jonnybaker

see you at greenbelt

it's greenbelt's fiftieth over the bank holiday weekend - I have been to over 40 of those which is a weird thought. it's one of the most consistent things in my whole life. and my life is the better for it in so many ways. hope to see you there!

if you are there CMS are helping run the exchange venue - so come and find me there. love to catch up for a coffee or beer. we are hosting a gathering for pioneers at 6:30pm sat night so consider yourself invited.

i am personally taking part in two things - first up i have been developing an app with fellow conspirators jon and joel as our second getsidetracked project. the app will (i am 99% sure) be in the app store by greenbelt and will be called getsidetracked - i am searching on that every day expecting it to land any moment). it's a fun app on creativity designed to help spark the creative process - i'll blog about that separately once it's live. i am on a panel called tech for good in the exchange on friday at 12 noon and will be talking about the app. out of that panel we will taking an idea forward to a hackathon to be coded so that all sounds good fun.

the second is that i am on a panel on sun evening chaired by martin wroe at 7pm in treehouse called it's not me it's you and the blurb for that is as follows:

How come so many of us have broken up with church? We take part less and less often. Or not at all. It used to be part of our lives… until it wasn’t. What’s your story? Why did you call time on the institution ? Was it you? Was it ‘church’? What do you do instead? Marika Rose, Dave Tomlinson, Jonny Baker and others listen to your stories and reflect on your experience.

pioneer practice portsmouth feb 18th

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

 

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).

newcastle, bristol, yeovil, poole

new york london, paris, munich everybody talk about mmm... ok showing my age and if you get the reference you are too - pop musik by m in case you were wondering.

not quite those locations but this week pioneer practice heads to newcastle and bristol. it's not too late to sign up. love to see you there. the week after i am heading south west - i'll be in yeovil and poole. all the dates are on the tour page here.

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! 

change - last in the pioneer practice webinar series this thursday

on thursday it is the final in my pioneer practice webinar series. i remember last year the series i did took over my january and this year's been no different but it's been fun and so many people have turned out! i have three guests - ed walker, betsy blatchley and tina hodgett. we'll be exploring change both in terms of how you create change in the world but also how you navigate systems or the powers that be which seem resistant to change. i'll be interviewing the guests and doing some exercises - one of the exercises will be trickster's wheel of ruses that i have created for a photo group i'm in but it's so good i want to try it out on the guests! 

it's not too late to register and if you do you'll get sent links to the first three webinars to watch. hope to see you there. 

i apologise that i have not managed to get my act together for any other blog entries since starting the webinars but i'll get back on it including an exciting announcement.

build - webinar 3 this thursday

this thursday is the third in the webinar series on pioneer practice. the answer above is from a survey i did asking what tools help you in pioneering. build is this week's theme. i have three guests - one to talk about building a congregation, one a social enterpise based out of a church and one a business for good. they are idina dunmore, meg fry and steve baker. do join - you can register here. i keep getting asked if people can see previous weeks - the answer is yes you will get sent links to those if you are registered.

see - week 2 of pioneer practice this thurs evening

thank you so much everyone who came along to last week's webinar and especially the guests. the chat was buzzing! in the poll of which of 5 things best described those present in relation to pioneering the top answer was 'seeing and imagining new possibilities'. so i am delighted to say that 'see' is the theme of week two where we will be exploring how you see possibilities, come up with ideas and use imagination. i have four guests this week related to three projects. susannah baker and khadeja, sue steer, and anna hembury. come and hear their inspiring stories of practice. i am looking forward to it.

if you missed week 1 you are still really welcome. register here and you will be sent the webinar info the day before. and you will get sent a link to week 1 so you can catch up should you wish to though no pressure to do so. hope to see you there. the series is a partnership between church mission society and heartedge.

be you - pioneer practice webinar week 1 this thursday

i am really looking forward to the pioneer practice webinar series. week 1 is exploring the idea of be you (and as it's the first an intro to pioneering and how you might get started). i have three guests joining me. it will be informal, chat show style. it's free to join - register here and if you do register you'll get links to any weeks you miss. 

the series will follow the four themes i explore in the book pioneer practice - be you, see, build, change. it's a partnership between cms and heartedge.

webinar series is back in january - pioneer practice

last january i ran a series of four webinars just imagine exploring creativity and imagination which was a lot of fun. i am pleased to say i am hosting another series this january on pioneer practice. it's a partnership with heartedge and the guests and conversations will explore the themes of pioneer practice and the areas heartedge focus on. register here (it's free). the dates are

• 13 January: Be You
• 20 January: See
• 27 January: Build
• 3 February: Change

here's the blurb...

As a pioneer, you see something — a possibility, an idea, a way that things could be better or new of different. Then you make something happen out of what you see.

This webinar series explores over four weeks how pioneering happens in practice. Its focus is how things happen on the ground. Each week Jonny will have two or three guests and get into the gritty day to day of how they pioneer. It’s ideal for you if you have started something or if you have an inkling or an idea you want to explore and get started. It would also be really useful to attend with a couple of others who you might pioneer something with. If you are a church leader it would be great for you too and do think of people in your church who might have the pioneer gift, whether they know it or not, and encourage them to come along.

That idea might be starting a new Congregation — the Church of England, for example, is encouraging every parish to pioneer one. It might also be an idea related to Compassion in your community. It might be related to Comerce as a way of making good in the world through enterprise. Or it might be related to Culture. These are the four Cs of the HeartEdge network.

recordings will be made available for those signed up to the series so if you can't make a session you can catch up. hope to see you there!

register here

turning a dream into reality

fresh expressions have revamped their web site. as part of that i contributed an article turning a dream into reality. drawing on pioneer practice i offer some very simple steps for how to see a possibility for a fresh expression and give that idea legs. if you are unfamiliar with the term fresh expression it is a new form of church formed primarily for people who don't go to church hopefully done in a way they can feel at home in. 

sacred bean eucharist and other follow up from prospect farm

thanks to anyone who came to the session in the long barn at greenbelt's prospect farm. here's some follow up info.

imagining mission with john taylor is here - i loved working on it. john taylor really sparked my imagination and we have tried to write in the same creative vein and i hope it will spark your imagination if you dive into it. each chapter ends with exercises on creativity you can try out.

pioneer practice is here - this is a mix of stories and very short practical articles - ideal if you have an idea to work on, and ideal for a group to use together to dream up something. it's full colour - there are sample pages on the web site. the discount code i gave out will work until friday. if you have forgotten or weren't there and want to know get in touch.

thanks to jo howie for taking part in the session and telling the story of sacred bean. go look at their web site and order some coffee! and as i said in the session we have added the wonderful sacred bean eucharist to getsidetracked - simply click on the page spread that says sacred bean eucharist which is in pioneer practice. i am sure jo would love to hear how you get on with that so do message me or her about it. i am making that a worship trick - remember those? it would be about 86 in series 4....

jo wrote that liturgy as part of a worship module at cms on the pioneer training essentially thinking how you might create a ritual/liturgy that reflected the culture of the community gathered around sacred bean. the training is wonderful - do have a look at the pioneer mission leadership training web site here. it's quite late for this year! but we have certificate, diploma, BA, MA, DTh options as well as simply picking modules to do. there are now quite a few options online as well. if you are interested for this year get in touch immediately! we also have hubs round the country offering training which is not accredited - again see the web site for those.

and thanks to ali for coming and sharing about the social supermarket and other adventures getting going in rotherham.

above all i hope it sparked your imagination around what you might be able to participate in or catalyse.

church for people who want to punch stuff + first review

it was great to read a first review of pioneer practice from russ bravo at inspire. he says 

Pioneer Practice manages to both provide inspiration and motivation for the pioneer, while being hugely pragmatic and realistic about the cost, the struggle and the challenge of doing things differently. Full of wisdom, deep questions and electrifying examples of what God can do when people who don’t fit the established order get stuck into changing things.

you can read the full review here. 

i also wrote up one of the 'electrifying examples' from the book for an article for inspire too - church for people who want to punch stuff 

ten years of spiritual direction

i found out today that i have been meeting with my spiritual director for 10 years. not sure where the time went but it has been an absolute gift to be able to chat several times a year with someone wise in the ways of the soul where we have an intentional conversation about faith (and life and whatever else is relevant). it's a safe space and one where there is no judgement - in fact the opposite is the case as I always come away feeling encouraged. for me it is up there as one of the most important spiritual practices that sustains me. i wouldn't normally say who I meet with but michael mitton agreed to have a conversation with me about spiritual direction to include in pioneer practice - i love how that conversation turned out. spiritual direction is a misnomer really but it's what it seems to get called - soul friendship or accompaniment is a lot better description. whatever you call it, he says that "the primary focus of the conversation is to help the person track their own particular journey with god" - sounds about right!

getting started

i am running a zoom workshop on 8 july 7:30pm for 2 hours on getting started in relation to pioneer practice. place are limited to 25 so we can see one another and discuss your ideas and practice. i will be joined by two pioneers who feature in the book and know all about the challenges of building something from an idea to becoming tangible in the world. they are andy freeman and kim brown. tickets are only £10 or there is an option to get it with the book that will save you something on the regular price. i haven't pushed it before the book launch as the images looked similar and i didn't want to confuse anyone!!! 

you can register here

overcoming

at the book launch for pioneer practice when he was interviewed, jon birch said his favourite quote in the book was from ann-marie wilson (see above). she is an incredible pioneer. i remember when i first met her and she said her vision was to campaign to eradicate fgm from 28 countries in africa and i thought - wow that is a big vision and challenge. she subsequently has pursued that vision and path with incredible courage and determination and set up the charity 28toomany. she is part of a conversation in the book about change where we discuss how you create the change you want to see and culture change is a big part of that challenge - i loved that conversation. ann-marie has a book just out telling her story called overcoming: my fight against fgm. and there is a launch on facebook live this friday with a video and then space for questions.

pioneer practice is now available!

i am so pleased to be able to tell you that pioneer practice is now available to buy here. it's taken a while to get the web site up and running but it is there now and looks great and hopefully is simple enough to use... and we can ship anywhere. it's only £13 for almost 200 pages full colour which we hope you'll agree is pretty good value. you have to pay via paypal at the oment though that will take cards - we are adding in another card payment option too.

the web site is home of a new partnership between myself, jon birch and joel baker - GETsidetracked. we've even applied for a registered trademark which i have never done before. i love how this came about as a result of running the webinar series on creativity earlier this year. pioneer practice is our first project. here's an image of the site - cool eh?!