Wells and fences (more incarnational stuff)

Hirsch and Frost provide a useful illustration of the difference between what they call a ‘bounded’ church and a ‘centred’ church. Briefly put a ‘bounded church’ is a set of people clearly marked off from those who do not belong to it – you’re either ‘in’ or ‘out’. Whereas a ‘centred church’ is defined by its core values, and people are not seen as in or out, but as closer or further away from the centre – the centre being Jesus. (No prizes for guessing which ‘model’ I prefer!)


Anyway, I was so struck by the illustration that I thought it was worth posting. They contend that the difference in emphasis is much like the difference between wells (not walls as I originally read it!) and fences. They write:

‘In some farming communities, the farmers might build fences around their properties to keep their livestock in and the livestock of neighbouring farms out (this represents a ‘bounded church’). But in rural communities where farms or ranches cover an enormous geographic area, fencing the property is out of the question. In our home of Australia, ranches are so vast that fences are superfluous. Under these conditions a farmer has to sink a bore and create a well, a precious water supply in the Outback, It is assumed that livestock, though they will stray, will never roam too far from the well, lest they die (this represents a ‘centred church’). As long as there is a supply of clean water, the livestock will remain close by.' (2003:47)

Let's get drilling!

A week of creative connections…

Much of my reading at the moment centres around the idea of ‘incarnational missiology’. A well-used, much-talked-about term it seems it is easier to discuss than embody. Yet beyond the clichéd, buzz-words I can’t help thinking there is a ‘pearl of great price’ worth discovering, particularly for us, with our ‘blank-sheet’ here in Stratford.

As I read Hirsch and Frost’s bountiful multi-course meal that is ‘The Shaping of Things to Come’ I’m intrigued by the concept of a church built upon ‘dynamic sets of relationships, friendships, and acquaintances’. I’m drawn to a church that ‘enhances and ‘flavours’ the host community’s living social fabric rather than disaffirming it’. I’m captivated by the thought of a group of Christians infiltrating a community, like salt and light, ‘to make creative connections with people where God-talk and shared experience allow for real cross-cultural Christian mission to take place’ (2003:42).

So this week we’ve set about making some creative connections. We’ve met and prayed with one of the MPs for the borough, Stephen Timms. We’ve established a link with one of the local primary schools which means we will now be doing an assembly every week. We’ve chatted with a local Councillor (one of our neighbours who just happens to be an Everton fan!) and listened as he shared his desire to see the Salvation Army flourish at the centre of our community. We’ve discovered that the manager of the football team that I’ve joined actually heads up the Youth Justice team working with the Borough’s young offenders. As we talked before training last night he was eager to see how we could work together to support this marginalized section of the community. We’ve also starting talking to ‘First Fruits’ (a Christian organisation that specialises in ‘social enterprise’ ventures) about the possibility of partnering them with a job creation and work-skills programme aimed at the long-term unemployed. Oh, and we’ve learned that Sure Start remain keen to work together in supporting young families.

Never-mind politics, seven days is a long time in church-planting!

Dissatisfaction and the prophetic potential of abstinence et al?

Dissatisfaction can be a dangerous thing. It can be dangerous in two ways.

The first danger, the danger that I believe we must do everything in our power to avoid, is the danger of retrenchment and disengagement. Those of us who seek to follow Jesus must resist the tendency to retreat into Christian ghettos from where we piously point a finger of condemnation and sanctimoniously shake our heads disapprovingly at the state of the world around us.

The second danger is different, for it’s a desirable danger. A danger that has the potential to radically reshape the cultural norm. Dissatisfaction can and I believe should drive us to be dangerously and dramatically different. Dissatisfaction should compel us to engage in evermore bold and creative ways as we seek to accentuate our ‘alternatives’.

For me personally abstinence represents one such ‘alternative’, but it’s not the only way, far from it. After all it's far easier to kid ourselves that we are changing the world (by not allowing alcohol to pass our lips?) than it is to actually change the world.

It is easier to 'comment' on the effects of alcohol misuse than to deal with the effects and to offer practical solutions. As Salvationists it is far easier to embroil ourselves in mere institutional tittle-tattle than to actually engage in meaningful and mature debate on the real issues of the day. It is easier to write to the Editor of The Salvationist than it is to write to the local MP about the continuing liberalisation of the licensing laws of our country. It is far easier to enforce an ‘unquestionable’ policy of abstinence on young and old alike than it is to enter a school and get involved in substance misuse education. It is far easier to go to bed at 10pm after the Vicar of Dibley than it is to get down the local park and help the inebriated teenagers get home safely. Its easier to pretend that our children and young people aren't like that and don't face the same problems and temptations.

It's all easier, but who said anything about the Christian life being easy? As Grahm Tomlin writes ‘to maintain a lifestyle that is different from the culture around us is lonely work’ (The Provocative Church, 2001:14)

Ultimately, virtue is a bit like money and style - if you have to tell people you have it you probably don't! If there is any virtue or merit in our convictions and actions, any power in our prophetic witness then people will recognise it for themselves, if not we must question their value and meaning.

However challenging, however lonely each of us has to decide how we are going to channel our dissatisfaction.

Say ‘we are top of the league, say we are top of the league!’

It’s not often a Scottish fan gets to say that! Unfortunately it’s not a ‘league’ that anyone wants to top. According to a United Nations report Scotland is the most violent country in the developed world. And what’s more England and Wales are second.

The UN figures suggest that violent crime has doubled in over the past 20 years to a level comparable with crime-ridden cities such as Rio de Janiero. So what has led to this table-topping performance?

Alcohol. Or more accurately the abuse and misuse of alcohol. Many experts are convinced that a heavy-drinking culture is to blame for rise in violence. So much so that Chris Allison form the Association of Chief Police Officers maintains that ‘drunkenness is all we are ever dealing with’.

In his book The Provocative Church Graham Tomlin contends that ‘the beginnings of Christian life and witness lie in dissatisfaction with the way things are’ (2002:27). If that’s the case I’m ready to live and witness. I never thought I’d say it but I’m not happy with Scotland being ‘top of the league’. In fact I desperately want them to be relegated.

A voice in the wilderness?

To be sure he won’t be wearing camel hair and he is unlikely to be dining on locusts or wild honey but as Trevor Phillips this week addresses Manchester’s Council for Community Relations his message will be no less prophetic. Challenging and uncomfortable to hear in the true prophetic tradition his concerns will be dismissed by many as alarmist, but go unheeded at society’s peril. As Stevie Wonder recently sung ‘what’s the fuss?’

The Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality will warn that race relations policy is failing to tackle the roots of ethnic alienation and extremism. A failing which he believes could lead to a ‘New Orleans-style Britain of passively coexisting ethnic and religious communities, eyeing each other uneasily over the fences of differences.’


Reflecting the insidious nature of the problem Phillips contends that ‘we are sleepwalking our way to segregation. We are becoming strangers to each other and leaving communities to be marooned outside the mainstream.’ Such disengagement only fuels the dissatisfaction and disillusion that leads to extremism in all its ugly glory.

As Phillip’s rightly observes ‘segregated communities are set up for destruction’ because the truth is we need each other. As a society we cannot survive and thrive without one another. There is an old film that demonstrates this powerfully. Entitled The Defiant Ones, it depicts two escaped convicts manacled together. One is black and the other is white. They fall into a ditch with steep, slippery sides. One convict claws his way nearly to the top, and just as he is about to make it, he discovers that he can’t get out because he is still manacled to his mate at the bottom, so he slithers back down. The only way they can make it out of that ditch is together – up, and up, and up, then out together. In our world, in our everyday communities we can survive only together. We can be truly free, ultimately, only together.

Waking sleepwalkers maybe dangerous, but this week a voice in the wilderness is alerting us that the alternative is no longer an option.

Thinking out loud - ‘Incarnational identification’?!

Simply put? Living with the people, as the people, for the people. Mind you, however simply we translate the jargon it is far from a simple way of life. As Frost & Hirsch write:

‘To identify incarnationally with a people will mean that we must try to enter into something of the cultural life of a ‘people’; to seek to understand their perspectives, their grievances and causes, in other words their real existence, in such a way as to genuinely reflect the act of identification that God made with us in Jesus.’ Frost & Hirsch (2004:38).

But when you’re actively pursuing the things of the Kingdom in the most diverse borough in London how do you effectively and authentically engage with the ‘cultural life of a people’?

Drawing on Jesus’ own example Leonard Sweet observes that ‘when Jesus dressed, he did not dress in a generic, culture-neutral way or put on clothing that set him apart from everyone else of his day. He dressed himself in the customary garb of the day where he lived. He fully inhabited the cultural space of the first century.’ (Sweet, 1999:79) But since the ‘cultural space’ of the 21st century is such a diverse milieu does multiculturalism threaten or even thwart ‘incarnational identification’?

Surely the answer is yes only if we narrowly and simplistically restrict our understanding and appreciation of each other along ethnic distinctions while disregarding the issues that draw us together. After all everyone wants safe streets, clean hospitals, and good schools. And fly-tipping, under-achieving schools, over-stretched hospitals, poor public transport, rising crime levels and the likes affect everyone in the community regardless of race or religion. Yet as much as our common ambitions unite us it is undoubtedly shared adversity and struggle that draws communities closest – just look at the response to the July 7th bombings.

In truth, far from being thwarted, as we seek to live with the people, as the people and for the people incarnational identification arguably represents the only valid response to increasing multiculturalism. Only as we practice mission incarnationally can a liberating message really liberate. To pigeon-paraphrase John 1:14…

‘The followers of Jesus moved into the neighbourhood and shopped at the same shops, used the same schools, travelled on the same buses, got disturbed by the same loud music and lived lives full of grace and truth.’

Salvation Army grid::blog

Birds of a feather blog together? We'll soon see.

It's coming home!

England may have the Ashes and Cricket may be the ‘new football’, but as we all know the ‘new cricket’ is Elephant Polo! And for the second year running Scotland have been crowned the World Elephant Polo Champions.

As sports stores across the country prepare for the inevitable rush for elephants, hopefully this recent success will trickle down to grass roots and councils will once again protect local elephant polo playing fields and stop selling them off for property development.

So you can keep the Ashes and you can keep that Webb Ellis nonsense – Elephant Polo is coming home!

It's a bizarre, disbelieving world!

Tony Blair intends to call for tighter weapons trade controls at the forthcoming UN world summit while UK ministers welcome the world's arm dealers and human rights abusers to do business in London at Europe's largest arms fair.

The UK actively discourages and deters nation-states developing or acquiring nuclear weapons while John Reid, the Defence minister, announces that it is 'inevitable' that the UK will need to replace and renew it's own nuclear arsenal.

MakePovertyHistory, a campaign that has engaged and mobilised millions of people to demand trade justice, that crippling debts be dropped and more and better aid be offered to the world's poorest nations have been prohibited from advertising on TV for being too political!

Can't imagine why there is so little interest in politics!

As Robert Lewis writes 'our postmodern world is tired of words. It wants real. Real is everything. Real is convincing.' (Lewis, 2001:39)

Let's make empty rehtoric history.

Go do something beautiful...

...is what one Graham Kendrick song urges. The catchy chorus continues…

In the name of Jesus,
Go do something beautiful,
Go do something Jesus would.

So with this in mind and not wishing to be accused of singing empty sentiments I popped into the impressive Stratford Old Town Hall to donate a pint of blood.

Would Jesus give blood? Who knows. Something beautiful? I’m not sure, but you do get a free packet of crisps and a cup of tea!

Many benefits indeed!

Who are you calling a 'pudding'?

They say that the proof 'is in the pudding'.

Elmer Town and Warren Bird reckon that ‘people today show interest in the truth of the gospel only after they’ve seen the relevance of the church and the credibility of Christians.’ (Town & Bird, 2000:45) Into the Future: Turning Today’s Church Trends into Tomorrow’s Opportunities

But if Town and Bird are right then that would make us…?

Wise words

On a recent TV gameshow one of the contestants, (Shawn) having won $1million was offered the chance to double it (or lose it!) on the flip of a coin.

Having spent an hour considering what to do and with most of his fellow contestants urging him to 'gamble and flip', a friend stepped forward with three simple words of advice...

'Manage your curiosity'.

Amidst a pretty predictable show these words stood out and struck me as particularly wise counsel.

Curiosity of course can be a great motivator, encouraging risks to be taken, moulds to be broken and fresh paths to be trod. Curiosity drives the pioneer.

But, (is there always a 'but'?) curiosity can be a malevolent guide prompting reckless action. Ever since the Garden of Eden many have been led astray by the allure of 'what if'. Curiosity fuels temptation.

Remember what curiosity did to the cat!

Curiosity can and, perhaps at times, should be managed.

Shawn did and took the money.

Lessons from friends 1: The ‘theology of space’

Having recently met Barry and Shane, teenage lads from our estate who are desperate to have a safe 'space' in which to 'listen to their music' I was reminded of lessons learnt from our friends at Poplar...

A strong ‘theology of space’ (Genesis 12:1-3) permeates much of the missional activity at Poplar Salvation Army. This is particularly apparent throughout the work with the younger end (Paradise Zone youth club) of an increasingly marginalized local society. As any ‘paradise’ should be it is a comfortable, safe, secure, and conducive environment in which young people are free to express themselves.

One of the key aspects is the sense of ownership – the club belongs to those who attend. Empowered by trust to maximize their potential, members invest of themselves ‘into the club’. The culture of ownership is further enhanced by the belief that if you give them your best (time, facilities, resources etc.), people respect it.

Given that ‘the overall purpose of human communication is – or should be – reconciliation. It should ultimately serve to lower or remove the walls of misunderstanding which unduly separate us human beings, one from another.’ (Peck, 1990:257)

It is my belief that acceptance, tolerance, mutual respect and understanding are central to mission. The extent to which we nurture healthy, constructive environments and authentic relationships built upon trust, honesty and openness will determine the effectiveness of our mission. These, for me, are the underlying principles of the theology of space.

Hopefully, we will 'flesh-out' this theology as we spend time with Barry, Shane and their friends.

Confession time!

I’ve been working. Not that this in itself, usually, would be a problem (or indeed a cause for confession!). But I’m currently on two weeks maternity leave, so the few hours it took me to knock-up a replacement poster for our church notice-board have not gone down too well.

While not trying to justify this heinous action I would want to add that as a direct result of my hastily constructed ‘billboard’ we made a very welcome ‘contact’. Having spied the offending ‘artwork’ the pastor of a neighbouring church decided to pop in and introduce himself. It’s always good to meet people for the first time, but Steve’s appearance (warm, encouraging welcome aside) is particularly exciting as he is very involved with the ecumenical Transform Newham partnership that brings various churches and their leaders together to work with, pray for and support one another.

Given that church unity is pretty important when it comes to God transforming communities I reckon the flack for the poster was worth it.

[NB: Most Thursday mornings we will now be found at the Transforming Newham prayer meeting.]

Spare a thought…

In the build up to the most eagerly anticipated test in living memory there has been much speculation as to what might determine the result….

Would England continue to attack?
Would Collingwood or Anderson
replace Jones?
Will McGrath play? Is he fully fit?
Would Ponting’s luck turn with the toss?What will the weather do?

It turns out that England’s chances of regaining the Ashes rests much closer to home.

It would appear that every time I decide to leave the front room Australia take a wicket. Warne may well have taken 4 wickets already, but I haven’t seen any of them! As long as I stay put, on the couch, in front of the TV, then England’s hopes remain! Maternity leave has rarely entailed such onerous responsibility!

So spare a thought... for me, a prisoner in my own front room!

[NB: Food parcels will be gratefully received]

The blind leading the blind?

She may be 92 and blind but she’s a planter’s dream. Having moved to a new area, with talk of finding the ‘movers & shakers’ and the ‘gatekeepers’ ringing in our ears we’ve already found that it’s the ‘wall-sitter’ who may hold the ‘key’.

As we enjoy the pleasant sun with Queenie on the wall and listen to her stories we also meet her friends – and she’s got quite a few! Every conversation, however brief, serves as an informal introduction to the community.

In the kingdom of the plant the blind woman is Queen(ie).

Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime

I was reading yesterday how the Prime Minister wants to establish a UK culture of respect - I'm sure George Galloway will be chuffed! I also recently learned that the 'tough on crime...' ‘soundbite’ was one of Tony Blair’s first. Both are noble sentiments, but as we know stylish soundbites without substance or commitment count for little. Those who marry both are influencial people indeed.

‘We have allowed the poor to become invisible and we become angry when they make their presence felt. But just as nonviolence has exposed the ugliness of racial injustice, we must now find ways to expose and heal the sickness of poverty – not just its symptoms but its basic causes.’ (Carson (ed), 1999:262) Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr

Forty years on from Luther King’s insightful comments poverty shows little sign of relenting. As we strive to make poverty history we should take heed of Tony and get ‘tough on poverty, tough on the causes of poverty’.

Welcome to parenthood?!

One week in and we’ve had our first trip to hospital as parents. The midwives had some concerns and asked us to take Joshua in to see a doctor. Now the bottom line is that he is ok (he’s a healthy one week old boy who likes his sleep!), but we didn’t know that as we waited at Newham University Hospital. It was a costly experience.

It was costly because as we sat on plastic chairs in children’s A&E with some old ‘Only Fools and Horses’ episode prattling on we were worried. Worried because we didn’t know what was wrong or what was going to happen.

It was costly because as we sat in a crowded waiting room with other similarly worried parents whose worlds were also being threatened we felt so protective yet desperately helpless.

It was costly because hospital parking is, well, costly!

(NB: Newham’s current pricing: 1-2 hours = Arm
3-4 hours = Leg
4-6 hours = First Born)

Despite how costly it was, it was worth it.

It was worth it for the peace of mind and the reassurance that we received.

It was worth it because we glimpsed how God the Father, the Creator must feel as he anxiously(?) watches the world he has lovingly created. The world for which he desperately wants the best, yet the world that so often chooses less than that.

It was worth it because once we were home relaxing in the chair having some ‘father/son time’ as he studied me with his deep blue eyes the night’s earlier excitement/anxiety vanished.

However costly this parenthood lark is, I’m beginning to appreciate that all the fear, worry and ulcers in the world will be worth it.

I see (translation: I don't see)

Recently a senior circuit judge came in for some criticism when he interrupted a fraud trial in St. Albans to ask a question.

What, he asked, is a sofa-bed? When a witness tried to explain, the Judge asked for clarification: ‘how can a bed be turned into a sofa?’ He listened, it seems, attentively having earlier being similarly fazed by the word ‘futon’. It would appear that modern bedsit furniture was not His Honour’s strong point.

In praising the judge’s ‘fearlessness and lack of self-preserving subterfuge’ Libby Purves maintained that ‘no human quality is more intelligent, honest and useful than willingness to ask when you don’t know. We should be less afraid of it’.

I reckon she has a point, after all, ‘perfect love expels all fear’ [1 John 4:18].

In our quest to model an alternative lifestyle we are undoubtedly better served by honest doubters and hard questions. Unquestioning compliance with the cultural status quo that is birthed in ignorance is short-sighted and futile. While tacit non-compliance is no less cancerous in it’s enervating effectiveness. Nodding and pretending to know or agree when you don’t is, as Purves writes, 'a modern curse'.

Contrary to popular opinion there’s no disgrace in asking – there’s no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers and those who don’t ask.

I pray for the courage to say what I see and say when I don’t.

Church growth

Six weeks in and the Stratford Olympic Tabernacle of the Salvation Army experiences 50% growth – wow! Go straight to the High Council collecting £200 Child Tax Credit as you pass Go!

I want to get off!

This was how I felt as I sat on a yellow plastic ‘tray’ at the top of one particularly steep waterslide during a recent visit to Texas. 100ft up with only seconds to wait, my confidence evaporated, fear swiftly moved in and I silently wished I’d never got on. I wanted to get off! (And I probably would have, had it not meant walking back down past the line of people who moments before I had queued beside. I’m 6ft 5in tall and my pride wouldn’t let me!)

I don’t mind admitting that I had a similar feeling more recently. On the way to the hospital to await the arrival of Joshua I couldn’t help feeling that I wanted to get off! Nervous about what lay ahead and unsure as to my ability to cope with it all, my confidence evaporated, fear swiftly moved in and I silently wished I hadn’t done what I’d obviously done eight and half months ago. I wanted to get off!

As with the Texan waterslide, a period of protracted waiting (and preparation?) was followed by intense, adrenalin-filled activity. Unlike the watery wall, my journey into the unknown world of parenthood will not be over in an instant. Yet despite my fears, and feelings of inadequacy, ‘I want to stay on!’