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."

Skating on thin ice

My friend Steve recently made a post about faith, and this reminded me of an illustration I heard a while ago.

Imagine two people, out in the middle of winter, who come to two different lakes, both of which have frozen over. One is apprehensive, and edges out, slowly, but surely, steadying themselves, and forever aware of the ice, ready to get off if it starts to crack. The other is care-free, sprinting out to the middle of the lake, jumping, rolling, and having a great time, with no thought for the potentially-fragile ice sheet below him. Unfortunately for the second guy, the ice is very thin, and begins to crack. Fearless, and trusting that the ice would hold his weight, he is now in extreme danger and the ice soon gives way, and the man is left stranded, without a hope. Meanwhile the other guy, after a while, becomes more confident. As he tests the ice out, he learns that it is solid, that it holds his weight, and knowing this, he trusts it will hold. He runs, he jumps, he skates and dances and does whatever comes to mind, trusting, with good reason, that the ice beneath his feet is solid and won't let him down.

Hopefully you see the parallel, but it's important to say that everyone has their faith in something, whether it be money, a house, a job, family, friends, whatever, and in many circumstances and to varying degrees, this is a good thing - we need to trust to live in community and to plan for the future. But they will all fail at some point, none of them are perfect. We can't even put complete faith in ourselves, as one day we will die and our bodies betray us. For the people whose faith is built on that and nothing less, they will be left exposed when all is said and done. But I believe that God is solid, will bear us up, and is worthy to be trusted.

But this is the other important point. The main thing isn't how strong your faith is. It can be really weak, you can be crawling, on your knees, but if you put your faith in the right thing, then that is what matters. As our faith grows and we learn to trust more, we can move with more freedom, enjoy it more, and learn, receive and give much more, living life to the full, as it was intended to be.

So first and foremost, it's far more important what your faith is in than how strong your faith is, but secondly, once we've found something we can trust in forevermore, we should seek to have a deeper faith, to grow, and to be safe in the knowledge of eternity assured, forever, in paradise.

What makes a Christian weak or strong?

My friend Steve has posted something interesting about the Sabbath and how we observe it, and I had a chat with him the other week about it too. It has baffled me for a while as to why people seem to forget that commandment, but at the same time it's odd that whilst the Sabbath is the Saturday, we see it as Sunday - so can we see it as the same thing, or perhaps we should hold both of them?

This is an extended reply to his post, so have a look at his post first to see what he has written and the background to what was said at the Christian Union meeting to spark this.

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It's an interesting and important issue, but I think the main thing is that people give it due consideration, prayer and study of the Bible and choose something that is right in their conscience after this. I don't know what I feel entirely, given that I grew up with the same opinions, forced on me to some extent but also felt by me, and I still held these until probably 18 months ago and do to some degree now.

I think it is important to dedicate a day to God and to rest and to help others to rest too. I know it's not particularly British to help others and that we should all live as individuals and get on with our own lives, but I do feel a responsibility to help others lead a good life, and I believe others need rest too. Not many really want to work on a Sunday so is me going shopping really helping them if it increases demand and thus pressure from their employers to work? I had to work Sundays for a while when I really didn't want to, even though I got extra pay, but felt I had to in case I didn't look committed.

On the other hand I've had people come to Church who it would be great to have a chat with afterwards and make them feel welcome, and it may not be suitable or easy to invite them home, so as Wetherspoons is round the corner I can go there with them and buy them a drink or meal. This is vastly different to being so lazy and absent minded as to not buy food the previous day and prepare food then (although admitadely on said Sunday I was also in Sainsburys - my defence was the Summer Ball although it's not a great excuse!).

So I think the key things are these:

1) As it implies in Mark 2:23-27, I think you have to be pragmatic and do whatever you feels brings glory to God and is beneficial to those in need, without using it as an excuse.

2) Being weak and being strong is, I feel, about how you come to your decision rather than the decision itself.

I think legalism implies that you hold to your views because it's what your tradition is, perhaps passed down by your parents, or your Church, or assumed through a vary narrow and shallow reading of scripture. I think the contrasting view is not liberalism, but more to do with people who have studied scripture, gone deeper, and seen what is at the heart of the matter and made their decision based on this. Perhaps Paul has deemed that anyone who deeply studied the scriptures and who understood the gospel would come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter whether you eat meat, which I would say is accurate according to the Bible.

I think for John Risbridger to bring the Sunday thing in without a bit of explanation is a bit misleading, as it's by no means clear cut, in fact flicking through Romans, 14:5-6 seems to address this exact thing, and from my reading there isn't as clear a divide in Paul's mind with regards to this this issue as for vegetarianism. He seems to see the key part as each individual being "fully convinced in his own mind". It may even be that in different circumstances on different occasions that a different conclusion is reached on whether to buy, work, play, etc., as long as that decision is honourable and pleasing to God.

So I guess if you don't do things on Sundays because it's what you've been told to do I would see you as weak. However if you start buying things on Sunday (or more specifically if you refrain from having a separate day of rest for you and others) just because you find it easier not to, then you are just as weak, if not more so.

However, a 'strong' individual will study and pray and seek an answer which he can make with a clear conscience and about which he would be able to stand before God and not feel ashamed. Lets face it, there will probably be a lot of Sundays/Saturdays/Sabbaths before we die, God willing, so I think it is worth giving this a lot of thought and seeking God's will, and then putting that into action in how we live.

Bradford and Leeds week - RETAS

My second journey after the interview was to RETAS (Refugee Education Training Advisory Service), based in the Harehills area of Leeds. RETAS work with asylum seekers and refugees, and in the short time I was there I certainly felt as though I learnt a lot. 'Asylum seeker' is a term given to someone who comes to the UK because they are wanting to stay here to escape something back home. They are given a certain amount of time in which to prove their case and justify why they should stay and thus become a kind of quasi-citizen in the form of a refugee. Refugees are given the legal status of a citizen when they are allowed to stay on the basis that if they returned home they would be persecuted in some form – i.e. they are seeking refuge from harm. However, in the meantime asylum seekers have fewer rights and find it hard to get by, not matter how hard they try and how willing they are. Even for refugees this can be hard and in part is due to myths and negative persceptions held by potential employers.

Some of the volunteers from the centre

I was shown round by and chatted with Duncan, who was one of the original Transformers (i.e. on the inaugural Transform year – he can’t turn into a car or plane or anything like that). It was great to see the passion he had and hear about how lives had been changed through their work. Whilst they’re not explicit about their faith, the majority of workers are Christians and they offer to pray when appropriate, and so their Christian ethos really shines through and makes a difference. They offer computer training, language classes, and training in other areas that are of help, as well as helping clients to find jobs. I’m sure it’s something that, even if I don't do it for a placement, I would want to keep in touch with and recommend to others, to see some of the most vulnerable people in the UK have their lives changed.

New Word Alive 2009 - Serving the Church, Reaching the World

It’s been a really good week at New Word Alive (NWA), in a far-off corner of Wales, with hundreds of other Christians hearing from God’s word and being challenged about the need to put it into practice.

The Bible studies focused on 1 Corinthians 1-7, looking at how we live our lives both as churches and as individuals: putting the gospel first, not lifting up leaders instead of Christ, seeking holiness in our lives as temples of God (in particular having the best approach to relationships), and understanding the effect of personal ungodliness on the wider church and the implications for dealing with it.

Meanwhile, in the evenings, in addition to sung worship lead by Stuart Townend and Phatfish (see above), we looked at some key parables from Luke’s gospel: the sower; the good Samaritan; the banquet; the lost son; the rich man and Lazarus; and the ten minas. In my view there seemed to be a strong emphasis on the outworking of our faith (sometimes labelled 'social action'), particularly directed to 'the poor', which perhaps isn't expected of a 'conservative evangelical' conference, but it was handled Biblically and challenged a lot of people.

There was also a great variety of seminars with something for everyone, and also a very excitable Roger Carswell! Adrian Warnock led a session about blogging so I thought I'd go along, and there were some useful tips, plus it was good to hear about other people's approaches to forming and maintaining a blog (see Adrian's blog for more thoughts on NWA).

The speaking was overall very powerful and challenging and definitely worth the trip, plus I was greatly enthused by the sense that evangelicals were seeking to unite and to focus on the cross rather than surrounding issues. It was also great to spend time with friends (including some stupidly late nights) and I even found some time to do a little bit of work!

Over the next few weeks I'll write up a few things I've learnt from the week, so stay tuned if you want to find out more.

Someone with something interesting to say

After the Revelators gig (and hence why I got back so late) I chatted with a guy, Antun, who really had passion as he spoke, something really invigorating. He started off chatting to Marstin, telling him how distinct his sound was, how he should be pushing forward and trying to get on to bigger things, convinced of his talent. I carried on talking to Antun once Marstin had gone, and as we chatted, it became one of those conversations I wished I could record as he would reveal interesting insights one after another. He's a Croatian Chemistry PhD student, but his intelligence and interests expanded beyond this. With Marstin having pointed to God in their conversation as his source of musical uniqueness (his 'fingerprint', as Antun put it), faith was then brought up in our conversation too. We spoke at length about faith and religion, and whilst I got the impression he wasn't a Christian, and that he'd got the wrong (but understandable) picture about Christianity, some of the things he said really got me thinking.

He spoke of how you might be driving along following the GPS and knowing where you are supposed to go, following the directions you are told. But then sometimes you have to stop and think, "Is this right? Is this where I want to go?". Sometimes you have to question. Perhaps we go through life following the pattern of this world, doing what is expected of us and never thinking we might 'swim against the stream' (as Marstin might say!). Then we have to reconsider, is this where I want to be going, is it getting me where I really want to be, do I even know where I want to be, and how would I get there?

He spoke to about how many people try to be like God, and how this is what Christianity is about. I thought this sounded like trying to earn your way into heaven, and so was keen to refute this, but as I thought about it, it struck me that, yes, I do want to be like God, to be like Christ. He's my example, the one person we should measure ourselves against, as much as we'll never measure up. He elaborated, saying how we're all going at different angles, some going directly down, far from God towards the evil one, others apathetic and just going along flat. Others still go at a slight angle, trying lamely to get to God, whilst others try harder and harder still, until, perhaps, one day we're going straight up, to be just like Him. Of course, we'll never achieve that, but I want to keep trying.

Finally, he spoke about how when comparing Islam and Christianity, he felt that one was about finding power, whilst the other about finding hope. Whilst I won't comment on Islam, it struck me that he had hit the nail on the head with Christianity. You see often we struggle through life, trying to find some new way of getting by, but everything falters and our hopes are left dashed. Christ however offers us that true, everlasting hope, that we can and will be saved, if we just put our faith in Him. I'm so thankful that I can know for certain that "my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness" - and what a solid foundation that is.

Chris Heward: Late and Indecisive?

Have been meaning to write for ages. Anyway...

A couple of thoughts about my shortcomings, which have come to light once again in the last 24 hours.

My first is about not making decisions. Whilst this is often motivated from not wanting to make bad choices, I do still have to make them from time to time and hope they are the best. After finding out my housemate had planned a birthday trip to Komedia, to see Russell Howard in action, I was pretty slow off the mark. At first I wasn't sure if I'd be around, but even after that there was still time for me to book. But a few days later I found out the Cabaret section (where he and mates were sitting) was fully booked. DOH! After confirming this, and once finding out that others were going to sit in the balcony, I decided to go anyway, and then, having walked past the store earlier today and deciding to book online, about 2 hours ago I found out that now ALL the tickets have gone. DOUBLE DOH!

My second is my lateness. I don't know whether it's because people are becoming more comfortable with me, or just because it's now been going on for so long, but increasingly people have been commenting on my lateness. Then, yesterday, I met up with someone who I hadn't seen for a while, who's living on the streets. I said that if he called me later on I could check bus/train times online and maybe help him out with a ticket (as he had said he wanted to go away for a few weeks). In the intervening period I decided it was probably best for him not to keep travelling, as he said (similarly to a few ocassions previous) that he'd go away for a few weeks and then settle down in Bath, and I figured some time he had to stop doing this. He was OK with this on the phone, but I offered instead to see if I had an old phone at home I could give him to keep in touch. All I had to do was go home and then go down the soup run, some time between 7 and 7:30. Arriving at 7:34, with no phone (it was in Worthing), he had already gone. 

This guy had a pretty low self-esteem and I was the only person he really trusted. I hung around in town looking for him for a few hours, and a bit this morning too, but to no avail. He may well have moved on. And in a way I feel as though I must too, and hope he comes back, and that he forgives me, and doesn't see this as a rejection of him.

The annoying thing is, if I had only got there when I said I would, if I had only got there 5 minutes earlier, none of this would have happened.

When am I going to sort myself out?

Hasn't it all been said already?

Entering my 22nd year, I've been moved to start up one of these things. I've often thought people who maintain these kind of sites must be a bit arrogant, writing their blog for all to see, as though what they say is so important; what can they possibly say that can be so interesting? Well I guess I still believe that to some extent, but over the last few years I have come to one realisation that enables me to transcribe my thoughts here without feeling as though I'm being excessively cocky.

I've come to realise that there doesn't come a point when you are a certified 'life expert', a time when you have made the grade and assume the right to live life making correct choices. I first realised this when I reached 18. For me, when I was growing up 18 looked like the age of enlightenment: your parents had all the necessary experience and knew everything; authors of books, people on TV and all the others expressing their point of view knew all the facts about how things really were; and, well, all the laws and social norms were in place because of their self-evident correctness and completeness. The level of understanding that produced and sustained all this would in turn be obtained by me on my transition into adulthood.

Hitting 18 made me realise that, actually, I was no different from when I was 17, 16, maybe even a growing 10-year-old. Of course things had changed with regards to my levels of maturity and understanding, but essentially I was no more qualified to make perfect decisions than I ever had been. I was quickly learning that things aren't 'black and white'. This isn't to say that I buy into the notion that every opinion is equally valid and whatever anyone says is true ('post-modernism' I believe you call it if you are quite pretentious, or at least something to do with that). I believe truth is there and can be found in any and every situation, but it will most likely be grey.

Anyway, that's my justification for starting this blog, to add my perception on what the true shade of grey in life is. We all have a valuable contribution to make in this search and so, whilst I hope you enjoy my take, maybe you can also chip in with what shade you think it is.