way out west

How Deep?

I have a post currently on the Fresh Expressions - Share Blog - Here

Graham Cray told General Synod last week that a crucial factor in the spread of fresh expressions has been 'a new imagination about the form or shape of church'. He is right. We have seen over the last half decade an exploration emerge which concerns not just the stylistic aspects of our gatherings - music, dress, structure, location, etc - but concerns the very substance of what it is to be church. The question is, if this is good, how deep are we willing to go?

At the heart of the matter is how we have sought to be community and how this journey has led us into a new romance with the God who is by nature community. We have had a new encounter with God as Trinity, not a hierarchical Trinity with God the Father as the CEO, Jesus as middle management and the Spirit on the factory floor, but with the Trinity as the root of radically mutual community ... of the meal table, not the boardroom table!

This is changing how we see and do leadership within communities, where we put the emphasis on the flow of gifting rather than the authority of a title or position. Each of us surrenders our gifts to the community and so each of our gifts, rather than being lost becomes animated from use and spreads through the community. When a prophet is willing to give their insight then all our eyes are opened in new ways; when the artist creates, we all find new ways to express ourselves.

So, how deep are we willing to let this change affect us? How much of our systems and structures are we able to challenge? Can we let a 'ground up' shift impact how we think about every part? Can it change the way we think about leadership, about ordination, about our structures? Can it change the way we think about leadership, about ordination, about our structures?

A colleague of mine from Lichfield Diocese, Revd Richard Moy, challenged Synod why it 'locked its trainee clergy away for three years in a place full of other Christians'. I agree. We need to reflect on how we train our leaders, but have we got to go deeper? In this changing world, which will force our church to change, is it time to release leadership, to give it back to communities, to create a new way for sustainability which does not rely on a professional body but on equipping and resourcing communities to lead themselves?

After a recent visit from our new bishop, one member of safespace said how great it was to share with him as he was not at all 'bishopy'! Is it time to reflect the shift from hierarchy to community, not only on the ground but can we as a church become a community of communities, where we rely on each other, where we support each other and allow the quietest voices to be as significant as the most powerful ones?

Technorati Tags: Blogging: Christianity: Church: Church of England: Community: Emerging Church: Fresh Expressions: Leadership: Missional: Pioneer Ministry

Support the Robin Hood Tax!

No this isn't a tax on Nottingham Forest Supporters... though now I come to think of it... ;)  No this is a campaign to tax the continuing bonus/risk culture of the banks.  It's no minority political campaign it is supported by organisations such as Christian Aid, Cafod, The Church Urban Fund, Comic Relief, Ekklesia, Unicef, The Salvation Army etc. etc.

http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/

The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on bankers that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.  By taking an average of 0.05% from speculative banking transactions, hundreds of billions of pounds would be raised every year.  That’s easily enough to stop cuts in crucial public services in the UK, and to help fight global poverty and climate change.  Why now?  Because of the financial crisis, frontline services at home – like the NHS and our schools – are under fire.  At the same time, poor communities and the environment are being hit hard – as aid and green budgets are slashed by rich countries.  So it’s time for the people who caused this mess to pay to clean it up.  Who’s in?  Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel (the German Chancellor) and Nicolas Sarkozy (the French President) have all spoken out in support of a tax on financial transactions.  Plenty of business bigwigs are on-board too. Like Lord Turner (from the Financial Services Authority), George Soros (the philanthropist) and Warren Buffet (US businessman extraordinaire). And then there are the hundreds of economists who have backed the idea, too.  This isn’t some crazy pipedream. It’s a simple and brilliant idea which transcends party politics and which – with your support – can become a reality.

Technorati Tags: Culture: Mission: Politics: Poverty: Campaigns

Jon hits the nail on the head... again!

The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Soundscapes

I came across this blog/work of "sonic-artist" Phil Harding (ex member of the Mod band "The Scene"!)

phill harding is a freelance composer/soundartist based in the pennine hills of west yorkshire, england [uk]. much of phill’s current work involves the use of environmental field recordings—focusing on the sounds we usually ignore or filter out—to point out the beauty in the mundane.  this blog is phill’s attempt to document his daily life.

many of these tracks were recorded binaurally—ie with tiny microphones placed in the ears, and are intended for playback over headphones only. listened to via headphones, binaural recordings tend to have excellent spatial properties, reproducing the way we actually hear, so playback feels [aurally, anyway] much as it actually felt to be in the space recorded. playback over speakers is not the best way to appreciate such recordings.  other pieces here were made using more traditional recording methods, and will sound fine over speakers or headphones.

Interesting

Technorati Tags: Art: Media: Music: Sound: Web 2.0