URBANarmy

I missed this documentary a couple of Christmas

Yesterday was a great day spent in the company of Robert Beckford , clearly someone who loves to teach and has great insights to how theology should shape what we do. There was probably nothing new to what he had to say, but there was profound impact that moved out and beyond his content. Here we have someone who gets hate mail from Christians who resent him challenging their presuppositions. Here we have someone who refuses to accept a glib watery theology. Someone who engages with the text in such a way that raises awkward questions. A theologian who approaches faith as something to deconstruct in order to re-build an understanding of God that is fresh and strong. Not what you would expect from someone who is proudly pentecostal. I can't think that there was anything but challenge for those content to engage with God through what could be seen as the cosmetics of church, without through doing the hard work within the text. I can't think that there was anything but challenge f...

"...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...

"I found it intriguing as Beckford tried to peel back the layers of Christendom that has muffled the message of Jesus...." Robert Beckford's investigation into The Secret Family of Jesus... perhaps may have seemed a tad controversial but I found it intriguing as Beckford tried to peel back the layers of Christendom that has muffled the message of Jesus. The core of his programme was to look into the evidence for the family of Jesus and to raise questions as to why they were 'airbrushed from history' . With the Gospel of Thomas and the Da Vinci Code very much in mind - Beckford's conclusion eventually was pretty much orthodox and that as a Christian he feels that the "greatest conspiracy in Christian history" has been the resultant "loss of Jesus' original human message that spoke out against injustice and oppression, His moral code and heralding the Kingdom of God on earth here and now" . (Read the Evangelical alliance's statemen...

"The terms "prophet" and "prophetic" are loaded terms. They are loaded with meaning often far removed from their original intention and divested of much depth and nuance and occasionally even integrity. They have become blunt instruments in the hands – or mouths – of whoever wants to use them." Geoff Ryan fleshes it out and challenges everyone who has a prophetic word by asking 'What does prophetic ministry really mean?' . It is in a new e-zine called theRubincon . Read more here It reminded me of some words of Robert Beckford I used in a post years back - will the real prophets please stand up . The prophetic is fundamentally an expression of the will of God revealing how things should be. It is also an ethical quest to restore human dignity and accountability and is always wedded to justice.

Robert Beckford really should be read! He warns : "To avoid becoming a lukewarm presence in the community, the urban church must guard against being seduced by the benefits gained from certain associations - sources of revenue or support that become more important that defending the weak or standing for justice - it needs to be a living and committed presence in the community unafraid of taking on any manifestation of evil or injustice, even if it means risking funding or support..." Beckford, R. (2004). God and the Gangs: An Urban Toolkit for Those Who Won't Be Sold Out, Bought Out or Scared Out. Looking at Church™ and all it's manifestations; looking at the pre-occupied church - in whatever form - the 'bought out church' is a timely reminder as to what and where we ought not be! A lukewarm presence in the community, seduced - not really that attractive! How bought out are we...? "I know you inside and out, and find little to my l...

It seems there are sold out churches and then there are sold out churches - which are you comfortable being part of? "...there are pastors and churches that have ignored the counter-cultural value system of the Christian faith...churches should promote an alternative way of thinking and being in order to 'achieve' in a radically different way, with values based on the model that Jesus lays down for believers. When a church is sold out, it has no viable alternatives to offer. It becomes just another 'gang' competing for turf and resources in the community…" Beckford, R. (2004). God and the Gangs: An Urban Toolkit for Those Who Won't Be Sold Out, Bought Out or Scared Out. Sold out...? No viable alternative...? Just another gang...? It comes to something when our evangelism more resembles a 'slick-back-haired' encyclopaedia sales rep than the gospel. It comes to something when our churches are seen as offering no viable alternative. It ...

Robert Beckford observes:- Urban church action is often limited to witness and welfare. Witness action focuses on evangelism. Put simply, the measure of a church is how many people it can get through the church doors. Here, the community is changed as believers come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. This strategy responds to the 'more believers, less crime' approach. The welfare model recognises the importance of acting justly in the community beyond being a good neighbour and paying taxes. It engages in welfare projects designed to assist those in need. The 'clean up the mess' approach. Both these approaches fail to get to grips with the complexity of the theology required to respond to systemic failure. Beckford articulates ‘prophetic action’ as a legitimate response to systemic failure. The model of the biblical prophet inspires prophetic action. The prophetic is fundamentally an expression of the will of God revealing how things ...

The church in modernity was off-balance, reeling from a culture that once revered it and now rejected it. As a result, it simply tried to keep standing, to stand firm, to not collapse to not change, because change felt like defeat or decay. While this resolute firmness is admirable, it can't be the final word for the church in the emerging postmodern world, because standing firm can too easily be an excuse for going stale. Ultimately, the church is called to do far more than either standing firm or being willing to change itself. Like a candle in darkness, salt in meat, yeast in bread, or seeds in a field, the church is called to be a change agent, bringing positive change to Gods world. A is for Abductive Sweet, McClaren Pp I75 Makes me wonder to what extent the church has been guilty of being pre-occupied with proving itself. Proving itself   to each other in that ‘well we are standing firmer than you’ kind of arrogance. I was reading how in 1977 Dr Martyn Lloyd-J...