way out west

Indian trade minister leaves WTO talks

After criticism from the The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that the 'developed' nations had not gone far enough in redressing protectionism and unjust trade policy the Indian Trade Minister has left the current round of talks in Geneva.  Kamal Nath said that there has been no progress and that what was being offered "might be free trade but it is not fair trade".  From the BBC

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Emerging Bowling now!

  Skinny bowling action 
  Originally uploaded by Mark Berry.

OK I got it wrong yesterday... it turns out that the sport of the new paradigm is in fact Bowling!  Now who was it that said the EC was white, male & middle class... see you were wrong it is in fact white, male & upper-middle class!

Emerging Croquet?

cmsday17.jpg
Originally uploaded by Mark Berry.

Well, if events at the CMS weekend are anything to go by... It's not just deputy Prime ministers who enjoy smacking balls around a lawn!

Films

Anyone swinging by here to check out our Easter and Pentecost films... via TSK... welcome... and you'll find them along with a selection of Audio Meditations in the left hand side bar

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Brian McLaren - Emerging Missional Church PowerPoints

Brian Mac has 4 power-points on 'Emerging Missional Church' for download... oh that good old emerging church 'Economy of Gift' at work again!  There is some really interesting stuff in them (like the question is Emerging Church a new slice of the pie or a new ring of the tree?), some strange stuff (not sure I get the Giant Woodpecker bit... some notes may be helpful), and some seriously technical stuff... could be fun blog game to be had... 'just what did Brian mean when he scribbled on this slide?'... perhaps we could take turns to present them in the 'Emerging Church Cafe' at Greenbelt and run a competition for the most 'interesting' commentary etc. ... A kinda PowerPoint Pictionary!

Technorati Tags: Blogging: Church: Emerging Church: Mission

Changing Mission: learning from the newer churches

Stuart Murray-WIlliams has a new book just out, entitled 'Changing Mission: learning from the newer churches'... well, its new in that it has just been published... but the manuscript was written in 2004.  As it is a reflection on the state of Emerging Church Stuart admits to being frustrated at the delay... he feels that much has moved on since then... the nature of young things is that they grow and change rapidly, sometimes before your very eyes... nevertheless the book will complement 'Post-Christendom' and 'Church in Post-Christendom' and Stuart always has things to say that are still worth hearing!  He was surprised when I told him that his 1990 book 'City Vision' still has a place on my Bookshelf!

Stuart says of the book...

It is also a book-length expansion of chapter 3 of Church after Christendom (with which you may be familiar). It offers an overview of the phenomenon of the 'emerging church' which is stirring up so much interest at present - stories, analysis, context, questions, reflections and suggestions for engagement.

Here is a quote which he says indicates the provisionally (in my mind a 'good thing') of the material...

'Emerging churches may be self-indulgent, introverted experiments catering primarily for bored middle-class churchgoers unsatisfied with naïve theology and banal liturgy. Some may be desperate attempts to breathe fresh life into dying models. Others may be angst-ridden communities of like-minded dissidents united by discontent rather by than a transforming vision. Others again may be tentative forays into unfamiliar territory from which pioneers will return licking their wounds.

'On the other hand, emerging churches may be forerunners of a great movement of missional creativity that will negotiate the transition into post-Christendom. They may herald an ecclesial revolution comparable to the 4th-century Christendom shift. They may kick-start recovery from decades of decline and incarnate the gospel effectively into communities where it is virtually absent. They may catalyse renewal in church and society across western culture.'

It will be available from Christian bookshops at £7.99 or from the online bookshop, Metanoia Books, for the same price plus postage and packing -  www.metanoiabooks.org.uk.

Technorati Tags: Books: Emerging Church: Mission

Entrepreneurial quotes

I had a great time at Lee Abbey last week... apart from the incredible location... it was really fantastic to hear from Bill Bolton.  Bill is a Business supremo who has done particular work on Entrepreneurial leadership, including setting up a number of 'Centres of Innovation'.  He has written several books and has developed a Psychometric type test to establish if you are entrepreneurial by nature or not... out of interest I am apparently... anyway I will probably make a few posts on the subject over the next few days... making connections and reflections etc... but to start with (apart from the one written at Lee Abbey on the 20th) here are one or two quotes on Entrepreneurship and the state of the 'market' used by Bill...

The long-dominant paradigm for why nations succeed internationally is showing signs of strain.  Present theories have grown inadequate for the task.
Porter

A new civilisation is emerging in our lives this new civilisation brings new family styles; changed ways of working, loving and living
Alvin Toffler - The Third Wave

Suddenly the world is a different place, in today’s environment nothing is constant or predictable
Hammer and Champy- Re-engineering the corporation

Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.
Niccolo Machiavelli

‘The brontosaurus moved deeper into the swamps when the mammals took over the forest, but one day it ran out of swamps.’
Business Journalist writing on IBM

it is the foremost task and responsibility of our generation to re-imagine our enterprise and institutions, public and private.
Tom Peters - Re-imagine

Technorati Tags: Culture: Emerging Church

While the cat's away...

Well, here I am! I'll not trouble you with my biography, save to say that I joined Mark in this adventure a few months ago and this is my first posting on a blog! I don't seem to have the rights to add pictures (no icon for it on TypePad) so I can't let you into the secrets of my identity. However, if you have seen the Brendan pics, I'm the one with the natural tonsure!

Entrepreneurial leadership

A few years ago a man named Scully was tempted to move from Pepsi to Apple... he was blown away by the difference in culture.  He made this table...

Pepsi he saw as a 2nd wave company and Apple as a 3rd wave (Apple is still the only company to go from scratch to the top 50 companies in the US in five years)...  Pepsi board meetings were held round a long rectangular table, the members stood for the entrance of the Chairman, they followed a strict agenda etc.  He was approached by Jobbs with the challenge "Do you want to make sugared water for the rest of your career or do you want to change the world' .  Scully went.  His first board meeting was in a Hotel sat around on the floor in the lounge.  Unfortunately Scully tried to change the company to be more like Pepsi, eventually sacking Jobbs... and the company nearly collapsed!  Of course we know that Jobbs returned and the company became entrepreneurial again... iPods etc.  So is there a lesson here... not to try to move entrepreneurial/Pioneer/Emerging Church into the institutional structure... it might just kill it!

Technorati Tags: Church: Culture: Emerging Church

Thievery Corporation re-mix

... well, actually it is a new album from TC remixing other peoples music... including Herb Alpert, Norah Jones, Sarah Mclachlan, The Doors and Ustad Sultan Khan.  "Versions" (Thievery Corporation)

Technorati Tags: Music