tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25534569732168570152024-02-02T15:14:44.803+00:00Reading Between The LinesTrevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-60118743165143673662014-12-21T14:51:00.003+00:002014-12-21T14:54:55.375+00:00An advent prayer to the God of turnaround<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This Sunday morning was the last in advent and we spent some
time in church reflecting on Psalm 126, a prayer of Israel to the God of reversal
and restoration. The Psalm begins with this famous note of praise about the experience
of exiles returning to Jerusalem: ‘<span class="text"><span style="background-color: white;">When the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span><span class="small-caps"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="background-color: white;">restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.</span></span>’
I mentioned that the word translated by the NRSV as ‘restored’ literally means 'turnaround.' Israel is left pinching itself as it thinks about what God has
done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In light of its memory of homecoming from Babylon,
Israel then prays for another reversal experience, so that those who sow in
tears might reap a harvest of joy. I spoke this morning about how psalm’s
understanding of a God who turns situations on their head when he acts was
obviously shared by Mary who anticipates the work of God in the baby she is
bearing and sings of how the powerful have been removed from thrones while the
lowly are lifted up and the hungry filled with good things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end, I shared this prayer for God to
intervene in our own situations. A couple of people asked me for the words so I
thought they were worth sharing here:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us who so often feel yourselves to be rejected and worthless, would
look again at Jesus and see afresh the welcome of God which is extended to us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us who feel trapped in sin and patterns of addiction and poor choices
would turn again to him and fully commit to him, because if we chase after any
other source of contentment in this life we are on a hiding to nothing. I pray
we would know the satisfaction that comes when we drink the water of life only
he can bring.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us here who feel ourselves gripped by anxiety and worry and fear for
the future, and what might happen… I pray we would know the turnaround of a
peace deep within our hearts that only he can bring.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us who are in situations where we feel yourselves to be, frankly, at
the end of our tether, because we have no more energy or ideas left… I pray we
would know the reversal which comes from a hope and a wisdom only he can bring.
<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us who live in chaos would know the order only he can brings.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us who live with the constant experience of sickness and pain in our
homes would know the comfort and strength only he can bring, and, yes, the
healing too. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of who feel we are in the desert would know his rain falling soon,
bringing life to dry places.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
those of us who so often never look beyond our guilt and failure would look to
Jesus in the manger and Jesus on the cross and receive in a new way the
forgiveness and life he is holding out to us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pray that
at this Christmas time we would know, for sure, that he is the God of
turnaround and reversal and he is God with us. Amen.</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-61830095798231711622014-09-24T12:01:00.005+01:002014-09-24T12:01:53.397+01:00Is it better 'from the heart' or from a script?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">‘He didn’t preach from the heart… it’s not the same unless
they preach from the heart!’ I can still remember the critique offered by my
grandmother on the Sunday that we’d returned from church, having witnessed, in
her opinion, the performance of a second-rate minister. He was exposed as such
by the fact that he’d dared to use notes for his sermon. From time to time,
this critique comes back to haunt me, as most Sundays I step into the pulpit
with a fully script in my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was reminded of my grandmother’s views this morning,
reading and watching the reports of Ed Miliband’s speech yesterday at the
Labour Party Conference. What Ed said has now been overshadowed by what he didn’t
say, as it’s emerged that his attempts to impress again with the party piece of
speaking without notes backfired on him when he forgot whole sections of the
speech which addressed issues such as the economy and immigration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s an astonishing error to make on such an occasion, which
surely raises the question of why he put himself under the pressure of learning
such a lot of lines for a major set-piece event. What do we learn about someone
when they speak without notes? Does it really prove they have more passion, or
just that they have a good memory? It could be argued that on some occasions, a
memorised speech allows for a conversational style, which seems to have been
the effect Miliband was aiming for yesterday. But the impression we’ve been
left with is a disastrous attempt to put presentational gimmicks ahead of
content and substance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I still detect in some churches a preference for preaching
which is <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.1;">extemporaneous</span>. Sometimes, it seems to me that this is a viewpoint
underpinned by anti-intellectualism, the suspicion that too many hours of research
and reflection may end up taking off an edge of passion and zeal. But surely
what matters most is effective preparation, weighing and sifting ideas, so that
we speak a word which is thoughtful and truly can rise to the occasion. And
whether or not what is delivered is done so with or without notes is surely of
secondary importance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But am I missing a point? Are there moments when a script
diminishes a sermon? All views welcome… </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-85834740432918420272014-09-09T18:17:00.001+01:002014-09-09T18:17:38.985+01:00Salamanders, Hell and the perverse appeal of illogical thought<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve been thinking a lot about hell recently. It’s not a
subject which normally preoccupies but a forthcoming sermon series which will
include a reflection on the nature of life after death has prompted me to
follow up in more details some issues which have been at the back of my mind
for the last few years. I’ve been helped in this process by <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rethinking-Hell-Readings-Evangelical-Conditionalism/dp/1625645988/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410282867&sr=8-1&keywords=Rethinking+Hell">Rethinking Hell</a></i>, an excellent resource
published just this year which brings together a collection of various writings
which make a compelling case for evangelical conditionalism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the essays included in this book is written by Philip
Edgcumbe Hughes, who reflects, amongst other things, on the writings of
Augustine on this subject. One of the logical problems which needs to be
overcome by those who insist on the notion of eternal punishment achieved by
flames perpetually licking around the damned is the fact normally consumes that
which it burns. I was intrigued just a few days ago to discover the workaround
that Augustine proposed on this issue. He called upon the science of his day
and informed his readers that certain creatures, and in particular the
salamander, “can live in the fire, in burning without being consumed, in pain
without dying.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So there you have it… a picture of a loving God who not only
sustains the lost for the purposes of ensuring their constant punishment, but
constructs for the purpose a special new type of flame-retardant body, a smart
new version of humanity with a little bit of salamander thrown into the mix. Am
I the only person who finds this notion a little ‘left field,’ to be polite?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And yet the problem with Augustine’s proposal is that its
weirdness is probably part of its appeal to some. It is so illogical, so
outside the realms of natural and predictable patterns of thought that we are
tempted to think of it as having a kind of dazzling brilliance. Some of us
might be tempted to think, ‘Of course, wow, I’d never thought of that…’ and
hence assume it must be right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The flame-resistant Salamander theory reminded me of another
theory on eternal life which was taught to me years ago. I remember sitting in
my bible class as a teenager and being told about the dual tracks open to
people for eternity. One of my concerns about heaven was how it would turn out
to be such an enjoyable place for those present, given their awareness about
all the souls suffering in hell. ‘It’s fine,’ I was told with considerable
confidence. ‘In heaven, you’ll be so busy praising God that you’ll forget about
anyone you ever knew who isn’t there.’ Problem solved, then – we can all party
with a clear conscience. The answer was offered with such supreme self-belief
that it didn’t seem right to challenge it, but even then I remember having my
doubts. I wondered about the authority with which this theory was pronounced,
where this ‘insider information’ came from and I found it hard to feel
completely at peace about the notion of what seemed to me like a heartless
heaven, a group of people having a great time but with a somewhat callous
disregard to those who hadn’t made it to the celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, faith does sometimes require us to lay aside
doubts and believe in the possibility of miracles. The defining event in which
we place our trust is the resurrection of one who had been in the grave for
three days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, it seems to me, there’s a difference between belief in
miracles and belief in that which requires us to put all of our critical
faculties on hold. We all know the maxim about a lie being half way round the
world before truth has got its boots on. How many other misapprehensions are
sustained because of the apparent confidence of someone who claimed a special
kind of higher knowledge and the reluctance of others to ask questions for fear
that their sensible logic would be talked down and labelled as doubt?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-38689988080317635242014-07-29T16:51:00.004+01:002014-07-29T16:51:32.461+01:00Too much tea and sympathy?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Imagine the scenario. It’s the weekly drop in at church and
she walks in, looking decidedly sorry for herself, and before long she starts
to tell you the sad and sorry tale of how she became so down on her luck… the
mistaken decision to relocate for what she and her husband thought were better
prospects, the tragedy of his death as well as that of her two boys. And she
sums up the story by telling you that everything that has happened has left her
with ‘such a bitter taste in my mouth. God’s obviously got it in for me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you ever met people like Naomi? I was talking about her
story on Saturday evening, whilst spending time with some old friends in Exeter
and speaking at the excellent Andy’s Café. We discussed how lots of us know
people who seem to suffer some kind of adversity in their life and how that
then becomes the thing which defines them. As I’ve thought recently about the
story of Ruth and Naomi one of the questions I’ve been asking myself concerns
the moment when their fortunes really began to turn around. Does it occur when
Ruth goes off to glean in the fields and the writer of her story tells us that
‘as it happened’ she found herself in fields belonging to Boaz? Does the change
begin when she returns home and tells Naomi about the name of the farmer she’s
been working for? Or does it happen in the moment when Naomi decides that she’s
no longer going to be defined by the events of Moab and is going to take
control and make sure, in no uncertain terms, that Ruth will attract the
attention of her kinsman-redeemer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ruth’s story offers a compelling example of how God can work
in astonishing and creative ways, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
But it also appears to suggest that Naomi and Ruth couldn’t just wait passively
for God to solve all their problems. The turnaround in their fortunes occurred because
they were alert to a way might God choose to work on their behalf,
demonstrating an ‘eye for the main chance’ which seems to characterise a number
of Old Testament heroes of the faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what is the message of Ruth? I realise we need to be
careful not to overdo this interpretation of the text. To do so merely reduces
Ruth to one more self-help guide. But I also wonder how many of our
conversations in church err too much on the side of tea and sympathy, and don’t
offer the challenge people sometimes need to be given to be more proactive in
looking for the ways God might want to help them overcome their problems.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-2353174750410697622014-02-22T14:31:00.002+00:002014-02-22T14:31:50.436+00:00The Lego Movie and the case for Open Theism<div class="MsoNormal">
Our last Saturday of half-term has involved a trip to the
cinema. Having seen the trailer for <i>The Lego
Movie</i> and initially recoiled in horror at what I presumed would be a thinly-veiled
product placement extravaganza, I decided watch the film on the basis of a
number of positive reviews and wasn’t disappointed. Of course, a film based on
a toy brand does have huge commercial overtones, but I came away impressed. Like
many recent animations, the <i>The Lego
Movie</i> is probably best appreciated by adults, who will pick up on the
endless parodies and pop culture references, but everyone will enjoy the action
sequences and some wonderfully funny dialogue. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was also surprised to find myself doing some serious
theological reflection in light of what I watched. <i>The Lego Movie </i>raises important questions about how a world might
be sustained or constrained by its maker. It encourages us to think about
whether we want a God who controls and pre-plans every aspect of our lives, or
a God who delegates to us the role of viceroy over creation and who loves us enough
to grant us the freedom to choose whether or not to be in relationship to him.
We’ll be exploring these questions on the evening of Sunday 30 March in <a href="http://ywbc.org.uk/">YWBC </a>–
if you want to do some homework before then, the best way to start might be
with a trip to the cinema. <o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-68102192846577106132014-01-26T19:53:00.003+00:002014-01-26T19:53:47.308+00:00Quiet: Reflections on Discipleship for Introverts<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a variety of reasons, I’ve not blogged since late last
year. In part this has been because I’ve not had much to write about, though
the main reason has been the frenetic run up to Christmas followed by a busy January.
But in recent weeks I’ve been provoked to thought by Susan Cain’s excellent
book Quiet, and all the implications it raises for discipleship and church
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I realise I’m late to this particular party. Cain’s ideas
first received widespread media attention nearly two years, as a result of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0KYU2j0TM4">this TED talk</a> which pithily summarises many of the ideas in her book. <i>Quiet</i>’s key argument is that we place
too much value on extrovert personality, allowing ourselves to be dominated by
talkative, overly confident leaders, to the exclusion of less shouty and more
reflective characters. Early in the book, for example, Cain provides an
extended description of the teaching techniques of Harvard Business School,
with a heavy emphasis on group working skills and confident performance that
has bred several generations of mostly alpha male leaders of US corporations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s also interesting to note that the preference for a
charismatic and extrovert leader isn’t restricted to the world of business:
Cain also writes about the high proportion of outgoing church leaders in US
evangelical churches, drawing on the research of pastor Adam McHugh who notes
that in such congregations, “The emphasis is on community, on participating in
more and more programmes and events, on meeting more and more people. It’s a
constant tension for many introverts that there not living that out. And in a
religious world, there’s more at stake when you feel that tension. It doesn’t
feel like ‘I’m not doing as well as l’d like.’ It feels like, ‘God isn’t
pleased with me.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve been mulling over the implications of Cain’s book with
regard to discipleship and the local church. What follows is more a list of
questions than answers, a sort of thinking aloud as I work through my own
response to these issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How can we recover an emphasis on the need to be alone with
God in the inner room? How many people in our churches are neglecting time
alone with God, in the very place Jesus instructed us to go to pray, because of
the need to sustain programmes and go to meetings? Cain notes that quiet times
aren’t just needed by introverts for recharging their batteries, but are
essential for the creativity of many people, quoting the advice of Apple
co-founder Steve Wozniak for inventors everywhere: ‘Work alone. You’re going to
be best able to design revolutionary products and features if you’re working on
your own. Not on a committee. Not on a team.’ I’m not suggesting we cancel all
our midweek meetings and encourage a hermit-lifestyle for all our members, but
do people in our churches feel they even have the permission to spend time by
themselves?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What does this mean for the expectations we have of our
leaders? I’m often aware of the desire of some people in church that I be available
to give them my time and attention, but I wonder how many people appreciate my
need to be alone on their behalf. Isn’t this part of my calling as well, to be
the person who spends time studying and reflecting on behalf of those he serves?
If you haven’t seen your minister recently, it may not be the case that they’re
taking it easy, they may actually be doing a far better job for you than you
could ever imagine. Sermons can’t be hurriedly produced with a few spare hours
grabbed here and there, they need to be gestated and then carefully birthed,
all of which requires seclusion.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have we traded in meaningful dialogue for group work? Again,
I don’t want to be misunderstood on this issue, especially as I’m someone who
believes passionately in the value of multi-voiced church. But I felt uncomfortable
when reading of Cain’s concern about the emphasis of group work in education,
how introverted children struggle in our schools because they’re forced to
undertaken extensive group work, at the expense of learning alone. I cringed
when reading her account of the group learning at Harvard, and its tendency to
give prominence and privilege to those who speak loudest and most frequently,
leaving little or no opportunity to hear from those who may actually have the
better ideas. What does mean for many of our churches where one of the primary
modes of discipleship has become the house group? Are our conversations
dominated by the wisest people or just the most talkative? Could more be
achieved by liberating introverts to spend more time in smaller groups of two
or three people, where they would have a safer space in which to reflect and
share their insights with each other?</span></li>
</ol>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-79550188046224119962013-11-18T15:45:00.001+00:002013-11-19T15:08:22.153+00:00Learning about the powers from an 'unsophisticated' Pope<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we draw near the end of our series in YWBC on Ephesians,
a recurring theme in recent weeks has been ‘challenging powers,’ one of the
elements of the mission statement we’ve been developing in church over the last
year. Over the weekend I was struck by a great example of this practice when
reading <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/15/atheists-pope-francis-obama-liberal-voice-change">Jonathan Freedland’s Saturday comment in the Guardian</a>, on Pope Francis.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since becoming Pope, Francis has hit the headlines on a
recurring basis, both because of his decision to shun the opulence which has
previously characterised the papal office, and also his frequent remarks on the
issues of justice and the need for the church to offer a more humble and humane
stance to those who have previously felt ostracised by it. Freedland’s article
cites as examples comments made in May this year about the ‘<a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/05/22/pope-francis-warns-of-the-dangers-of-unbridled-capitalism/">dangers of unbridled capitalism</a>’ and as well as a recent <a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/393730042770903040">tweet </a>lamenting the ‘bitter
fruits’ of ‘the “throw-away” culture.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps, it’s not surprising that Francis’s stance hasn’t
earned him universal approval. Freedland also quotes <a href="http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/why-does-pope-francis-criticise-the-malign-effects-of-capitalism-on-countries-that-don%E2%80%99t-know-c">recent criticism of the Popeby the free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs</a>, who bemoan the
fact that he lacks the more ‘sophisticated’ approach of his predecessors. What
struck me most forcefully about the IEA article was the way in which author
Philip Booth attacks the ‘error of arguing that ‘systems’ can have ‘goals’ or
‘idols’. It is acting, rational people who make good or bad moral choices. It
is certainly legitimate for priests to criticise greed amongst the several
billion people taking economic decisions each and every day, if they feel this
is an important moral issue. However, ‘systems’ do not take such moral
decisions independently of human persons. The system produces what is willed by
the persons who participate in economic life.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Booth’s comments strike me as misguided for several reasons.
Strangely, they seem to contradict the attitudes of most free market champions
I’ve known, who usually speak with awe and reverence about market ‘forces’. The
market is spoken of as the higher power, the supreme arbiter who can shake out
the wheat from the chaff, the viable from the unviable, who can benevolently
ensure the trickle down of wealth from top to bottom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Secondly, I wonder how many of us really feel ourselves to
be independent or fully in control in the spending choices we make. We are all
constrained by our upbringing, social location, circumstances or by limits to
the choices which are available to us. Is someone genuinely free when they
spend excessively to sustain an image which they hope will win the approval of
others? Is someone trapped by unemployment and taking out the pay day loan they
need to feed their family for the remainder of a month really making an ‘independent
moral decision’?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, Booth’s comments seem to me to be contradicted by
scripture. On Sunday, Duncan will be concluding our series and talking about
Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesian believers to put on the armour of God. In Ephesians
6 he famously writes that, ‘<span style="background: white; color: #010000;">our</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> struggle
is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.</span>’ In <i>Naming the Powers</i>,
Walter Wink describes Paul’s language here as a ‘<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Light";">heaping up of terms to describe the
ineffable, invisible world-enveloping reach of a spiritual network of powers.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Light";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In this current age, it may not be possible to fully overcome
the powers, given the great reach they have into every aspect of our lives and
society. There may be moments when the best we can do is to simply ‘stand,’ to
use the language of Paul. We resist, we determine that where and when we can we
will make the choices that best reflect the values of the age to come. My hope
is that by talking together about challenging powers, perhaps in time coming to
the point where we can be more honest with each other about our own struggles
and the ways we feel controlled by the culture of our day, we can all discover
a new strength and resolve in living in the way Paul describes in Ephesians, ‘a
life worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called.’ Perhaps not a perspective
as ‘sophisticated’ as those held by the Institute of Economic Affairs, but one
which is, ultimately, far more liberating.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-49180929366854138512013-11-06T11:00:00.002+00:002013-11-06T11:00:40.627+00:00The parable of the strivers and skivers<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As usual on a
Wednesday at YWBC, we shared Morning Office earlier today. This was my
reflection on one of our readings, from Matthew 20.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me tell you again what the kingdom of heaven is like.
One day a businessman came up with an idea for a new venture, one which had the
potential to revolutionise the sector in which he was competing. He went out
looking for people who might be able to help make his dream a reality:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -18pt;">People with skills and imagination, with the
creativity and insight to exploit gaps in the market when they arose.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -18pt;">People who work hard – people who get out of bed
early in the morning, when others are still asleep. People who are willing to
put in the hours for the cause, people who pay their taxes and don’t cause a
drain on the public finances.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -18pt;">People who are respectable – the kind of people
you and I would want to be the face of our company, the kind of people who
would ensure the good reputation of the business.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over time the business grew – as wealth was created, new
opportunities arose. But it’s not always easy to get hold of the sort of staff
you need to enable you to sustain growth. The businessman found himself
struggling when he looked around for people who might be of use to him. There
were graduates who weren’t able to adjust to the demands of a competitive
business, there were people lacking the necessary drive and determination,
there were people with no employment history, people with no history of standing
on their own two feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time went on and the business grew and the owner took the
decision to look for even more staff. One day, he walked out of his office and across
the road to the pub where men spent the mornings playing pool and the
afternoons drinking beer. ‘Why are you sitting here, idle?’ he asked them.
‘Because no one has given us a job,’ came the reply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So he took them on – the men from the pub across the road,
the people on the welfare to work scheme, the immigrants whose presence in the
town had become the source of so much tension.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One month later, he got together all of his workforce for a
special announcement: every single person in the company, those who had been
there from the start, those who had just joined, the finance director, the
delivery driver, the head of sales and marketing, the cleaner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Our company is prospering,’ and he said, ‘and to enable us
to grow further, I’ve decided that we should float on the London Stock
Exchange. This is a marvellous opportunity. And to say thank you to all of you,
I’ve decided that you should each have 200 shares in the new PLC.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The directors of the company were appalled. They pointed at
those who had only just signed up to work with them. ‘This is so unfair,’ they
said. ‘We have worked hard, grafted, put in the hours, borne the burden of
getting this business off the ground. And yet you treat us in the same way as
these freeloaders who haven’t been here for five minutes.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And the reply of the businessman: ‘But you knew the deal.
Take your shares and go. I’ve paid you everything I said I would, and if I want
others to share in my wealth why is that such a problem for you? Why are you
reacting in such an angry way to my generosity?’</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-16493883624715098932013-10-27T08:57:00.001+00:002013-10-27T08:57:25.492+00:00‘Jesus is not a pansy.’ Appropriate language for gospel people?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve not
posted much in recent months, a combination of busyness and waiting for an
issue to arise that I feel strongly enough about to write. But a few days ago, I
read Mark Driscoll’s post, <a href="http://theresurgence.com/2013/10/22/is-god-a-pacifist">‘Is God a Pacifist?’</a> where he explains distinctions
between killing and murdering, before coming to the conclusion that the coming
of the kingdom ‘<span style="background-color: white;">is only possible if an
all-powerful, benevolent Authority vanquishes his enemies. In other words, the
Prince of Peace is not a pacifist.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Greg Boyd has already provided a <a href="http://reknew.org/2013/10/responding-to-driscolls-is-god-a-pacifist-part-i/">response </a>to Driscoll which is
more articulate and cogent than anything I could produce. Leaving aside
Driscoll’s failure to acknowledge than the vanquishing he speaks of is actually
achieved through the non-retaliation that takes Jesus to the cross, where he
disarms the rulers and authorities and triumphs over them, his article has also
got me thinking about the sort of language which is appropriate for us to use
when we talk about Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The line which stood out most to me in Driscoll’s article, and which has
been disturbing me ever since, is the statement that, ‘Jesus is not a pansy or
a pacifist.’ Maybe my perspective is skewed by the three years I spent at
Junior High School as a prime target for bullying (in case you’re wondering I
wasn’t a pansy, I was the school swot instead, and I’m still getting over the
scarring that comes from a sustained period wearing 1980s style NHS children’s
glasses). But since when has it been acceptable to use the word ‘pansy’ when
talking about Jesus? I’m not just angered by the thinly-veiled homophobia, but
rather the bigger implication than anything which smacks of being gentle,
sympathetic or kind-hearted isn’t somehow tough or impressive enough to keep up
with people’s expectations of all action hero figure God. Are there any other
clarifications we need to offer about Jesus: that he wasn’t a namby-pamby or a
goody-two-shoes?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know that
I write from the perspective of a European with a humanities degree (it appears
from later in his article that these are two further attributes which could
earn someone the dis-approval of Driscoll). But can there ever be any place for
this sort of vocabulary when we speak of Jesus? To me it betrays the insecurity
of the playground intimidator, who doesn’t like what he sees when he comes
face-to-face with the ways in which God has worked to bring in his new kingdom,
a disappointment that God has revealed himself to be different from the tough
guys who are celebrated by our culture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier this
week, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10399539/John-Bercow-rebukes-Cameron-for-calling-Miliband-a-conman.html">David Cameron was rebuked in the Commons for his use of the phrase ‘con-man’in relation to Ed Miliband.</a> It wasn’t the first time this sort of thing has
happened to our Prime Minister. Under pressure, he has a tendency to hit out
with disdain, but these moments stay with us, the use of language which reveals
our true colours to others. All of which goes to underline the need for each of
us to use such care and precision in the words we use to talk about God, and
in our relating to each other.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-45004479750128117552013-08-31T19:20:00.000+01:002013-08-31T19:20:05.132+01:00A rant for Saturday evening<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve spent most of Saturday at the wedding of friends, a
happy and relaxing occasion, and a lovely service conducted by an excellent
minister. The whole thing was superb, with the exception of verse 3 of the
opening hymn. Allow me to explain…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps I’ve been on a different planet from other
hymn-singers during my 41 years here on earth, but I’d never heard this version
of ‘All things bright and beautiful,’ and my eyes were somewhat agog when they
read these extra four lines (suffice to say, they’re not in the <i>Songs of
Fellowship</i> version):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rich man in his castle,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The poor man at his gate,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">God made them high and lowly<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And ordered their estate.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I know the Church of England is sometimes described as ‘The
Tory Party at prayer.’ I just didn’t realise it may be also be Tory Party at
sung worship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wouldn’t say I was upset to read this. More like angry,
enraged, appalled, embarrassed and cringing as I looked round at the
congregation, most of whom I’d guess aren’t regular church-goers. Can I simply
say that this verse struck me as the most offensive, unbiblical,
theologically-dubious, patronising, anti-prophetic, status-quo affirming lyric I
have ever encountered?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">.., and now that’s off my chest, I can relax for the
evening.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-58187561461578251522013-08-27T21:30:00.002+01:002013-08-27T21:30:55.622+01:00Everything I learned about leadership I learned from Johan Cruyff<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We’ve spent the last two weeks on holiday, offering much
needed time to reflect and think, and also the opportunity to catch up on
reading. Every summer, I try to take in at least one book on pastoral practice,
to make me think about my priorities, and this year was no exception. I wasn’t
disappointed by David Hansen’s <i>Art of Pastoring</i>, challenging and full of
wisdom, but the most thought-provoking reading on leadership came from an
unexpected source.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Graham Hunter’s <i>Barca </i>tells the modern history of Barcelona Football
Club, culminating in the recent reign of Pep Guardiola’s wonderful side who won
11 trophies in the four seasons from 2008 to 2012. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The story of Barcelona’s recent success is the ultimate
demonstration of the importance of corporate culture. To find the roots of
Guardiola’s success, you need to go back to 1988 when the club persuaded one of
its greatest players, Johan Cruyff, to return as manager. Barca won four La
Liga titles and one European Cup with Cruyff at the helm, but those headlines
can’t begin to do justice to the legacy he left behind. A more important
contribution was his overhaul of the club’s famous youth development system,
the <i>cantera </i>(literally ‘quarry’) based at La Masia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Cruyff arrived at Barcelona, each age-group at La Masia
played a different style of football, depending on the coach. Cruyff, however,
insisted on a wholly different approach, with the same tactics taught to
players at each stage of their development. Even at the age of 12 or 13,
players at La Masia now play seven-aside football with a 3-2-1 formation that
closely matches that of the senior side (two overlapping full backs either side
of a ‘pivot’ in defence, and Xavi and Iniesta type midfielders behind one
forward).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So next time you watch Barcelona’s irresistible football,
and a beautifully fashioned goal, try to appreciate that it wasn’t conceived a
week ago on the training pitch. It’s been years in the making, it’s not a way
of playing a game but rather a philosophy. Barcelona Football Club doesn’t
train its players, it moulds them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And all of this has got me thinking again about the role of
a pastor. Is it just to get results next Sunday, or rather to shape the culture
of a church, to establish norms and practices which will still be forming
disciples many years later?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Short term thinking produces results of sorts, but all too
often it’s something shallow, lacking deep enough roots to sustain longer-term
fruitfulness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There’s a final insight offered by Hunter which seems
especially relevant to this issue of leadership and culture. He writes about
the constant queue of coaches from clubs around the world who want to come and
visit Barcelona, to see how they operate. But he points out that ‘… unless the
club from which the person is sent is ready for a total overhaul of its
scouting, development and training structure, as well as its basic football
philosophy, then picking up ‘bits and pieces’ of the Barca credo is a waste of
time.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Purpose Driven Football Club? </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-16694336901632227572013-06-24T17:53:00.000+01:002013-06-24T17:53:06.627+01:00Engagement and/or entertainment<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the risk of coming over all ‘grumpy old man,’ a couple of
thoughts have occurred to me in light of the frenzy of excitement which has
arisen in the last 24 hours, in light of the internet sensation that is Kate Bottley’s
Flashmob performance at a wedding she recently officiated. (If you have been in
a cave/on the moon/in your own world, over the weekend, you can catch up on the
story <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-23020504">here</a>.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kate Bottley is great – obviously a warm and winsome
personality, and I wish I had her charisma and could dance like she can, but she
has clearly has more rhythm in her big toe than exists in all of my gangling
six foot two inches frame. If I tried to imitate her approach, the results
would be embarrassing for me and all concerned, and besides, ministry is not
about imitation, but finding the best expression of the values of the kingdom
in whatever context we find ourselves in. More than anything else, people are
looking for a church which is authentic.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The church does need to find patterns of worship which
engage all of our senses, and which are participatory, but we don’t all want to
dance and we’re not all extroverts. What some people regard as wonderful fun is
living hell for others. I’ve met a number of people in church in recent months
who’ve wanted to come and hide for a while, find a quiet space to recover from life's wounds, and receive God’s
grace and healing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The sooner we have women bishops the better, but leading a
dance at a wedding does not automatically qualify someone for the role.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Being relevant and fun really impresses some people, but
makes us open to parody in the eyes of others. If you’re not sure what I mean,
watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR2WgD_Ignk">this</a>.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-1108039482991598432013-06-23T19:27:00.001+01:002013-06-23T19:27:28.350+01:00Bible reading skills in a digital age<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s been a
busy couple of weeks recently, in church and family life, with little
opportunity to blog or reflect, but I thought it was worth sharing a
particularly thought-provoking piece by Jonathan Freedland in yesterday’s
<i>Guardian</i><span style="font-size: small;">, which you can read <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/21/memory-sexuality-digital-age-changing-human">here</a>. His column reflects on the impact of digital
technology on the depth of what we know and share. There’s little need to study
facts or information and come to our conclusions, when information is
invariably one click away (a trend brilliantly summed up by Stephen Colbert’s
concept of ‘<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truthiness#BBC_.22portrait_of_the_decade.22">truthiness</a>’), and we’ve traded in forms of communication like
letter writing, for emails, texts and social networks. The result is that we
share our lives with far more people than ever before, but often on a far more
superficial level.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was
particularly struck by Freedland’s comment on how tools like Twitter have
reduced the time that we take to process and reflect on significant events. A news
story trends quickly, inspiring a flurry of hashtagged comment and analysis
which quickly evaporates, as the news cycle moves on to the next big event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps most
disconcerting of all is a closing observation by the American intellectual Leon
Wieseltier, that the very skill of reading itself is under threat, as we become
addicted to acquiring, commenting and then discarding information at an ever
increasing speed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What are the
implications of these trends for discipleship? How do we embrace the benefits
of the digital age, whilst also forming habits that are intentionally different
in key ways?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Perhaps we
can begin with a love for Scripture which plays itself out in a deliberate
slowing down of our reading speed. The Psalmist famously wrote (119:11), ‘<span style="background: white; color: #010000;">I treasure your word in my heart</span>,’
which suggests a ponderous, reflective process of of pausing and lingering over
words. We don’t encourage people to read Dickens or Shakespeare in a year, but
we do think that’s a good thing to do with the Bible. I understand the desire
to help people acquire an overview of the whole biblical story, but it’s not a
text which works well with speed-reading: take it a verse at a time, a parable
at a time, recognise that you’re engaged in the task of a lifetime. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And if there’s
a part of the story you’ve not yet read, why is that a problem when you worship
God and serve him in a community with someone who has? Perhaps a bigger risk
than thinking the Bible is a book to be read in a hurry is the idea that it’s a
book to be read on our own. We read it, not with the commentary of disembodied
tweets, but with the perspectives of people we’re on a long journey with, and
whose joys and disappointments we share. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-1066784720019440562013-05-28T14:33:00.000+01:002013-05-28T22:29:33.716+01:00Confusing testimony with control – follow up thoughts from Sunday<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two days ago, our series on the Sermon on the Mount arrived
at the end of Matthew 5, and we reflected on Jesus’ deeply challenging words on
the need for us to love our enemies, a theme which seemed especially poignant
in light of last week’s horrific attack on Drummer Lee Rigby on the streets of
Woolwich. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can listen to the sermon <a href="http://www.ywbc.org.uk/media/">here</a>.
After I preached, we had time for questions and answers, and I've been mulling
over two of the points which were made from the floor. Alan spoke about the
transition which is proving so painful to many of us at the moment, as the
church finds itself losing the political power and influence to which it has
become so accustomed in the history of Christendom. And then John, alluding to
Romans 13, pointed out that while we’re called to love our enemies, it remains
the role of those in civic authority to uphold law and order, which sometimes
means withdrawing freedom from criminals, or imposing other penalties on them.
In Paul’s words, the government is ‘the servant of God to execute wrath on the
wrongdoer’ (Romans 13:5).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reflecting on this feedback yesterday, I remembered some
words from Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon’s wonderful book, <i>Resident
Aliens</i>. In it, they describe the Sermon on the Mount as, ‘A vision of the
inbreaking of a new society. They are indicatives, promises, instances,
imaginative examples of life in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">kingdom</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">God</st1:placename></st1:place>. In Matthew 5,
Jesus repeatedly cites an older command, already tough enough to keep in
itself, and then radically deepens its significance, not to lay some gigantic
ethical burden on the backs of potential ethical heroes, but rather to
illustrate what is happening in our midst.’ (p84)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Offering the world a demonstration of the new work of God,
of the values of the kingdom he is bringing to birth is a task which doesn’t
sit easily with dictating terms to everyone. As soon as power is placed in the
hands of the church, it’s only natural that we begin to feel a sense of
presumption or entitlement about the level of control we feel we can exert on
the lives of others, and we want to start playing the roles of judge, jury and
executioner which scripture tells us to leave to others.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">True love for enemies is something we don’t see often, which
makes it so dazzling and compelling in the rare moments we encounter it, an
unveiling of God’s love and mercy. Perhaps a key lesson we can take from Sunday’s
reflection is a fresh awareness that demonstration of this love represents the prime calling of the church, with law and order a task best left to others.</span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-17341182070280186122013-05-16T12:05:00.001+01:002013-05-16T12:05:32.020+01:00Suggestions for our church swear box?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve spent some time this morning getting ready for Sunday
morning at <a href="http://www.ywbc.org.uk/">YWBC</a>. We’re carrying on with our series on the Sermon on the Mount,
and this week we’ve arrived at Matthew 5:33-37, the section where Jesus calls
for our language to be characterised by honesty, and free from guile or
deception. On the same morning, it’s been striking to read reports of Google
executives appearing before the Public Accounts Committee to face questions on
their financial reporting and tax bills, with exasperated MPs asking them to <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/2013-05-16/why-dont-you-call-a-spade-a-spade-google-under-attack/">‘call a spade a spade.’</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I realise that we live at a moment when trust in the
credibility of statements made by public figures is low, but I can’t help
feeling this is one more area of life where it’s easier to distract ourselves
with what goes ‘in the world,’ conveniently forgetting about the need to put
our own affairs in order first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reading the passage again this morning has reminded me of so
many of the pretentious ways we use language in church, how we dress up our
gossip or criticisms in pious language (we don’t pass on bits of juicy
information, instead we say ‘I’m just telling you this for prayer…) or how we
use euphemisms to play down the significance of behaviour which causes hurt or
bad feeling. I thought this morning of a person I once knew who prided
themselves on the fact that ‘folk always know where I stand with them.’ This was
a coded way of acknowledging that lots of people had been crushed by their
criticism over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve also been reminded this morning of Adrian Plass’
excellent, and very funny, book, <i>Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation</i>, where he provides an A to Z of
definitions on the Christian life. For example, ‘Pillar of the church’ is
defined as ‘(1) person who is consistent and reliable in their commitment to
the well-being of the congregation (2) big thick thing that holds everything up
and restricts vision.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think that a major step in combatting this problem is to
start by naming it for what it is, to be upfront with each other about the
games we sometimes play. So, why not have a church swear box? But let’s make
sure that it’s not just about the outlawing of ‘rude’ words, but the prevention
of self-righteousness and pretensions. Let me know your suggestions in the
comments section below.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-74865110554576902982013-05-07T20:15:00.000+01:002013-05-07T20:15:14.470+01:00On social media and self-projection in ministry<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over the weekend I’ve been doing some reading which has
helped me crystallise thoughts which have been on the back of my mind for the
couple of months since I took the plunge and entered the Twittersphere. I’ve been
working through James Smith’s <i>Imagining
the Kingdom</i>, the second of his Cultural Liturgies series, which follows
2009’s <i>Desiring the Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The central thrust of Smith’s argument is that our
discipleship often fails to be effective because it focuses on head knowledge. We
believe that if we get people to think correctly they will be able to live well
for Jesus, forgetting that we have bodies as well as minds and that our
passions and impulses are competed for by a culture which is constantly and
compellingly offering us an alternative story to the Christian one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A part of the book which I found especially helpful was
Smith’s analysis of social media. At one point he writes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">‘… both Facebook and Twitter can seem to foster habits of
self-display that closely resemble the vice of vainglory. Or at the very least,
they amplify the self-consciousness and ironic distance that characterises late
modern capitalism – to a debilitating degree.’<i> </i>(p145)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Later on the same page, Smith fleshes out these observations
in a discussion of the impact of social media on the average Western teenager: ‘Her
Twitter feed incessantly updates her about all of the exciting, hip things she
is <i>not</i> doing with the “popular”
girls; her Facebook pings nonstop with photos that highlight how boring her
homebound existence is. And so she is compelled to be constantly “on,” to be “updating”
and “checking in.” The competition for coolness never stops.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Years ago at College, I remember the regular advice of one
of our tutors that the last thing to ask anyone at a minister’s meeting was the
question: ‘How many people do you get on a Sunday morning?’ I suspect the
loneliness and thanklessness of this role make those who hold it more
susceptible than most to insecurity, even to the occasional prima donna moment.
Added to that can be the need we often feel to justify ourselves and our use of
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then enter Twitter. Am I being overly-anxious when I detect
a variety of trends in the content of our tweets? There are…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ones which show how edgy we are: e.g. I’ve just spent
the morning at our new missional/radical/enterprising project</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ones which show how connected we are: e.g. great to meet
today with @’insert name of high profile colleague here’</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ones which show how techy we are: I’ve shared x, y or z,
on my most recent gadget acquisition or on the latest app I’ve discovered.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And as I read this, there’s a nagging question at the back
of my mind: For whose benefit do we broadcast all this news? Of course, I realise
that one of the great advantages of a tool like Twitter is to share ideas and
information. I do it myself with updates to friends and members of our church,
so I don’t want these words to be misunderstood as cynical, or critical. But when
most of us have felt the lack of honesty in our churches, the feeling we have
that we often can’t be real about how awful we feel, the lack of lament in our
worship, isn’t it troubling that we may now have discovered a tool which takes
this problem to a whole new level?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So a plea… how can we redeem this medium with a bit more
honesty and balance? Or am I being naïve to think we could actually reach the
point where we feel sufficiently honest to tweet that it’s been a lousy day and
we could really do with a prayer or encouragement, or that all I’ve done today
is follow the same routines I’ve done for weeks, months and years, because a
major part of our calling is simply to be faithful?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-8624552853730323692013-04-18T14:32:00.000+01:002013-04-18T14:32:23.951+01:00On Salt and Light and being 'Sorted'<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I spent this morning getting ready for Sunday in <a href="http://www.ywbc.org.uk/">YWBC</a>, when
we’ll be carrying on our series on the Sermon on the Mount with a reflection on
Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus’ famous words on the role of the church, to be ‘the salt
of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I’ve mulled over the passage, a question has occurred to
me which we might want to think of ahead of Sunday: is be better to be
deliberately different to others, or does being salt and light mean we model a
lifestyle which is a redeemed and more attractive version of what everyone else
is doing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My reason for posing this question arises from time checking
out the website of <i><a href="http://www.sorted-magazine.com/single.htm?ipg=9619">Sorted</a>,</i> which
makes the claim to be ‘The UK’s Only Christian Magazine for Men.’</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<img src="http://www.sorted-magazine.com/lib/img.php?im=/home/www/ipages.biz/idomains/sites/169/product/10007/1.jpg&tn=1127,513,1&us=1" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At this point, it’s probably only right to declare my
prejudices ahead of browsing the site. I’ve had one or two bad experiences of
men’s Christian gatherings. I realise they’re very helpful to some chaps, but
my abiding memory of Mandate in Belfast several years ago was a lecture from a
retired US Army General who didn’t actually tell us all to ‘man up’ even if
that was the gist of his message. Think of Robert de Niro from <i>Meet the Parents</i> in a pulpit and you’ll
get a picture of what I’m talking about. I’ve decided I like a mixture of
testosterone and oestrogen in church, I’m not ‘wild at heart’ and I’ve never
been able to share the angst of those who feel the church is somehow
overly-feminised. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps because of that, I came to <i>Sorted</i> in particular need of convincing. But I didn’t expect to be
so taken aback by the way in which it’s so obviously in thrall to our culture’s
idea of what it means to be successful and a proper man. Can someone explain to
me the redemptive nature of articles like ‘the ultimate guide to cool winter
coats’ or a review of the latest smartphones?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The underlying message is clear – to be a credible witness
means we need the latest gadgets, clothing, and a body that we wouldn’t be
ashamed of at the gym? But in the Sermon on the Mount, doesn’t Jesus go on to
say that it’s ‘the Gentiles who strive for all these things,’ before calling us
to ‘strive first for the Kingdom of God’? How can we ever redeem shallow
notions of what it means to be successful or masculine, if we’re so obsessed
with our need to somehow prove ourselves as being capable of reaching those
standards ourselves?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This isn’t call for all of us to live like Amish
communities, trading in our cars for horses and carriages. But there are
serious grounds for concern here. Five years on from a financial meltdown of global
proportions, having chased the idols of credit and conspicuous consumption,
lots of people in our country face the prospect of struggling on, either unemployed,
underemployed or overworked. When so many are asking big questions about the
sustainability of our current economic mode, are we really being salt and light
if our message is simply that you too can have Jesus, an iPhone and a great six
pack?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-8125060422499139082013-03-11T14:00:00.003+00:002013-03-11T14:00:17.743+00:00Exodus 21: Rules and regulations<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The American satirist PJ O’Rourke
once remarked that, ‘God is an elderly or, at any rate, middle-aged male, a
stern fellow, patriarchal rather than paternal and a great believer in rules
and regulations.’ <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We spent last night in church looking
at Exodus 21, one of those passages which contains a long list of instructions
for various scenarios. Perhaps, PJ O’Rourke has read Exodus 21 too, and he
reckons it’s texts like this which represent such a drag on God’s reputation. But
as I’ve spent time thinking about Exodus 21, I’ve begun to think about similar
OT passages in a new way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the strangest things about
Exodus 21 is the subject matter of the opening verses: how to treat slaves. Given
that the people of Israel have just been delivered from the bondage of Egypt,
this is the last thing you would expect to read. It seems like such a letdown
to contemplate that in the post-Exodus landscape there will still be those who
are owned by others, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that this is still a
world which is governed by some harsh economic realities. However, Exodus 21
does at least affirm that in Israel’s life slaves are to have certain
fundamental rights, disappointing to us but a significant piece of progress in
1200 BC.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thinking about these instructions, I remembered
Jesus’ words about divorce in Matthew 19, where he says that Moses only allowed
such measures, ‘because you were so hard-hearted.’ These rules and regulations
don’t exist to make us better people, they exist to safeguard us and the
community when things, inevitably, go wrong. I was also reminded of how, in his
letters, Paul seems to have recognised the gap between God’s ideal and what was
achievable in the circumstances of his day. In a moment of lyrical rhetoric he
proclaimed to the Galatian Christians that ‘there is no longer slave or free,’
but several years later, when he writes to the Ephesians and Philemon, he
appears to be much more pragmatic on the issue of slavery. He is still a voice
for change, in that he calls on masters not to threaten those they own, but his
thinking also seems to be grounded in the realistic understanding that the
abolition of slavery would have had catastrophic economic consequences at that
point in history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What has also struck me as I’ve
reflected on these passages is the room for manoeuvre offered by many of the
rules and regulations. For example, Exodus 21:12 instructs that a sentence of
death for anyone guilty of deliberate murder, but the following verse offers
the potential for leniency, if the act was ‘not premeditated but came about by
an act of God,’ a clause which seems to provide ample scope for flexible
interpretation. When I read the Gospels, it seems to me that Jesus never speaks
of the law as harsh or restrictive (in fact he says he hasn’t come to take away
one letter of it), but he is at his angriest when he finds the Pharisees
applying the law with no flexibility, no willingness to look with compassion on
what lies behind people’s actions on certain occasions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wonder what lessons there are for
us from Exodus 21. It seems to me that one of the basic assumptions behind
these rules is that you will never guarantee perfect behaviour. People will
sin, people will make mistakes. But Israel is given a set of guidelines for
knowing how best to minimise the impact of the mistakes on individuals and the
whole of the community and we might want to think in that light about our own
commitment to Christian standards. So often, it feels like our default option
when relating to the world is to throw the rule book at people. We think we
have the right to control others, and we forgot our calling is to model
something more attractive, and to lovingly help when things go wrong.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-41044582769778874142013-02-26T13:20:00.002+00:002013-02-26T13:20:28.969+00:00A helpful resource on Exodus and violence<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A question which has come up a couple of times in recent
months, as we’ve been exploring Exodus in Yardley Wood BC, is the issue of
divine violence in the Old Testament. I noticed today that Greg Boyd, whose
writing I’ve found to be tremendously helpful, has promised a series of posts
on this topic on his excellent ReKnew website. You can find out more at: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://reknew.org/2013/02/reflections-on-divine-violence-in-the-old-testament/">http://reknew.org/2013/02/reflections-on-divine-violence-in-the-old-testament/</a></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-45214318925963613652013-02-20T10:38:00.003+00:002013-02-20T10:38:36.264+00:00God, Egypt and nature... some follow up thoughts<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time off this week has offered a welcome opportunity to
catch up on viewing and reading, and a couple of items have caught my
attention, provoking further thought about a subject we reflected on in YWBC a
few weeks ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the concerns expressed by a number of people in our
discussion on the plague stories of Exodus was the suffering experienced by
nature and animals during the sequence of afflictions which befell Egypt. For
example, animals, as well as humans, are afflicted by gnats and boils, the land
is ‘ruined’ by flies, trees and plants are ‘shattered’ by thunder and hail.
And, of course, even the firstborn of all the livestock, as well as humans, are
struck down.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When we discussed this in church a few weeks ago, I made the
suggestion that nature is caught up in the suffering which results from Pharaoh’s
intransigence, but also as part of a process by which God will eventually
secure for it a better future under the protective care of the people of
Israel. At the time of the Exodus, Egypt was regarded as the ‘bread basket’ of
the world, a thriving economy that provided food to the surrounding region. It doesn’t
take a great deal of imagination to think about the intensive farming methods
that would have been employed by Egypt. In contrast, the new order planned by
God for Israel is one where the land lies fallow for recovery every seven years
and donkeys get to rest on the Sabbath (Exod 23:10-12).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve been reminded in recent weeks how we read the Bible
from a very human-centred perspective, which can blind us to the bigger story
God is unfolding, a story of freedom for all creation, for which it longs,
groaning as if in labour (Rom 8:22). Over the weekend, we spent an hour
enjoying the ‘last chance to watch’ the BBC’s wonderful documentary <i>Africa</i>,
on iPlayer. One of the most moving lessons of <i>Africa</i> was the way it
demonstrated the terrible hardship, a daily battle for survival, which is
experienced by so many animals in our world. Watching <i>Africa</i>, and its
account of elephants and zebras walking for days on end in a search for water, I
was reminded of God’s words at the end of Job 38: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><sup><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777;">39</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000;">‘Can you
hunt the prey for the lion,</span></span><span style="color: #010000;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"> or satisfy the appetite of the
young lions,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
</span><sup><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777;">40</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000;">when they
crouch in their dens,</span></span><span style="color: #010000;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"> or lie in wait in their covert?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
</span><sup><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777;">41</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #010000;">Who provides
for the raven its prey,</span></span><span style="color: #010000;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"> when its young ones cry to God,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"> and wander about for lack of
food?<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seems that part of the lesson God is trying to teach Job
is that there is work that he is doing in our world, a work of care and
provision for his creation, that humans are often oblivious to.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A second point which emerges from Job is the way God is
portrayed as wrestling with his creation, seeking to bring order to a world
which is beset by chaos. This is an issue which has wider implications for how
we understand God’s relationship to our world. Is creation perfectly ordered, a
clockwork universe which has been set in motion by a God who now regulates
every tiny event of every life, or is God still seeking to lovingly assert his
authority on our world, a process only to be completed at the eventual moment
when all things are made new? This brings me to the second article I came
across this week, the news that the cosmos may be ‘inherently unstable.’ You can
read the full story <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21499765">here</a>, the suggestion that research on the properties
of the Higgs boson is reviving an ‘<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">old idea that the Big Bang
Universe we observe today is just the latest version in a permanent cycle of
events.’ Reading Scripture, in light of these new scientific discoveries, seems
to me to provide further support for the idea of viewing creation as untamed,
and God as one who is lovingly working to bring about its deliverance, as well
as ours.</span></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-6024723713125695942013-02-03T12:58:00.001+00:002013-02-03T12:58:08.120+00:00God, Pharaoh and how our own hearts sometimes get hardened<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This morning we spent time in
YWBC thinking about one of the most troubling parts of the Exodus story, the
process by which Pharaoh’s heart becomes hardened. We usually refer to the
natural disasters which God visited upon Egypt, in order to bring Pharaoh to
his senses and make him aware of the need to set the people of Israel free, as
the ten plagues. But Exodus also describes these events as ten ‘signs’ (E.g. Exod
8:23).<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we discussed this morning,
my view on this story is not that God has predestined the response of Pharaoh from
the beginning. I suspect that if Pharaoh had paid attention to, say, the first
three signs, there would have been no need for the final seven. Take a look,
for example, at Exodus 4, where God is discussing the creative power he will loan
out to Moses to persuade the Israelites of his credibility as a leader. God
comes across not as someone with a blueprint, but as someone who is confident
he can respond to whatever challenges or objections Moses has to deal with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Exodus, the word often
used to describe Pharaoh’s hardness is <i>kabed</i>, which means strength – it
carries a sense of obstinacy, of arrogance. Even at the beginning of the plague
stories, Pharaoh is presented as someone who is stubborn and pride, the sort of
person with too much to lose from admitting their own faults or mistakes (not just
losing slaves, but losing face as well). There was probably never a strong
chance of Pharaoh being flexible with Moses. When God hardens Pharaoh’s heart,
it seems like he is merely strengthening a resolve and determination which is
already entrenched. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are some people I know
who seem to become more and more set in their ways over time, more
bloody-minded and frustrated with the people and the world around them which,
unlike them, continues to change. Sometimes we describe these people as becoming
a ‘parody’ or ‘caricature’ of themselves, which sums up the way their behaviour
becomes more extreme. Whether these people are plain bad-tempered, or just have
an air of the ‘prima donna’ or ‘misery guts’ about them, there is one common
pattern. Over time, they alienate people. Those around them become frustrated
with them or wary, or even plain scared of them (I’ve known ‘scary’ people in
every church I’ve been part of), and so these folks drive away the friends who
might be able to offer them words of constructive criticism. I’m no expert on
psychology, but my sense is that this process does set in very early in some
people’s lives, and sadly reaches a point of no return for others. We find
ourselves able to predict how they will react badly in circumstances where they
don’t get their way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s easy to read the plagues
story as just a demonstration of God’s greatness over the powers of the Empire.
But the case of Pharaoh’s hardened heart offers a deeper, personal challenge. And
it’s also worth reflecting that this is not the only part of the Exodus
narrative where people are becoming increasingly stubborn or ‘stiff-necked.’ In
the second half of the story, it’s Israel itself displaying increasingly
hardened behaviour. Pharaoh’s an easy target for insider readers of the story,
but sometimes the barriers to God within his people are as big as the barriers
outside. Specks in the eyes of others, planks in our own etc etc....</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-62370974369560085472013-01-16T15:45:00.001+00:002013-01-16T15:45:17.916+00:00On God’s forgetting and remembering<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last Sunday we started our new sermon series on Exodus,
reflecting briefly on the closing verses of chapter 2, which describe how the
Hebrew slaves cry out to God about their suffering and oppression. God’s
response to their groaning is described by the Exodus writer in the following
way: ‘<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">God heard their groaning, and God remembered
his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>God
looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.’ As someone pointed
out to me after the service, this statement is troubling, in so far as it
suggests God has forgotten the plight of the slaves. It raises the very
question they posed to me: ‘Can God forget?’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In part, making sense of what is said here depends on our
understanding of the Hebrew word for remember, <i>zākar</i>, which doesn’t so
much convey the idea of recalling something forgotten, but rather God deciding
to be actively involved in a situation in light of previous commitments he has
made. This explains the way the word is sometimes used in the Psalms. For
example, in Psalm 25:6, when David asks God to ‘remember... your great mercy
and love,’ as the NIV translates it, he’s not trying to jog God’s memory about
one of his characteristics. Rather, he wants to see that mercy actively applied
to his situation. For this particular verse, the NRSV translates <i>zākar </i>as
‘be mindful,’ which seems to me to be a rendering of the word which gets closer
to its real meaning.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of which is interesting, but only up to a point... we’re
still left with the problem of God’s apparent inactivity, the fact that he
comes across as sitting on his hands while his people are suffering.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I make no claim to have ‘solved’ this conundrum, but offer
below a brief summary of where I’ve got to in my own thinking on this verse
over the last few days.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thought concerns the issue of whether or not God is
‘static’ or ‘unchanging’ with regard to his attitudes and resolve. There are
some of God’s attributes which we understand to be unchanging. We know he is
always loving, holy and faithful, for example. But does this mean he always
feels an equal amount of determination to act in each and every situation? For
example, in Exodus 5 we read of how Moses goes to Pharaoh, requesting the
people of Israel be granted a three day leave of absence to celebrate a
festival in the wilderness. This strategy appears to backfire, when Pharaoh
cruelly demands that the slaves be required to gather their own straw for
bricks. Pharaoh’s callous attitudes appears to provoke a greater sense of
urgency in God to deal with him, implied in God’s words in Exodus 6:1: ‘<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Then the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="sc"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> said
to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty
hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.’</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Could it be that God is inclined to a peaceable solution
with Pharaoh, that the dreadful destruction of the plagues narrative is not his
preferred option, but only something he is driven to by the continued
intransigence of the Egyptian ruler? (I’m aware this statement raises the
conundrum of Pharaoh’s ‘hardened heart,’ an issue I hope to address in a few
weeks’ time). Such an idea seems, to me, to fit with the picture we have of God
in the warnings to Israel concerning exile. Exile will be the inevitable result
of the people’s continued rebellion, but it is not, in itself, inevitable.
There is another option made available by God, the option of repentance. This
openness of possibilities appears to be implied in Jeremiah 18:7-11: ‘<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">At one moment I may declare concerning a nation
or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>but <i>if </i>that nation, concerning which I have
spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I
intended to bring on it.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>And at another
moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and
plant it,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>but <i>if </i>it does evil
in my sight, not listening to my voice, <i>then </i>I will change my mind about the
good that I had intended to do to it.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Now, therefore, say
to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="sc"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span>: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and
devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend
your ways and your doings.’ (Emphases in italics are mine.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The end of Exodus 2 also raises the issue of how the
specific ways in which God can intervene may sometimes be affected by
circumstances. As I mentioned on Sunday, there seems to be no coincidence in
the fact that the time when the slaves begin to groan is a moment of regime
change in Egypt. As Greg Boyd points out in his excellent book <i>God at War, </i>scripture
does not present us with a picture of a God who plans meticulously everything
which happens to us, good or bad. God never wills evil, but always fights
against it, and sometimes his battle is against strong forces which hold great
power in certain times and places. The death of one Pharaoh, and his
replacement with another, seems to present an opportune moment for change. I
suggested on Sunday that this could be compared with the regime changes in South
Africa and the USSR where the incoming governments of FW De Klerk and Mikhail
Gorbachev presented the possibility of the end of Apartheid and Communism.
After the service, someone pointed out to me that this doesn’t mean God wasn’t
doing anything during the darkest moments of these regimes, which is an
important point to bear in mind. People were praying, God was intervening in
certain ‘micro’ cases, but the timing wasn’t right for the ultimate ‘macro’ downfall
of these evil structures.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, there’s no escaping the importance in this Exodus
story of the role of the slaves themselves. The end of Exodus 2 describes their
groaning rising up to God, and somehow mobilising him, causing him to become
active in the circumstances of Israel. Could it be that there are moments when
our own despair and lack of hope, our servile acceptance of circumstances or
belief that things will never change, limit the extent to which God can work in
our lives and our church? </span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-1362029104818212082013-01-10T10:55:00.003+00:002013-01-10T10:55:47.593+00:00Supermarkets, quotas and challenging the powers<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This week the markets are pronouncing judgement on the UK’s
supermarkets. As each of our leading retailers announces their crucial
Christmas sales figures, analysts are crunching the numbers as they try to work
out who’s up and who’s down. You’ve probably read some of the news stories.
Sainsbury’s and Tesco have so far reported strong numbers, and it appears that
M&S is set to be this year’s fall guy, disappointing shareholders and
analysts with news of a 1.8% drop in sales over the festive period. Look behind
the headlines and you discover that things aren’t as bad as they might appear
at first. M&S did sell record amounts of food and it says profit margins
are improving, which seems pretty encouraging for a company that last year
reported pre-tax profits of £658m, but... not good enough. What the market
demands is year on year growth. On Thursday morning, M&S shares fell by
4.5%.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I thought about M&S this week, while preparing my reflections
for Sunday evening, when, as a church, we’ll be thinking again about the theme
of ‘Challenging the Powers,’ from the perspective of Exodus. We’ll be focussing
our thoughts on Exodus 5, when Moses goes to Pharaoh for the first time,
requesting that the Israelites be released from their labour for three days so
they can go out to the wilderness for a celebration festival in honour of God.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pharaoh’s response is to show no flexibility, no willingness
to compromise. It seems he fears any relaxation of his rules, any possibility
that production will slow down. Indeed, his response is to ratchet up the
economic targets: ‘Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but
your work will not be lessened in the least.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Quotas, targets, an insistence on relentless growth... such
are the demands of the Empire. It’s always been this way. As God’s people, what
responses can we make which demonstrate our desire to challenge the constantly
acquisitive and driven nature of our world? This is one of the themes we’ll
attempt to unpack on Sunday evening. It would be good to know your thoughts,
either shared on Sunday or as a comment here.</span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-4291820843853676572013-01-03T16:15:00.001+00:002013-01-03T16:15:04.156+00:00Book recommendation – The Madness of St Paul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRYZE7LOwzx0oqoHdslUThyfpgmCZEx-i4z6LlZsEEX6qKS9IsZlsS4i6eM1QQEKKYzpQ4DA9JroWorPu7ZYWTznNVIyevNQv4uZdH3LgRiJW4aDBBeScLHB18p599gRruXCMrWd6fOQ/s1600/Madness+of+St+Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRYZE7LOwzx0oqoHdslUThyfpgmCZEx-i4z6LlZsEEX6qKS9IsZlsS4i6eM1QQEKKYzpQ4DA9JroWorPu7ZYWTznNVIyevNQv4uZdH3LgRiJW4aDBBeScLHB18p599gRruXCMrWd6fOQ/s1600/Madness+of+St+Paul.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Christmas means holidays, and holidays means a chance to
catch up on reading. I took a few hours to work through Richard Dormandy’s <i>The
Madness of St Paul, </i>a refreshing and realistic perspective on Paul’s state
of mind, particularly when he writes 2 Corinthians, a roller-coaster of a
letter where the Apostle’s language implies nervous exhaustion and a suspicion,
verging on paranoia, about the way he’s been treated by the church in Corinth.
As Dormandy points out, most of us revere Paul to such an extent that we
usually give him the benefit of the doubt when reading sections where he seems
defensive or sarcastic. We may even credit him with deliberately adopting a
rhetorical strategy which he has chosen to be the most appropriate for the
audience to which he is writing. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But what if the reality was further away from that ideal? What
if Paul was driven in part by his own vanity, and his need to be taken with the
utmost seriousness by everyone around him? What if part of the problem was on
his side, an insistence on always being in charge, even in churches which he’d
planted some years previously and moved on from?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dormandy’s book isn’t one which has caused me to completely
revise my opinion of Paul, but it has caused me to look at 2 Corinthians in a
fresh light. And it also raises important questions about how we regard the
authors of the Bible. There are probably books waiting to be written called <i>The
Madness of Jeremiah </i>or <i>The Madness of Elijah</i> – does the fact that we
regard Scripture as ‘inspired’ mean that we think it’s invalid to question the
behaviour of any of its authors? And isn’t there another danger in putting
characters like Paul on a pedestal? We assume that the only appropriate ‘biblical’
behaviour is to be in a permanent state of mind that consists of being ‘content
with whatever I have.’ But the reality is that even the person who wrote those
very words had his moments when there was a gap between belief and experience. </span></div>
Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2553456973216857015.post-11487454086514681232012-12-11T16:05:00.001+00:002012-12-11T16:05:27.020+00:00Toxic Charity<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few weeks ago, I was talking with a friend who has several
years of experience working with a local homelessness charity, and they
commented to me on how ineffective they think churches are. They spoke of how
their charity works with several hundred young people at any time, and has a
clear process for supporting their clients towards improving their life skills
and becoming more independent. And then came their concluding statement: ‘We
would be worried if, after a year, we haven’t helped someone get to the point
of living independently. But churches are full of people who have been
supported with the same issues for years, and who haven’t moved on.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Discuss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A similar set of issues is addressed by Robert Lupton in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toxic-Charity-Churches-Charities-Reverse/dp/0062076213/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355241463&sr=8-2">Toxic Charity</a></i>. The book’s subtitle provides a helpful summary of Lupton’s
argument: ‘How churches and charities hurt those they help.’ In the opening
paragraphs of the book Lupton comments: ‘I have worked with churches,
government agencies, entrepreneurs, and armies of volunteers and know from
firsthand experience the many ways “good intentions” can translate into
ineffective care or even harm’ (ps1-2).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23AOQJkGDRqJ_TgNAmGFRpdB2p2gy_AuyFeC4zkDT_hJ-ugdk8dS-Ql6sfBkL_G7WIoa0DPpki2ibxhl0CracE-0kfkC8T-ZnKghxIAVveRKl8dERR6-3jmjVgwZ9A5DgDznVW16etQI/s1600/Toxic+Charity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23AOQJkGDRqJ_TgNAmGFRpdB2p2gy_AuyFeC4zkDT_hJ-ugdk8dS-Ql6sfBkL_G7WIoa0DPpki2ibxhl0CracE-0kfkC8T-ZnKghxIAVveRKl8dERR6-3jmjVgwZ9A5DgDznVW16etQI/s320/Toxic+Charity.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lupton addresses the problems of charities and aid both at
the levels of local church and international development. At the end of a small
book (only 190 pages of large font, which could be read in a few hours), I was
left frustrated that his argument never seemed to develop beyond the basic assertions
made at the beginning, and also felt this was a work long on diagnosing the
problem and short on offering practical solutions. But I’d still call it
recommended reading, because it’s impossible to escape the difficult questions he
is asking. If churches run activities, year in year out, giving to the same
people but never helping them change, what benefit are we achieving? Is our
service sometimes motivated more by a sense of our self-worth (I do good
things, which must make a good Christian), rather than built around the needs
of those we are seeking to help? As Neil Hudson has recently pointed out in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Imagine-Church-Neil-Hudson/dp/184474566X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355241881&sr=1-1">ImagineChurch</a></i>, do we have a ‘church contract’ which only offers to care for
people, and not disciple them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of Lupton’s most helpful suggestions is the following ‘Oath
for Compassionate Service’ which he recommends for all churches seeking to
serve those who are disadvantaged. I wonder how many of our churches’ regular
activities would pass these tests:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Limit one way giving to emergency situations.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strive to empower the poor through unemployment, lending, and investing, using grants sparingly to reinforce achievements.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Subordinate self-interests to the needs of those being served.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Listen closely to those you seek to help, especially to what is not being said - unspoken feelings may contain essential clues to effective service.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Above all, do no harm (p128).</span></li>
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Trevor Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381972091975455noreply@blogger.com0