Friday Already! - Jerk in a Merc

I've been so busy I almost didn't have time to do the Friday post...
But will I ever be so busy that I'd be such an impatient driver as this fool in a Mercedes?  I hope not, because sometimes justice is swift!

Friday Treat - What Would You Do With £10,000?

Probably not this...



(I hereby promise to finish my domino fascination forthwith)

What's Your Theology?

I always think of theology being a bit like spiritual geekiness. It's what Macs are to computer users, rare vinyl (or a 60GB iPod) is to music lovers, 19" alloys are to car drivers... You know, utterly dull to normal people, but fanatically interesting if you've got that sort of personality.

So of course I love it...

While researching my preach (ahem, honest!) I came across a link to this quiz. You answer some of questions and then it tells you what your theology is. I needed to use Wikipedia to look up a few concepts and people - which shows the poor state of my theological knowledge! - but I guess I'm happy with the result (...well the bits of it I understand...)

The quiz is here.

My results were:

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.
Emergent-Postmodern		89%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan		79%
Neo-orthodox		68%
Charismatic/Pentecostal		54%
Classical Liberal		36%
Reformed Evangelical		36%
Fundamentalist		32%
Roman Catholic		25%
Modern Liberal		25%
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

 

Micah Sunday

This Sunday we, along with countless churches around the world, marked Micah Sunday – the launch of the Micah Challenge.  This is a movement of Christian individuals, churches and organisations united to do something about global poverty.

We’re asking that everyone in Exeter Vineyard signs the Micah call to be counted among those who want to see change.  In the coming months we will also be taking part in the campaigns organised by the Micah Challenge to highlight the cause.

Please follow this link and click on “Sign The Micah Call” to add your name.

As part of understanding this issue, it’s important we recognise that poverty isn’t something that exists "over-there" and is the sole responsibility of governments and international organisations.  Poverty exists because of the state of the human heart – our hearts.  As some of the richest people in the world (…even if we don’t feel very rich…) we have a responsibility.

The Bible says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.*"  How do we, as members of a rich developed nation start on our journey to becoming God’s agents for change?  Surely it means more than just signing a petition or opening our wallets.  How do  we escape from a materialistic mindset and become generous?  How do we see everything we have as belonging to God and just a temporary gift placed in our care?  How do we see the abundantly generous Kingdom of God start to overflow from our lives?

These are all vital questions and I’d be really interested in comments and thoughts.  I’ve started a discussion on the forum here.  If you haven’t registered, it only takes a minute and then you can contribute your thoughts.

Finally, this is an interesting quiz about world hunger on the BBC's website.  See how much you know - some of the facts are really shocking.

Friday Funny - The Best News Story This Week?

Check this out.

Surely this is the funniest bit of "And finally..." news your likely to hear for a while.  ESPECIALLY the last paragraph.  Poor chap!

Letting God Build Our Character Through Work

I meant to read out this prayer on Sunday at the end of my talk, but I left the piece of paper at home!

This is a prayer by Richard Foster and it beautifully hits the nail on the head!

A Prayer at Mid-Day

The day has been breathless, Lord.
I stop now for a few moments and I wonder:
Is the signature of the holy over the rush of the day?
Or have I bolted ahead,
Anxiously trying to solve problems that do not belong to me?
Holy Spirit of God, please show me:
How to work relaxed
How to make each task an offering of faith
How to view interruptions as doors to service
How to see each person as my teacher in things eternal
In the name of him who always worked unhurried,
Amen.

Friday's Funny - Only in Japan

It may last less than 2 minutes, but I wonder how many hours it took to set up?

And ok, maybe I'm an idiot, but I can't help but feel that it actually would be a really worthwhile way to spend several hours. I'm just wondering how many objects I have in my house that are suitably rectangular... Now, how to convince Sarah?

Heading The Wrong Way?

Since my talk last week on Exodus 2 one aspect has kept coming back to me – so much so I’m starting to feel it’s a real encouragement from God to us in our situation right now.

I think I touched on it briefly in my talk – that this must have been a really confusing time for Moses. He had faith that God was going to use him to set the Israelites free from slavery in Egypt. So he starts his “freedom movement” by killing the Egyptian slave driver, but instead of the great uprising and resulting liberation he must have imagined, everything seems to head in the opposite direction.

He flees Egypt, on his own and without the Israelites, heading off to a foreign country in the opposite direction to the Promised Land. He isn’t the great national leader, instead he becomes a humble shepherd looking after a bunch of sheep, an occupation his Egyptian upbringing would have made him disdain.

It must have been a dark time for Moses. His dreams of being used by God to free his people must have seemed more like an overactive imagination. All the miraculous events of his early life must have seen like lucky coincidences, certainly nothing miraculous to pin his faith in God on.

In fact I suspect he may have even given up hope on his dream – he gets married, settles down, forgets his Jewish upbringing (he doesn’t circumcise his son) and gets on with 40-years of the business of surviving.

But what Moses can’t see is that this is the very time God is using to prepare him. Moses undergoes a transformation there in the wilderness, letting his plans, his strength, his dreams die – and somehow, behind his back, God is resurrecting them into something far more powerful. God’s plans, God’s strength, God’s dreams!

What I keep coming back to is how similar the situation is for us at this time. Before the summer we seemed to be motoring forward. We had some brilliant times of reaching into the community, seeing people join us and move from our fringe to connect with our vision for a great church. I just presumed we would continue after the summer – bigger and better, onwards and upwards!

But somehow it hasn’t worked out that way… We were moved out of our Sunday venue and found ourselves in a hall quarter the size (not to mention losing our lovely filter coffee and going back to instant!) Instead of the great expansion I’d planned for our smallgroups, they’ve changed and in some ways shrunk.

Yet despite this I’m encouraged. I look at this period in Moses life and see the principle that God is more interested in our true character, our heart, than he is in any outward signs. Like Moses, I believe God wants to use this time of frustration and unsettledness to shape our character. It’s only through this, through us becoming more like Jesus, that God is able to use us in his most effective plans, and more than anything I want us to be a church that truely brings good news to our communities.

So let’s use this time to allow God to work on our heart – to understand what is important and what is just shallow outward signs. Let’s commit ourselves to our vision, living by faith, not by sight and trusting God is doing more behind our backs than he ever does in front of our faces.