jonnybaker

guardians of universality [#ImaginingMission 9]

this photo still makes me smile every time i see it. it was one of our crazier ideas in grace where we were exploring the idea that there is an assumption in various places that to be holy is to avoid the world whereas if you look at the life of christ the opposite seems to be true! so we had some defenders of the purity codes on the door as people arrived. looking back it would have freaked you out if it was your first time.

anyway all that to say that in our book imagining mission we riff on john taylor's ideas. he would have been great on twitter in my view as he just has so many brilliant short phrases. 'guardians of universality' is a trap the church in the west especially falls into as though she is the defender of some universal truth passed down from on high. history has shown that those universal truths usually turn out to be very modern western ideas - in other words a local theology. there's nothing wrong with a local theology - tradition is a series of local theologies. the problem comes when it loses humility and starts universalising.

if you are enjoying these photos with john taylor quotes i am gradually adding them to a flickr album. i also made them into a set of cards for my own use that are a fun discussion starter. i mentioned this in an earlier post or two and now have a list of getting on for a hundred people who have requested a set. if you'd like to be added to the list let me know. i'll get round to it round christmas time i expect.

#ImaginingMission

faultlines in mission: reflections on race and colonialism

the latest issue of anvil journal (which is free online) is on faultlines in mission reflections on race and colonialism - sctroll to the bottom of the page to download the complete issue. in the wake of george floyd's murder as with other areas of society it seemed a good chance to shine a light on the area of mission and ponder it's history and practices and the degree to which they are framed and shaped by empire and colonialism. it's guest edited by harvey kwiyani, lusa nsenga-ngoy, and shemil matthew - huge thanks to them! it's powerful and hard hitting. there's a lot to digest.

i read harvey and lusa's articles at breakfast today. harvey says that mission as we think of it today is a european construct out of an era of empire and colonialism so it's logic and imagination are tied in to narratives of superiority. for example he says

In a nutshell then, the very concept of mission as we understand it today has racism and white supremacy in its DNA.

i love mission as a way of framing so this is a jolt but as paul thaxter reflects in his afterword i am definitely guilty of telling inspiring stories of those who have done mission on the inside of cultures well and resisted empire but i am sure that in doing so i have been blinder to and not told other equally true and real stories. i was wrestling with this issue in my visit to new zealand. harvey recounts the story of mission in malawi as one example. his article begs the question of what mission might look like after george floyd. this piece reminded me that i have not yet written the last blog post in the series of reflections on mission after my visit to new zealand which is due to be on post colonial mission and whether such a thing is possible... i'll get back to it before long - life took over!

lusa's article is wonderful. he explores how imagining a different kind of world and future is essential for there to be change. it's actually a piece that would have been perfect for the book future present. he suggest that imagination is a tool for resistance and has powered radical changes in history. our imagination is easily colonised by the iconography of the world around us but needs freeing and maybe it is artists and prophets and dreamers of a better world who will interrupt our imagining to reframe it. afrofuturism is just such a kind of imagining - think black panther for example.

i have plenty more articles to read... 

do download it (or read it online). and we hope it sparks conversation, reflection, awareness, new imaginings of what world and future is possible for the church, christianity and mission and what changes might be required as steps towards that new world..

eyewitness charity print auction to raise funds for msf covid 19 relief

a friend in the local photography group i am part of, edmond terakopian is one of the organisers of an inspired project to raise funds for MSF's covid 19 relief fund. it's a a print auction of 66 prints by 42 photographers worldwide. the auction runs from now until 15 november and you can browse the catalogue and place bids here. 

whilst in the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown, a concerned group of 17 photographers, members of the eyewitness collective, dispersed across several continents, came up with an idea: to collect a series of prints by members and by selected invited photographers, in order to raise funds for the battle against this awful pandemic. they have been overjoyed by the feedback and thrilled that so many photographers have donated their beautiful prints.

photo: pc mckinley by dave sinclair

over the past several months, they have secured a selection of 66 photographs. among the more notable are an image by magnum photos' legendary photographer ian berry from his iconic series the english, an image by the renowned vietnam war photographer tim page, an image by the celebrated photojournalist tom stoddart from the sudan, the fall of the berlin wall by the prominent photojournalist paul lowe, timeless fine art prints by the creative yoshie nishikawa, as well as several celebrity portraits by the likes of mark harrison, jason bell, nicky johnston and clive arrowsmith, to name just a few. 

more info is on the press release which you can download here.

come as a stranger with everything to learn again [ #ImaginingMission 8]

it amuses me looking at this that at first glance now it looks like it says "come as a stranger with fosters" - why would you do that? it's such a terrible drink! anyway that aside this week's reflection from cathy on john taylor 

Don't you feel like that in these days? We are living in the world but not as we know it. What are we learning in these times? Sometimes I do feel like a stranger in these times and maybe that's good. On good days this can heighten our awareness, sharpen our senses, alert us to things we haven't noticed before, draw us into a solidarity with others. We are learning again how to live in a world where fear, inequalities and injustice have been highlighted. We are also learning that we can be good, we can practise altruism and volunteering is good for us. Taylor's insight also reminds me of some lines from the T S Eliot poem Little Gidding where we are encouraged to explore:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

book still available with discount code:MISSION2020

#ImaginingMission

the flag is raised

so the pirate ship in the wood has now got a flag so it's definitely a pirate ship! apparently there are lots of different pirate flags and this is the flag for jack rackham also known as calico jack. jen chose it i suspect because he was famous for having women pirates as part of his crew.

look to the fringes [ #imaginingmission 7 ]

the church is most surely herself when she is at the periphery with those who are fringe dwellers. jesus was loved by outsiders, fringe dwellers. if the church wants to be renewed she should do likewise and look to the fringes rather than the centre. this theme recurs in john taylor's writing and is this week's quote from imagining mission, the book by cathy ross and i riffing on his writing in his newsletters.

the photo is from a slate headstone in the graveyard of the church of brendan the navigator in ireland where there is a well which i visited on pilgrimage with pioneers some years ago. he too was a fringe dweller...

i have mentioned this before but i did turn these into a set of cards for myself and a number of people have said they'd be interested in a set. so leave me a message if you are and i will add you to the list - it will be a while as we have a number more to get through - probably end of year.

and i am adding them to a photo set here

#ImaginingMission

the wave

happy 18th to my nephew zac looking v cool here surfing. loved visiting the wave in bristol which is an artificial surfing pool/lake. i took photos rather than surf - there's an album here of the day and various family members surfing - most managed to stand but zac totally smashed it on the expert level of waves. 

there is no such thing as safe theology [ #imaginingmission 6 ]

some years back i did an installation called red tape which had a bible wrapped in red tape, a dog collar made of red tape and bread and wine ring fenced by red tape. looking back i think it must have been a moment where i was particularly frustrated with the church and its controls! i am amazed cms let me get away with at a public event - the photos are here. anyway all that to say that this week's john taylor quote from our book imagining mission uses a photo from that.

here's cathy's reflection on it

There is no such thing as safe theology. I wonder why we ever thought there was! God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not safe! We know the Spirit is wild, free and unpredictable. How have we so domesticated Jesus and theology? How have we made it all so tame, mundane and frankly boring?! Is it centuries of patriarchy? Empire? White fragility? Certainly these did not help. But we all collude somehow. Let's free ourselves of trying to protect God, police boundaries and monitor sound theology. But is this anarchy? Is this relativism? Well what did we have before? Regulatory order? Conformity? Hierarchy? Conscious and unconscious bias? I realise this is rather binary but it is only a short post! Let's trust in the power and guidance of the Spirit and try to be free to dream more expansively, imagine more generatively and theologise boldly. Let's live by courageous faith and not by fear. If mission is an adventure of the imagination, then theology is no longer safe.

[ #ImaginingMission ]

how to use your imagination

combinatory play is einstein's term for putting two things together from different spheres which is a fun and playful exercise in creativity. i have an article here exploring that - how to use your imagination.

and.. i am interviewed here by naomi steinberg on imagination and the new book - imagining mission: a book taylor made for our time

#ImaginingMission

thanks

thanks so much to all of you who came to the imagining mission book launch. getting the technology working was somewhat nerve wracking but we managed to both zoom it and stream it to youtube which was a first. the plus of that is that there is a recording of the evening here if you missed it. thanks for all the feedback too - we were so pleased it seemed to have been enjoyable. it was great to see so many friends inlcuding people from several different countries.

grace firstfruits sat 10 october

it's the time of year for harvest - grace's spin on that is firstfruits. here's the bliurb

Please bring something of what you do in life to offer to God at Firstfruits. It can relate to your work, your garden, your home, a sideline, your art, your kitchen, your music making, your volunteering, your child rearing, your caring... We are all makers, creators. Please don’t be shy - we’d love to pile a virtual table high with offerings of the firstfruits of our making to God. (And if they are not the first fruits that doesn’t matter!)

We’re not quite sure how this will work - it might be you have a story to tell, a basket of vegetables to show, a song to perform. But have a think about what you would like to bring. A photograph on the computer can be shared for example but we’d love contributions that could be performed too if you have any. It might be for some you, want to bring grief because there is an absence of making - that too can go on the table.

There will also be a space to think about how we might give out of what we have been given. You might like to ponder that ahead of time too. We won’t be overly prescriptive about that - i.e. there won’t be a joint project but an opportunity to reflect on what you might share with others.

leap over the wall or perish [ #ImaginingMission 5]

we titled the first chapter of the book imagining mission leap over the wall or perish because we loved that john taylor phrase so much! that first chapter is about how we imagine church can be. i really loved writing it and found it pushed my own ideas and thinking. i am looking forward to finding out peoples reactions to it. it's easy to get stuck in so many areas of life church included, and easy to get introverted. there's always plenty to do for the internal church agenda which those on the inside can busy themselves with. but taylor flips it the other way round suggesting we need to get out into the community, get over walls that we have built. i think the phrase speaks for itself so there's not a lot more to add really other than to allow ourselves to be provoked by it!

we're posting a series of quotes from john taylor that we use in the book coupled with photos i have taken which i hope you enjoy - this is no 5. (the idea was inspired i think by the book of probes - quotes by marshall macluhan with photography by david carson). i have made them into a set of cards and am collecting names of anyone who is interested in a set - let me know if you'd like one and i'll add you to the list. 

i am looking forward to the book launch tonight - tickets are sold out but it will be livestreamed on youtube here at 8pm thurs 1 october. and you'll get the same experiece. bring a glass of bubbly to your computer screen and celebrate with us.

#ImaginingMission

booklaunch update - livestream added

we will now be livestreaming the book launch for imagining mission at 8pm on thurs night on youtube for those who were disappointed not to get a place for the zoom version - click on this link on the night. it will be pretty much the same. the truth is it had not occurred to cathy and i that we would have 100 people sign up - thanks so much to everyone for your support and interest and we will do our best to be scintillating! we are excited about the book.

10 year birthday of cms pioneer training

10 years ago today was the first teaching day of pioneer mission leadership training at cms! i honestly can't believe it has been ten years. i was asked by cms to set training up in response to an invitation from the church of england. i knew lots about mission practice and not a lot about theological education but i like a challenge and so dived in.

we began with 9 students on 25 sept 2010. it was a steep learning curve but has been a wonderful adventure. little by little we have grown what we do so that now there is a wonderful network/community of pioneers around the country doing amazing things and some really great training to help support them in our oxford centre and in hubs round the country. we have published books, articles, journals to keep the conversation moving forward. 

there are a few videos, messages and a poem from some of those in the first year intake here.

and there is a story about 10 years of pioneers here.

thank you to everyone who has been part of that journey - team, pioneer students, cms, friends who have cheered us on. it has been good. i am very happy about what we have been able to create, and our contribution to the wider mission of the church. cms is such a great home for pioneers.

#pioneer10th

what drives the missionary is what they don't know [ #ImaginingMission 4]

cathy writes:

Imagine this. I wish this idea were reality for all of us. I remember an elderly NZCMS mission partner telling me after more than 30 years living in Pakistan that she knew so much less now than when she had arrived there. This nugget by John Taylor encourages a spirit of listening, learning, curiosity and humility. How differently mission might have been - and still could be - experienced if we adopted this posture.

you can order imagining mission here

i am amazed and delighted that next week's book launch has sold out (i say sold - it's free!) - who knew that would happen?! we have a maximum of 100 places. if yo were hoping to come we'll try and work out if we can stream it at the same time...

#ImaginingMission

reframing the pigeon

this mural is on water lane in E15 london. we cycled over from ealing and it was totally worth it. it's been painted as part of london mural festival. what a great idea for a festival during the pandemic - outdoors and socially distanced. it's painted by adele renault who loves painting pigeons. i found it a good flip in my own mind, a reframing of the pigeon. pigeons are often thought of as dirty, but here they are elevated to something beautiful in the landscape of city life. i looked up the meaning of pigeons and they are signs of love as apparently they mate for life. they are also of course signs of peace through their better loved family member the dove!

it was fun to get a map of the murals and follow the trail - ended up cycling 41 miles and only saw a small amount so could be a good rason to get on the bike for some exercise in the next few weeks. 

a good place to start is with whoever is at home [#ImaginingMission 3]

one of the parts of writing imagining mission that i really enjoyed were the sections at the end of each chapter on creativity and imagination. counter intuitively creativity can be helped by having limits within which to work. i was reminded of the quote above from john taylor when the rule of six was introduced. this is a limit but it calls for creative responses. taking church as an example how can church work, grow and be if limited to homes and groups of six? when you stop and think about it there have been loads of times and places where the church has only been able to meet in homes and has flourished. i think i would go so far as to say that households is the most natural habitat for communities of disciples. i realise the photo above is six people plus a foot if you look closely and it's not a home but you get the idea!!

if you'd like to find out a bit more about the book we have a book launch on october 1 which is online and free - register here - love to see you there.

#ImaginingMission

 

london mural festival

i love street art and was delighted to see there is a london mural festival - there are around 50 artists taking part. one of the great things about festivals like this is that you get some really big pieces and of course they will stay around for years most likely. it seems a particularly genius idea to have it at the moment as it's outside. there's a map on the website - i hope to get on my bike at some stage and find some of the pieces - no doubt photos to follow...

book launch october 1

we are having an online book launch on october 1 to celebrate imagining mission being published - you'll have to bring your own bubbly or other drink (sorry!). there are 100 places - click here to register and you will be emailed the link. john taylor's thinking is so relevant for now. in the book we soak ourselves in his mission thinking and respin it for today. we're delighted john's daughter joanna will be joining us. love to see you there.

pirate ship

well today i have a granddaughter who is 5! don't know how that happened. over the summer i made a play area in the woods for the granddaughters and nephew which they have decided is a pirate ship... happy birthday flo!