further and this is what I like! It states that churches should be transforming communities. The church should transform the lives of those who come into contact with it. This ens those in the community and those who would call themselves members. This means living a transformed life. If Jesus died for me I do not need to live a life of shame. It also means that everyone I meet I will treat with a dignity, love and respect as I acknowledge they have ben created by God and loved by God.
Imagine how we coud transform our little communities if we acted like that? I tend to believe that is what peope are looking for in toays society. That kind of love and acdeptance. The transforming community of the chrch is where people should find it.
In addition I believe we should be transforming Christians with no strings attached. If we are going to see transormation in our communities we need to love others and serve others with no expectation of anything in return. Yes, we want to see people come to see Jesus – but that should not be our motivation. Our motivation should be love for people unconditionally.
Jesus healed and loved many knowing only a few would come to believe in him for who he was. That knowledge, however, did not stop Jesus loving extravanagntly. And it should not stop us.
The words at the end of the book refer to Ephesians and go something like this:
It tells them to develop a completely new way of living. This is the prioity.When that begins to happen it connects with the reality experienced by God’s people.
If you want a good read then go get the book.
I joined Andrew and others in the Suddenly Seminary tonight at Habbo Hotel. I am the one in the bottom left corner with the green mohican! While there where we chatted with Renee, author of Stumbling Toward Faith. On Andrews blog Renee stated she wanted to talk about:
i want to talk about the things that people don’t want to think about. i want to talk about power, and how it has potential for unspeakable damage. i want to talk about pain, and how we spend countless breaths trying to force it away; to fix it. i want to talk about grace, and what it has meant to and for me, underneath my pretending.
She certainly id this and more. Thanks Renee and Andrew for doing this, it was excellent. I hope I can join another Suddenly Seminary in the not too distant future.
The weekend in Gillingham was quite a good one as weekends with no Gillingham football match go!
On Saturday we saw our new curate, Jim Findlay, ordained as a deacon in a surprisingly modern service in Rochester cathedral. Sarah thought the only addition needed to be some images on the wall – new media style of course! After that we were able to share the odd bit of cheese and wine with Jim and Mags and their friends and family. These guys are great and it is a real pleasure to know them.
Sunday saw a big family affair. We went to the Hook and Hatchet at Hucking to celebrate Sarah’s mum’s birthday. These family affairs are great as it is a chance for all of us to see each other and the children really love to see their uncles. This time we ended at home with hundreds of scones cooked by my brother in law Andrew and an excellent game of volleyball.
Seriously, its great to know from great-grandparents to children that Christianity is alive. It shows the children that that Jesus has a great impact on the lives of all ages. That’s why I love the times together so much. It’s kind of a community family thing which I think we forget about all too often.
I’m so excited, and it’s sad I know! Today the wifi stuff came and it took me all of 15 minutes to set up! It’s great – i can read email, surf the web, and print my work from anywhere in the house! How cool is that.
But .. the real reason for wifi – it’s so I can blog from anywhere in the house rather than shut myself away late ot night or get in the ever increasing queue to use the pc! Obvious innit!
I saw this on Gordon’s blog. He found it on the BBC website
Like him I have been very affected by this incident. Maybe it’s because I used to be a teacher. Maybe it’s because my 3 children started school this week? Maybe it’s just due to the whole sense of waste I feel over so many young lives just gone.
On the BBC website today I see that Archbishop Rowan states his faith has been chalenged over this incident. I think it is so good to hear a church leader being honest rather than put on a face and try to justify stuff and protect his position.
This picture to me says a lot. A childs hand holding on to a little gold cross. A little glimmer of hope in a situaion of utter chaos and terror.
I find it difficult to write today about much other than what has gone on in the school in Beslan today. The images are horrific and to think that soldiers have stormed a school and children have died or been injured is horrible. How could this happen?
What sort of person can hold a school of children as hostages? I guess they must be very desperate in their cause as the images must be having an even worse effect on them than on me. They know they hve been part of something that should never have happened.
Today parents have lost children, husbads and wives have lost spouses, many have ost friends. Families have been ripped apart.
Where is God in all of this? He must be totally heart broken.
Today, lets hold this little village community in our prayers.
I have been thinking this through more and more. * hours in the car yesterday aided that process I guess. In addition a person has reminded me of a tlk I gae in church nearly a year ago exactly on this subject. This is quite scarey and she suggested I post it to my blog! Well, after much thought that is what I have decided o do – comments would be great.
This post is, therefore going to be much longer than normal. Below is the main outline of the talk – whether I said this or not I actually canno remember as I tend to make it up as I go along!
I wish to share with you tonight some personal thoughts that have come to me over the past 12 or so months. I stress here they are ‘personal’ thoughts. I do not pretend to say that this correct, ultimate truth or can be relied upon; I could after all be completely wrong! I offer my thoughts and findings to you for your consideration.
I wish to start with a little personal story. I have been director of GYFC for around 8 years. With the 2 years planning prior to this, GYFC has been a major part of my life for a decade. Last year I thought to myself that I can’t do this for ever and so started to look around and think what next.
I saw a Canterbury Diocesan Youth Oficer post. I thought, I like the look of that and of course thought I was perfect for the job (as you do!). I put together a good application; and I mean good! It was superb; not only was I the answer to all Canterbury’s youth work problems but the new Archbishop would most certainly want to have someone like me on his team. (that’s sarcasm!)
I was short listed, offered an interview and that’s when the fun started! Sleepless nights. Loss of appetite. Uncontrollable tears at embarrassing times. Feeling sick in the morning – I wondered if I might actually be pregnant! This went on for a week! On the morning of the interview I spiritualised all these feelings, said ‘well, God obviously does not want me to do this’ and I pulled out of the interview.
But I do not think that was the real issue. The real issue was that the thought of me leaving GYFC actually crippled me. I tried to hide from the fact but it soon became clear that to me that I was open to God’s call … as long as it was with GYFC.
I believe I had allowed my personal identity and calling to become so intertwined with GYFC that I was actually terrified of what would remain of me, if anything, if I left. Mixed with that was a mass of arrogance and pride – after all in Medway circles GYFC is well thought of and because of that I am known, I am a somebody, a person who others want advice from and who they wish to be associated with. A move away from GYFC would mean becoming a nobody and having to start all over again. It does not take a genius to work out that that is a pretty unhealthy state to be in.
The acknowledgment of my identity mess shook me massively and I could see there was only one way to deal with this – to properly open myself again to God and his word. Over the last year I have looked at God’s call. How he calls, what he calls us to; and I think I have discovered some exciting things. It has become quite a liberating experience for me and I do believe I stand here today very different from this time one year ago.
2 Peter 1 v 3 says …’He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness’ God has called us to receive from him so that we can develop a life of moral excellence; or a godly lifestyle. God has called us to receive – not to do!
From looking at the issue of guidance, or calling, in the bible I wonder if we, as Christians, have got it a bit wrong. When we look at guidance or calling usually we are thinking of a role, a task, a job or a ministry. Something to do. Something to work at. Some decision to make.
I do not think God is that worried about what we do, rather it is who we are that really excites him!
We have, as Christians, fallen into the western trap of a person’s identity and value being dependant on what they do. Wherever you are, whenever you meet people, one of the first questions will be ‘What do you do?’ I’m fortunate, however, in that I drive an Avensis and, as the advert says, nothing needs to be said! Seriously, it is a trap that seems contrary to how God views us.
If you undertake a study of the words lead and guide in the bible they rarely seem to refer to tasks or roles such as ‘which job’, ‘which house’ or ‘which husband or wife’. The meaning that we usually associate to those words. Again and again they are used in the context of leading god’s people in lifestyle:
Ps 23: 3 he guides me in paths of righteousness for his names sake
Ps 25: 9 he guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way
Prov4:11 I guide you in the way of wisdom, and lead you along straight paths
Lk 1: 79 Jesus guides our feet into the path of peace
Tit1:1 talks of the knowledge of truth that leads to godliness
God calls us to live. (Jn. 10:10) God calls us to live, to be, to holiness. We are, after all, called human beings and not human doings!
God calls us to be. What does that mean? I think that means we have to stop worrying about what we do, (or what we are called to do) and focus more on who we are called to be. The type of person God has created us to be.
(The Last Samurai illustration where Tom Cruise is asked to focus ‘one mind’ rather than worry about stuff going on around).
When we worry about lots of things we get confused. If we focus on who we are called to be, the other things seem to follow.
I have pretty much come to the conclusion that God does not care what we do. I think sometimes we stress over this or that decision and God kinda smiles and says ‘whatever’ because I will bless you in either! So that I don’t put God in a box there are exceptions when sometimes God says I want this particular person to go this place and this appointed time, Saul, Moses and Jonah immediately spring to mind.
Looking at the early church missionaries, though, things do seem to be different. When Jesus sent out the 72 in Luke 10 he tells them to go to towns and cities. If you are welcomed he says, stay, if you are not leave and shake the dust off your feet as a sign of their doom.
Why didn’t Jesus, the word, the lamb of god, son of the most high, God there in the flesh with them help those poor disciples out with divine guidance – go to Gillingham because they need to hear now, avoid Twydall cos that’s a bit rough and as for those on the Darland estate forget it, they are all so well off that it would be easier for you to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle!
I don’t know why Jesus does not give that guidance but I am guessing that he did not think the detail was that important. Could that be because he was more interested in how they would go for him rather than where they would go? In their attitude rather than their actions? In their relationship with each other and with him, rather than the standard of their work?
God loves you.
His own Psalms tell us we are fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves us so much he died for us. And to add to that, not only does he love us – he actually likes us to.
I find it hard to believe that a God like that has just one ultimate journey for our lives. One specific which, if we miss it, means we live the rest of our life kind of second class or maybe third of fourth class way. Does that sound like a devoted God? A caring God? A loving God?
Whatever role you take on is secondary to God. You can be a vicar, a banker, estate agent, evangelist, doctor, unemployed, volunteer, retired, mother, father, student … and God will thoroughly bless you and use you there if you let him.
Before he can do that, however, you need to be you. You need to understand who you are in God, and that, primarily, you are called into relationship with him, a relationship of holiness that reflects the character of God in your life.
How – well that will be different for all of us. Maybe a good place to start could be reflecting on 1 Cor 13 and what we call the fruits of the spirit. This shows us the type of person we are called to be. A holy people.
Its not easy. It’s a challenge. You will probably find yourself swimming against the crowd. But why follow them? Be radical. Be different. Be you!
I’m feeling good today – I’ve had quite a good day, despite the normal frustraions of computers not doing what they should do and crashing when they should not! After re-installing stuff though everything worked fine. I even got the network up and running first time. I’m quite excited as I think I will be going WIFI tomorrow. So … you never know the next blog may come to you fom the kitchen, the lounge, back garden, or maybe even the toilet!
Ah, just realised I’ve left myself wide open there!
Yesterday when I was at Head Office Richard put me onto Skype as an excellent piece of software. Skype allows you to make a telephone call through the computer to other people that have it. I had a conversation with Richard this morning with the headpiece and it worked fine. Usually I would have telephoned which would hve cost money.
The good thing is it is free and does not have adware and spyware attached to it like so much other free suff does. Why not try downloading a copy and give me a call on robryan65.
The Shiny Headed Prophet 