Premier League Predictions

I've decided not to commit to any prediction-type things this year, but still felt I should put forward some predictions for the fun of it.

My dream team

First up, I had a go at the Telegraph Fantasy League just to see who I could come up with, and, spending the full £50m budget and plumping for a 3-5-2 formation, my team is:

-----------------------------------------Cech (C)---------------------------------------

-------------K. Toure (MC)----------Nelsen (Bl)------------Jagielka (E)-----------

--Malouda (C)-Malbranque (Su)--Arteta (E)---Cahill (E)--A. Johnson (MC)-

----------------------------Anelka (C)-----------Tevez (MC)-------------------------

Bl - Blackburn

C - Chelsea

E - Everton

MC - Manchester City

Su - Sunderland

Premier League 2010-11 final positions

I've also made some predictions for the final Premier League table:

1 Chelsea

2 Manchester United

3 Manchester City

4 Arsenal

5 Liverpool

6 Tottenham

7 Everton

8 Aston Villa

9 Sunderland

10 Blackburn

11 Birmingham

12 Fulham

13 Bolton

14 West Ham

15 Stoke

16 Wolves

17 Newcastle

18 West Brom

19 Wigan

20 Blackpool

Premier League 2011-12 - A Heads-Up

Finally, I thought I'd make some predictions for the following season.

Essentially I think this'll be the closest season in a long, long time, with anyone of about 6 teams in with a shout at the title and two or three others not far behind.

Chelsea will still be the most obvious team to win it, but with Drogba another year older and Cech and Terry potentially starting to falter, their success will depend on how their younger players progress over the next couple of years. Manchester United will be playing their first season without Giggs, Scholes and Neville, and - whilst they're not exactly the fastest and most agile of players at this age - their nous, commitment, and ability to turn games (perhaps with the exception of Neville) will be sorely missed. Manchester City will have had a year to get all their new players settled in and Mancini will have had his first full season in England under his belt, meaning they will be primed for an assault on the title. Arsenal too will have their best chance yet, as whilst people are always tipping them to finally regain their form of the mid-2000s, they will have a squad of coherence, experience and refinement to match the raw talent and hunger that has been evident yet unharnessed so far.

Liverpool, having had a season out of the Champions League and Roy Hodgson having had some time to make his mark, assuming they hold on to Gerrard, Torres and Reina, that they have Mascherano or someone else as an anchor in midfield, and Carragher is still playing well, they should be in with an outside chance. Tottenham, without the distraction of Champions League football, will be able to focus their attention on climbing the table, and with Harry Redknapp now firmly established and many of the players hitting their peak, they too will be dark horses to gatecrash the top two of United and Chelsea. Their challenge may well depend on whether they can find a settled and injury-free centre back pairing.

Beyond that, Everton are establishing themselves, but a second appearance in the top four still looks beyond them, whilst Villa look to be in a bit of turmoil currently and how they deal with that will have a big impact on their medium-term progress. As for Blackburn, Birmingham, Sunderland and Fulham, who seem to be the next set of teams, it is hard to see them pushing much further beyond where they are now, barring big investment, which isn't beyond belief, particularly if investors cotton on to the league's potential openness which will make it an opportune time to try and break further up the table.

Nearer the bottom, if Newcastle stay up it'd be good to see them pushing into the top half and getting back somewhere closer to the championship-challenging side of 15 years ago, whilst West Ham also have potential to get back to their former highs. Bolton meanwhile are looking a bit more like what they were a few years ago, having firmly established themselves as a Premier League team in spite of guru Sam Allardyce's departure. It may also be that, if Leeds can make back-to-back promotions, then yet another fallen giant could seek to re-establish themselves in the top league in the world. Sadly I think it could be a fair few years before we see the glamour boys of Hillsborough doing so.

Likely cabinet?

So I was close with Labour's seats but over-estimated the Lib Dems a bit (but didn't we all?) and the Tories did a bit better. Interesting to see an Green MP get in - could be some interesting discussions in the house as a result of that.

It looks as though the Lib Dems are going to side with the Conservatives, which in terms of traditional politics would make the most sense, with the Tories having the bigger mandate. However the possibility of a coalition between Labour, the Lib Dems, the SDLP, SNP and Plaid Cymru is very appealing in terms of it being cross-party, which is something I really like. However, I think the electorate, not to mention the Tories, would be pretty annoyed about this and the Tories would do everything to stop it working, which kind of defeats the object of it. I still deeply just want them to all work together, so in a way the most obvious scenario seems a bit lame, but I guess perhaps it could be a dress rehearsal for when PR comes in and the parties have to work together a lot more. Working with one other party is probably difficult enough for the time being.

If it is going to be a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition then this could be the cabinet:

Prime Minister: David Cameron (Con)

Chancellor of the Exchequer: Kenneth Clarke (Con)

Chief Secretary to the Treasury: George Osboune (Con)

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills: Vince Cable (LD)

Home Secretary: Nick Clegg (LD)

Foreign Secretary: William Hague (Con)

Secretary of State for Women and Equality: Theresa May (Con)

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: Iain Duncan Smith (Con)

Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs: Nick Herbert (Con)

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families: David Laws (LD)

Secretary of State for International Development: Ed Davey (LD)

Secretary of State for Defence: Liam Fox (Con)

Secretary of State for Health: David Willets (Con)

Secretary of State for Justice: Dominic Grieve (Con)

Secretary of State for Transport: Lord Adonis (Neutral?)

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport: Theresa Villiers (Con)

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government: Chris Huhne (LD)

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change: Michael Gove (Con)

That's actually a pretty good cabinet, with a lot of talented people in it (I would say more so that currently, even without the help of the Lib Dems).

p.s. This assumes the departments don't change, which they could do if they're trying to save money. CMS could be merged with something else, innovation and skills back with DCSF (not a sofa shop despite the name....) to form education, and whilst merging Energy and Climate change back with DEFRA would make sense it probably won't happen for fear of upsetting people with the message it sends out.

Explaining why I'm so bad at getting on with things...

Interesting article on the BBC website about why we spend so much time searching the internet, checking our emails and, I guess you can add, looking up election results.

"At distraction's heart aren't silicon chips, but an unwillingness to confront very human issues: pain, boredom, anxiety." Pretty deep, but probably pretty correct too.

My take on the General Election

So soon we will know what the outcome is of the election, which given how much time I'm wasted being absorbed in the build-up is probably a good thing! I've decided not to stay up, as an early night and an early(ish) morning seems more realistic. But anyway, I thought I'd give my thoughts as I haven't blogged in a while.

Personality and Fear vs Character and Hope

These former two themes seem to me have been central to the campaigns of, at the very least, the Labour and Conservative parties (as well as the BNP obviously) much to my distress. On the one hand we have Labour saying that if you vote for the Conservatives then there'll be cuts, the recovery will collapse, and we'll go back to the 'dark days of the 1980s'. On the other the hand the Conservatives seem to want to convince us that Labour intentions are to increase unemployment, destroy the health service and turn our children into ill-educated delinquents. Both are pretty preposterous, whilst the idea that a hung Parliament will lead to Armageddon is to be honest extremely patronising (and hardly surprising given that the Conservatives want to be in overall control). Having said that, if no party has a working majority come this time tomorrow I probably will burn my neighbour's house down and eat my own hand.

I don't for a minute think the Liberal Democrats are amazingly better, but at least they've talked of something different, of being distinct and trying something new. It hasn't exactly been Obama-style, but at least they have some policies that look slightly daring, such as raising the personal allowance, questioning Trident, and other politically bold things such as scrapping the Child Trust Fund.

Europe

Having said that I'm not too sure about going further into Europe. In fact I'm quite keen to withdraw from the EU. This isn't for the UK's sake necessarily though, as my main reason is that half the EU budget goes on the Common Agricultural Policy, the main purpose of which seems to be screwing over Africa to the benefit of southern-European farmers. My issue isn't that we shouldn't care about Europeans, but that we should care for the rest of the world just as much.

Why can't the children just get along?

My main gripe though is just how little politicians seem to get along, at least the high-profile ones. David Cameron has a sound-bite that says in society currently we treat the adults as children and the children as adults. Well I think the politicians behave like children and until they can grow up and sort their differences out, we shouldn't let anyone have a majority (kind of the political equivalent of putting them on the naughty step...)

I think it's obvious that the main reason MPs go into politicians is because of a passion to change society for the better (at least in their eyes), however they just don't seem to be able to do it in cooperation. Gone are the days of the unions vs big business, with things a lot more 'central' on the political spectrum. This is a positive thing as, at the very least, there is pressure on the ruling party to do well otherwise the other party may well be voted in - in contrast, in the past if you didn't like the unions then if the Conservatives were doing badly you might not think voting 'red' would make things any better).

But much further this, I think it means that there is more common ground, where politicians can look across party divisions to see how the nation can be helped, particularly in the current economic and social climate. A practical point is that, whoever gets in, they're going to have to cut spending, and, from a party-political view, would you rather take the decision as a coalition, or be labelled for a generation as the party that put taxes up and spending down and then the economy didn't recover anyway (maybe...)? Let's have a cabinet with a mixture of the three parties (in addition to the Scotland minister coming from a Scottish party and the same for Wales and Northern Ireland), and if we really need a Prime Minister (which I am highly dubious about), let the three have it for six months each on a rotating basis! In simple terms we need politicians who put the people before their party.

My prediction

So... here's what I reckon seats-wise. Bit of a stab in the dark as I don't think the swing will be uniform at all, but I reckon that a lot of first-time voters will go Lib Dem, and that in any place where they are marginal they will seriously challenge. The Conservatives will be close to a majority but not quite, as they haven't managed to capitalise on Labour's failings as general dissatisfaction, as I don't think a lot of people have confidence in where the Conservatives want to take things. Labour will lose a lot of seats, but I think people still see them as more caring than the Conservatives, and also see Gordon Brown and other cabinet ministers as more heavyweight than their counterparts, which people will bear in mind when envisaging who they wish to govern. So here goes:

Conservatives..........290

Labour.....................255

Liberal Democrats....85

Others......................20

Are Christians Being Persecuted in the UK?

The short answer is probably no. Having watched a programme on Sunday night asking that question, it seemed pretty clear that it's not the case. As the Archbishop of Canterbury has wisely suggested, we need to keep a sense of proportion. Much worse things happen to Christians elsewhere around the world. But much more than this, you can only really consider something persecution if you are prevented from doing something because of something you are or choose to do without good reason. Not being allowed to wear a cross at work doesn't constitute persecution because you don't have to take the job, nor is essential to wear a cross. If they were saying you could never wear a cross, even in your own home, or if they were saying you couldn't have ginger hair at work, then that would be more like persecution.

More realistically, you could say that Christianity is being marginalised. Things that were once the norm no longer are. Beliefs, values and practices are changing, and no longer are things that are, to some, deemed 'Christian' held to by the majority of the land. However, a lot of the people bemoaning this fact don't even follow Christ as their king, and so are more concerned with preserving their own culture than about anything else.

The important question is how do Christians respond as things start to change and these values and practices are no longer considered the norm? On the one hand you can become defensive, inward-looking, and ultimately very selfish, seeing the Christian's role as 'defending the faith', hoping that we don't become infected by the rest of society. On the other hand you can seek to be like Jesus, grounded in your identity in Christ, outward-focused, caring for others, focused not on outward practices but on the underlying worldview of people and their need to know and follow God.

OK, so 'Christianity', or at least its cultural façade, is retreating from mainstream society, but do we feel sorry for ourselves and look inwards, or do we look upwards and outwards, trusting in God, and seeking to know Him more and to make Him known to those around us?

There's no time like Kairos time

Today I completed a 'missions' course called Kairos which I have been taking part in some weekends over the last month or so. There are two words in Greek for 'time'. 'Chronos' refers to a length of time, whereas 'Kairos' refers to a period in time when something special happens. In this course the sense is that now is the time for seeing the world know and follow God.

I was on the course mainly because Transform had signed me up, and so I wasn't in the same place as other people in terms of wanting to explore heading abroad, but it has nevertheless been extremely thought-provoking and given me much to mull over. We spent the first half going through the Biblical 'macrotheme' of being blessed to be a blessing, encapsulated in the promises made to Abraham, and then later to Isaac and to Jacob. The notion here is that God chose a people to be blessed by Him, but with the intention that they should be a beacon to the rest of the world to demonstrate the goodness of God and the need to follow Him. This has really helped me to get a better understanding of the role of Israel, and of a lot of the more difficult passages in the Old Testament, whereby God did all He could to keep them from idolatry and mixing with other races that followed false gods. How could they bless others if they were not following God and were not able to demonstrate to others a good way of living?

The Great Commission given by the Christ to His disciples further demonstrates God's heart that all people groups (nations) of the world should come to know Him, and the images given in the Bible's concluding book, Revelation, are ones where every tribe and tongue worships God. Jesus even said that He would not come again until every nation had been told of the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

As I said, this stuff really clicked and has helped me to see the Bible through eyes that make it come alive and make so much more sense. But much more than this, it's given me a wake-up call to the much bigger perspective God has of life and its meaning. How often have I prayed concerned to the point of worry about whether I should do this or that, make choice A or B, go here or there? My prayers have become so inward focused. Now I've asked these questions with good intentions, wanting to do what is best in God's eyes, what He desires, and yet as I see tribes from remote parts of the world (see below) reacting with joy at the simple message of sins forgiven through following God, I can't help but think God might just be saying "stop worrying about the little things and just focus on me and the bigger picture".

So often I worry about things, or just thoughtlessly get on with things because I want to do them, and when I do pray its just about myself and what I need to do. I need to seek God so much more, to pray without ceasing, seeking his will, and praying for others, whether friends, family, those in my community, or unreached peoples all around the world.

So now is the time, the Kairos, for the Church to see the bigger the picture; to thank God for his amazing blessings, and to seek to be a blessing to the rest of the world, taking the Good News of the Kingdom of God to all people everywhere. And it must start with me.

Thought for lent

At the start of lent here is something interesting I picked up last year from a friend who blogs.

The First Thought of Christmas - Is tolerance a good thing?

Putting to one side the title of this blog, and any thoughts you have about what you should say or do, read this statement and ask yourself whether you think this practice is something that should be celebrated and encouraged:

To allow something that one dislikes or disagrees with to exist or occur without interference.

Apply this statement to a variety of scenarios. The child being bullied in the playground, the X-Factor winner claiming Christmas number one yet again, the tyranny of a country by an oppressive regime, a friend who always interrupts you as you chat with others at the pub, the ever-increasing belly that pertrudes from your torso as age takes its toll on your body's metabolism.

Each of these situations will, for many people, involve things that the individual strongly dislikes or disagrees with, things that really gripes them or drives them to despair. Obviously the extent to which they do will differ, and so too the reasons why. But in each of them, how many of us would turn, look at someone shrugging their shoulders and saying "oh well, not my business", and think to themself "wow; what a guy". And yet to me it seems that to hold up as a beacon of dignity, class and humanity this value of 'tolerance' is to do exactly that.

Some would say these signs each depict somewhat contradictory messages.

Now, we only have a limited amount of time and energy from which to act and, as such, for some things we might have to say maybe it really doesn't matter. In some cases our dislike may be down to a trifling matter of taste, and perhaps on these occasions diversity of taste is something to be embraced (although arguably whilst we might be inclined to think "yes, let the masses have their way and in droves buy the latest manufactured pop mush" perhaps instead we could make an effort to introduce them to the delights of the more acquired tastes of the latest offering of our favourite Philharmonic, or our idolised punk-thrash-metal band).

The main issue, I feel, is that people mix up arguments of tolerance versus intolerance with deciding how to express that intolerance. The desires that drove a million people to protest against the war in Iraq stem as much from intolerance as those that drove the armed forces of nations to depose Saddam Hussein and conduct the aforementioned war in the first place. Of course the action that resulted from those two incidences of intolerance differed dramatically, but, nevertheless, intolerance it was. Similarly, when faced with a playground bully you wouldn't think to tolerate it, but this intolerance could, on the one hand, mean giving the boy a thump, on the other letting a teacher put him in detention to write some lines and tell him not to do it again, or alternaitvely to seek to understand why he wants to do such a thing (has he been bullied previously, does he feel isolated, are there family troubles at home?) and help him to change and improve his life and those of them around him.

Interestingly, not many of the other Times articles mentioning tolerance (see below) have such a positive view.

As you can probably tell, my inkling in response to the question I pose in the title is that tolerance isn't all it's cracked up to be, something I was reminded of when reading the leading article in yesterday's Times ('A Time for Tolerance'). The writer brings up in his article the role of tolerance within the dynamics of the established Church - something I'll return to later in the week - but it is his closing statement that really puzzles me. He says that to fight the falsehood of other people's views is not the message of Christ, but rather that it is that "we are all, as children, equally blessed and must tolerate and respect what is good in each of us". This is the same Christ that said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". Not really the language of someone saying "so basically do yer best and try not to annoy anyone". No, Jesus wasn't a tolerant chap, as witnessed in his turning of the tables in the temple, in the countless occasions he confronted the religious leaders of the day and, outrageously, stood up for the marginalised and down-trodden, and most importantly in how he allowed himself to be arrested, tried and executed, that he might die for the sins of the world.

Jesus could have looked at the wrong doings of people everywhere and said "that's OK", he could have let people go on their merry way, walking to their death oblivious to the consequences of their choices and actions, but instead he chose not to tolerate it, taking the one action that could actually do anything to change things and reconcile us to God. Even the nativity stories we may have read in the last few days make this clear.

So I wonder; is tolerance just the easy way out? Are we called to be intolerant of the things we see to be wrong and unjust and to make a difference? I have a feeling the answer is yes, but that still leaves the uncomfortable and much, much harder question - what are we then going to do about it?

Twelve Thoughts of Christmas - 2009's lessons

My blogging has been sparse the last few months, but every now and again I've jotted down some thoughts. Perhaps I should have done an advent countdown but I was too late, and, besides, this way I only need half as many thoughts! But anyway, here are some of the things that have struck me over the last twelve months.

Oh, and Happy Christmas to you all!

The 'gaul' of a man who only had to put his hand up (or not get his hand involved in the first place...)

It's the story everyone is talking about at the moment (no, not the Queen's speech, although maybe we can lead the way by introducing a bill encouraging people playing football to not use their hands...). Yes, it's 'Le Hand of God', which completed France's precarious path to qualifying for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, leaving the Irish pushed to one side, sitting on their backsides, with nothing but the knowledge that deserved to win on the night to be their comfort. In all likelihood they'd probably had rather have lost 1-0 than going out in such excruciating circumstances.

Some may say that my title doesn't do Monsieur Henry justice - he did indeed own up, even to the players whilst he was still on the pitch, but, to be honest, he might have well have kept quiet - what help is it admitting it then? At least if you're going to admit it express some kind of remorse. At the very least admit what you did was wrong and against the law and the spirit of the game, let alone good human nature. I can't believe Richard Dunne bought the cop out of it being down to the referee - the referee couldn't see, Thierry could see (not to mention feel) it. The job of the referee is to help enforce the laws of the game. He doesn't go around whispering in the ears of players to tell them not to foul people, not to use your hands or not punch someone in the face. There's some level of co-operation that needs to go on, where that natural inclination is for every player to stick to the rules and admit when they've slipped up if it's needed.

I think the whole episode says a lot about society. One, those backing Henry seem to have this mentality of 'you get as much as you can with as little as possible input', and these people seem to assume that everyone else wishes to behave in this way too. Fortunately, this isn't true. Being a proper man (or woman), is about having integrity, rooted in a sense of right and wrong, and striving to see a better world for all. Take away integrity and you become a liar who swings one way or the other at the drop of a hat, lose a sense of right and wrong and your decisions are of no merit, and without the perspective of a better world you become content with seeing unrealised potential present in the outworking of life. However, and this leads to point two, people do actually seem to see this lack of 'manliness' and get really riled. For something that is essentially just a game, this is remarkable. Whilst this is in no small part due to the overblown nature of football in the modern world, I think it's also due to the high value we intrinsically see in opposing injustice. Irrelevant of whether the Irish 'deserved' to win on the run of play, in that one decision an injustice that saw the most basic of football rules broken and not rectified left the watching public seething. Perhaps this suggests that all is not lost as far as society is concerned - if only we could harness that anger at injustice and direct it towards reducing poverty, climate change and the other more pressing matters of the day - think of the possibilities!

As an aside, someone on the BBC forum suggested this news should have alerted us sooner...!

(Some Biblical advice for Thierry Henry: Micah 6:8)

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!

They gave to anyone as he had need

I came across an interesting post about the giving attitude of the early Church, from a random(ish) blog I've found (I think via a blog application on Facebook - I guess more of these applications are useful than I first thought). I've always wondered why modern-day churches that pride themselves on their sound Bible teaching and indepth knowledge of the Bible don't look much like this... In contrast, it seems it was the early Christians' gut reaction in response to the gospel, once they had begun living as a part of the family of God. What a challenge to those of us that believe!

Going against the grain

It was interesting to read about Shane Supple, who has decided to quit professional football at the age of 22, by the sounds of it because he was bored of it. My initial reaction, and I'm sure everyone else's, is to think "What?!?". Being paid a ridiculous amount of money (as he probably was if he was in the first-team squad for a Championship side) to do what a lot of people do for fun, with many opportunities ahead of him, seems like a dream come true. And I guess that's what people think looking in from the outside. However, as Shane himself said, "As you grow up you realise there are other things in life and to be honest, the game is not what I thought it was."

It seems that maybe life isn't just about football, but there's more to it than that. Maybe we should take a leaf out of Shane's book and, rather than just carry on doing what's expected of us, get on with finding out what it's actually all about, whatever that may cost. "People probably think I'm crazy but I'm not going to stay in the game for anyone else, I'm making this decision for myself."

What's your type?

There are some pretty useless Facebook applications out there ('which New Testament character are you?', 'send your friend a magic hug' and something about making a farm and taking pictures and that), but occasionally I've stumbled across some interesting and professionally-made apps that are enjoyable to explore. One such application is 'My Type Personality' (type that into the Facebook search box and you can find it), which I completed about a year ago.

It is based around the Myers-Briggs personality tests, which use a series of questions to determine what you are classed as in four different categories. Are you introverted or extroverted, intuitive or sensing, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving? Given the different combinations these create, there are 16 different personality types, and these come with a description of what the characteristics of such an individual would be. This application also provides comparisons with other personality types, to suggest what kind of relationships you will most likely have with those individuals. The descriptions are surprisingly accurate, and it is a lot of fun to see how it comes out, so I'd encourage you to take the test and see what it says.

To whet your appetite, here's what it said about me. I think it's quite accurate - what do you reckon?

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The Innovator

Extroverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving (ENTP)

Creative, resourceful, and intellectually quick. Good at a broad range of things. Enjoy debating issues, and may be into one-up-manship. They get very excited about new ideas and projects, but may neglect the more routine aspects of life. Generally outspoken and assertive. They enjoy people and are stimulating company. Excellent ability to understand concepts and apply logic to find solutions.

Typically good-natured, upbeat and laid-back, ENTPs can be delightful people to be around. They get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from interacting with others, and especially enjoy discussing and debating theories and concepts which interest them. They may be prone to initiate arguments because they so enjoy the debate. They are generally fun-loving and gregarious, and can be quite charming. They have a problem with sometimes neglecting their close relationships when they become involved in the pursuit of a new idea or plan.

ENTP Strengths

● Enthusiastic, upbeat, and popular - Much more than I used to be.

● Can be very charming - I think I've spent too much time round older ladies at church...

● Excellent communication skills - I've been known to deliver a mean presentation when needed (as long as I don't mumble).

● Extremely interested in self-improvement and growth in their relationships - I am very self-aware and actively encourage people to give me constructive criticism.

● Laid-back and flexible, usually easy to get along with - I think I tend to try to see the best in others, particularly those I don't know too well.

● Big idea-people, always working on a grand scheme or idea - in the space of about three years I've gone from having no idea, to not being able to sleep without spending half an hour redesigning a building or town or inventing something-or-other.

● Usually good at making money, although not so good at managing it - Ha, not sure about making it, but I've still got bills I owe from 18 months ago, so pretty accurate.

● Take their commitments and relationships very seriously - I'd like to think so, although doesn't stop me being late - I never miss them at least (unless people get fed up of waiting)!

● Able to move on with their lives after leaving a relationship - way too easily (well, if we mean friendships).

ENTP Weaknesses

● Always excited by anything new, they may change partners frequently - this website is definitely tapping into the online dating market! I don't change partners frequently (I don't have one to change....). Definitely excited by new things though.

● Tendency to not follow through on their plans and ideas - Not enough time to...

● Their love of debate may cause them to provoke arguments - Ha, yeah, that might just about be me...

● Big risk-takers and big spenders, not usually good at managing money - See comment in strengths - on the plus side, when I eventually ask housemates for money it means they give me a lot...