there were two news stories that caught my eye [and my heart] yesterday. It doesn’t happen often but it did yesterday. And I wonder if they are linked.

It was a small act of defiance, but Rosa Parks’ refusal, as a black woman, to give up her bus seat to a white man, would change the course of American history.

The first news story was the death of Rosa Parks. She was arrested in 1955 for not giving up her seat for a white man. The law imposing this was made in 1865 [90 years before]. Her case was backed by a civil right leader and it lead to a 381 day boycott of the bus system, led by the then unknown Martin Luther King. You can read her obituary here. It asked me this question: what injustices are taking place in our time, what prejudices are built into our culture?

UN charity Unicef says 18 million children in sub-Saharan Africa could be orphaned by Aids by the end of 2010.
It also says that every minute, a child is infected with HIV and another child dies from an Aids-related illness.

The second was the number of ‘AIDS’ orphans predicted in Africa by 2010. Huge numbers. I have friedns who are just now considering a move to Uganda to work in a childrens home, maybe with a view to setting up their own. Wow, what a need. Is this an injustice of our age? Should, as Bono says, the West be doing more to help address the AIDS problem in Africa?

Scot McKnight at ‘Jesus Creed‘ has done a series of posts on the what is the gospel. clicking on that link will give all the posts under that category. Scroll a little way down to “What is the Gospel? 1” and read up!! [I confess to not really liking his use of "Eikon" - it just doesn't read well - but then he has written a book on it...]. A fav quote to give a taster:

Hyper-individualism is the most selfish thing we can do with the gospel. To turn what God is doing in this world exclusively into what he is doing for me is to turn God upside down and stand ourselves up in God’s place. The gospel is not about me, but about what God is doing - and the “me” comes in as part of what God is doing. This difference is not a little matter.

Maggie Dawn has posted a couple of interesting posts on conversation and learning - really interesting for a home church environment:
1. theology for seven year olds. A Quote:

Sometimes I have to struggle to communicate something to someone who keeps missing the point, and in the process I feel I have engaged more deeply with the subject matter myself. But in these conversations I also hear theology spoken back to me in ways that throw light on to it for me too; I hear questions raised that I don’t always know how to answer. The purpose of teaching is only in part to communicate what you know to someone else. Much more important than teaching them WHAT you think and know, is teaching them HOW to think and read and learn.

conversation and emerging church. Another quote:

Conversation, to me, is essential to teaching; it’s the lifeblood of a good teacher who knows very well that she, too, is a student; it’s central to a community of Christians who will have a mix of people who “know” the same kinds of things but have learned them in different ways - experience, reading, thinking, inspiration, and so on … But silencing knowledgeable people in the name of community is not conversation at all - it’s a reaction against dogmatism that is ultimately destructive.

Two mutually qualifying blog posts, that are helpful. I was having a conversation today that reflected these two sentiments in some way. We were talking about how it is equally monochrome to only discuss things in the same manner each week as it is to preach at people each week. We need creativity and variety in our gatherings that keeps our learning dynamic, interesting and ultimately life-changing; as well as using the differing gifts and styles in the community.

Scot McKnight at ‘Jesus Creed‘ has done a series of posts on the what is the gospel. clicking on that link will give all the posts under that category. Scroll a little way down to “What is the Gospel? 1” and read up!! [I confess to not really liking his use of "Eikon" - it just doesn't read well - but then he has written a book on it...]. A fav quote to give a taster:

Hyper-individualism is the most selfish thing we can do with the gospel. To turn what God is doing in this world exclusively into what he is doing for me is to turn God upside down and stand ourselves up in God’s place. The gospel is not about me, but about what God is doing - and the “me” comes in as part of what God is doing. This difference is not a little matter.

Maggie Dawn has posted a couple of interesting posts on conversation and learning - really interesting for a home church environment:
1. theology for seven year olds. A Quote:

Sometimes I have to struggle to communicate something to someone who keeps missing the point, and in the process I feel I have engaged more deeply with the subject matter myself. But in these conversations I also hear theology spoken back to me in ways that throw light on to it for me too; I hear questions raised that I don’t always know how to answer. The purpose of teaching is only in part to communicate what you know to someone else. Much more important than teaching them WHAT you think and know, is teaching them HOW to think and read and learn.

conversation and emerging church. Another quote:

Conversation, to me, is essential to teaching; it’s the lifeblood of a good teacher who knows very well that she, too, is a student; it’s central to a community of Christians who will have a mix of people who “know” the same kinds of things but have learned them in different ways - experience, reading, thinking, inspiration, and so on … But silencing knowledgeable people in the name of community is not conversation at all - it’s a reaction against dogmatism that is ultimately destructive.

Two mutually qualifying blog posts, that are helpful. I was having a conversation today that reflected these two sentiments in some way. We were talking about how it is equally monochrome to only discuss things in the same manner each week as it is to preach at people each week. We need creativity and variety in our gatherings that keeps our learning dynamic, interesting and ultimately life-changing; as well as using the differing gifts and styles in the community.

Scot McKnight at ‘Jesus Creed‘ has done a series of posts on the what is the gospel. clicking on that link will give all the posts under that category. Scroll a little way down to “What is the Gospel? 1” and read up!! [I confess to not really liking his use of "Eikon" - it just doesn't read well - but then he has written a book on it...]. A fav quote to give a taster:

Hyper-individualism is the most selfish thing we can do with the gospel. To turn what God is doing in this world exclusively into what he is doing for me is to turn God upside down and stand ourselves up in God’s place. The gospel is not about me, but about what God is doing - and the “me” comes in as part of what God is doing. This difference is not a little matter.

Maggie Dawn has posted a couple of interesting posts on conversation and learning - really interesting for a home church environment:
1. theology for seven year olds. A Quote:

Sometimes I have to struggle to communicate something to someone who keeps missing the point, and in the process I feel I have engaged more deeply with the subject matter myself. But in these conversations I also hear theology spoken back to me in ways that throw light on to it for me too; I hear questions raised that I don’t always know how to answer. The purpose of teaching is only in part to communicate what you know to someone else. Much more important than teaching them WHAT you think and know, is teaching them HOW to think and read and learn.

conversation and emerging church. Another quote:

Conversation, to me, is essential to teaching; it’s the lifeblood of a good teacher who knows very well that she, too, is a student; it’s central to a community of Christians who will have a mix of people who “know” the same kinds of things but have learned them in different ways - experience, reading, thinking, inspiration, and so on … But silencing knowledgeable people in the name of community is not conversation at all - it’s a reaction against dogmatism that is ultimately destructive.

Two mutually qualifying blog posts, that are helpful. I was having a conversation today that reflected these two sentiments in some way. We were talking about how it is equally monochrome to only discuss things in the same manner each week as it is to preach at people each week. We need creativity and variety in our gatherings that keeps our learning dynamic, interesting and ultimately life-changing; as well as using the differing gifts and styles in the community.

The article can be seen here, but the last sentence caugh my eye:

As part of the briefing, Faithworks outlined a 6-point plan for developing a greater understanding of faith in society. These proposals included the development of ‘faith awareness’ programmes, which would help Government, statutory agencies and voluntary groups understand what it means for individuals and groups to operate from a faith motivation, rather than just a religious affiliation.

I think that is an interesting thought and helpful way to put it, emphasising a life orientation that flows from “faith” out into the world, rather than organisational orientation that emphasises self-support, on which you sign up on a dotted line.

As I think I have said before mission is not about saving the church, but about saving the world. The same that Jesus said “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but if whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” [Mark 8:35] about the individual, also applies to the church.