Time to grab your sun tan lotions and head off to the beach! You wish! Though I am one of those crazy people that will go for a boxing day swim in the sea. Don’t worry I haven’t gone completely mad, I am still aware its Christmas time. Last week I reminded you of the need to tell the story and be open to the Holy Spirit to bring a freshness into the Christmas Good News. One thing that strikes me about the whole Good News, the whole Gospel is that it is full of the unexpected. Who would have expected God’s Son to come as a poor, illegitimate refugee? Who would have expected the Messiah’s message would have been one of love? Who would have expected that he would have revealed a way into a relationship with the Father by Grace? Who would have believed his preference for the poor and marginalized, his value on women and children? Who would have expected the company he kept or would have second guessed who it would be he would most criticize?
It’s all too easy for us with the benefit of the New Testament and over 2,000 years distance to think we would have been more ready for his coming. And if the truth be known, he still catches us unawares again and again. His spirit blows where he wills and I for one would say that he continues to surprise me but I am so glad he does. Sometimes following the Lord feels like a rollercoaster, but that’s the thrill of it!
I do pray you will be surprised by him this Christmas. I don’t know what next year will bring. For some it will be an amazing year of fruitfulness, for others a year of heartache but I know he will be with you all in equal measure and whatever surprises are there for us, they will be opportunities to discover the Grace of God and the Joy of serving the Master.
In Christ I desire for you a Blessed Christmas and a Joyous New Year.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
It's Christmas time, and time is running out
It’s hard for me to think about Christmas time without thinking of a Sketch I did as a teenager that seems imbedded in my mind. I played the Vicar and the particular line that has come back to haunt me is – “This year I’m going to preach a meaningful Christmas sermon, I will not have Darth Vader or Tinky Winky, La La or Po in the pulpit, nor will I ruin my sermon notes with one of those dolls that wets themselves! I will think through everything carefully beforehand, and preach on the relevance of the birth of Christ to the modern world. If only I had time!”
I have a narrator’s part in a production this year, but won’t be preaching and so I don’t even have to face the temptation of going to the file of old material after hours of trying to come up with something original. And so my thoughts are with you because I do know the agony of trying to get it just right each Christmas. Of tying to present the Christmas message in a new and relevant and fresh way.
How do you say anything new? Anything that will so impact your congregation in such a way that will stop them in their tracks and cause them to think WOW! I never thought of it like that! and will have such an effect on them that they live their lives in a whole new way as a result of hearing you.
But it’s about you or me, it’s about Jesus. The Christmas story about Jesus is just so amazing that we want people to see it that way too!
The trouble is it’s near enough impossible to say anything new. It’s all been said! How do you improve on 2,000 years of storytelling? It’s newness depends on its freshness, and it’s freshness depends on openness – an openness on our part to hear God speak.
My advice for what it’s worth – just tell the story - and invest the time you could spend in coming up with something new in prayer for that openness of spirit that will allow God’s Spirit to bring Jesus into lives in a fresh way!
I have a narrator’s part in a production this year, but won’t be preaching and so I don’t even have to face the temptation of going to the file of old material after hours of trying to come up with something original. And so my thoughts are with you because I do know the agony of trying to get it just right each Christmas. Of tying to present the Christmas message in a new and relevant and fresh way.
How do you say anything new? Anything that will so impact your congregation in such a way that will stop them in their tracks and cause them to think WOW! I never thought of it like that! and will have such an effect on them that they live their lives in a whole new way as a result of hearing you.
But it’s about you or me, it’s about Jesus. The Christmas story about Jesus is just so amazing that we want people to see it that way too!
The trouble is it’s near enough impossible to say anything new. It’s all been said! How do you improve on 2,000 years of storytelling? It’s newness depends on its freshness, and it’s freshness depends on openness – an openness on our part to hear God speak.
My advice for what it’s worth – just tell the story - and invest the time you could spend in coming up with something new in prayer for that openness of spirit that will allow God’s Spirit to bring Jesus into lives in a fresh way!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Christmas is coming
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Christmas is coming! High street lights are being switched on, decorations are going up, cards are being written, and the perfect gift sought! Joy, Peace and Goodwill to all men or Bah Humbug! I don’t know which end of the spectrum better fits you but I do know how we all strive to encourage people towards the real meaning of Christmas, that the perfect gift has already been given! I have no ‘thought for the day’ as such today but just wanted to assure you of my prayers in the run up to Christmas. It is an especially busy time for pastors. I pray that through your ministry people will discover and gladly accept the gift of Jesus.
And by the way, it is unlikely you will hear from me next Monday, I’ll be Christmas Shopping!
And by the way, it is unlikely you will hear from me next Monday, I’ll be Christmas Shopping!
Monday, November 16, 2009
God is Love!
My wife, Jackie, is leading a small group tonight on the theme ‘God is Love’. Recognizing my Biblical knowledge and profound teaching experience (well I can dream) she asked me if I had any good material. So I looked through my preaching and teaching files to pull something out for her to have a look at. To my huge surprise I discovered I didn’t have anything! To be sure, the theme was present in all sorts of ways, plenty on God loving us and more than a little on encouraging our love for God. But on the nature of God as Love - very little. Something that I will have to redress.
The last 3 words of 1 John 4v8 form one of the most profound statements of the whole Bible and perhaps for many people today one of the hardest to believe. ‘God is love’. When we think of this 'grubby tennis ball' of a planet, set in the vast infinity of space, our own lives as just moments in the onward surge of time, and our individuality among countless millions, can we really talk meaningfully about God loving us? And when we look at the world with all its evil and suffering, so many damaged and broken lives, how can there be a God who really loves us? Yet, John insists, this is the very nature of God. And if we are not to empty the word 'God' of all its meaning, we must realise that such an infinite yet personal Creator is not too great to be bothered with my tiny life. He is so great that he can be bothered with each of us individually. John is not identifying a quality which God possesses; he is making a statement about the essence of God's being. It is not simply that God loves, but that He is love. Focussing on who he is enables to believe what he does. And so though of course I want to say to you, ‘God Loves you’. But maybe it is even better to say to you ‘God is Love’!
The last 3 words of 1 John 4v8 form one of the most profound statements of the whole Bible and perhaps for many people today one of the hardest to believe. ‘God is love’. When we think of this 'grubby tennis ball' of a planet, set in the vast infinity of space, our own lives as just moments in the onward surge of time, and our individuality among countless millions, can we really talk meaningfully about God loving us? And when we look at the world with all its evil and suffering, so many damaged and broken lives, how can there be a God who really loves us? Yet, John insists, this is the very nature of God. And if we are not to empty the word 'God' of all its meaning, we must realise that such an infinite yet personal Creator is not too great to be bothered with my tiny life. He is so great that he can be bothered with each of us individually. John is not identifying a quality which God possesses; he is making a statement about the essence of God's being. It is not simply that God loves, but that He is love. Focussing on who he is enables to believe what he does. And so though of course I want to say to you, ‘God Loves you’. But maybe it is even better to say to you ‘God is Love’!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Faith and the Environment
Revd Dr John Weaver, Principal of South Wales Baptist College, was a guest on the BBC Radio programme All Things Considered this Sunday.
"Looking ahead to the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference in December, Roy Jenkins is joined by four guests, each from a different faith community, to explore the extent to which religious beliefs shape our relationships with the natural world? How do they influence how we act on an issue like global warming? And what – if any – is the distinctive contribution which people of faith have to make to one of the most crucial issues of our generation?"
You can listen to or download the programme either from the BBC website, or from the College Download Page.
"Looking ahead to the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference in December, Roy Jenkins is joined by four guests, each from a different faith community, to explore the extent to which religious beliefs shape our relationships with the natural world? How do they influence how we act on an issue like global warming? And what – if any – is the distinctive contribution which people of faith have to make to one of the most crucial issues of our generation?"
You can listen to or download the programme either from the BBC website, or from the College Download Page.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Happy Birthday Sesame Street
Well this week’s Monday morning note is being written in the early hours of Tuesday morning! The reason is I left early this morning (sorry yesterday morning now) to come to BU Council in Swanwick. So today Tuesday we are celebrating 40 years of Sesame Street. No not at Council, though it will be interesting to see if It comes up! We did however spend some time today considering how we may better address the needs of children and better include them in the life of our churches. I have just had great fun however on www.sesamestreet.org go on, you know you want to! It never did take off in the UK as it did in other parts of the world but it has been a major player in the education of children around the world for, hard to believe, 40 years. And Bert and Ernie still look good on it.
The stars still want to be part of it. The Independent carries these four quotes:
MICHELLE OBAMA "I never thought I'd be on Sesame Street with Elmo and Big Bird... It's probably the best thing I've done at the White House."
JAMES BLUNT "I always wanted to be a Muppet. So when Sesame Street approached me, I thought: 'I'm going to be on this!' It's pretty incredible stuff."
RICKY GERVAIS "You know you've made it when you get asked to do Sesame Street or sing with a little furry puppet. It's quite weird in a funny way."
KOFI ANNAN "Elmo and his friends, they tell it straight... Keep it simple and it brings you back to earth. I think that is very important, we all need that."
Kofi Annan has of course simply restated what Jesus said: “Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The utter trust and dependency in the Father is sadly lacking in most of us and has been replaced by a self sufficient maxim that, well that, let’s be honest is really ‘childish’ rather than ‘childlike’!
The stars still want to be part of it. The Independent carries these four quotes:
MICHELLE OBAMA "I never thought I'd be on Sesame Street with Elmo and Big Bird... It's probably the best thing I've done at the White House."
JAMES BLUNT "I always wanted to be a Muppet. So when Sesame Street approached me, I thought: 'I'm going to be on this!' It's pretty incredible stuff."
RICKY GERVAIS "You know you've made it when you get asked to do Sesame Street or sing with a little furry puppet. It's quite weird in a funny way."
KOFI ANNAN "Elmo and his friends, they tell it straight... Keep it simple and it brings you back to earth. I think that is very important, we all need that."
Kofi Annan has of course simply restated what Jesus said: “Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The utter trust and dependency in the Father is sadly lacking in most of us and has been replaced by a self sufficient maxim that, well that, let’s be honest is really ‘childish’ rather than ‘childlike’!
Monday, November 2, 2009
God is Good
God is Good! (Nahum 1:7). We have to begin there in each and every situation. The problem is that we so often fail to tap into the goodness of God for lack of trust. One dictionary definition says that trust is ‘confidence in’ and ‘reliance on’ and secondly that it is a position of obligation. Eph 1:3 lets us know that the entire Christian life is learning to access what God in Christ has already provided for us. But in the learning we often meet with failure and disappointment. If God works in everything for our good (Rom 8:28), by implication we will fail in some things when first we try. We are wrong to limit this verse to the bad things that happen to us which are beyond our control. It also has to have reference to the things we do! And believe me this is a hugely positive thing. If you are succeeding at everything, you’re not trying hard enough! You’re not risking enough!
My kayaking club are going to award a trophy at the end of the year to the person who has had to bail out of their kayaks and swim the most. All that has accomplished is stopping many club members from having a go at a stretch of river that is a bit beyond them and this means improvement is hampered. We need to risk, we need to go out on a limb, we need as Will Carey said, to “attempt great things for God”. We have after all an assignment from God to see to it that His Kingdom comes, His will is done. Trusting a God that is good and always works good gives us the confidence to keep at it, to pursue those things that are beyond us naturally. It is how we grow. Learning and growing through failure Keeps us tethered to the goodness of God.
My kayaking club are going to award a trophy at the end of the year to the person who has had to bail out of their kayaks and swim the most. All that has accomplished is stopping many club members from having a go at a stretch of river that is a bit beyond them and this means improvement is hampered. We need to risk, we need to go out on a limb, we need as Will Carey said, to “attempt great things for God”. We have after all an assignment from God to see to it that His Kingdom comes, His will is done. Trusting a God that is good and always works good gives us the confidence to keep at it, to pursue those things that are beyond us naturally. It is how we grow. Learning and growing through failure Keeps us tethered to the goodness of God.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Father and Son bonding
Just had a great weekend white water kayaking on the river Dart, Father and Son bonding and all that! It’s the reason we took up kayaking. The trouble is I absolutely love it where as my son, Lewis, has not been quite that enamoured with it. As many of you who came to the Roadshows would have heard, my son’s thing is def metal and he’s a drummer! (Pray for me). So in the summer I went to Sonisphere festival at Knebworth and discovered there is an advantage to going deaf in old age. Actually we had a great time together and even though some lyrics were far from wholesome they were a great launching pad for conversation with my son. It did strike me that if the command on God’s people is to make disciples of all people groups (Mt 28:19) who’s doing it amongst this tribe? If you are aware, I would love to know. What I truly loved about being there was seeing my son energised. It seems both of us want to live life to the full and I know that Jesus himself said that was why he came. I am praying that my son will discover that for himself, even that he would be one Jesus would use to reach that culture.
You will find this email and the previous two on the South Wales Baptists Blog
http://southwalesbaptists.blogspot.com/
Have a look and join in the conversations on this blog!
By the way, the dart was so good this weekend he’s decided that Kayaking really is fun so I’m sorry but we are praying for rain this half term week so we can get on another river!
You will find this email and the previous two on the South Wales Baptists Blog
http://southwalesbaptists.blogspot.com/
Have a look and join in the conversations on this blog!
By the way, the dart was so good this weekend he’s decided that Kayaking really is fun so I’m sorry but we are praying for rain this half term week so we can get on another river!
Rest in Him (19th Oct)
It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks and looking at the diary over the next few weeks it’s only going to get worse. And so it was such a blessing to get away for a 24 hour retreat last week with some other regional ministers. We need these occasions not simply to recharge but to recalibrate and as the Lord graciously did for me last week, reiterate his call upon my life. Whether it be a full blown retreat or the valuable moments we take each day, to listen to the Lord, allowing the Holy Spirit to regulate our heart beat with the Father’s is vital to our ongoing walk and fruitfulness in his service. It is the learning to rest, remain, abide in Christ so that we are able to bear the fruit he produces in us. We find our place in God and he finds his place in us. We become a hospitable place for him to dwell in us. Strange that we still insist on rushing around so much!?! But on that note hope to see some of you at the last of our Roadshows this week; Wednesday at Monmouth, Thursday at Woodville Cardiff.
first weekly email 12th Oct
I have had in mind for quite some time to email all of you as ministers within the association on a regular basis, say every Monday morning, simply to encourage you in what the Lord has called you to. It is after all an easy way to communicate quickly in the world we now live in. Paul tells us to make the most of every opportunity (Eph 5:16). And there are many opportunities. What about taking opportunities to help one another? As disciples of Christ we are ever learning from his word, by his Spirit and from each other.
I wonder if we can commit ourselves to taking the opportunity to sharpen one another (Prov 27:17). For encouragement, challenge and enabling each other. This can be done in twos and threes, in small groups, using our monthly ministers gatherings, then there are the bigger gatherings like Mainstream and the Ministers Conference. Andy and I are currently running missional roadshows focusing on change and transition. Tonight at 7pm we are at Jerusalem Pentrebach, tomorrow Ebbw Bridge. There are many opportunities to develop our gifts and understanding of what the Lord has called us to.
Perhaps begin by giving another minister a ring today and plan to meet up!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Life after Festivals
So the summer is over and the canvas festival season of Leading Edge, Keswick, Greenbelt and others is done for another while. But what is it that we come back to and have our trips away helped us with what is to come?
I'm reading George MacDonald's Fairy Tales at the moment and in one called The Shadows after a mortal has returned from a mysterious journey to the Shadow Church, he offers these few lines:
This made it the more likely that he had seen a true vision; for instead of making common things look commonplace, as a false vision would have done, it had made common things disclose the wonderful that was in them.
Have a wonder full day ... and may your vision be beauty full.
I'm reading George MacDonald's Fairy Tales at the moment and in one called The Shadows after a mortal has returned from a mysterious journey to the Shadow Church, he offers these few lines:
This made it the more likely that he had seen a true vision; for instead of making common things look commonplace, as a false vision would have done, it had made common things disclose the wonderful that was in them.
Have a wonder full day ... and may your vision be beauty full.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
MAINSTREAM WALES announces that
Revd. Kwame Adzam will be the guest speaker on
Thursday 24th September 2009
at Carmel Baptist Church, Pontlliw (Nr. Swansea)10.00am Coffee, 10.30am Start, 3.30pm Finish
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
* Cost: £7 : Buffet lunch will be provided
* Directions: Exit Junction 47 of M4; take the A48 (Swansea Road) heading towards Pontardulais.
* Open to all those in church leadership position.
PLEASE REGISTER BEFOREHAND by contacting Mark Thomas at the SWBA Office on either 029 2049 1366 or mark@swbabugb.org.uk
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Jesus - either you love him or you hate him (allegedly)
Just when you thought Jesus had given up on South Wales...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8071865.stm
See that's the problem with Jesus, people either love him or they hate him!
I'm glad he's 'my mate...'.
But I'll never be able to sing 'May the fragrance of Jesus...' seriously again.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8071865.stm
See that's the problem with Jesus, people either love him or they hate him!
I'm glad he's 'my mate...'.
But I'll never be able to sing 'May the fragrance of Jesus...' seriously again.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
South Wales Baptist College Newsletter
Be the first to read the new newsletter from South Wales Baptist College!
Available to download from here.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tony's in Town for Mainstream Wales
MAINSTREAM WALES announces that
Tony Campolo will be the guest speaker on Thursday 11th June 2009
at Carmel Baptist Church, Pontlliw (Nr. Swansea)
10.00am Coffee, 10.30am Start, 3.30pm Finish
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
∞ Cost: £7 : Buffet lunch will be provided.
∞ Directions: Exit Junction 47 of M4; take the A48 (Swansea Road) heading towards Pontardulais.
∞ Open to all those in church leadership positions
∞ REGISTRATION BEFOREHAND IS ESSENTIAL DUE TO LIMITED SPACE
Contact Mark Thomas on either 029 2049 1366 or mark@swbabugb.org.uk
10.00am Coffee, 10.30am Start, 3.30pm Finish
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
∞ Cost: £7 : Buffet lunch will be provided.
∞ Directions: Exit Junction 47 of M4; take the A48 (Swansea Road) heading towards Pontardulais.
∞ Open to all those in church leadership positions
∞ REGISTRATION BEFOREHAND IS ESSENTIAL DUE TO LIMITED SPACE
Contact Mark Thomas on either 029 2049 1366 or mark@swbabugb.org.uk
Monday, March 30, 2009
Confused.com
Suggested this to Simon as a post to this blog. His response was to invite me to join as a contributor. Could be a big mistake...
Anyway, I came across a review for a new edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which included an extract from the Wife of Bath's prologue. The esteemed lady is speaking to her fellow pilgrims about the experience she's gained by being married five times. As she does she says something about Jesus' perspective which made me laugh because it's often how I feel when reading the Bible.
This is for all those who know just how hard preaching can be, for all those who are training for pastoral ministry, and especially for all those who think that they understand the Bible quite well.
Anyway, I came across a review for a new edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which included an extract from the Wife of Bath's prologue. The esteemed lady is speaking to her fellow pilgrims about the experience she's gained by being married five times. As she does she says something about Jesus' perspective which made me laugh because it's often how I feel when reading the Bible.
This is for all those who know just how hard preaching can be, for all those who are training for pastoral ministry, and especially for all those who think that they understand the Bible quite well.
The Wife of Bath's Prologue, as retold by Peter Ackroyd [Italics added by me]
I don't care what anyone says. Experience of the world is the best thing. It may not be the main authority but, in relationships, it is a good teacher. I know all about unhappiness in marriage. Goodness me. Oh yes. I was 12 years old when I first got a husband. I've had five altogether, thanks be to God. Five of them trooping up to the church door. That is a lot of men. By and large they were gentlemen, or so I was led to believe. Yet I was told quite recently - I forget by whom - that our Saviour attended only one wedding. It was in the town of Cana. So, the argument goes, I should only ever have been married once. And then there was the time when Jesus rebuked the Samaritan woman. They were standing beside a well, weren't they? “You have had five husbands,” He said. “And the man you are living with is not your husband.” He was God and man, so I suppose He knew what He was talking about. I don't understand what His point was, but I am sure He had one.
To read the rest of the extract and the accompanying review click this link - http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article5945019.ece
Simon Woodman interviewed
Simon Woodman of South Wales Baptist College has been interviewed by Andy Goodliff. You can read the interview here.
Friday, March 27, 2009
What do you get if you divide science by God?
Another interesting BBC News Magazine article I missed earlier in the week.
Well It's interesting to a non-scientist like me!
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Bible and Hip Hop
The music-video channel which had been blasting in the cafe this morning went suddenly quiet, causing me to glace up. You can imagine my suprise to see...When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child;
But when I became a man,
I put childish things away.
- 1 Corinthians 13:11
...before the music of 'Dead and gone' by T.I featuring Justin Timberlake started up.
If (like I was) you're curious, there are links to the video and lyrics below. But a word of WARNING - it contains explicit language, of the variety found in most hip hop.
Video & Lyrics
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Even more T in Church
Sermon Bingo. We've all either played it, or secretly wished we had the guts. For those serious about the game, there's another semi-pro level of play opening up to us:
'Naked Pastor' has been creating theologian T-shirts.
How about challenging a friend? You each wear one to church, and whoever's got the first thologian to get a mention in the sermon wins.
I reckon I'd have pretty good odds with this one!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Comedy quotations from the Edwin Stephen Griffiths Lecture
Held at the South Wales Baptist College on 11 March 2009.
A deacon questioned if the woman minister would be physically able to baptise a man. The response:
“Good gosh man – have you seen her hands?!”
If baptism is like birth...
“Should we add a new bit to the end and give them a slap?”
Baptism without coming into fellowship is like saying:
“I want to be married, but not actually to anybody”
From the speaker to a tutor, repeatedly:
“I wish you’d behave!”
One person’s relationship with chocolate is:
“...outright adoration, within the bounds of idolatry”
“Your mission should you choose to accept it is to save the entire church. Good luck.”
From one tutor, to a superior:
“I’m just glad you realised that if you were perfect, that isn’t you!”
“I found myself struck down in Asda whilst pushing a trolley with appendicitis”.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Darwin vs. Divine?
Focusing on the important issues
What is really important in our Christian discipleship?
On March 10th I am due to give the final lecture in an eight lecture series on Darwin and Evolution, which are being given through the Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent’s Park College in Oxford. The title of my lecture is “The Challenge of Evolutionary Theory for the 21st Century Church.”
The lecture series has been chosen as 2009 marks the bi-centenary of the birth of Charles Darwin (February 12th) and the 150th anniversary of his major work on natural selection, the Origin of Species, (November 24th).
Darwin’s observation of natural variation and selection together with Mendel’s recognition of genetic inheritance paved the way for our modern understanding of the evolution of life. For biological research and our knowledge of life on earth this is truly important, but for Christian faith?
This scientific breakthrough has led to some heated debate both in science and in the church. There are scientists who believe that everything in this world can only be explained by science, and there are Christians who believe that the only way to understand the origin of this world and its life is through a literal reading of Genesis 1-3
By emphasising extreme positions both suggest that the theory of evolution leads to atheism, and both emphasise that the literal interpretation of scripture is the crux of the argument. This is bad science and bad theology: reducing life to a nothing but atoms and molecules, where there is no room for meaning or for human freedom, and a biblical interpretation that fails to recognise context and genre of the words – giving a one-size-fits-all approach to reading and understanding of scripture.
The result is a false dichotomy of nature or God, which is far removed from the ways in which both scientists and theologians of 17th and 18th centuries viewed the world – they saw the discoveries of science as a revealing of the ways in which God worked in the world.
Darwin’s theory of evolution put God back into the world as an active participant, rather than the machine minder of Sir Isaac Newton, who was outside of his creation.
It was therefore no surprise that Christian scholars Charles Kingsley, Frederick Temple, Aubrey Moore and John Henry Newman in the UK, and Benjamin Warfield, James Orr and Asa Gray in USA welcomed Darwin’s ideas. In fact Darwin himself and also his keenest advocate, Thomas Henry Huxley, both left room for God in their assessment of the origin of the world.
We know that God faithfully and lovingly ordered creation, and declared it to be good.
Evolution is a process within the universe’s story. This story is not a chance process but is constrained by the physical (God-given) parameters of the universe’s beginnings and by its (God-given) laws. I believe that we should recognise the way in which God has brought the universe and life of planet earth into being, and praise God for his faithfulness, his creativity, and every aspect of his grace that we find in our lives in this world.
When we have reached this conclusion we can move on to our calling as disciples of Christ to be Gospel people sharing God’s desire for all human beings to know him, and through the Cross of Christ to be brought into an eternal relationship with the creator of the universe.
In a radio discussion last month about Darwin and evolution on BBC Wales’ “All things considered,” presenter Roy Jenkins asked me if I thought there were more important issues for attention by the church. I responded with my sadness at the amount of time and money that is being spent in this debate, especially by those groups that advocate ‘creationism’ and ‘intelligent design.’
We are living in a time when the world is in the grips two crises: an economic crisis and the crisis of global climate change. Both require drastic and immediate action, and both are having a disproportionately adverse affect on the poorest in our world. If we are to act out our Christian discipleship standing up for God’s priorities of justice and mercy we will need to give priority to allowing God’s redeeming love to flow through us and to change us, so that our lives will bring hope and life to those in greatest need.
Our priority is to focus on the important issues of life in Christ and life in all the fullness that God intended now, rather than arguments about how life on planet earth developed in past ages.
John Weaver.
Monday, March 2, 2009
'School trip' to Babylon and Byzantium
A great day in London to see some very informative exhibitions. A huge thanks from all who made it to Simon for all his work organising it and shepherding us around on the day:
Monday, February 16, 2009
These are the days of the Prophets
So much talk about the credit crunch / economic crisis has been taken up with statements of either 'We never saw it coming' or 'Why did no-one see it coming.' Last week it came to light that some of the insiders who did see it coming were not thanked for their prophecies of doom and were sacked for their trouble.
I've been ill for the last few days but the positive side effect that comes with that is being pretty much unable to do much except lie in bed and listen to the radio. (I did get up for the rugby!) So it was that I caught most of BBC radio 4 output on Saturday, including Any Questions / Any Answers. Listening to the comments on our economic crisis almost made me get up and email a response. Almost ... Instead 'Mr Angry from Cardiff' let it go ... but now that I am up and well I need to get it out of my system.
During 'Any Questions' the 'same old same old' about no-one could have predicted this came from the politicians who in turn pointed out (on the basis that the best defence is offence) that no-one in the Media had been running stories predicting the problems on TV or in Newspapers. So it seems that no-one could have possible known what was going to happen.
Well .... no. There have been voices in the Church and charities movement clearly criticising the growing culture of individual and corporate debt and prophetically anticipating the future as it has come to pass. Folks such as Kathy Galloway, leader of the Iona Community who six years ago this month gave the The Christian Socialist Movement John Wheatley Lecture, entitled the
Spirituality of Economics http://ilrs.org/faith/wheatley2003.pdf Much of what she said there is still so relevant to the crisis of today ... not the financial one but the spiritual crisis that diseases our souls. Of course there have been many others, raising similar prophetic voices, Kathy's lecture just came to mind as one, and I am sure it gives her and others little pleasure to know that their uncomfortable message was been proven right
Spirituality of Economics http://ilrs.org/faith/wheatley2003.pdf Much of what she said there is still so relevant to the crisis of today ... not the financial one but the spiritual crisis that diseases our souls. Of course there have been many others, raising similar prophetic voices, Kathy's lecture just came to mind as one, and I am sure it gives her and others little pleasure to know that their uncomfortable message was been proven rightNone of this is to encourage smug I told you so's
but it is to encourage the rest of us to listen again to the voices from the radical margins ... on economics, on ecology, on matters of violence and justice ... because these may well be the days that belong to the prophets.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
In my darkness...
Our theme at college this week is 'wilderness'. I think ASBOJesus' latest post is very appropriate and helpful:
All Things Considered: God and Darwin
"As we mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, this week Roy Jenkins and a panel of guests explore whether there is any conflict between believing in God and believing in Darwinian evolution."
Special Guest: John Weaver
You can download the podcast here in case you missed it.
In search of true love
John Weaver's BUGB Blog entry for Februay:
The staple diet for many popular magazines like OK and Hello are relationships: who is going out with whom or who has broken up with whom. Amongst the latest are Paul McCartney who is allegedly about to marry his girlfriend Nancy Shevell, and Chelsy Davy who has split up with Prince Harry.
Relationships play an important part in all our lives and our interest stems from our fundamental need for love – the desire to find someone with whom we can share our lives at the deepest and most intimate level. This is something that God intended for us, as we read in Genesis 2.
When God provided Adam with a partner, Eve, she is a “helper fit for” Adam, which in Hebrew has the meaning of one who provides what is lacking in the one needing help, one who is a counterpart, a companion, a complement, and matching Adam’s distinctiveness in creation. There is no sense of superiority or inferiority or subordination here. So here in this second story of creation we have the equality of the sexes; and we find that we need each other for our wholeness.
Scripture tells us that relationships are good. They are to be rejoiced in, and they are affirmed by God, and they find their context in commitment, which Genesis 2 presents as marriage.
Sadly today many relationships between men and women and also between communities and nations are marked by abuse, a lack of trust and a thirst for power and control. Loving relationships are sometimes marked more by fear than by fun; sexual fantasies and temptations get out of hand; and sexuality becomes the context for shame, guilt and destructive and abusive lives.
February brings a day that causes as much joy and heartache as any other day in the year – Valentine’s Day. My youngest grandchild is very fortunate as she was born on February 14th. No teenage pain for her, not the ‘tragedy’ of no one loving her – she will be awash with cards on Valentine’s Day.
There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. St. Valentine helped Christian martyrs and secretly married couples in defiance of an edict from Emperor Claudius II, who was worried that marriage led to a fall in the number of men joining the army. St. Valentine was condemned to death, beaten with clubs and had his head cut off on 14th February, 269AD. At that time it was the custom in
Gradually, February 14th became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. So a day to celebrate one Christian’s sacrificial love and discipleship has become a day of joy or heartbreak, a day to bask in popularity or to feel rejected. Far from a day of celebration, many dread its approach. In
St. Dwynwen lived during the 5th century and when she was prevented from marrying her true love she devoted herself to God for the rest of her life. She founded a convent, where a well named after her became a place of pilgrimage. Visitors believed that the sacred fish that lived in the well could foretell whether or not their relationship would be filled with love and happiness.
Valentine or
Sunday, February 8, 2009
‘Journey to Jerusalem’ – a Christian Aid pilgrimage
From the Baptist Union of Great Britain:
During Lent we want to challenge you to go beyond hearing about the people in the Holy Land, and hear from them instead. Every day through Lent, a virtual pilgrimage will take you on an interactive journey. Using short videos, podcasts, photo galleries, prayers and stories it will bring the Holy Land alive. We will follow a route that takes in many of the locations mentioned as part of Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem. And along the way you will be able to find out more about issues, connect with other users, share your views and take part in actions that will help change lives. Our Christian Aid pilgrimage is supported by BUGB, and the Faith and Unity Department have been involved in preparing some of the material that will be used. To sign up go to: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/getinvolved/lent/journey-to-jerusalem.aspx
Friday, January 30, 2009
Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
I've just finished reading Moshin Hamid's book The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
Anybody else read it?
I really loved the whole thing
but I want to make sure I understood the ending?
I've just finished reading Moshin Hamid's book The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
Anybody else read it?
I really loved the whole thing
but I want to make sure I understood the ending?
or at least talk about different interpretations
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Discussions on retreat....
Here are 3 interesting questions raised at our last college retreat in my discussion group:
1) Does the absence of sin in heaven imply the absence of free will?
2) What do decisions look like at a molecular level; i.e. if all my decisions are ultimately reducible to chemical reactions at cell level, then where does my ability to make decisions reside?
3) If atoms from each living being are recycled when the living being dies, then what will our resurrected bodies be made of?
Answers please...
1) Does the absence of sin in heaven imply the absence of free will?
2) What do decisions look like at a molecular level; i.e. if all my decisions are ultimately reducible to chemical reactions at cell level, then where does my ability to make decisions reside?
3) If atoms from each living being are recycled when the living being dies, then what will our resurrected bodies be made of?
Answers please...
Paul on Women in Ministry
The following is the script of part of a lecture on 1 Corinthians which I gave yesterday. Some of the students said it would be helpful to post it here to facilitate discussion on the subject. It's actually an extract from a longer piece, originally published in the Baptist Ministers' Journal.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Central to any debate about this passage is the conclusion reached concerning Paul’s use of the word ‘head’ in verse 3. In modern usage, ‘head’ implies a sense of authority, as is seen in the sentence: ‘He was promoted to become the head of the company.’ However, in Paul’s time ‘head’ did not automatically imply a sense of authority. Anatomically, people were not understood as thinking with their heads – rather, conscious and emotive thought were understood to originate in the breast or the stomach. The head was the place through which nourishment entered the body and from which speech flowed, and in this way it was frequently seen as the source or origin of life and relationship. Therefore the head was not seen as directing the body in the way in which we would understand it today, and we need to be careful not to impose our modern perspective upon Paul’s usage.
So, if it is unlikely that Paul was intending his use of ‘head’ to indicate a relationship of authority, what did he mean when he said that, ‘Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ’? Paul appears to have in mind the understanding of ‘head’ as source and origin, something which becomes clearer in verses 8 and 12 where he speaks twice more of man as the source of woman. Paul is obviously here drawing on the story of creation, where woman originated from man, just as Paul would see the Son originating from the Father, and all creation originating from the Son. Paul is putting forward here, not an argument for authority, but a series of three analogous relationships to try and explain to the Corinthian church that man and woman relate to each other as the head relates to the body, as the Father relates to the Son, and as the Son relates to humanity. His point is that just as humanity found its source in Christ, and Christ found his source in God, so woman finds her source in man, as is evidenced in the order of creation. Paul is not here suggesting an ordering based on dominating authority, with superior and subordinate. Rather, he is likening the relationship of man and woman, with that of Christ and humanity, and of God and Christ. The relationship between the Father and the Son functions, in Paul’s mind, as an image for the way in which Christ and humanity, and man and woman, relate to each other. This relationship is not one of subordination, but is rather a relationship of interdependence and unity.
Some have argued that there is an inherent subordination in the relationship between the Father and the Son, and that this provides a model for a relationship of subordination between man and woman. This is not a new argument, as discussions on the power relationships within the Trinity occupied the minds of many of the early church fathers. The orthodox position was that the Son and the Father are coequal, rather than superior and subordinate. Scriptural backing for this position can be found in a number of key texts, and John Chrysostom (Archbishop of Constantinople AD 398-404) used the word ‘heretic’ to describe those who would seek to understand ‘head’ in terms of authority, preferring instead to see headship as denoting origin and source. If, therefore, it is not appropriate to try and understand the Father-Son relationship in terms of a divinely ordained hierarchy, neither is it appropriate to extrapolate from this to see unequal submission as part of the natural order of male-female relationships.
The broader context of 11:3 is a passage which is primarily concerned with hairstyles and propriety in worship, and an obvious link can be seen between Paul’s discussion of head-coverings and hairstyles, and the relationship of ‘head’-ship that he has proposed between Christ, man, woman, and God. To understand Paul’s logic here, it is necessary to realise that Paul was writing to a specific situation, and was therefore using the arguments which he thought would best convince the intended recipients of his letter. His logic may seem convoluted to the modern reader, because we are reading his words in a context far removed from that of the original recipients. It is important to note that Paul refrains from giving instructions as to how women should dress, and neither does he argue that woman is subordinate to man. Rather, he draws supporting arguments from creation and nature to convince the Corinthian Christians that, for the sake of propriety, certain head-coverings were appropriate in worship and some were not. In Jewish custom, a woman’s head covering was indicative of her commitment to her husband, and in Roman culture, women would cover their heads for worship, whereas Greek women would not. Women’s hairstyles could also make both social and sexual statements, and in the cosmopolitan city of Corinth, where class conflict and sexual politics were rife, it is easy to see why Paul was concerned that this should not become a controversial issue in the church. However, as is clear from verse 16, Paul is not here seeking to make a grand theological point. Rather, he is concerned to avoid controversy and preserve propriety.
Overall, then, 1 Cor 11:2-16 does not lend itself to an understanding of male authority. It recognises that the male-female relationship parallels those between God and Christ, and between Christ and humanity, in terms of interdependence and unity. Paul is using this parallel to make an intensely pastoral point about propriety in public worship, and his intention in writing was not to deal with gender issues, but to provide pastoral instruction in a specific context. Paul’s priorities were love, unity and good witness, and whilst the freedom of Galatians 3:28 may be his ideal, this freedom didn’t mean that the believers were free to throw off all customs to the detriment of the church’s unity and public witness.
1 Corinthians 14:33b-36
This passage is problematic because, at first glance, Paul seems to contradict what he said in 1 Cor 11:4-5. In the earlier passage, Paul clearly expected that women would pray and prophesy in public worship, and his concern was that they should do so with propriety and decorum, whereas a superficial reading of 14:34 appears to say that women should be silent in church. The key to solving this is found in 14:35, where Paul says that if women desire to know anything, they should ask their husbands at home. Paul is actually only restricting women from the shameful public asking of questions.
One of the problems in the early church, and particularly the church in Corinth, was that of order and propriety in worship. In so many ways, the post-Pentecost community of Christian believers had broken down barriers of race, class and gender; but the danger of this freedom was that it ran the risk of breaking down into anarchy, which would seriously hinder the witness of the church. In the Corinthian cultural situation, women would traditionally have received little formal education, and would have been restricted in their access to temple worship. In the new Christian community, they suddenly found themselves, for the first time, being given liberation from these restrictions, and being allowed equal access with men to worship services. The problem seems to have been that they didn’t know how to handle that freedom appropriately.
It was common practise in worship to interrupt the speaker to ask a question of clarification, or to make a relevant point. Which was fine as long as the question was appropriate and useful. The problem was that the granting of equal participation in worship to uneducated women, could so easily have led to them disrupting services by continually asking inappropriate questions. So to avoid this and preserve propriety and order, Paul proposes both short-term and long-term solutions to the problem. The short term solution is that women should keep quiet in worship, and refrain from asking uneducated and disruptive questions. The long term solution is that women should receive education in the form of private tuition from their husbands. These solutions were actually more progressive than restrictive, as Paul is not doubting the abilities of women to learn, and he is opening the door for them to receive an education that would otherwise not be available to them. However, until that long term solution paid dividends, Paul was concerned to preserve dignity and propriety in public worship. This passage is a further example of Paul tempering the freedoms of Galatians 3:28 with a concern for love, unity, and good witness.
Conclusion
Paul says, when answering the question of whether Christians should eat food which has been offered to idols, ‘take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.’ Paul also says, when addressing the issue of freedom in Christ, ‘“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial.’ It seems that Paul, the idealistic champion of Christian freedom and equality in Galatians 3:28, is also something of a pragmatist. It’s as if he has caught this wonderful grand vision of the way it should be in the new Christian community, and then has to come back down to earth and start to think through the practical implications of the transition from law to grace. Hence Paul welcomes the freedom of women to minister in his churches, except where it is exercised in such a way as to compromise the church’s unity and public witness. Of his own ministry, Paul says, ‘though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them… I have become all things to all people, so that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel.’ It seems that he expects no less of those in his congregations.
The passages where Paul asks women to set aside their freedom in Christ for the sake of the unity and witness of the church remain a challenge to the contemporary Christian. In Western culture it is no longer harmful to the proclamation of the gospel for women to minister in church; in fact the converse is probably true. Those who persist in seeking to restrict the ministry of women actually alienate the church from the culture to which it is called to minister, in much the same way as allowing women to minister in Ephesus would have done two thousand years ago.
The challenge from these passages to the contemporary church is this: What freedoms are ours in Christ, which we are being called to set aside for the sake of the gospel? What about our freedom to invest our money wherever we choose, without regard for the ethical practises of our financial institutions? What about our freedom to drive our cars and consume irreplaceable natural resources? What about our freedom to buy our goods at the cheapest price, regardless of the human cost of their production? What about our freedom to remain a predominantly middle-class church? These, and many more, are freedoms with implications for the public witness of the church. In this way, I believe Paul’s approach to Christian freedom is one which can helpfully challenge the contemporary church.
To return to the issue of women in ministry, I would like to close with a quote from Paul Fiddes:
As long as there is no equality of opportunity, social stereotypes will block the path to finding the real distinctiveness between male and female that reflects the distinction in unity within God.
As long as our dominant models of ministry remain informed by predominantly male patterns of pastoral leadership, we will continue to be denied the true richness of ministry that is potentially ours in Christ; even those women who are called to the office of pastoral ministry will face the expectation that they have to become, in some sense, ‘honorary men’ in order to fulfil their calling. If the Christian community could truly grasp Paul’s radical vision for gender equality, women would be called to ministry as women, and free to minister as women. It is tragically true that nearly two thousand years after Paul wrote Galatians 3:28, the Christian church still retains divisions based on race, class and gender. It is equally tragic when the public witness of the church is compromised because the prevailing culture has a clearer grasp on human equality, than does the community of Christ’s people. The time has now come for the church to adopt wholeheartedly what it has always known; that both women and men are called and gifted by God for the task of ministry in the church of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Central to any debate about this passage is the conclusion reached concerning Paul’s use of the word ‘head’ in verse 3. In modern usage, ‘head’ implies a sense of authority, as is seen in the sentence: ‘He was promoted to become the head of the company.’ However, in Paul’s time ‘head’ did not automatically imply a sense of authority. Anatomically, people were not understood as thinking with their heads – rather, conscious and emotive thought were understood to originate in the breast or the stomach. The head was the place through which nourishment entered the body and from which speech flowed, and in this way it was frequently seen as the source or origin of life and relationship. Therefore the head was not seen as directing the body in the way in which we would understand it today, and we need to be careful not to impose our modern perspective upon Paul’s usage.
So, if it is unlikely that Paul was intending his use of ‘head’ to indicate a relationship of authority, what did he mean when he said that, ‘Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ’? Paul appears to have in mind the understanding of ‘head’ as source and origin, something which becomes clearer in verses 8 and 12 where he speaks twice more of man as the source of woman. Paul is obviously here drawing on the story of creation, where woman originated from man, just as Paul would see the Son originating from the Father, and all creation originating from the Son. Paul is putting forward here, not an argument for authority, but a series of three analogous relationships to try and explain to the Corinthian church that man and woman relate to each other as the head relates to the body, as the Father relates to the Son, and as the Son relates to humanity. His point is that just as humanity found its source in Christ, and Christ found his source in God, so woman finds her source in man, as is evidenced in the order of creation. Paul is not here suggesting an ordering based on dominating authority, with superior and subordinate. Rather, he is likening the relationship of man and woman, with that of Christ and humanity, and of God and Christ. The relationship between the Father and the Son functions, in Paul’s mind, as an image for the way in which Christ and humanity, and man and woman, relate to each other. This relationship is not one of subordination, but is rather a relationship of interdependence and unity.
Some have argued that there is an inherent subordination in the relationship between the Father and the Son, and that this provides a model for a relationship of subordination between man and woman. This is not a new argument, as discussions on the power relationships within the Trinity occupied the minds of many of the early church fathers. The orthodox position was that the Son and the Father are coequal, rather than superior and subordinate. Scriptural backing for this position can be found in a number of key texts, and John Chrysostom (Archbishop of Constantinople AD 398-404) used the word ‘heretic’ to describe those who would seek to understand ‘head’ in terms of authority, preferring instead to see headship as denoting origin and source. If, therefore, it is not appropriate to try and understand the Father-Son relationship in terms of a divinely ordained hierarchy, neither is it appropriate to extrapolate from this to see unequal submission as part of the natural order of male-female relationships.
The broader context of 11:3 is a passage which is primarily concerned with hairstyles and propriety in worship, and an obvious link can be seen between Paul’s discussion of head-coverings and hairstyles, and the relationship of ‘head’-ship that he has proposed between Christ, man, woman, and God. To understand Paul’s logic here, it is necessary to realise that Paul was writing to a specific situation, and was therefore using the arguments which he thought would best convince the intended recipients of his letter. His logic may seem convoluted to the modern reader, because we are reading his words in a context far removed from that of the original recipients. It is important to note that Paul refrains from giving instructions as to how women should dress, and neither does he argue that woman is subordinate to man. Rather, he draws supporting arguments from creation and nature to convince the Corinthian Christians that, for the sake of propriety, certain head-coverings were appropriate in worship and some were not. In Jewish custom, a woman’s head covering was indicative of her commitment to her husband, and in Roman culture, women would cover their heads for worship, whereas Greek women would not. Women’s hairstyles could also make both social and sexual statements, and in the cosmopolitan city of Corinth, where class conflict and sexual politics were rife, it is easy to see why Paul was concerned that this should not become a controversial issue in the church. However, as is clear from verse 16, Paul is not here seeking to make a grand theological point. Rather, he is concerned to avoid controversy and preserve propriety.
Overall, then, 1 Cor 11:2-16 does not lend itself to an understanding of male authority. It recognises that the male-female relationship parallels those between God and Christ, and between Christ and humanity, in terms of interdependence and unity. Paul is using this parallel to make an intensely pastoral point about propriety in public worship, and his intention in writing was not to deal with gender issues, but to provide pastoral instruction in a specific context. Paul’s priorities were love, unity and good witness, and whilst the freedom of Galatians 3:28 may be his ideal, this freedom didn’t mean that the believers were free to throw off all customs to the detriment of the church’s unity and public witness.
1 Corinthians 14:33b-36
This passage is problematic because, at first glance, Paul seems to contradict what he said in 1 Cor 11:4-5. In the earlier passage, Paul clearly expected that women would pray and prophesy in public worship, and his concern was that they should do so with propriety and decorum, whereas a superficial reading of 14:34 appears to say that women should be silent in church. The key to solving this is found in 14:35, where Paul says that if women desire to know anything, they should ask their husbands at home. Paul is actually only restricting women from the shameful public asking of questions.
One of the problems in the early church, and particularly the church in Corinth, was that of order and propriety in worship. In so many ways, the post-Pentecost community of Christian believers had broken down barriers of race, class and gender; but the danger of this freedom was that it ran the risk of breaking down into anarchy, which would seriously hinder the witness of the church. In the Corinthian cultural situation, women would traditionally have received little formal education, and would have been restricted in their access to temple worship. In the new Christian community, they suddenly found themselves, for the first time, being given liberation from these restrictions, and being allowed equal access with men to worship services. The problem seems to have been that they didn’t know how to handle that freedom appropriately.
It was common practise in worship to interrupt the speaker to ask a question of clarification, or to make a relevant point. Which was fine as long as the question was appropriate and useful. The problem was that the granting of equal participation in worship to uneducated women, could so easily have led to them disrupting services by continually asking inappropriate questions. So to avoid this and preserve propriety and order, Paul proposes both short-term and long-term solutions to the problem. The short term solution is that women should keep quiet in worship, and refrain from asking uneducated and disruptive questions. The long term solution is that women should receive education in the form of private tuition from their husbands. These solutions were actually more progressive than restrictive, as Paul is not doubting the abilities of women to learn, and he is opening the door for them to receive an education that would otherwise not be available to them. However, until that long term solution paid dividends, Paul was concerned to preserve dignity and propriety in public worship. This passage is a further example of Paul tempering the freedoms of Galatians 3:28 with a concern for love, unity, and good witness.
Conclusion
Paul says, when answering the question of whether Christians should eat food which has been offered to idols, ‘take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.’ Paul also says, when addressing the issue of freedom in Christ, ‘“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial.’ It seems that Paul, the idealistic champion of Christian freedom and equality in Galatians 3:28, is also something of a pragmatist. It’s as if he has caught this wonderful grand vision of the way it should be in the new Christian community, and then has to come back down to earth and start to think through the practical implications of the transition from law to grace. Hence Paul welcomes the freedom of women to minister in his churches, except where it is exercised in such a way as to compromise the church’s unity and public witness. Of his own ministry, Paul says, ‘though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them… I have become all things to all people, so that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel.’ It seems that he expects no less of those in his congregations.
The passages where Paul asks women to set aside their freedom in Christ for the sake of the unity and witness of the church remain a challenge to the contemporary Christian. In Western culture it is no longer harmful to the proclamation of the gospel for women to minister in church; in fact the converse is probably true. Those who persist in seeking to restrict the ministry of women actually alienate the church from the culture to which it is called to minister, in much the same way as allowing women to minister in Ephesus would have done two thousand years ago.
The challenge from these passages to the contemporary church is this: What freedoms are ours in Christ, which we are being called to set aside for the sake of the gospel? What about our freedom to invest our money wherever we choose, without regard for the ethical practises of our financial institutions? What about our freedom to drive our cars and consume irreplaceable natural resources? What about our freedom to buy our goods at the cheapest price, regardless of the human cost of their production? What about our freedom to remain a predominantly middle-class church? These, and many more, are freedoms with implications for the public witness of the church. In this way, I believe Paul’s approach to Christian freedom is one which can helpfully challenge the contemporary church.
To return to the issue of women in ministry, I would like to close with a quote from Paul Fiddes:
As long as there is no equality of opportunity, social stereotypes will block the path to finding the real distinctiveness between male and female that reflects the distinction in unity within God.
As long as our dominant models of ministry remain informed by predominantly male patterns of pastoral leadership, we will continue to be denied the true richness of ministry that is potentially ours in Christ; even those women who are called to the office of pastoral ministry will face the expectation that they have to become, in some sense, ‘honorary men’ in order to fulfil their calling. If the Christian community could truly grasp Paul’s radical vision for gender equality, women would be called to ministry as women, and free to minister as women. It is tragically true that nearly two thousand years after Paul wrote Galatians 3:28, the Christian church still retains divisions based on race, class and gender. It is equally tragic when the public witness of the church is compromised because the prevailing culture has a clearer grasp on human equality, than does the community of Christ’s people. The time has now come for the church to adopt wholeheartedly what it has always known; that both women and men are called and gifted by God for the task of ministry in the church of Christ.
Crystals versus Christ
An interesting BBC News 'Magazine' article plublished today:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7853494.stm
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sabbatical Reflections from Karen Smith
I am coming to the end of my sabbatical and found myself thinking about a wonderful picture I saw in an exhibition in Louisville, Kentucky about 23 years ago. The image has never left me and from time to time I find myself thinking about it again. The picture, by Thomas Faed (1826-1900) speaks to me of the compassion and care of God. In my own meditation on the painting yesterday, the words of the song ‘Bring Many Names’ by Brian Wren came to mind (see below).This morning, in our Issues of Faith Group in Orchard Place, we used the picture, and the words of the song and Luke 15.11-32 as the focal point our discussion. I thought others might find it helpful, too. (And no, I do not feel worn out!)
Worn Out
Thomas Faed - R.A. ARCA. HRSA. (British) 1826-1900
Bring many names, beautiful and good,
celebrate, in parable and story,
holiness in glory, living, loving God.
Hail and hosanna! Bring many names!
Strong mother God, working night and day,
planning all the wonders of creation,
setting each equation, genius at play:
Hail and hosanna, strong mother God!
Warm father God, hugging every child,
feeling all the strains of human living,
caring and forgiving till we're reconciled:
Hail and hosanna, warm father God!
Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
calmly piercing evil's new disguises,
glad of good surprises, wiser than despair:
Hail and hosanna, old aching God!
Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
saying no to falsehood and unkindness,
crying out for justice, giving all you have:
Hail and hosanna, young, growing God!
Great, living God, never fully known,
joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
closer yet than breathing, everlasting home:
Hail and hosanna, great, living God!
Words: Brian Wren
Words © 1989, revised 1994 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
For permission to reproduce this hymn, contact:
In US, Canada, Australia & New Zealand: Hope Publishing Company, www.hopepublishing.com
Rest of the World: Stainer & Bell Ltd., www.stainer.co.uk
Music: Westchase, Waterdown
Meter: 9 10 11 9
Worn Out
Thomas Faed - R.A. ARCA. HRSA. (British) 1826-1900
Bring many names, beautiful and good,
celebrate, in parable and story,
holiness in glory, living, loving God.
Hail and hosanna! Bring many names!
Strong mother God, working night and day,
planning all the wonders of creation,
setting each equation, genius at play:
Hail and hosanna, strong mother God!
Warm father God, hugging every child,
feeling all the strains of human living,
caring and forgiving till we're reconciled:
Hail and hosanna, warm father God!
Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
calmly piercing evil's new disguises,
glad of good surprises, wiser than despair:
Hail and hosanna, old aching God!
Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
saying no to falsehood and unkindness,
crying out for justice, giving all you have:
Hail and hosanna, young, growing God!
Great, living God, never fully known,
joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
closer yet than breathing, everlasting home:
Hail and hosanna, great, living God!
Words: Brian Wren
Words © 1989, revised 1994 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
For permission to reproduce this hymn, contact:
In US, Canada, Australia & New Zealand: Hope Publishing Company, www.hopepublishing.com
Rest of the World: Stainer & Bell Ltd., www.stainer.co.uk
Music: Westchase, Waterdown
Meter: 9 10 11 9
Friday, January 2, 2009
Engaging Contemporary Culture
The forthcoming course 'Engaging with Contemporary Culture', starting on Weds 21st Jan, will be of interest to anyone wanting to explore the relationship between Christianity and the prevailing culture in which we find ourselves. It is open to all, and will be both challenging and inspiring for those who want to take their discipleship in mission seriously.
This module will explore the main features of contemporary culture, focussing particularly on the complex relationship that exists between faith and culture. It will look at varying attitudes towards, and understandings of, different faith communities; together with suggestions as to ways in which the Christian church might engage with modern culture.
Course Tutors: Roy Kearsley and Simon Woodman of South Wales Baptist College
Date: 21st Jan, 7.30-9.30pm for 10 weeks
Fee: £68.50 (Reduced £55.00)
Venue: City URC, Windsor Place, Cardiff
Contact: Simon Woodman sw@swbc.org.uk 029 2025 6066
This 10 week course will enable participants:
The significance of issues such as the nature of truth, the importance of story, and attitudes towards the environment/creation will be examined. Particular attention will also be given to the implications of living in a pluralist society.
This module will explore the main features of contemporary culture, focussing particularly on the complex relationship that exists between faith and culture. It will look at varying attitudes towards, and understandings of, different faith communities; together with suggestions as to ways in which the Christian church might engage with modern culture.
Course Tutors: Roy Kearsley and Simon Woodman of South Wales Baptist College
Date: 21st Jan, 7.30-9.30pm for 10 weeks
Fee: £68.50 (Reduced £55.00)
Venue: City URC, Windsor Place, Cardiff
Contact: Simon Woodman sw@swbc.org.uk 029 2025 6066
This 10 week course will enable participants:
- To explore the main features of contemporary culture, and the complex relationship between faith and culture.
- To explore possible attitudes towards, and understandings of, other faith communities.
- To explore ways in which the Christian church can/is engaging with modern culture, and to identify potential problems with this engagement
The significance of issues such as the nature of truth, the importance of story, and attitudes towards the environment/creation will be examined. Particular attention will also be given to the implications of living in a pluralist society.
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