benedson

goldfrapp

We went to see Goldfrapp at the Bridgewater Hall on monday night. She was on top form, great visual and fantastic voice!

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withdrawal from mbs iii - engaging with mbs

A few comments have been made that have stimulated my thinking on this so thanks. Firstly, It is good that we are at MBS fairs from an educational perspective of our own Christian community, so that Christians can be in these contexts and experience them. Being in an MBS context serves a broader purpose than 'just' mission.

Granted in many ways, the Paul and Jesus analogy isn't the strongest so I think that I'm with Barry Taylor on this one that we need to 'turn away from scripture' for this particular issue and look at our own tradition. I think that there is a danger that we can point the finger at consumeristic spirituality without recognizing the consumeristic approach within our own tradition. In many ways the remainder of this post is a call to move beyond consumeristic approach to spirituality and offer a radical Christian alternative that is not based on consumerism. My concern is that we are just adopting a consumeristic model rather than modeling something where people will find their true identity.

So here's a vision, a dream, some ideas about how we could offer something alternative when engaging with MBS fairs and MBS community.

1 - Deliberately, and maybe prophetically, avoid the large most consumeristic fairs.
2 - Develop an MBS missional residential new monastic community, living in an ecologically sustainable way. Offering week long retreats and events focused on self awareness, ecology and spirituality.
3 - Develop links on a structural level with small scale MBS fairs, offering retreats at the residential community.
4 - From the residential eco-community develop links with urban communities, aiming to engage with the the most vulnerable and excluded.

just dreams, ideas thoughts, suggestions - but think that we need to move forward to the next phase...

Technorati Tags: Alternative community, Ben Edson, environmentalism, Mind Body Spirit, mission

Scargill community sells up...

All change at Scargill House

Withdrawal from MBS part ii.

First things first, I'm exploring my particular journey here...for some, and in some contexts it is still positive and right to be in an MBS context.

But moving on...The text that is often used to justify being at MBS fairs is Paul at Areopagus in Athens. Athens the place with the altar to an unknown God, a city full of idols with many people debating philosophy and religion. In this context Paul stands up and proclaims the gospel message.

Is this a good model for evangelism? Paul gets to know the context and then shares a message there, but my question is: By sharing his message is he compromising it? Is he simply setting up his stand in the spiritual market place and saying chose me, which is basically exactly the same as all the other philosophers and teachers of religion are doing. Or should he disengage and have nothing to do with this place? Should he stand on the outside and look in and say, actually what I have is better and I’m not prepared to cheapen my faith by placing it in the market place with everyone else…

In many ways this is my tension when I am at a MBS fair. Should I be there or should I not be there? Does Paul legitimate this context just by being there? When do I shake the dust off my feet and move on? Or am I just being arrogant and Christendom focused, and should I just be here with everyone else?

I want to look at another approach to the market place. Matthew 21: 12-17 - Jesus in the Temple. Jesus enters the market place and he does not set up a stall next to the people who sold doves and the money changers. He sees it as an offense to his fathers house, he sees the context and he responds by turning the tables, chasing the money changers out. But then he does something else:
He heals people - The blind and lame come to him, he heals them and people start to praise him.

He offers an alternative order an alternative way of being - he says the temple of God is about healing and restoration rather than it being about a den of robbers.

I’m not for one second proposing that we go into the MBS fairs and start to literally turn the tables as Christ did in the temple. However, metaphorically I think that is what we should be doing. We should be exposing that consumeristic spirituality does not offer the answers that people are searching for and we should be offering an alternative vision. That is what Christ does, Christ turns the tables and offers an alternative vision of the kingdom of heaven.

Paul’s model is easy you gain credibility and sell you product then you move on. Christs is far harder, he exposes the inadequacies of what is being sold and then offers an alternative. To engage missionaly with spiritual searchers is about creating an alternative community that challenges consumeristic spirituality to the core.

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Withdrawal from MBS...

As most readers of this blog will probably I know I've been involved with running a stand at the Manchester Mind Body Spirit Fair for the past seven years. This year we're not going to do it.

I've been wrestling with it for a number of years and have decided that now is the time to withdraw, and mainly for good missiological reasons. I realize that this will be controversial but the reasons for this are:

• Others are now doing it! Great, but it is not good stewardship to have loads of Christian stands there.
• Last year I tried to run a new age enquirers course on the back of MBS. It bombed! If we have no follow up it is hit and run mission.
• I think that by being there, people see our presence as legitimating everything else. Often people come up to us and say, 'It's good that the church is here - it makes me feel safe...'
• I think that the prophetic role of the Christian is to model an alternative that deconstructs consumeristic spirituality. I am not knocking the types of spirituality on offer here, all that I am saying is that the market place approach to faith needs challenging and by being there we are not challenging it but affirming it. It maybe that this is consumeristic approach to spirituality to sharper at the large MBS fairs in Manchester and London.

Tomorrow I'm going to post further thoughts on this particularly in relation to Paul in the Aeropagus and Jesus in the Temple. As I think that in these two models of engagement with the market place we have two very different approaches to evangelism in the spiritual supermarket.

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The complexity of prejudice

I got a taxi this morning at 7:00. I got in the cab which was being driven by an asian man, Radio 4 was blasting out 'God Save the Queen' at top volume - all quite 'Apocalypse Now' - as we drove down the street we passed a gypsy site whereby the cab driver commented; 'Gypsies, You watch out for them...'

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St John of York

HT Ruth Gledhill

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Greenbelt Prints

Greenbelt is producing 6 limited edition prints to give away at the festival this year and they've just extended the deadline for submissions to June 13th. If you are an artist an want to submit a print then read below. btw - if your image is chosen you'll get a pass for the weekend...

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Book now - Subverting the Empire - Blah Tour...

This Thursday we have Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat leading a Blah...Mcr day for us in the city centre. Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat, are the authors of Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire present a day's teaching.

If you haven't read the book or think that a bible commentary sounds a bit dull think again. It is one of the best books those of us involved in blah... have read for some time. Brian and Sylvia are based in Canada so this is a rare chance to hear and meet them. doing three dates around the UK and they'll be in Mcr on the 5th June under the title of 'Colossians Remixed'! Book here cost is £15 for the entire day, times and venue on the booking site...

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