this is the last post on my typepad blog! i have used typepad for over 20 years now. i have enjoyed it - thank you to the team there. however it is clear that it has been dwindling for some time. there have been very few developments. quite often uploading images generates errors and typepad themseves are taking no new users but directing them to bluehost which is essentially wordpress hosting. so it seems to be winding down. i have been thinking about it for a while but i have finally taken the plunge and moved my blog across to a wordpress site in a couple of down days between christmas and new year. no doubt there is more to be done and a few pages to add but it's well on the way. i have also bought a domain jonny-baker.com which i can point wherever i end up in the future. the annoying thing of course is that people following jonnybaker.blogs.com will not now find me unless they read this post. on the new site you can sign up to receive a newsletter - i won't send you info on every blog post - probably a monthly news so feel free to sign up to that. i have not yet worked that part out. i suspect most people see blog posts linked to in facebook or other social media sites anyway. i actually think blogging will make a comeback in 2025 because we are all fed up with the hosts of most platforms! i am glad i have kept it going anyway since my first blog entry on blogger in april 2022!
i thought about substack but to be honest that seems to suit people writing for one niche or focus. i am much more eclectic and like to add videos, photos, music and so on. i also don't really like the way substack writers withold content for those who subscribe. i appreciate it's a way to make a living but it's not a way i want to go or like being on the receiving end of. i haven't paid for a single substack and don't intend to start. maybe i'll change my view in time...
for the geeks i have successfully managed to export from typepad and import into wordpress over 4000 posts! i did my best with images but most of them are in typepad links rather than imported so i assume once i stop paying typepad those links will break - we'll find out. i will get the images thanks to typepad but i have not got the time or motivation to add in that many images but at least the text, links, categories will be there. i'll host typepad for a few more months but there's not much point paying a monthly fee for too long.
thank you thank you thank you everyone who has followed along here. do continue to follow along. i think i'll be blogging more not less in 2025. and i intend to add in some other pages. and thank you to the typepad team.
chris goan is on something of a roll. he is blogging a series of reflections on his blog this fragile tent called remaking religion. he is arguing that western religion is no longer fit for purpose and needs some sort of revolution. lots of good provocative stuff there and actually when you scratch below the surface he is highlighting that we need communities that embody the way of jesus christ more authentically. the posts are quite long so pour a drink and take a bit of time with it. i confess to being envious of his latest canoe trip too!
this article was written for and posted on the cms pioneer blog. i am also posting it here because i have learned over the years things disappear when sites get revamped and i like to keep the archive of things i have written...
When I visited Palestine in 1998 I visited a centre for Palestinian liberation theology. I bought a book on the Bible and colonialism. I discovered that for Palestinians the story of the Exodus doesn’t resonate in the same way that it does for other liberation theologies. It’s obvious now but it wasn’t to me then. They identify with those in the story who dwell in the land and get driven out, the Canaanites.
When I landed at CMS a few years later, hungry to learn about global theologies and mission, one of the first books my then boss Paul Thaxter gave me was called Voices From The Margins, a collection of essays. The one I remember the most is by Robert Warrior, a First Nations member of the Osage tribe (which you will know about if you have seen Killers of the Flower Moon). The chapter was called Canaanites, Cowboys and Indians. In it he says this:
“The obvious characters in the story for Native Americans to identify with are the Canaanites, the people who already lived in the promised land. As a member of the Osage Nation of American Indians who stands in solidarity with other tribal people around the world, I read the Exodus stories with Canaanite eyes. And, it is the Canaanite side of the story that has been overlooked by those seeking to articulate theologies of liberation. Especially ignored are those parts of the story that describe Yahweh’s command to mercilessly annihilate the indigenous population.”
In CMS I found there was actually a gold mine of this sort of stuff if you were prepared to do some digging.
Rewinding a bit further back, while I was at university I joined a group called Men, Women and God. In that group we read passages of the Bible that seemed on the surface to present traditional views of the roles of women and men. We were helpfully steered through them by those who had explored the texts, theologies, culture and so on. They were reading ‘with women’s eyes’ and that opened up a whole new vista of partnership, freedom and liberation for women (and men). That group was such a relief, so helpful!
If you grew up in a Eurocentric worldview you probably unwittingly have learned that your take on the Bible is the right one and other people’s is dodgy!
Reading the Bible from the edges, through other people’s eyes, fit well with the so called shift to postmodern times which we were discussing back in the 90s (and which has not gone away). It was a shift away from one dominating (Western) story of modernity with its objective rational truth to something more akin to a meal where there is a conversation and those round the table have a number of takes, stories. The best thing you can do is to share your take with humility and listen well to others and you’ll likely discover some things you had not seen before, which will give you a bigger picture. Sadly, I fear the post-modern table was not all it was cracked up to be – or at least issues of domination do not seem to have gone away.
If you grew up in a Eurocentric worldview or church you may have to get over some fear or worry because you probably unwittingly have learned that your take on the Bible is the right one and other people’s is dodgy! Interestingly it applies whether you are liberal or evangelical. I have come to think they may just be two different kinds of superiority that belonged to the modern era. You may even have learned to call your view ‘biblical’ or more latterly ‘orthodox’! That is simply a ruse. We have learned some odd things and can feel very defended about our ways of understanding and knowing. What makes this a bit more complex now is that you can get very Western ‘reads’ of the text in all sorts of places round the world, in some cases dogmatically so, which is a confusing legacy of empire. But again, dig a bit and you’ll find those who are doing the edge work.
I have read the Bible most days of my life and it never ceases to puzzle me, intrigue me, undo me. And I love it when someone opens up a new angle or possibility…
If you like the sound of this sort of approach to reading the Bible it’s more readily available than ever, though you’ve still got to do some digging. Here’s a few of the books I have been enjoying and/or challenged by recently. I have picked some that are on the Bible, not just contextual or intercultural theology more generally.
Bible Blindspots edited by Jione Havea, and Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon has some great chapters looking at Bible texts. ‘Samaritans and Empire’ by Nestor Miguez is incredible – this sermon I preached last year was inspired by that. In a similar vein Jione’s chapter on ‘Egypt Reframed’ is also wonderful in the flip it gives you on Egypt in the narrative. It is so helpful to get a take from the perspective of those who are ‘enemies’ of the story teller.
Unsettling the Word is a collection of Bible experiments in decolonisation written from Canada. It’s not all indigenous writers but nonetheless is also really good. The pieces are quite short so makes a good devotional book. ‘Destroy Everything’ by Derrick Jensen is a rewrite of Deuteronomy 7 and in the light of Gaza right now it could not be more pertinent. Another chapter by way of example is ‘Prayer of the Sent Away’, an extremely moving reflection by Ryan Dueck on Ezra and the ethnic cleansing that takes place.
Lastly the commentary Romans Disarmed by Sylvia Keesmaat and Brian Walsh is brilliant. I add it here because they definitely read Romans with the lens of Empire and First Nations people front and centre. It really is up there for me as one of the best and most creative commentaries I have ever read. And they have these wonderful targums, as theu did in Colossians Remixed, a sort of improvised rereading of particular passages. I hope to review all these over on my blog at some point.
Reading the Bible from all manner of edges enriches it for me, whatever context I am in.
In Romans Disarmed, Keesmaat and Walsh discuss clobber texts. This is a way of saying that some people (for example women, LGBTQ+, black and brown people who have been enslaved, indigenous people whose land has been stolen) have had the Bible used over and against them. They have been clobbered by it. The example that springs to mind is a scene in the film 12 Years A Slave where the text ‘slaves obey your masters’ Is being read out by the slave master at a church service.
Take Back The Word is a collection of essays that are a queer reading of the Bible. This is another edge to read the Bible from. It’s such an important edge right now to try and understand and feel the perspective of. They too discuss clobber texts. The thing that caught my attention the most in that book was the appeal in the introduction to those who have been clobbered by the Bible to find a way to make it their friend again. I thought that was a lovely exhortation, though how easy a journey that is I don’t know. My favourite chapter was ‘Reading The Bible From Low and Outside’ by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott.
If you prefer a podcast there is a series SheToo produced by Bible Society that looks at seven texts which include violence against women.
For pioneers the most important voice may well be to enable the Bible to be read from the edge where you are pioneering – maybe with spiritual seekers, young people, a working class estate. I wonder what that will look like. But actually I have found that reading the Bible from all manner of edges enriches it for me whatever context I am in and whatever context I am pioneering in.
In Deconstructing Whiteness, Empire and Mission, Anthony Reddie suggests that the tactics of reflexivity, decentring whiteness and finding new voices for the norm might be a start to decolonise the curriculum of theological education. I couldn’t agree more and I so appreciate his voice. Those three tactics are also good for reading the Bible. I have read the Bible most days of my life I think and still do. It never ceases to puzzle me, intrigue me, undo me. And I love it when someone opens up a new angle or possibility that deepens my appreciation or threatens my world. Maybe you can find the voice of someone at the edges and read the Bible from the edges with them, through their eyes.
i have been pondering the various social media worlds over the last couple of decades and how i have interfaced with it.
at one stage there were a number of bloggers around the world and it was very energising to engage via conversation that took place in the comments of various blogs. it was easy to keep up because there weren't that many! prior to that, the conversation had taken place via email discussion forums.
then with the arrival of facebook i was eventually persuaded to join (in a bar in austin). at one level that seemed a lot more democratic - lots of people got involved and it suited lighter touch posts. the thing i never liked about it was that it didn't archive anything so if there was an important conversation it was hard to go back to.
twitter had its evangelists and the same thing happened - i was persuaded to join. i kept the blog going but found the conversation had moved to multiple places and people were less likely to visit a blog so you needed to repost everything or work out what to post where. that was fine and i rationalised it by saying you need to go where people are. it felt at times like there were flows you needed to spot and jump on.
i am a photographer so instagram was appealing to post photos and i have enjoyed that space although i was late to that, though i have still kept my flckr account going where i really post my photos.
whatsapp has also become a useful tool and a hungry monster all in one!
the challenge is that it all gets a bit exhausting to feed the various socials. that is compounded by having various pioneer spaces to communicate in with cms and trying to puzzle out what should go where. inevitably the blog got less attention over time. the second challenge is that the companies running the socials are horrible. we all kind of knew that but it has become more and more obvious. the number of ads, the way the socials have fuel fake news and take zero responsibility beyond making as much money as they can and so on. so there is a sort of widespread disillusionment but a reluctance to bail. i have no idea what that means.
but i have been reflecting that i am really glad i have kept this blog going against the odds, hanging in there as a landing page and an archive of sorts of the last twenty years or so. it's a funny mix -i have always fused things in my own life with mission, culture, pioneering, photography rather than having a disciplined sharp focus. and i have decided that i am going to go back to posting more on the blog - that will include short things, links to something (that might have gone on twitter), and longer reflections. i hope to up my game by posting most days or at least a few times a week. i will link things across to twitter and where appropriate post in facebook but mainly it will link back. i am not expecting a resurgence of conversation in comments on the blog or anything and a lot of people can't be bothered with an extra click. but i am going to give attention to the blog and less to other spaces. i suspect instagram may be the one i hang out in a bit more as i do love images and quite a few photographers post there.
this is just me thinking out loud and describing what has already happened - i go to twitter and facebook less - once every few days. i'll keep doing that though perhaps that will wane too - i am kind of over them.
for some reason i thought it was time for a new blog header. this photo is of some old typesetting letters on my desk with a gorillaz character. that was the basis anyway and it felt like coyote needed to make an appearance... the blue and yellow is a nod to my new room to work from - photos of that coming shortly. let me know what you think!
what age do you become mature? we certainly celebrated our two lads birthdays at 18 in crazy style as that felt a moment of transition into adulthood. i had an email this week inviting me to something to celebrate fresh expressions of church becoming eighteen - wow! where did that time go?
looking back on my time at cms it was couple of years in that mission shaped church was published. here is my blog post when it landed on my doormat. this was a church of england and methodist report published in 2004 which was in response to the wave of new things bubbling up round the edges of the church. two members of cms were on the group that produced the report - chris neal and gill poole and i am proud that cms were involved in what was a seminal report really. it is very rare that a church report becomes a best seller but it caught the moment and maybe even a wave of the spirit! it said it was catching up with what was already happening through the likes of the emerging church. it coined a new term - fresh expressions of church - drawing on the declaration of assent where the church says it will proclaim the gospel afresh in every generation. there had been an earlier report called breaking new ground so this was a build on that actually. graham cray chaired it and there was a foreword by rowan williams in which he wisely described a mixed economy of church to suggest that the new and the old were all part of the church's household and he came up with a pretty radical definition of church which has not been bettered since in my view. you can dig it out to find the content but it was generous in what was welcomed into the mix. and it was brave - there would be a lot of work to do in the church of england around culture change if this was to have legs.
the report had a series of recommendations and the then archbishop rowan williams gathered together some people who got behind resourcing it as i think he realised he probably needed to bypass the central funding structures to act quickly. he was an absolute legend, an authority dissenter who was loved to bits by the movement that followed. it's so fun to read the blog post of that evening at lambeth palace which I was at telling the story of grace as an example of a fresh expression and the blog entry is titled bring on the angliCAN church . a fresh expressions team was appointed and they got to work speaking, develioping training, sharing stories and setting to work on policy such as creating a pathway for ordination , changing the regulations around church planting across parish boundaries and so on. the tenth anglican church planting conference that june 2004 sold out. cms were one of the sponsors. but reading my blog post on it you get a sense of the energy that was around. along with notes i took on rowan williams wisdom. it's also weird how small photos were then on blog posts - but i loved this one of steve collins, ben edson and adrian riley . other denominations joined in (urc, baptist, salvation army) and it was picked up internationally. for example i visited korea where it was translated and inspired new expressions. the relationship with emerging church was interesting - if you know the diffusion of innovation curve emerging church was in the early adopters but fresh expressions was more working with the early majority - at least that is my sense of it and stephen croft and i had a discussion at greenbelt one year to that effect i remember. and it really did diffuse to a significant degree over 18 years thus far.
in july 2019 it was 15 years on from the mission shaped church report and at general synod it was reported that this had been the single most effective thing the church had done to reach genuinely new people (at least for a long time). it was also futuring the church in its forms. a motion was adopted to encourage every parish to consider a contextual expression of church (contextual means that it is creatively related to the culture of the place it is in). others would know better than me how theior denoiminations hgave responded.
the diagram above i sketched at one of the later fresh expressions gatherings and jotted down what graham cray reflected on as the facets of its charism.
the weird thing is that it is at a funny moment right now. covid has been difficult for lots of things which is one factor. another i think was a change of archbishop so the funding changed perhaps rightly to things he was passionate about. but several people used language of it being embedded as if to say we've done that - which i think was pretty naive looking back. my own take is that the church has always needed a combination of its structural way of organising and a movement way of organising (the jargon for this is modal and sodal). if you just leave something like fresh expressions to the structural it will likely slide back into more internal agendas. you need those groups with particular focus and energey to help and continue to call the church to its edges. i also think that the nature of fresh expressions was broad church and ecumenical and it worked hard at that with book series in the sacramental tradition as well as the low church end. the more recent developments are located in a much narrower stream or at least that is how they are perceived. that inevitably means some people get on board but others simply won't. the church of england also stopped its central funding contribution to fresh expressions. it is now an independent charity. it's still doing good things but much smaller. i actually feel we're at a bit of a critical juncture to see what the way forward will be for the mission of the church in this regard. i am not saying we should turn the clock back, but in retrospect i think the church has not made the most of the huge opportunity that it was on the cusp of in july 2019 because it thought this was embedded enough.
the good news is that all sorts of newness has bubbled up and multiplied. the church is most definitely looser round the edges. and cms and church army and other groups who were there before fresh expressions are still here and passionate about and involved in encouraging the mission of the church. we (cms) always seem to be perceived at the more radical end of things (which i don't mind) but actually we have been engaged front and centre in lots of ways. it has honestly been an absolute privilege to have been able to be part of that era and movement and i think cms was great in encouraging and helping resource it. we funded a couple of people on the fresh expressions team (bob and mary hopkins) for a good season as well as carving a furrow in the pioneer end of things (more about that later). fresh expressions is still going in a smaller format and we will carry on! i am so grateful to have been part of cms that has kept investing, kept at the table, kept drawing on lessons learned about contextual mission elsewhere, and shared stories internationally to help fuel this adventure of the imagination. ht to everyone involved. it has been a huge joint endeavour.
as well as being at cms twenty years i had another twentieth anniversary this year which somehow passed me by. that is how long i have been writing a blog. i was persuaded by andrew jones that i should write one and began on blogger and my first entry was in april 2002. one of the first things i started was a series of worship tricks. the name is a bit naff but they were creative ideas, installations, rituals, liturgy, videos that i came across that could be shared. back then search engines were not so good so having linkages was helpful. it also helped me catalogue things i could return to. there are 4 series - see the sidebar for links to them on the right. they have completely slowed down over the last few years (or decade even) but occasionally i add another. the thing that interests me about them looking back is that i have always loved creative, soulful, artful worship. i have published more in that area than anything else i think - alternative worship, curating worship, chapters in other books, labyrinth kit, the pocket liturgy series with proost, various albums and so on.
fresh expressions and pioneering (more on those in later posts in this series) rightly brought different start points from alternative worship - listening, being present, getting involved in community things. growing a community of disciples and finding ways to express worship come a lot later. so it interests me how i have carried that thread right the way through. i still think it's important - there is something magical about an experience or expression of worship that feels like it is on the inside of a culture, that you can be totally at home in. and at some basic level i think i have also been passionate about it because i struggle with expressions of worship that are done by the book or have blocks of singing with songs you can predict and make no connection imaginatively with the context, or that simply feel alien. the added value at cms has been learning from the global church and seeing places where indigenous expressions of worship and liturgies emerged as opposed to imposed western ones. the description of the mass with the masai in vincent donavon's christianity rediscovered blew my mind i seem to remember.
i haven't checked but i expect many of the links in worship tricks are broken or disappeared (and i have no intention to fix them) and the worship tricks are dated though no doubt some still ring true. but the delight of those creative moments and offerings is still there and i hope to stumble across many more going forward and i long for more people to have the courage to create. i have taught the worship module for pioneers at cms and that has been a great joy too seeing them explore what worship could look and be like in the communities they are among.
it has been incredible to be a part of a small creative church all the time i have been at cms - grace in ealing. there are so many beautiful prayers and liturgies and rituals that have nurtured my theology and faith that have then made their way into worship tricks, been shared at cms with pioneers, been picked up round the world. what a gift that has been. i have always thought the church's liturgy should be open source - downloadable, able to be remixed and uploaded for others to rework. i hope that's what people do with the worship tricks. the availability of communication technology has certainly made that possible though on balance i find the church still seems to prefer control to trusting its people and the creative process.
the church of england vision has mixed ecology at its heart which i really like - it's a rich evocative metaphor. i was invited to write a blog post for the church of england on that idea. i have learned a lot about ecosystems over the last three years through managing a piece of woodland. so perhaps inevitably that's where my thinking went. have a read - what i learned about church as an ecosystem by looking after a woodland
i first had this idea and develop it in imaging mission with john taylor. i think that chapter might be my favourite thing i have ever written.
footnotes on life is a blog by kate fox robinson. it's a mix of poetry and reflections. i really loved this reflection on the edges which includes this poem you will find us on the periphery
You will find us on the periphery In the land of the mapless unknown You will find us at the edges Where the wild things grow
You will find us in the liminal space Where no one knows what to expect You will find us where the sea meets the shore And no one knows what will wash up next
You will find us among the hedgerows Gathering what delights are growing there You will find us with the bees and butterflies Connecting over here with over with there
You will find us on ours knees With the beetles and the ants Living all together Without a lot of thanks
For our humble jumbled life And our muddy handed style But we would invite you To come a stay a while
In the land where the wild things are And the place where the periphery reigns You may learn things here that serve you When you return to your pathed way.
paul bradbury is writing pioneer parables - two down so far. i really love this latest one the farm which he explains over on his blog and it's inspired by the book wilding by isabella tree.
There was once a farmer who managed a large arable farm on behalf of the owner. The farm was losing money and its future was uncertain.
The farmer invested in the best machinery and used the best fertilisers. The farm was amalgamated with neighbouring farms to reduce costs. The farmer did all these things and worked day and night every day of the year. But the farm continued to lose money.
Then one day the farmer said ‘I know what I will do – I will stop growing crops and I will listen to the land. The land is dying and everything with it. We will work with the land and with the God of creation and see what happens’. And she let the land breathe and allowed herself some rest.
Then the farmer called a meeting to communicate her plans. She sold all the machinery and laid off all the staff. The staff were angry and said the plan was crazy. Other local farmers heard about the plan and shook their heads. Word reached the landlord about the plan and he wrote an angry letter saying ‘The farm needs to pay its way!’ and that the farmer wouldn’t have his support if she carried on in this way.
Then the farmer said ‘I know what I will do – I will introduce ancient breeds of cattle, horse and pig to graze the grass, and to trim the trees and to till the soil.’ These breeds had been largely forgotten but some in the farming community still knew about them. They managed the land naturally and fertilised its soil and new life began to return in amazing and surprising ways.
So the land continued to heal. The trees began recovering. Insects returned; butterflies, moths, beetles, bees. Birds began to nest and thrive. The call of the turtle dove was heard once again.
And then the farmer welcomed people onto the land. They walked its paths and sat under its trees, they listened to the bird song and witnessed clouds of butterflies.
And many of them went home and became like the farmer. They listened to their land and worked with the God of creation. And watched to see what the future brought.
a couple of weeks back a friend said "when are you going to make your blog responsive?" to which i looked quizzical and said "eh?". in my ignorance i had no idea what that meant but it turns out it means it adapts well for different devices especially phones.
i have had a 3 column design for a long time (and was rather fond of it) but to make it responsive i have changed to two columns and found a way in typepad to make that happen. it actually means i am in a beta testing format to do so in the theme builder thing i use to design it so we'll see if there are any snags but hopefully if you are accustomed to looking at it on a phone or something it will look better.
in looking over the blog i found some things linked to hopelessly out of date. in particular i was amazed how few of the people i linked to over the years no longer have their blog or site going. so the links page is massively reduced but no doubt i'll add to it. if you feel like you should be linked to leave me a comment. i have to say i am so glad i have kept the blog ticking away even if it's trod water at times. it's fine having all the other flows on twitter, instagram and so on but to have your own web page/site seems to me like a good thing though that may also make me sound old.
i was in a conversation with a couple of friends the other day and writing books came up in conversation and it made me think i should have a better page of stuff i have published so there is now a page listing publishing at least the things i can remember - books, articles, music.
i have also added a new blog header which i can't work out if i like or not - it's a bit less cool but a bit more playful. anyway if you have any thoughts on any of it leave me a comment.
and i hope the friend who asked me the question will be pleasantly surprised next time he looks at my blog on his phone.
loving jen's blogs on equals. the last two have been so interesting...
the latest is on men and the church around which there is so much nonsense spoken (in my view!). i remember a talk by jen at greenbelt a few years back where in response to the suggestions that church is not such a great place for men she suggested it was also not such a great place for women who have also left the church in droves over the last decades! i totally hate the notion that we need more so called 'real men' in church... boxes boxes boxes. perhaps if church was a place for men and women to be friends, equals, to enjoy partnership together it would be possible to flourish differently?
i also really like the idea of catching the sayings and doings of gender. it's often quite tricky to know how to talk about but this attention to its performance seems to me to open up possibility for conversation that can be really constructive. it's developing a practice of seeing and noticing what is going on in oursleves and around us together as men and women. and then pointing them out and talking together - simple eh? by way of example i have noticed that when our family gets together we always say 'ooh you like nice' to a niece but say something completely different to a nephew not related to appearance. a small thing but it's the saying and doing of gender. having notcied it has helped me think about it, talk about it, affirm the appearance of both nephews and nieces and try and shift the conversation. anyway jen says more...
andrew brimms has published another free book. you may (or may not) remember i blogged about his last one unintended consequences. it's called the narky nazarene and is by andrew and nat. it's a similar style - cheeky, provocative and really good! i assume it was compiled over time as a series of discreet reflections on jesus and what it might mean to follow him. the image above is one, or another page simply says -
downward mobility: he came down from heaven to earth - what's your next move?
it's simple, honest and direct. for me it captures something of jesus the prophet which is an edge that sometimes goes missing as the church prefers jesus the king or jesus the priest. there's a link from andrew's site to download it for kindle. i don't have a kindle so asked andrew to send me a pdf which he kindly did. on a second glance i think it may not be free now - it could be the bargain of 75p. either way it's worth getting...
every year i like looking back through blog posts and photos - it reminds me some of the year gone by. i have updated the recycled section on the right hand side to 20 posts from 2012 that i like. here they are...
i also then got into relooking at the blog and have tried to refresh a few of the pages, created a new header (may take a few refreshes to find), but it's basically still the same... i was sad to say goodbye to the another world is possible header from 2012's blog header but i like a change each year. the main challenge will be finding time to blog as ever.
jeremy woodham, a friend and colleague at cms, is also a bit of a wordsmith and poet. he is a member of the lounge, a small christian community in ealing, and was a member of vaux back in the day. he let slip yesterday that he has been quietly starting a blog - take back the poetry. there are already some wonderful pieces on there. it really is good! i love this piece we are all unequal and am adding it to the worship tricks series - no 30 series 4, but do go and have a scout round and add it to your reader. i'll definitely be revisiting. try supper stories and lord's prayer for example...
We come together
because things are not right because we don’t know what to make of the world because we are bewildered because we need shelter
We come together
because peace has not come because your kingdom is a long time coming because your will is hardly clear and yet brutally clear because we are threatened on all sides because we have lost our way
We come together
because we notice the gap between who we know we are and who we want to be and we feel giddy on its edge
We come together
because Jesus said, Come to me and I will give you rest I will give you living water for your soul I am the bread of life because Jesus turned on the crowds and had compassion on them that wanted to be fed
We come together
to set the stage to act as if it might be true that we are loved to love each other to treat each other fairly to see each other for who we really are to allow others to see who we really are with no shame and no fear
for we are all unequal we are all disabled we are all addicted we are all dying
We come to pretend
that what we dream for tomorrow is true for today that we live in a strange kingdom where nobody is standard nobody is predictable nobody is average nobody is unacceptable nobody is judged and nobody is judging themselves
where advertising does not standardise our dreams* where our view is only filtered through God’s eyes
where instead of punishing each other for our own failings we act with justice love with mercy and walk humbly with each other and with our God
i have had a couple of requests recently from blog readers who would like to be able to receive new blog posts via e-mail. so i have scouted around and found a way to add that option in. scroll down the right hand side bar and you will see the option there...
i've been so busy i forgot to blog this news... mark berry is now working with cms as the community mission facilitator which is exciting. cms has been a religious community for a couple of years now and it will be mark who helps us work out what that means, how to live it out and fuel a life of mission. he is creative, a pioneer, loves community, and is definitely someone who is future facing. he was always a really good blogger - i often linked to posts of his so it's good to see he has decided to re-emerge in the blogosphere
he's still in telford, and the community safespace will keep going and no doubt shift its pattern of leadership somewhat
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