Archive of January 2010
Hitting All the Right Notes
My kind of article from the Merrie Theologiane:
[L]et your theology be musical. While theology might normally be regarded as dry, dull and unrelational, those of us who have experienced the all-singing all-dancing love of the living God know that it is music to our ears. In your evangelism, preaching, and sharing don’t subject people to braying and grunting– sing out the gospel of Christ in all its beauty, and see how hearts respond.
Missiological humility
Some good thinking from Ed Roberts at the 9Marks Blog:
[H]umility recognizes that I have blind spots, that we are all a bit ecclesiologically and missiologically ethnocentric…we are most comfortable with that to which we are most accustomed. Awareness of our own cultural and ethnocentric assumptions is a mark of missiological humility. Church planters, missions strategists and misson partners do well to invite others to point out their missiological blindspots and they welcome such input.
I’ve just read Cross-Cultural Servanthood which covers similar ground in a lot more depth. I need to keep hearing this if I’m ever to go overseas!
2009 in review
Posted at 7:06 PM
2009 was a year of big changes. I graduated, moved city, and started work as a Relay worker. I organised a gig in a pub for the first time, having finally found people to collaborate with, and then left Bristol the week following. I wrote my first (and probably last, for a while at least) piece of music for orchestra. I recorded and produced a CD for my choir.
In a way, none of the things that happened this year are what’s important about it. Reflecting on the past few months at least, it seems that I’ll remember this year because of what I learnt more than what I did – something that will hopefully continue as term begins again tomorrow and I start student work afresh. I’ve learnt that grace motivates us to change. After a tough first term of Relay, I’ve been refreshed and challenged by the truth that I’m utterly dependent on God, and so should stop acting like he needs me in order to work – it’s not my ministry, it’s God’s ministry! It’s liberating and difficult at the same time, because my flesh wants my work to be about me and my gifts, not God and his gospel. Putting my selfish desires to death is hard, but that’s okay: God’s promised that he’ll do it so I can fight hard in confidence. (There’s so much more that could be said, and would have been if I’d managed to write an entry about it a month ago…)
2010 began with a realisation that, as I’m dependent on God for everything, I should be praying – and joyfully, the God I’m praying to is my loving Father. A Praying Life by Paul Miller could be the book with the most immediate impact on my spiritual life of recent years (a big thank you to Jim Walford for the recommendation!). My prayer is that God will help me continue to actively put my trust in him each day, particularly as I seek to share Christ with those who don’t know him yet, and look to find my joy and rest in him.