Pilgrim's Progress

What Time Is It?

There's an obscure verse in Chronicles about the tribe of Issachar, who "understood the times and knew what Israel should do" ... this new animation tries to capture something of that same desire - to be deeply in tune with our own times and through that to understand how God would have us live and proclaim his kingdom in our time.

Frodo: I wish this task had never come to me
Gandalf: But so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we can do is decide how to use the time that is given to us. (Fellowship of the Ring)

Click here for animation ... (Flash 6, about 26K ...)

Church is where Jesus is ...

Two helpful quotes about fresh expressions of church:

'Within many churches, this aspect of the body of Christ has been expressed through the idea of every-member ministry. Liquid church extends this idea and again reverses its sequence. Instead of church being a place where everyone can have a ministry, liquid church emerges out of the active ministries of everyone who is joined to Christ. As people join to Christ and communicate Christ with one another, the networked pattern that grows from this faithful communication of believers is identified as church.'
(Pete Ward, "Liquid Church" p39)

'If "church" is what happens when people encounter the Risen Jesus and commit themselves to sustaining and deepening that encounter in their encounter with each other, there is plenty of theological room for diversity of rhythm and style, so long as we always have ways of identifying the same living Christ at the heart of every expression of Christian life in common.'
(+Rowan Williams in the Foreword to "Mission Shaped Church")

Wild Places

Just returned from my 3-week holiday, which involved driving 2000 miles, visiting the northerly and southerly extremes of Scottish mainland, taking over 150 photos, spending time with family, going to New Wine and other things.

The drive round Scotland happened almost by accident, in a 4-day gap between planned things, but it took an unexpected turn. I decided I would visit some of the wild places of my own country, and it turned out to be as much of a spiritual journey as a physical one.

I rediscovered some of the wild places inside myself too and encountered some things I did not expect ...