It’s all about the environment

OK word of warning, proud dad moment coming up.

Yesterday my Eldest daughter spoke in city youth; my middle daughter is already a old hand at writing sermons and writes them for fun. It is one of those times when as a father I feel not only immensely proud but also immensely thankful.

As my kids grow up I am beginning to realise the pressure that comes from wanting to see your kids flourish and make the most of themselves, last week I make the Birthday cake for my youngest daughters 10^th Birthday, man they grow up fast.

I realise they are their own people with their own thoughts, they have aspiration and ambition, I as their parent cannot guarantee how they will turn out but I can create an environment that will help and I hope cause them to flourish and make right life choices

I want an environment for my girls that is

• Positive , that believes in them , that causes them to dream big dreams, that banishes the word can’t and celebrates the word can
• Loving, that they know that they are loved, cherished and in knowing this have an understanding of their worth. To me one of our society’s greatest failings is our vilification of youth, we need to produce and show positive role models and we can only do this through love.
• Honest, If I want my girls to  be honest with me I must be honest with them, tell the truth in love, create a open environment, build trust.
• Challenging: I refuse to rap my girls up in cotton wool, I want to stretch them, to cause them to think and become bigger people that will excel in the worlds they live in. I want to cause them to think and apply wisdom to decisions, they cannot do this if they have it all on a plate
• Spacious, I want them to have room to grow. I want them to make mistakes and learn from them while always supplying a safety net to help them if they need it, which is quite a balancing act for a parent to achieve.

 

When I put the cake in the oven I had to wait and hope that it would turn out right, however I trusted that if I put the right ingredients in it would stand a good chance. As it turned out the cake was a winner, full of chocolaty goodness.

I am thankful that we have a loving home, a great network of friends, an amazing church and a great youth and kids ministry which I believe provide the ingredients to produce beautiful kind amazing young woman who will grow up to flourish and become all that they can be.

Chocolate cake anyone?

Five stories: three museums: one statement :Conclusion

I remember as a young zealous guy an occasion when two Jehovah’s witnesses came to the door, now I sincerely believe that the followers of William Russell are wrong, I believe it is a dangerous cult to be involved in however most JW’s I have met have been sincere in their beliefs. These two young guys were no exception; I delighted in locking swards with them. Most of the guys who come out on the doors are extremely confident and knowledgeable concerning their beliefs, they are trained in how to answer people of other faiths, I saw this as a challenge, I knew my stuff and they left defeated after nearly losing their cool with me. I closed the door feeling pretty pleased with myself, I had gone toe to toe and had won, I was the kiddie, I was the man, who the man ? I the man.

Then

I realised

I had won the battle and lost the war

D’oh

They left more or less the same way they had come; they were no closer to Jesus.

A few years later I had the chance at work top befriend a guy who happened to be a JW, this time I was a little more mature and considerably wiser, I treated him with respect while not compromising my witness. We played squash together, we had some great talks. I heard from him the other day on Facebook, I don’t think he is a JW anymore but I don’t think he is a Christian either. I hope one day he will be, I hope the Holy Spirit works on him and some of the stuff or witness that I gave comes back to his remembrance.

Sometimes we forget that we are just signposts, we point the way to Jesus, it is the work of God that convicts and works on the heart of man, sometimes we try to do God’s work for him and we mess it up and get in the way.

Sometimes we forget that we are to love people and we get it wrong, we end up burning books or turning a blind eye to wrong or getting all judgemental.

I know that sometimes Jesus got angry and overturned things but more often than not his anger and hard words were directed not to the lost but the hypocritical, judgmental religious types.

We are called to be salt and light; we are called to use the resources we are given for good. In Matthew 25 we hear the story of the guy who plays safe with the resource he was given, he buries it, it stays safe but makes no return, it does not affect anyone else’s story positively.

So there it is, the end of an experiment in blogging and for the conclusion of the conclusion, well I guess everyone is expecting me to finish with that statement, you know the one, I am not, you have probably heard it enough already. As for me what these two days taught me is that I am still very much a work in progress looking to navigate and serve!

Now anyone up for some pie and mash, luvverly

Five stories: three museums: one statement Part: FIVE: back to Mozambique

Most of my two days in London I was solo going around the museums as my wife was entertained in her Dental Therapists conference, a strange thing to be entertained by but as she recently commented to me “I love drilling teeth” you begin to get a glimpse into her weird and quite frankly disturbing mind, The conference drew to a close Saturday afternoon and we had a few hours to kill before our train back to Stoke on Trent.

After all my enthusing about the British Museum Debs decided she would like to see it as well so off we trotted (I lie we took the tube, by now my feet were killing me) I showed her all the sites we had seen before then we went down into my favourite bit, the Africa Galleries and looked again at the artwork made from Guns. The tree made of guns was called the ‘tree of life’ there was a video that went with it and explained how it had come about. A local Bishop had started a project called ‘tools for guns’ villagers who had hidden their guns out of fear and mistrust were given a opportunity to hand in their guns and get something in return, one guy on the video told how he swapped over three guns and got some roofing and a hoe in return. On village pooled all their guns and got a tractor. The guns are cut up into small pieces and are used to create fantastic artworks of which the tree was commissioned by the British Museum to represent Africa.

The Bishop spoke with passion about how he is removing the guns from Mozambique one village at a time. He realises that his actions affect the stories of others.

Five stories: three museums: one statement Part FOUR: Germany

 The Third museum I visited was the imperial war museum on London’s South bank. I love the South Bank it seems like the cool young brother of the City, the pace seems to drop just a little bit.

The Imperial War Museum like most of the Museums in London is an impressive place for someone like me interested in twentieth century history it is a tresure trove of information. Recently installed in the museum is the Holocaust exhibition, I decided to take a look not really prepared for how it would effect me, I think I can honestly say it was on of the most moving and hard hitting exhibitions I have ever witnessed.

Now, I know about the Atrocities committed by the Nazi’s, the ethnic cleansing, The concentration camps, the mass genocide, what was chillingly fascinating was how this came about, how a nation can be so swept up in nationalist fervour to allow or turn a blind eye to this happening.

As I was walking around the exhibition and saw how the Jewish people were demonised by the state I can across one information board that stopped me in my tracks that sent a shiver down my spine.

It highlighted the fact that anti Semitism started not by the Nazi party but by Christian Churches burning Jewish Literature and books. I guess those churches never realised what started out as or at least what they conceived was peaceful protest would end as badly and horrifically as it did, I suppose Pastor Jones in Florida never realised his actions would change the stories of those shot dead in Baghdad.

I asked the question how a nation can get caught up in such hatred so quickly. I love modern Germany its people, I have found them intelligent, polite, measured, but how did they allow this to happen.

Deborah visited Yugoslavia shortly before the atrocities that occurred there, she remembers how friendly and hospital the people were, yet weeks later the whole area she stayed in was ravished with war and misery and became linked forever with ethnic cleansing.

I remember speaking to a friend who was involved in a inner city London gang, he tried to explain to me how one second they were like kids laughing and goofing about the next they would commit acts of unspeakable rage and violence.

Truth is I don’t understand but I recognised that it can and does happen, to think that we are now too educated or too civilised to allow this to happen again is at best naive and  at worst dangerously complacent.

My belief is that burning books is never right, that the God I serve is the God in Psalm 40 who inclines his ear to me, the Jesus of Mark 1:41 who is so filled with compassion he reaches out to the leper woman and touches her, he speaks words of life to her.

On the wall at the end of the Holocaust exhibition is a quote from the Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke “In order for Evil to triumph, good men must do nothing” I was speaking to our welcome Pastor Michael Syson about the exhibition and he explained how he had gone to a Holocaust exhibition in Israel, One of the displays in this exhibition was a tree garden that had been planted to honour the ‘righteous gentiles’  who had helped the Jews during the Holocaust, each tree represented someone who had sought to help the Jewish people, Michael turned the corner expecting to see hundreds of trees, there were not, it was sparse, he recalls the shock of so few who had come to their aid, he noted that inaction as well as action changes the stories of others.

Five stories: three museums: one statement Part THREE: Athens

Friday Morning I headed for the Victoria and Albert museum, , it opened at 10 so to kill a bit of time I wondered down Kensington High street, just opposite Harrods I noticed Holy Trinity Brompton set back from the main road. Holy Trinity or HTB as It is commonly known is the Parish of the Reverend Nicky Gumbell the creator of the Alpha course.

The Alpha course has been an amazing success al the more so because the concept is incredibly simple, it is a tem week course that introduces Christianity in a non threatening way. It is a million miles away from the hate filled posturing and diatribe of Pastor Jones in Florida. It aims to build not burn bridges to resonate with a lost generation. The Alpha course is now available in churches up and down the country thousands of people are coming to know Jesus and I do a mean Nicky Gumbell impression.

Taking of impressions I made my way to the Victoria and Albert Museum, I am no stranger to this museum but this time I was going for one reason only. It seems the Pope is on his way to the UK to do a couple of gigs (or masses as he calls them) as a result of this the Raphael Tapestries that were originally commissioned to sit in the Sistine Chapel and now housed in the Vatican museums where brought over and reunited with the original ‘cartoons’ (drawings) that Raphael drew for the Belgium Tapestry makers.  I got my ticket and made my way to the gallery the first Tapestry I saw depicted St Paul on Mars hill debating with the politicians of the day. 

Strangely enough this story was in my thoughts all of the last few weeks having just completed an essay on it and having blogged on it last week. Paul had rolled up in Athens and been outraged by all the idolatry and worship of false Gods he had seen. However rather than get all angry with the Athenians he attempted to find common ground in order to convince them that the unknown god they worshipped was actually the one true and living God and he couldn’t be contained in Idols rather he held the whole world in his hands.

Some dismissed him, others ridiculed him but for others something resonated, it got hold of them and they became believers.

I recalled this story as I looked up at the fantastic artworks presented above me, I thought of the incredible missionary journey of the Apostle Paul, I thought of the fantastic ministry that was born out of Holy Trinity just a few doors up from where I was standing and I realised that Nicky Gumbell and Paul had something in common, both had first had experience that their actions affected the story of others

Part TWO: New York

September the 11^th will always be one of those days where you have to stop and think, Nine years on and I still remember when I heard about the planes hitting the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. Nine years ago I was in a hotel in Carmarthen, West Wales. I had returned to my Hotel room and switched on the TV, to be honest I had a feeling something was up walked back to the hotel, there seemed to be a hush in the air, something didn’t seem right, like lots of others watching the horrific events unfold in real time on the TV screens was both eerie and unreal only as the days and the stories unfolded did the full understanding hit home.

This September 11^th I made my way to Portabella road in Notting hill just to pass away a couple of hours until the Imperial war museum opened. The news was full of a Pastor in Florida who had threatened to Burn the Koran in protest at a proposed Mosque opening at Ground zero. I thought of the absurdity of this guy who bore more than a striking resemblance to Jed Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies commanding so much media attention. Pastor Terry Jones has no more than 30 people regularly attending his services yet his actions and the relentless media coverage was putting others at risk

Cannon Andrew White works in Baghdad, in fact he has the nickname the vicar of Baghdad as the minister of St George’s the only Anglican Church operating in Iraq, White had warned that he had credible intelligence that if Jones went through with his attack his church would be targeted, the army were being scrambled to help but the honest assessment from Cannon White is there effect would be limited the day before four army guards were gunned down in what Cannon White strongly believes were linked to the Koran burning threat from Pastor Jones.

I guess Pastor Jones needs to live with the reality that his actions affect the stories of others.

Five stories: three museums: one statement : Part ONE Mozambique

I was blown away by the British museum, it is I suppose a bit vulgar consisting primarily of the stuff we have nicked from other cultures & lands over the years. One thing that caught my eye was a display of modern art in the Africa gallery, a throne and an Tree made out of guns was quite startling.

It turns out there is a story behind this Mozambique suffered greatly during a bloody civil war for 8 years, children were trained as child soldiers, innocence was lost and a vast number of people murdered. The artworks at the British Museum were made from guns recovered from the conflict. Along with the artwork was a video presentation the Bishop on the video informed that even today there is estimated to be over 8 million guns stored and hidden in villages all over Mozambique, he went on to explain that Mozambique had never produced one gun, every weapon in his country was made elsewhere, Russia, South Africa, Europe, China but not Mozambique. I guess no one who made these guns ever thought they would end up in the arms of child soldiers or be used to shoot innocent women and children but the stark raw truth is they did.

You see what the gun makers failed to realise is quite simple their actions affected the stories of others.

Five stories: three museums: one statement

Introduction

For those of you that follow my twitter account you will be aware that I had a few days in London town last week, Debs was at a dental conference so I had a lot of spare time to myself, this was great as I was able to do the things that I wanted to do and not the stuff the wife and kids want which usually involves shopping and sightseeing.

I really like London, OK things are a bit different since I was a lad, the smog has lifted and you are no longer greeted on Euston station by pearly kings and queens singing to you as you arrive on platform 12 but all said and done it’s still a great place to visit.

The next few entries are a result of my two days in London, but more than that where I am in my life at the moment, I will be building on the message I spoke at Cheadle last Sunday.

To lay the foundation if you will, I visited three museums , the Victoria and Albert museum, primarily to see the Raphael Tapestries and Cartoons side by side (I am very cultured me), the British Museum as I want to see the Norman Foster roof (cultured and a bit weird!) and the imperial war museum because I am a man.

The two days also gave me time to Selah, to stop, pause and think things over. I really felt this was important for me as I need my musing time. Something was being impressed on me these last few weeks and days and that forms the statement that will run as the tread through the next five entries on this blog.

ONE STATEMENT

“Your actions affect the stories of others”

lets begin….

A Burning issue

Lord Byron once famously commentated “Christians have burnt each other, quite persuaded that all the Apostles would have done as they did.” I suppose if he was around today he might have added that Christians have burnt Korans (Qurans) quite persuaded the apostles would have done the same.

Ok first thing we need to do is recognise that this is a small extreme Church in the US that has attracted far more publicity than it deserves and yes it does disappoint me that the media would rather focus on what is whacked out, weird and woeful rather than what is true and noble but coming from a country that has seen the mainstream papers dominated by Wayne Rooney for the last 4 days it is hardly surprising.

Secondly lets get some balance here, The Muslim community are very keen to point out that acts of terrorism are committed by a very small extreme and radicalised section of their faith, they rightly go to some lengths to distance themselves from those who purport to be of Islam faith yet promote hatred and terror. Therefore there must be a realisation that this act by a small church is not in any way supported or condoned by the Christian church worldwide.

Finally let me say why I believe the act by this church is so wrong, When the Apostle Paul went to Athens and preached on Mars hill he sought to do firstly establish common ground, he talked to them and reasoned with them about their culture, he quoted their poets and acknowledged their beliefs. To the extremely inappropriately named Dove World Outreach Center, in Florida this would be inconceivable.

Paul as well as establishing common ground looks to point the crowd to a common theme, explaining how the unknown god they have a tomb to is the one and true God, he starts to explain and debate with them, there is dialogue and mutual respect. Paul does not have to use shock tactics he relies on the truth to win through.

Thirdly we see the common good, several people including one politician and a lady of some nobility come to be believers due to Paul’s address, some people say Pauls message to the Athenians was a failure, I wish I could have those sorts of failures in my preaching.

Paul understood the need to bring people with him on the journey; he also had a unswerving and absolute belief that the word of God was all powerful. That Christ and Christ alone was the answer to the cry of this world. When you have that sort of belief you are confident that truth will win out without the need for stupid publicity stunts.

Pastor Terry Jones said “We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam.” Truth is this is offensive to much more than the radical element and will fuel tensions already at a high in the state due to the increased controversy surrounding the ground zero mosque (which is neither a mosque or at ground zero curiously). Perhaps Pastor Jones needs a dose of another sort of ‘common’ a liberal sprinkling of common sense .

The burning platform

I used to love computer games when I was a kid, actually who I am kidding I still like computer games now. Things have changed and got faster and smarter from the days when I owed my first ZX spectrum, I remember being blown away when I saw a sega mega drive, then the first play stations, indeed things have changed. (Time to get out the pipe and slippers and complain that all music sounds the same these days)

One thing that hasn’t changed though is a device used in video games, the burning platform, from manic miner through to sonic the hedgehog, from Mario to Laura Croft they all use this device. Basically you step onto a platform to get to the next level but you cannot remain there, unless you go up again the platform will burn out or give way and your doom will be sealed with the two words that every gamer dreads, that causes them to wake up in a cold sweat. “Game over”

I was looking into what happened when the spies were sent out to look at the Promised Land, I can see parallels here to the burning platform experience, and these were guys who had seen great stuff happen, the red sea parting all sorts of stuff. Maybe when they had escaped the clutches of the Egyptians they thought they had made it, what they didn’t realise is that in getting out of one dilemma they had stepped onto a burning platform.

The spies were sent out to plan the route into the promised land; God had already spoken and told them not to be fearful. What happened next is a warning to anyone stuck on a burning platform. Despite Caleb’s best efforts they bottled it, they should have jumped but they remained, when God was displeased with them they tried to jump but it was too late the platform was gone the opportunity lost and the perils of wilderness walking became a reality.

Here is the thing the platforms don’t last for long, if we want to get to the next level and not fall back we need to make the most of these platforms when we can. Sometimes we step up and think that is it but the truth is we need to realise that it is just a stepping stone and a temporary one at that, keep going keep stepping up

Now anyone fancy a game of donkey Kong