Imagine Church book cover

About 18 months ago I spent a week with London Institute of Contemporary Christianity (LICC) in London on their Toolbox course. It was probably one of the most equipping things I’ve done for living as a Christian in a western consumerist culture.

As part of the week we heard a short presentation from Neil Hudson about the Imagine Project. Neil had been working with 16 churches around the country, asking how they could create ‘whole life’ disciples. Christians who realised that their whole life mattered to God, not just the few hours that they devoted to gathered church activities.

For me, a guy who has spent most of his life in and around one church or another, this gave language and context to a problem that I’d seen but couldn’t articulate. I was excited, enthused and completely stuck to know what to do next.

Well, in part, the answer is finally here in this book. Rather than personal reflections on the history of the Imagine Project, Imagine Church is really an outcome. A book to give background and some direction to churches and church leaders that have noticed a disconnect between what we say we mean (‘yes, your whole life matters to God’) and the way that we act (‘I missed you at the prayer, members, home group, meeting this week’).

Fortunately, Neil doesn’t just launch into a list of new ideas and programmes to get your church working towards whole-life discipleship. The vision and values need to come before the actions, otherwise, come the first painful challenge, the slide back to the old familiar ways will occur before you’ve got very far at all. So a good proportion of the early part of the book looks at culture change, our motivation and some of the practicalities of moving a group of people forward on a journey.

The second part looks more at the practicalities and give some good examples, from churches that were involved with the pilot project, about how change can be implemented. Now, before you run away thinking, the last thing we need is more to do, Neil walks us through the idea of ‘one degree shifts’. Meaning, you don’t need to change everything in one go, instead it’s by incremental changes working their way into the fabric of church life that big impacts can be made.

The best bits…

…of this book are the real life examples that come from a range of churches that still do things very differently. This isn’t about becoming a new denomination, changing service styles, playing louder music and installing a new AV system, it’s about how the gathered church can have an impact throughout the community.

The worst bits…

…are the references to LICC resources. This may seem like a strange criticism simply because, as far as I’m aware, LICC are the only organisation devoted to revolutionising the church in this way. But, for some reason, references to LICC resources in the body text seem cumbersome and would have been better placed in the Further Reading sections at the end of each chapter.

Conclusion

Quite simply, this is an excellent, must read, book for any church leader. I reckon I’ll be sending a few out over the summer.

In case anyone is interested. LICC are currently recruiting for a Training and Development Director to work on the Imagine Project. More info on their vacancies page.

Baby photo (14 wks)

So, if you can’t guess, this is a picture of a healthy growing baby inside Tany’s womb. You’ve got to admit, it’s kind of cool. For those who can’t tell, and there’s no reason why you should be able to, the head is at the right and the legs are at the left. Launch date is due sometime in early October.

Now the important, technical bit. We have been pregnant before (I say ‘we’, obviously it was Tany that was pregnant but I understand that it’s politically correct for husbands to say ‘we’ in all things related to the baby), the last time ending in a miscarriage at some point towards the end of last year. Miscarriages happen in somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of all pregnancies in the UK, so it was by no means a unique event, but during the course of medical check-ups afterwards we discovered that Tany’s womb was a slightly different shape to normal. As a result we carry a 43% chance of miscarriage right through the second trimester (technical phrase for the fist six months of gestation) and a higher than normal chance of a premature birth.

We are OK about this. Although, if you do talk to us about babies you may find that we are not quite as excited as normal expecting parents. We are, it’s just we are trying to keep that excitement in check. In fact, we probably wouldn’t be saying too much about this now if it wasn’t for the fact that Tany’s physique isn’t doing a very good job of keeping this a secret anymore.

So, there you go. The news is now public, we are pregnant.

Of course, if you wanted to be amongst the first to hear this news you should be signed up to our newsletter. It’s free, and sent by e-mail about once every three or four months, depending on whether we feel there’s anything useful to say. You can sign-up easily online.

In a post, A Minor Miracle, from Bible Translator Foibles, the anonymous author writes…

Gradually it sunk into my thick skull that being at church is a statement of solidarity with the community of believers. You would think that would be a given for a missionary translator who studied theology. Even if I get nothing out of the church service, I contribute by my presence.

Speaking of miracles. Friends of ours are experiencing their own miracle as Jessica, their seven month old baby, makes it through another heart operation. Maybe best described in their own words…

Our beautiful daughter Jessica was born in September 2011 with a severe heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome.  This was diagnosed at her 20 week scan and we were initially told that she was unlikely to be suitable for surgery.  However, a pioneering in-utero operation at 28 weeks to enlarge a hole in her atrial septum was carried out and she was able to make it to term and get through her first open-heart surgery at just eight hours old.  Since birth, she has had three operations and will need more as she gets bigger.

You can read about Jessica’s story at jessica-thejourney.blogspot.co.uk. and the latest updates as she comes out of yet another operation.

On a completely different topic. The Sentralized blog has published a top 40 Missional Reading List. HT: to both Mike Frost and Tim Davey for pointing to it on Facebook. Although, Mike gets more out of it having authored, or co-authored, four of the books on the list.

And finally…

Taking some exercise this weekend, I was catching up on the series of sermons from Mosaic in LA called Artisan – yes, I run and listen to Bible talks, maybe not so rock and roll! Anyway, I was struck by the observation by Erwin McManus, that Mary only makes one commandment in the whole of the Bible, John 2:5,

His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”

Wise words!

I usually have pretty good energy levels, but I’ve found that the more I’ve been stretched at work the less energy I’ve had to put into other things. Finding a way to switch off in the evening has been tough and I tend to find that, as soon as I lay down to go to sleep, my mind fills with all the things of the day that need thought.

There are competing priorities too.

My wife is number one priority, and just making time to be with her is important. Not just being there physically either, but actually giving her attention is important. Too often I can be in the same room as someone and my mind be somewhere else entirely. It’s a useful trick on occasions, but not great for a relationship.

Then there’s things like work and church stuff. Both of which I enjoy immensely but can take various levels of attention and dedication.

Oh, and there’s me. I require a certain level of input and exercise. I have noticed recently that I’ve been generating a lot of material without getting a lot of input. It’s the kind of thing that leaves the creative tank empty. Plus, I have a mind and body that needs looking after. I need exercise – and that just takes time.

So the blog has been put to one side for a while. I’d like it to come back soon, but honestly, if you’d like to hear more from me you’d be better making friends on Facebook than reading this.

All that being said, I wanted to share this picture with you. On Monday I was on one of the passenger ferries from Tower Bridge to Embankment following a meeting. The weather was beautiful. On the 15 minute journey we passed, The Tower of London, HMS Belfast, the Shard, the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern… certainly beat sitting on the Circle Line.

About

Nashville is probably one of my favorite places in the world. It’s a city, so it’s big enough to have things going on, it’s also small enough to easily walk around (at least in the centre). Add to that,really friendly people and great music and it’s no wonder I’m tempted to move here every time I visit.

We arrived on Friday evening, in time for a steak dinner and to make it into the Honky Tonks on Broadway to listen to some bands.

Live Bands

Friday

• Sleepless Truckers – Legends Corner

Saturday

• Irene Kelley and Bernie Nelson – writers session at the Country Music Hall of Fame
• Anthony Orio and the Goodfellers – Tootsies Wild Orchid Lounge

Sunday

• The Cory Batten Band – the Bluebird Cafe

The Bluebird Cafe is a legendary venue. The place where bands and writers go to get discovered. On Sunday and Monday you can just stand in line to get in.

The Sunday we turned up the band were recording a video of their performance, so they played the same set twice. It was pretty cool but maybe not what a ‘usual’ evening comprises of.

Tany and I got to sit with a couple who had moved to Nashville from Seattle. She works as a songwriter.

Monday

• Jake and the Naked Truth – Tootsies Wild Orchid Lounge

Saturday also included a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Studio B.

Country Music Hall of Fame

The CMHF is an amazing exhibition. It tracks the history of Country music, from Roots, through Bluegrass and the Nashville Sound to more contemporary music. Included in the exhibition are items like Elvis’s Gold Cadillac and the Gold piano he was given by Priscilla Presley. While Elvis is well-known for his connections with Memphis, he recorded most tracks in Nashville. Using the Gold Cadillac to drive himself between the two cities. Part of the CMHF is a tour of RCA Studio B, where Elvis and many… many other artists recorded. The piano he loved to play is still in the studio, and if you want you can sit at the keys and play.

Church on Sunday

Nashville isn’t just known as Music City, it’s also the Buckle of the Bible Belt. More churches than you can shake a stick at – though why you’d want to do that is beyond me.

We visited Brentwood Baptist Church. The kind of church where you need to take careful note of where you parked your vehicle (because of the size of the parking lot, not for security reasons). Two services and over a couple of thousand attendees.

I was relieved because the service was excellent. They were just starting a series on the importance of Scripture – which is good for a guy from Wycliffe to hear. What was just as good was the fact that after dropping a response card in the offering we got a personal email response from the church in 3 days!

A weekend in Nashville

So that was our weekend in Nashville. Kind of fun!

View Phil’s Nashville in a larger map

You may not be able to guess from the picture, but this was one of the coldest days on record in Florida. Maybe we brought some British weather with us, but some areas got freezing temperatures! Usually unheard of this far south.

But now we’ve moved north, to Nashville, where I’d expect cold weather. However, today it’s warm and we could/should have gone out in shirt sleeves. Go figure!

Anyway, an evening’s entertainment in the bars of Broadway and I’m now back in the hotel with Tany in bed and me watching the end of the Cotton Bowl game between Arkansas and Kansas State.

Goodnight y’all

I love music. Any music. If its good quality and performed with passion and belief I’m happy to fight my way through howling gales and driving rain, just like last night, to take my seat.

To be honest, I wouldn’t think of buying tickets for Tany and myself to go to a classical music performance. I simply don’t know enough to be able to work out in advance if I’d like it or not. But, when my father-in-law is offering to pay there’s nothing to lose.

So last night I made my way up to Charing Cross to meet Tany after work. We met the in-laws on the Tattersall Castle for a quick bite to eat, then it was off to St Martin in the Fields for the concert.

Two things to note.

1) St Martin in the Fields is a stunningly beautiful building.

There’s been some serious effort been put in to turn an early 18th century building into something that works in central London, long after the fields that give their name to the church, have disappeared.

The crypt now holds a large food court and church shop, while the church building itself makes a good performance space. Not sure I’d want to have to sit on the pews for two hours, but we had chairs which wasn’t so bad.

2) All six of the Brandenburg Concertos are stunning.

I guess proper musicians will have their favourite pieces, but I liked it all. Given a more comfortable seat I could have leaned back and listened to it for hours. Maybe I’ll just have to pay out for the CD.

This Christmas though, Tany managed to get her hands on a ticket for me so I spent Boxing Day morning driving north to watch a game of football.

Got to say, the game wasn’t anything special. Liverpool should have won, but not because they were brilliant, more because Blackburn are really poor.

The real highlight though was meeting Alan Kennedy in the pub after the game. Not an official thing, he was just there and so were we. He scored the winning goal in the 1981 European Cup Final, and was kind enough to shake our hands and spend a couple of minutes talking about the game.

Of course a visit to Liverpool wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Tavern Co for breakfast. This used to happen quite regularly when we were at university, but back then it wasn’t with the kids.

It began with BBC news talking about the Jamaican Bible.

Just a couple of days later and Eddie Arthur (kouya.net), Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators in the UK, got to write a piece for the Guardian in Comment is Free.

If you’ve got a bit of time and would like to know some more about the Jamaican Patois (Creole) Bible, a partnership between the Bible Society, Wycliffe Jamaica, the Seed Company and the local church, it’s worth watching the following video. It also gives a good overview of what’s involved in Bible translation today.

So, I’ve just done a very quick survey of the speakers booked for some of the bigger Christian festivals due to take place in 2012. Here’s what I found out from their websites.

• New Word Alive – six main speakers over one week. All white, mostly male, from either the UK or US.
• Spring Harvest – Four speakers, all from churches in England.
• Keswick Convention – One main speaker for each of the three weeks. All male, from Australia, England and Scotland. Although, listed under ‘Other Speakers’ is Calisto Odede from Kenya.

I tried to find out about Soul Survivor, but they haven’t released their 2012 programme and I couldn’t easily find anything from 2011.

Maybe I could make a special mention of Greenbelt. Whose lineup at least includes a smattering of people from ethnic minorities and non western educated. But then, artists are better at not conforming.

After looking at the list of speakers I did a quick search for the part that world mission plays in these events.

New Word Alive

Their vision and values statement says…

With a huge variety of gifts from preaching to personal relationships, or childrens work to world mission, we will open up possibilities, provide examples and encouragement and seek to motivate and equip Gods people to serve him and his world.

If you type ‘mission’ into the search box the top 13 results are a product from their shop, then there’s a link to their vision and values before giving a link to how an organisation can exhibit.

Spring Harvest

SH state in the header to their Beliefs page,

Within our stated aim to ‘equip the church for action’ we seek to encourage Christians to think about their faith, to be transformed through the renewing of our minds and to engage in the mission of God in the world.

Their website shows that they give money to support good causes. With the exception of Bible translation that was supported as part of Biblefresh in 2011, there’s nothing that has a primary aim of sharing the gospel.

Mission is mentioned, intertwined with the theme of ‘the Church‘ for 2012. There’s also the prospect of something multicultural on the last day.

Day 5 – God’s brilliant idea: ‘Make them one!’

The church the New Testament foresees is multicultural, multi-national and multi-lingual. The name given to this people in the Bible is the Bride of Christ – beautiful, sparkling and deeply loved by God. We will explore the joy of our diversity; embracing the call of God to reach every tribe and culture and escaping cultural captivity to express love for the ‘other’.

But, I wonder how that gets dealt with when there’s only speakers from the UK.

Keswick Convention

It was less easy to find out about Keswick’s approach to mission because their website isn’t as searchable as the others. I know that they have a fund to support those involved in mission who want to come along to Keswick, but like most other events, the main place for a mission profile is in the exhibition space.

Conclusions

Maybe I’m being overly simplistic, but I do believe that actions speak as loudly as words (even if we aren’t as conscious of the message when it’s delivered in non-verbal ways). So, I could read into these events that…

• Senior Christian figures are usually white, male and from the west.
• Music and sung worship is the most important part of your faith after the main speakers – just have a look and see how important ‘worship leaders’ are to selling events.
• Mission is about improving the physical condition of those living in poverty or those that are abused and is mostly supported by giving money.
• Mission exists in the exhibition space, where organisations pay a great deal of money for a small plot, travel to and from the event and accommodation for one or two staff. It does not play a part in the main event.

Cynical?

What me? Maybe… but honestly, I’m more than a little tired of being told about a ‘great opportunity’ from the organisers of one event or another, who want mission agencies to come along and exhibit so that they can tick a box and say they’ve ‘done mission’. If world mission was important it would get more than a drafty tent hidden somewhere in the vicinity of the main hall.

Look, I am aware that these events do a lot of good. There are great speakers and leaders who are white and male and deserve to have a platform. I know how great it is to sing praise songs with a good band who’ve prepared in advance and can stay in tune. I also believe that it’s important for Christians and the church to lead the way in bringing people out of poverty and give them hope. And, believe it or not, I understand business well enough to know that great events cost money and you have to bow (just a little) to public pressure and give the audience a bit of what they want to get bums on seats.

However, I think there’s a danger that events like these can become so focussed on breaking even that doing what’s right comes further down the agenda. We feed people what they want to hear, rather than the truth and we allow people to consume what’s safe and fun. Maybe that’s also symptomatic of western Christianity… and maybe that rant is best left for another blog post.

Also…

Simon Cozens has also written on a similar vein on his blog (HT Kouya)