jonnybaker

wild rooster

cycled a couple of hundred miles to amsterdam at the weekend. whilst it sounds a long way (and the first day was long from london to harwich) if you get a train to harwich it's around 60 miles the other end to amsterdam which is a great ride. it was a lot of fun with a group connected to amos trust. jen has added photos here. i found this one quite amusing of me with a wild rooster sign!?

p.s. wildrooster means cattle grid in dutch in case that wasn't obvious!

the table - eating alone

on the subject of youth ministry and pioneering there is a day at cms jointly hosted by cym, streetspace and cms reflecting on how you can sustain your faith and life when it can be tough and challenging and lonely at times. it's actually a day that will be suitable for anyone asking that question, not just if you are working with young people. it's a bargain as the price includes lunch… you can book here

reimagining church with young people

loved this article in youthwork magazine by steve leach, one of the students on our cms pioneer training on reimagining church with young people which has a lot of choice quotes in it such as...

More is up for negotiation than we might at first think, and unless we cultivate innovation we risk getting stuck and ultimately extinct. In every group there are always those who see the world differently and dream of new possibilities. They need to be celebrated and encouraged to dream their dreams. They do not need taming and sapping by a tired culture of risk-averse pastors, desperately claiming against all the evidence that fluency in their archaic practice is essential for ministry in the 21st Century. If in their pursuit of Jesus’ vision for his bride and kingdom your dreamers are perpetually scrutinised by defensive guardians of the status quo who perceive them as a threat, the chances are they won’t be around for long.

the simplest things...

grace last saturday was a repeat of what we call communion by numbers which follows through a communion service round tables in a café style. there are a series of numbered envelopes on each table and when a bell rings you open the next envelope and follow the instructions. it's very simple to set up and run but sometimes the simplest things are the best...

the outline for the service and all the bits and pieces we used this time round are here

the first one we ever ran i think is here which is of course a worship trick

you may not read journals but you should read this...

i was blown away when I read the first issue of a new journal missio africanus this morning. it's available free online as a download and the articles are so interesting. and don't think it's only relevant if you are african or working with africans. it will spark your imagination about mission regardless. there are so many interesting explorations going on around theology, post colonialism, migration, leadership, who jesus is. these are questions every church should be reflecting on to move beyond their own cultural ways of doing and being. harvey kwiyani is the editor. he has become a good friend in the last year and has joined in teaching at CMS on the pioneer course. anyway download and have a read…

[article continues over here]

empowering young women

if you follow the blog you'll know i enthuse regularly about the missional entrepreneurship course that has grown out the pioneer training we are running at cms. lots of people opt into this particular module which stands alone well. due to popularity we ran a second week - sadly i couldn't be there but sounds like it was a great week. i love the way that people come with an idea that can just be a thought they've had that's been percolating that can get worked on in the week and before you know it can then be made to happen. here's one of the ideas people brought this last time...

being human being present

it was great to get an email from tallskinnykiwi and catch up with his wanderings - now across europe. he has written a really brilliant reflection being human being present. he says he is interested in chasing down the stories behind the stories of what has and is happening in mission. in doing so he unearths something from max warren in 1958 - max warren was a cms general secretary so great to see a pice of cms treasure being dug up with some nice prophetic challenge in it...

champions!

i have loved watching chelsea this season - a wonderful side and a truly remarkable manager! champions once again :)

next up at grace - communion by numbers sat may 9

next grace is sat may 9 - communion by numbers. a simple communion service that unfolds round tables café style. i loved this image above from the last grace - when the projector screen was rolled up the projection directly onto the wall and windows of the church looked rather magical...