URBANarmy

I've read a lot of Nouwen's material - although I admit that the bulk being that of Nouwen quotes in other book. This year I have tried to read more Nouwen direct and I have to say that I have not been disappointed. 'Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life' in particular is a beautiful and challenging little book. Page after page of comforting yet disquieting insights as Nouwen leads us to become aware of 'different poles between which our lives vacillate and are held in tension'. Nouwen suggests that these poles can offer a context through which the spiritual life can be communicated and seen by anyone 'striving to live a life in the spirit of Jesus Christ'. "The first polarity deals with our relationship to ourselves. It is the polarity between loneliness and solitude. The second polarity forms the basis of our relationship to others. This is the polarity between hostility and hospitality. The third , final and most important pol...

I think that this observation is significant and easily forgotten: "The personified force of evil, “the satan” is important but not that important. It is wrong to think of the satan as “personal” in the same way that God or Jesus is “personal,” which is not to say that it is a vague or nebulous force. I use the term “subpersonal” as a way of refusing to accord the satan the full dignity of personhood while recognizing that the concentration of activity can and does strike us very much like that which we associate with personhood". NT Wright (2006) Evil and the Justice of God

Reminiscent of the Hirsch and Frost's mantra 'Christology - Missiology - Ecclesiology', Van Gelder points out how important it is to maintain an understanding of the relationship of the 'nature - ministry and organisation' of church. The order has to be right when considering the development of a missiological ecclesiology... "The church is. The church does what it is. The church organises what it does" "In developing a more fully-orbed missiological ecclesiology, three aspects of church life must be defined and related to one another: what the church is - its nature; what the church does - its ministry; and how the church is to structure its work - its organisation. The interrelationship of the three aspects is clear. The church is. The church does what it is. The church organises what it does" (Van Gelder 2000:37) Getting the order wrong can reduce the perspective of church from that of a unique community of God's people to that o...

"Worship has taken on a hybrid character made up of elements of pantomime, 'last night at the proms' and Jerry Springer!" I watched the tear slowly roll down John's face and disappear into his unkempt beard. I listened to his story as alcoholic fumes engulf me; his yellowed eyes misty as he talks about his family that he is too embarrassed to visit. "I'm not well..." John and his mate Danny have been coming to Nunhead SA for a couple of weeks and they are bringing colour to Sunday morning worship. Worship has taken on a hybrid character made up of elements of pantomime, 'last night at the proms' and Jerry Springer! There is a feeling of not what is going to be said next - John is very funny and his enthusiastic, inappropriate wit is what every church needs. Stood talking to John, as he spilled his tea through his shakes, gave me a snap shot of his life. "I've done good things Gordon... but I'll always be remembered for the wr...

View Upload your own "The effects of social exclusion are often all too easy to see: family breakdown, poverty, poor health, addictive behaviour and homelessness. The purpose of The Seeds of Exclusion, the fourth in a series of reports published by The Salvation Army, is to identify how patterns of early-life experience contain the seeds of later problems, and how The Salvation Army and others might tackle them." TSA has published its latest report looking into issues of social fragmentation - it's called Seeds of Exclusion - you can read and download it here .

C. S. Lewis famously suggested two errors when people thought and spoke about the devil. That of imagining him or it as a being equal and opposite to God or to Jesus. The danger outlined is that of an excessive interest and expectation that a satanic influence and activity is behind every problem. That of sneering and mocking the idea of the demonic. The comic caricature conjured from medieval art is probably the foundation of much of the embarrassed dumbing down of any talk of the demonic. NT Wright points to the irony that it was left-wing political theologians who reclaimed a theology of satan in the understanding of systematic failure as being evil. Finding a position between the two extremes causes a tension that is worth exploring. I blame Constantine - he seems to get the blame for everything else!!!? Wright, N.T (2003) The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God)

It comes to something when you need to go to the Dr. to get your toenails cut, because to cut your toenails constitutes a risk to life. Frank is only 3 years older than me but looks like he is nearer 60. Drink in his life has taken its toll and he knows it. Frank is one of the miracles of Faith House, when he first arrived apparently he was all you would expect from an alcoholic whose life was drink and sleeping on the street. I ask about his training ... "they stopped me in case I cut myself...!" It comes to something when you need to go to the Dr. to get your toenails cut, because to cut your toenails constitutes a risk to life. I must have looked non-plussed as Frank tells me how his platelets have been decimated in his blood so that the simplest of cuts could have significant consequences. "It's the drink Gordon, but I am so much better now, I've cut down from 12 to 2 everyday now..." "12 to 2 cans Frank?" "No ... litres!" Frank is a ...