Missional Church in vogue...

Some of you may be aware that I used to be associate pastor at Avonhead Baptist Church, loved my time there but often felt I was ahead of where the Church saw itself. Anyway I will never forget the conversation I had with several people there about the need to be missional, I was told you can't use that word because mission is an overseas thing....
Imagine my surprise when I read this:

" We have been on the journey together through for the last six weeks exploring on the theme of the “Becoming a MISSIONAL Church”. (Many are still confused by the word ‘MISSIONAL’, reading and understanding as ‘missionary’ … but that’s not an issue at all.)

In the first week Rosemary pictured us how the MISSIONAL church would look like, then, we learnt more about being MISSIONAL from the life and the ministry of the early church folk in the Bible, especially initial birthing and growing stage of the church in the Book of Acts.

Some aspects of their church life are quite provoking and inspiring to us in terms of the deeper level of commitment to the Lord and the wider range of community focused service and ministry among people both inside and outside altogether.

It is obvious the significant role of the Apostles was critical in a way that how they have tried to build the ground of continuing growing ministry of preaching the gospel and reaching the people, the most significant role in the whole picture was actually taken by God Himself.

The driving, striving and thriving church and Christians were able to be emerged and established, nonetheless to say, by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the authority of Jesus name, by the ministry of God’s people, and by the wonder of God’s miracles.

The apostle Paul teaches us, ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.’ And he continues, ‘Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror … go away and immediately forget what they look like.” (James 1:22-24)

Have you heard what it is like the MISSIONAL church? Have you learnt how it is like living a life as a MISSIONAL Christian? Do what it says. From next Sunday, a new series of seeker service will commence. Pray, invite, and bring people" along.

Leadership conference, proximal vs distal spiritual experience

Just got back from our diocesan leadership conference with Bill Musk, Talks were great content wise but presentation does leave a lot to be desired. But for me the best part of these things is the long conversations into the late hours of the evening. This time they ranged in content from whether Pink Floyd are a drugged out version of Dire Straits (I think they are - though i was called a heretic for saying that), who will win Rockstar super nova - go the dark horse Ryan Star, and finaly the shape of Anglican youth ministry, what works and what doesn't....
From the last conversation it seems to me and i will keep comming back to this that youth mnistry that insists on intectualising, holding firmly to church traditions and puts Anglican before it does Christian does not seem to work. However when a youth ministry uses its work to stimulate the heart, it seem to be succesful in growing faith but also equipping young people to better deal with their world...
In the journal of adolescent health 2006 there was an article that looks at religion/spritulaity and adolescent health outcomes. Amongst the out comes the article concludes that when Sprituality is expereinced by the young person in terms of the Distal domain (which is about attendance, tradition religiousness)then young people are less healthy (mentaly, socialy) than those who have an experience of spiritulaity in the proximal domain, which is more to do with stimulating the heart.

Keeping Mum...

I watched the Rowan Atkinson comedy keeping mum last night, it was great. Loved the way that the theme of God's mysterious ways was spoken about and strangely enough acted out through the character of the well meaning homicidal maniac mother... The family needed salvation - as seems to be a theme in quite a few movies at the moment, and they got it through 'grace' Grace Hawkins also known as Rosie the trunk murderer.

Not sure what theology i would want to read into the appointed person to save the family but hey it was only a story, and probaly more realsitic that Snakes on a Plane...

The Psychedelic Furs - India

Well I didn't get to see them in NZ in July so you can see them on my blog... enjoy

Being Real

I am of to a local college in a few hours to speak to their Christian group about being a Real Christian. I thought it was an interesting topic, firstly because since they asked me to speak on it then I assume that they may see me as a Real Christian, either that is a relief or i am better than i thought at faking it. But seriously it is an interesting topic, there are so many people around who call themsleves Christian - even in a post christendom world. And there are many others that theologicaly concern me, in their views on Christ. But to offer soemthing i want to say that being a real christian for me involves my actions reflecting what I believe. I guess the same could be said for any belief - if you really belief it then it should influence what you do. Over the past 12 years that i have been involved in ministry that has been my code, and I think works well. Hopefully as the Chrsitan group scratches belwo the surface they will see that while I may not be a perfect, my intentions is for my beliefs to be worked out in practice in how i live.

Atonement pics - Redcar beach 2006 or Dunkirk 1945

The soap opera....

I have often thought a position like mine could make a good script for a soap opera. There are the relaionships between people that often have a side ways spin to them. The smiling faces that we present (when everything in the back room is turned to custard). Not much in the way of bed hopping - or not that i know of, but plenty of things happening...
The latest is the search for a new bishop, while it sounds like a boring past time, it's actualy kind of fun, the problem is that some are in the know about possible candidates, and others (like me) do not have a clue, Kind of a religious who done it with out the murder but plenty of intrigue. Far more entertainign and wholesome than Cornation Street too...

Now if only i can comeup with a good title....

Hollywood Invades

In Nz we have become use to being the film sets of Movies with Peter Jackson living up the road you will get that. But in my home town of Redcar, in north east England suhc occurences are un unusal. But at the moment they are filming a Dunkirk D day section of a Movie - Atonement. Subsequently the sea front looks like a bomb site with jeeps and derelict buildings. The funny thing is I seem to remeber it looking pretty much like a war zone every Friday and Saturday night, so i guess giving it the authentic look is not that difficult.

Real life disaster movies

There seem to be a few movies comming out in the next few months themed around 9/11. While this seems like a weird subject matter for a movie given the angst caused by those evenats and the reprecussions around the world still. I suspect people will flock to them as a way of shedding some of the emotional baggage that has been hanging around. While the response to terror by government agencies tends to be get back to business as usual, the events of last week and the plot to blow up commercial airlines shows that there is no such thing in our 9/11 world as business as usual, there is no peace.
On SUnday at our college boarders service we played the video for Green Day when September ends, while the song is kind of sickly sweet talking about what appears to be a broken love story . The video puts into a different reality, and put s the world we live in an autumn period a time of death, where innocence is lost, it describes our world as a September world....
It's when I reflect upon these things that suddenly the words fo thr prophets living in and 'looking' forward to exile come alive.
There is no business as usual and never has been in the 2/3rd's world, and that is a reality that we in the west - even in little quiet safe NZ are comming to understand, autumn is upon us, but the death of Autumn is caused by the pushing through of the new life of Spring... I live in Hope that as the world faces up to her new relality and sheds the old world view not only can we find justice but peace for all....

Advertising on Blogs

I enjoy having the advert thing on my blog, when i am nored you can always use it to go searching of into space to who knows where. however the last few months it has been stuck on Seek.nz which is a job advert type site - is someone hinting at me that i should get myself another job.... lets see what happens when I psot this...

I am alive

I have been that busy lately that I have had little time to blog, for the last few weeks i have had the feeling i get when i know is should be doing soemthing. It's the same feeling when i know i should have phoned my parents in the UK - NOTE TO SELF PHONE HOME. It's the need to blog - but feeling that you have little time and little to say. So i am alive and will write soon

I am alive

I have been that busy lately that I have had little time to blog, for the last few weeks i have had the feeling i get when i know is should be doing soemthing. It's the same feeling when i know i should have phoned my parents in the UK - NOTE TO SELF PHONE HOME. It's the need to blog - but feeling that you have little time and little to say. So i am alive and will write soon

Mickey Mouse ears and youth ministry

During Synod last week I gave a report on the progress of Youth work in our region. The graph below charts the changes that have been happening over the last 21 years from 1985 to 2006. Given that an average generation of youth is around 6 years it gives what I would consider to be a good indication of where our diocese has been and is going.…

As a chart it also points out some things we can learn from our history and that will hopefully direct us in our future.
Youth work does have a place and is incredibly important to the wider work of our diocese. We do not stand around and just wait form it to happen, as a diocese we have been proactive in dealing with our young people. This is reflected today in the commitment of the diocese to put money into starting and in most cases restarting youth groups as well as developing leaders.
Youth work is leadership dependent; the period where the biggest drop in youth numbers occurred was during a time of general growth in our diocese. I suspect that it indicates a shift in focus for our leadership, from physically young believers to spiritually young believers. The challenge for us is to maintain a focus on evangelism but also on discipleship of our young people. Subsequently without leaders youth work will not happen, because without leaders we struggle to integrate young people into our church. The reason form this can be seen in terms of the nature and position of youth work.

It often fringe to the rest of the Church activities. Which is good and bad, being fringe (like a Mickey Mouse ear) allows it to be a place where young people can be young people develop who they are and grow without the pressure of conforming to the shape of the wider church. But it also means that the connection with the church – the sinew and the blood vessels that hols the ear in place are fragile and normally wrapped up in the youth leader. So when the youth leader leaves the ear drops off… As a church we have a responsibility to strengthen that hold, to allow our young people to be young people but to also pray, support and encourage them also.