Everlong, Wembley, 6th June 2008

We were there!

Romans 12:1-2; A thought for the week

Place Your Life Before God

1-2 "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

We looked at worship this Sunday in youth church, and used this passage from Romans 12. I love the way it's put in the Message paraphrase- its so simple and yet immensely challenging. This week take your "everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering" There is nothing that we can't do for the glory of God, there is no part of our lives that cannot be used to advance his Kingdom in some way. Being a 'Sunday Christian' and compartmentalising your life so God is stuck in a 'church box' is just not how its supposed to be. We need to think through the issues that surround being a Christian in our everyday lives, and lean on God for wisdom and strength, so that we might shine out like stars and point people to Him.

But this is not a one way street, as God gets glory from us living for Him, we find that we are being changed by Him, and that is amazing. Embracing what God wants for us is the best thing we could do, because He knows what He is doing and will change us from the inside out so that we might fulfil our God-given potential. Jesus said "I have come that they might have life in all its fullness", and isn't that what we all want? Going to church once a week will not bring that fullness, only living for Him everyday can bring that kind of purpose and satisfaction!

If involving God in every area of your life seems an overwhelming prospect, then just break it down a little bit, all we have to do is live for God one decision at a time, each day looking to Him to bring out the best in us. It is a marathon, not a sprint, that means there will be ups and downs, changes of pace, times when it's easy, and times when we hit the wall. In all of this we know God's grace is sufficient for all our needs, and there is nothing He cannot do!

Barack Obama: The Politics of Hope

It is no coincidence that Barack Obama travelled to his inauguration along the same train route that Abraham Lincoln took to his. Just as the 16th president had to restore his nation from the damage wrought by the civil war, Obama is dealing in the hopes and dreams of a divided nation, economically on it's knees and unsure of the future. After 8 years under George Bush, where America's stock has fallen dramatically on the world stage (literally and metaphorically) Obama, and all he stands for is a breath of fresh air. His rallying cry of 'yes we can' stands in stark contrast to the dark mood that currently abounds, and lies at the heart of his popularity. He has harnessed the power of hope, he has promised something different, something new, a better future.

Obama developed this agenda back at the Democratic convention in 2004 during the speech that brought him to the attention of the public at large and laid the foundation for his campaign 4 years later "Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?... I'm not talking about blind optimism here -- the almost wilful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!" It is a theme he has continued with his best-selling book 'The Audacity of Hope' and one that has got him to the most powerful office in the world.

Barack Obama is very deliberately standing in the line of Lincoln, Roosevelt, JFK and Martin Luther King, as visionaries and revolutionaries who changed the face of America, and indeed the world. He promises to unite people who previously stood divided and transform an ailing nation. In some senses this is a dangerous game, as it raises expectation levels through the roof, but then again nothing truly significant was ever achieved without the desire to see it happen. He is the first genuinely exciting political figure my generation can call their own, and if nothing else having young people excited about politics is a huge step forward in and of itself. He gives us the hope to get involved, believing we can make a difference, instead of breeding the cynicism and mistrust that Blair, Bush and the rest all engendered.

For me, the hope of Obama is that he will launch a program of progressive politics that will reconcile rather than divide, look to the needs of the people rather than pander to special interests (such as big oil or the religious right), and re-establish America's moral authority in world affairs, to say nothing of his environmental credentials compared to the blinding, dangerous ignorance of his predecessor. Obama has the potential to be one of the great Presidents, he is incredibly intelligent, very articulate and sure of his convictions. He has already changed the face of American politics, and I hope he continues along that theme.

However in amongst all of this excitement we need to be realistic. He faces the worst economic crisis for 80 years, is saddled with two difficult wars and has to undo much of the damage done by George Bush Jnr. The bottom line is Barack Obama is not the saviour of the world, but he does have the opportunity to make a positive difference. He has both congress and the senate with him, which gives him a great opportunity to drive through legislation and effect change in a meaningful way. The fact that he has promised to shut down Guantanamo Bay by executive order in his first week in power is a good start, and will hopefully be the first of many sweeping actions that do away with the worst excesses of the Bush era and replace them with something far more positive. There is a sense of new beginning, of fresh new energies brought to bear on the enormous problems of our time and it is good.

But it seems appropriate to end this post with a quote from Martin Luther King "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." There is no doubt Barack Obama is facing challenge and controversy, and how he deals with it will dictate the success or otherwise of his presidency. I just pray he can deliver on the hope he has brought into the White House, and proves to be the man of change he is seeking to be.

Stop the Traffik

Watch this video (admittedly slightly out of date), visit the site and then do something....

Some great youth work books

I've read quite a few youth work books over the past 3 years, and I know a few of you who read In the Room are also involved with youth work too, and so will hopefully find this useful!


Mend the Gap by Jason Gardiner
I bought this book at Soul Survivor this summer, and have been reading since. It has taken so long not because it is a terrible book and I had to work to get through it, but because it has changed and challenged me on so many levels that it takes a month or so to process a chapter and put it into practice. The basic premise is that the generation gap that is pulling society apart is doing the same in the church, which is a tragedy and strikes at the very heart of what church should be- a united family. This book is a call to mend that gap, to unite the church and to undo the compartmentalization we bring into church. The first half of the book lays down the sociology behind the generation gap, and the second half is Gardiner's call for radical change to combat the fissure developing between ages. His arguements are compelling and have led me to think seriously about how our services work, our isolation of our youth groups from the rest of the church, and how the youth engage with the rest of the congreation and visa versa. This book has the potential to change everything about how you do youth work. Get your hands on a copy ASAP!


Christian Youth Work by Mark Ashton
This book is an excellent guide to how to make your youth work biblically centred and driven by theological principles. One of the things that really challenged me was the call to develop a deep and meaning discipleship amongst a few rather than looking to get as many young people into church and youth group as possible. This flies against the expectations of many in church, but is based on the way Jesus worked and seems to me to be a liberating idea for the youth worker. Christian Youth Work very obviously comes out of a fairly conservative evangelical viewpoint, and reflects the values that come along with that. Most of the time that is great, but on occasion it limits the scope of what the authors have to say on a given subject, for example the importance of engaging your young people in social action or what to do with young people other than 'preach the gospel'. Obviously that is critical to all we do as Christian youth workers, but there is more to the job than purely preaching and bible study. Overall though this is a great reminder to trust God, to stick to basic Christian principles and not get carried away from keeping The Main Thing, the main thing!

Joined Up: An introduction to Youth Work and Ministry by Danny Brierley
This was one of the first books I read when I became a youth worker, and it proved a really good foundation for what was to come. Danny Brierley outlines the basic components of secular youthwork and Christian youth ministry, and how the two differ. He then argues churches today need a combination of the two, a level of professionalism and good practice combined with an incarnational ministry that seeks to show young people Jesus and all he has to offer. This comes together in his 5 core values for Christian youth work. I'm not sure I agree with every point he makes, but if nothing else this book makes you analyse what you do and why, especially if you haven't been previously trained as a youth worker. I think this book is currently unavailable, but can be found 2nd hand on Amazon and various other sites.

If you have any suggestions beyond what is here, then feel free to comment and let us know what you think!

Celebrity

This past Sunday at Cafe Church we looked at what the Christian faith has to say to the world of celebrity, and it was really challenging, so I thought I would post (a very abridged) version of my talk to see what you all think!

When we were in New York last September, we were shopping at Macy’s, when we saw a big commotion- it turns out Fergie, a famous pop singer, was in the store meeting and greeting fans- but here was the trick- you had to spend $100 on her new clothing range if you wanted to get past the sea of security and sit down with the lady herself. Now I bet you, at least 60% of the people who met Fergie that day, had no intention of spending $100 on her clothing range, but the opportunity to spend a fleeting minute in the presence of such pop royalty was too good an opportunity to pass up- even if it did cost them a fair bit of their hard earned cash. The simple truth is there is something about celebrities that many of us find irresistible and that we live in a society obsessed by celebrity and fame. We watch it, we read about it, we dream about it and we participate in it. The simple fact is so many people are desperate to become famous, and treat celebrities as role models. In a recent survey by the Association of Lecturers and Teachers more than a third of pupils wanted to be famous for the sake of being famous.

Celebrity, it seems to me, is a celebration of being famous, it is a state where the subject lives two lives, the one played out in the media, and the one they live behind closed doors. It is a virtual reality, a narrative of life created and maintained by the media. The media creates the story, sustains the story and gives it its twists and turns, and we lap it up. The question I want to ask though, is why do we care?

Firstly, I believe celebrity shapes values. More often than not celebrity stories are painted by the press as morality tales, with all their ins and outs, ups and downs. In their images and stories we see possible ways of living, of being attractive, being successful, being male or being female. We care because we see life being reflected back to us through celebrities. They allow us to take positions, form moral opinions and make judgements on others. Lets take Paris Hilton as an illustration of this. To some she is the height of taste and fashion; to others she is a spoilt rich kid with the morality of an alley cat. In short the way Paris is portrayed as a celebrity forces us to make a choice about her- and we like that! We like being able to judge others as it deflects attention from our own shortcomings, and allows us to think ‘actually I’m not all that bad’.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells his followers; “How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” Yes, its hyperbole, but it also makes a powerful point. What right do we have to take pleasure in judging and condemning others? We all know we do things that are wrong, and cause others pain and hurt- and yet we are more than happy to point the finger at others, knowing so little of what really is going on.The bottom line is, it’s easier to criticise a celebrity than face up to our own shortcomings. Thankfully the Bible shows us a way to transform our lives instead of avoiding the truth. It tells us to love God with everything we have, and to love others the same way too- this is the best form morality can take, and the world would change overnight if we genuinely took this teaching to heart

Secondly, in a world where life is can be hard and truth can be painful, an escape into the media led virtual reality of celebrity can be appealing. But this is a mistake! Hiding away from truth never solved anything, and in fact leads us to miss out on so much that life has to offer. Jesus says, in John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Life with Jesus, loving God and others with all you have is the best way to live. It is how you truly find yourself and who you are- it is far superior to the empty promises of celebrity and fame. The reason life with Jesus is so fulfilling is because the Bible says we were hardwired to have a relationship with God, and that all the wrong things we do, block that relationship and mess it up. If we were to use the picture language of the Bible it is almost like we are stumbling round in the darkness looking for what we are missing. Jesus says he has come to restore our light so that we can see properly."I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Following Jesus is the only way to have a truly fulfilled life. That’s not to say we cant find partial fulfilment in our family, or our work, or the things we buy, or many of the other things we enjoy, but without God our lives we are missing the solution to our longings.

So at the end of this brief look at celebrity, what can we conclude? Well basically don’t get too sucked in by the plethora of celebrity stories out there, there is life to be lived beyond OK magazine and Heat. More than that look to the needs of others before yourself, and don’t judge others before taking a long hard look at yourself. Ultimately though, what we see from celebrity is that life cannot be lived through other people, but can instead be found, in all its fullness in Jesus Christ.

Gaza

I've been trying to think of a way to eloquently express my shock at the horror and futility of what Israel has been doing over the past week. I cant, so I will let this cartoon from the Guardian speak for me....

QI: The Hat Trick

A debate broke out at church this morning during our discussion of the annual Pantygwydr Oldies vs Youngsters football match, as Naomi, not a football fan, asked why on earth scoring 3 goals was called a hat trick? A fair question we thought, and after some pretty lame attempts at figuring it out, we gave up!

But whilst watching the Villa vs Gillingham FA Cup game this afternoon, my interest was rekindled as James Milner hit a brace and then was on for his hat trick. Some swift internet research followed, and an answer emerged!

I was amazed to find the phrase originated in 1858, and was in wide enough us to be used in print just 20 years later in 1878. Mostly I associate the term 'Hat Trick' with football, but it began life as a cricketing term. It was coined when one HH Stephenson, a fine venerable Victorian gentleman I'm sure, got 3 wickets with 3 consecutive deliveries for an all England XI against the XXII of Hallam in Sheffield.

None of this explains the term itself, 'Hat Trick', which had caused such confusion. After a little more digging, I discovered in the 1800s when a sportsman achieved an special feat a collection was taken for him amongst the players and crowd (the days before professional sport remember). Naturally HH Stephenson's 3 wickets in 3 balls warranted a collection, the proceeds of which went towards buying the bowling ace a fine hat- hence 'Hat Trick'!

All of which is quite interesting and provided me with some good trivia to share with you all!

Thundercats the movie Trailer....

Sadly this is just a brilliantly made fake, but it would be an awesome movie!

2008- the year that was,,,,

It is hard to believe that 2009 is upon us already, and so it seemed worth spending some time to take a glance back at 2008, and some of the highlights from the past 12 months!

Israel/Palestine trip
In July Cat and I had the opportunity to go a trip to Israel/Palestine with Highway projects to spend 2 weeks working alongside the local church at a youth camp. It was just a brilliant experience, and a privilege to be able to serve the church in a new place for both of us.
We had 2 weeks of Bible teaching, crafts, games, and swimming in the beautiful surroundings of Nazareth. There were many highlights for us, but mostly it was just so great to see God working in the lives of the children and young people, and also in our own. It is amazing how He cares for us, how He provides for us and how He never, ever lets us down.
There were 8 of us working at St Margaret’s from the UK, and we all got on so well, brought different gifts, abilities and temperaments to the mix. It meant we had a huge amount of fun, as well as hopefully being a help to the guys running the camp. There isn’t space here to go into more details about some of the amazing Palestinian Christians we met, but they do amazing work, in very difficult circumstances and were an inspiration for all of us.
One final thing strikes me about the trip as I look back; once you cut through all the hype and religiosity, it was inspiring to go to visit the places Jesus lived and taught. It brings the Bible alive in a new way, to have visited Capernaum, stayed in Jericho, been on a boat in Lake Galilee, seen the old town of Bethlehem and walked through the Judean desert; literally to walk where He walked…

Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium
My next highlight is something entirely different. On Friday 6th June Foo Fighters played their biggest ever gig at Wembley Stadium, and we were there! It was immense, superlatives just run out when I think about how to describe it. They played a great, crowd pleasing set, with all their best songs- Everlong and All My Life being my two favourite on the night. Dave Grohl is just an awesome front man, and the rest of the band are pretty good too! Taylor Hawkins’s extended drum solo during Stacked Actors was the best I’ve ever heard live, and might even give Grohl’s drumming skills a run for their money. They finished with an epic rendition of Best of You, and as the band left, fireworks exploded over Wembley which was a perfect end to the evening. One of the best gigs I have EVER been to!

Slum Survivor
On a cold, wet October weekend, Youth Cell spent a few days the way millions spend a lifetime, by building and living in their own slum outside church, eating rice and lentils and walking miles for our water. For me, it was a real challenge to be reminded in such a real way of God’s love for the poor, and our responsibility to act. The passage that really spoke to me over the weekend was from Amos It was also brilliant to see everyone youth cell rising to all the challenges placed before them, and raising around £500 for Soul Action in the process!


Additional 2008 list
Favourite Album: Viva la Vida- Coldplay
Favourite Song: Crawl- Kings of Leon
Favourite Film: The Dark Knight
Favourite Book: Sex.God by Rob Bell
Worst Film: Be Kind Re-wind
Most Annoying Song: Low- T-Pain and Flo.Rida