sustain:if:able kiwi

more lenten resources

A few weeks ago I highlighted some Lent and Holy Week resources. Here are two more:

Tears of lament: “The triumph of life takes place at the edge of death” Jacques Derrida
Running in Highgate, Dunedin, this church are using Lamentations as the basis for creating a “House of Sorrows.” They are wanting people to post prayers and stories of the ‘lament’ in our present world. You are also welcome to send to them a small piece of cloth/rag, which will be placed in their church as part of the House of Sorrows; thus creating an installation that can give voice to lament and be a place for offering prayers of Hope. Sounds a fascinating mix of global prayer and installation and community.

And there is some good thoughts on worship at this New Zealand liturgy site, along with suggested resources through the Church Year, especially useful for those who appreciate words well-used.

missional church and New Zealand

Update: I am exhausted but excited. Excellent day with the Anglicans and serious interest in 3 Dioceses in possibilities around the missional church leadership coaching course being offered in their patch.

The upshot of the Baptist group is a definite commitment to hold a gathering,(Tentative date is July 29-31, 2007), called something like sharpening the edge as an attempt to say “what is God’s mission in New Zealand today” and “what are the lessons we can learn from grassroots missional experiments?” We hope that asking these questions might make us all learners and sharpen both the edges and the existing church in it’s change processes.

The gathering will be Baptist in energy but open to all. It is going to deliberately include non-baptist mission stories.

The hope is an event that become an ongoing conversation. So the event will be based around practioners telling stories and a listening panel of wise heads reflecting feedback on the practioner stories. This listening panel will then stay on for some hours after the event, and further to reflect together on what they heard and the sharp questions raised. All will (dreaming big here) be recorded and podcasted. Thus we will end up with grounded community mission narratives and good missiological reflection. This will generate mission questions, from the lived experience of NZ, which should generate further and ongoing intentional conversations.

More details to follow but if you are interested in a genuine learning conversation about mission in New Zealand today, then pencil in 29-31 July. More details will follow on the blog, or flip me your contact details.

Original blog entry:
I have a most interesting 2 days ahead. Firstly a day in Wellington leading a retreat with the Anglican Ministry Educators Network, who want to know more about emerging church/fresh expressions. Then onto Auckland for half a Thursday to gather with a Baptist group who are wondering about some sort of national New Zealand Baptist missional church gathering. I will be fascinated to work, and walk, between two denominational systems and compare interest, skills and capacities.

missional church resources

Allelon has a revamped website. It includes the new Roxburgh journal; which starts with the question; What is missional Church? which is a podcast interview with me, in relation to Opawa and missional church and change, recorded when Al Roxburgh was here in December.

So, when I asked Steve the question “What do you mean by this term missional church?” he started with a kind of definition then went into stories about the people at Opawa and the ways God was shaping a new imagination for the church out of the narratives of these diverse people. You’ll here the whole story in the Podcast and find some images on this page to help you get a picture of what Steve is up to.

It’s sort of wierd and sort of nice, that of all the places in the world to focus on terms of missional church, Al Roxburgh starts with Opawa. I do need to say however, that Al Roxburgh’s statement about “what Steve is up to” is way over-rated. I was sitting in the shower last week thinking the opposite; that I have no idea what I am up to. And being encouraged that God has a history of being in the chaos and so I am content to therefore be in the midst of that chaos.

Anyhow, check out the revamped site, which also includes Alan Roxburgh interviews with Craig Van Gelder and Pat Keifert.

How did Jesus use the Bible?

We limit not the truth of God, to our poor reach of mind,
by notions of our day and sect, crude, partial, and confined.
The Lord hath yet more light and truth; to break forth from his word.
(Hymn from the 1850’s by George Rawson.)

The Bible is important to Christians, who claim that Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16). And I think of Genesis 2:7 Lord God breathed into adam the breath of life. And of John 20:22, where Jesus breathed on the disciples, the new adams, and they received the Holy Spirit. The Bible as God’s life-giving Words.

The claim that Scripture is God-breathed in 2 Timothy 3:16 is then followed by a statement of what Scripture is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

Which got me thinking about how Jesus used the Bible. Luke 10:25-37 (the Parable of the Good Samaritan) is one of the most well-known Bible passages of all time. So how does Jesus uses the Bible in this passage?

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Lobotomised Christians and the Colonial Cringe of New Zealand: Interview with Steve Taylor

The latest CS Arts magazine is out (March 2007). The magazine is Christchurch produced and aims to resource the arts community from a Christian perspective. The design and layout is always top notch. This edition is called “The Big Picture” and the focus is film. It includes an interview with me; titled “Lobotomised Christians and the Colonial Cringe of New Zealand.” Here is my 2 favourite parts:

“I often think Christians are lobotomised, walking around with heads that have no appreciation of beauty, creativity or image. Art, or engaging with film, reminds us that we are made whole in ‘the image of God. To be authentic disciples, to be a true church, a whole church, we have to have these kinds of discussions.”

and

“The danger for the church is that it thinks it always owns the conversation. Film is a chance for us to listen to someone else’s voice. We need to listen in a way that respects that voice and doesn’t colonise it. That’s the danger of using film. The other danger is it just becomes an illustration of your point. So the use of movie clips in sermons etc. It’s like going to kindergarten, it’s a good start.”

For the entire edition, go here. I am on pages 6 and 7.

UK applause

I wrote an article (3,000 words) last year, titled “Emerging, established or re-emerging?; which explored some theological and ecclesiological themes around the story of our move to Opawa Baptist, and the change processes around the planting of emerging church congregations, using a multi-congregation model, in an established church. It is a mix of storytelling and reflection on the Trinity. It has now published in the UK journal Ministry Today (Edition 38, [Northern Hemisphere] Winter 2006). (You can subscribe on-line to the journal).

They also carried the following review of my Out of Bounds Church? book

The Out of Bounds Church? Learning to Create a community of faith in a culture of change by New Zealand Baptist minister, Steve Taylor, should be essential reading for any one wanting to understand ’emerging church’ for four reasons: first, this is a book by a practioner, who currently runs three forms of ’emerging church’ while pastoring a traditional church in Christchurch. Second, it is a book by a theologian, who has applied academic rigour to doing mission. Third, it is a book by a person very much in touch with the cutting edge of today’s youth culture(s). Fourth, it is by a New Zealander, and, in this reviewer’s opinion, the New Zealand churches are very often ahead of their Western counterparts. Steve Taylor is an extra-ordinarily creative individual, and this is reflected in this book. I found this an unsettling book, for it makes me realise how much my church, along with most churches, is out of touch with contemporary culture … One question which this book leaves me with is this: is ’emerging church’ dependent upon creative individuals such as Steve Taylor?”

What do you think? Is the New Zealand church often ahead of the game? How important are creative individuals for emerging churches? Would this be a good thing, or a bad thing?

can all deeds lead to eternal life

“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

This exchange between Jesus and a lawyer (Luke 10:25-27) should initially trouble those who believe in the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. Consider that in this exchange, eternal life is defined as loving God and loving neighbour. It is a fusion of two Old Testament texts; Dueteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. So on this basis surely a good Jew who follows the Old Testament gains eternal life. And perhaps a good Muslim, who follows God as Allah and enacts charity? And perhaps numbers of my friends, who tend to their own spirituality, often outside the established church, and live generously toward their neighbours. (And often more generously than many churchgoers.)

My ability to seek both a generous orthodoxy and a conviction of the uniqueness of Jesus has, in recent months, been greatly helped by the following quote from Julian of Norwich.

“the atonement is necessary because without it we would only have our own judgements to rely on, and we are notoriously bad at judging both ourselves and others. In the passion, Christ … has shown us that we must trust God’s judgements more than our own … and this teaches us to love God graciously”

The quote reminds me that salvation in Christ includes an objective reality outside our own frames of reference. Jesus teaches us what love of God and neighbour is like. In the face of the uniqueness of Christ, I can only say “God in Jesus, please teach me to love and be loved.” In this cry for help, I enter into the love of the Triune God. My actions become God-filled, an extension not of my own efforts, but of the love of Christ. In the Triune God, I love God and neighbour. I can affirm a generous orthodoxy empowered by the uniqueness of Christ.

would Jesus carry a tract?

Excerpt from Sunday sermon:
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher what do I need to do to get eternal life?” Luke 10:25.

And what does Jesus do? Does he pull out a tract from his back pocket

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Reel spirituality

I read this to start my Reel spirituality class at BCNZ last nite. It was a great night. I’d forgotten how much I loved teaching this class in 2005:

I have a secret. It is deeply personal, so please treat it with respect. This is my secret: God speaks to me in the dark. With my eyes wide open.

“Who are we?” is the question being asked by movies like Sione’s Wedding. “What is wrong?” is the question being asked by Crash or Out of the Blue. “Is there a remedy?” is the question being asked by Shawshank Redemption, The Interpreter or The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

(A piece that I wrote for CS Arts and Touchstone back in December06).

celebrity pastor match: taylor and tamaki

A few weeks ago I was phoned and interviewed by a Christian newspaper about people leaving the church. The article has now appeared. I get the first 2 paragraphs, and am then juxtaposed against TV info-gospel-man Brian Tamaki.

Taylor: “The worst thing we can do is call these people backsliders. It is not the function of the Church to draw these ones back into fellowship, but it is our responsibility to support them.”

Tamaki: “There is no room for the belief that you can be believers outside the Church… How can I watch over them as a pastor if they are not connected to the church? They have no accountability and are susceptible to mistaken versions of the Christian doctrine. They are like lost sheep and we need to have a sense of inclusion, to welcome them back if possible.”

Taylor is very happy to be quoted and juxtaposed against Tamaki (The full article is here).

A Scriptural reflection
The parable of the “searching shepherd” (a better name than Lost Sheep) occurs in two places in Scripture: In Matthew 18:12-14 it is in the context of searching for little ones, those who are struggling because of the actions of Christians believers. In Luke 15:1-7 it is told in the context of the prostitutes and sinners that hang around Jesus. Luke seems more outward focused on the oft-called “non-churched”, Matthew seems more focused on the “dechurched.” Both groups receive the care and support of the searching shepherd.

Practically, at Opawa we support and celebrate a group called Spirited Exchanges, which meets monthly and aims to provide a support for people struggling with church. We also work hard at providing spiritual resources (for example, Lent and Advent art postcards) so that people can be nurtured without having to turn up at church.

Place of technology in our contemporary landscape
The article caused me to ponder the place of technology in our contemporary Christian-scape. Here is a quote from an Ian and Phyllis Ford,who pastorally visit people who feel called out of the structured Church.

“I met a woman in the South Island who had been out of church for seven years, but she radiated Christ,” said Mr Ford. “You can’t tell me it’s impossible to grow in God outside the Sunday church.” He said many people he visited used Radio Rhema’s Word for Today devotional and DVDs to get their spiritual feeding.”

Help me with the logic here: So if you are visited pastorally by a pastor and attend church where you get input from a sermons … you are churched.

But if you are visited pastorally by Mr Ford and get input via sermon on DVD … you are unchurched?

Which leads to a multi-choice quiz for you to answer:
Are the resources of Christian radio being used to
a) sustain believers
b) keep the body of Christ isolated and fragmented
c) both
d) another option.

I wonder if we are seeing the use of technology to liberate practices – sermon listening – from a local, embedded community. 80 years ago you had no DVD and no Christian radio in TV, so was it much harder to survive outside a local, embedded church community? I wonder what the long-term place of embedded relationships will be in our increasingly technology-saturated world. I wonder if Rhema, when it was founded, would have been happy to see their resources used in this way. I wonder, when Steve Taylor produces Lenten and Advent resources, if he is happy to be used in this way?

Thirdly: the practise of a individualised faith
What is the place of the practise of an individualised faith (whether sustaining by lighting a candle in a cathedral or reading blogs or listening to Christian radio or TV), in a Christian understanding of God as Triune and relational? and for being church (ecclesiology)?

lenten resources

Some excellent Lenten resources floating around. Cityside Baptist are offering a digital prayer and art-making process.
Go to their website and you face four choices – a theme, a media, a prayer path, and a recording process. Resources are offered daily, including a Friday special in the form of a creative, lateral stimulus. A digital way of letting people individually create art and engage in prayer through the whole of Lent. Excellent.

Lenten 7-pack; at Opawa (and other participating churches).

Urban seed have 40 creative readings in an attractive, wallet-sized format.

I have blogged in previous years about the personal Lenten value I have gained from Si Smith’s “40“. It’s a CD-Rom with a visual reflection on each of Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness. It can be used for contemplating an image a day for individual preparation; it could be used as one of a number of worship stations; it could be used as a visual meditation in a more established church setting. (There’s an e-interview with the creator here, and again, antipodean’s can buy it from the future church nz website.

Peter Graystone’s Detox your spiritual life in 40 days is a great travelling companion. Aimed at 20’s-30’s, it’s a helpful mix of readings and action steps for each day of Lent. (And great to see that it is coming out in the US, as I have been asked to provide a review for promotional purposes).

A few years ago I used Richard Burridge’s Faith Odyssey; 40 readings that use science fiction to engage the Lenten themes.

out of the blue film review

Here is my latest film review; of the New Zealand film Out of the Blue.

This is the conclusion:
“Out of the Blue” proclaims that there is more to the New Zealand film industry than special effects at Weta Studios. We have Kiwi filmmakers who can tell our stories with style and maturity … Such questions allow the Kiwi story of Aramoana to become a universal story. It allows us to move beyond a well-made docu-drama of courage under fire, to begin to ponder the moral and ethical questions of being human in a society full of metal things “well made.” more.

My other film reviews include;
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada; Inconvenient Truth; Over the Hedge; The Da Vinci Code here; Siones Wedding here; Praire Home Companion here; Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest here; River Queen here; Brokeback Mountain here; Narnia here; Serenity here; The World’s Fastest Indian here; Sedition, a New Zealand film about the fate of conscientious objectors in World War 2, here; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, here

Further film resources:
Film as a point of gospel engagement (PDF).
Film and spirituality web resources.
Why gospel and film?

digestion with choice

di•ges•tion n.
1. The process by which food is converted into substances that can be absorbed and assimilated by the body. It is accomplished in the alimentary canal by the mechanical and enzymatic breakdown of food.
2. Assimilation of ideas or information; understanding.
and;
3. The name of our Sunday evening church service, where we try to “digest/assimilate” following Jesus today.

On Sunday we made a number of changes; and offered Digestion with choice. It involved tightening up what we consider the core tasks of worship; making them shorter and sharper; and then offering options, allowing people to choose the most helpful form of “digestion” for them. In other words…

We start, all together, for about 40 minutes to …
GATHER as a people of God
GIVE in offerings and prayer for the world
HEAR the HOT TEXT of someone’s favourite Bible verse and how it fits into God’s big story
LISTEN to a Scriptural passage – short – sharp – ending with 2 questions (for talkback – see below).
CONNECT through notices

People were then offered a choice: over about 40 minutes they could choose. So on Sunday we offered 3 choices:
TALKBACK; to discuss the Biblical text with preacher, on the sofas in the foyer; a chance to address either of the 2 discussion questions, or any other, in a relaxed setting. Requires no preparation from the preacher (other than usual exegesis), just a willingness to dialogue and some ability to keep a discussion on track. The image is that of radio talkback.
WORSHIP in song: in the auditorium
REFLECTIVE SPACE: for this Sunday the reflective space involved a computer; with continous looping visuals and a 6 minute meditation (words and ambient track). The use of headphones allowed a person to be alone with God.

(Other options we have brainstormed as possible CHOICES for other evenings include communion, serving practically in the community, creative response, labyrinth).

Finishing with supper round 8:15pm. A person walks around each option; offering a benediction to those gathered, and informing them of the location for supper.

Why? After 3 years of Digestion we are recognising that it attracts children, young teens, teenagers, students, workers. So rather than force all ages into a discussion, or a creative response, or singing, why not give them some choice? It also recognises that people digest in different ways and in different rates. It also possibly invites people to be more adult about what they need to digest.

I will keep you updated on how it goes.

a local church bobbing in a heavy sea

I had a fascinating phone conversation with Bernard Walker, from the School of Organisational Leadership and Development at the University of Canterbury. He had been reading my Out of bounds church? book and was making some fascinating connections with current issues facing industrial relations and labour unions. He was after a book reading list for a post-graduate research project, looking for parallels between the literature regarding church involvement and that regarding union membership. It was a most stimulating conversation that I have continued to ponder.

It is easy to get locked into the local church and to then judge mission effectiveness by the rise and fall of a local community. Yet the local church bobs on a cultural sea. Issues, for example, about membership and belonging and commitment and busy life and time-styles are not just local church issues, but are part of larger cultural currents. We ignore these currents at our own peril.

For all of the alarm in Christian literature about the decline of the church, their is as much, if not more alarm, in other voluntary sectors. (Rugby clubs, unions, political party membership lists being just three examples). In fact, some of the emerging church thinking might actually be of help to the future of other groups in society.

And vice versa, for the health of Christianity, we need to be part of inter-disciplinary conversations, talking to other groups in society, learning together.