Going Live

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Protest4 has gone live. Well worth checking out, and I think an important way forward. Particularly in the light of recent thoughts I have been having on the impact of individualism in current culture and the impact this has on the possibility of social change. A quote I have held close to my heart for a while is from Fiske who said

    “The people are neither cultural dupes nor silenced victims, but are vital, resilient, varied, contradictory, and, as a constant source of contestation of dominance, are a vital social resource, the only one that can fuel social changeâ€?

However the question remains what has the impact of a declining meta narrative and the increase of individualism been on this? Can people still be the social resource for change?

Church Calendar

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I’m of the thinking that a Church calendar puts ‘rules’ about what happens in church before the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – that it limits our ability to respond to the Holy Spirit’s.

Is this true at Pentecost?

As we are now around the time of Pentecost many of us are hearing the story told at the beginning of Acts. So can being taught about the Holy Spirit get in the way of the intentions of the Holy Spirit???

I’m tempted to think ‘yes it can’!!!

Post modern bananas

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Lori is writing an essay around commodification and a play with a hint of post modernism thrown in. A question I often ask is “if an Orange is orange why isn’t a Banana a yellow?” I wonder “is this the ultimate post modern question?”

Church as middle class!

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I did some really hurting experience the other day. It was a day of celebration since the spring is emerging in sweden – it is called “Valborgsmässoafton”. Almost everbody is out celebrating. We had a gathering in our church (with an extremely good band www.loneydear.com Train Master movies ) and I started to talk we a guy. He was about 40 years old. I asked him where he was working. He replied that i he was cleaning (you know putting everything at the right place…) at the university of Lund. There our conversation ended. I hade no more questions (he was a really quiet man – but anyway…) – my university education became a block between us. If he had been a engineer, socilogist or that kind – but he wasn´t. We really have a need for a church that is for cleaners. A church which like music that is not high-cultural. (1 Cor. 9:19ff)
Fredrik Wenell

Are We More Interested in Taking Communion Than Having Communion?

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Last week at youth group some of the guys commented how they felt a bit under the spotlight if they didn’t take communion on a Sunday morning. This is especially so if the person introducing it says something along the lines of ‘if you have unresolved sin then feel free not to take the communion’!

So, it occurs to me that communion has the same root as community and as such is surely something to do with unity and inclusivity within the church. So perhaps we should consider having communion (having community) rather than merely taking communion?

In our rush to take communion aren’t we alienating people?

Sure communion is for people who believe what it is about – Jesus’ death – and as such is obviously not appropriate for ye olde evangelism evente. But hang on, most Sunday morning church these days is open to seekers (et al). So why, in the face of not having communion do we insist on taking

What Doesn’t Kill You film

communion?

What do you think?

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Welcome to the revamped Sunday Papers. There is still some tidying up to do and pics to add but we have moved to wordpress. Thanks to Mark for all his work. The main reason for changing was to be able to categorise the posts. These have been set up to reflect the strapline and are LIFE, MISSION, YOUTHWORK with some sub divisions and a few other categories. We can also manage any comments better, and hopefully increase dialogue. We will still allow anonoymus comments but registered people can get pinged if they get a response to the comment or a related post. Although I am not sure how all this works yet.

What about the truth?!?!

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Recently I met an old friend of mine. I had not seen him for a long time. We were never on the same side in discussions. He had been over in the States for a couple of years and had been studying the philosophy of religion. (He is really a modernist with all that follows…) He has started a new project back in Sweden. It was about abortion (he probably met some from the moral majority) and he thought that the church was ready to give up about it – maybe thats true, so he felt he should go public with picture of children which had been aborted. First I thoought he was ironic but soon I realised he wasn´t. I think the question of abortion is too tough an issue to use that method of informing people. I think the problem is not that people do not know that stuff but that they think about it in other ways – in a theological language: They do not think like a “christian”. (of course you could reply what is thinking like a christian…let´s discuss!) The problem is not that people are stupid or dumb but that they have other criteria for judging what is true. They judge regarding to their worldview and what they think is true. I think that the truth is in Christ but I have to be humble when I meet other people and their “truths”. And you are certainly not humble if you use that method. First of all we have to live the faith and in this case to show another ways of dealing with our sexuality and taking care of our children in the christian community. The truth is a way of life not a statement or a picture! And people around us have different ways of life and I think we have to give people “the freedom of unbelief”.

Ps. For you englishmen – soon the World Championship in Icehockey starts! Enjoy! Ds.

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?

Penalty Kick Off!

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Penal substitution is a topic that is being kicked around the church at the moment. The concept that Jesus took the penalty for our sin when he died on the cross.

In thinking about this a couple of things have crossed my mind:

  1. Sin is separation from God. The penalty for sin is separation from God (hell?). So the penalty is the same thing as the offence itself… but can we call it an offence, seeing as we are all born separate from God? Perhaps the offence is to choose separation from God? To choose your own way, to choose sin. So if you choose sin then you get sin.
  2. Jesus died for our sins and it does seem that he was temporarily separate from God. But perhaps death, for Christ, was more about being stronger than evil and working out God’s forgiveness than taking the penalty?
  3. Who’s dishing out the penalty? God? Or is it us when we choose sin, when we choose the actual penalty? Certainly the only one who can save us from the penalty/sin is God.

I probably need to get my head down and look at some theology about this to be honest. Anyway, you can take the above merely as some wandering wonderings of the mind! 🙂