Author Archives: Richard Passmore

How far is too far?

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In pushing the theological boundaries how far is too far? I have been thinking a lot about TSK post here

on Acts 15 and recognise that as missionaries come back and tell the stories of how they contexualised the gospel, that the teachers did indeed make some sense these stories and grounded them in the biblical narrative. A couple of thousand years on are todays teachers willing to do the same leg work? As I try to make sense of where God leads through mission contexts I am not sure if the teachers will catch up. As the missionaries move on and culture shifts if they do not keep up it takes a Luther or Calvin to fill the vacuum (My fear is they would never be heard in the myriad of voices of postmodernity). If Dave comes back with a reinterpretation of Blessed are the mourners through his experience with the young people here that does not fit into the traditional narrative who is to say they are right and he wrong. Where should the weight be, with missionary or the teacher?

GMTV and wrist bands as resource idea

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I caught an interview this morning on GMTV about the number of counterfeit wristbands being sold and the money NOT going to the charity. One thing it highlighted was how hard it can be to get young people involved in charitable causes and political action. Their guidance was to only buy the wristbands from reputable shops or via the charity on the web. A few ideas came to mind on how we could tap into the wristband culture in our work with young people, I bet these ideas grab them more than talking about the election.

  • Do a survey of all outlets selling the bands and send this to local trading standards. AND/OR report these to local branches of the charity.
  • Extend the idea… If you give the young people a name tag from the group (official looking), get them to dress smart with a clip board as they go around the town then it is likely to cause the shop owner to ask questions and the simple response that you are conduct research as to whether the number of wristbands being sold correlate with the income the charity receives for a local organisation will probably be enough for them to withdraw them from sale.
  • Get the young people to spend a Saturday morning counting how many are sold from particular shops and send the shop the address of the charity with an invoice for the appropriate amount to forward onto the charity, copy the letter to the charity.
  • Get the young people to ask all their mates where they have got their wristbands and explain to them the issue. Ask if their friends would consider returning an dodgy wristbands and ask for a refund. This could be a good way to increase you contact with other young people as if there are enough you could arrange for adults to accompany the young people as they ask for a refund.
  • Write to local press to highlight the issue.

Let me know if you try any of these.

Wrist Action

Lets listen to fill the vacuum

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There is a great discussion going on with tall skinny kiwi here here and Jesus Creed here sparked by DA Carsons forth coming book.
But more importantly the discussion could be the beginnings of a genuine dialogue between the edge and core, the missionaries and the academics. At times I feel very frustrated that academia don’t seem to hear the stories unless written in academic form. So it was surprising yesterday to hear “Meet them where they’re at� was on the reading list for an MA in Evangelism and Mission. To kick things off I thought Skinnys Reflections on Acts 15 is great and is very helpful to the process.

Skinny says, Peter, an authority figure, got up and said the new stuff was really important. That shut everyone up. They were listening.
2. Barnabas and Paul, the missionary-travellers-eyewitnesses-storytellers, told stories about what God was doing out there where the action was. They listen to the stories.
3. James, the teacher, whips out a can of Old Testament Teaching and locates the present situation in the Scriptures. They listen to his counsel.
“Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas” 15:22
Here’s the deal.
1. In the past 7 years, we have had key authority figures rise up and give their blessing to the emerging church – Rick Warren, Len Sweet, Thom Wolf, E.B. Brooks, Tom Wright, Eddie Gibbs, Rowan Williams, etc, – and the whole church has been called to listen.
2. Right now, missionaries who travel and bloggers from around the world, are reporting that the new churches are emerging out of the global postmodern culture with the blessing of God and the good fruit of changed lives and reconciled communities. Thats where I put myself – as one of those storytellers, eyewitnesses, and participants.
3. The teachers are rising up and locating what God is doing in the present with Biblical precedent and historical memory. Thats why if you want to follow this story to the next installment, you should shift over to Scot McKnight’s blog Jesus Creed.

In some ways I have a foot in both camps (academia and mission) and regularly get frustrated, so I hope to blog around this subject again, particularly around rethinking church and the theological vacuum that post Christendom culture and emerging church is creating. However it may take me a day or two to put it together.

Huge volcanoe destroys town

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I have been trying to catch up on some work very behind hence the lack of blogs recently. My son (aged 10) has been drawing a huge volcanoe with molten lava, and flying rocks destroying a town. He is waiting for lift to a mates house for a sleep over, it is a very good but I wonder what the motivation was for the picture. He has asked me the question “is it true that when they are not erupting they are freezing inside before you get to the lava at the base you freeze?” I don’t think so but if you have been inside a volcanoe recently let me know!

Post Easter Reflection

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I always thought it was significant that Jesus first appeared to Mary, a woman. Prompted by the Easter readings I was intrigued by Jesus many appearances and how in some ways they mirrored the relationships restored through the cross. Jesus and Peter by the lake – Man to himself, Jesus and the fishermen – Man and creation Jesus and the disciples with Thomas – Man to Man Jesus and the road to Emmaus – Man to God. What do you think?Hellraiser: Hellworld psp

Why I may or may not vote

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Because I havent read all the information.
Because I am generally pro labour but I was against the war and was let down.
Because Blair seems to have lied
Because Howard’s conservatism seems further right than he says
Because I am unsure if Kennedy would last long enough to see things through
Because the other options would be a wasted vote
Because The Lets have another party Party don’t seem to standing a candidate in the area.
Because I was challenged by Marks reasoning for not voting (see post below).
Because I am idealist and a realist and unsure which way to fall.
Because I am unsure what Jesus would do (WWJV)
Because I think a really turn out may help the under 18s get the vote next time around
Because I haven’t worked out how not vote in an effective way
Because of Mandela, Ghandi, Pankhurst and others
Because I am an activist, but mostly an undecided

Bono, Geldof and the endless sea

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I came across this quote on Diddy tong “ If you want to build a ship, dont drum up the men to gather the wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. � (Antoine de Saint Exupery) There are many who have taught me to yearn for the endless sea, including MLK, Vincent Donovan, Picasso, James Hawes, Julian of Norwich, a raft of celtic saints (should that be coracle), Dennis Birch, Jim Punton, several students and countless young people, the Bakers, Bob Holman, Winkie, Keith Green, Paul Northup, Nick and Bridget, Lowel Sheppard, Bosch, David Niven, Mandella, Isla Horton, Ciaron O’Rielly, Brennan Manning, Pip Wilson, Bono, My Mum, Jeff and Pat, Dave Wiles……
As I think about these people (and the many others) I love the fact that many reading will not have a clue who some of them are, and the potential we all have to teach people to yearn for the vast and endless sea simply by being the people we were created to be.

Brian and heaven

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I was going to blog about Christ’s scars from the cross being visible in heaven and when he showed Himself on earth and the challenges this presents to much of our theology about suffering and heaven. However Brian Bunny has his own site so I wanted to give this a link and show the latest edition which is just great.