sustain:if:able kiwi

the 2010 year that was: visually

Here’s the 2010 year as a visual. Since I tend to words rather than visuals, I will simply leave the visual image for a day or two, and see if any interpretations emerge!

(The spark came from here. The comment was made that a useful tool for change leaders, going into a new group, is to use a mindmap to set the agenda, rather than a bullet point list. Frameworks for discussion are still provided by the mindmap, an overview is offered, but the new group tend to be more empowered to shape the discussion, as they can choose what to talk about and in what order. I thought it a great idea and used it toward the end of last year, to positive effect).

summer holiday walking

Pacific Outlook, 541 metres above Kaikoura Coast. The 1 hour 20 minutes was one-way not two-way! Kids very unimpressed.

Waikuku Beach, with energetic cousins and a rugby ball.

Lake Ellesmere/Lower Selwyn Hutts on a calm, peaceful evening.

Wellington waterfront, on coffee hunt since Caffe L’affare closed for renovations.

Waiohine River just out of Greytown, while waiting for baked potatoes to cook.

Martinborough vineyards on hunt for high quality pinot noir, only to discover a delightful Ata Rangi rose.

history and praxis of the emerging church in New Zealand

I’ve just sent off another book chapter, 3,600 words, on the history and praxis of the emerging church in New Zealand. I define the emerging church fairly broadly, as

experimental innovation that seeks to take forward the mission of God. It assumes a missional pneumatology, in which experimental innovation occurs in response to the Wind of the Spirit, who blows inside and outside the fences of church and culture

Kiwi listeners will hear echoes in the last sentence of Baxter’s Song to the Spirit, and I quote selections from the poem throughout the chapter in an attempt to provide a contextually Kiwi feel.

This is part of my conclusion:

In this chapter five expressions of the emerging church in New Zealand have been explored. In making waves, through Spirited Exchanges, in offering faith on-line, through house churches and in installation art, there has been a history of innovation, along with a challenge to existing church structures regarding their ability to engage in effective partnership with experimental mission.  A number of stories, clustered around themes of worship, community, mission and leadership, have also been told. Together these stories suggest that the emerging church in New Zealand has neither accepted the cultural quo nor chosen to become an alternative sub-culture. Rather, it has sought culture-making transformation, whether of the internet, or of city squares, or of networks, or among the urban poor.

This, as with all missionary encounters, raises the vital question as to “faithful transmission” as the Word seeks to become flesh in ever-changing cultures. In New Zealand, such a mission question becomes specific around the challenge of dwelling Incarnationally among “postmodern cultures” of choice.

It is for a book in honour of Eddie Gibbs, of Fuller fame, which surveys the emerging church around the globe. Given that US-centric nature of so much “emergent” stuff, the concept of the book is a wonderful breath of fresh air.

It brings to seven the pieces I’ve submitted for publication in this calendar year. An encouraging note on which to finish, despite all the changes and dislocation of the year past. As with all things being published, the act of submitting, simply means I’ve done what I can and it’s now in the hands of editors and publishers. Which is never guaranteed, especially in the current fiscal climate! Still, it’s good to be able to do what I can. For those interested, the seven pieces are (more…)

a year apart = relational summer times

We’re having a great time catching up with friends and family. A year apart means pain and laughter, changes and sameness.

It’s so good to be home, among Kiwi accents, with people who know us, know our back story, share our sense of humour, have travelled some miles.

heading home

Much excitement in the Taylor household, as we head back to New Zealand today. Back to family, friends and all that is familiar. Back to our “spot” (beach house/bach/holiday house). Back to see our new born niece. We are in New Zealand for about a month, which is mainly holiday, but I also have a week of study leave in which I need to complete 2 pieces of writing.

One is a chapter for a book in honour of Eddie Gibbs of Fuller Theological Seminary. It is a global missions perspective on the emerging church/fresh expressions and I’m writing a chapter on the emerging church in New Zealand.

The other writing task is to write up for a book the paper I gave in Sydney in July: When non-priests pray: A conversation between Sarah Coakley and Bono Vox regarding incorporative pneumatology and priestly prayer.

Which means I’ve had to pack thinking about what books I might need for 2 quite diverse writing projects, all the while juggling clothes (will we need more for a Kiwi summer than an Australian summer?) and bottles of Aussie red for friends and family!

Which also means that blog posting could be less regular in the next weeks, both because of less internet access and because of that glorious gift – summer holidays!

It’s been a long, lonely, tough year. Bring on those holidays.

the craft of work? a theology getting me out of bed

This is another entry in the dictionary of everyday contemporary spirituality: W for the craft of work

I picked up philosopher, Richard Sennett’s book The Craftsman a few weeks ago. It was the embossed pencils that made up the book cover that caught my eye …

And then I checked the back and a whole lot of things clicked in my head. The book explores craftsmanship, the desire to do a job well, for it’s own sake and suggests this as a template for living.

• craft as technique. Not mindless procedure, but the cultures in which we might flourish
• craft as a unique and individual blend of skill, commitment and judgment
• craft as the aligning of head and heart, intuition and intelligence, history and innovation

Which got me thinking about what gets me out of bed and how I approach work. When I mark an essay, it can be a burden. But could it be something to craft – through the assignments I set, the comments I make, the best practice examples I provide, the clarity of my responses.

When I teach, it can be stress of preparation. Or it can be the entering of sacred space, those moments of learning that will be unique to this moment and this group.

When I seek to innovate within academic structures, to implement new pioneer ministry/social entrepreneurial training options (details any day now) or to create a missional masters , it can be the drudgery of administration, or search for clarity around best practice.

When I meet with a post-graduate student, it can be an appointment. Or an attempt to craft a unique learning experience, to co-operate with what God has already been doing in a person’s life, the discernment of discipleship as God’s spirit shapes and moulds.

When I start researching, it is a craft honed by others into which I enter. As I write, it is a deadline. Or the time to bring vague thoughts into communicative life through the craft of concrete black and white shapes, to hone the tools of grammar and punctuation to make plain my flights of fancy.

Such is craft.

Theologically, this links with Robert Banks book, God the Worker: Journeys Into the Mind, Heart and Imagination of God. He suggests that God is a musician and a composer, a designer and a garment maker, an architect and builder, a crafter and an artisan. (I’ve been part of writing more on this here).

And humans are made in the image of God the Crafter.

To be honest, the workload this year has at times nearly consumed me. New job, new responsibilities, new culture – so many adjustments. It’s been too easy to view work as draining.

Work as craft. It provides a different way to approach the day and the desk, the week and the workload.

my plan for the weekend

going bush 🙂

new book release: Bible in/and Popular culture: a creative encounter

I have a book chapter in a new release, out this month. Titled The Bible in/and Popular culture: a creative encounter, it is an exploration of how the Bible reads pop.culture – and how pop.culture reads the Bible. (Available for purchase on Amazon or SBL). Given that pop.culture is the world that most of us now swim, it’s (IMHO) a pretty important area to be researching and writing in.

A lot of writing has done on the Bible and film. This book charts a different path and focuses on areas including the Bible and other popular media like hip-hop, graphic novels, animated TV cartoons, apocalyptic fantasy. Mine is a chapter on Bro-town, an animated TV cartoon, set in Pacifica urban culture. The title is “Reading “pop-wise”: the very fine art of “making do” when reading the Bible in bro’Town.”

Updated: By request, here is the full list of contributors
Introduction by Elaine M. Wainwright

Some Novel Remarks about Popular Culture and Religion: Salman Rushdie and the Adaptation of Sacred Texts by Michael J. Gilmour

Red Dirt God: Divine Silence and the Search for Transcendent Beauty in the Music of Emmylou Harris by Mark McEntire

“Here, There, and Everywhere”: Images of Jesus in American Popular Culture by Dan W. Clanton Jr.

’Tis a Pity She’s (Still) a Whore: Popular Music’s Ambivalent Resistance to the Reclamation of Mary Magdalene by Philip Culbertson

Spittin’, Cursin’, and Outin’: Hip-Hop Apocalypse in the Imperial Necropolis by Jim Perkinson
The Bible and Reggae: Liberation or Subjugation? by Noel Leo Erskine

Help Me Make It through the Night”: Narrating Class and Country Music in the Theology of Paul by Tex Sample

Jesus of the Moon: Nick Cave’s Christology by Roland Boer

Prophetic Voices in Graphic Novels: The “Comic and Tragic Vision” of Apocalyptic Rhetoric in Kingdom Come and Watchmen by Terry Ray Clark

Reading “Pop-Wise”: The Very Fine Art of “Making Do” When Reading the Bible in bro’Town by Steve Taylor

Daemons and Angels: The End of the World According to Philip Pullman by Tina Pippin

Close Encounters: The Bible as Pre-Text in Popular Culture by Laura Copier, Jaap Kooijman, and Caroline Vander Stichele

Pop Scripture: Creating Small Spaces for Social Change by Erin Runions

Personally, career-wise, I am pretty stoked. The publisher is the Society of Biblical Literature, which is the oldest (1880) and largest (8,500 members) international scholarly organization in the field of biblical studies, so it’s neat that first, they are publishing in this area and second, for me to have work published in such a place.

NB 1. One of the talks I gave at Spurgeons College in September drew on this.
NB 2. For a description of my method and some of the resources I used, go here.

a cyber blessing

At the end of a busy day, a lovely cyber blessing

thanks, Steve 🙂
The way you give away your resources is both a blessing and a model to others.

May you know God with you, and carry his presence in the world to all you meet, today.

from here

Dear Jack Johnson

Email just sent to Jack Johnson

Dear Jack,

We are writing to you to thank you for your song Banana Pancakes, from your 2005 album Between Dreams.

It has been a constant soundtrack to our lives as a Taylor family. Today, after being away touring in the UK for 10 days, and then storytelling at a weekend camp, I awoke to the song. Our ten year old was up, setting the table, shaking the pancake mix and playing your song.

I’ll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it’s the weekend now

It was a lovely moment.

We suddenly realised that you have no idea of the way your music enhances our lives, so wanted to write and thankyou. If you are ever in Adelaide, we would love to make you banana pancakes for breakfast,

The Taylor family

a year ago: reflections on trans tasman crossings

It was during these September days a year ago that the Taylor family made public what was an enormously difficult decision, that of a transition to Australia: Baptist-on-loan; Kiwi-in-exile! It was a decision we’d been processing in a range of ways since May of 2009, with wise friends, with family, with Church Board, with spiritual directors.

It lead to a year of goodbyes and hellos, of last things and first things. A year shaped forever by the welcome to Australia teaching load that greeted me. To use gardening metaphors, of cutting roots and transplanting trees, of watering, watering, watering, watering in dry Aussie soils, of seeing first signs of new shoots. Of accents across denominations and countries.

We’re still taking root and as part of that it seems important to note the anniversary. To look back over the guidance and the dreams and the needs. All of the Taylors are looking forward – to a year when energy can go into simply dwelling, and not simply surviving through the summer heat of transplanting.

breathing slow in a world heritage centre

Today (Sunday UK) was a day off after a pretty hectic week. On Monday I was lecturing two classes in Adelaide, by Saturday I had spoken five different times between London and Durham. All the talks went well, with some really interesting interaction, which I personally found stimulating and thought provoking. Big thanks to all those who came.

I’ve enjoyed meeting some new folk, and re-meeting some old folk (including Jonny Baker, Pete Ward, Graham Cray, Olive and John Drane (here’s their forgotten blog). I’m still trying to gather my thoughts on the Evaluating Fresh Expressions conference, which I might post at a later date. Certainly some thought provoking papers, and to be honest, I came away with a few unsettling questions.

In the meantime, I’m wandering Durham, trying to pinch myself that I get to play tourist for just one day in what, I discovered when I arrived, is a World Heritage Centre! A highlight was joining Elvet North Road Methodist for gathered worship and to experience some alt.worship type stations, expertly linked to the rest of the service, offering movement and a variety of tactile ways to pray. Amazing to see the influences of alt.worship being played out in such Sunday by Sunday worship contexts.

UK road trip Thursday

so much seen, so little time to blog …

my 3 lectures at Spurgeons seem to go very well. Lots of interaction, good questions, good engagement. When you’re a Kiwi kid growing up Baptist, Spurgeons is a bit like Mecca. So it was a pretty big thrill to be able to be part of their learning community for a few days and to sense the global mission heartbeat in their post-graduate offerings.

today was a day off, which I spent at the Tate Modern and National Art Gallery, before meeting up with Jonny Baker at the UK launch of Sweet Innovations. Great to finally meet Shannon Hopkins and be part of her social entrepreneurship. Great Kingdom vision.

train to Durham tomorrow, but for now I need to sleep (still a bit jet-lagged)

so much seen, so little time to blog …

made it

heathrow express has free wifi, so while I roll to Paddington a brief post to say I made it; with good flights, including two 5 hour blocks of sleep. 24 hours is a long way and it’s nice to be back in England.

now to find my way to Spurgeons College …