sustain:if:able kiwi

brian mclaren session 1: spiritual formation: panel

Panel: Murray Robertson, Dave Atkinson from Primal, Jenny McIntosh. They are not experts. They are helping us contextualise and process what Brian is saying and what it means for us.

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brian mclaren session 1: spiritual formation

Opawa Baptist has wifi. So these are notes, what I heard Brian say, [with a few editorial comments by me], as Brian spoke for a day on the topic of spiritual formation. Here is the introductory session.

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brian mclaren session 1

Opawa Baptist has wifi. So these are notes, what I heard Brian say, [with a few editorial comments by me], as Brian spoke for a day on the topic of spiritual formation. First he is talking briefly about the emerging church.

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podcast: emerging church scene in New Zealand06

I’m hoping to interview some of the voices from the emerging church scene here in New Zealand as part of the Brian McLaren weekend. So, let’s see if this works: Download file If it does, it is my first ever podcast. Let me know what you think.

letters from a dying church

The big challenge, in the next few years, will be to develop the stories of those emerging churches that work within existing churches. In the US, we have very few examples of these… Link.

Two and a half years ago it was my intuitive sense that the future would need models not only of emerging church plants, but of transitional churches in which emerging congregations could be birthed as part of existing churches. It was one of the (many) reasons I moved from planting an emerging church called Graceway, to move to an established church, Opawa Baptist, to do this very thing. The above quote suggests I might not perhaps be as mad as many at the time thought.

I did not come with an agenda and have been amazed with some of the things that have emerged; new congregations, new forms of mission and spiritual formation. (for more explanation go here.) As part of the transition, I started a new blog category; “re-imaging at Opawa.” I was stunned to check my archives last month and discover that it now has 114 entries. That’s over 23,000 words.

Three denominations have contacted me recently asking me to share the story. So I’m considering writing some resources, perhaps titled Letters from a dying [Western] church.

1. If you have a question about transitioning a church into postmodernity and seeing emerging churches from within existing churches, drop them in the comments and they might become gist in a “letter.”

2. If you would like to read a draft of each “letter” before it goes public, and so help me shape – theologically, missiologically, practically – each letter, drop me a line and I will be in touch.

3. If you are a publisher who is happy to participate in an shared public domain project, ie you will let me publish the letters on-line and I will let you publish them as a book, email me steve at emergentkiwi dot org dot nz

4. I’m working on a half-time liver, so I am not making any promises about how often these letters will appear. But I suspect there’s enough material lying around for me to start.

mclaren weekend: updated

Things are falling into place nicely for Brian McLaren, this weekend (for more details, go here and it’s still not too late to register ).

– Registrations are update: finished with near 100, which means a good conversation. Update: with a real diversity of church backgrounds which will also greatly “salt” the conversation
– The coffee maker is booked.
– We are having a number of panelists who respond to Brian on the Saturday, as part of the discerning and contextualising process. The panelists have gelled into a really nice mix that includes young, women, lay, alongside the usual respected leader names.

Here is an outline of some of the workshops for the Sunday afternoon;

How much Spirit has the emerging church got? (Steve Graham): A look at the questions Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and the emerging church might have for each other over what it means to be people of the Spirit eg the place of congregational singing in worship, ecstatic gifts in services, divine creativity, seekers’ ‘initiation’ into the dynamics of the Spirit

The Art of Curating Worship (Mark Pierson): seeing worship as an art form to be curated rather than a list of boxes to be filled.

A café church spirituality (Lynne Taylor): two stories of emergence, of different groups engaging with our world in different ways… with common themes.

Update: Spirited Exchanges (Jenny McIntosh and Elizabeth Taylor): Spirited Exchanges is something for people who are struggling to find a “place” at church – who have been wounded or hurt by church or it’s leaders, who are asking questions but not necessarily finding answers. We want to create a regular place where people can come and air their doubts, share their story, and find acceptance, not judgement. This is a double workshop that includes exploration and then the running of an actual Spirited Exchanges. Ideally people would attend both.

Update: Emerging Workplace Spirituality (Alistair McKenzie): Emerging church can easily just focus on doing things differently when we gather together. If we continue to think that church is something we come to, then we will fail to realise our potential for being the church God sends out into the world to work in partnership there. What sort of spirituality will support the ministry of all God’s people the other six days?

Other workshops include public artistic mission and a book club discussion of McLaren’s “a generous orthodoxy” and Taylor’s “out of bounds church?” (authors not necessarily present).

half time steve

Thank you for all your prayers and messages of support. I am feeling better. I am planning to work half-days this week, gradually easing back in and seeing how the body responds.

I have found the lectionary readings of great comfort, particularly the phrase in Genesis 31:6 Jacob saying to God; You know that I have worked with all of my strength. God knows my heart, my boundaries, my personal disciplines, even when this involves me walking with a limp (Genesis 32).

I have been suffering from stomach pains, nausea and vomiting since Monday. Blood tests show I have a viral liver infection. The cause is a mystery, as there is no sign of hepatitis, no symptoms of glandular fever, and no track record of drug or alcohol abuse. The doctors advice is to rest and see what happens. So I am will be away from this blog under doctor’s orders!

using blogs for on-line seminary learning

leadership-bcnz blog;

I’ve just set up the blog home page for a course I am teaching this semester; Pastoral Leadership and Management. As part of the assessment, every student will be expected to set up a blog in which they record their weekly readings and reflections. Some students assessment will also include offering comments (critical engagement) with their peers. Here’s the methodology blurb:

Using on-line blogs is designed to enhance the student learning experience, by allowing them to interact with each other outside the classroom. It means that critical student reading is no longer a conversation between lecturer and student, but becomes a class conversation. Using blogs has the further benefit of introducing students to new technologies and enhancing their communication options, an essential leadership skill.

It’s new for all of us, so it will be interesting to see how it develops and what students make of it come “Lecturer evaluation” time at the end of June.

For the course outline download here

narnia film review

Here’s my latest film review: of Narnia. I am especially proud of this one because it is the first film review I have co-authored with my daughter.

Eight-year old Shannon is a Narnia nut, so I asked if she was willing to co-review the movie with me. She took the job ever so seriously; sitting beside me with pen and paper, contributing sentences, telling me I was too complicated, giggling at good word phrases. In return, I shared the film reviewers fee with her. Her first paid writing gig aged 8!

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; A film review by S and S Taylor.

Equipped with pencil, pad and probing review questions, eight year old Shannon Taylor took her father, Steve, to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The following film review is a family affair.” for more

This review is another of the monthly reviews I do for Touchstone magazine and are reprinted here with their permission. Other reviews include;

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

I have just completed a film review of Brokebank Mountain; and that will go up in a month (as per my web agreement with my paper-based client).

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

passionate practices

We are passionate; God is passionate; The task of being Christian is to connect our passions with the passions of God – these are the words which are forming and re-forming Digestion, our evening service.

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spirituality resources

Here are some resources that I’m currently using and recommending.

Visions in York were a key spark in my creative journey. Back in 1995 I heard about, and then saw, pictures of their worship which featured 16 slide projectors making these most amazing visual wallpapers. And I suddenly realised what it could mean to worship God not only through my voice and my ears, but through my eyes. Here were ways to love God wholistically; body, mind and soul. Loops 2 is a collection of 50 of their digital video loops, supplied on CD-ROM in QuickTime (.mov) format, for Macs and PCs. (Antipodean’s can buy it from the future church nz website, rather than pay for shipping from the UK).

With Lent around the corner, I’m preparing to use 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.

And two books that have resourced my recent Lent journey’s;
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.

Last year I used Richard Burridge’s Faith Odyssey; 40 readings that use science fiction to engage the Lenten themes. I’m not a sci-fi groupie, so I found Faith Odyssey an accessible entry to the world of Trekkies and Wokkies. It helped my preaching, my reflection on pop culture and my Lenten spiritual journey.

spiritual formation in contempory contexts

Last night we held a Life Party in the foyer at Opawa Baptist. 25 people gathering to sip on lattes and sparkling grapejuice, to hear stories around Growth Coaching, and to leave cheese and biscuit crumbs on the carpet.

For the last 18 months I have been part of developing Growth Coaching. Most spiritual formation is book and programmed based; you take a course that is full of words. The content tends to expose a narrow understanding of spirituality. Turn up 2 weeks late and you have to wait for next time.

Growth coaching is one-on-one spiritual partnership. I wanted something that breathed of life to the full. It had to be relational. It had to encourage whole of life development. It had to be creatively adaptive, suitable for all types of learners, not just book-focused people. It had to be accessible, easy to enter, no matter where you where or when you turned up.

The first meeting involves a self-audit; 99 questions which are designed to enable a person to reflect on the whole of their life.

In a second meeting, a Growth Coach, having listened and prayed, tentatively offers a vision of a new future. If this vision resonates, then together a path forward is planned. Accountability steps and a timeline are inserted. This could include naming an “encourager”, a cheer leader type, who is invited to text, email or phone support. Each programme is tailored and unique.

Theologically this approach believes in the imago dei, that the image of God is inside humans. It believes in the Spirit to cause growth. It values the relational community, God at work through human partnerships.

At the Life Party last night we heard stories of how Growth coaching has grown people. Stories were shared; of love poems written to spouses and new ways of being spiritual and peacefully centred at work, of the courage to grow and the unpredictable Spirit at work. In a world of cynicism, last night was a rare privilege.

The Life Party will hopefully become an annual event at Opawa, a chance to celebrate growth. Growth Coaching is now one year old. We have trained 8 Coaches over a 8 week period and seen 8 people Growth coached. Last night 4 more people enquired about being trained as a Growth Coach and 5-8 others enquired about being Growth coached.

For a sermon on a biblical narrative of growth coaching (Luke 1:39-45) go here:

For an newspaper article on Growth Coaching, go here.

my dad can walk again

My dad came home from hospital on Wednesday. His legs started moving again. No one is quite sure why. The most likely scenario is that this was a multiple sclerosis “flare up.” At other times he’s developed double vision or been unable to pick things up, and then within a few days the problem has cleared.

Thanks to all who prayed and sent messages of support. It’s nice to be a kid with a dad who can walk, even if the gait is wobbly.