Spiritual Discipline

I have been challenged recently by my understanding of what spiritual discipline is.  The word discipline itself is a loaded term that induces a number of feelings for all of us that are often negative.  Parents need to ‘discipline’ their children, young people need more ‘discipline’.  The discipline I received from my parents is not the fondest childhood memory I have and I doubt it is yours.

Is it possible that there is a far more positive perspective regarding discipline that is lost in our understanding of the term negatively?  Is there something about ‘intentionality’ in discipline?  It is often not the most comfortable experience when your parents are disciplining you, whatever form that might take, BUT these are often the times of life that see significant growth and allow us to learn.  Parents usually discipline children with the intention of facilitating learning – a difficult action in the present preparing the child for the future.

As we grow and mature we all need self-discipline, the ability to manage our time ourselves and ensure that we get all we need completed.  This is a different sort of discipline, but is it connected to our understanding of parental discipline.  Now, allow me if you will to transfer these thoughts to spiritual discipline.  This being a disciplined action that at the time can seem to be unattractive, boring, dull, frustrating, difficult and yet in the longer term has our best interests, our learning and our lives at its heart.  I find it hard to be disciplined and to read my bible every day because God doesn’t always speak to me through scripture ‘in the moment’.  However, scripture I have read weeks before has equipped me to handle situations that I could not have anticipated previously.

Some of the questions I am pondering at the moment include;

Does spiritual discipline just concern scripture, prayer and dialogue with God, or is there more to it?
Where does professional development fit?
Is there a role for discipline in youth work?
Is it mere coincidence that discipline and discipling are so similar you might confuse the two?

Keynsham Parish Website

As part of my new role I have invested a considerable amount of time in developing the church website.  The previous site was lacking in content, but the new website, powered by church edit is a similar format to Microsoft Word and WordPress and so inputting information is simple.

We have had an exciting month as I have begun my ‘new’ role – significant investment in the youth ministry is planned and as we seek to follow God’s vision for the town of Keynsham it is an exciting time to be involved in things.

I have also invested a significant degree of time in developing an annual plan for the youth work.  It might seem like a heavy document (and it is) but it is an important indicator of the direction and vision of the ministry.  It also offers some ideas of ‘measuring’ the effectiveness and success of the youth work.  I struggle with the notion of success – Jesus didn’t ever speak of success, but he did speak of faithfulness in love.  Guillebaud argues that ‘this is the only success that really counts’ (Guillebaud, 2006, For what it’s worth, pg.185).

I was challenged at my graduation by Rachel Gardner of Romance Academy’s address, where she spoke from 1 Corinthians 13 stating clearly that without love, anything that we do is pointless.  I wonder how much of my work and calling are related to the desire to be effective and professional and how much is motivated by sheer love for the people I work with and for.  Love isn’t something many male youth workers (in my opinion) are comfortable with, the idea of ‘loving young people’ is tinged with the unfortunate but inevitable questions that are asked about the motivation of a man in youth work.  I do love the young people I work with, but sometimes I have to question if that is at the heart of my actions.  Love does have to hold another to account, to state those things others won’t and to challenge the recipients of the love.  Love is not about being a doormat.

While my annual plan (that is available on the church website) is a document that offers different methods for measuring the work, I would much rather be remembered as a youth worker who was faithful to the call of God on his life than one who was able to design and implement impressive programmes and activities - and if that means working with a small number of young people effectively and faithfully for a period of time, then that to me, will be success.

Another Return

After a while away, I have been encouraged by a number of people to blog again, so with no promises of the frequency of posts I am going to try and get things going again.

A lot has happened since my last blog.  I am now 197 days from marrying Sarah, which is exciting and terrifying in equal measure.  Exciting because it is the next transition stage of my life, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.  But it is also terrifying that the time is ticking past so fast and it feels as though we have so much left to plan and organise!

Youth Group, Keynsham

I have also got a job.  I am the full time youth worker at St John the Baptist Church, Keynsham.  This is a real delight to me and while the level and intensity of work is mad, I am loving it. The transition from part time student to full time staff member has not been without difficulty, but there has been a real sense of God working in my life for His glory. The financial side of this also helps with the wedding!

Sarah has started working for the ‘Audit Commission’ and has spent much of the last five weeks in Birmingham studying the CIPFA qualification.

 

Graduating

 I also had my ‘first class’ degree confirmed and on Tuesday (October 13th) of this last week I graduated.  That was a fantastic day that I was able to share with Sarah and my parents, and it simply made me realise how much  their  support (although I didn’t always recognise it at the time) was essential to my success.  I am also grateful to all at my placement who were patient and graciously responded to me when I was learning.  I am excited to learn more as I journey into the future, I am sure the learning and the challenge doesn’t stop here…!

My Second Sermon – The Growing Seed

A transcipt of this sermon.

*WARNING – This is another long post*

Lord God, take my words and use them for your glory this morning. Amen. Please do be seated. Good Morning! It’s a real privilege to have been invited to speak for a second time. People often say it is harder to speak the second time than the first because people have expectations of you that they didn’t have before, good and bad. I was interested to note that having worked on the rota together, both the Rector and Music Director have chosen to take this weekend as holiday, mere coincidence. I’ll leave you to wonder?!

I would like to focus this morning on our gospel reading, and in particular verses 26-29, which you will find on page 1006 of the PEW BIBLES. You may like to have this open in front of you. (PAUSE to allow people to find the reading).

‘The Parable of the Growing Seed’ is a passage that I would suggest is often neglected. It is sandwiched between Jesus’ question concerning a lamp on a stand and the generally better known parable of the mustard seed. In order to consider this short passage effectively I believe that our understanding of ‘parables’, what they are and why Jesus used them is essential in helping us interpret the message and more importantly take action because of it.

Now many of you may be thinking, I know what a parable is, it is a simple story, or it’s a story used to simplify a complex message or it is a basic everyday picture used to explain an important lesson, and these are each good understandings. However, I would dare to take this further. I believe that a parable is in essence a question. It asks people to consider their current understanding and reflect on this. It allows people from all levels of faith to engage from their unique entry point to the story. It is a question that enables us as God’s people to journey, individually and together, seeking an answer and an understanding that to continue the metaphor from the parable itself, enables us to grow. This necessitates that we engage in a process that not only answers the ‘question’, but involves active participation in the story.

Jesus invites us into the story today in the same way he invited those listening to him 2000 years ago. It is by getting inside the story, using the knowledge that we have about the world as a gateway, that we can begin to develop our understanding. And Jesus will always challenge us. You see. To me, ‘Jesus is a man who answers our questions, and questions our answers’. I will say that again, ‘Jesus is a man who answers our questions, and questions our answers’. A parable is one method Jesus uses to do this, even here today. Jesus helps us find the truth by creatively answering the questions we have, questioning our current understanding in the process and challenging what we think and believe.

Now for me, a helpful illustration to understand parables is provided by Tom Wright and involves thinking about singing in a choir. When you audition for a choir, the director will often ask you to pick notes out of a chord. A chord of three, four, five notes that make a great sound when sung together, but can you identify each note and sing it in turn? This is a great test, especially if you can’t sing. If you are a Soprano or Bass you are usually fine because you pick the top or bottom note, it is the inner notes that are problematic. Ask a Bass to pick out a tenor note and you are in real trouble! Isn’t that right choir? I would give you a vocal demonstration, but it would not be pleasant for your ears!

The point I am trying to make is parables are layered and that sometimes we need to be able to identify each of the aspects that build the story. When we can recognise the layers, both individually and together, we are able to understand the richness of the message contained within them. When this happens it is as natural and beautiful as an exceptionally crafted and intricate piece of music. But to achieve this we need a considerable level of knowledge and skill.

So let’s briefly examine the chord that is ‘the parable of the growing seed’ together. At the heart of this ‘chord’ is the understanding that the seed grows in secret. This seems straightforward, it is underground, and we can’t see it. But if we look at two of the notes that make the chord we can see that Jesus very subtly links to the Old Testament scriptures and looks forward to the coming of the Kingdom of God.

So, let’s firstly consider the link Jesus makes to Old Testament scripture;

Verse 29 states ‘As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’

Here, Jesus is quoting from the book of Joel (Chp3:Verse13). Joel is a book speaking of the coming Day of the Lord, a day where God will restore Israel and judge the surrounding nations. Jesus is saying that judgement is on the way, but that it will look different to what they imagine and they may not recognise it, just as they did not recognise Him as their Messiah.

The second note that helps us to more fully understand the parable comes in verse 27

‘Night and Day whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows’.

The word used in the original manuscripts for ‘get up’ is the same as that used for ‘resurrection’. The resurrection is central to understanding the Kingdom of God. However, the resurrection that Jesus’ listeners would understand would have been the restoration or resurrection of Israel, rather than individual ‘life after death’ resurrection as we might understand. Jesus’ ministry did not seem to indicate that He was the man Israel had been waiting for. Is it possible that our own witness leaves the people we meet feeling similarly lost? Do we give people the impression that Jesus is the man they are waiting for?

A totally different interpretation of the parable might suggest that we do not have to do much since God does the work. BUT, we have to do something, and even our smallest actions can have a huge effect. Remember God is a supreme multiplier, feeding 5000 people from five loaves and two fish and as we have heard today, nurturing faith from the smallest of seeds, the mustard seed. Planting the seed is not the most arduous task of a gardener, in fact it is often the most enjoyable, exciting AND importantly the most essential for growth. The same can be true for us when sowing the seeds of the gospel in people’s lives. It should be enjoyable, exciting, and is ESSENTIAL.

There are simply some things we as humans are unable to understand and this isn’t a bad thing, since if we can understand everything about God we have replaced him with ourselves! We need to have trust and patience at these times, characteristics that are difficult to practice, but that lead to great reward and ultimately revealed understanding. We don’t always have to understand for things to happen. Simply because we don’t understand how a seed ‘grows’ doesn’t stop it from growing. I don’t understand the mechanics of a car, or how emails travel through a telephone cable and appear on a screen, but this doesn’t stop them working and similarly the kingdom of God impacting hearts and lives happens around us even though we do not always recognise or understand it.

This perspective and contentment in our ignorance is totally alien to the society we live in. When the Air France plane disappeared at sea two weeks ago, the first thing that the media and the public wanted to know was why it had happened? What had made it happen? When news that the black box recording events may never be found and that we may never know what had happened to cause the crash, there was an even greater sense of confusion and concern than the initial news had brought! As a society we want to understand and we want answers, to be unable to understand is a problem. Jesus’ parable shows us that there are things that happen in the world that we do not understand and that we might never know. I find it interesting that in the 2000 years since Jesus told this parable, despite all manner of scientific developments, we are still no nearer to understanding how a seed grows and what happens under the ground, and we are similarly no nearer to understanding how God works in each of us growing our faith. He simply does.

However, there is a huge difference between seeking to ‘understand’ this parable and subsequently putting it into action. How can we use this teaching to help our lives? The Apostle Paul helps us, when he writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 6-7.

1 Cor 3:6-7 “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow”

This not only points towards our role as tools for God to use, but shows that different people take on different roles at different times and MORE, neither Paul nor Apollos is central to the process, neither you or I are central to the process, God is at the centre.

Depending on the circumstances sometimes we plant, sometimes we water, sometimes we harvest. This is at the heart of EVERYONES ministry. From my perspective, I see it with young people, in some we are planting, in some we are watering and in others we are harvesting; if you look at the young people and indeed people of any age that you know, you can probably identify these stages in individuals. Let’s also never forget that this is a cycle, and when a plant bears fruit, you don’t suddenly stop watering it and nurturing it. The same is true of our faith.

Baptism can ultimately be seen as a planting of the seed, with the commitment to ‘watering’, both from the parents and godparents AND from the church community. While for some people this honour can seem overwhelming it is important to remember that we are called to work alongside God. It is God who makes things grow. Baptism vows, particularly when made on behalf of young children offer a unique picture of our role in introducing someone to Jesus. The commitments we make as a CHURCH and as individuals in baptism can offer a framework we can use when introducing someone to the love of God, committing over a longer period of time to nurturing and guiding them.

Many people can see their role in nurturing baptised children, but find it hard to see themselves as ‘evangelists’ and I include myself in this. But, different characteristics in individuals are not barriers, they are gifts. I am naturally an introvert. I find standing here incredibly difficult, you may not realise it (or it may be really obvious) but it is often when we are doing the things that we find incredibly difficult that God is really able to work through us, and so when we feel led to share about our faith God will guide us. God will use each of us, often in ways we least expect, to further his Kingdom, perhaps the only barrier to effectively doing this is not our faith in God, but our faith in ourselves; perhaps the only barrier to effectively sowing the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the hearts of our non-believing friends is not our faith in God, but our faith in ourselves. Surely, in order to serve God we MUST recognise that He has given us the tools to work alongside Him.

You are probably all thinking that this is all well and good, but how do we actually put it into practice. Well, I have three ideas; in typical fashion each beginning with the letter L that I think can help us.

The first is listening – God is in charge – listen to him and His Spirit constantly. Never underestimate His power working in you, transforming you and using you to help transform others. We must also be sowing seeds in our own lives if we expect God to use us. Pray that He might provide opportunities for you to use the gifts he has given you allowing others to glimpse His love for them in the process.

Listen also to people. It is often more important to listen than it is to speak, timing is essential as there are times when we are all more open, and times when we simply want to be listened to. God uses all these occasions to work through His people; nothing is ever wasted. It is in listening to others that we are able to journey to new places, places that neither we nor they have been before, trusting in God. Listening.

The second is Lifestyle – We need to be seen to be different, so people are intrigued and ask us questions. This has never been more apparent than now, where in finance and politics people are searching for alternative (and better) ways of understanding life. The way we live shows what is important to us. In my opinion, our responses are more effective in one-to-one relationships and when we are asked, rather than when we launch straight in. It is here that God’s Spirit works in us, providing us with the answers to these questions. That is lifestyle.

The third is Love – We must love people and we must love God – it is at the heart of our calling as disciples. Love will help us with our Listening and Lifestyle.

Ultimately, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer recognised ‘no man builds the church; we must proclaim…He (God) builds’. Knowing this we are able to listen, live and love in freedom and play our unique part in God’s plan.

So as I finish now, I hope you were all given an envelope when you came in. If you would like to, take your envelope now and open it. Inside you will find a broad bean seed. This is to remind us of what we have heard today and how important it is to sow seeds through the things we do and say – and to actively look for and take the opportunities God gives us to say and do things for HIM.

Keep it in bag/pocket/wallet, or somewhere you’ll see it to remind you of today and the message to Listen, Live and Love in a way that leads others to God.

My prayer for us all, and if you would be so kind as to pray it for me too, is that we might remember that Jesus longs to teach us, answer our questions and ask us new ones, that we are tools for God to use, partners in the development of His church and that we are all called to share the news of Jesus’ love through listening, loving and living in ways that direct others to Him. AMEN.

Introverted Sensing with Extraverted Thinking

As part of my final days of college I completed a significantly reduced Myers Briggs assessment and I began to wonder what was the benefit of this test?  I felt at the time that it was useful, but why?  I think that the search to understand ourselves is perhaps the most underestimated aspect of our faith.  As we seek God, we strive to learn about Him and nurture our lives to more effectively reflect the life Jesus modelled for us.  But is there something more?  Does our strive to reflect Jesus in our lives lead us to search the very depths of our own selves in order to understand what exactly leads us to behave in a particular way?  Does a Myers Briggs test helpfully allow us to understand ourselves, or does it provide an easy category to excuse our natural response to a situation?

I came out as an ISTJ (Introverted; Sensory; Thinking; Judging)

To quote a brief summary;

‘Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability.  Practical, matter of fact, realistic and responsible.  Decide logically what should be done and work towards it steadily, regardless of distractions.  Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organised – their work, their home, their life.  Value traditions and loyalty.’

Now this I would argue is a fairly reasonable description of me.  I studied (albeit unsuccessfully) for a degree in Psychology seeking to understand the behaviour of others, that hindsight informs me was so that I might understand myself.  The question I would ask though, is whether this simply provides me with a standard set of behaviours that I now feel compelled to live by?  Sarah said to me on reflection that since I did the test and it confirmed my natural understanding that I am introverted, I have essentially become more introverted, using this default position more, possibly because the other aspects of my personality lend themselves to logic that is skewing my response.  Now I have been ‘confirmed’ introverted, other aspects of my personality indicator determine that I should respond in this way.  Perhaps the biggest lesson of Myers Briggs is that these are characteristics or indicators rather than definitions and that to treat them as prescriptive defining categories is to misuse this knowledge.  It takes more energy for me to function in an extroverted fashion, but it is not beyond me, and this is essential.  Is a Myers Briggs assessment merely another label?

I despise labels, they do my head in (but that is for another post!)

I had found sensing my youth work calling hard, amongst a group of individuals 80% of whom were extroverts.  It is easy to assume that you are unable to do something – rather than to see that your character, created by a loving God as providing you with unique tools to do your job.  God has called me to youth work, I am challenged in many ways by this, but I know that as long as I listen to God He will guide me.  As an introvert, I am naturally more able to listen to God than many of my extrovert colleagues, a trait I see as essential to my continued growth and development.

Below I attach a more detailed description of an ISTJ (Introverted Sensing with Extraverted Thinking);

At their Best

ISTJs have a strong sense of responsibility and great loyalty to the organistations, families and relationships in their lives.  They work with steady energy to fulfil commitments as stated and on time.   They go to almost any trouble to complete something as they see necessary but baulk at doing anything that doesn’t make sense to them.  ISTJs generally prefer to work alone and be accountable for the results; however they are comfortable working in teams when that is necessary to do the job correctly, where roles are clearly defined and when everyone fulfils assigned responsibilities.  Competence and responsibility are extremely important to ISTJs, who expect others to be as dutiful and trustworthy as the require themselves to be.

Characteristics of ISTJs

ISTJs have profound respect for facts.  They use their sensing primarily internally where they have a store of information upon which they draw to understand the present.  Thus, they are likely to be:

Practical, sensible and realistic.
Systematic

ISTJs use thinking in decision making, taking an objective, logical and tough minded approach.  Their focus is on the task or system as a whole, rather than on individuals.  Thus, ISTJs tend to be:

Logical and analytical
Detached and reasonable

ISTJs are clear and steadfast in their opinions because they have arrived at them by carefully and thoroughly applying logical criteria based on their experience and knowledge.  They believe standard procedures exist because such procedures work.  ISTJs will support chnage only when facts demonstrate that such change will bring better results.

How others may see them.

ISTJs are sociable when comfortable in the roles they are playing; however, they generally do not share their wealth of rich sensing observations and memories except with close friends.  Others see their standards and judgements, their desire for structure and schedules, but they may not see their individual, sometimes humourous, private reactions.  It can be hard for ISTJs to see the sense in needs that differ widely from their own; but once they are convinced that something matters to a person they care about, that need becomes fact.  They then go to great lengths to meet the need, even while continuing to think it doesn’t make sense.  Others usually see ISTJs as:

Calm, reserved and serious
Consistent and orderly
Valuing traditions

Potential areas for growth.

Sometimes personal circumstances have not supported ISTJs in the development and expression of their thinking and sensing preferences.

If they have not developed their thinking, ISTJs may not have reliable ways of dealing with the world and instead may focus solely on their memories and internal data.

If they have not developed their sensing, they may rush into premature judgements and actions without considering new information.

If ISTJs do not find a place where they can use their gifts and be appreciated for their contributions they ususally feel frustrated and may:

Become rigid about time, schedules and procedures – go ‘by the book’.
Be critical and judgemental of others
Find it difficult to delegate – to trust anyone else to do the job correctly.

It is natural of ISTJs to give less attention to their non-preferred intuitive and feeling parts.  If they neglect these too much, however, they may:

Not see the wider ramifications of current, expedient decisions
Concentrate on logic so much they don’t consider impacts on people
Fail to respond appropriately to others’ needs for connection and intimacy.

Under great stress, ISTJs may be unable to use their customary calm, reasonable judgement and get caught up in ‘catastrophising’ – imagining a host of negative possibilities for themselves and others.

Its been a while…

It has been a while since I last blogged and a lot has happened. I have tried to process this, rather inefficiently and internally and reflect on things and I guess I am still processing what is going on. I think I can safely say that June was a massive month in my life for a few reasons.

1. Sarah achieved her 2:1 from Cambridge, the culmination of three years that have challenged and stretched our relationship in ways neither of us expected or thought.
2. Sarah graduated last Friday on what was a great day.
3. Sarah is now half way through an all expenses choir tour to America, prolonging our time apart by an extra fortnight!
4. My last church weekend away at the Beacon, Lee Abbey, Devon.
5. My final undergraduate lectures and essay, and an exit interview.
6. Continued search for a job to begin in September 2009, including interview invitations and no success.

I think it is easy to underestimate the pressure and concern that this has placed on me in the last month or so. I am trying to remain focussed on the immediate future and let the mid to long term stuff take care of itself, but this is not my character and I am finding it incredibly difficult. Still, I will get there, of that I am certain.

My First Sermon – A Transcript.

As I approach my second preaching opportunity on Sunday, I thought I would share with you a transcript of my first ‘attempt’ back in November 2008.

*HEALTH WARNING – IT IS QUITE LONG*

ENJOY!

Integrity and Remembrance.

Well, this is surreal, here I am, having been familiar to many of you since I was about Simon’s height and now I am standing before you about to deliver a sermon! When I first heard that I would be preaching it almost totally changed the way I listened to sermons. I went from simply listening to them, or sometimes not, to watching them. Rather than simply focusing on content, I looked at what various different preachers do, which proved an interesting exercise. I will start with John as he is not here this morning, he rests his notes on his open bible and moves forward and backwards on the balls of his feet, sometimes precariously close to the edge of the step and you wonder if he is going to fall off. Contrastingly, Simon likes to use his stall as a lectern, turning it to face the congregation directly, standing behind it and using his hand in a pointing fashion. I did conclude that generally, the choir get to see the better side of most preachers. I wonder what we might be able to conclude about me by the end of this morning, I think I will leave you to decide… When the current term card was made available, as a good, nervous would be preacher, I quickly looked to see the chosen readings for the day and felt more than a little confused. Job, hardly recognised as the happiest book of the bible, and Matthew’s account of the ‘triumphal entry’, perhaps the most exciting and joyful instance in Jesus’ ministry, paired together – get a message out of here that isn’t confused. I looked to see if the theme of remembrance could shed any light on the readings…no, at least not initially. As a good student of the bible, who has been taught well, I decided I would read around the passages to see if in their context they made more sense. Interesting, that our passage from Job begins at verse eight, so I decide to read from the beginning, of the chapter, I was stopped in my tracks when I reached verse 2 where I read, ‘Your words are a blustering wind’ Hardly the most encouraging words for a first time preacher to read, I was by this stage beginning to question whether me preaching was such a good idea. I hope my words this morning will prove more than a blustering wind for you. Initially, I want to consider our gospel reading (pg. 988). I’m going to do something totally different and ask for some participation from you. I have my trusty flipchart; a key youth work tool, and my trusty scribe Will who I have worked with before, he is very good. Now, I’m going to transport you from 10am on Sunday morning to 7pm on a Monday evening and a youth group session. If we were looking at this passage with the young people, we might at this stage do a mind map, and ask the young people to ‘shout out’ ideas about what we might be able to learn from this passage. This is always good for getting new ideas, and we write down even the ridiculous suggestions (and there always are ridiculous suggestions) before delving deeper together. In this context, it is highly dangerous, because you may not provide the ideas that I have planned to speak about, but I’m prepared to take the risk. So, shout out, and you will need to shout because according to the youth group I am getting old and going deaf, what might we be able to learn from Matthew’s account of the ‘triumphal entry’? (2 minutes) That’s brilliant, a wonderful list, but I’m going to pull just one thing from it, because otherwise we will be here until tomorrow, and I don’t think any of us want that. Integrity. Integrity has been somewhat on my heart for a number of months. The importance of integrity was first brought to my awareness at college. In the summer we explored what it means in practice with a small group of young people at Soul Survivor. Integrity in this instance can be understood as consistently applying our beliefs and values, being honest and of high moral character and acting as one should, rather than as one wants. I believe we can learn about integrity from Jesus’ behaviour in the triumphal entry. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy, knowing that He was the Messiah and that He must arrive in this way to ensure the people would recognise him as Messiah. It was a key signpost in his ministry and was one of the first major signs to the masses that He was the one they had been waiting for. It is only in remembering the prophecy that Jesus’ actions can be made sense of. Without the context, without understanding why Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem, you cannot fully understand the significance of the moment. A better illustration of the need to remember and acknowledge the past and its significance to the present, I believe would be hard to find. The people of the time were only able to respond by shouting Hosanna and blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord because they understood the significance of his entry on a donkey, because they knew the prophecies about the coming Messiah, because they could interpret Jesus’ actions in their rightful context and because they understood their history they were able to respond. But what of the integrity of the people? It is questionable to say the least as less than a week later they were demanding His death… For me, much of integrity comes through knowing who we are and our knowledge of our personal history, our memories of how we have arrived where we are today. When you know who you are, history and all, and you can own that history, rather than allow it to own you, you are able to confidently respond with integrity. Jesus knew he was the Son of God, He knew the prophecies were about Him. Do we all know we are children of God? Are we aware we are chosen by God? Do we know this because God has worked in our lives and we remember how he has done so? How we answer these questions profoundly influences whether we are able to respond with the integrity God desires. Jesus has shown us how we need to behave; actually responding in this way is so much harder. When I think of Jesus in this situation, I can’t help but wonder how tempting it must have been to have found a more ‘appropriate’ method for a King to arrive in Jerusalem. But, Jesus had to have integrity himself, he had to be true to who he was. In my experience this can be incredibly hard. How often have you wanted to be someone else? I know it’s a frequent feeling for me, especially at times like now! One of the biggest challenges I face in my work is making biblical accounts relevant and allowing them to speak to young people. Sometimes I will use more up-to-date examples to emphasise the significance of certain aspects of the story. In doing this, it is imperative that I retain the integrity of the story. I might suggest something like, for me, the triumphal entry is like Jesus riding into Jerusalem on an old scooter, one of those that sounds like an overheating hairdryer when they accelerate! But, he is riding this scooter because God told someone 500 years previously that the great hope of the world would actually enter Jerusalem on a scooter that sounds like a hairdryer! Unless you can get within the context, there is no way that Jesus’ actions make any sense. Our obedient response is also a key representation of our Christ like integrity. We see from verses 2-6 the obedience of the disciples to Jesus. Verse 6 says ‘The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them’ (pg 988). There was no questioning, there was no, we will go in a minute, there was no, can’t you ask a different disciple to do it. The disciples did as Jesus had told them. How often do we respond without question to God? How often do we say yes, without searching for an excuse? God often asks us to go into difficult places, places you would much rather not go into and in showing our obedience to His call on our life we are reflecting a Christ like integrity. Integrity is so essential to our being and so important to our faith that when we are exposed to people lacking it, particularly Christians, and Christian ministers, we are often surprised and shaken to our core. While we were at Soul Survivor we were introduced to a song, ‘Healer’ that was written by Mike Guglielmucci, a youth pastor with Hillsong in Australia. We were told his story and about his diagnosis with terminal cancer, his performance with an oxygen tank was relayed on the screens and we were told how his story had impacted many young people and brought them to Christ. Mike Pilavachi, the organiser of Soul Survivor told of his own personal meeting with Guglielmucci and what an inspiration he was to him. He was visibly moved as he recounted the story. We were asked to pray for Mike Guglielmucci, to sing the song as a prayer for him, as well as to minister to ourselves and those we were close to through it. Then, about a week after we had returned from our week there, news emerged from Australia that it had been a bundle of lies, that he had even lied to his own family, and that he actually had never had cancer at all. This presented me with perhaps my most challenging time in ministry so far, and it was all because of this man’s lack of integrity. His need for healing, though different, remains, perhaps even more essential than it was before. The faith of the young people who had been ministered to by Guglilemucci either in person or through his song, will remain strong, providing that their faith was built on Jesus and not on him. This can be seen as a real life example of what is referred to in Job as the ‘fragile things we trust in’ (v14 pg. 515) It suggests that to trust in fragile things is like relying on a spider’s web to hold your weight; surely something so ridiculous you just wouldn’t do it! But, what is our faith built on? What are your spider’s webs? What of our young people? How can what we know and have experienced help us ensure that young people are building their faith in Jesus, rather than in a spiders web? As a youth worker, I am also a role model, and the danger of being in such a position is that rather than discipling young people to Jesus, I actually disciple them to me. To enable young people to encounter Jesus HAS to be my main priority, if I am to have integrity as a Christian youth worker. But how do I balance this in my life outside of the church? I know that for most of us, our ministry is not restricted to this building and takes place in some very challenging places. Holding Christian integrity in Timeout, the local authority youth centre where I work two evenings a week amidst, swearing, violence, intimidation and disrespect is a massive challenge that I am prepared to admit I sometimes fail in. But, what I can say with integrity is that I am getting better at it, and the worse the situation gets, the more I look to God to understand and to gain strength and hope. What is more, I know I am not alone, I only need to think of any of you, going off into a workplace, school, the community, your friends, to know that you are each facing similar situations. What this group of young people are most lacking isn’t discipline, or opportunities, or even respect. What they really lack is hope. This hope they are lacking, for the present and future, we have in Jesus, and this is what enables us to work in these places, without an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. If you only remember one thing from this morning, then I hope it might be that you are not alone in the challenges of your own witness and ministry. MTL has opened a number of doors in our community to bring hope to people and our reading from Job presents a very different challenge for all of us in this month of remembrance, particularly those opening words, ‘Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned’ (v8, pg 515). In my work, I am constantly faced with young people who have little understanding of where they come from; they don’t know their history. In the church, and in the world, you guys, as, with the greatest respect, the equivalent ‘former generations’ have SO MUCH to teach the young people of today. The question is where are the opportunities to do this? Last weekend, at Remembrance Sunday we saw young and old come together and remember those who had given their lives in conflict so that we might live in the freedom we have today. We have also seen Barack Obama making his presidential elect acceptance speech and the Rev Jesse Jackson reduced to tears. Why? Because he has known an America where black people were treated as second class citizens, a place where Martin Luther King ‘had a dream that one day the nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: that all men are created equal’. The tears of Jesse Jackson illustrate to all who did not hear Martin Luther King’s speech and experience the hurt of being treated as a second class citizen, the incredible fact that the president elect of America 2009 is not a white man. In a world where for young people colour of skin is so much less of an issue than it was fifty years ago, it is essential that we remember, through those who were there to experience it, the ways things used to be shared with a depth of emotion from within themselves. The question we are faced with is how we communicate this information to young people, rather than whether we communicate it. Jason Gardner, a youth worker and researcher from London, who spoke to youth workers at Soul Survivor this summer, has written a book called ‘Mend the gap’. Here, he questions the development of ministries that are age specific, like youth ministry and asks if the church is actually itself contributing to the growing generation gap that we can see in the world. His vision is of an intergenerational church where people of all ages worship together and learn with and from each other. He argues that this is counter cultural and will challenge the decreasing respect across society, particularly towards older people that we have all seen emerge in recent years. Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone should come along to youth group, or that we must do everything together, but I do think, in the light of these readings and the opportunity that we have for three months next year to worship together as one intergenerational body, we are presented with an incredible gift. If we approach it openly and seeking to learn from each other, we are offering young people the chance to learn directly from ‘their former generations’. They will have the opportunity to be involved in something very special and life changing, an intergenerational community of God. What is more, I have no doubt that as you have the chance to speak to young people, you too will be transformed, and come to see and experience God in new and different ways. When you came in you should have been given a piece of paper with a cross in the middle. I was going to give you a palm cross, but I wasn’t sure if that would break some church law, they are incredibly hard to write on and I couldn’t find them! You will notice I have written the word integrity on mine. I have deliberately not provided any pens, not because I am disorganised, but because I do not want to pressurise anybody into writing the word integrity for themselves on their cross if they are not ready to. What I do want to say is that every time I look at the cross I am now reminded of my own desire to have a Christ-like integrity, reflecting on the story that began with the triumphal entry. So, it may be today or it may at some time in the future, but I encourage you to put this sheet somewhere you can see it, maybe near your palm cross and to use it to remind yourself of your need for Jesus in maintaining a life of Christian integrity, perhaps writing the word integrity on the cross when you feel ready to do so. I’m coming into land now, and I would like to conclude by taking us back to the beginning and my observations of the preaching of John and Simon. While they were perhaps slightly amusing and fun, there was in important message hidden within the humour. It would be easy and somewhat ironic to fall into a trap and speak about integrity while trying to be someone else. There will of course be similarities to other preachers for anyone privileged enough to be asked to speak; none of us live in a vacuum. The biggest key to a Christ like integrity is to offer yourself. At times it might seem like a gamble, but I have learned afresh through the process of preparing for today that it is our true self that God requires. So, my prayer for you, and if you would be so kind as to pray it for me, is that we might each own our history rather than allowing it to own us, that we might have opportunity to offer your experience to young people so that they might live better lives, that we might never feel alone and hopeless wherever we are called to witness and that we all might look to Jesus for our integrity as a community of God. AMEN.

Multiple Intelligences in Youth Work

A colleague of mine and deep theological and theoretical thinker Paul considers Gardner’s 1983 Theory of Multiple Intelligences and potential implementation in youth work.
Some of his other posts are worth a read too!

Suffering

“Maybe we struggle with suffering so much in the West because we are so comfortable most of the time that we feel we don’t need God. We don’t rely on Him on a daily basis, and so we don’t really know Him as we should. When suffering comes along, therefore, it is not so much that it takes us away from God, but that it reveals to us that we haven’t really been close to Him in the first place…” (Michael Ramsden)

I think this quote really strikes a nerve with me, how much of our difficulty in understanding our suffering is because we don’t have the relationship with God we think we do?  It strikes me as being all too straightforward to seek to aportion blame for our cirumstances on God, rather than taking responsibiltiy for our own actions and in the same way perhaps it is necessary to realise that we are often at the centre of our own difficulties. 

Having spent time in Zambia,  I saw first hand where true dependence on God for lifes basics, food and water included, manifests a faith that is so alive and energetic.  The need to rely on God, to rejoice in his provision and lament His absence was profound and something that has remained with me since.  My time in Zambia impacted me massively and this article about suffering resonated with my experience and understanding, allowing me a framework to make sense of it in a NEW way. 

I will never forget the thick African accent of the Rev Roger’s Banda;

“New every morning are the mercies of God”

Rogers could make this comment when he had gone to bed hungry the night before and woken to freshly laid eggs for breakfast – he could also say it when there were no eggs and he was still hungry, or when there had not been enough to go round the family so he had watched the rest of his family eat.  As I look around myself now, Mars Bar and Coke nearby, running water constantly available, I have to ask myself the question, do I really believe that the mercies of God are ‘new every morning’? and more, how hard is it to recognise and admit to myself that I am not as close to God as I thought?  How about you?

The full article can be read here

The Return

Ok, so I am going to try blogging more and seeing if I can get some momentum going again, though I must admit that the creativity necessary is not really here, but I think I will just try and see if I can get going again, and to be honest, if I don’t, it won’t hasten the arrival of the apocalypse, and people will not suffer too much, so let’s just give it a go and see what happens!