sustain:if:able kiwi

Subject: Te Waiora Thanksgiving Service

Te Waiora Annual Thanksgiving Service
Sunday, November 6th, 3.00 p.m
St John’s Church, Hororata

Speaker: Steve Taylor
Title: A healing community

how was your day off?

Monday’s are my day off. Normally it’s a discipline I practise well. It starts with a sleep in and a quiet coffee with my wife. Then lunch, often followed by a walk or a movie. Then I try to do something with the kids, either bike riding or making dinner together. Today things were pear-shaped.

7:30 am email with the news of the death of a parishioner
11 am speak at Kingdom Builders on Living the text in a postmodern context.
2 pm conduct the funeral of another parishioner.

All this after a weekend with two services, 7 people attending a membership information morning, another death and the heart attack of a friend, who is now recovering.

I’d appreciate your prayers for a season of uncommonly major pastoral moments.

Song, a poem written by JK Baxter

My love came through the city
And they did not know him
With his beard and his eyes and his gentle hands
For he was a working man

My love stood on the lakeshore
And spoke to the people there
And the fish in the water forgot to swim
And the birds were quiet in the air.

‘Truth’ – he said, and – ‘Love’ – he said,
But his purest word was – ‘Mercy’ –
And the fishermen left their boats and came
To share his poverty.

My love was taken before the judge
And they nailed him on a tree
With his strong face and his long brown hair
And the whiteness of his body.

‘Truth’ – he said, and – ‘Love’ – he said,
But his purest word was – ‘Mercy’ –
And the blood ran down and the sun grew dark
For the lack of his company.

My love was only a working man
And now he is God on high;
I have left my books and my bed and my house,
To follow him till I die.

‘Truth’ – he said, and – ‘Love’ – he said,
But his purest word was – ‘Mercy’ –
Flowers and candles I bring to him
And no man is kinder than he.

: From Collected Poems, edited by Weir, 1980.

and for more on Baxter, one of New Zealand’s finest contextual theologians.

processing my time/space continuum

This week I had three learning institutions enquire about me teaching block courses with them. One was in the US, two were in different places in New Zealand. I held a fourth conversation about some teaching in Australia. I’d love to be doing block courses in different places, and being with students wrestling with life and faith today.

Yet I also have responsibilities as father and husband to three excellent people, pastor of a growing and complex church and lecturer. And some of you like the spare time I put into this blog and some of you also appreciate the time I put into writing.

Does anyone out there have any ideas on how I can manage such requests without over-stretching my time/space continuum?

fat freddys drop live review

Saw Fat Freddy’s Drop live at the Town Hall last nite. I first saw them live in 2003 and loved their unique mix of lanquid songs nourished by phat beats, and the spacious sounds within which are woven a unique blend of vocals to a unique mix of reggae, jazz, even soul. They are one of the best live music bands I have seen.

An opportunity for all my overseas readers to check out some of the best in current Kiwi music. European dates:

(more…)

the real nature of apostolic leadership in a post-Christendom context

times of transition and rapid change require grieving. And there is the key. Women are much better at grieving than are men, who tend to simply amp up the energy.. full speed ahead, damn the torpedos.. we tend to reach higher rather than embrace the call to fall.. to look inside.. to slow down.. to weep. We aren’t good at liminality.

Remember FOTR..Galadriel says that these are the times “when love is now mingled with grief”…

Link

if i had time

If I had time I would write articles on:
: from movements to meme or why movements are an outdated overflow from modernity
: re:mission and Luke 10
: shaping indigenous worship, with particular reference to indigenous spirituality
: the simplicity of attraction vs. incarnation in contrast to the 6 epochs of mission history in the work of david bosch, transforming faith
: the missiology and resources behind a take a kid to faith service.

But I don’t. I have 2 day jobs and it’s hard enough doing that, let alone responding to the email — in the last week requests for advice from
: a denomination
: PhD students
: speaking resources for a ministry in the US
: a request to participate in a virtual seminary.

At times the amount of email generated around this site makes me it all feel unsustainable. Oh, you guessed, didn’t you. Yes it is raining today. But the irony, I’m listening to Lemon Jelly and it’s track 4 – don’t stop now!

written for church newsletter

I write on Friday and the events of the last hours in London have left us shocked and numbed. Once again our world is rocked by a terrible act of violence. It can be hard to know what to say and how to pray.

At such times, when I am looking for words to express my feelings, I turn to the Psalms. There we find prayers for all of life. There are prayers for happy days, when life is good and makes sense and we feel on top of our game (like Psalm 1 or 8 or 133). There are prayers for surprising days, when God turns up in totally unexpected days (like Psalm 40 or 93).

And there are prayers for sad days. At such times, Psalms like 13 or 137 allow us to be honest with God and ourselves, to voice our feelings of hurt, suffering, death and loss. To express our longing for justice and peace.

a bucket for just one day

Today our family is getting all our water by bucket from an outside tap. So are others in the church. It has added a whole new dimension to toileting and washing and drinking. It certainly makes life slower.

While it feels hypocritical doing it for only one day, I have a hunch it will be something our family won’t forget for a while. And it has certainly made me more grateful for water. It’s part of water for life, our annual church and denominational missions focus (for more information go here).

And we’re meeting 4-5:15 pm at the church to Stir the waters – Christians should boycott bottled water, to reflect on how we in the West consume water.

speaking atop 4 video players

So I arrive in Nelson to talk to 20 curates (1st and 2nd year minister’s). All bright-eyed and Anglican. It’s “connecting with film” and so I have armloads of resources; film trailers and videos –
Lord of the Rings
American Beauty
Shawshank Redemption
Rob Bell’s Nooma
Whale Rider
In my Fathers Den –
I insert the 1st video in the video player. Nothing happens.

They find a 2nd video player. Nothing happens. Not even eject. My LOTR is stuck fast forever.

They rush out and return with a 3rd video player. It proceeds to eat Shawshank Redemption and gobble a 2nd copy of LOTR.

This is getting ridiculous. A 4th video arrives. This is placed on top of the other 3 video’s. It’s like a preaching stand. At last, somewhere to place my notes. Even better, at last, a video player that works.

4 video players later, “connecting with film” can really get visual. An unforgettable day.

PS The 4 hour session was videoed. I talked about – different Christian approaches to film – WWJW (what would Jesus watch) – 6 ways to use film in church – getting practical with film church. Drop me a line if you want the DVD (and want to see the 1st ever preaching stand made out of video players!)

can you be my virtual pastor

I like your courage
fueled by the web

but can I?
really?
can I be a virtual pastor
when I can’t see you
I can’t read your body language
know whether your arms are crossed or open
know whether your eyes shift as you talk

can I be a virtual pastor
in the midst of life and family and work
phones and memos and deadlines

but can I?
really?

dedicated to no-one in particular,
so please don’t take it personally

Random stuff

: just read marko’s blog and sort of missing the Nashville emergent convention
: as I type, I’m looking after the kids and Lynne is at church where there’s a creativity workshop going on as part of our norwest pentecost festival. There’s been a week of teaching, live music, cafe coffee, movies and two creativity projects. It’s been a lot of work, with a few nervous moments wondering if anyone would turn up to a new concept, but overall a great week.

Returning to old memories

Tonite I speak to the cell group leaders at Avonhead Baptist Church on the topic: Growing Together. They very graciously allowed me to move the date so I could go to Melbourne.

It feels sort of weird. Firstly, because the Nor-West festival teaching continues. I deliberately wanted a team of teachers. This speaking engagement ensured that would happen; me on Tuesday; Bob Robinson on Wednesday; Lynne on Thursday and Jason hosting each night to give continuity. So I am achieving what I aimed to do, but it is still wierd.

Secondly because the church I am speaking at is the church that sent me to train at seminary. They sent me to learn/grow and now I return to speak.

Thirdly, I am being asked to speak by the Small Groups Pastor, Stephen Jeon. He and his family used to be on team with us at Graceway. Stephen was an intern with us, working on trying to build a ministy with Korean migrants, and integrate them into an alternative.worship community . I learnt an aweful lot from Stephen and Hannah Jeon and their Korean friends.

So there are a fair few memories swirling around me today, as I work through some thoughts from my out of bounds book on Jesus, meals and community, and build on it further by trying to integrate with Myers, Search to Belong.

ground hog day 5 years later

It is wierd being here, at a place I first stayed 5 years ago. It was 1999 and I was wanting to do a PhD. I had wanted to study with John Drane and had written him. Once, but the second time I got no reply. “Busy overseas lecturers” I muttered and went looking elsewhere. No luck. Everywhere I turned I met blockages.

I gave up on doing a PhD. The next day, a letter arrived from the UK. Yep, John Drane. Wondering why I had not replied to his second letter. It turns out that his letter to me got lost in the post. “Useless overseas mail” he was probably muttering.

So it was back on again. I worked to link University of Otago, Mike Riddell, and John Drane.

By another set of (God) coincidences, through Tom Sine, I was invited to be part of a Young Leaders Network (early incarnation of EmergentUS) thing at Seattle, and John and Olive Drane were teaching at Fuller Theological Seminary as John completed McDonaldization of the Church. I could fly through Los Angeles. I could met John and Olive at the Fuller Bookstore and give a lecture at John Drane’s D.Min class.

Afterward, John and Olive and I headed back to the Fuller Guest House and talked. And talked. And talked. Swapping “worship” ideas and stories. John told me that my speaking at the D.Min class was him testing whether it was worth his time to supervise me. I told him I was glad he told me that after, and not before.

5 years later I’m back. So are John and Olive (arriving today) and once again I’m hoping we’ll talk and talk and talk. Ground hog day – 5 years later. Although I now have a PhD.