URBANarmy

What is Missional Church: An Introduction to the Missional Church Conversation A FREE DOWNLOAD One Man's Journey Into Mission By Alan Roxburgh Download Now! What I failed to tell you is that there three parts to this resource. There is the (1) introduction (above), then there is a course helping congregations to identify and explore what it is to be missional beyond that of a catchy little buzzword. The down loads include a (2) participants work book and a (3) presenters guide. This is a useful tool all thanks to allelon

"...if we can find God in the imperfections of our lives, then maybe we can find him in the messiness of the text." Dr Robert Beckford - academic theologian - intrigues me in the way he constantly deconstructs his Christian faith. Asking questions that take him on a journey of discovery yet he always ends up at a place where his faith is all the stronger and believable. I've just watched his Channel 4 documentary from 2004 Who Wrote the Bible (you can watch it here ). His journey starts with his acknowledgement of the importance of the bible - where he says 'The Bible shaped what I thought, said and did. But that simple belief gave way to the realisation that it's not that simple.' I imagine that there will be those that will have watched this documentary and will have written him off as selling out. I imagine that there will be those who will have watched and who will have spat venom at his questioning and non-acceptance. I imagine that there will be tho...

what issues today will our descendants look back at in 200 years and think 'why did they let that happen?' I can't remember which one I went to, but twenty years ago I visited one of the coastal slave castles in Ghana. I can't remember the name of the castle but I remember that behind the white washed walls was a history that shocked me. I looked into the dark dungeons, manacles still attached to the walls, I walked into the rooms and smelled the dampness, almost feeling consumed by the aura desperateness. I looked down the tunnel beneath the castle that led to the beach and where the waiting ships would wait to disperse their human cargo without daylight being seen. I can't remember quite where on the Cape coast I had been taken to see this point of history among the beauty of the palms, ocean and sand but I can remember being shocked and ashamed. A bad memory is not an excuse I am comfortable with - but it does make me think as to what issues today will our descen...

Soloman turned to leave church and as he did so he caught my eye as I put my guitar gear away. Across the crowded church he shouted out "no hard feelings..!" Then he was gone. It was several weeks ago that I got my undeserved roasting from Soloman ( Soloman's Gift ) I was glad that Soloman now has a sense of closure! I'm glad that it seems that Soloman's medication is back on track! I'm glad he still sees me as his friend - until the next time!

What is Missional Church: An Introduction to the Missional Church Conversation A FREE DOWNLOAD One Man's Journey Into Mission By Alan Roxburgh Download Now! "As a young boy growing up in Liverpool, England, I was known as the "quiet child." I spent hours by a tiny coal-fire reading book after book that chronicled the adventures of the great explorers and how they opened paths to far off places. I was engulfed in perilous, promising adventures that shaped my imagination. Little did I know that I would participate in my own kind of adventure as my family immigrated to Canada. As a teenager, the Empress of France swept me away from the world I knew, one that I could control and manage, to the unknown world of suburban Toronto. On the other side of the ocean, the rules had changed..." Just seen this at allelon

One look at Jonny Smith (with Catherine the Corps Officers at Southwark SA) and you can see that he is the marathon man. This year raising money for the hospital in Chikankata . More details here A nice touch is that if you donate he'll add your name to the back of his shirt. So far Mrs Healthy Investment is the only taker. You can donate here . You can check out Charlie Chikankata to see the struggles and the joys of Chikankata Hospital. --- I'm presuming that if you do not want your name associated with Jonny you can still donate but request your name to be withheld.

Scott McKnight makes some interesting observations on emerging church and its fresh expressions here . Prophetic/ provocative rhetoric Postmodernism Praxis-oriented Post-evangelical Political All streams that contribute to the emerging lake. Things to agree with and disagree with but worth a read.

Apart from two great goals and Chelsea marching on. The highlight of the game for me was Eryn asking me to explain the offside rule. Don't you just love those key moments of parenthood!!? --- Incidently, talking about offside - how about Drogba..... offside? hmmmm ...oh well!

for an hour I steeled myself for the "what would really help would be £50 so I can get to see my poor Mother in Fife...!" but it never came. The tears rolled down his face as we prayed. Ben had walked into the reception and needed to talk. I was called and for an hour I heard the story of Ben. For an hour I heard how Ben and his brother had grown up together in the area, how Ben's life had seen him come into faith when he was younger, how now he had walked away from that faith and how yesterday was Ben's brother's funeral. For an hour we talked about grief and loss. For an hour I listened to the twists and turns of Ben's life, the up's and many down's and for an hour I steeled myself for the "what would really help would be £50 so I can get to see my poor Mother in Fife...!" but it never came. "I need to get to a church but just can't see myself doing it." "Ben you can always come and see me - perhaps we can help each o...

For generations the church has been polarized between those who see the main task being the saving of souls for heaven and the nurturing of those souls through the valley of this dark world, on the one hand, and on the other hand those who see the task of improving the lot of human beings and the world, rescuing the poor from their misery. It's been a while since I flagged up the false dichotomy debate but following up some of NT Wright's thought I stumbled into this interview that NT Wright did with Christianity Today. The article called Mere Christianity can be found here . "For generations the church has been polarized between those who see the main task being the saving of souls for heaven and the nurturing of those souls through the valley of this dark world, on the one hand, and on the other hand those who see the task of improving the lot of human beings and the world, rescuing the poor from their misery. The longer that I've gone on as a New Testament scholar a...

One of the most exciting developments in Christian thinking today is the way in which people from many backgrounds are rejecting the old 'either/or' of a spiritual' or a 'social' gospel. Having struggled to keep up with my notes - I read the forward to a Christian Aid resource written by NT Wright. A handful of paragraphs sum up his presentation. You can down load the material here "God has given us a beautiful world to live in, but it's massively overgrown with the thorns "and thistles of human injustice. The problems are too big for us to tackle. But God has promised that one day he will remake the world. Paul's greatest letter reaches one of its highest points (Romans 8:18-30) with the news that God will heal the world and fill it with, his love and beauty. The final scene in The Bible is not of Christians escaping from this world and going to 'heaven', but of the new Jerusalem renewing both heaven and earth and joining them together in...

There is so much I want to remember about Tuesday's conference with NT Wright. His clarity of thought and incisive communication is something that left me breathless with anticipation for each new sentence. Every word word measured and significant. Every phrase constructed with precision, enough to leave me scrambling to keep up with my note taking not wanting to lose anything. Too much was lost :o( Here are my highlights... We must be God's people for God's world .... Any perceived split between social and sacred engagement with the world is deeply unbiblical .... A post-enlightenment cosmology has pulled apart that which should never have been divided .... It's time to put the record straight and bring restoration, healing and love into the world ... danger of making the mistake that the world is for our benefit, rather than we are for the benefit of the world .... Micah 6:8 .... Judgement in the sense of putting to rights .... Jubilee Israel's model for restorat...

I am completely trapped, Hannah has me well and truly pinned. For the next three minutes while the band play a benediction I feel her sobs, I feel her tears on my cheek.. Hannah's small hand shook mine. She was pleased to see me and oozed full hearted love. Hannah is a member at Maidstone Salvation Army and she is welcoming me to the service. Hannah in her thirties has Downs Syndrome. The service has been great, creative and meaningful and people have responded positively to the challenge to think through what it is to 'come to Jesus' , what it is to allow God to minister to us, to identify 'our angels' Matthew 4:11 . As the time of reflection comes to a close we sing 'I surrender all' and I start thinking through the ongoing coincidence of the words we are singing with the words I read in today in two reflections independent to each other, one by Henri Nouwen the other Thomas Merton about the fist. We sing through the verses and I think through concept...

I'm looking forward to this conference on Tuesday... "The Act Justly Church Leaders Conference 2007 is organised by Christian Aid and Faithworks. Bishop Tom Wright will be the keynote speaker at the event which will examine the theology of social justice, explore how it is being worked out in the local community and in international projects and offer resources to help churches connect and engage." More details here

Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to thee; Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move At the impulse of thy love; Take my feet, and let them be Swift and beautiful for thee. Frances Ridley Havergal Transforming the body… Willard looks at the transformation of body through both it’s capacity to act and also its physicality, both essential to spiritual formation and often over looked. Interestingly he suggests that: "The body lies right at the centre of the spiritual life?" Willard, D(. 2002) Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ In other words the body, Willard suggests, remains the primary barrier to conformity to Christ. Strong words - as one quickly learning the gentle (so far) reality of middle aged spread, is he saying that being prone to putting on weight is a detriment to spiritual development? Certainly not! What he is saying is that any attitude to the body that fails to recognis...

Kate found this forgotten but useful site. Movie Theme Index