URBANarmy

giving hope i went looking for mr singh He’s back. He’s found some where else. Shelter in All Saints Church’s side porch. There was a day when I could put him into a car and drive to our local hostel and he would be given shelter. The Government put an end to that. Now there is procedure. A street rescue worker needs to contact the client on the street to be able to refer the client to a hostel. Charlatans, imposters, fakes are weeded out and care given to those who really need it. The procedure would be great if it was more efficient – nearly a month has gone by since our referral. We give Mr Singh another sleeping bag (it was cleared with the rest of his stuff); some clothing and promise to put more pressure on the external street rescue process. You help but it feels woefully inadequate.

Please these are words of personal observation of myself and not in any shape or form a criticism but I identified an odd similarity in very dissimilar situations... I went to Covenant Day at The Salvation Army Training College this week. A day where those training for ministry in TSA have a meaningful day of reflection and soul searching to see if they are really going to go through with it and be sent out into a life of mission as salvation army officers. An important day significant moments…. We strange people called Salvationists dress up in our uniforms as a supposed witness to all those for who their eyes fall upon us. The high walls around the college seem to preclude any such eye falling, however two squirrels in the grounds seemed to be impressed. Sat there in our finery – a portrait of modernity, institution - I looked around and felt strange, uncomfortable. My world seems to be so different… I went to BLAH ! Last night. I have to say it was a positive experience....

I went looking for Mr Singh. ( remember him? ) I walked to where he has been sleeping rough while we try and get him into the ridiculous system that exists to get the homeless into hostels in London. I went looking for his pallets that he has formed into a bed to lift him off the ground and away from the rats. I went looking for his sleeping bag. I went looking for Mr Singh. But his home behind some rubbish carts has been moved. His home has been swept clean. Someone has found him and made him move on by locking the gate with a yellow padlock. No shelter for him tonight, no bed – I just hope he managed to grab his sleeping bag before he was evicted from his home behind the bins. I went looking for Mr Singh and I found a yellow pad lock. Somehow it doesn’t seem too fair to me.

Another interesting insight to evangelism by Sweet et al... " Best-Case Scenario : Inviting others into a relationship with God, so that the Holy Spirit can make Christ come alive and live in them, so that they can live in God's fullness and providence, so that they can participate in God's missional community, so that God's will can increasingly be done on earth as it is in heaven. Worst-Case Scenario : Forcing unwilling Christians to force their beliefs on unwilling people for the sake of the church, because it needs more seats filled; teaching people to communicate an authentic message of the Good News in forced and artificial ways". (A is for Abductive Sweet et al.)

I made pasta with Joel at youth club this week. Not pour the packet stuff into the boiling water thing. This was the real thing. We mixed Flour (tipo 00), eggs together. We kneaded it together. We rolled it out together. We rolled it through the pasta machine together. We cut it into the fattest tagliatelle I’ve ever seen together. We boiled it together. We mixed in the roughest home-made tomato sauce together. We shared it with the rest of the club together. We took the abuse together!! Joel is just eighteen. He has spent his life moving from children’s home to children’s home. Tomorrow he moves into Bed and Breakfast accommodation. I think the together thing might have been significant. "what we cooking next week…?"

I've been doing some thinking about evangelism recently - this popped up in my reading recently..... "In the emerging culture, the more you have been indoctrinated in modern evangelism training, the more adroit you are at memorising the lead-ins and lines and arguments and closings, the less effective you will be in helping the people God loves and misses to come home to him. Why? Because they don't want a sales pitch, and they don't want their conversations to be steered, and they don't want to be preached to or "closed" or "handled." Postmoderns don't believe in hype and won't believe the hype. Fed up with commercials, they hunger for real communication". (A is for Abductive Sweet, McClaren. I find myself in our context agreeing more than disagreeing.

I’ve just read Jen Lemens post weekend report She paints a picture. With broad strokes of ambience the beauty of the day she shares lifts my spirit and as I walk along to the doctor’s surgery to pick up a prescription I mull over her words. I resolve likewise to look for beauty... The automatic doors usher me in. As I approach the reception I see Tommy. A focal point for the room like some old Victorian fireplace. People sit around him. Not for his warmth or character. Everyone is aware of this alcoholic, all are wary, cautious, suspicious. Implicit eye’s lead to Tommy. He is a mess. He sits there like a parody of a mustard gas victim from The Somme. A huge unkempt dressing covers the left of his face. His arms and hands show ill-formed scabs. Angry scars to add to his collection. I wonder about the deeper wounds as children are kept from him; people willing to stand rather than sit within two chairs of him; constant apprehensive stares. As I wait for the receptionist I br...

I hate starting late. I can hear that there is a good crowd in for worship. Everything is ready. I’m prepared. A glance at the clock and I know that for once everything is in the right place. For once all is set. I glance and see that the grapes and vine branches are being distributed. For once ready to go...For once on time! ...Someone runs up to me. "There’s someone in the car park that needs to see you". I’m half thinking it is Mr Singh, perhaps someone needing a food parcel, perhaps advice. Another glance at the clock and I wonder why? Why? Why? WHY? I love the chaos of our small inner city church BUT NOT NOW!! I huff and puff, sigh and wonder why can’t anyone see that I am trying to prepare to lead worship, present the gospel in a meaningful way. Can‘t I be left to do that just for an hour? Can’t someone else deal with it? I take my guitar off and make my way to the car park. A couple meets me. She looks at me and bursts into tears. I look to the husband as ...

Tom Sine points out “One of the most concerning aspects of the Christian dualism model is that it tends to convey the impression that the good news of the gospel only has to do with the narrowly individual, spiritual aspects of personal faith”. Sine, T (1999) Mustard Seed Versus Mcworld: Reinventing Christian Life And Mission For A New Millennium ) He goes on to recall a panel discussion that he was invited to participate in about the Church's response to the poor at the Call to Renewal Conference. The other panelists included Brian Hehir, a Catholic scholar from Harvard, E. J. Dionne, a well-known Catholic author and conservative commentator Cal Thomas. … Cal Thomas stated, 'I recently interviewed Ralph Reed [then president of the Christian Coalition] and I particularly liked his response to one question I asked him. I asked, 'What would happen if every member of the Christian Coalition began to live as their leader commanded them ... and I am not talking abo...

Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. Bartimaeus a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" Jesus stopped and saw an opportunity. A divine appointment? "Call him over – this guy is really receptive." They called out to Bartimaeus who ran to Jesus. The disciples and Jesus smiled at the encouragement of his interest. A warm contact someone we could make friends with this guy and who knows what might happen. Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man answered, "Master, I want to see!" "You want to see?" Jesus rubbed his hands together with anticipation, looked at Bartimaeus said "before I heal you I want to take opportunity to tell you exactly why I will heal you. You need to know that I am the Son of God. You need to know that belief in me will bring fullness of life. You need to know that only through me will you know salvation. " "I am really happy to...

When was the last time you spoke to someone who has completely lost hope? When was the last time you spoke to someone whose light at the end of the tunnel has gone; whose smallest glimmer of hope has just been snubbed out? When was the last time you spoke to someone who can see no way out of his or her problems? Whose life once secure, has been rocked to near destruction? I just have and I didn’t know what to say. No handy pastoral proposals. No helpful advice. No practical recommendations. No supportive suggestions. No meaningful spiritual counsel. Nothing. "Why I’m I suffering like this?" My effort "I don’t know!" Sometimes ministry makes me feel pathetic.

Chris asks [comment below] What is the heart of misson....? The heart of Mission can only for me be seen through Jesus and his motives which were undeniably 'grace centred'. I'm not saying don't evangelise; what I'm saying is be careful that we don't knock grace out of our motives for mission. To do that we need to understand the tension that exists within the relationship of mission from the context of missio dei. “Evangelism is mission but mission is not merely evangelism” (Moltmann 1977). So if we are addressing 'an issue' within our community as a church - let's address it as an issue that needs addressing! Let's demonstrate kingdom values, Let's see the power of grace provoking questions but let's be careful not to dilute the authenticity of the gospel by using 'the issue' as a chance to evangelise. Let grace shine out. So people need feeding - feed them; Young people need space to feel safe and respected – pro...