And what exactly are we standing up for?

I try very hard not to be judgmental but there are times when I begin to read something I know exactly where it's going and I know I'm going to disagree with it.  


A case in point is the 'Thought for the Week' bit in our local paper, written by local Christian clergy.  This week was another attempt at "We must hold on to our Christian country..." .  The article quoted the martyrdom of one George Marsh who was burned at the stake in 1555 for "the faith  he believed in".  The article affirmed the view that we are in danger of losing what George Marsh stood for. This is a Christian country after all!


Except ...I began to wonder who killed poor George. It turns out that it was the Catholics. He was a protestant reformer.  So the conclusion is that one type of Christian burned another type of Christian to death because he was the wrong type of Christian.  


And from this we are asked to yearn for our Christian roots?


Can someone run that by me one more time?

Christopher Hitchens has died and Christendom should mourn.

The dictionary defines a polemicist as 'someone engaged in argument or controversy'. Christopher Hitchens was a polemicist, fiercely putting over his beliefs and opinions, writing blistering critiques of policies and attitudes with which he could not agree.  As a journalist and writer, he didn't create much but made his name with a ferocious intellect, command of language and pithy wit.  


An outspoken atheist, he attacked religion, the church and the very notion of God with characteristic zeal and fury, and became the doyen of New Atheists.  Unlike Richard Dawkins, whose anti-God stance came from a scientific background, Hitchens detested the notion of the morality that religions espoused. He once lambasted Christians being good in order to keep God happy as living in "a celestial North Korea."  Mother Theresa was an usual target of his pen and he famously beat Tony Blair on a debate on the value of faith.  His anti-religious writing certainly gave agnostics arguments of the complete rejection of faith so why should Christendom mourn him?


Because Christendom needs to be brought to account. It needs voices from stage left which cannot be brought to heel and silenced through a ecclesiastical machine, who shake us to the foundations of what we believe so that we can ensure that we still have foundations on which we can stand.  The church should not fear this discomfort. A few centuries ago people like Hitchens would have suffered and died for these views, so I have little sympathy for those who feel that the New Atheists are aggressive.  Words can sometimes hurt us but not as much as being burned alive at the stake.


 We always like to think that the Holy Spirit would be enough to keep us on the narrow track. But in truth we occasionally need some threatening sounds from modern day Assyrians to get us back to focussing on God and clearing our thinking.  I never enjoyed what he had to say but I'm glad that he has helped me on my journey of faith.

Bohemian Robsody

"Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love." John 13 v1

Words and Music Bob Dylan, sung by Adele, against a backdrop of the Miracle Maker.

Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus.

There is a beautiful, haunting and dark film called Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus which I saw some years ago.  It's a documentary featuring a country singer called Jim White as he drives around Texas looking for evidence of Jesus in this most Christian of US states. In his boot is a statue of Jesus.  It is a bizarre but wonderful series of scenes, characters and songs.  While it leaves you with a sense that  "the Jesus that I know is no-where here" you also get a sense that Jesus is somehow in all of it.  You start off looking for the archetypal  blue-eyed Jesus but you find Him in the cross-eyed, toothless addicts instead.

I thought about this film again today as I came across a whole host of stuff: the church which will be burning the Koran, responses to Dawkins and Hawkins, some blogs which are critical of the Salvation Army in the US, etc, etc.  I felt the same kind of confusion - expecting to see the Jesus that I know writ large in the various questions and responses but instead struggling to see him anywhere.

How is it that centuries of Christian thinking has taken us so far away from the basic teachings of the person who its all about? Take the Koran burning episode.  Of course the guy is wrong - burning the Koran sends completely the wrong message to the world about faith in Christ!  But why do we not think the same thing about invading other countries, the plight of the Palestinian people, the floods in Pakistan, etc.  Why is it at Pakistan cricketers push the dying and displaced from the headlines.  Why is Pacifism not a hot topic in Christian circles? Why does the simple message of Jesus, to look after each other, get so ignored in the pursuit of deep, doctrinal dogma?

Is it them or am I searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus?

Ironically, when Jim White takes the statue of Jesus out of the boot of the car and the camera zooms in, Jesus has his eyes shut. I know how he feels.

You can view trailers for the film at http://www.searchingforthewrongeyedjesus.com/

Hiram, King of Tyre, is dead.

He was known as 'Paddy' because he had a thick Irish accent and, for many people, there was an assumption that this was his actual name. But it was a label placed on a homeless man who would drink, berate passers-by, intimidate, sing and commit worse acts in public.But there was sympathy for him too. People would offer him cigarettes, drinks and blankets. We were able to give him a regular meal, a tent and sleeping bags, and we saw him on a regular occasions at the hall including at Sunday worship.

It was during one of our conversations that he told me that his real name wasn't Paddy but that he had the name of a biblical King. After going through the obvious ones of David, Saul, Solomon (he did look like a Solomon) I began to fear that it might be Jehoahaz or similar. It turned out to be that of a gentile king - Hiram, King of Tyre. It was King Hiram who supplied the materials and skilled workers to build Solomon's temple and there was a gentle irony in that our Hiram came to England from Ireland to "dig holes in the road", not quite the construction of a temple but part of the building industry. Everytime I saw him I would say "Hail Hiram - King of Tyre". There were days when he would look at me glumly and days he would laugh his big, toothless laugh. His full name was Hiram Herbert Lendrum. Let's acknowledge his humanity.

Hiram was a big man. Tall, broad, loud with a vice-like handshake. When we would meet he would pull me towards him as a show of strength. He rarely talked about himself, certainly about his past, and we are struggling to contact next of kin. But he has had a profound effect on me. He appreciated much of what we did for him and, despite his demeanour, never gave us an ounce of trouble. He treated us as friends "Captain Ian, Lady Woman, Lady Cooking Woman and Aaaaashhhh" were greeted with respect and courtesy. He was one of very few people in my life who told me "Ian - you are a Good Man. You are my friend." We once talked about faith and he told me that he had been raised a protestant and that he still had a tiny bit of faith left. I told him that was all he needed and he looked at me and said "Yes - you can move mountains with a tiny bit of faith." And then he added "You and me. We are just the same". He was right and we both knew that.

He was as tough as old boots but the years of neglect caught up with him last week and he died quietly in York hospital. We will miss him for reasons which I can't fully understand. God calls us to serve and take care of the poor and we do so because we need to see what they can teach us. I think we learn more about ourselves than we do about them. The motivation of Love is always better than that if blind obedience.

I will leave Hiram to the grayscales of God's grace and not the Black and White of human judgment, glad that he wanted to call me 'friend'. God bless you Hiram, King of Tyre.

Happy Easter! Happy Day! - I think this works....

I saved a man's life for £8. What had been the price on his head?

A few weeks ago I blogged about how I saved Jay's life for £8 (here). I recently heard a bit more of his story about how he ended up living on the streets.

Jay is bright and articulate, but does have a major drugs issue and also mental health problems. When his benefits failed to materialise one week he had no money to pay the rent. This prompted a computer to spew out a letter demanding that action would be taken if his arrears were not paid. Jay, not being able to comprehend what was going on, simply walked out of the flat fearful that he would end up in jail. And there he remained for 2 years, living in a tent, eating when he could, hiding from those chasing him for the money. Haunted by his current predicament, hunted by his fears.

And how much did Jay owe? £37.

Apparently I, like every citizen of this country, paid £40,000 to bail out the banks. Jay had two years taken from his life. Two years living in misery and sight of death - just for a lousy £37.

Unbelievable.

The Hardy Scots

50F(10C) degrees
· People in southern England turn on the central heating
· People in Edinburgh plant out bedding plants

40F (4C)degrees
· Southerners shiver uncontrollably
· Glaswegians sunbathe on the beach at Largs

35F(2C} degrees
· Cars in the south of England refuse to start
· People in Falkirk drive with their windows down

20F(-6C) degrees
· Southerners wear overcoats, gloves and woolly hats
· Aberdonian men throw on a T-shirt and girls start wearing mini-skirts

15F(-9.4C) degrees
· Southerners begin to evacuate to the continent
· People from Dundee swim in the North Sea at Broughton Ferry

0F (-17 7C) degrees
· Life in the south grinds to a halt
· Inverness folk have the last BBQ before it gets cold

Minus 10F (-23 3C) degrees
· Life in the south ceases to exist
· People in Dunfermline throw on a light jacket

Minus 80F (-62.2C) degrees
· Polar bears wonder if it's worth carrying on
· Boy Scouts in Oban start wearing their long trousers

Minus 100F (-73 3C degrees)
· Santa Claus abandons North Pole
· People in Stirling put on their 'long Johns'

Minus 173F (-139C) degrees
· Alcohol freezes
· Glaswegians get upset because all the pubs are shut

Minus 297F (-182 7C) degrees
· Microbial life starts to disappear
· The cows in Dumfriesshire complain about farmers with cold hands

Minus 460F (-273 3C) degrees
· All atomic motion stops
· Shetlanders stamp their feet and blow on their hands

Minus 500F (-295.5C) degrees. 0 degrees Kelvin. Absolute Zero!
· Hell freezes over
· Scotland win the World Cup

Always one of my favourite lists.

I saved a man's life for £8.

Jay came to our Tuesday Kitchen some 6 months ago. He had been referred to us by Compass, the local community drugs agency, and he showed the classic symptoms of heroin addiction. He was living in one of the local woods under a tarpaulin for cover. The only tent at our local camping shop was a cheap one but I thought it would do, so we bought it for him and also gave him a few things such vests, hat and gloves. We also gave him one of our Army surplus sleeping bags which had cost us £8 when I bought them from a contact I had made in our local market place. These sleeping bags are brilliant - very warm and robust. We may have seen Jay twice since then, but that is often the way it is with these guys. They don't keep diaries.

So it was nice to see Jay turn up on Tuesday braving the last few weeks of sub zero temperatures. He was still living in the same tent (which he complained about! "Its only a single layer so the condensation makes you wet at the start of the day"). But he tucked into his meal, read my copy of The Officer (he was very impressed that we had risen to the rank of Captain so quickly) and he managed to warm up a little. He was articulate, funny and good company.

We gave him a better tent and some other stuff and then he told me "That sleeping bag you gave me - it's brilliant. It saved my life. I hope that you understand how grateful I am for everything - without that sleeping bag I would be dead!"

I am constantly grateful for our Tuesday Kitchen where we can meet guys like Jay. They show me why I am a follower of Jesus who asks us to serve mankind not only for the sake of those in need but, and I am more convinced than ever of this, for us to find out what it means to be human. It seems to me that Salvation is a process of becoming truly human which begins on earth and has its completion in eternity.

Perhaps that is two lives saved for the price of £8.

Moments.

I have decided that I am a 'Moments' person, certainly as far a spiritual development is concerned.

Some people can feel close to God through regular prayer and bible meditation. There is a potential downside in that it is possible to be dragged down by the routine or made guilty by getting behind. But most people find that this gives them the right structure to maintain a relationship with God.

I have moments. Usually in worship, it comes in a song, a phrase or scripture. And God breaks through. I cannot predict or manipulate these moments, but they fuel me on for another slog back at the coalface of ministry.

Such a moment happened at councils. Singing "When I survey the wondrous cross" to the tune of O Waley Waley, we got to the final verse:

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

And God broke in. It is not an unduly emotional time but is somehow very profound. God seems to re-assert Himself in me despite what I am - it is an act of grace. It is also a proof of His existence for me, beyond intellectual argument. I have learned the correct way to respond to it too - I need to make an act of surrender and consecration. It is the only way that I can claim to be Sanctified.

I have learned not to demand these moments or force them but to recognise them for what they are - a glimpse into the eternal. Moments to treasure.

YSCA 09

This is one of the highlights of the Yorkshire School of Christian Arts. Using a video on You Tube (watch the original here) we did a bible study on Ephesians and the meaning of Joy. Here is our version of video.

Sunseekers and creamy moccha's.

The five of us were sitting at a round table in a coffee shop in Poole on a cold and wet evening this week. We had had a good day, some of us had gone to "Go Ape!" the treetop assault course, followed by a walk in the woods and home for chilli con carne for tea. But the evening had turned wet and a quick trip to Poole sounded good.

Everyone ordered what they wanted and we sat with our drinks - chocolate cake and Pepsi for Isabel, strawberry milkshake for Robbie, Hot Chocolate with flake, cream and marshmallows for Martha (we knew that she would only eat the flake and scoop off the cream), Mocha with cream for Paula and me with an Espresso (How come I get the small cup?). And we talked and laughed and were serious in turns, everyone chipping in, teasing and being teased. When Mum drank her cream-topped Moccha every laughed at the cream which ended up on her nose, then they were equally repulsed when I licked it off! We talked about schools, favourite places, the funny things that the kids had said when they were young; we talked seriously about how we had moved house from Tunbridge Wells to London and now to Selby, and we learned about how the children had felt about those changes and what they had liked and disliked.

I call these times McDonalds Moments, because we normally have them at the McD across the road. We simply sit round a table and snack, but these are times when we enjoy being a family. We laugh a lot but also see the serious side of ourselves. I am constantly blessed by my wonderful family and thank God that we have each other in the way that we do.

Across the water at Poole Harbour is the boat yard for Sunseeker yachts - each being a multimillion pound purchase for the megarich. I looked at them and think that I have still have the best that life can give.

Congratulations to Stewart Cinq on winning The Open golf championship.

Interesting speech and responses that he made...
'I want to thank the R&A for such a great competition' <Great applause>
'I want to thank Tom Watson' <Great applause>
'I want to thank my wife and kids' <Great applause>
'I want to thank my wife for bringing me to faith and I want to thank God for all that he has done for me' < Stony silence.>

Blameless.

In many places in the bible Christians are urged to be 'blameless'. For example - 1 Thessalonians 5:23 "May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I have worked in some places where there is a blame-culture. If anything goes wrong, the finger pointing begins...no-one takes responsibility, someone else is to blame. Being blameless is making sure you don't get blamed when it all goes wrong. The result is an atmosphere of fear, mistrust and dishonesty.

Contrast that with a story I heard to do with the NASA Mission Control Centre for the Apollo 11 moon landings. Unfortunately I can't remember the names or exact words but the gist of it makes a good point.

The Mission Control room was full of highly intelligent, young individuals who had a tremendous responsibility to the men on the mission. There was no experience in the room - they were all pioneers. Each had thousands of tasks to do : - monitoring systems, watching over the health of the astronauts, measuring oxygen levels, etc etc. The mission was high risk, high profile, high cost. Just before the mission blasted off, the Flight Controller (who I believe was Gene Krantz) turned off their communication links to the outside and addressed these comments solely to those in that Mission Room:

"You all know what to do. I have every faith in all of that you that you will do your best and get it right. But know this – if there is a mistake and a tragedy occurs I will take full responsibility. It will be down to me!"

In these few words he created a team who were motivated, trusting, honest and secure in the job at hand.

"May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

An answer to prayer - I am now famous!

For those who care, and I know precious few of you do, I moaned in a recent blog how few people follow anything I do on the good old interweb - this blog, Twitter or Facebook (OK so I don't have a Facebook account but if there were true friends out there they would set me up an account - right?) However, on Friday, July 10th all of that changed when I went international.

Being on Twitter (follow me here) and a follower of the Five Live Simon Mayo/Mark Kermode film review podcasts, I heard that Willem Dafoe was being interviewed on the show about his new film 'Anti-Christ'. I sent a tweet that they should put to him that, having been Christ in 'The Last Temptation...' and now being in 'Anti-Christ' that he should make his mind up! What followed next is sure to make history...just click on the video below.



Ok - so I may not have been mentioned personally but then God doesn't always answer prayers the way would would like Him to.

PS - I can't recommend the new film. Sounds very gruesome.

PPS - You can now catch my video broadcast here. Occurs around 1minute in!

What makes a good church?

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about what makes a church 'good'!

Clearly church-goers define what they consider to be a 'good' church as to what they enjoy and what they believe takes them closer to God. Such things will include:

• Preach the Word of God...
• Free and easy worship...
• Formal liturgy
• Styles of songs
• Sense of togetherness
• Etc

I wonder of there is 'correct' way to do church, ie. is there a universal definition of what church should be? I think there is also a great danger that we see evangelism as being the marketing of the kind of church that we like, rather than anything else. Perhaps the problem is deeper and to do with our definition of what it means to be a Christian. I have a feeling that we have created a definition of Christianity which is marked more by how we follow Jesus rather than how closely we follow him.

The picture is the Church of Hallgrimur, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Well done Bob!

Spent today at York Minster for Robbie's Commemoration Day and Prizegiving Ceremony. He was awarded a prize for 5th form Music composition and the school English writing competition.

It was great to see him wearing the suit which he needs to wear in the 6th form instead of his school uniform. Another rite of passage passes and you realise that for your child adulthood isn't just looming but has well and truly arrived. And with it comes the pride of seeing a young man emerge and a sadness that you are needed less and less. But the success of parenthood is in realising that you are not needed, which has its rewards in itself.

I'm not sure where stories of painful teenagers comes from because I didn't start it! Robbie is no problem at all and we share a lot together.

Proud as punch.

And heaven knows...

I have recently realised that no-one reads this blog; that no-one follows me on Twitter and I have no friends on Facebook.

Nazis - A warning from history

It's interesting what you pickup on daytime TV. I caught a little of a program called "Nazis - a warning from history" a BAFTA award winning series by Laurence Rees which is being shown on the Yesterday channel.

When Hitler invaded Poland he created three regions and appointed rulers from his regime to run them as they saw fit. The most notorious was SS Obergruppenfuhrer Arthur Greiser who was appointed to administer Warthegau and did so by systematically enslaving or exterminating those who were non-German including Jews and native Poles. This approach was a decision entirely made by Greiser as other leaders of the annexed states simply re-classified residents as Germans. Griesers tactics shocked some in the Nazi military who had felt that they were in Poland to liberate Germans who had been excluded from their native land following World War I. They complained to Hitler who dismissed their concerns as a sign of weakness with the words "if you want to win a war you cannot fight like the Salvation Army"!

While doing a bit of searching on the internet I discovered more. During the pre-war appeasement attempts by the UK Government, the UK embassador, Sir Eric Phipps raised concerns about the nature of SS (Elite Guard) and SA (Storm Troopers) in 1939. Hitler assured him that they were like these troops were like the Salvation Army! (Story is here).

It would be too trivial to say "make your mind up" but I think Salvationists are not immune to have a confused approach to armed conflict. How do we square our attitudes to our own military with the words of Catherine Baird?

"We shall not lose the fight of faith,
For Jesus is our Lord,
We lay all carnal weapons down
To take his shining sword."