The Wooden Sky - The Wooden Sky

First Foray Into Photography OR Stills from a Christmas Eve.

Happenstance

Happenstance...

What a great word.

It means coincidence and has its origin in late 19th century, being a blend of happen and circumstance.

I went to the cinema...

I went to the cinema for the first time since... since.... since, well... I don't actually remember. I saw Pursuit of Happyness in January 2007 (I think), and then I Am Legend in early 2008, and I'm pretty sure I saw the latest Bond film at the cinema, but I don't remember when that was. Incidentally, I wouldn't want to see any of those films again.

But this Saturday past I went again, and I saw 2012. It was a pretty mixed film. I fell asleep at one point, a combination of my own tiredness and the film. But it was interesting to think about who we (i.e. the collective 'democratic' governments of the world) would save if the world was going to be hit by a mega-disaster, and the LORD would actually allow us to survive.

I thought it was pretty accurate that tickets to salvation would be sold. Our democratic world is only really democracy to the highest bidder... it then ceases to be democracy, by definition. I have two comments on this: firstly, thank God (quite literally and sincerely) that he does not work like this. Secondly, what an awful human race you would have if only those rich enough to pay for their salvation were there to repopulate... I mean, there would be no diversity, a lack of creativity and joy.

I've also seen Garden State recently, which I enjoyed a whole lot more. I thought it tackled the reality of broken human relationships with a stark honesty that isn't found in 99% of films. Well done, Mr. Braff. The conversation of home was particularly pertinent in our society that lacks belonging - and constantly strives for it.

In other news, I've been listening to The Acorn (a Tom Green recommendation), and I've also been listening to Forest City Lovers. Go, check 'em out.

It snowed for a bit today.

I was cold for about 3 hours, then I had a hot shower, and now I'm fine. Praise the Lord for heat and for showers. And for houses. May the Lord look after those who have none of the above tonight.

The Week That Was

This was played in Chapel on Tuesday. Live, and much better than any of the video's I could find on YouTube.

I take comfort that the lead singer is a Christian (as far as I've ascertained across the Christian grapevine), and that his lyrics speak about the tensions of living the life of a disciple within the context of a hedonistic, nihilistic, materialistic culture.

This week has been harder than most 7 day periods I've experienced, despite having experienced approximately 1185 of them previous to this one.

I have been on the end of some sound and timely words... from family and friends, and from the Lord. I can complain and complain, but at the end of it all, I acknowledge with Job that God is God, and I am not. And it is far better that way round.

I wrote something about these experiences here.

Technology: Good, Bad or Ugly?

I am reading Walter Wink's 'The Powers That Be' for a seminar of Friday - and it is giving me an awful lot to think about. Below is a few sentences of reaction from reading the second chapter.

Maybe it is time for us Christians to theologically reflect upon our usage of technology - how can we use it to further the gospel for the glory of God? How is currently being used for the exact opposite?

I hope, at some time, to think more thoroughly upon the issue of technology.

"I wrote this next song in 1857 when I was a pirate."

Some Blogs and Websites I've been challenged by and enjoying recently.

http://makewealthhistory.org/

http://breathenetwork.org/

http://peterlillypoetry.blogspot.com/

http://joshharris.com/

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/

Go on, check them out.

A Reminder, Just When It Was Needed.

More?

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi

So the Scottish Justice Secretary released him on compassionate grounds. There has been no end of criticism for the decision from all over the world.

He was the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, yet the evidence is up for debate. Many Americans were killed in the disaster, and as such the Americans have been the loudest voice of dissent at the release of al-Magrahi. Terrorists should not be released, they say. Not even on compassionate grounds. That will send out the message that we are weak, they say, and we will be bombed more. We need to be strong, ruthless, damning. These people are terrorists, they don't deserve decency or compassion, they say.

But wait.

We, the West, are one very small step away from announcing to the world that terrorists are not human. That they should be treated differently, as animals, as those who are sub-human, with no rights. What rubbish. What is it we are getting into? For the West to be so forcefully for 'freedom' and 'democracy' when it suits them, yet to assume the role of Divine Judge when it comes to terrorists, stinks of self interest and rotten politics.

Far weaker is the man (read: country) who fights back, condemns men for eternity when it only for the Lord God to pronounce such judgements, and looks upon 'terrorists' as sub-human - unworthy of compassion and forgiveness - than the man (read: country) who has compassion, forgives, blesses their enemies and prays for those who harm them.

For my part, I am in full support of Kenny MacAskill and his decision. War and hate will only breed war and hate. When MacAskill released al-Megarhi, the West took the biggest step to date in defeating terrorism. Forgiveness, compassion, mercy and love will win. The Americans, the English, the rest of the world, need to take note of what has happened in Scotland - a minister stood up for what was right, and continued on that path until what was right was complete, not matter what the consequences were.

Praise the Lord, that he is still at work.

--------------------------------------

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

All change in life; all change on blog.

I sit at my dining table, in the flat I have occupied for the past 29 days. The small balcony has one of it's doors open, and the David Crowder Band bounce out of the stereo. I have just eaten dinner... a moderately successful omelette (the first attempt, about a week ago, ended up as scrambled egg with onions. Hmmm.....), and some Bramble Jelly on toast, homemade by the lovely lady living below us. Today I have been in to the office to sort out some internet / email logistics for my account with the church, and in to the LST library to start some preliminary reading for the M.A. course which starts in about four weeks.

I tell you all this by way of introducing you to the fact the my life has changed, and I have moved on from being a student, living in halls, and am now a part time Pastoral Assistant and a part time post-grad student. One week in to starting work, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Pray for me, that I may remember that godliness is good in every way, because it holds promises for this life and the next.

And, of course, the blog has changed.

Living the Tension has two meanings, though they overlap. The first tension is between this life and the next. Living as heirs with Christ, living with a message, living in the world, but citizens of the next life, of a new world, we are not of this world. The second tension is between study and ministry, between theory and practice, between orthodoxy and orthopraxy, between studentdom and adulthood.

My aim will be to blog about these tensions and how God's grace is more than enough for any person to cope - more than cope: to thrive - and stay focussed on the goal, by His unending love and mercy.

Leaving Town....

Yesterday I left Worthing. I now live in London. To mark this strange and beautiful occasion, here are a few pictures of some of the people who made Worthing the best place to begin life.

Thoughts Through A Sermon

The following are notes I made whilst listening to a sermon at church this morning. The church and the speaker shall remain nameless. They are literally as I wrote them in church, so excuse the 'note' form they come in. As such, they are also unfinished thoughts.

Let me know what you think about the issues raised.

----------------------------------------------------

That was the week that was: A reflection on the weeks news.

26 July 2009

Begins by pointing out the various inconsistencies that are in what we expect from the government, i.e. they can't always spend money - they must also make cuts if they are to spend money.

"What would Jesus do?" is not useful to us speaker says... because Jesus didn't have to deal with the issues. BUT: is this a correct analysis? Did not Jesus give us enough teaching that we could therefore make proper decisions about issues we face today?

ESSENTIALLY SPEAKER IS TALKING ABOUT ISSUES SURROUNDING HERMENEUTICS.

Speaker seems to be switching between "what we believe" and "what the Bible says" a bit to frequently and easily - blurring the distinctions.

The speaker is essentially asking what parts of the Bible are "true" and which are not; how much of the Law do we keep and how much do we get rid of?

He seems to be focussing specifically on homosexuality and the potential of a church leader being homosexual (i.e. the next church leader being a homosexual...).

He uses the Levitical Laws to prove that we don't obey all of the Bible - but he neglects other parts of the Bible... like Paul's mention of homosexuality in Romans - there is no raising of the questions that the Romans passage must raise.

How do we deal with the way Jesus used the Law? How can we follow this? Should we? What is our hermeneutic?

"We can't live by a rule book; we have to live by a story." By doing this do we leave ourselves open to too much misinterpretation? Does it matter if we do? Surely we must remember that even stories have their unpleasant and difficult parts?

"My Song Is Love"

Calvin is 500.

Over the past few days, the Reformed Evangelical community has been celebrating the birthday that has been anticipated since the beginning of 2009.

John Calvin turned 500.

No matter what you think of him, Calvin has had a huge effect on the Christian world over the last 500 years. And in the glut of books, speeches, papers, articles, blog entries and comments, the one I most enjoyed reading (though it's I've not read many, by all means!) is this one by Kevin DeYoung: How to be Relevant 500 Years from Now.

It's good to be reminded that our confidence should be focussed in God's Word, and God's Word alone... not in our own thoughts, ideas, skills, gifts, possessions.

Learning To End.

This is a comment on Endings. And the frequency with which they creep up on you, and how unprepared one is for them - yet how prepared one should be for them.

Two days ago I finished my undergraduate degree. Since, it's been mostly a time of feeling flat. This will pass, and the bittersweet, happy/sad feelings will enter the vacuum.

But we aren't prepared for endings in our culture. Certainly not during the first twenty years of life, anyway. Instead, the first twenty years are full of beginnings, and it is difficult to know how to handle endings. Perhaps the most difficult thing is that the ending is only half here. And, indeed, that the ending will continue in a strangely-familiar-yet-unnervingly-different way.

But with endings do come more beginnings. And that, I expect, will see us through. That, and remembering that He is still worth it.

It goes to where it belongs.

Congratulations to Barcelona.  They were far, far superior than Manchester United.  In the end, it was the stringent discipline of Iniesta and Xavi that allowed Barca to grow throughout the game, and eventually lead to Messi (above) to play in his own devastating fashion.  BBC Sport will have seemingly unending coverage over the next few days, attempting to find out why Manchester United lost - but at the end of the day, it was because they weren't good enough.

Clayton's Story

A powerful short film.  Worth the watch.  

HT: Between Two Worlds

MP's Expenses: Some Thoughts

For more than two weeks now, the only news item has been MP's expenses (one could wonder what happened to the swine flu pandemic that was about to hit us...perhaps we are more driven by the media than we realise, or care).  

Gordon Brown follows David Cameron again in offering an apology for the scandal with Nick Clegg following quickly behind. 

But what are they actually apologising for?  Is it that they are sinsearly sorry for the misdemeanors? Or are they sorry they have actually got caught.  Cameron apologised for the system - not the abuse of the system.  Is this indicative of our culture - taking blame away from people and placing it onto 'systems'.  Cameron, of course, has acted, which has a lot of guts in the current climate of inaction and excuse.

Let us take a closer look at the problem.

There are two issues:

-The system: a claims system that is far to easy to cheat, and a system that is encouraged by officials to be cheated on.

-The people who have taken advantage of the easy cheat in order to make an easy buck or two.

There was quite a debate on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 10 May where all thought it was wrong but those calling in were split as to whether we should blame the MP's or the system.  "They are just humans..." when one caller, we shouldn't expect anything else!

Which from a Christian point of view is true - we are all sinners.  But is that an excuse?  Perhaps what is more of an issue is that it is the MP's who have created the system that allows them to abuse it.  But is it abuse?  Well, two things: firstly, we have to understand human nature.  When someone in authority tells you that you are able to claim more money than you currently are, and in fact you should be claiming more, how many of us would claim that we could dismiss that temptation out of hand? If we are being realistic, no-one would find it easy.  Secondly, the solution is obvious, but will not win votes.  MP's need to be paid more, it is as simple as that.  But we the public are far too fickle and condemning (especially towards those who we vote in to run our country) that any political leader who champions this cause will find themselves out of a job before they can finish the sentence, 'we need a pay rise'.  But - that is the way forward.  Pay them enough and remove the temptation... some will still abuse whatever system will be in place in a years time, but the majority will not.

We'll have to save the constitutional fiasco regarding the Speaker of the House for another day.

End.

The Dissertation is now in.  Both an anti-climax and a relief.  

If I were to recommend one book to read following my dissertation, it would be this one:

Peter Holmes - Trinity in Human Community.

Easy to read, accessible and earthed in the experience of his own church.

If I were to take one quote from my dissertation that has perhaps to most importance for how we understand who we are it would be this:

"Jesus is the human person properly for God and others, and therefore properly for Himself - both his relations and his identity are undistorted.  To be fully in God's image, to make a right response to God and others, is therefore to be conformed to Christ."  -- McFadyen, The Call to Personhood, p. 46-7.

It was an edifying experience writing the dissertation.  I'd recommend it.

A Clear Desk is a Clear Mind...

Before...

After...

A week and a half until deadline day - nearly finished a full draft.  Then it'll be copious amounts of editing right up to the end.  Here comes the final push!

A New Term.

By midnight tonight I will be back at college, back in Aldis, unpacking.  It's a new term.

Some key events:

-Dissertation due 6 May.

-Exams in early June.

-Continuous job seeking.

-3 Weeks off.

-Graduation.

In 2 1/2 months the LST journey will have settled at it's last port.  

Each term is very different to any other.  This will be no different.  So, ladies and gents, the end is nigh!  Here's to ending honourably....

Easter in Aldis - The Missing Days

With the plan to blog my way through Easter, informing everyone of the ongoing struggle to defeat the dissertation, I began in earnest on Day One (quite naturally), and then on what was Day Four, I wrote about Day Two.

And that was about it.

Essentially, each day ran much as the last.  In the library soon after 9am, working on the Project with as much effort and motivation as I could muster.  Finding food for the evening from somewhere or other, and getting to bed not too late in order to do the same again the next day.

But now I'm home for the weekend.  And have been markedly more productive, which is nice.  It has been a good Good Friday.  The reminder to me being that Christ, his death and resurrection is far, far bigger than my dissertation will ever be.  Ever.

Upper Booth - Peak District

The stream at the bottom of our campsite.

View from the highest point in the Peaks.

View from the edge of the peat bogs. 

 

Steve, Ben, Dave, Tim.  Walking up Jacob's Ladder.

Easter in Aldis - Day Two.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden form the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?  Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint of grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

From Isaiah 40.

Easter in Aldis - Day One.

It's colder inside Aldis than it is outside, I'm sure of it.  They've turned the heating off - sensible, true, but a slight pain.  The little "Cornwall-heater" is doing pretty well.

I should be in the library, working on the dissertation.  But instead I sit at my desk looking out to a very wet Northwood, knowing that the library is likely colder than it is in Aldis, and I disinclined.

Add to this the increasing mountain the dissertation seems to be, and I'd far rather watch the wit of Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman.  However, to the library I must go - knowing that it will be a painful start, but knowing equally that I have no choice but to complete it.  We shall see how we end up.......

The end of the proverbial era......

Cast your mind, if you would, back to the 20th March 2008.  On this day, the day after our term at London School of Theology had ended, I flew off to India to the adventure awaiting me.

As I flew I was officially the President of the Student Committee at LST.  I had two thoughts: Firstly, that it would be challenging.  Secondly, that I didn't know how challenging it would be.

But today, the 19th March 2009, I sit at my desk at home and consider the year.  My responsibilities now passed on to another, and being released from them has yet to hit.  My successor is worthy, fresh ideas, new approaches - he will lead well. 

And as I remember the challenges, I also remember the joys.  We've done it all - put on events, raised money, given money, been reconcilers, sat in committee meetings, board meetings, meetings with funny names, been representatives for a variety of people and a variety of needs, been guided by a vision, put our hearts on the line for the SB, seen it's ugly face, seen it's beautiful face, developed friendships, made mistakes, learned from them, listened to the people, informed the people, infiltrated the Moon, been supported by brilliant reps.

There is not anything from the past years experience that I regret happening.  I have enjoyed it all.  Yes... all.  It truly has been a joy to represent a body of students of the stature of the LST Student Body.

And so, to Tom, Helen, Sam, Scott, Emma, Luke, Ruth, James and the whole of the SB... thank you.

It actually happened.

My hoping in the last post was not without some justification - much as even I could not bring myself to think such thoughts beforehand.

Good work, Benitez.

I have not completely disappeared...

...but won't be fully back until the end of next week.

It's been a busy and eventful term.  I am thoroughly exhausted, and need a long rest.  

It's coming up, as is an utter mauling of Manchester United by Liverpool (we hope, in the worldly sense...).

Let's Not Do This, Please?!

The following quote comes from 'Why We Are Not Emergent" by DeYoung and Kluck.

"After going to a Christian college, it seemed as if it was almost a requirement, when meeting with college friends, to serve alcohol..., talk about how newly open-minded we were, and how oppressive our school had been.  Shock value was king.  It was almost an unspoken race to see who could shock whom the most.  Questions were the new answers."

This is one of the biggest and most subtle problem with our college.  To rebel for the sake of rebellion is to turn your face away from Christ.

Rick Warren and His Prayer

At Obama's inauguration today, Rick Warren will pray, and he will invoke the name of Jesus.  He will do this despite threats of lawsuits from atheists.  Let's pray for Warren and that situation.

Gene Robinson, the openly gap Episcopalian Bishop, will also pray at the inauguration, but he will be addressing his prayer to "the god of our many understandings".  I would like to suggest that he does not know the God whom Christ reveals, or is seemingly in open rebellion against the revealed God.  That such people are in our part of the Church of Christ is frighteningly dangerous and immensely sad.  Again, let's pray for Robinson.

The full article is here.