Animals never fail to amuse...

Bit of an odd story, but those kind of stories are normally the most popular on the BBC website. Never mind the baldness, why are the bears wearing spectacles?

Also, does anyone remember the good old days of Sesame Street? Here are some interesting about them - lots of reminiscing! (here and here)

When you get digging you sometimes hit a nerve

Someone recently told me about a group from the 1600s known as the Diggers/True Levellers. They were a group of Christians who sort to live out the principals of the early Church in Acts. At their heart they wanted small, agrarian communities, where humans and nature had an ecological interrelationship and, essentially, ownership and property was levelled out. They were seen as anarchistic, probably would still be seen that way today to some extent, and the establishment certainly weren't too happy. They made sure the Diggers were disrupted and squashed, and after around two years were disbanded.

The reaction doesn't really surprise me. I always have a little chuckle on the inside when people say we used to be a Christian country. My experience growing up at the tail end of Christendom, and confirmed in stories I hear such as these, is that when true Christianity is witness, when the Kingdom of God breaks through, the establishment (which by the definition of Christendom includes the Church) generally feels a bit threatened and gets pretty annoyed, lashing out.

Last night in my Transform teaching we talked about the Kingdom of God, and how it is inextricably linked to economy (look at Jesus' parables). When the Kingdom comes in, the poor are preached good news, and people are set free, and that needs to be witnessed in our economy too. As the financial crisis sees the old ways of doing things crumble, I feel we really need to ask ourselves whether the focus is on looking after people until the old model is patched up and ready to go again, or alternatively do we reimagine how things are done and start to bring about new ways of living (Jubilee anyone?). Ways that protect the poor, the widow and the orphan, rather than just are own self interest.

It may be hard for us to see how that can be done on a big scale, but then Jesus often did things more relationally and intimately, starting small and demonstrating the kingdom there, and then seeing it grow. Maybe we need to start small, helping transform our relationships and our communities, and demonstrating to people there is a better way, preaching the good news and announcing that a new king (instead of financial wealth and security) has arrived?

(Biblical 'true levellers': Acts 2:42-47)

Is war a game?

I saw this just round the corner from my house and couldn't help but wonder what message people might take from it...

Stunning strike

This is pretty awesome. By the look of this video he wasn't a bad player in his day!

"Forgive me"

Been a while, will post some more stuff soonish - lots has been going on.

Read an interesting story about a man showing remorse for a rape he committed in his teenage years. Shocking to hear that 1 in 4 men in South Africa have admitted committing rape. Throws up many questions about forgiveness and justice - as can be seen from the comments from the public at the bottom of the article.

Reminds me of stuff I've been reading about the Forgiveness Project, in particular the story of Jo Berry and Pat Magee, a man who bombed the Conservative Conference in Brighton 25 years ago, killing Jo's father. Although he still feels violence can be justified and that the IRA were right for making a stand, he feels immense remorse that her father died, and the two have become friends as the explore what causes people to take such actions, but mainly what it means to forgive.

Jo has recently launched her own charity, Building Bridges for Peace, and she will, along with Pat, be leading a workshop at the Leeds Summat which takes place 21st-22nd November.

(Examples of forgiveness: Jesus to the adulteress; Jesus regarding how many times to forgive; forgiving others because we've been forgiven so much more; Jesus on the cross)

Pioneers

[I wrote this about 2 or 3 weeks ago now - finally got round to posting it!]

Putting your music on shuffle always throws up a great variety of music, some you’d forgotten about, some you’re just embarrassed that you own (the music from Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth’s wedding just got an airing...??!?), and perhaps a buried classic off some such album, which you treasure and secretly hope that somehow no-one else has ever heard before. Well I’m not sure what category this fits in, but the song 'The Pioneers' from 'Silent Alarm' by Bloc Party just played out and it makes for interesting listening.

It speaks about people who are starting out something new, with ambitious goals for making a change, but knowing they are not the first to attempt such feats. "If it can be broke then it can be fixed. If it can be fused then it can be split. If it can be lost then it can be won. If it can be touched then it can be turned." Noble aims by the sound of it, and according to the singer, "it’s all under control"; "all we need is time". However, as the song continues, the realisation hits them of the challenges ahead of them. "We promised the world we’d tame it; what were we hoping for?" questions Kele, articulating the thoughts that 'pioneers' must often feel, overwhelmed by what they've taken on, and struggling to progress.

By the end of the song the band are now exclaiming that they "will not be the last", perhaps resigning themselves to the fact that whilst they thought they might be the ones to finally crack it, to change the world, they’re not going to do it. Wise to the draw that they first felt, they can see that others will attempt to take on this task in the future.

Moving to Leeds I guess there is a sense in my mind that I’m being a bit of a pioneer, and I guess I have mixed feelings about this. In one sense I’m not really doing anything new, of my own initiative. I’m helping with youth work that’s been going on for 6 years now, helping a decade-old ministry for addicts, and part of a young-but-established think-tank that is seeking to impact Leeds. But within these I have a chance to bring original ideas, fresh tweaks and potential new ways forward.

It seems to me that this pioneer lark is a mix of contrasts. You need to have the audacity to imagine big things, but know your limitations. You need to be aware of where people have gone wrong in the past, but believe you can get it 'right' this time round. You can’t be naive and think that you alone will change the world, but I believe that things I and others do can change the worlds of individuals. The lonely child coming to the club wanting some time feeling valued, the alcoholic wanting to find someone who will believe he can make it, the person walking down the street that just wants someone to smile at them once, wants someone to speak to.

I'm certainly not the first to dream about what can be achieved, nor will I be the last, and I know I can’t do it on my own, no matter how much time I have. No, it’s only by God’s grace and power that I can do anything, and so it’s to Him I look as this year commences. He’s the ultimate pioneer.

(God as pioneer: Genesis 1:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:1-5)

A new beginning

So...

I have no internet, my laptop is broken, and I'm just getting into the swing of living in Leeds, and all this has combined to mean I've not done any blog posts for over a month now...

Hopefully you'll have seen the big banner at the top of my blog with a link to a website about my gap year in Leeds, which has lots of info about what I'm doing and why. Hopefully as I get internet and a computer that works, I'll be able to keep people updated through this blog, as well as providing general thoughts, etc. that arise throughout the year. There's lots of challenging teaching I'll be picking up, plus in the everyday of doing this and that God is always speaking to me (and all of us), and new challenges are constantly arising, so I'm sure I'll have lots of things buzzing through my mind. I'll try to be selective with what I post!