URBANarmy

It's not that long ago I posted some thoughts about chasing greatness ; about the iron grip of human respect; about the desire for respect, the need for admiration, esteem. Anyway.... The stats for URBANarmy have staggeringly shifted - somewhat bewilderingly - in the last week or so. Visits have trebled. I modestly go and check to see if the trend continues and it does - I can only imagine that it will be a matter of weeks - even days - before I am offered a lucrative book deal, then the overseas conferences, traveling, more websites, book signings, facilitating learning experiences - book now to avoid disappointment. Why a sudden surge of interest in my ramblings? Farah Fawcett that's why. Last year I wrote Farah Fawcett...Plastic Surgery... unrestrained beauty so if you google "Farah Fawcett Plastic Surgery" up URBANarmy pops...top! A 50% of hits to URBANarmy goes to a growing number of disappointed individuals after shots of Farah Fawcett's nips, tucks and im...

He has!

rejesus , maggi helped me not just to breeze through today thinking it was monday because I was at church yesterday and that Easter is as much about Saturday as it is about Friday and Sunday. Man of sorrows! what a name For the Son of God, who came Ruined sinners to reclaim; Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned he stood, Sealed my pardon with his blood; Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Guilty, vile and helpless we, Spotless Lamb of God was he; Full atonement--can it be? Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Lifted up was he to die; It is finished was his cry; Now in Heaven, exalted high; Hallelujah! What a Saviour! When he comes, our glorious King, All his ransomed home to bring, Then anew this song we'll sing: Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Philip Paul Bliss(1838-76) ----- The image is from a Greek icon known as the Man of Sorrows,...

We carried the cross through the market today. The mockers mocked; the jeerers jeered but we carried the cross through the market. "Whats happening mum" one kid asked his mum... "oh its only Good Friday". Only Good Friday...! Words and pictures have made an impact on me today whether from an indifferent world or from the pens and pencils of gifted people. Sacred hands of Jesus, they were bound for me; Wounded hands of Jesus, stretched upon a tree, Ever interceding, mercy is their plea. Their effectual pleading brings grace to me, Redeeming grace to me. Albert Orsborn At this moment, on this day, we have seen it all. God bows his head respectfully and dies. Everything dies. Life dies. Death dies. Everything is done... ... except love. Only love is not done. Only love will not die. rejesus "...help me - by living it out, by simply being - do justice to that extreme love and grace..." ------ The ...

I forgot to mention George this week. He turns up once a year... but not this year. This year he was banned. His behaviour since he first started coming has deteriorated. No one is capable of keeping him under control, he has pushed and pulled once too often. With no idea of boundaries, no idea of his strength, stepping on too many toes - the churches in the area decided enough is enough. George is barred, not welcome. Read about the last time he came here . George didn't come this year. I missed George on Sunday!

Sieger Köder’s “'Cornerstone'” was the focus for another evening of meditation with selected verses from Scripture, spoken prayer, poetry and silence. Following the success of Embrace I was really looking forward to the evening!! A 200% increase in attendance wasn't bad - there were three of us this time sharing together the hidden nuances evoked within by the art and poetry. I came away acutely aware of my contribution to the weight on his shoulders; acutely aware of his determination and resolve; acutely aware of the driving force behind mission, church engagement with our community. As we considered our response we prayed "do not allow us to neglect those who are crushed by their own mistakes, those who feel rejected..." ------- 'A Time to Celebrate - The Folly of God' is a wonderful resource using the Art and Inspiration of Sieger Köder published by St Paul Multimedia Productions

I found in an old familiar story a wonderful picture of grace and its antithesis in 2 Kings 5:1ff . A picture of Elisha , a leprous Naaman , and Gehazi . Despite the arrogance, the haughtiness there is brushstroke upon brushstroke - creating a picture of grace, a picture of the undeterred love of God. Was it the healing in this narrative or the 'undiluted grace' that made God known to Naaman to the extent that Naaman took a ton of topsoil with him back to his homeland to worship on? Elisha gave a perfect example how to reflect the grace of God. A ' love despite' . Also a picture of Gehazi and an antithesis of grace. Gehazi who felt Naaman should pay. Gehazi who felt this well established official shouldn’t get away with nothing in return. The image of grace is left tarnished. Gehazi left as leprous as Naaman had been. What represented a true authentic gift of love became a cheapened token of God. Gehazi tarnished that grace. Ok –a bit tough on Gehazi tougher on his de...

You probably need a picture in your head of Sonya. Sonya isn’t a designer person - from her comedy animal print jumpers, to her thick tinted spectacles, to her big eyed Kermit backpack – she doesn’t represent the ‘beautiful pomo people’ the trendy, intelligent, missional, conference going people that read Brian McClaren books! Less emerged more submerged - in societies eyes. Sonya was tapping on the window and I tried to make myself small. The tapping was unrelenting – I was aware that other people waiting with me to get their hair cut were looking. Tap…tap…tap! I knew I needed to respond so I did that ‘Laurel and Hardy finger wave up close to my chest’ thing coupled with a quick smile. That did the trick and off Sonya bounced. I carried on reading my book but acutely aware that the eyes of those in queue were still fixed firmly on me. I looked up and gave a shrug and a smile that seemed to diffuse the attention. “Next” – Andrew the Cypriot barber swept the chair and I sat down. “So!”...

Status Anxiety ( De Botton, A (2004) Status Anxiety. Penguin ) – unravels the concept of how and why we try to demand and maintain status and the fear that grips individuals should that status be questioned. The desire for respect, the need for admiration, esteem. This is a book about an almost universal anxiety that rarely gets mentioned directly: an anxiety about what others think of us; about whether we're judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser. What was interesting was an inclusion of a chapter on Christianity seen as a cure for such ‘driveness’. I think it was Brennan Manning in Ragamuffin Gospel who said... "In Jesus freedom from fear empowers us to let go of the desire to appear good, so that we can move more freely in the mystery of who we really are…the pre-occupation with projecting image leads to ‘unfreedom’ in the iron grip of human respect…" Ironic really then that … "Many churches are seeking to become great churches. Entire ministry indust...

Meaningful ambience, dominated by Sieger Köder’s “Embrace” set the tone for an evening of meditation of selected verses from Scripture, spoken prayer, poetry and silence - I must admit to feeling quite pleased with my creativity! The lights, music, seating all contributed to an evening of reflection. “All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood” seemed to haunt me as I sang' When I Survey The Wondrous Cross', the droning of my guitar echoed, intensifying a moody celtic atmosphere. The silence gave me space as I looked at the impelling ugliness of Köder's brush stokes, the hands embracing that which it would prefer not to. I prayed for courage to embrace that which I really would rather not. I prayed for forgiveness for the times I have shied from embracing the violence, the atrocities and injustice of our world. Turning a blind eye a deaf ear. The poetry drew me closer into the mystery of the cross. The tragedy of innocence, the pain intensified...

MissionThink a little while back pointed out this post on HouseChurchBlog I have made a promise to myself. I will stop inviting people to my church. Hear me out now. I spent nearly a decade with my well paid job in the church trying to get people to come to church. We would develop strategies...... wowing them with worship experiences, video, dramas, amazing sermons, .... all designed with one aim. That when you would invite your friend, they would say yes and go to church with you. All you would have to do is invite them, they would respond to the engaging message and multi-sensory worship, become curious, eventually come to Christ, and eventually become a part of our church. The problem is, it didn't work very well. ...Allow me to be very honest. I see too many of us in the house church falling into the same trap and pattern of fruitlessness. And some are suffering unnecessarily from disillusionment. I hear the same words over and over, ... Old habits die very hard do...

"Someone to see you" Our afternoon service was soon to start. I took a quick look before he saw me...he looked familiar. As I walked towards him I was sure I knew him "hello... how can we help?" . The guy needed a food parcel "no problem... do I know you?" He looked up "no... never been in here before" .I persisted "are you sure - you look familiar..." He smiled - "well they say I look like my father". "And do I know your father...?" He smiled again, this time revealing a stumpy nicotine stained set of teeth "oh yes you know him!"... "I know your Father...?" I was getting perplexed. I shook my head "I'm sorry but I'm not sure I do." He was clearly enjoying this. "Oh yes you do...!" he rolled his eyes upwards and gave me a knowing wink. Suddenly he dropped his voice "I've been before...this is my second time around" Clearly frustrated with my ignoran...

[Something I forgot to publish a couple of weeks back!] I got to watch Hard Ball with some young people from our senior youth club this week. Maybe not my choice but nevertheless we watched Keanu Reeves as an aimless gambling and drinking young man. As a condition of getting a loan from a friend he agrees to coach a Little League Baseball team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago. You can guess the plot. It isn't difficult - the team that was rubbish that came good etc... Ok predictable but the director Brian Robbins did a great job of capturing the systematic failure of the inner city, the paralysis of inner city life for so many. All the symptoms were there. The pain of fragmentation, brokeness that manifests itself in violence, anger - rage. The predictability of walk away 'do-gooders'. Fear. Suspicion. Inconsistency of people. Marginalisation. Escapism. Injustice. But he also caught the joy of persistent investment. The joy of engagement. The building up...

I went this week to the LICC “Let My People Grow” conference. Several things struck me as several speakers looked at the concept of discipleship and faith development. I’d not noticed before but there seems to be a proliferation of a Christian ‘neat side partings with neatly trimmed beards’ thing going on. The more emerging seem to go with the goatee, or even an under lip bit of beard and discard the side parting. Anyway this conference seemed to be a bit more ‘neat side parting with neatly trimmed beard’ affair than goatee and grunge. I was late. So missed part of Martyn Atkins thesis on Catechesis. I sat at the back listening to words that slowly began to fill my head with thoughts regarding the concept of faith development. It seems that within pre-Christendom the chosen way of conversion and discipling was through a inquiry group of ‘inquirers and seekers’. This process from initial interest to ‘public profession’ on average lasted 3 – 3 ½ years. Atkins argued and suggested that ...

I don’'t like St Clements. We could see our breath as we walked through the grounds. Our steps echoed. Tired Victorianesque buildings seemed to question our imposition. With each step I could feel myself feeling a little more anxious. I 'don'’t do' secure mental hospitals that well. I was with Bramwell who works with us - we were on our way to see James. [More on James here and here .] We found the ward and buzzed. We explain we were here to see James. That morning his girlfriend had rung to say James had been admitted a couple of days previously and had run out of clothes – she was away could we help? Now we wait as one of the psychiatric team look for him. Bram was at home!! Before becoming a SA officer he was a psychiatric associate consultant. I was a researcher with a geography degree. Bram seemed at ease. I - decidedly uncomfortable. I smile hopefully as different characters with empty eyes on the ward sidle and edge along the wall silently towards us and away a...