how would i react?

went to church for Good Friday reflections. sat in the auditorium and watched the montage of images and words three times. must have been their for over an hour. in this time of contemplation it struck me that people have different reactions to the death of Jesus - religious people don't understand him - not in the same book, let alone the same page, they react to guard their own interests; authorities don't understand him, they are perplexed; Jesus' is far beyond their ideologies of order and control, the crowd don't understand him, they want a celebrity king and he just won't play their game; the commercially minded just see the chance for a quick profit, they sell his clothes; the mob, they just do what mobs do, allow themselves to regress to some primeval, animal state - giving the weak a good kicking. and what about those who thought they understood? those that had seen him as messiah, the special, chosen one; how did they react as they saw all their hopes and dreams literally being kicked down the streets to his death; seemingly failing them proving by default that he just couldn't have been who he'd said he was, couldn't save himself let alone the whole world. what did they do? Well, some denied ever knowing him, stricken by their own confusion and doubt. some however stuck by him in his hour of need, powerless to do anything to save him yet doing the only thing they could to remain faithful, by exuding the same compassion that he had in life by being with him in death. Some did what was in their power to do, by lending him the only possession they had no use for in life - their grave.

one, at least one confessed:

surely this was the son of god.

Holidays / Holy Days

Holidays - HOLY days - Something special days.
Do something different, do one of those things you've promised yourself you'll do on a 'quieter' day. Do something special, with someone special.
Don't let the everyday things crowd in - switch it off...
enjoy!

Christian Humanism?

Liked this Post by brian mclaren on 'Christian Humansim.'
We had a lecture the other day where they explained that, as social workers, we are to take a 'humanistic approach' when we work with clients. the philosophy is basically that you take a very positive stance, beliving that there is good in everyone and that good outcomes are possible (whatever gahstly past or present they are in)
As i said to a guy in our class who is also a church pastor 'they have just explained pastoral ministry but forgot to mention God!'
Leaving God out is a problem though - where does the energy to bring out the good come from if not from God? (whehter you believe he brings good implicitly ie he just does whether you ask him to or not! or whether you believe that you have to be explicit ie you have to mention Him and pray etc.)

also see my comment on a recent Jason Clarke blog (its a bit bleak, but it got something off my chest!)

Be careful how you measure success.

article in the Times last week on Tiger Woods. For some reaason i am always facinated by insights into the weakenesses of others. i guess it helps me make sense of my own failings (or should that be makes me feel better about my own failings!)
if you don't know the story, 'the greatest golfer that ever lived' and one of the biggest earning people on the planet, has admitted to having an affair (amid lurid rumours of a whole gaggle of affairs) for which his wife beat him up good and proper. he tried to cover it up by faking a car accident, and then locked himeself away pretending no one could see him like a three year old. finally he decided to come clean, and today he has confessed to the world, asked for forgiveness and declared he is taking an indefinate break from the game of golf to sort out his private life 'I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.'
Shocking?
Not really, maybe the shock is that he has finally admitted to being human after years putting on the show of a machine. Others have commented far more eloquently on the matter than i could, Ed Smith in the Times article says:
Woods has been fighting the imperfections of humanity all his life. Being human demands weakness, vulnerability and unpredictability; Woods has always eschewed all three. His template has been half-god, half-machine — a god to his fans, a machine to himself. Who can be surprised that he is starting to crack under the strain?
Well put, and he's not the only one who is letting it all hand out at the moment. if you follow the radio and TV celberity-interview-i'm-publishing-a-book circus you wont have been able to miss the voice/face of Andre Agassi thsi past week (Simon Mayo radio 5 tuesday, Jonathon Ross BBC1 Friday) Agassi has been telling everyone who will listen (and will hopefully buy his book) how miserable he was. Wretched in fact. apparently he hated tennis, hated his marriage, hated his father, heted well... life. and then it all turned around, steffi Graf and all.
Agassi speakes with saged clarity about himself. precient of his own feelings and particularly weaknesses. 'Be careful how you measure success' was the advice he gave one caller to a radio show. Wise words indeed.
so what about you and me? We are never likely to have the attention/fame/notoriety 'success' these guys have. We may think that our fall from grace could never be as bad as theirs. But think on that a minute - we can only measure any human rise or fall in the context of the life surrounds it. what would it feel like if your biggest darkest secret came to light? How would that affect your family, your mum & dad, your kids?
so 'fess-up guys (and girls) at least to yourself. it may be that God gave these guys success (and failure) to teach us all a lesson -at their expense - to help us all to wake up to the fact of our own imperfections. Lets deal with what we can, with ourselves, our loved ones, with those that can help us in the process. Or (possibly AND) with, as the 12 step programmes put it, the Higher Power. Surely Tiger, Andre, me and you need Him/Her more than ever?

Suffer the little children?

this letter in the guardian really broke my heart. here's just one bit of it:
Many thousands of children are isolated, unhappy, have eating disorders, self-harm or commit suicide. One in three children has a diagnosable mental health disorder – and that's just the ones that have been classified.
it seems so helpless. what can we do?
i heard one guy on the radio yesterday say that his civic duty was to bring his kids up well 'and they've never been in trouble' was his proof. but is more than that required?
The letter of James in the bible says: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.
it's not jsut about our own kids, its about other peoples kids too. i take my hat off to anyone who works with kids to make their world a better place - teachers, kids club leaders, youthworkers, play groups, those who go out of their way, out of their life, even to offer life and hope to children who most need it.
here's a quick shout for some of these people of 'true religion'
Dave and his team at 'thursday Club' S0uthcourt Baptist Church in Aylesbury - years of dedication and loving kids, so may lives have been changed. http://www.southcourtbaptist.org.uk
Tim and Maz in South Africa - check them out, an amazing story, amazing impact on the lives of children http://thembavillageofhope.blogspot.com/
Viv and Karin At Vineyard Aylesbury - what a big hearts! More than just 'Sunday School' http://www.aylesburyvineyard.org.uk/about-us/young-vineyard.html
Ron & Jackie - somewhere in Devon. Real Kids heroes. (mine too)
Binu and the team at OM india - god bless their passion for giving kids a step up in life. if you have a few coppers to spare - send it this way. http://www.dalitnetwork.org/
all these people are heroes to me.
who else could you add to the list?

knee surgery

Video of what they did do my knee
http://video.about.com/sportsmedicine/Medial-Meniscus-Injury.htm

it is so amazing that this procedure was done to me yesterday, and today it is pain free.
we so often complain about medical care, but i am truly grateful that there is a service, free to me, that is so brilliant!
thinking back 100 years, i would have been 'crippled' by this injury for the rest of my life.

Spiritual Practices

Here are some on-line helps to spiritual practice that i am using at the moment:

listening to daily bible readings

listening to a 'daily office' or short service called "pray-as-you-go" its like a cross between radio 4's daily service and an 'everyday with jesus' type thing. there are other useful stuff here as well, like an evening meditation based on ignatian practice

one i am experimenting with is an online personal and collective bible study where you an add your reflections/insights on a bible passage and see what others are saying. could be good if a group of us decided to study a book/passage together. Let me know if you want to do this and i will invite you in. my online name is 'treforW'

one i havent found yet, or at least not a satisfactory one is a proper audio 'daily office' where set prayers and readings are read out daily. there are plenty of text ones, the best being the Northumbria Community, which is based on celtic spirituality. but i want one that is audio.

a final one worth metioning is sacred space which takes you through a 'led' meditation. needs some time though, to really benefit.

hope something here helps, and let me know if there is anything that you have found useful

What a tragedy

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Mumbai attacks

We were there only a couple of weeks ago. this railway station is just like the one we used in Kolkata. Its such a tragedy that a country so beautiful, with so much potential should threaten to implode. I fear that the 'spirit' of Gandhi is losing its influence over this nation. We need to pray 1 billion peoples lives are at stake. Pray for my friend Shahid, his family and all their co-workers. They are making significant inpact in their area for the gospel. it is truly amazing what God is doing over there. As ever the only real hope for the people of india is Jesus. violence an bloodshed surrendered at the foot of the cross. Gandhi famously said that we should be to others what we would have them turn into. Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed indeed.

'postmodern' songs?

Pete W has lent me 'Colossians Remixed' by Walsh and Keesmaat. intro is about postmodern world view interesting stuff. explains a lot about why people cannot get 'into' following jesus as an 'all-out' 'all-in' way. in this way of thinking everything people tell you you ought to believe is treated with suspicion, and no-one can claim to have found 'the' truth. Everyone might have a but of a truth and you can choose which bits of which truths to believe in.
to illustrate their point about suspicion of all the 'imposed ideologies' of the past they quote form 2 songs, leonard cohen ' the future' and smashing pumpkins ' bullet with butterfly wings. both worth a listen.

cohen links st. paul with 'stalin and the berlin wall' ! later he includes Hiroshima and Christ in the list. For cohen all these things are totally debunked.

the pumpkins ask 'what do I get, for my pain? answer: 'Betrayed desires, and a piece of the game' ie you cant believe in anything- it only leads to pain

interestingly both songs mention jesus - seems he is no more trustworthy than the rest of them!

so what's the implication? a) when we talk to people about the Jesus we believe in, many people will have these thoughts in their head - they are predisposed to disbelieve. b) we probably have a bit of this way of thinking ourselves!
leonard cohen - the future
YouTube - The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings

lyrics to pumpkins song

lyrics to cohen song

What happened next?

Buttermere.oct08.on_top_of_high_crags.,
originally uploaded by treforW1.

myself and 2 other guys took 3 hours to get from this point to the bottom of the mountain!
lots to learn from this little escapade, like being sure of not only where you are going but also the best way to get there; like having agreement in the team as to what we are doing; like discussing with the leader what he has in mind for you to do; like making decisions based on the best way to achieve your goal, which is not necessarily the most direct route; like not making decisions based on base human instincts - like hunger, or the pressure from parameter set by others with no knowledge of your situation; like making sure all of your team is up for the given task; like making proper assessments of situations before embarking on a downward journey.
anyway, we all got home safe an sound, and alls well that ends well and all that, and the nice people from the mountain rescue team who were willing to risk life and limb on our behalf got to go to bed early and not wast time and energy on a bunch of unprepared unmanaged townies who thought they didnt have to take too much notice of the mountain!

the new friars : The Forgotten Ways

the new friars : The Forgotten Ways

interesting article (and book, might be worth a read) for those of us 'doing' stuff like storehouse, homeless projects or even Tim @ grabauw.

It's been raining. A lot. Again.

It's been raining. A lot. Again.,
originally uploaded by jon bassindale.

this photo captures what Saturday was like in the Lake district. the power of the elements was awesome!

Hoodies RythmRools?

OK - heres some thoughts on how a bunch of mates can help each other live more effectively, more authentically as followers of Jesus.


i've arranged them (the thoughts) under 4 posts - Relationship, Discipline, Behaviour (values) and Inclusion. Arranged as 'Concepts' and 'Actions'. There is posibly a 5th heading 'Action' but i'm not sure if thats a little bit futher down the line.

they are only 'starters for 10' designed to get everyone thinking - i recognise that they are my thougths, none of which are original, gleaned form books blogs talks the bible and good old 'gut feelings' and as such incomplete and wholy inadequate. the whole point of this kind of thing is that its a shared expression

please respond and add your thougths to the comments on the blog. If you have some key texts, biblical, theological, fictional or illogical, add them too. If you add recommended reading, it helps to give some sort of quote.

Hopefully, by the time we meet up again, we'll have something to talk about.



oh, and everything presupposes that we are serious about seeking God and want to know more of him in our lives and live truer to Him, each other and our calling.



Apologies in advance for annoying or bad language - it always gets in the way. As someone once said ... if necesary use words.

Inclusion

Concept:


most people don't get it


they don't get what we believe


they don't get what we do (they think: go to church, pray and read the bible)


even when they 'invite jesus into their lives' -they mostly still don't get it


How about inviting others to 'walk with us' - joining our chosen 'rythm', accepting to live our 'rule'? even if only for a while.

Behaviour / Values

Concept
Agreeing what we stand for and how we wnat to live & holding each other to account
Can't really beat the monastic orders on this one - Poverty chastity and obedience.
This all comes out of what we really believe in

Suggestions
Purity - all the usual stuff
Simplicity - against the tide of 'me first' consumerism
Obedience - taking jesus at his word (eg st Francis)
humility

Discipline

Concepts
Imposed structure in unstructured lives - we would never get around to the important things

Like we need weekly 'church', small group, daily 'quiet time'

" i suppose it acts as a good fitness programme... not simply doing 10 press ups, but offering a framework to build healthy habits and lives" (Lings - encounters on the edge no 29. p20)

communal discipline - everyone doing the same thing (eg daily office) everyone singing from the same Tim hughes sheet/scriptues/devotional thoughts/books etc.
Gives a sense of 'together'. also learning 'together' hearing from God 'together' . worshiping 'together' (in the full sense of the word, not the 'singing songs to jesus'

(possible) Actions

• Meet at set, regular intervals for prayer worship....
• Find a way of doing communal acts on whilst being apart eg: use a version of the office (invite Ricky gervais) to pray at agreed times in the day
• use the same bible reading plan
• read the same books
• go to gatherings together
• taking action together (eg disciples in acts)
  

Relationship

Concept
Passages like John 17 seem to make it pretty clear that we are supposed to do this following jesus in strong relationship groups.
Stronger Together.
i am my brothers keeper (nothing to do with Promise keepers!)
share one anothers burdens
confess your sins one to another
if you see a brother sin and haul him back...
knowing someone else knows
knowing someone else understands
spurring one another on

Action
praying for each other
meeting together
looking out for one another
asking the 'hard' question

a prayer for serena

My wonderful mother-in-law passed away two weeks ago. i was honoured to be asked to pray for her at her funeral service. Many people were kind enough to thank me for 'my' words. so i thought others might find the words helpful too:

Heavenly Father,
We come before you to say 'thank you'.
Thank you for the life of Serena.
Sister, Mum, Granny, Auntie, Friend... and so much more.
You gave her as a gift to us, and so reluctantly
we give her back to You.

Look after her, Lord.
In our eyes she deserves the best.
We commend her to your safekeeping
trusting in the grace, love and mercy of Jesus,
the judge of all.
Amen.

Help us Lord, as we look to live life without her.
Strengthen those who's loss is felt so deeply.
Help us to keep her memory alive in our hearts;
each act of kindness
each show of love
each sparkling smile and infectious laugh.

We will miss her.
But we thank You that for a little while
we were graced with the presence of one who,
in so many ways,
reflected Your own wonderful character.

May we now go on to remember her and respect her memory
by living our lives likewise,
that this world might become a better place,
To the praise and honour of Your name, Jesus,
Amen

what chance?

of Wales beating Austalia today?

of to the rugby world cup match in cardif. Can't believe i have a ticket - God the gracious (via my friend nick) has come up trumps again.

A poem?

Tim @ eholiness blogged about noticing the bees early yesterday morning. It reminded me of a poem that evokes the same sort of feeeling. its a bit corny, but i like it!

the little cares that fretted me

i lost them yesterday

out in the fields above the sea

among the winds at play

among the lowing of the herds

the swaying of the trees

among the singing of the birds

the buzzing of the bees.

these foolish fears of what might pass

i lost them yesterday

out in the clover scented grass

among the new mown hay

among the swaying of the corn

where idle poppies nod

where ill thoughts die and good are born

out in the fields with God!