URBANarmy

It wasn’t really very alt. but it was certainly worship! Ghana; Nigeria; Zimbabwe; Congo; Germany; Spanish; Basque; Cornwall!; American; England; Scotland;Wales; Russia; Botswana; Guyana; Jamaica; Kenyan; Sierra Leone; Sri Lanka; Trinidad and more – all represented and all valued. These are events that are foundational to our church – celebrating God through our diverse, varied cultures as one. Ok this was unpolished; ok pretty chaotic, a bit hectic. Ok the musicians were late by a good hour. Ok we’re not being pressed by ‘Kingsway’, ‘Marantha’ or whoever produces Christian stuff these days to record a live worship set! But the vibrancy; the enthusiasm, passion - the unequivocal joy is something really inspirational, up lifting. I’ll let you into a secret – it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. What really is uplifting is there is recognition that sometimes as a church family you get involved and ‘enjoy’ something that isn’t totally your thing. I look at the saints of our church wh...

Another Ringma/ Ellul combo In many ways the church justifies its existence as mapping out a vision of how the world should be and how life should be lived i.e. how to serve the world better. The reality is that the church so frequently serves itself and so the ideology propounded by the church both binds and blinds. (Ringma). Jacque Ellul laments "Christianity can clearly also become an ideology. In fact, it has become one, for ideologies serve no one but themselves." Ouch again...!

"Gordon you are a musician aren’t you?" "…well I’m not sure about that, I like to play but that doesn't necessarily define me a musician" I say to Victor secretly preening my ego. Victor carries on with his unrelenting praise "well when you play your guitar you really make that thing talk…", "Victor... you are really kind – no, no.. really ..well …I.." Ok sad as it is - I am beginning to enjoy this. False modesty is beginning to kick in.* The conversation takes a twist "I made my flute talk last night". Victor has been buying second flutes and is learning to play. "Really!... that is great Victor" I say encouragingly . Victor looks at me and leans closer. His gappy teeth. The smell of tobacco, stale BO – all a little too intense, a little too close. He looks carefully around then whispers "I was playing it and then it came out with it…"..."what" I say pinned to the wall – nowhere to go....

I irritate people. I have a bad habit of folding the corner of book pages that I want to re-visit. Don't worry all those kind people that lend me books ... I only do it to books bought by me! Here are some fold overs from - Frost, M. and Hirsch, A. (2003) The Shape of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church and a recent thought by Maggi. The Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN) says, "The missional church represents God in the encounter between God and human culture. It exists not because of human goals or desires, but as a result of God's creating and saving work in the world. It is a visible manifestation of how the Good News of Jesus Christ is present in human life and transforms human culture to reflect more faithfully God's intentions for creation. It is a community that visibly and effectively participates in God's activity, just as Jesus indicated when he referred to it in metaphorical language as salt, yeast, and light in the ...

Talking to Kenny our local ‘fruit and veg’ man in the market, I hear my name, I turn, I look into the face of urban clad young man and I am truly shocked. The baseball cap and hoody can’t disguise a face that has taken a terrible beating. The face of young man whose face is swollen, bruised, battered. Jack used to come regularly to our youth club but I can hardly recognise him. I hear Jack’s story. A local gang took mob justice against someone who stood up to them. Someone who didn’t what to be pushed around. Now he is waiting for corrective surgery around an eye socket that broke under the tirade of blows and kicks. I look into a face that reveals more than bruises and cuts – I look into a face intent on revenge. "I know where they live…I’m getting my mates down…they’ll not get away with it". I try to suggest the futility, the senselessness, uselessness, pointlessness of revenge. I try to communicate grace. I try to communicate the value and worth of breaking the cycl...

I'm quite taken at the moment with Charles Ringma's - Resist the Powers (with Jacques Ellul) . A recent comment and observation made me uncomfortable... "Instead of a God who blazes at injustice, we have created the docile God who lovingly forgives and forgets the inhumanity of our world." (Ringma) Jacques Ellul argues that the God of the prophets has now become "a senile Good Shepherd whose beard all the world might tug..." ouch! The Branch From Jesse 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD . He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the p...

For many reasons I'm glad I started blogging. I'm glad I've found and am constantly finding community with people from all over the world. I find diverse conversation. I find myself being resourced. I find myself being challenged. I find myself being encouraged. I find myself enthused, inspired, motivated...and all this with and by people I never knew existed!! Yesterday I met Rob - AKA the shiny headed prophet . As I said goodbye and walked up to school to pick my girls up I thought to myself "I'm glad I started blogging...!"

I'm proud of my big brother! I'm proud that 30 odd years ago he started as a office junior in the social services in Croydon. I'm proud that he has worked and worked and worked and 30 years later is a social services director. I'm proud that he has fought for justice and fairness and has tried to make a difference to society and I'm proud that this week he was decorated with the OBE for services to social work. [BTW - Philip is the one on the left]

Arthur can be a bit grumpy. Keeps himself to himself, always sits by himself – happy with his paper. Always polite - but in a grumpy kind of way. Arthur went missing about a month ago. He always lets us know when he is not going to be at our luncheon club. So a couple of days without Arthur left us concerned. A few phone calls and we soon discover that a fall has left him in hospital with a broken leg. We visit and its not long before he explains that in his fall his glasses were broken. His opticians were not being helpful with his niece – could we help? Can you believe how unhelpful people can be? A three-week battle of almost daily phone calls and visits to the opticians eventually ended up in the form of a pair of glasses. Excuses were fended off. Blatant inconsistencies challenged – we fought. I’m the one who takes the glasses up to Arthur. I’m the one who sees the gratitude. I’m the one who sees the deep appreciation. The one who sees the relief, the smiles. I’m the one ...

Hirsch and Frost seemed to have stirred quite a debate with their recent tour courtesy of BLAH. Personally I felt that their voices were worth hearing. Personally I felt that the consequent debate was healthy. Personally I wanted to keep the strong themes that ensued fresh and accessible. Two major issues seem to underlie the debate. Firstly the perceived slap in the face for the institutional church. Maggi picks up the theme by identifying their portrayal as a "less-then-truthful caricature of the institutional church…". The slap comes in their analysis of Christendom and its love child – the institutional church. Given that they suggest a return to a more incarnational than attractional DNA – the slap stings for anyone operating from within a theology of space. Therefore the assumption is easily – whether rightly or wrongly - made that centre based activities are based in Christendom and therefore of no value as they are by spatial definition attractional and not mis...

Norman was a different man tonight. It is our Men’s get together – Poplar Men Together (PMT) a Bar-B-Q at our house and Norman is here. He takes over the grilling that’s what he does well. He starts talking – he seems to do that well too! Five days ago he was desperate, devastated, inconsolable. We spent time together - prayed. His wife was stabbed trying to stop thieves stealing her niece’s car was now in hospital in Botswana. Norman was beside himself, the grief, pain, anguish of a man thousands of miles from his wife not knowing was tangible. Not much you can say really. But listen. That was five days ago. Tonight Norman is different – the relief on this lonely man’s face was obvious. The wound is not as severe as first thought and she will be out of hospital. I look around the range of men each with a story to tell and I see something special - I see a beauty in community. Compassion. Concern. Interest. Inclusion. I see something of the kingdom of God in this community of div...

I spent the day being wrongly labelled. Courtesy of blah I’m listening to Hirsch and Frost’s take on mission. Feeling the ‘missional pulse’ of how to be church in a culture where people are not interested. The importance of recognising the need for proximity, presence, powerlessness, proclamation. The DNA of mission - mDNA. Contrasting communication and hair styles is mixing the day up nicely – although I’m sure I suffer from a form of dyslexia connected with complicated diagrams!! Hirsch and Frost are challenging all things parochial, all things settled, all things institutional, all things Christendom. Challenging Church Growth (defined as ‘Christendom on steroids!’) but interestingly offering as an alternative a jazzed up evangelical ‘friendship evangelism’ re-mix. Their outward emphasis for mission is healthy with a strong identification of the realities of being church in the post Christian west. Their message is compelling, well presented. I look around the attendees - ...

Jim Wallis – changed the way I think. I read ‘ Call to Conversion ’ 20 years ago and I saw the world in a different way. Suddenly years of going to church came together. Suddenly I began to see the life of church as being as being so much more than just a Sunday singing type thing! Suddenly the fragmentation of the world seemed so much more acute. Suddenly I realised it was not enough just to sit back a gripe. Suddenly I was involved. I don’t do conventions – I break into a sweat in mega-crowds, it does nothing for me. But Roots 2004 was a temptation a real temptation. Jim Wallis was on the speakers list. I’ve only just got round to listening to the teaching tape. Someone gave it to me with a shrug "shame really – I found him a bit dry…too political…perhaps his books are better…you can keep it" Without a joke or a borrowed story or anecdote in sight - I was hooked as I drove. "The trouble with the church is that Jesus Christ has been stolen from it – it’s time...

Hidden away in the comments at theopraxis I found this gem. Personally I don't want to lose it so Jeff has allowed me to post it. To me it paints a vivid picture of incarnational mission. The Jesus of My Day By Jeff Jacobson I see him riding in on a Harley, the Jesus of my day. It looks like he’s been on the road for a while, but his eyes are still bright and he smiles when he sees me. His hair is long and wild from the wind. I guess he travels light because his saddlebags are mostly empty. In a cloud of dirt and dust he calls me over. I’m not sure what to do, but I’m drawn to him so I go. He puts his hand on my shoulder and he promises me a great adventure. I believe him, but I ask him to wait. I need to take care of a few things because my plate is full. His strong hand grabs hold of the clutch and he races the engine and he tells me that now is the time. And it feels like a dream and maybe it is, but I drop it all on the ground. My cell phone, my Palm - everything...