Preaching

In Finding the Plot the author suggests 4 parts to the process of preparing a sermon:

*Studying the Scriptures
*Discovering what others have said or written about a given passage
*Understanding who will be listening to the sermon and what makes them who they are
*Prayer that immerses the whole process of preperation with the questions, 'is this what you want me to sayand how you want me to say it?'
(Standing, 2004, 15)


R. Standing. (2004). Finding the Plot. Milton Keynes: Paternoster Press

After the most recent module at college it is intersting to think again about constructing sermons. The problem I have is that I pretty much always do these 4 points, but this doesn't mean it is a good sermon. Though I am aware that God's word can still be spoken through a donkey and that St Paul sent people to sleep when he preached...

...whatever method is used to prepare a sermon it is still down to inspiration and perspiration.

A funny(peculiar) conversation

Just had an interesting conversation it went something like this:

The greatest cancer that there is, is loneliness. Man's [sic] imagination if it cannot find satisfaction in a personal relationship with someone looks for it elsewhere. Which is where religion comes into being, it is the imagination looking beyond itself for meaning and companionship so it projects the other, someone outside of ourself.

Religion then to him is all the power of the imagination. He went on to talk about how in a relationship you are meant to make the person happy, this is the purpose of our existience each of us is to make others happy and this is how we are fulfilled. It is all about happiness, one person can make you happy. If in a relationship someone is bowing down to another that is their god. He said that being a vicar then is the same, to make people happy that is the power of imagination and religion is a construct of this. It is good news to me that I am not called to make people happy but to proclaim Christ.

In the discussion I said for me it all comes down to Jesus, if he is who he says he is then he calls us to know him and obey him.

He said whenever people are loving and caring, then this is what they are meant to do the purpose for which the imagination finds. The more I think about his argument the more it keeps coming back to God. God is Love (1 John 4.8), the author of love, so once more it seems to me that we worship that which is created, looking for love can be an idol just as much as a carved statue. I also asked: is happiness the ultimate goal in life?

If happiness is the ultimate purpose should we be kind and just exterminate those who aren't happy, put them out of their misery? Doesn't joy have something far more eternal and fulfilling than something that is momentary and fleeting. People let each other down...


When questioned about what he believes about evil, he says it is those who want attention and happiness who don't have it. I don't think for a moment he was suggesting to give them a hug! I said the church exisits because it was first loved and forgiven and it now welcomes all to meet with Jesus. I believe as people encounter Christ they will be transformed.


James 1.27 [NRSV]- "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world"

The joint emphasis of God is that we care for those in distress out of a heart that keeps Jesus at the centre and a heart that stays pure in the face of the temptation to be just like everyone else or  those who just ignore it.

A poem

This is a picture I took when I was on holiday a couple of years ago, I like pebbles, the feel and the sensation and weight in my hand.:

Pebble in my hand
Worn smooth by the waves
Rough edges knocked off by other stones
Washed up on the shore
Unique

In your hand
Worn smooth by life
Rough edges knocked off by others
Washed up on my knees
Loved

Which Bible?

Translations and Paraphrases-

We looked at this in lectures the other morning, it made me think of my own bible reading over the last number of years. GNB, KJV, NKJV, NIV, Messages, NRSV and the Amplified. Maybe this explains my difficulty in making direct quotes from the Bible without double checking. I'll give you an example some of the memory verses at Sunday school were in KJV, some were in GNB, I have read the GNB from cover to cover several times times but I have also read it through in the NIV and NRSV. All of my academic work on the Bible has been the NRSV and all my preaching has been on the NIV (this is the pew bible or Bible of choice in the last few churches I have been in). It's the same when we change to BCP for morning prayer, tripping over words which are so familiar in Common Worship like the Lord's prayer for example.

I think in reality no one version has it all sown up and even the paraphrases are helpful in enlightening text. I suppose this is why knowing some Greek is helpful. I have had to stop for now as work and assignments are just piling up, especially with placement stuff too, now I have my Greek Interlinear I can cheat by finding the Greek and looking it up. But better still some software is available:
http://www.bibleworks.com/, http://www.e-sword.net/features.html,

I am glad that there are on line concordances my brain has stopped working so I will sign off on this one...

Images of Christ

[archive blog post] I had looked at Icons with my spirtual director a few months ago. For those interested in art I will try and scan some of my attempts at 'art' I find pictures really interesting, pictures can create a sense of wonder and awe. They can inspire, equally they can really put you off. So I was going through this and asking myself what I feel about 3 pictures within the gallery?

http://www.nationalgallery.co.uk/products/ng_books/p_1018462

The above picture is the front cover of "Signs of Salvation" an exhibition. It is well worth a look at.

I am really interested in modern icons particularly but post me any of your thoughts.

Children & Theology 2- Follow my leader

Just watched the basic.fellowship preview video: http://premiere.basicseries.com/. Which is a bit like nooma for those who haven't seen it, but what hooked my imagination was the illustration he used about follow my leader which children love playing. As adults we lose this,  Jesus says something to us but we then try and interpret why it doesn't apply to us. Bonhoeffer had a lot to say about simple obedience, that we try and wriggle out of doing what he says. Children are happy to do what they are told in follow my leader. Maybe we need to be a little simpler sometimes. Jesus called the disciples to follow him which means to do what he says (see a message to the English church).

Prayer:

This evening my little girl took the bread she had and broke off small pieces and gave them to Cath and me. I don't need to read anything into it, she comes to communion with us each week (sometimes more than once) and is prayed for, she dosent understand it yet (I am doing a whole module on it now and it is still a mystery to me) but that is fine. She is continuing on her journey of faith, where it goes is in God's hands but each night when I put her to bed I pray with her:

That she will become a friend of God that she will be our friend and that she will be friends with the lost and the lonely.

In the Lion handbook of children's prayers (a mixed bag) it had a simple prayer of blessing for our house:

That God would bless our house and we would welcome all who come to it

I like these prayers and ultimately God is bigger than me and his grace is at work in ways I don't see or understand but I don't want to teach her how to pray Jesus bless me and my fluffy bunny (she doesn't have a bunny but you get my point), which is why I think the Lord's prayer is so important in how we teach anyone to pray, why do we so often leave decent teaching behind when we teach basics to children?

I am fascinated by a friend (and future colleague) who has a prayer board as someone who is more visually orientated I think this is a great idea particularly with the 5 God children we have and the other children of friends we pray for as well as the needs so prevalent in our world.

I was talking with another friend at College today who mentioned that Karl Barth had written on parenting, which I think is a fascinating (correct me if I am wrong here) but he said something like parents are called to draw out of our children that which is good. I am sure I have over simplified it and as I am in the middle of two assignements I don't have time to explore this idea so I will park it for now but it seems worth exploring further.

I am hoping to write a short review on the children's books we use with our little girl as they are very hit and miss, I want to draw out of my children good, not just bless mum, dad and my sister, take this in the spirit it is meant I am not a miserable dad, I am a fool with my children, but I would rather be a fool for Christ than for some other gospel which is all about bless me children are not stupid they pick up a lot...

Douglas Coupland

I have a while (thirty minutes) before my little girl wakes up to blog so I will limit my self to a quick overview of why I like Coupland's writing and what I have read and enjoyed.

Like any favorite author there is usually a favorite book and this is true for me, "girl friend in a coma" is that book (I am a little behind on my reading):

For any Smiths fans you will get the referance. I don't want to add a spoiler in here but I would say it would make an ideal book club resource for a group which wanted to explore faith and hope as well as thinking about how suffering and responsibility can affect individuals and society.

Why did I start reading Coupland? Well it was all the business of Gen X the term which he popularised (though it was a term in use before then see wiki for a short overview). I encountered the term in reading Youthwork magazine it is one of my little quirks that I am interested in phrases we pick up (hence why I am reading catch 22, why I read 1984 & Animal Farm; just read the KJV of the Bible and see how much of it is still in use 'skin of the teeth' etc) and so I read his book; it was fascinating and had me hooked, he paints vivid pictures of the mundane reality of life for most people, and the books seem grounded in reality (Microserfs another of his books came to mind after watching the social network). Sociologists may lump whole generations into one category but growing up in a Christian home as I did, seems increasingly counter cultural to both modern and post modern ideas (again I only did 6 months of sociology at GCSE so I am no expert and a degree in religious studies and half way through ordination I am still debating where Modernity finishes and PoMo begins). But with each novel he writes he manges to capture a little of the essence of life today:

A specific feature of Coupland's novels is their synthesis of postmodern religion, Web 2.0 technology, human sexuality, and pop culture. (Wikipedia).

There I have done it first quote from Wiki in my blog it was guaranteed to come! In this instance I have to agree, he is a talented social commentator, maybe in fiction you can be far more subversive in your critic of modern consumerism. I have enjoyed each of his books and now as a blogger they seem even more readable than before. Some of his books don't age as well as others but that is because of the fads and fashions which make up much of our culture but we still use McJob as an expression.

I have listed some of his publications (He has also written some non-fiction stuff too):

Fiction

• Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture (1991)
• Shampoo Planet (1992)
• Life After God (1994)
• Microserfs (1995)
• Girlfriend in a Coma (1998)
• Miss Wyoming (2000)
• All Families Are Psychotic (2001)
• God Hates Japan (2001) (Published only in Japan, in Japanese with little English. Japanese title is 神は日本を憎んでる (Kami wa Nihon wo Nikunderu))
• Hey Nostradamus! (2003)
• Eleanor Rigby (2004)
• jPod (2006) (1st Hardcover Ed. ISBN 0-679-31424-5) (longlisted for the Giller Prize)
• The Gum Thief (2007)
• Generation A (2009) (finalist for the 2009 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize)
• Player One (2010) (Novel adapted from 2010-2011 Massey Lectures, longlisted for the Giller Prize)

I think this links into my way of reading the world (far more by observation than text book). It also explains why I like Dylan, The Manics and Springsteen and it probably informs the way I do theology as the greatest story teller in the world was Jesus Christ, just look at the parables which have transformed lives and nations, spawned endless books, art and preaching. To be fair Coupland can't compete with the Son of God and neither can I (just check my assignment grades) just reflect on the resurrection, it blows your mind and the power is unlike anything else but could I suggest that he is one of the prophets of our age?

Have a think about that...

Liquid Church, communicating the gospel

Liquid Church is both the name of a book by Pete Ward (worth a read) &  an American Church.

When I used to commute to work (15 min walk, 20 min bus journey, 30 min in coffee shop). I used to listen to some of their sermon series. I found them helpful as they usually have some great illustrations to go with the talks and don't shy away from talking about sex or money, surely two under represented areas in most churches?

One of the things they used to have on their website was a guide to communicating the gospel (it is no longer there so you will have to trust me on this). It went like this:

"We  know what time it is and what to do. We may not be of the world but we are certainly in it and trying to make a difference".

A recipe for communicating the gospel to a post-modern world:

• Holy Bible
• The Newspaper (including Art and Movies)
• Blender
• Puree
• Pray
• Serve

 http://www.liquidchurch.com/first-time/what-to-expect/

Mission

A short reflection on Mission, based upon my immediate thoughts, something I want to reflect upon, feel free to share yout thoughts too:

John 20.21-23

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20.21-23 [NIV]).

Mission starts with Peace, so in mission we are called to be bringers of peace. We look to Jesus just as he looked to the Father and only did the things the Father did. This means we look to him for leading and guidance and always keep in mind that first it is his mission we particpate in. He who has sent us is faithful.

I have a lawn full of dandelions but I am fascinated with the beauty of the seed head, it is designed to be sent to the rest of the world when it is blown on. So to for Christians, we are breathed upon, which sends us out to do that for which he has called us, equiped us and filled us.

I am then reminded of the link with forgiveness, if we do not forgive we give people a shiney juicy apple to bite into with a rotten core. The gospel is not a life enhancement but transformational let's not give a rotten alternative. Context wise, this passage belongs with encountering the risen Christ, which is at once both disconcerting and awesome.

To my mind then mission is bringing people to an encounter with the risen Christ. As those engaged with mission we are called to be agents of peace and forgiveness filled with the Holy Spirit leading people to Jesus. When we encounter Jesus it is not necessarily comforting but it is always transformational.

Children and Theology

I can't remember who said it at college but one of the spirituality sessions in the first term talked of some of the poor theology we teach our children. He (it was a he) remembered reading a chidren's story of creation and the conclusion for creation was "God was lonely".

In our house we have two children's bibles, and a plethora of books (I think I will review some later). One thing I have noticed is that the devotional stuff for kids is often all about behaviour:

http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/

It is all very neat and tidy no lose ends etc. One thing I found when growing up was I always given black and white statements, don't do this, do this etc. As I read the Bible from cover to cover I found it gave rise to questions which I was also asking: Why does evil prosper and why do innocent people suffer...Particularly the Psalms.

I think though my little girl has provided a helpful guide at this time, Jesus grows up with her. He starts as a child as he came to her at Christmas and as she grows and she reads and experiences Jesus in other ways he will grow with her.

Yes I feel challenged to get rid of the naff from her collection, and to find good material which translates into her language but ultimately I trust God that by his grace he will call her and lead her as she grows and that Cath and I provide a safe place to ask questions. On the amusing side we had pictures of Jesus on the screen on Monday at college and when I said that was Jesus, our daughter said "no daddy,  Jesus is a baby", she then said "that's daddy" (I have a beard too). God has a sense of humour...

A creative way of looking at Church too?

I had a look at prezzi which is an alternative to powerpoint, in reality I realise I need some further skill updating. But...I saw this and thought maybe this would be a great way to look at my placement church, what is our "corporate story"...

Take a look:

http://prezi.com/7okmswx_ex40/power-of-storytelling/

Invictus

I have just finished watching Invictus it brought back a whole host of memories it was the first rugby world cup I remember and I also remember hearing about Nelson Mandela and his release. The rainbow nation, doesn't it sound a bit like how the church should be, black and white, young and old joining together?

Watching the film was an inspiring reminder of what happened and what could have happened, I don't normally listen to audio books but when it is read by Desmond Tutu then it is always worth a look in the book was God has a dream. If you bring them together it paints a picture that hope can win through and that forgiveness is a potent weapon. What is the greater victory, annihilating your enemy or your enemy becoming your friend?

I like Clint Eastwood films, Million Dollar Baby, Grand Torino, and Flags of our Fathers/Letters from IwoJima he allows the characters to talk.

Finally here is the poem:

Invictus-

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

By William Ernest Henley (1849- 1903)

Evaluating Worship

 The following link is a helpful tool for evaluating worship:

http://www.clayfirecurator.org/2011/05/how-do-you-decide-if-worship-is-good-or-a-success-mark-pierson/

If you have not come across Mark's book "The art of curating worship"(once my assignment is back I will add my reflection on this book) then you are missing a treat, he and several others (Jonny Baker etc) have written several books looking at this concept. As a future Anglican Priest, I realise that "Common Worship" is not a 'ready meal' instead leading worship is bringing different resources together in a prayerful way and led by the Holy Spirit into bringing disparate components together that we might be encouraged to worship in spirit and truth.

Below I have listed his method for evaluating worship:

Giving it my best involves measuring myself against a number of elements:

1. Staying true to my working definition of worship.
2. Analysing the category of worship required (community, transitional, guerilla[see his chapter on it for an explanation and no it is spelt correctly])
3. Carefully answering the question, “What do I want to say?”
4. Collaborating with people I trust to reflect back to me criticism and affirmation.
5. Being still long enough and often enough to hear what God is saying to me about what I am doing as I do it.
6. Constantly imagining the “congregation” responding and how they will know what is expected of them at any point. This helps me remember the range of “ages and stages” present and to clarify my instructions.
7. Praying and imagining through the whole event on paper. This helps me see segues and transitions that are needed, as well as how the elements flow or not.
8. Doing the work of exegesis and understanding well any biblical text involved.

(Pierson, 04th May 2011)

Please read his article, as it is not an arrogant attempt to pat himself on his back for what he thinks is good as he says it needs to be God breathed.

I am adding this to my SALT tool (see post), as I attempt to come to a way to discern and reflect on my life and service to God. Though I want to hold on to "When two or three are gathered in my name there I am in the midst of them" (Matt. 18.20).

Often in theology we are faced with paradox's  leading worship is one of these (the Holy Spirit is the worship leader etc). To my mind anyway I cannot be slap dash and have an 'any old thing will do' attitude and rely on God to multiply the loaves and fish (though I do rely on him in his grace to do just this) each time we meet but neither can I script the life out of our gathered times together. It is both, I need to prepare in prayer listening for his leading but also learning to bring together what he has already given.

College dress?

 

 

St John's College creating clergy since 1863

I know this is a pretty poor attempt but Andii sparked an idea for a new hoodie at college. Please add an alternate strapline or better art!

Some names of God

 

This is the wordle I used to think about some of the names of God as a follow on to a morning prayer I led, though it is not exhaustive!

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus...

I have pretty much finished reading this book, I have a couple of chapters to go but I thought I would add a quote I have been ruminating on Spangler & Trevsberg quote a rabbinic parable:

There are four types among those who sit in the presence of the rabbis: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve. 'The sponge', which soaks up everything. 'The funnel', which takes it in at this end and lets out at the other. 'The strainer', which lets out the wine and retains the dregs. 'The sieve', which removes the chaff and retains the fine flour.
(Spangler & Trevberg, 2009, 31)

I will  get round the book review when I get the book back (I thought it was good, so I lent it to a friend!).