Identity

Who are we? What do we do? What do we look like? Are we recognisable as as a church? Is Uniform out dated? etc.....etc.....etc

These questions seem to have been going round and round the SA world for as long as I can remember. To be honest I am bored of the discussions because we seem to have missed to point.

Does it really matter what we physically look like, surly it i our presence and purpose that will identify us as the Salvation Army, more importantly as followers of Jesus. We have forgotten that the world doesn't need another "fad" or "cool" looking bunch of people, it needs authentic Christianity, lived out so that they can connect it with their own need for salvation.

This debate within the SA world is not that important but yet it has huge implications for us. If we change or lose the uniform how will people recognise us? How will we maintain our image? Will individuals lose their identity? For me, this is irrelevant! I don't think that the world cares what we look like on the outside (they have enough to look at already to occupy them). I don't think that what we put on will show them the gospel and make them respond.

It's a difficult issue but not that difficult!

Matt

Not much to say.....very unlike me

Have been feeling very guilty about not blogging for 3 weeks!! But to be honest I don't have an awful lot to say! Those who know me will be aware that this is quite unusual because I am usually the first to jump in with an opinion, insights or witty but unhelpful comments.
I have come to the conclusion that if in doubt saying nothing is rarely an option for Christians. We have a responsibility to not only speak out but live out our faith as if we really mean and believe it. However, we need to be careful and considerate to the places and conversions we may find ourselves in as to the speed of our responses. Saying nothing may not be wise but how quickly or slowly we respond is up for grabs!
I have been challenged about how I will react to situations within the corps and community in Aspley but also at what speed I respond them. To quickly and I may make a bad choice, to slowly and I may miss out on making a positive contribution to peoples decisions and lives.
Not much to say, Well maybe you will have to wait.

Matt

Easter

Miracle on the Estate
For Good Friday, the residents of Harpurhey in North Manchester - once described as the worst place to live in Britain - join forces with a poet, a composer and a director to see if they can produce their very own mediaeval mystery play, based on the story of the Flood. In so doing they uncover a deep-rooted sense of community, untapped talent and breathe 21st century life into an ancient story of sacrifice and salvation. (BBC.co.uk)

This was the best thing I watched on TV over Easter. It was brilliant and encouraging. Based on the story of Noah, the people of Harpurhey showed just how powerful God's word is. Most of the people were non-Christians but yet seemed to reflect God's heart for community! By the end of the showing of the film they had made they were embracing each other, some near to tears of what they have achieved and others had been changed by the whole experience.

It struck me as I watched, that God can do amazing things if only people let Him. Sound obvious yet we want to make it difficult. We can use the latest fashionable evangelistic tools but at the end of the day there is nothing quite like the gospel being lived out through the ones that read it.

Matt

Visit to Aspley!

went to Nottingham Aspley last week to visit our new church. The one that I am to be responsible for!!! It was great, met some of the staff who seemed really nice, had a look around the build, had a look around our house which we will be moving into in July 08.

We also me with one of the senior leaders, David. We had a really long and exciting chat about what is going on, what there vision was, what the expectation was etc. I remarked that for Lizzy and I our heart was for the non-church! His reply will stay with me for a very long time....... he said "what other reason is there?"

It really hit me that we can't muck about when it comes to to being effective witness! This has challeneged me to really consider how effective I am and whether I really do love unconditionally all people espically who do not have an experience of Jesus.



Matt

Sunday......Holy?

This week in class we were asked the question whether "Sunday was Holy?" Specifically we were asked to think about whether we would encourage our worshipping community to play football on a Sunday instead of going to church?
Should Sunday be a day where everything stops, where all we do is go to church and spend time with our families? No games, no TV etc...
Or has it become a day that is now part of a seven day week with no distinction between week days and weekends?
Either way Sport on Sundays is big business as well as a past time for local people to be involved with.
For me the question is not about whether its on a Sunday or not the question that sprung to my mind is "what is church?" Surely a football to is as good an expression of a christian community as you could hope for. Common goal, team work, focused on others, commitment, hope, expectation and using your talents. There is no reason why a football team can't be "Church." In my experience, A football team with Jesus at the heart can change people, maybe not over night but season after season, He can break in to people's lives and make them feel part of a kingdom and not just a team.
Would I play football on a Sunday? Oh Yes! If as a leader I say one thing and do another, I am not much of a leader!
Matt

Changing the world!

Last week we were on a weeks break in St Ives and it was our friend James' birthday. For him we got him a book entitled "how to change the world - 9 to 5." It was full of fun suggestions on making a difference to people's lives. One of them invited you to give out thank-you stickers to people who have done something for you during the day. We went out for his birthday meal on the Wednesday and took the stickers with us to potential give the waiter/waitress. At the end of our night we duly gave a sticker to our waiter, he seemed reasonably embarrassed buy it but pleased.
The next day, James and I were chatting on "the Island" (not really an Island but it what the locals call it) when noticed to dogs swimming in the sea. They were following their ball deeper and deeper out and the owner was getting more and more paniced so we got up from our seat and jogged quickly to the rock to see if we could help reach the dogs. Without spilling a drop of my coffee i managed to get hold of one of the dogs and climb back along the rocks to its owner. We then set off to see if we could get the other one. This was a mistake, while the owner was getting the other dog, i was going for a swim - fully clothed!!!
Do you think that you could change the world on your own! Probably not, that's why God raised up the church.
Do I know the out come of our two attempts to bring joy and peace to people. No, but I know I tried, I know i did what God expects form his people. Changing the world isn't difficult but changing the way and reason we do things is!

Matt

I think it maybe broken!

On reflecting on my post on the cost of the US elections and a couple of lecture at college, I have been reflecting on just how broken our world is. It seems to me that humanity today doesn’t even realise just how broken it has become. People seem to have either begun to ignore it or accept it as the "norm."
What are we (the church) to do? Do we make people aware that they are broken or do we pick them up once they realise?
My gut feeling is that we need to do a bit of both. We need to be proactive in raising issues of morals and ethics within our society but also responding to the impact that these have had already. For example: we need to be a church that is open in it dialogue about Genetic Engineering and the implications that that have upon our moral framework as Christians. We need to make sure people understand the purity and uniqueness of God's creation and how he has made everything as He wanted and we should not try and replace his good work. Yet, we need to be mindful of those who could benefit from such revolutionary medical advances i.e. Dementia, Parkinson’s and other debilitating illnesses.
As a Christian I am not exempt from brokenness, I have experienced it in my own life but I am also a testimony to the power of prayer and passion of others to see that I can be rebuilt and renewed.

Matt

Appointments

Well here it is.......

As from August Lizzy and I will be moving to Nottingham Aspley and I will be taking up the role as the Corps Officer(church leader) for the church and community centre.

We are really excited about it and can't wait to move and get involved with what is going on. It like a really exciting place to be. There is pre and after school provision, cafe, parents and toddlers, jam club, bible study, Band and Singing group etc....

It feels really strange to know that we are moving yet still have 6 months before we can get there and get on with things. However, I know I still have things to do (like assignments), things to learn (I assume) and things to prepare.

Watch this space for more info about our new home and our new community.

Suddenly, the reality of being an SA officer has hit home and I can't wait!

Matt

Let the count down commence.

Well, here it is! Appointments week!
If anyone is reading his who is unfamiliar with the Salvation Army, this is the week when all its Officers and Officers to be, find out if and where they will be moving to in July!
For Lizzy and I Thursday will bring so many emotions with it. Not only are we excited about moving to a new house, a new area and a church but also rather quite scared at the same time. We believe (other wise we wouldn't be doing this) that God has had His hand in our journey all along and we trust Him. But it is still hard to sometimes see that and know it. We have got this far, why should we doubt that God will place us where He wants us and it for us to work through the why over the coming months if not years!



Watch this space for the out come!!



Matt

How much!!

Just been reading about the US Primarys:

"Mr Obama has seen his campaign funds swell since the start of the year, with $32m of contributions reported in January.
He is now running TV advertisements in 20 of the states which will be voting in primaries on Tuesday.
His opponent has yet to release figures for the past month, but the Clinton campaign says it raised $26.8m in the last three months of 2007." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7221388.stm

This adds up to about £29m. I read in the times yesterday that Rudy Giuliani, who pulled out had spent £25m on his failed bid to be the republican candidate.

"Today, the month-long January transfer window closed shutters for the season, with English clubs spending a record £100m on approximately 50 transfer deals, eclipsing the £81m spent two years ago, and the £63m last year. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080131/sports/sports4.html.

Has the world finally gone mad, can it keep pushing it's self in this way! The economy in the US is heading for a recession and the UK's is slowing down. Can we continue to justify this silly, irresponsable spending.

What do we(the church) do about it? Can we do anything about it? Is our only responsability to "pick up the pieces" of the impact that our materialistic world has become or can we actually influence change on a wider scale?

Matt

Secret Agents wanted........

Following on from my last post, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a people of the kingdom. Is it enough just to be a fully paid up member of a local church or is there more to it than that? What does a kingdom based Church look like and how can Churches get there?
I have nearly finished Brian McLaren's book, "The secret message of Jesus" and have been struck by its depth yet simplistic nature. He (McLaren) has been able to dig deep, right to the bone in places, and reveal to me a lot of the bits of have missed or misplaced of my understanding of the kingdom of God. You could be forgiven for thinking that he is taking a huge swipe at the church but I think he is off loading his own frustration and allow himself to become vulnerable to Jesus' message.
God has been testing me and challenging me about what my part is in His kingdom is and about what that will entail. With Appointments only 7 days away it seams all a little to late but actually the timing could not be better! I believe that God has called me to do this and so must believe that he has and still is preparing me for what is to come. The world needs a church that is raw, that is real and is willing to admit that it has missed the point once to often and needs moulding once again by a message that can change the world now! Can I do it, can Lizzy and I do it, can the church do it????? I don't think we have a choice!!

Matt

Is Planting for me?

It don't really enjoy gardening, so why on earth would I want to plant something??

Obviously, I am not talking about flowers but church planting. Last week I was let out of the college to attend the "First steps in church planting" conference. It was a great few days listening to the speakers go through the various aspect of the what, where and why of planting!

The thing that struck me was the need for any expression of the church to a) know it's context and b) be relevant to it's context. I would love to go and plant church but that is not for me to decide (two weeks Thursday til we find out where we are going). If I do, I know that our responsibility is to discern the heart of God already at work in peoples lives and jump on board and play an active role in his impressive story. If I go to an established corps, my prayer is that through prayer, vision and obedience, I will see just where God needs the presence of His people.

Matt

Vicar to stand for council!

Lizzy and I watched the Vicar of Dibly last night - the one where Geraldine stands for the local council against David Horton. This was just the example I needed to help me answer the question I set a few posts ago. "How much should the church be involved in politics?" and "how can we be involved in politics?".

It is clear to me that faith and politics should not be kept apart, in fact they go hand in hand. Politics and church, at their best, are about transformation. That does not mean that Christians make the best politicians but it does mean that Christian need to be involved in politics both locally and national. Political agendas, whether we like it or not, are here to stay and make significant impact on the moral and ethical environment of you and me! We may not understand the terminology but we will experience the impacts.

For example: The "opt out" proposal for organ donations; ID cards, Identity fraud, Hospital cleaning, human cloning, recycling, Education systems etc

We are not inumuune to the effect of decisions made by the goverment (not just our own). We have to relate and seek to unstand the reasons and implictions through diaolgue, newspapers, the internet, Prime Ministers questions and blogs. All are good sources of insight in to the world of politics and provide the church with oppertunitys for interaction.

Matt

Go Go Power Rangers!!!!

"The christian message is not about transcendence and power, but about weakness, vulnerability and powerlessness." (Drane, 2000:13)


I found this quote this week whilst reading for an assignment at College. I love it, i buy in to it!! But i have to be honest and say that I am not sure that I live it!! This idea of being vulnerable seems to go against a lot of what I have been taught about church ministry. I have been told, "don't get to close" or "you need to detach yourself form the people." This has always made me feel very uncomfortable, it goes against who I am. For me, it goes against the purpose of the church and its ability to bring about transformation with in communities. The church seems to quake at even the idea of being vulnerable with each other in the fellowship, let alone strangers.
I don't believe for one moment that we should let people walk all over us (That achieves nothing for anyone) but I am beginning to realise that we need to put ourselves in harms way so that the gospel is clear and real to those who cross our paths.

Matt

P.S My next post will answer the questing I set two post ago!!

Legend

I went to see I am legend last weekend. What a film! I loved it from start to finish. Will Smith was excellent and brought the whole character to life and believable! I can't wait to see it again. I won't spoil what happens, just go and see it for yourselves. The ending is slight weak, it all happens a bit quickly but it is still rather emotional!
At about the same time I had just finished "Intelligent Church" by Steve Chalke. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is frustrated by their church, those who believe their church should do more or just wanting themselves to live out a more together significant Christian life. It was a really easy read but challenged me at the core of my understand about church and it's mission in the world.
Having watched "Legend" and finished "Intelligent Church", it raised in me a question. What "legend" does the church leave on our communities? What do people remember about us? What do people assume they know about us? I don't believe the church should create a legend that makes it look good but be a legend that makes God look good, a legend that means something maybe even just to one person.
I have been challenged to assess not only what I do and why, but how? Let me give you an example. I believed that if I spent time with non-christian friends that I could help them become Christians. A noble cause but I have completely missed the point. My role is to love them for the people that they are not what I want them to be. No agenda, no goal, no evaluation just love. This, I pray, will be my "legend."
Matt

Blair's Conversion?

Two things have struck me about the story of Tony Blair's conversion from the Church of England to the Catholic Church.

The first is this:
What is the big news. I know i don't fully appreciate the complicated history between the CofE and the Roman Catholic Church but i know there is not difference in the God they worship! What is the big news here. Is it a case of the media making to much of something again or is it really that important?

Secondly:

I read the below comment that made challenged me about the state of our nation. it read:

Blair's obvious religious side has long been viewed with suspicion, even hostility, by the largely agnostic or secular British intellectual and media elites. (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847405564&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)

The questions for me is "how much should the church be involved in politics?" and "how can we be involved in politics?"

I will have a think and come back to those.

I hope and pray you have all had a wonderful Christmas!

Matt

Nativity

Anyone else see the "Liverpool Nativity" on BBC 3, if not it is being repeated.......

Liverpool Nativity
Sun 23 Dec, 22:45 - 23:50

BBC One
Contemporary music drama which reworks the Nativity story. Set in a fictitious state, it tells the story of a pregnant young girl set against a backdrop of political tension. [S]

It was an excellent example of "God's" story being brought into a modern day context. I was also pleased to hear that the Bishop of Liverpool was consulted with the planning. I was encouraged by the fact that there were so many people there to take part. For some, I am sure, they would have been there because it was a free night out, singing some Beatles songs and maybe get on TV. Yet everyone looked like they wanted to be there and enter into the "spirit" of the Christmas story for themselves. Who said people don't want to be part of a bigger story!

Matt

Just Pray!!!!!!

Can we ever "just" pray?

This word has been challenging me over the last few weeks about my prayer life and how I pray. I have heard people so often say "we are just going to pray" or "shall we just pray. Just Pray!!! Isn't there more to it than that, isn't it bigger than that. I just check my emails, I just phone a friend or just make a coffee. Surely pray is more than just speaking to God, more than a last resort or more than a menial task.

Or is it?

Pray should be not something that is set a side for certain people or for certain times but a intergrated part of our spiritually well-being and experience. Pray is what keep us in tune with our maker the one who is on the other end of our prayers. Pray is not an excact science but a act of faith, who are we to judge the right and wrong way to pray.

I have really been enlightened whilst reading "Prayer, Does it make any difference?" by Phillip Yancey. His book has helped me think deeply about what I believe pray is and isn't. The book is hard work but has opened up my understanding and allowed God to speak to me about my own prayer life.

The word "just" is something that I still have to work through but I am more convinced than ever about the nessecity to speak to the One who made prayer possible about anything and everthing.

Matt

Standing out!

"Thought Harry Potter was blasphemous? That was kids' stuff compared to the His Dark Materials trilogy, in which God is an impostor, angels are sexually ambiguous and the Church kidnaps, tortures and assassinates to achieve its goals, one of which is stealing children's souls." - http://www.mtvasia.com/News/200711/05014981.html

A Christian group has lost its High Court battle to prosecute the BBC's director general over the screening of Jerry Springer - The Opera in 2005. - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7128552.stm

I am glad that the Christian group lost their bid to prosecute the BBC. Not because I think that the BBC should be protected from prosecution but because as a Christian I have no problem with these things being made, even shown. What have we to worry about! I am going to see the Golden Compass because I want to know what all the fuss is about. I want to be able to have opportunity to work through some of the questions for myself because I work with young people who no doubt will go and see it.

I know that God is bigger than any film or opera made by man and if we are to be effective witness we need to know that answers (or work through them with people) when questions are raise through these mediums.

Matt

We won!!!

For only the second time in my life I have seen my beloved Southampton win. We beat Leicester 2 -1. Both time have occurred when i sat in the opposite end to the Saints fans. Today I was sitting in the Grand Hall Stand, comfortable seats, free programme and free tea and coffee. Great.

I didn't wear my Saints shirt and was very restrained when we scored, I don't think anyone noticed me. I just blended in pretending to clap Leicester but really clapping the Saints. We are still in the bottom half but hey ho, there is still a long way to go.

Question for the next post: How can we make the Kingdom visible and not left unnoticed (like me in the crowd)?

Matt