jonnybaker

four rooms

four rooms - new piece on rejesus

Different traditions stress different aspects of Jesus. In this module immerse yourself in four distinct experiences to investigate these aspects for yourself.

blah weds...

don't forget blah... on weds night with brian mclaren

zero 7 - the dons of chill

went to see zero 7 last night at hammersmith. what a fantastic gig! the sound was brilliant - you could hear every note of every instrument. much as i loved nick cave's gig, this really showed what a good sound should be like. zero 7 are the dons of chill - this was the first time i have seen them and the four vocalists in particular were absolutely sensational. this was also the first gig in years (maybe 15?) that i have been to with jen - i tend to be the one going off to concerts - and she loved it as well. i reckon the last gig we went to together was probably U2 at wembley stadium way back when sunday bloody sunday hadn't long been out...

i haven't been to many gigs this year but in one month i will have seen nick cave, zero 7 and (still to come) faithless which redresses the balance for the rest of the year... i have also decided to go to the big chill festival this summer. i have been wanting to go for ages but we are usually on holiday then. but the dates of jen's triathlons, the boys camps, and greenbelt all mean i can go this year. so harry and i have signed up... can't wait.

worship trick list links updated

the list of the first 100 worship tricks has been bugging me for a while.... for two reasons
1) several of the original posts now have broken links
2) when you link back to blogger archived posts it just looks messy - sometimes hard to spot what you are looking for.

so i have made an index of the first 100 tricks that doesn't link to the blog entries but links to a page i have created for each trick. i think it's neater and more useful. i have also tried to update all broken links. sadly a few things are no longer out there but most are. the image on the right links to this new index. if you prefer the old index that links to the original blog entries it's still there but you will get more broken links. no need to update any links you have made to worship tricks as they will still remain where they were on the original blog entries. this has all taken me longer than planned and i wondered after a while if it wasn't a complete waste of time but once you start these things it feels like you have to finish. (i won't do this for series two as it's easy to link directly to each typepad entry).

worship trick 5 [second series] - advent journals

steve taylor has created some advent journals to be passed around the church community through the season of advent as an act of preparation and reflection. if you get a journal you add your thoughts/reflections/prayers for three days and then pass it on. this is a great idea. i received an international journal earlier this year that was taking up the same idea but being sent round the globe. i think those journals are still out there. looking forward to hearing how that project ends up...

anyway it's my turn to lead gracelet this sunday evening so i have made a few journals to do the same thing in grace, shamelessly lifting steve's idea pretty much exactly as it is - (thanks steve!) but hey that's what ideas are for - giving away... we usually run a lent blog which is  a great  way of sharing/reflecting communally in lent. i'd been thinking we could do with something similar but different in advent so we'll give this a try. i'll let you know how it goes... steve has done 8 journals. i'm feeling less ambitious (or grace is just smaller) and have done 3. i rather like the covers (click on the image to see a larger version) - the stencil was actually scanned in from hand made wrapping paper by tlb which my christmas present was wrapped in last year with it's own unique stencil. i think it's the only wrapping paper that i've ever had that was so cool that i kept it.

advent journals are worship trick 5 [second series]

not as obsessed as si

well i'm not as obsessed as si who spent 15 hours one frozen night to be there and get a (pretty impressive) bad of goodies at the opening of the apple store in london. but i was sort of passing en route to another meeting so visited the apple store. it is very impressive... and this post will no doubt add more fuel to richard's theory

art and money

daniels journey sparks off kester's complex christ on art and money and gift finding frustrations are not only found in the church...

thom yorke scoop for brian draper

thom yorke scoop for bri draper gets accolades from the observer! way to go... must get a copy

worship trick 4 [second series] - mucky paws

roddy hamilton has collated bits of liturgy, reflections, prayers from the abbotsford community in clydesdale throughout 2004 - they are gathered together under the heading mucky paws. there are 5 sections so far making up about 50 pages which are avilable to download as word files from the mission resourcing network of the uniting church in australia which is where i came across them. i am making mucky paws worship trick 4 [second series]. here are a couple of pieces to give you a flavour...

the first is an affirmation of faith at the start of the year:

A Word That Is Love

ALL: We believe in a word
that forms on the lips of the creator
and echoes in our souls:
a word that is LOVE.

MEN: We believe in a word
that breaks the silence of evil
and disturbs the noise of ignorance:
a word that is LOVE.

WOMEN: We believe in a word
that brings life out of death
and laughter with the morning:
a word that is LOVE.

MEN: We believe in a word
that tears up the darkness
flooding it with light:
a word that is LOVE.

WOMEN: We believe in a word
that speaks to all loneliness
with self-giving compassion and care:
a word that is LOVE.

ALL: We believe in a word
that speaks to our futures
calling us by name,
to trust anew,
and believe once more
in a word
called LOVE.

the second is a an affirmation for good friday:

Friday Affirmation

We affirm that when God dies it is a time to suspect:
to suspect that darkness can be crushed by sunrise,
that silence can break with song,
that alleluias can be shouted in graveyards,
that love chooses to live.
We affirm that when God dies,
it is time to suspect this is not the end.

We affirm that when God dies it is a time to believe:
to believe laughter will be heard at dawn,
that tombs will be unsealed,
that grave clothes will be folded away,
that love chooses to live.
We affirm that when God dies,
it is time to believe this is not the end.

We affirm that when God dies it is a time to trust:
to trust that the conspiracy belongs to heaven,
that crosses aren’t the last word,
that the last word is always love,
and that love chooses to live.
We affirm that when God dies,
it is time to trust this is not the end.

signposts - spirituality images

signposts is a new resource of 48 postcards with images relating to spirituality. i haven't actually got a set but they look pretty good. there are a few examples on the site. produced by a church in australia...

in response to maggi

maggi has a post entitled resentment and theologians which has a lot of comments. it is a follow on/response to the debate on moot (make sure you look at the comments)...
i have tried to post a comment on maggi's but got a message saying i am only allowed 100 characters (in which space i can't say anything!) - seems a bit weird... anyway i am posting my response here. it won't make a lot of sense unless you read the original discussion...

all this blog activity at the moment - what is going on?!

great post maggi... only just caught up with it. i was one who specifically mentioned ivory towers on the moot blog. i am still uncomfortable with theology as it is framed in lots of academic institutions. i feel like kester and i are two lone voices here against the rest of the blogosphere. so am happy (well i'm probably lying) to be proved wrong... but let me try and articulate my problem
it's not with theology or study or specialisation - i have had my imagination funded by many a theologian and am thankful to those who have given their lives to it.
but it is with detatchment from the real world. (maybe all i am doing is arguing the case for practical theology?) the best theology always engages with life and i appreciate that you have hung around academic circles and are saying this is going on but i simply don't believe it's as wonderful as you say.
let me try and give a specific example (and risk getting my head bitten off) relating to  theological education - people go and train for being vicars for three years - most of what they do is theology - OT, NT, systematics etc - the theory is that they will learn the practical stuff on the job later on as i understand it. well to put it bluntly the sytem doesn't work. or it has massive problems. why? because there isn't the connection between theology and real life - it's too abstracted. it doesn't equip people to engage with theology in the market place or the city or pop culture. in terms of emerging church it is difficult to persuade people to get ordained - or at least via a route that requires being shut off from the world for three years. why? because they want to be trained where they are. and the training and theology needs to relate to the questions/struggles of real life. this is compunded by the fact that most people coming out of theological colleges are not equipped with the right skills to lead emerging churches - why? because they've spent most of their time doing theology and being trained to be teacher/pastors - very little missional stuff. dare i say sytematic theology is tired and dull? this is what i mean by detachment and i think that the establishment/institutions are perpetuating it. of course i am overstaing the case to make a point. i know loads of wonderful vicars and people who have learned loads through their training and relate it to real life. but those same people often still bemoan the lack of connection.
here's why i think everyone is loving your argument - you are an exception. you are theologising in the blogosphere listening to the struggles/questions many practitioners are asking - what a gift!... but show me the rest of the theologians who are doing that. i know there are some but i suspect that there are a whole lot more still commfortable in their ivory towers :-)
i'm with kester - i want to reframe the debate about god outside of the categories....
shoot me down

can a church change? wisdom/advice please

i got sent this e-mail. i have replied but part of my reply suggested that i post the question on the blog (which the person was happy for me to do) as I think it's a question quite a few people may be interested in. so any ideas welcome...

I'm 48, evangelical, and a full time evangelist with a long established UK para church agency. I'm also a leader of an independant (Brethren roots) church, small (28 adults), quite a few first generation Christians, all ages etc etc. This is simply to give you a broad idea of where I'm coming from - but not necc. where I want to go!

So, here are the questions:
1) Do you think it's possible for someone with a 'modern' mindset (which I can't help having) to create/develop an effective/satisfying/relevant church in a post modern culture?
I find enourmous frustration with most expressions of church (including my own!) and want to create something different - but my 'default' settings are strong! I think/learn/interpret using the brain & experience of a 48 year old.

2) Can a church which has existed in a traditional format change/evolve into a genuine 'alternative church'?
The 28 'members' are a pretty flexible bunch, but, again, it's so difficult to get 'mature' Christians to think, let alone act, differently.

I'd appreciate your thoughts...

ambient mix

an ambient mix for your dreaming pleasure - this is a thread on the big chill forum where someone has posted a beautiful ambient mix. the link is in the first entry (65mb) and the track listing is further down. looks like the dead texan is an album to look out for - it also comes with a dvd of 7 animations/videos...

gospel and justice: christmas blah... with brian mclaren

gospel and justice

the (emerging) church in the global north is grappling with mission in a postmodern world. the (emerging) church in the global south is grappling with mission in a postcolonial world. brian mclaren explores the intersection between the two and the justice issues that emerge. how does the emerging church engage with gospel and justice?

brian is a prolific thinker, writer and speaker on mission and the emerging church. he is one of the visionary leaders of emergent, a network of missional leaders in the USA. this is a fantastic opportunity to hear him. brian is in the UK speaking at the inclusive church conference 2-4 dec. make sure you catch him there if you have the chance.

in view of the theme, and it being a christmas blah... we will have an offering which will go towards supporting rape victims in the Congo. come prepared to give generously. (if you're not coming and want to give you can).

this is the sixth of a series of conversations hosted by CMS in 2004 on mission, worship, church and christianity in today’s rapidly changing culture. it’s a time to keep listening, chatting and reflecting as god beckons us into the future.

wednesday 1 december | 6:30-8:30pm | drinks and refreshments provided | admission free

venue:  CMS partnership house, 157 waterloo road
[nearest tube waterloo - follow signs from station to old vic. go past old vic and partnership house is on the same side opposite the ambulance station]

it would help us to know numbers in advance so if you're coming please e-mail jonny

call it democracy

i heard tony blair and george bush giving a press conference last week on their commitment to establish democracy round the world. all sounded fair enough at one level but it also reminded me of these lyrics by bruce cockburn to call it democracy

Padded with power here they come International loan sharks backed by the guns Of market hungry military profiteers Whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared With the blood of the poor

Who rob life of its quality Who render rage a necessity By turning countries into labour camps Modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom

Sinister cynical instrument Who makes the gun into a sacrament -- The only response to the deification Of tyranny by so-called "developed" nations' Idolatry of ideology

North South East West Kill the best and buy the rest It's just spend a buck to make a buck You don't really give a flying f**k About the people in misery

IMF dirty MF Takes away everything it can get Always making certain that there's one thing left Keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

See the paid-off local bottom feeders Passing themselves off as leaders Kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows Open for business like a cheap bordello

And they call it democracy And they call it democracy And they call it democracy And they call it democracy

See the loaded eyes of the children too Trying to make the best of it the way kids do One day you're going to rise from your habitual feast To find yourself staring down the throat of the beast They call the revolution

IMF dirty MF Takes away everything it can get Always making certain that there's one thing left Keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

god is in the house

fun weekend...

• saw nick cave at brixton. wonderful stuff and amazingly spiritual (when everyone was singing 'god is in the house' it reminded me of being at radiohead when everyone was singing 'god loves his children').
• played for st marys (which grace is a part of) football team and won for the first time in ages.
• went to eyes and illusions at the haywood gallery
• finally watched shrek 2

300 loops in 30 days

300 loops (wav files) in 30 days. each set of loops is only up for 7 days. haven't got round to listening to any yet so can't vouch for the quality - (thanks ben for the tip off).

sms guerrilla projector

worship trick 3 [second series] is a sms guerrilla projector. i haven't actually seen it in action but it looks wonderful! bob put me onto it. you could have a lot of fun with this taking worship into public spaces or just making mischief...

trickster ruses

last night i gave a talk/led a discussion on trickster. some of you may be wondering who or what on earth trickster is!... (i'm going to be doing a session on it at the inclusive church conference as well)

lots of cultures around the world have a series of myths or stories that they tell that include a trickster character. this might be coyote, raven, hermes, brer rabbit, krishna, the fox… but in each case there are similarities in the roles and mischief that trickster gets up to.

i was first put onto this by kester and nic at vaux, who lent me a book by lewis hyde called trickster makes this world. in the book hyde outlines some of tricksters strategies and stories and asks the question of where trickster (or the spirit of trickster) still lives in the modern world. he is particularly interested in the role of some artists who seem to capture the spirit of trickster.

i found this a captivating notion, partly i suspect because i found myself in the trickster character and i could particularly see some of the approaches and strategies of people involved in alternative worship reflected in the trickster.

what i did last night was to identify 10 tricks or ruses that trickster plays. these aren't named as such in hyde's book - i have sort of sifted them out. if you are interested, click on the picture and there is an animated gif that has the 10 ruses... kester's book the complex christ has a great chapter on dirt that talks about trickster.

Technorati Tags: trickster

firefox

have decided to try out firefox (which is free) as my browser. i like safari and the tabbed browsing with it but typepad tools work in firebird that in a way they don't in safari and firebird also has tabbed browsing. today's online had this article dambusters looking at firebird.