jonnybaker

pioneer practice portsmouth feb 18th

delighted to say that we are taking pioneer practice to portsmouth on 18 feb - info and tickets available here

 

HAPPYNEWYEAR - pioneer practice discount

looking back on 2022 one of the highlights was getting out and about post COVID to tour pioneer practice with gav mart. we did around 20 dates i think. thank you to everyone who came - it was so good to connect with people, hear stories of what is happening and glimpse sparks of ideas that are yet to emerge. to celebrate we have set up a discount code for pioneer practice to run through january. the code is HAPPYNEWYEAR and will get you a print copy for £10 or download for £7. order at gestsidetracked.co 

if you have not come across it pioneer practice is a full colour book (more like a chunky magazine really) with a mix of stories and practical short pieces on everything related to getting something started. it's accessible, you can dive in anywhere, and is beautifully designed - we are super proud of it.

do pass on the code - oh and HAPPYNEWYEAR

st lydia's dinner church

it was lovely to visit st lydia's in brooklyn on my visit to new york. it was founded in 2008 by emily scott meeting in homes and then a zen centre before getting a shop front where it is now. i have not read it but there is a book which includes the story of st lydia's or stories from at least - for all who hunger. they describe it as a dinner church which is fairly apt as the worship is organised around a meal (and the food we had was great). it's prayerful and conversational. there are two dinner tables so probably works for about 20 people.

i stayed with christian scharen who is the pastor there now. he is delightful! he gave me a copy of a book he has written which is a theological reflection on the roots and hip hop culture someone has to care . i loved it! it is part of a series of short reflections on music - there is another in the series on radiohead and one coming on new order for example. 

i do like churches where the size is constrained by the space to be small - you get more intimacy and a real sense of community. we meet in our home most tues nights with friends over a meal to share life and pray - the table always seems to me a great space for a community of disciples. i also really like church that is in different kinds of spaces - it just shifts the imagination. the worship was simple chants along with a shruti - i had not seen one before but worked well. you set it to play a chord and squeeze it to create a drone ove which the chanting is done. it was advent so the chant i remember gegan 'honour the darkness'.

if you are in brooklyn call in.

the blog post i never wrote and still haven't written

this is the eleventh of a series celebrating twenty years at cms

see  1. gold | 2. emerging church | 3. blah | 4. new forms | 5. worship tricks | 6. mission shaped church and fresh expressions | 7. pioneer ministry | 8. church planting | 9. red tape | 10. doing the imaginative work

in 2005 I went to india with some youth workers. i posted a series of 15 blogs called india talkie which are fun to look back at - if you click on the india category and scroll down you'll find them. one of the things that interested me doing this reflection on the last twenty years at cms is that whilst it feels like the conversation about decolonising mission is very current, when i joined i was aware of the problem of western mission and its relationship to empire and colonisation. that colonisation is of people and land but also imagination. in that series I reflected on the disappointment of encountering what felt like overly western expressions of church and worship - either in a traditional anglican set up or in a hillsong church. i had never been to asia and expected to find something more different. part of the complexity is that english is aspirational in the culture - if you learn english you can advance. so i remember distinctly the push back when i raised this question which was along the lines of ‘who do you think you are?!’. it’s a fair enough question. of course I was also looking in the wrong places no doubt.

i came back to this question again when I first met harvey kwiyani and discussed mission in relation to african christians in the diaspora(s). this has been such a good friendship and journey for me (and I hope harvey!). my simple take on mission to that point had been to present two stories in mission - the first being contextualisation where mission is done to share faith that then grows on the inside of a culture with indigenous leadership and the other of imperialism imposing ways of being and doing theology and church and at its worst overrunning a culture and a way of life. i always appealed to the former and i would go to the likes of john taylor and max warren and draw on the inspiring sense of mission that called for and claim that tradition. but i think i probably had an overly positive view. what harvey helped me see is that colonialism is much more deeply embedded than that. the former tale can still carry a lot of privilege, power which have subtle (and of course not so subtle ways) of expressing themselves. so the quest for decolonising mission is a very real one and i am sure that will be an ongoing conversation over the next few years.

i was fascinated by the history of mission in new zealand when I visited in 2020 just before lockdown and blogged a series of reflections then - see the new zealand category and scroll down. if you look at the last post i say that will write one more post with some reflections on post colonial mission. here’s a confession which I don’t think anyone else noticed. i never finished the series. i have never written that post. on the plane on the way back i read a book on post colonial theology by robert heaney to go alongside the history i had been reading and always intended to conclude that series with a blog on post colonial mission. i haven’t yet been able to write it! i now wonder if I ever will. i think on reflection it’s probably not mine to write. i have come to the conclusion that can only be written by those who have been on the receiving end of colonialism or i could only write what they said post colonial mission is or could be. i guess i could write a post imperial rome one on britain and the need for us to recover our own indigeneity? or am I just copping out?

various things have really helped me in this quest or conversation.

• one is the significance of border crossing friendships. i try to work out of friendship. my own way of working across cultures has always been to share what we are doing and learning in england about mission in that context and hear the same about another context and see where there is synergy. i have particularly enjoyed that way of working with friends in s korea where a pioneer hub has grown that is entirely korean in its organising and leading and everything else.
• another is reading voices from the margins - i have loved the exposure to theologies and practice from the majority world and the realisation that whatever western theology is or isn’t it is just one local theology that has sadly universalised its take far too often. my favourite book i read last year was rescuing the gospel from the cowboys by richard twiss. it is the story of what first nations/native american christians have had to do to generate a genuine movement of contextual practice in indigenous spirituality following in the way of jesus. as an aside it is a great case study on a movement - it shows that movements need champions, new practice, gatherings, to do their own theological work, connection with others on a similar journey and so forth. it is a good read alongside braiding sweet grass by robin wall kimmerer which I read this summer - a delightful book that made me want to learn from indigenous spirituality, community, practices, relationship with the land and so on. when i read richard twiss' book i pondered that there are multiple versions of cowboys and a lot of rescuing needed! there is so much listening and reflecting to be done in this area.
• as well as thinking and reflecting and learning you need new practice. we have to find ways to act into new thinking rather than the other way round. practice has always been my passion. and we need plenty of grace on the way, permission to get it wrong as we seek new paths. the african diaspora route through the masters degree has been a small adventure in practice we are making together with others at cms led by harvey and I hope it can grow (and something similar be done in other diasporas). it already feels like something very special is taking place. another piece of practice i have loved observing is asia cms and the growth of their co-mission partner programme. they recently had a ten year anniversary and the accompanying report is full of stories of asian mission practice led by these co-mission partners who are asian leaders. it’s not that we don’t need exchange and intercultural work - we do, but a massive pendulum swing is needed and happening at least to some degree i think. 

in the book I read on post colonial theology on the plane robert heaney muses that perhaps it is too much even to use the word mission given the s**t that has gone down. it probably depends where you are what it has meant and i completely get that. i am less sure of that move. i would rather continue the quest to refound it in ways that are good for the earth and all peoples. i hope that is possible.

a visit to the usa and prayers in defiance of empire

i am in the usa for the first time in quite a few years at a consultation in princeton which starts later today - more about that later no doubt. i am topping and tailing it with visits to people in new york. i visited harlem for the first time - this is the famous apollo theater. the way it worked out i had a free day yesterday and also managed to get a ticket to see the new york knicks at maddison square gardens - my first ever nba game which i loved. 

i was thinking i must have been ten time or so over the years but i started checking back on my blog when i had been previously and think this is my twentieth visit to north america. one of those was holiday - the rest have all been trips in response to invitations to speak, lead worship, join conversations, design labyrinths and so on. what a joy that has been. it feels like it's been a shared conversation of mission in response to a changing world and culture with so much to share and learn. it's so energising crossing borders, meeting new people and catching up with old friends. at the end of the post i have listed those trips for my own record as it took me a while to work out!

it was an absolute delight to meet claudio carvalhaes this week. we had not met before and he kindly agreed to meet some stranger from england! he teaches at uniion theology seminary (where james cone was of course) which is on the edge of harlem. he is a liberation theologian, liturgist, artist, earth lover. i reviewed his book liturgies from below which is an extraordinary collection of prayers. there are two covers for it. the publisher clearly struggled with the original cover and sends out the 'liturgies from below' version. but there is another one which says 'prayers in defiance of empire'. claudio gave me a copy of that one so at last i have that which i love! i am going to pray the prayers in the book for advent praying with the wretched of the earth, those at the edges, the poor, the dispossessed. i feel hugely challenged by this and his other writing as i have not had to face such pain and hardship. i have a couple of other books by him so will say more about that once i have finished them. but do check out his work. in true liberation theology fashion in his work praxis of prayer and liturgy is the first move in theology, and the second is to reflect on it.

one of the things that was surreal when we met is that he had a book on trickster on the side at his apartment - when i asked about it he shared that he loves trickster and has been researching about that. he gave a public theology lecture in brazil dressed up as the trickster character curupira in the indigenous brazilian mythology whose feet are back to front presumably so he can cover his tracks or confuse people about the direction of travel! he was equally surprised when i relayed our latest photo exhibition on the theme of trickster. an artist, a trickster, a liturgist, a liberation theologian, a lover of the earth, a creative teacher of theology, a prophet... - it may not surprise you that we got on and we are going to stay in touch!

for the record these are my previous trips:

1998 Canada family holiday to Ontario
2000/2001 Group youth ministry tour
2001? Youth specialties Anaheim
2002 May - Toronto
2003 Fredericton Canada
2004 San Fransisco + Nashville
2005 Winnipeg
2005 Colorado - youthworkers retreat
2005 Atlanta
2005 Princeton + New York
2007 Lancaster + Ontario
2008 New York and Trinity retreat centre
2008 Oklahoma and Austin
2009 Lancaster + New York
2012 Austin SXSW
2013 Ontario + Saskatchewan 
2014 Chicago CTU vocations event
2017 Chicago Luzbatek lecture visit
2017 Loveland Future of church conference + Denver
2022 Princeton and NY

cms twenty: doing the imaginative work

this is the tenth of a series celebrating twenty years at cms

see  1. gold | 2. emerging church | 3. blah | 4. new forms | 5. worship tricks | 6. mission shaped church and fresh expressions | 7. pioneer ministry | 8. church planting | 9. red tape

in almost everything I have been involved in at cms there has been a quest that is more interested in the future than the past. the church has always adapted so it’s nothing new but although the church has the rhetoric of knowing she needs to change and perhaps wants to change it turns out she prefers business as usual really. i noted this when I reflected on what we had learned after 5 years and still think it’s true scroll down to the section 3 the church says it wants pioneers but.... i’ll come back to that question of systemic or adaptive change in another post as it interests me more and more.

i quickly found out that if you look to the usual sources through which leaders are trained they really are not set up to do this future faced thinking. the language and forms from one era or culture don’t make sense in the new. so the last twenty years have involved a lot of conversations, reading, writing, thinking, theologising ourselves - trying to find resources and ideas that will resource a different kind of imagination and practice. the blog and series of connections with others on a similar journey has been the site of much of that reflection.

i was pondering that process of reflecting and it has been a really wonderful part of the adventure. 

one area of reading and reflecting and noticing is in the direction of artists and writers and filmmakers who catch the zeitgeist and describe what’s going on in the wider cultural space. just before joining cms i did a masters degree and a large part of that was engaging with cultural studies drawing on thinkers like zygmunt bauman. there is so much to be learned there. it’s basic mission practice to read the culture. 

another is finding the treasures from the tradition that seem to help break it open afresh in the present. there is a rich vein of this but you have to dig them out. they often seem to be tucked away and half forgotten with dust on the cover. for me in particular this has included an engagement with cms own history, stories and especially some of its prophets - i am thinking of the likes of john taylor and max warren as well as stories of cross cultural mission and contextual, local and intercultural theologies from round the world. i have definitely found some of the gold I was seeking which was a fund for my own imagination. i have returned again and again to the notion that mission is ‘an adventure of the imagination’ which is how taylor describes it in the primal vision.

then perhaps the most surprising has been to find ourselves doing our own publishing in the area of pioneering, mission, theology, practice, church, spirituality and so on. we have not been the only ones of course - it’s been wonderful to exchange learning with those in fresh expressions for example who also got on a roll with publishing books reflecting and theologising about what was happening as well as those in other parts of the world exploring similar questions. i remember a lot of energy when we toured the country with mike frost and al hirsch to talk about the shaping of things to come for example. we have hosted annual conversations days since november 2013 reflecting on what we are learning about pioneering mission - i found the flyer above for that first one. that has led to publishing, editing or contributing to quite a lot of books. i have listed my contributions here - books like the pioneer gift, pioneering spirituality, future present, curating worship, imagining mission, mission on the road to emmaus, missonal conversations, pioneer practice, go between god (the foreword) as well as running proost for several years to self publish artistic expressions and liturgies from the emerging church including a couple of pocket liturgy books - grace pocket liturgies and making communion. proost doesn't seem to be in action any more so have put these two books here as free downloads - help yourself.

we also picked up the editing of anvil journal on the way, a journal in theology and mission which is themed each issue with two or three editions in each volume. anvil is free online. the team I am part of have been incredible in this regard and i owe a debt of thanks in particular to cathy ross whose enthusiasm for publishing has pulled the rest of us forward and enabled us to grow in confidence and think we might dare to write. i have loved that some of our students have published for the first time through the books we have edited. paul bradbury published an amazing couple of books - stepping into grace and home by another route, tina hodgett and paul created the pioneer spectrum which has taken on a life of its own. it’s a delight to have harvey kwiyani and joseph ola most recently join the team who are publishing in the space of mission, diaspora, intercultural theology, african christianity and decolonisation. i have no doubt there will be more to come.

if people ask me what I do ‘writer 'would never be a label on my list but looking back i do seem to have done my fair share! but for me I think it’s more about the necessity of doing the imaginative work and offering that into the wider conversation. in movements I suspect it is essential.

the book of veles and the lucky find

i couldn’t believe my luck when we stumbled upon an exhibition of the book of veles in the hague at the beeld and geluid museum. it is an absolutely wonderful project by jonas bendiksen who is a magnum photographer and was the inspirational spark for our trickster exhibition.

veles is a town in macedonia and caught his attention because it was a hub for fake news. there are some many layers that play with fake news in the project. veles is the name of a shapeshifting god. there was an old manuscript of a book of veles that did the rounds but that too proved to be fake. bendiksen taught himself to make avatars in lockdown and photographed empty landscapes in veles and added the characters tor the photos. he fed text on fake news in veles into an ai programme and the text in the book is generated by that artificial intelligence - it too is fake! when the book was published no questions were asked and nobody realised anything about it was fake. In fact it was very well received and he too part in a big festival in paris. shortly after that he wanted the truth to be uncovered so created, you guessed it, a fake account on facebook and twitter raising suspicions about his work until finally some cracks started to appear and then he published this interview with magnum where he reveals all. i have the book and love it.

the exhibition had a section on chloe, the fake twitter account holder, and it was amazing to see the responses to those tweets printed out.

and there was also a montage of the various avatars that jonas had created so you could see how they had been put into the photographs. one of my favourite tricks was the avatar of bears. the god veles shifted shape as a bear so I found that particularly amusing. Presumably readers of the book assumed that you might regularly see bears about town!

absolute genius! one of trickster’s ruses that we came up with for the exhibition was the lucky find so it felt very apt that finding the exhibition in the hague was indeed a lucky find.

latest anvil - sustainability and mission

a new edition of anvil journal is up online. i am happy to say you can download it for free. it is a collection of articles and reflections from our pioneer conversations day last year which explored themes around mission and sustainability with a whole set of questions around growth. it reminded me a bit of donut economics actually and how to live in a space within limits in a way that enables flourishing of life.

i have two simultaneous feelings when anvil comes out. i feel excited because i love the reflecting and thinking going on around mission today. and i am delighted because since landing it in cms this is now our 18th edition so there's quite a collection of thinking and conversation now. 

the other one is that it looks overwhelming. i think this is because in spite of technology i still don't like reading really long things on a computer. probably if i had a cool ipad i might feel differently about it. it's a lame confession i admit. so here's what i have decided to try out this time round. i am going to pick one article and read that every day or three and ponder that. i was at the day so have already heard some of the pieces. alison webster's piece on building collectives with soul felt very resonant at the time so it's good to have a chance to ponder that. there are also a ton of book reviews this time round. the new book review editor is clearly on a roll! 

yoho journal - kester brewin on top form revisits piracy

i have really been enjoying yoho journals - i first came across them at a friend's (ht martin) who showed me one on the subject of rotten institutions. i wanted to read that especially when i found out that the university and the church of england were the two under the spotlight! the format is that there is one extended essay and then 3 or 4 responses. that one is by linda woodhead. it's all both good fun and deadly serious at the same time. it's nicely designed and put together. you can sign up to receive them or buy individual ones from unfold media. it has a nice feel to it - untamed.

the latest one is by kester brewin and is a really brilliant reflection. his book mutiny was part of the inspiration for the journal so it seemed fitting he penned an essay. this is journal no 6.  a decade back he suggests there was an optimism about the likes of the occupy movement and creating alternative spaces to reimagine the world. but the world has changed and that idea seems somehow empty or at least it has not delivered. we need new tactics. we have encountered some rebels who act under the guise of being for the people, populist, revolutionary, against the establishment (trump, johnson et al). but actually it's a con - they are the empire in disguise and are just robbing the poor to line theirs and their friends pockets. so kester gives piracy a bit of a rethink and suggests some possibilities for how we might act now. i found it very helpful to make sense of what is going on in the world and for what might be good to consider how we act now. i'd love for some others to read it and then have a conversation about it. it is honestly one of the best things i have read in quite some time.

if you are in london that conversation is actually possible btw - nov 14  7-8:30pm at the anchor pub on bankside (near the golden hynde pirate ship of course) is a launch of the yoho journal issue with kester. i have it in the diary!

[update: the gathering is now not happening but is online which is a bit disappointing for me as i was looking forward to something in person but is probably good for others who wouldn't access it other wise so don't turn up at the anchor then]

after the apocalypse

it is always a delight to discover friends creative projects. i spotted on instagram a new collaboration between poet chris goan and illustrator si smith. chris penned a few books of poems and liturgies on proost, and si is probably best known for the wonderful 40 series of illustrations of christ's journey in the wilderness.

after the apocalypse is arranged in three sections - before, during and after written and drawn in and around the pandemic. you'll find yourself in the words and images - it's a landscape we all traversed. artists have a knack of being the kind of nerve endings of a culture or something - a sort of feeling their way on our behalf or something. the times we are living in have made it hard to feel genuinely hopeful but it does blend grief and sorrow with hope against the odds.

chis blogs at fragile tent and is someone who has really stuck with the blog format over the years and done an amazing job. you can see some illustrations from the book and poems if you scroll down - like i want to live on this post.

while i was looking to see what was there i really enjoyed chris' latest 4 posts which are explorations of theopoetics - spirituality through artful making. this is a link to the fourth - click on that and scroll down. well worth a read...

the book is available from seatree argyll - that's also the site for chris and michaela goan's creative projects working in pottery, words, wood. they both left jobs a few years back now to pursue a simpler life where they could explore their passions and creative interests and make a life from that. it seems to be going pretty well! 

cornwall and exeter pioneer practice next week!

i am excited to be back on the road next week again from 20-22 september. we are headed to falmouth, looe and exeter for the final leg of tbe pioneer practice tour. if you are down that way do come along, tell others. the details of registering are here - just click under the relevant location where it says ticket link.

i looked up photos of cornwall and it made me realise i have not been there for quite a long time so a visit is clearly due. here is an old one from the tate at st ives

trickster remakes the world exhibition in ealing in september

i am taking part in a photography exhibition in ealing as part of BEAT - the wonderful ealing art trail. it's called trickster remakes this world. the local photography group i am part of is putting it on. it is inspired by the book trickster makes this world by lewis hyde. those of you who have followed the blog may remember this being something i have talked about before at the inspiration of nic hughes and kester brewin back in the day. i presented on trickster's ruses at greenbelt a long time back, so it's fun to make that connection again, this time in relation to photography. the details are that it is at 

the rickyard, walpole park

sat sept 10th and sun 11th 12-6pm
mon sept 12th to fri 16th 1-6pm
sat sept 17th 12-6pm
sun sept 18th 12-5pm

as well as photography there will be a few other interventions in and around the park.

if you've not come across trickster, he or she is a character like coyote (see earlier post!) in myths and stories of various cultures. trickster is a difficult character in sone ways - breaking rules, living in inbetween spaces, messing with what's sacred and so forth. but trickster also tends to be revered because they are seen to be critical to cultures changing when they gets stuck. during lockdown so many people said we can't go back to the way things were and yet where is the imagination for a different way or a new world? so it felt timely to open up an engagement with trickster and trickster's ruses. hyde's book explores the way some art and artists plays the role of trickster. each photographer got randomly assigned a ruse of trickster and the photographs will be their responses. hyde\'s book is not actually organised in ruses - they are simply phrases or ideas that i lifted from the book - i hope hyde would warm to the aproach. the spinning wheeel of ruses is here if you fancy having a go yourself!

 

islay musings - middle class

i always like to read a few books on holiday. this year i clearly didn't feel up to much initially as i began with two picture books/graphic novels.

the first in by will mcphail is delightful - it's reviewed here better than i can do it justice. it's the story of an illustrator, a man who struggles to connect with his feelings and be present and he is waking up to the world through friendship, grief, creating...

the second is putin's russia by darryl cunnigham. i am the sort of person who is interested in someone like putin's story but never motivated enough to read a big fat biography. so darryl cunningham is perfect for me. i am a big fan of his having read supercrash and billionaires. don't be deceived - just because they are graphic novel style does not mean they are pithy in any way. they are brilliantly researched. it was a scary but important read. 

then i finally got onto a novel - middle class by kester brewin. kester is a teacher and this novel really gets inside the classroom. it's set in london and the middle class is neither the top or bottom class but the middle one. i don't know a lot about education at the moment so i can't comment on that. my hunch is it really captures the experience of teaching well but i think teachers had better be the judge of that. but it is a very moving story. both jenny and i were in tears at the end as it really builds pace and develops the lead teacher character so well. it made me feel real empathy for teachers who are at the frontline of so many things as so many other community provisions have fallen away in our culture. i have to say it also put me off teaching - that probably wasn't the point! but i am full of admiration for teachers who are there for young people, can be treated terribly at times, but really give so much. thank you teachers! but back to the point - it's a great read. i went to the book launch which was fun to catch up with kester who has self published this book, wanting to get it out quickly as it deals with the environment around covid and so forth. go get yourself a copy.

and the next book i will write about in another blog...

i realise this musing has very little to do with islay other than that i read the books there!

pioneer practice now available as a download

we created pioneer practice to be a designed printed book, a coffee table book, full colour, lovely to hold and read and dip into kind of book, the kind of book you feel would not be out of place in the tate modern bookshop. so we resisted selling it as a digital book. but over a year on and we think it's time to make it available as a download. because the layout is so much the book it is available as a pdf (not as ebook or kindle). it looks fabulous on screen on an ipad or laptop with the luminosity of the screen. it is available from getsidetracked.co for £10. of course this is good news internationally - far easier than the cost and impact of posting round the world. enjoy!

luton hat factory arts centre - july's pioneer practice venue

looking forward to the next stop on the tour which is the last before a break over august. i'll be in luton at the hat factory arts centre on july 16. i like that the header of the arts centre web site says 'dream it you must' - indeed i couldn't agree more. there is a workshop in the afternoon and an evening social with food. come to one or other or ideally both. hope to see you there if you are anywhere nearby.

 

deja vu

just when you have cleared your house of books a second print run arrives and refills the lounge! seriously i am so chuffed to have had to do a second print run of pioneer practice - thank you so much everyone who has cheered me on and/or bought a copy. 

stafford, leicester, brighton, sheffield - june tour dates

the pioneer practice tour has passed the half way point. it's been brilliant connecting with the wider network, meeting pioneers, hearing stories. this is me in a cafe at poole harbour sat catching some sun on what was a glorious summer day before diving into the fray there.

one of the lovely stories there was how a simple idea of a few raised beds and a bench has created community in a street. this is the bench.

the next gigs are all on the tour page with links to register and get tickets under each location - stafford, leicester, brighton, sheffield are in june. we'd love to see you there. they are all double acts with me and gav this month. they all have evenings too with a chance to get some food and conversation as well as the tour stuff. i confess i am doubly excited that we are visiting candid beer in stafford which was an idea brought to our make good week by mark bamping, and we get to visit new lubbesthorpe where sue steer has been building community in a new housing area since before the very first house was built and she has done an amazing job. looking forward to all the venues i should add!

i have now cracked into the very last box of books from the first print run which feels amazing - thank you so much everyone who has bought it. so we have now ordered a second print run which feels very exciting for our very first project from getsidetracked. they will arrive in time for the june leg of the tour - june here we come (via anglesey of course).

pioneer practice next stop southall 28 april

the pioneer practice tour really gets going after easter. next up is an evening in london hosted in southall with food to kick off. if you are in or around london hope to see you there. the evening is free or maybe will ask for a donation but it would help to know numbers so please do register. then it's 5 gigs in scotland at the start of may...

going on tour with pioneer practice!

i am really excited to be able to share that i will be heading off on tour with pioneer practice. gavin mart, a fellow pioneer, musician, poet will be joining me. the poster above is the current state of play but will no doubt evolve. but we will keep the tour page on getsidetracked up to date with links to booking pages for events as they land. some are day time, some are evening and some are doing both! 

we are in hull and york and chelmsford in march so if you are anywhere near those do sign up, come along - love to see you.

the book pioneer practice is about seeing possibility, dreams, ideas of how things could be better or new or different. and then making something happen out of that seeing. the events will be practically focused with a mix of stories, exercises, poetry, songs, conversation, inspiration and encouragement. ideal if you are interested in pioneering or in encouraging others who are. and ideal If you are new as it will be an opportunity to reflect on how to get started and explore your god given ideas. and if you have been pioneering a while it will give you some encouragement and practical wisdom for the journey you are already on. it is also a given that it will be a great chance to connect with others interested in pioneering. 

if you are interested in hosting and there isnlt anything near you then give me a shout as we are open to more dates.

and before anyone mentions it yes i do feel like i am treading in the shoes of harry baker. i'll have a merch bag and everything! 

woodland ecosystem + church mixed ecology

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.