the red pill

So, this is either: a, a random moment to make your day brighter; b, a profound comment on the way that some people will only accept our leadership as long as we do it their way; or c, a trip down memory lane. Take your pick.

Last night I did something I hadn’t done before, it’s always a risky/fun/scary thing to do in church world. I was on the preaching plan to speak in our current series on the Psalms, Songs of Experience . It’s a short series where we’re looking at a selected group of psalms that have a particular experience that they speak about. Last night was Psalm 139, a psalm that reflects on being known by God, and a little about knowing God too. So far so normal. However, I’d had an idea that instead of doing a straightforward preach - something I love doing but suspect (no, am pretty convinced) has become increasingly culturally irrelevant as a means of either communication or as a learning experience – I would approach the text in a different way, by involving other people in a conversation / dialogue about the passage. One of the delights of coming to a new place is the new friendships that develop, and especially those with people who have a heart to see God’s kingdom established. In the last ...

Back at the start of March this year I blogged a little about a sermon I was preparing on the second half of Acts 11, suggesting it would be the first of many posts on the subject as I felt it was a passage that has some useful things to say to people in the emerging church context. Well, I’m sorry to keep you waiting if you have been… In the passage (Acts 11:19-26) there are some things I want to flag up, about the relationship between the more established church and the church that was emerging in a different cultural context. The church in Jerusalem although it was in its infancy, was also the church of the beginning, and so could have considered itself normative. I find it interesting to see the response of the Jerusalem church to the news of many people becoming Jesus-followers in Antioch. They send one of their own leadership to take a look and see. In many ways one might have expected them to send Peter, given his recent experience with God’s move amongst gentiles, but instead t...

I’ve just finished reading Rob Bell’s latest book, Sex God . It’s written in the same style as Velvet Elvis, with that mix of storytelling, exegesis, and one line statements and thoughts. One of the things I like about his books is that he writes pretty much as he speaks. If you hear his podcast, or watch a Nooma dvd or read his books, it’s the same style, and it’s a relaxed, informal yet informative style that I find draws me into his thinking and invites me to explore with him the topics he’s raising. Sex God is his exploration of sexuality and spirituality. He argues that we are not to fall into an extreme idea of human identity with regards to sexuality, saying that these extremes are to think of ourselves either as angels (all spirit) or animals (only bodies), but that as embodied spiritual beings we are to exhibit the best of both of those. Sex, he says, is a spiritual act, that expresses the fulfilment of promise and commitment. He also claims that it is to be a foretaste of ...