So yesterday tbV [the beautiful Val] returned from a two week trip to the UK and i went to meet her at the airport dressed up as a Mummy. Not to be confused with dressing up as my mummy. That's a whole different set of counselling. Shiny, Happy, People i thought yesterday, as a tend to do pretty much every time i dress up to meet people at the airport [yes, it's a thing!] that i [...]
i witnessed a bizarre and strange thing today. A frenzied group of people stood at a bit of a distance as the two lead people were ceremoniously handed a long dagger. The crowd seemed completely mesmerised by this ritual that was being carried out in front of them and started cheering and screaming, urging them to make the first cut. Man and woman stood silently, holding the knife poised as if deciding which of them [...]
i am not a big fan of tradition when it is solely taking place for tradition's sake [even if the original meaning and intention might have been good but has been lost or watered down along the way] but there are some traditions which are rich and full of life [baptism, communion, a family that eats together etc] that are incredible. Join me as I look at Mark 7.1-13: [to continue to the [...]
i am not a big fan of tradition whose only purpose in life is "we did it this way last time" last nite, the beautiful Val and i celebrated Christmas eve with a few of our neighbors from Potter street where we have lived the last 19 months and are 5 days away from leaving... it was a fitting end to have a house full of good food, laughter and excited wife squeals and dances [...]
this year we got to be secret rooftop witnesses of this incredible act of Christmas mischief that Shane speaks about in this article and it was incredible hearing some of the stories from some of the people who had no idea where the money came from and yet for some of them it was a complete lifeline and life-changing moment for them: So here is the start of the article shane wrote but click on [...]
and that 'c' stands for 'creativity' - moving beyond spending a bunch of money you can't afford on a bunch of stuff no-one needs [and often doesn't even want] because of some kind of misplaced notion that it is 'showing love' when there are people you know, or live near, or try to ignore, who are likely to be having a very miserable holiday time and your act of creativity in the form of generosity [...]
so one of the things that came out of yesterday's discussions when we were looking at the christian faith existing in a pluralistic multi-faith society was the need to understand what we mean by church... one of the problems that the church faces today is that what we see as church is a combination of what church is meant to be about (according to God and the Bible) plus tradition and style and denomination and [...]
