Amazed & Confused

Book Twenty One: Does Love Win?

Every now and then a book will come a long that strikes a nerve.  It stokes the fires of debate and it provokes many to ask large questions and seek important answers.  Rob Bell's latest book Love Wins (the 21st in my year long challenge) is most certainly the latest in this long line of nerve hitting, hot potatoes. Here's the thing though... if you're reading this post because you're interested in my stance on the nature of heaven, hell, God's love, holiness and Jesus Christ, then I'm going to disappoint you.  I will not  be donning a jersey and picking a side today...

Nope... today I want to talk about something else... I want to talk about love, anger, argument and debate... that and the perils of the internet.

If you're a Christian and partake in the blogosphere, or the world of Twitter, it's likely you've come across the hurricane of opinion this book has stirred up.  At first I was taken aback by the strength of feeling, the certainty of opinion, the metaphorical lines being drawn in the sand.  I'm all for debate, but there have been some who've brought a level of... well... something that most certainly does not resemble familial love to the table.  Now, in some ways I can get it.  On both extremes of the spectrum being discussed there are people who deeply love God and feel that the subjects addressed are vitally important.  It makes sense that the book could anger or upset people... my problem with it is that in those moments, when all we can see is red... let's all step away from the internet.

There's something very easy about venting online.  I think it's easy to be unkind, blunt even when you're not looking someone in the eye or personalising your opinion to real life situations.  As I read through page after page there were some gems of restraint and thoughtful contemplation, but much that made me deeply sad.  

“A new command I give you: Love one another..." John 13:34

The title of the book seemed ironic.  Whatever it's alluding to, love was not the hall mark of how we've spoken to each other as a community...

So... if you want to know what I think of this book I'm afraid you won't find it online.  I have read it.  I have discussed it.  I've already planned further reading about aspects I want to explore further.  Make me a cup of tea and I'll share my reactions as I look into your eyes.  Offer me a biscuit and I'll talk you though my incomplete, but current thoughts on our future hope.  But not here, not now... It's hard to talk humbly to a computer screen.  It's difficult to remember the art of speaking and listening when your typing. Issues of life and death, are too important, too close to many hearts, to be handled by my clumsy blogging.  So face to face it is.  Shall I pop the kettle on?

Book Twenty: Mother is a dirty word

Designer babies, genetic predestination and a life of hedonism... I'm not sure I've read anything more chilling than Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.  The perfect companion to my earlier read of George Orwell's 1984, BNW extrapolated 20th/21st century Western Society's desire for instant gratification to a terrifying conclusion.  Huxley deftly and intelligently paints a world where humans are not born but factory made, where 'Mother' is a dirty word and free will has been almost systematically eradicated, no brain washed, nay scoured out of humanity from our mental processes to our very DNA.  The result, a near content and productive society, a world at peace... but peace at a high price.

Though I was initially wowed/terrified by the first half of this book I have to say it did not hold such intense interest as it progressed.  The story arcs of characters I'd connected with drifted into uncertainty, while a central character I was only half interested in closed out the tale.  That aside, I'm glad I read it.  I can see why 1984 and BNW are hailed as the God Fathers of much modern Science Fiction and particularly dystopian imaginings.  Most dystopian films and stories in recent years borrow heavily from one or the other. Though one explores an extreme manifestation of something that resembles socialism, and the other capitalism, I think both are relevant and challenging to the state of the world today.  What do we value?  What are we pursuing?  What price will we pay for it?  Who will hold the power in the societies to come and what role with faith, belief, religion play?  What struck me about both futures was the lack (and at times aggressive annihilation) of the spirit and faith in God.  Whether humanity is squashed under the weight of fear, paranoia and oppression, or numbed by the sensory overload of having every whim satisfied, both worlds seem grim, hopeless and without real life... Terrifying... Thought provoking...

Find the truth...

It's been the best part of a decade since I stopped dancing.  Not since my degree ended have I pushed myself in movement, stretched my limbs, strengthened my frame and sought to conquer not just the technicality of a movement but it's impetus.  Since I graduated the closest I come to those enjoyable years is dancing in the dark (no pun intended) across the laminated floor of my living room on a quiet night.  There's a sense/a kind of peace and connection I find in movement that I don't think I've found anywhere else.  I am not a great dancer, I once aspired to be... not for long though.  When I danced, I did not dance for prowess, I danced for sensation; expression.  It was more than enough. It didn't matter that I would never be technically good enough to pursue it professionally.

Tonight I feel elated and sad.  I've been cast back, remembering when dance absorbed my days; the satisfaction I felt at doing my best, the  challenge of pushing myself.  The joy.  This surprising introspection has been provoked by a woman, a company, a film and a pair of 3D glasses...

Tonight I saw Pina.

Pina Baucsh was a German choreographer and in my limited foray into the world of contemporary dance, she was one of my favourites.  Bausch had an incredible ability to move people, her work was amazingly truthful and surprisingly humourous (just when you least expected it).  Her company, Wuppertal Tanztheatre, are one of the most breathtaking I've seen live.  Though her work would probably be confusing and very strange to someone who wasn't familiar with the world of physical theatre, I doubt anyone could help but be mesmerised.  I myself was so taken I based my dissertation around her creative process and performance style.  I am not the first, and will certainly not be the last...

Wim Wenders film will see to that.

Pina, is a documentary.  It is a piece of art.  It is some of the most exquisite dance film I have seen.  It is a record of work.  It is a remembrance of a friend, choreographer, seeker of truth.  Quite simply, it's stunning.  Here in Chichester there was just one showing, on one night of this unique film, and I can't believe I considered not going!  Thank God I didn't go with that impulse.  Though it would probably be good on DVD, I think it was greatly enhanced on the large screen and in 3D.  (A thing I've been scornful of recently)  The 3D was so intelligently used it enhanced the experience to give you feel of an almost live experience.  In some ways it was better than live.  I feel like I just saw The Rite of Spring and Cafe Muller in an entirely new way. 

If you are at all interested in art or film or dance, I highly recommend this film.  I'll finish now and go back to my thoughts...

And that's a wrap...

As I emerge from a week of travel I realise I have neglected my blog for the first time in 2011.  It's not good for me.  My head gets overly full with things I want to write about... Books I've finished... People I've hung out with... The chicks hatched in our lean too... My trip to the USA... An amazing Easter weekend... and so much more.  I know it's inevitable that I will fail to capture it all retrospectively but this week I'll blog daily to try and capture at least those moments freshest in my mind.

Today I want to chat about the end of an amazing journey through lent.  The podcast you're probably all sick of me mentioning called 24-7 Prayer Spaces.

This idea was born over a year ago.  For ages many of us involved in the prayer, mission and justice movement have wanted to repeat the podcast put out a few years back to unite us in prayer across the globe.  The challenge was finding the time and resource to make it happen.  The series has been dreamed about in many different guises until just after Christmas we finally realised we were able to make it happen.  Alana, Scot and I holed up in our little London office with tea and chocolate, prayed together and then covered the walls in paper as we started brain storming the possible topics and verses we could pray through.  It's been an amazing journey to see those scrawls become a reality.

I thought that the podcast would be an encouragement and tool for maybe a couple of hundred people around the globe.  The response however on our first week of release was overwhelming.  People have participated in their THOUSANDS!! 

That was a little scary at first... 

Our simple, scruffy little videos have been used by individuals, churches, networks, young people, old people, youth groups, families around the dinner table and many more.  The feedback we received moved me to tears (er... not cause it was mean) because it was amazing to see that God had used them to really speak to and meet with people.  What more could you ask for?

Scot and I are starting to plan our next Prayer Spaces season (probably for Advent this year!) and ways in which we could involve more 24-7ers from across the globe.  Watch this space and the 24-7 Blog for more.

To finish off the season Scot and I recorded the video below for Easter Monday.  Our closing thoughts and prayers are wrapped up beautifully by a little special something that the lovely Georgina and fabulous Ella put together.  

Oh yes... it's the outtakes!

 

I highly recommend watching them, it's laugh out loud material. (Skip to middle to get to the good stuff.) Someone commented on twitter and I have to agree that there's a lot of me in there.  What, did no-one else try to read their bible upside down, or nearly fall down a bank, or say "Mary went to the kill country"? Ok maybe that last one was unique.  Anyway, enjoy! If you watched any of the Prayer Spaces season I'd love to hear from you.  What did you think?  Got any feedback?

Journey's end, journal closed...

Thoughts, questions, prayers and pleas... rants, raves, epiphanies and ideas... doodles, notes, names and more... Since August last year one book has held all of these things.  

My mind, my heart, poured out through a fountain pen into the companion that rarely leaves my side.  As I say goodbye to one journal, and add the pens strokes that stain the pages of my new journey mate,  I feel simultaneously elated and at a loss.  The bulging dog eared pages of retiring book have talked me through much.  I don't feel ready to leave it behind.  

Yet...

I am always excited about the potential of the blank page. What next?

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your journals after you die?  I've gone back and forth on the idea of having them buried/cremated/whatever with me... they're so intimate, my life laid bare... To whose hands would I entrust them other than Steve's?

What you seed is what you get...

The Revelation church community is in the midst of a season of teaching that explores the metaphors Jesus and the New Testament writers use to explore the life, hope and mystery of what God has to say.  Last week the fabulous Will Moore took us through an excellent examination of God's word as light (you can download it here, well worth the effort).  Yesterday I shared for 30 minutes on the culmination of weeks of mulling, meditating, memorising, discussing and refining my thoughts on God's word as seed.

I really enjoyed preparing this talk, mainly because discovering the beauty and life to be had through the Bible has been a slow and edifying journey that's marked my last five years.  There is so much to discover, so much to learn, so much to be challenged by, so much to wrestle with, so much to enjoy.  After years of reading I still firmly believe I am barely scraping the surface.  Looking at the Bible as a seed to be planted, tended and harvested resonated with my experience and hope.  I mused over how to prepare the soil of my heart, how to plant the seed by reading the word in many different ways, how I've learned to water the ground with prayer, and then the most challenging part of all... waiting on God to do His stuff... to bring growth, life, a crop to be enjoyed.  

The whole process was a great opportunity to reflect.  If you interested in what I ended up sharing you can download it here.