Monthly Archives: June 2009

Doing it differently #2

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I came to Christ when I was 16 years old – a very dramatic experience for me. As a result I decided I was here to serve God – how could I do that? Work in the church, avoid any career path and that would be the way. Well I think differently now. I do not have a career / expertise in the business realm – and sometimes I think that would be great if I did. What do we do here in Mallorca / Spain – or wherever in Europe in 3 or 4 years time? No career to fall back on – no expertise to draw on… but this has been my journey for which I am very thankful.

I have learned to believe God to be my source (and to doubt it too!!!). I have learned that there are values in life that do not become visible in the Western economies, but count for a lot in God’s economy.

Church leadership – I was privileged to be appointed as an ‘elder’ and then to begin to ‘lead’ the church community, when I was 29, that Sue and I were joined to. A privilege to hear the stories of others, to discover that so many ordinary people are indeed the most extraordinary people of all time… Regrets? Wow I learned so much but…

I also have now realised that ‘small people’ can be forgotten and ignored. That when the corporate body has a vision that vision can simply be the vision of a few, or a vision that is motivated by survival.

Yes I would do it differently today.

I hope I will never be so impressed again with corporate vision, and that I might not so easily confuse self-preservation with following God.

So much has changed – check out my birth certificate. But questions remain. What does leadership look like (does it ‘look’ like anything or is it less visible)? Having a vision together cannot be a bad thing, after all God places us in community, but how do we crack this thing of self-preservation?

Wow – heavy duty questions!!!

Eschatology #16

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This is the second podcast on Matthew 24 – taking the view that it is referring to AD70 – if not exclusively then that is the centre of focus.

Notes available here: Podcast #16

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Back soon…

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I will be back with some regular blogs this coming week… I am still in the process of moving some material on this site. I have a new eschatology podcast ready to record: a second one on Matthew 24. I will then move on to the book of Revelation for a few podcasts… and then?

I also am going to pick up with what would I do differently theme.

We have one more week of intensive Spanish course here this week, then off to the UK for a short visit. We are still working through what can continue (practically from a time-perspective, and spiritually from a ‘new season’ perspective).

These past few days Charles Strohmer sent through a report that included his attendance at 2-day conference on Evangelical-Muslim relations at Georgetown University. It was, he wrote, much more anecdotal than theoretical… Here are three (challenging and illuminating) stories:

  • like the Nigerian pastor and Nigerian Imam who were once mortal enemies (literally) and persecuted followers of each other’s faith, but who both had profound spiritual experiences and were reconciled as a result, and who, despite still carrying some physical and spiritual scars, today work side-by-side in what Christians might call a covenant relationship, sharing about the many initiatives they have created that bring respect and reconciliation to Christian-Muslim relations in violent areas of Nigeria
  • like the Imam whose mosque is dedicated to reducing the inordinate amount of social ills in their large American city, and who as a result opened a church(!) and staffed it with Christians in order to get spiritual help to change the hearts of Christians and others whom the Muslims had rescued from drug addiction but who would not attend the mosque (this Imam said, and I quote, that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of forgiveness, selfless love, and reconciliation)
  • like the Muslim woman who works for Gallup whose family had to drive halfway across the U.S. the day after 9/11 to their new home, who by the time they arrived were terrified (well, they look Muslim!), but who were immediately befriended in their new community by both Jews and Christians who had come to the city’s mosque that Friday in solidarity with the city’s Muslim community, a solidarity made possible, she said, because of decades of interfaith dialogue that had been taking place in that city.

Food for thought in our divided world… and in a world often divided through religion… and our perspective of the ‘other’.

Site back!!!

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OK site been down for 5 days. What a disaster!!! Or was it. Maybe MJ and his expereince of life was a disaster. During the time my site has been down a great US couple have lost their daughter and she has left 2 young children; I have another friend hanging between life and death. Puts everything in perspective.

But my site – not sure what has gone on… but had to cut back on the site – get rid of the forum as that seems to be the source of the problem and every mention of it in the blogs. (Well at least I have learned how to edit blogs and a site without having access to the site!!! MYSQL for the initiated – wow a learning curve…)

I don’t think it was personal but the site was being hit with a continual electronic request that slowed not just the web site down but the servers of my host (does that make me famous?). It has been very frustrating but I also think there has been something in it at a spiritual level. I am not suggesting it is the deliberate act of one person as these things are automated.

Back to normal life – if that is possible after the second of three weeks in a Spanish intensive course.

Doing it differently… #1

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Having been brought up in a fairly straight evangelical setting, stumbling across the early ‘house church movement’ in about 1974 was at first a shock and then a great relief. It was possible to be a Christian and not religious. Relationships was the buzz word, sharing life together, community, extended households… LIFE, not meetings.

I loved it.

But there were some downsides. We were so involved together (we lived on a street with about 20 other families; 90% of those who were ‘in the church’ lived within 10 minutes walk) that our conviction was that we were creating an ‘alternative society’ that the world would love to join but this did not quite work out that way. I have often thought since, what did immediate neighbours think when we shared  lawnmowers (or whatever else) among each other (those of those us who were ‘in’) , but had no need of them.

Jesus said we were to eat whatever was given to us… but strong community can mean we no longer have need of the food of others – we have enough food of our own. Now there is such a thing as Christian community, shared life (Acts 2 – the immediate result of the Holy Spirit coming was that dimension) is a great experience, but… OK I’ve not resolved this one.

In moving here to Mallorca, we live about 8 miles / 13 kms from Kyle, Rachel and Hannah. We see each other maybe twice a week. We do not have a great strength together, maybe we should have more of that strength, but maybe we must find our own need of the people around us.

I value the deep friendships I still have from 35 years ago – those friendships might not have been there if we had not dug in together, but…

So what would I do differently? I think I would appreciate the values of those around me more, try to find out what makes them tick, and be looking to share life with those who also believe faith in Jesus challenges our view of personal ownership / space.

A book on eschatology????

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I am a little behind on my eschatology podcasts… but Tim Rawe sent me this link to a book: How to Profit from the Coming Rapture?(Check it out for real on Amazon.)

The information regarding the book is as follows:

Is the end near? Is the Rapture just around the corner? About 1 billion people among us believe, yes, absolutely. And that means one thing: investment opportunities! For those not expertly versed in the Book of Revelation, Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman helpfully offer both illumination and advice: What exactly is the Rapture? And, most important, how can I make money during the 7 years of societal breakdown before Armaggedon? Taking the form of an investment guide, the book instructs those who will certainly be left behind (Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, less ardent Protestants and many more) on how to exploit the demise of the world in order to make a tidy profit. So the rivers and seas will run with blood, locusts will swarm, mountains will move all over the place and famine will strike. But for the 5 billion of us left, the post-Rapture world will be a time of even more unique investment opportunities.

I can only hope / believe it is a wind-up by the authors, but maybe just in case, maybe I should go buy the book…. or maybe write the sequel and then make some money from that. Now there’s a thought!!

Doing it differently…

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What would I have done differently – if I knew then (20 years ago) what I know now – and of course I know so much now!!! I was provoked to think about this when I read Jonny Baker commenting on Tom Brackett’s time in the UK, questioning people. There the question was more to do with how church and society have interacted (or not). The headline though grabbed me and I thought that I would try and blog for a few days on what I would have done differently at a more personal level.

I write this without any regrets – but this does not mean that I would not do things differently. I have a BIG revelation. We arrive where we arrive by coming on the journey we have taken!!! Hope you got that. I am where I am today because of the journey: people I have met, choices I have made on they way. I therefore have no regrets. I am a believer God is with me – not he would have been with me today if only I had done it differently.

I also write hoping that I have learned a few things. But they are not the lessons that can be applied to everyone else. Everyone has a different journey, apply what I have learned today and in 20 years time you might be living with regret!!

First a little background:

Brought up in a Christian home and taught to read the Bible daily. NO REGRETS!!! The Scriptures continues to shape and intrigue me.

Came to Christ at 16 years of age – Jesus was real-ish before that time, but that evening I had a major encounter, speaking in tongues etc., NO REGRETS. I am still a charismatic, and want to go deeper.

Studied at Theological College… theology still grips me, and very grateful for the shifts since I was there (1973-76). The New Perspective etc., have all kicked in since my days of formal study – and I am grateful for that. This one presents a challenge for me, how do people gain good theological insight without necessarily going through some of the institutions? I have no clear answer on that.

Joined the ‘House Church Movement’ in 1977. Early on the church I was a part of, stopped all meetings for a year. If it did not stay together then what was holding it together, was the question. It grew in that year. That made an impact on me. I have no regrets about being part of that movement – though realised that probably 10 later – 87, and certainly 20 years later – 97, to stop meeting for a year would not have been possible. What had changed?

Met those who taught me about the supernatural. Casting out demons, healing the sick. No regrets.

Met people who were shaped by Anabaptism. No regrets.

Touched by what was called ‘The Toronto Blessing’. No regrets.

Began to travel the UK, then across Europe and further afield, eventually being on the road 9 months of the year with what was initially termed Sowing seeds for revival. No regrets.

Found the church expression I was a part of coming unstuck, so was effectively de-churched, but with many friends. Thank God that endings open up possible new beginnings.

Hope that places me somewhere on your map. I will begin to blog about specifics from the past 20 years with some reflections along the way.

Signs in the skies

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There have been some awesome tragedies this year involving air accidents. I was very stirred at the beginning of the year when the aircraft was landed in the Hudson River and certainly believed that we could learn a lot from what happened there. It certainly acted to me as a prophetic sign.

Some days ago I was encouraged to blog again about recent events, but I was very reluctant – loss of life has to be respected and when an interpretation is brought it can sound as if the person writing is suggesting God has done this. I am so glad that Justin Abraham has felt the courage and compulsion to write at this time – and with real sensitivity to the wider issues.

Take time to click on the following link to read his prophetic insight. Emerge Update.

tunnel vision

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The other day I was typing some notes from my reading for the PhD degree and came across an author named Seabright. His book looks at the question of how strangers can live together in dense settlements. One of the main answers is sewers – part of my doctoral topic.  That is not today’s topic. What caught me was his repeated assertion that one of the elements of human behaviour contributing to our success as a species is our tunnel vision, the ability to focus on one thing, or our part of one thing. But it is also our downfall.

Today in the Guardian is an article that describes a new report released by the Obama administration in the States detailing the costs of climate change so far, and projected into the future, for Americans. The final line of the article mentions that some members of Congress oppose the climate change bill now before them because farmers might be negatively effected economically. Tunnel vision.

That made me think of the church. In response to my last blog I ended up in a discussion on how narrowly the church has defined itself over the past, ummm, shall we say, 50 years. I was particularly struck by how the church in decline has fastened onto promoting families through childrens programs, youth activities, and marriage/family courses and meetings. Great, though as a single woman I wonder how I fit in, but that’s another blog. The point for the church has been to promote the next generation and their church attendance. But what funny tunnel vision. At the same time the church has been actively engaged in seeking out and promoting the life and faith of the next generation it has also mostly ignored all of the signals we were getting about our relationship with the planet. And it is now to the point that the survival, or at the very least, the quality of life, of that next generation is threatened.  Tunnel vision, to focus so narrowlyon our goal that we miss the broader context. Or as my housemate puts it, ‘we can’t see the forest for the twigs’.

The trouble with tunnel vision is that we can get very committed to the details we are focused on and not only miss the whole context but also end up missing what God wants us to move on to. Our landscape is reduced and simplified which may make us feel more secure but also may make us disobedient.  It is clear from the response to Gayle’s blog that we are in a time when God is challenging many of us to lift up our eyes and see more of the forest, instead of the few twigs before us. It may mean a reinvestment of our time. Or it may mean reassessing our activities in light of new information so that they are more relevant to the real world around us. Either way, it promises to be interesting.

Cheryl.

In the dough

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So I’m let loose with a few thoughts….

I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few years about ‘new landscape Christianity’ or ‘emerging church’ or whatever you want to call it.  I love that it is not clear and that a new shape has not been discovered and labelled, patented, publicised, owned, stamped and approved… and I think I hope that one never does!

I have been ‘out of church’ for some years now and after the initial craziness and soul-questionings: ‘but how will I get fed?’; ‘isn’t there a place for bigger meetings of believers?’; ‘have i lost my way?’; ‘will I never sing another worship song?’ as well as the concerned questioning of others: ‘maybe you have issues that you haven’t worked through?!’; ‘how will you be accountable?’ and the inevitable Bible quote “Don’t give up meeting together…” etc., etc., etc…. I have actually found that I have enjoyed my faith more than ever before.

One thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes people do leave established church with a little attitude and sometimes maybe even with a few issues here and there (there are plenty of issues here and there in normal church though, huh!?) and sometimes maybe there is a bit of throwing the baby out with the bath-water.  By this I mean that perhaps we become so unreligious, so culturally relevant, dare I say so normal that we lose something of the desire for crazy unusual happenings - the kind that followed Jesus and his disciples around.  (To be fair, maybe we don’t lose it, maybe we never had much of it anyway.)

The supernatural element

For me, I am so recently challenged by the fact that we are not just ordinary normal beings, we have in us life that is a part of the NEW creation, the kingdom and that Jesus talked so plainly about eating what is put before us, healing the sick, telling the God story and bringing good news to the poor.

My challenge as I see it,  is not only to be a Jesus follower who does not make barriers and unnecessary hoops for other people to jump through to find faith, it’s also being a Jesus follower who has signs of the kingdom happening, bubbling out around me.

I’ve loved the shift of energy away from making a church meeting work etc., etc., etc. to fully getting involved in the world, kneaded in like yeast…only I hope as I disappear that the desire in me for some cool kingdom inbreaking of the supernatural doesn’t…

Here’s hoping…

Back home

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Been a little while since I blogged and I know that many of you depend on this for daily food – or not!!!

So here are a few things that have been going on. Had a wonderful time in Meiningen – I have travelled there for about 6 or 7 years to a small group seeking to be community without the trappings that encroach us when we use the ‘ch…’ term. This time I was teaching on Eschatology to about 25 people from various settings in Germany. I think it was very releasing when we moved them away from prediction to living out the implications of following the one who is the firstfruits of the new creation.

A joy / privilege / challenge also to have lunch with a couple who had just lost their son. How can life be so varied, so rich… and how can God be present in all circumstances?

Then in Berlin – visiting Marcus and Susanne. I have walked with them now for 8 years and they have undergone a major transition this past few years. Berlin – capital city and takes a little time to adjust to. Wide open space, not very much traffic (for a city of that size). The wall, Checkpoint Charlie, DDR museum: history, but maybe cos it is so recent the feelings when there are intense. The East was a mess – but not totally wrong either. I am grateful to have grown up in the West but we so need another world to come into focus. (Look at Real Madrid and these past few days… the money, the madness that signifies.)

So good to get home.

Language intensity begins again on Monday. While away I realised that we have to up the investment (time & money) into this – it is an investment into the rest of our lives. Been reading Billy Elliot in Spanish: always interesting when you finally work out what a repeating word means – and one that has not been in the standard dictionary!!

E-books: trying to work out if this is a good way forward for writing. If interested I have uploaded a slightly adjusted version of my 1997 thesis on ‘The eschatology of the new church movement in the UK, 1970-96′. It is currently in pdf format (can read it on a computer or in an ebook reader). Here is the link: New Church Eschatology.

Next few days must get the final podcast on Matthew 24 scripted, and then will probably switch to the book of Revelation for a while.

Eschatology #15

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This is the first of two podcasts on Matthew 24 (and parallels). I am taking the line that AD70 is what is in focus not ‘the end of the world’. This is not a new perspective by any means. Try this quote from John Wesley:

Josephus’  History of the Jewish War is the best commentary on this chapter. It is a wonderful instance of God’s providence, that he, an eyewitness, and one who lived and died a Jew, should, especially in so extraordinary a manner, be preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important facts, which so exactly illustrate this glorious prophecy, in almost every circumstance.

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