Food banks in the UK

Food banks are now common in the UK; many people are in difficulties because of the heavy cost of housing, ever increasing fuel bills and low income. These costs are unlikely to fall, and continuing pressure on earnings leaves many families unable to cope.

Part of the Food Bank warehouse

Food banks are operating in every part of the world, not just in the UK. Wherever the need exists volunteers are doing their best to help, but it's not always easy.

In Britain the Trussell Trust and FareShare UK make it relatively straightforward to start a local food charity.

Local action - The St Neots Food Bank in my own town was started by a group of churches in the summer of 2013 and began distributing food packages in October; they used the Trussell Trust model and have found the guidance, materials and expertise provided by them very helpful. The photo shows stored food being catalogued before being used to make up food packages for distribution.

The process - This is straightforward in principle, but needs dedicated time and effort by teams of volunteers.

• The food is non-perishable (canned and dry products) and is donated by churches, schools, and individual shoppers via collection days at supermarkets.
• Donated food is taken to the warehouse, weighed, labelled, sorted and stored in crates. Packages for distribution are made up in a range of sizes intended to last for three days.
• Packages are taken to two distribution centres in the town.
• Local organisations are given Food Bank Vouchers to give out when they become aware of a need. Voucher holders include schools, the Citizens Advice Bureau, doctor's surgeries and so forth.
• People who have received a voucher take it to a distribution centre and exchange it for a food package.

This approach enables the Food Bank to focus on collecting, managing and providing food supplies without being involved in deciding who is in need. The voucher-holding agencies have the responsibility and necessary knowledge to do this.

Why are food banks needed? - It is, of course, right and good that churches and other groups are willing and able to provide this service to the community. And it's wonderful that the public and local businesses are willing to donate food and help in so many other ways. In St Neots a local furniture shop provides much of the warehouse and office space and additional storage has been given by another business.

But why is it necessary? Why, in twenty-first century Britain, is there a need (and, it has to be said, a steadily growing need) for food banks? [Tweet it!] There are a number of reasons and they have to do with the economy but also with government action (or lack of it, or too much of it). There has been some debate, but not enough appropriate action.

I'm not going to elaborate here, instead I'll point you to this recent article in The Guardian.

Questions:

• Does it surprise you that food banks are becoming much more common in the UK?
• How do you think government policy might be changed to reduce the need for them?
• Do you think things will be better or worse in two years time?
• Is there anything you can do to help address local needs?

See also:

• FareShare UK - Home page
• Food banks - Wikipedia
• Food banks: cowardly coalition can't face the truth - The Observer
• Global food bank community - GFBN
• Global Food Banking Network, The - GFBN home page
• St Neots - Wikipedia
• St Neots Foodbank - Home page
• Trussell Trust, The - Home page

Reusable launchers

If Falcon 9 launches the SES-8 communications satellite successfully, this will be a doubly historic day in the life of SpaceX and for spaceflight in general. It is SpaceX's first attempt at a geostationary transfer orbit, and it's the second flight of their new partly reusable rocket.

The first Falcon 9 1.1 launch

Today is a very special day. SpaceX plans to launch its first mission to put a commercial satellite into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

This is what all launcher companies aspire to, and it's the core of their business.

From GTO a communications satellite can make its own way to geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), the place it needs to be if it's a TV relay or a weather satellite.

Today's projected launch is for a satellite called SES-8, flying to provide communications links for South-East Asia.

A new, reusable rocket - This is also the second launch for SpaceX's Falcon 9 1.1, a new and more powerful design that has replaced the original version of Falcon 9. Uniquely among current launch vehicles, Falcon 9 1.1 is designed to be reusable; after stage separation and ignition of the second stage and the payload, all other first stages simply re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, break up under aerodynamic stresses, and crash into the sea.

But Falcon 9 1.1 is intended to rotate, fire three of its nine engines to slow and control its descent, and finally use a single engine to land back at the launch pad. The cost savings will be immense if first stages can be re-used.

SpaceX will not attempt a return this time, though on the first flight they did so [Tweet it!] (and almost succeeded). The idea was to simulate a landing on the sea's surface and then ditch the stage.

But early next year, SpaceX would like to try again using a Falcon 9 1.1 equipped with deployable landing legs. Eventual success will transform the space launch industry very dramatically.

Watch this space! (No pun intended.)

Questions:

• Reusable rockets would greatly reduce costs to orbit (think in terms of around one tenth the cost or less) What might cheaper access to space make possible?
• Do you think humans will one day live in places other than the Earth? (See, for example, Mars One.)

See also: 

• Falcon 9 - Wikipedia
• Falcon 9 1.1 - Wikipedia
• Geostationary Earth orbit - Wikipedia
• Geostationary transfer orbit - Wikipedia
• Mars One - organisation website
• Mars One - Wikipedia
• SES-8 - Wikipedia
• SpaceX - company website
• SpaceX - Wikipedia
• SpaceX reusable rocket - Wikipedia

Prayer, Bible study, story telling

Here's an opportunity for some free online training. Steve Addison presents a session on following Jesus and making disciples. It's no substitute for face-to-face contact with a trainer, but it's invaluable as a taster. If you get the chance to meet Steve, take it. But watch this and read the books anyway.

Steve Addison's website

Steve Addison is an Australian with a calling, in his own words, to 'spark church planting movements, everywhere'.

He has written some great books, 'Movements that change the world' and 'What Jesus Started' are particular favourites on my electronic bookshelf.

Steve also runs courses all over the world and is coming to Nottingham next week for the Newforms National Gathering 2013. I'll be there, and I'm greatly looking forward to hearing him.

Recently, Steve Addison released an online training video available to watch live or for download. It is an excellent starter for anyone wanting to get out amongst local people and reach them with the best news in the known universe. It focusses on prayer, simple discovery Bible study and story telling.

Read his two books mentioned above as well, you will not be disappointed by either the style or the content. They are very readable but at the same time, challenging.

Questions:

• Watch the video. Do you think you will approach people differently from now on?
• What single thing that you have learned will most affect the way you think and behave in future?
• Have you ever wondered what Jesus' daily life was like? Read 'What Jesus Started' and find out. [Tweet it!]

See also:

• Following and fishing: Session 1 - movements.net
• Movements that change the world - movements.net
• Newforms national gathering 2013 - Newforms Resources
• Steve Addison - movements.net
• What Jesus started - Amazon.co.uk

Jonestown in 1978

Thirty-five years ago yesterday, nearly a thousand people perished at Jonestown in Guyana; they committed mass suicide by taking cyanide. Just as shocking as the deaths themselves is the fact that they were persuaded to die by Jim Jones, their leader.

Jonestown from the air

Thirty-five years ago, nearly a thousand people died after drinking cyanide-laced soft drinks.

As we remember this dreadful event that shocked the world in 1978, let's ask again how it could have happened and what we need to learn from it.

The problem, at its simplest. was that too many people believed the leader of the group, Jim Jones. He told them to drink the poisoned mixture. And they did, men, women and children. The only survivors were those who had escaped beforehand.

How could it happen? - Why did so many people drink the poison? This is less easy to fathom. And how can we guard against something like this happening again?

Jim Jones was very persuasive, and he used the murders of investigators and escaping residents as a lever, telling people that the authorities would arrest them and torture them. A strong mix of anxiety, a sense of impending doom with no plausible escape, prior 'practice' sessions and calm persuasion convinced people to take the poison. And there's also the herd effect, nobody dares to be the odd one out, even when the consequences involve certain death.

Some people avoided the poisoning, a number by leaving before the fatal act took place, and a few who were away from Jonestown on the day of the deaths.

Avoiding danger - The fact that leaders can have such a major impact on their followers should cause us to consider very carefully who we choose to follow. In the church, we should be careful to follow only Jesus. Not only is that what he calls his followers to do (I am the Way, the Truth and the Life). He also loves us and never, ever calls us to harm ourselves or others.

We should be very suspicious of any church leader who issues commands, domineers, or insists on actions [Tweet it!]. Especially when those actions go against the consciences of group members. And we should be alarmed when any leader resorts to coercion or emotional manipulation.

In the case of Jim Jones' followers, it seems they were entirely well-meaning and devoted to him and his unusual mix of communist fervour and confused religious thinking. Some had the wisdom and courage to leave Jonestown, but it was far from an easy option for them.

Questions:

• Can you think of other cases in which a leadership figure with charisma has misled people? Hint: think beyond religious leaders, include figures from the worlds of politics, business and more.
• How would you have dealt with the Jim Jones scenario? If you had joined the movement as a young person, at what point would you have decided to leave? Read the Wikipedia article and be honest with yourself. Where do you draw the line when the line is ill-defined?
• Is there anything we can do, individually or together, to prevent situations like Jonestown developing?

See also:

• 30 years later - Fox News
• Jim Jones - Wikipedia
• Jonestown and People's Temple - San Diego State University
• Jonestown gallery - Flickr
• Tragedy of Jonestown, the - The Verge

Sinéad O'Connor's Theology

Sinéad O'Connor's album, 'Theology', is challenging if you listen to the words carefully. It's easy to overlook the lyrics, but they are the whole point of the album. Sometimes the words are straight from Isaiah or Jeremiah, sometimes they are her own, but always they hit home without compromise.

Theology

I wonder how many of you have listened to Sinéad O'Connor's album 'Theology'?

Like all of her music it's a little edgy. It needs to be listened to carefully and understood. Sinéad's life, her music, and her faith are all a little unconventional, but that's what makes her and her music so interesting.

It's relatively easy to be bland, perform bland music, and blandly follow where others have gone before. But to succeed in charting a new course, that's a little harder.

Above all, I'd say Sinéad O'Connor does things her own way without trying to please other people [Tweet it!]. And I admire that in anyone. Much of the music and words are her own (some with Tomlinson), but she also sings pieces by Mayfield, Dowe/McNaughton, Lloyd-Webber/Rice, and a traditional piece too.

Uncompromising words - If you want to hear the music you'll need to buy the album or use Spotify or similar; but here are some of the words (partly biblical) from the track 'Something beautiful'.

I couldn't thank you in ten thousand years
If I cried ten thousand rivers of tears
Ah but - you know the soul and you know what makes it gold
You who give life through blood. Blood, blood, blood...

Oh I wanna make something so lovely for you
'Cos I promised that's what I'd do for you
With the Bible I stole, I know you forgave my soul
Because such was my need on a chronic Christmas eve
And I think we're agreed that it should have been free

And you sang to me

They dresssed the wounds of my poor people as though they're nothing
Saying peace, peace when there's no peace.
They dresssed the wounds of my poor people as though they're nothing
Saying peace when there's no peace.
Days without number, days without number
Now can a bride forget her jewels
Or a maid her ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me days without number...

Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch mention Sinéad's album in their book 'ReJesus', and that's what got me listening. They point out that although it was part of a protest about Catholicism, there's a powerful message here for all who claim to follow Christ. They are right.

Questions:

• Read Jeremiah 6:13-15 and Jeremiah 2:31-33. How does Yahweh feel about injustice and neglect?
• Why is Sinéad quoting these verses in her song?
• Now read Isaiah 61:1-3 and Isaiah 61:10-11. How often do we live up to these expectations?

See also:

• Alan Hirsch - The Forgotten Ways
• Michael Frost - Wikipedia
• ReJesus - Good Reads
• Sinéad O'Connor - Official website
• Sinead O'Connor - Wikipedia
• Theology - amazon.co.uk
• Theology (album) - Wikipedia

David and Goliath

There's more than one way of understanding the David/Goliath battle. Malcolm Gladwell identifies some new twists in the story. Things may not always be as they seem at first sight. And that's true of all situations, not just those in which we think we are facing giants.

Goliath laughs at David

Malcolm Gladwell has an interesting way of looking at the famous incident of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-54).

There are elements in the story that he overlooks, especially David's reliance on Yahweh. But he closely examines some details that we might normally gloss over.

Who is Malcolm Gladwell? He is a famous thinker and author, in particular he wrote The Tipping Point, a very influential book published in 2000.

Although it's a secular book, it has many ideas useful in missional movements. In fact, it might not be stepping too far from the mark to say that the book is about missional movements - just not Christian ones in particular.

A new book - His latest work, released in 2013, is called David and Goliath and comes with the strapline Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Watch him as he speaks at TED.



Malcolm Gladwell has clearly understood the story of David and Goliath in a different way. As he explains, we normally approach it thinking of David as the underdog. But this is not really the case; David knew exactly what he was doing.

While the story does mean what we usually take it to mean (that we should not stand in awe of a giant, but face even the most massive of issues with confidence); the real significance of Gladwell's interpretation is that it encourages us to remember that things may not always be as they seem at first sight. [Tweet it!] And that's true of all situations, not just those in which we think we are facing giants.

Questions:

• Have there been situations in your life when you have felt small and helpless?
• How did they work out for you?
• How important is it to 'know your enemy'?
• Do you think it makes a difference if you are confident? To You? To others?

See also:

• Acromegaly - Wikipedia
• David and Goliath (the book) - The Star online
• David's slingstone - Journeys of heart and mind
• Gladwell.com
• Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia
• Tipping point, the - Wikipedia

The blind man sees

Part 6 of a series - 'Seven signs in John'
< Walking on water | Index | No later items >

Nobody has ever done this before! Why? What happened? This rabbi with his disiples following along - he's healed a man that was born blind. He can see now, he really can see! Hmm... Sounds a bit far fetched to me. No, really, the Pharisees have checked with the guy's parents.

Remains of the Pool of Siloam

For the background to the signs in John and links to the other articles in the series, please read the index page.

John 9:1-41 begins with a question. The disciples would like to know why a man was born blind. Was it because of his own sins or those of his parents?

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’

‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’

After saying this, he spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some claimed that he was.

Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’

But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man.’

‘How then were your eyes opened?’ they asked. (more...)

Healings were by no means unknown in Jesus' day. But healing a man born blind was regarded as one of three 'Messianic miracles', one that only the Messiah would be able to do. To the religious authorities in Jerusalem it is therefore clear evidence that Jesus is, indeed, the Messiah. That's why the Pharisees wanted to check this inconvenient evidence very thoroughly.

Here are the four questions suggested by Neil Cole with some pointers for finding the answers in the material quoted above.

What does this story tell us about people? - Who was there? Well, the blind man himself of course. The disciples were there watching. We also hear about the man's neighbours and others who knew him. The Pharisees get involved and interview the man's parents. There's a lot going on and we see people with just the same attitudes and issues that we see in people today. Why do you think the Pharisees are so unwilling to accept that the man was healed?

What does it tell us about Jesus? - What did Jesus actually do? How did he heal the man? Why didn't he just say "Be healed"? Does he always do what we expect? Does he always wait for us to ask for something? (Did the blind man asked for his sight?)

What does it tell me about myself? - Are you more like the disciples, the man who was healed, the parents or the Pharisees? Maybe, in some ways, you are like them all. Who had faith in this story? How would you have reacted in the shoes of the people John describes? The blind man was obedient in what might have seemed a silly and pointless trip to Siloam. Are you obedient when you don't understand the reason?

Who else needs to hear this? - Who do you know who might benefit or be challenged or encouraged by hearing about this sign in John? Are you going to tell them?

Questions:

• How do you think the man felt when he washed at Siloam and began to see? [Tweet it!]
• Which triumphs in this passage, law or grace? How? Why?

See also:

• The three messianic miracles - Ariel ministries

< Walking on water | Index | No later items >

Sciencism and religiology

Sciencism and religiology do not exist for very good reasons. Neither would be an appropriate endeavour, both would be doomed to failure. It's necessary to use faith for religion and the scientific method for science. Any attempt to swap these methods would be extremely foolish.

Science and religion

Near the end of my previous post I asked two questions, "Why is there no widespread science of 'religiology'?" and "Why is there no widespread religion of 'sciencism'?"

I'd like to consider these questions now, and we'll start with the second one.

Why is there no widespread religion of 'sciencism'? - All religions involve believing something without tangible evidence and this is called "faith". I should be clear about what I mean by "evidence". Evidence is used in a court of law to help the jury decide whether or not a person is guilty of a particular crime. This is the same kind of evidence required in science to establish whether an assumption (called an hypothesis) is wrong.

Suppose there has been a murder or a theft. The evidence that a crime has been committed is always clear, there is a body or a missing piece of property. But the evidence that the suspect was responsible is often harder to find. It might depend on discovering fingerprints or a weapon and there may be counter-evidence. Perhaps the accused has an alibi.

Science is based on clear and reproducible methods of making observations, creating hypotheses, testing them and rejecting whatever can be proved to be wrong. In some ways this is similar to a court of law. Over a period of time, often decades, if an hypothesis has still not been disproved it may be regarded as a theory, that is, an assumption that seems sturdy and has survived every attempt to prove it wrong.

That's how science works (by means of abundant evidence from observation and experiment). Because of this there is nothing to believe, science is not a matter of faith, so there can be no religious aspect to science. The religion of sciencism doesn't exist because it is a contradiction in terms. Some people might "put their faith in science" in the sense that they expect it to explain everything leaving no room for religion. But that is a dangerous point of view.

There are areas that science does not and cannot investigate. For example, the idea that there is a Creator who brought the universe into being cannot be investigated. We can observe the universe as it is today and we can draw conclusions about its state close to the beginning. But "before the beginning" makes no sense and is open to speculation and to faith, but not to experiment or measurement.

Why is there no widespread science of 'religiology'? - Let's be clear what we mean. We can use some of science's methods to study religion, but not all of them. It is possible to count or estimate the number of people who adhere to a particular faith, their geographic distribution can be studied, so can their ethnic make-up.

However, this is not enough to make a true science. Certain elements are there, but others are missing. Studies like these are part of the so-called "social sciences".  They share careful observation and hypothesis with science, but they sometimes lack the testability by experiment that is also necessary.

Suppose you form a hypothesis, perhaps that some kind of god figure is essential in a fully functioning human society, or that any god must be a feature of human imagination and cannot be real. How do you test that? What experiment can you do to disprove hypotheses of that kind?

There is no science of religiology because religion is not susceptible to the scientific method. And that turns out to be the same reason there is no religion of sciencism. (There is, however, a Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Perhaps this goes against the argument I am making and might be evidence that my hypothesis is faulty.)

What can we conclude? - The only sensible conclusion to draw is that we need different sets of tools for the two domains, scientific tools based on observation and experiment for science and religious tools based on faith for religion.

This is why it is incorrect to claim that evolution is as much a matter of faith as creationism. Evolution is evidence-based, creationism is faith-based. We need to use the correct tools. The creationists are right about creation and wrong about evolution. Richard Dawkins is right about evolution and wrong about creation. The two camps cannot communicate because they are using different languages.

You cannot dismiss science by claiming that faith is required. You cannot dismiss religion by claiming the scientific method is required. Both stances are equally incorrect, both are equally foolish, and both miss the point.


Questions:

• Why do you suppose there is so much heat and so little light in the debate?
• Do science and religion threaten one another in some way?
• Do they deal with two different parts of the human experience?
• If so, why can't we all just accept that?

See also:

• Debating science and faith - Journeys of heart and mind
• How do we relate science and religion? - Jesus creed
• Journal for the scientific study of religion
• Science and faith - Journeys of heart and mind
• Science and faith - again - Journeys of heart and mind
• Science and religion do mix - EurekAlert!
• Understanding science and technology - Journeys of heart and mind
• What's wrong with science as religion? - Salon

Understanding science and technology

Truth is truth, and we have to deal with that, even if it seems terribly inconvenient. In particular, scientific facts are truth in the sense that they are demonstrable (by the scientific method) and effective (because they lead to technology that works).

George Boole

Denying something that is a well-established theory and has stood years, decades or even centuries of attempts to disprove it is, well, foolish. Yet this is often what believers do (of all faiths) when faced with a scientific finding that seems to contradict articles of their faith.

And the technologies that work for us every day include some that demonstrate the effectiveness of those disputed scientific findings.

Some examples - The science around evolution, for example, underpins some effective technologies in plant and animal breeding, agriculture and medicine.

The science of geology explains the ancient origin of rocks and the movement of the continents but also underpins the petroleum and mineral extraction industries.

And the hotly disputed science around climate change is providing predictive technologies that are already showing their worth in longer term forecasting. Although this is not a religious argument per se, it is being argued in similar ways to the conflict over evolution.

Some of the earlier science/religion debates that were once high profile are now long-forgotten. Few people would argue today that the Catholic church was correct and Galileo wrong about the earth not being at the centre of everything.

Accepting science and religion - And here's something else that's interesting. Why are certain scientific ideas argued against so vehemently while others attract little or no attention? For example, Joshua 10:12-13 tells us that the sun and moon stood still in the sky. Yet this is not leading to a mass denial of angular momentum, classical mechanics or orbital mechanics which clearly show such a thing to be impossible.

Can we not accept that science attempts to describe and explain the physical universe while religion attempts to describe and explain the spiritual realm? The physical universe is known and understood by observation, experiment, and careful thought. The spiritual realm is known and understood by revelation. Why should science and religion be seen as in conflict? Science deals with that which is provable, religion deals with that which is not.

(The photo shows George Boole, who developed the mathematics for processing values of true and false. His work underpins some of the theoretical aspects of modern computing.)


Questions:

• Is it helpful to keep science and religion separate in our minds?
• Why is there no widespread science of "religiology"?
• Why is there no widespread religion of "sciencism"?
• Does it make sense to begin with a conclusion and then look for supporting evidence? In a court of law? In science? In religion?

See also:

• Evolution & the two trees in the garden - Mike Morell
• Mike Morell on evolution - Journeys of heart and mind
• Science and faith - war or peace? - Journeys of heart and mind
• Taking the Bible "literally" - Brian D McLaren
• Why should Christians care about science - Jesus creed

Caring for rich and poor

How can you look after rich and poor at the same time? An imaginative organisation in Edinburgh has found a way to do just that. SocialBite is a successful experiment in selling great food while also helping the local poor and reaching needs in the third world.

SocialBite in Edinburgh

SocialBite is near the western end of Rose Street (parallel to Princes Street).

It has a small but attractive shop front and offers a range of excellent breakfast and lunch choices along with hot and cold drinks and more.

Think Pret a manger or Subway with more interest and flair and a special personal touch. You get the idea. I had a great coffee and a stunning bagel with peanut butter, banana and honey.

SocialBite is barely a year old, but plans to grow into a major chain; and these people have a special heart for the homeless and the poor.

How SocialBite works - Their profits go to charity; they are active in Scotland but also in Malawi and Bangladesh. And there's a small basket on the counter where customers can leave their change for "suspended coffee". People without money are welcome, and when the basket contains enough, they can use it for a coffee or a bite to eat.

Not only that, some of SocialBite's employees are people who have been homeless and without a clear future. Once people have an address, a job, and friends to support and encourage them, the future changes from hopeless and empty to a series of new and exciting opportunities.

Well done SocialBite, and thank you. You blessed me with an amazing bagel. I bless you in Jesus name, that you will prosper and grow and help many people in many lands.

If you haven't already watched it - go and see the video on their home page. What an awesome story!

Questions:

• Could you do some of this good stuff where you live?
• How about suggesting the suspended coffee idea to a business in your town?
• How about contacting SocialBite to see if you could help begin a new branch?

See also:

• Edinburgh - Wikipedia
• SocialBite - Facebook
• Location of SocialBite - OpenStreetMap
• Shelter, Scotland
• SocialBite - Twitter
• SocialBite - Website

Cruising the gospel

Alan Hirsch urges us to cycle through the gospels as one way of keeping Jesus central in our hearts, thoughts, words and deeds. It's good advice and I've been trying it out online. Consider joining me in a trip through Matthew. After that we'll move on to Mark.

Cruising the Gospel

For the last couple of months I've been busy with a new project, Cruising the Gospel.

It's one of the reasons there have been so few posts on Journeys of Heart and Mind recently. So here's what I've been doing and why.

Cruising the Gospel sprang from a desire to focus more on the person, words and actions of Jesus. To this end I've been reading a short passage every day and writing some notes on what I'm discovering.

If you'd like to join me why not read along and leave comments with your own thoughts?

Forgotten Ways - Alan Hirsch in The Forgotten Ways tells us that making Jesus the centre of all we are and do is an essential element for rapid and spontaneous church growth. This is not just a matter of studying his life, it's not enough to know about him; we need to live him and breathe him and be deeply affected by him from moment to moment.

Not only that, Alan has concluded that having Christ at the centre is just one of six essential strands that we in the West have forgotten (although they remain latent in all of us and can be reactivated).

For each of the six he suggests things that we can do to influence our thinking in useful ways. Cycling through the gospels is one of these.

Come and join us. Let us know what you think. Visit Cruising the Gospel, sign up for the emails, or grab the RSS or Atom feed for your favourite news reader. Join in the fun.

Questions:

• If you don't have Christ at the heart of everything, how can you even be a disciple?
• Other than cycling through the gospels, what else might you do to keep Jesus central?
• Why not take a trial run in Matthew 16:13-28?

See also:

• About Alan - The forgotten ways
• Alan Hirsch at Newforms - Journeys of heart and mind
• Christianity without Christ - Verge network
• Forgotten ways, The - Amazon
• Forgotten ways, The - Urban mystic (links to audio of Alan)
• Index of posts - Cruising the gospel
• Introduction - Cruising the gospel
• Obey, obey, obey - Journeys of heart and mind
• Recent posts - Cruising the gospel

Steve Addison in Nottingham

Don't miss the opportunity of hearing Steve Addison speak at the Newforms Gathering in Nottingham, 29th November to 1st December 2013. It's not too late to book, though places are going quickly.

Steve writes and speaks on missional movements, his books What Jesus Started and Movements that Change the World are excellent and have made quite an impact.

Here's what Martin Robinson (director of Together in Mission, UK) has to say about Movements that Change the World...

Steve has been tantalizing me with tales of this book for years. He has talked to me about the content on numerous occasions. The chapters are distilled from years of experience and thought, and the final product has not disappointed. Practitioners and thinkers with a passion for mission will want to read and reread this book.

Here are some things you can do right away

• Book your place at the Nottingham meeting.
• Right click the Newforms Gathering flyer (picture above) and download it to print and give to friends that might be interested.
• Buy one of Steve's books (What Jesus Started, Movements that Change the World) and read it.
• Visit the Newforms Resources website to see what else is happening.

See you there!

Gifts, prayer and needs

Leaders in the church, Part 13
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As we grow in living the way Jesus calls us to, we become examples for those around us, those coming next. If we live wrongly and make bad choices we will mislead others and that would be a fearful thing.

Bread of life

It's becoming clear to me that everything in Matthew's Gospel is of value to all believers and also to all leaders. In other words there is nothing here so far that applies only to leaders or only to followers.

Instead, the pattern is a progression, from new believer to disciple and from disciple to leader. As we learn and grow we should all aspire to guide and encourage and build those around us. Even at the earliest disciple stage we can do what Jesus' followers did; bring more people to Jesus.

We need to learn to exercise ourselves in these activities, bringing people into Jesus' presence, helping them to grow as disciples, and continuing to grow in the process ourselves. In a sense there is no distinction between leader and follower; we are, without exception, called to be both.

Giving and praying - So here in Matthew 6:1-4 we see Jesus speaking about giving to those who have insufficient and doing it secretly without show or boasting. And in Matthew 6:5-15 he tells them that it's the same for prayer. Pray privately, just between yourself and the Father. Nor is it about fancy words, the most striking thing about the prayer Jesus taught them is its simplicity. Even so, each of those simple words is loaded with meaning and significance. This is not a prayer for those who do not mean business!

Again, fasting is not for show but to be done secretly (Matthew 6:16-18).

Focussing on heaven - Matthew 6:19-24 shows how Jesus wants us to focus on heaven, not earth; to be full of light, not darkness; and to serve the Almighty, not material things.

And we are not to be anxious about food, drink, clothes or time (Matthew 6:25-34). Instead we must search for the kingdom of the Most High and for his righteousness.

By doing all these things we will become living books that people can safely follow. 'Do what I do' needs to consistently bring people right into the places where Jesus is present.

Questions:

• If I do not give to those in need or those who ask, how will this affect my friends' understanding of Jesus?
• Can you list some ways in which secret prayer is better than public prayer?
• Now list the ways in which public prayer is better than secret prayer.
• How will this affect the way you pray in future?

See also:

• Five biblical prayers - Bible gateway
• Follow my leader - Journeys of heart and mind
• My secret little prayer - Ann Lamott: on Salon.com
• Waiting and calling on the Lord - Journeys of heart and mind

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Familiar strangers

We're all aware of people we know by sight but not by name. This happens when we repeatedly see the same face in a certain context - travelling to work, having a coffee while shopping. Research shows how widespread this is; can the church make use of this idea as a missional resource?

Will I recognise anyone here?

Recent research shows that people are regularly in the same place at the same time with others they don't know.

This seems to happen because we're creatures of habit, using the same bus at the same time every day, visiting the coffee shop at the same time, using favourite shops over and over again.

Such patterns of behaviour mean that faces may become familiar to us, even if we don't know a person's name, even if we've never spoken to them. It would be easy to start a conversation with such people; if I recognise their faces they will most likely recognise mine too.

Opportunity for mission - This opens up some interesting possibilities for mission.

I'm going to try deliberately noting people that I see regularly and initiating conversations. Hopefully I can widen the circle of people I know in that way. It's going to be important to be intentionally observant so that I can find people who will feel I'm already familiar.

I'm going to pray about it and ask Father to show me the right people and guide me in the conversations. It'll be very interesting to see how this works out. This is related to the idea of a third place and using such a place as an opening for community and mission.

I don't plan to have religious conversations, just conversations about everyday things at first. As I get to know some of these people better I hope to be able to share the good news that they are loved and special in Father's sight.

Questions:

• What places do you visit regularly? What are your daily patterns and habits?
• Can you identify people that you see regularly?
• Are you willing to try talking to these people?

See also:

• Community and mission - Journeys of heart and mind
• Increase community at expense of mission? - Simply church
• Science of familiar strangers - MIT technology review
• What do missional communities do? - Verge network