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Robb Sutherland

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Desmond Tutu on Forgiveness

Last year I had the privilege of meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu when he came to bless the foundation stone of the new monastery at The Community of the Resurrection.  I followed him around for the day taking photo’s of the occasion for both the community and college.  It is rare to meet a person who can captivate everyone’s attention for a whole day.  People hung on his every word as he explained how his relationship with God and his call to the priesthood led him to a position where he was able to push for restorative justice in South Africa.  That unshakable belief that God created us all equal and the faith to work towards a society that values all is truly inspirational.

Happy birthday Desmond.  Have a happy and fulfilling retirement from public life.

Why Would Jesus Do What He Would Do?

Some days I have moments of clarity.  Unfortunately they are few and far between.  Since I became a regular part of the congregations here in the outskirts of Leeds I have been trying to explain the complexity of Christian ethics.  We live in a world that is quite different to the ancient world.  The ethical dilemmas we face today are undoubtedly inconcievable to the gospel writers.  And what would Moses make of the internet?  What would he say about my sitting here and typing this?  The question in itself makes my mind boggle as I contemplate my own inability to make sense of the implications of immediate communication and instant gratification in a world where our friends become status updates.  Let alone contemplate something like the production of electricity by splitting atoms.

As Christians we are often led to believe that there are two options open to us.  Certainly, the common caricatures we are presented with are such.  One option is that the world is a cut and dried black and white place and that the bible will give us clear answers to all our questions.  ‘What would Jesus do?  Let’s have a look in the instruction manual’.  The other is to assert that much of our heritage is outdated and outmoded and must be jettisoned as we forge our own way.

And this is where I have found myself for the last year struggling to articulate that there is something much more radical at the heart of our scriptures.  As Steve Chalke said earlier in the year at Spring Harvest, neither of these positions take the scriptures seriously.  How does our story connect with God’s story?

And then I clicked on a link to Jonathan Brink’s Blog entitled “Why would Jesus do what he would do?”.  He has crystallised this into two very thought provoking paragraphs.

…story really matters.  At the heart of our action is a story that informs that action.  To take up our cross is an act.  But to know why we take up our cross is a story.  The opposite is true.  If we don’t know why we should take up the cross, we’re not likely to do so.The brilliance of this question is the understanding that story informs our actions at the subconscious level.  Our bodies learn a story about why and then agree to that story.  This contract creates the basis for action at the subconscious level so we don’t have to continually think about it all the time.  We can act from an informed position at a very fast pace.

It is through connecting our stories with God’s story that we can understand what His character is like.  When we understand the more fundamental aspects of God’s character and discover more of what he shared with us as he walk the earth, the more we will be able to act in that manner. 

Janathan’s thoughts are based upon a quotation from a book by Willard.  Check it out via Jonathan’s blog.

Redemption | Alternative Hymnal

Skin are one of our favourite bands and this is from their new album, breaking the silence. Appologies for the live version – skip the first 30 seconds.

Leadership Styles

One of the things that is often debated with regard to emergence is the need to reject the perceived autocratic forms of Church leadership.  People have a deep desire to be included and in feel a responsibility for their own faith.  To take an active place in their own relationship with God and to lead one another collectively. 

In this world of Christian Jargon we have a plethora of hyperpolysyllabic words to assist us as we pursue a satisfactory description of a utopian model of church leadership.  In the ‘historic church’ people often use the phrase “Pope in their own Parish” or “Father knows best” to describe others, but I have yet to hear someone label themselves in this way.  Mostly, within the ‘historic church’ people use the phrase “shared ministry”.  Responsibility is handed out.  The church is recognised as “the body of Christ” and a perceived sense of camaraderie is spoken of as we pull together to the task of declaring the good news…

…the problem is that social convention and group dynamics don’t actually allow this to happen.

So of these two different models what is the actual difference other than language?  Do we actually end up with a pecking order that is more dangerously insidious?  An unspoken social structure to which those who are uninitiated in the group can fall foul.  A community of eventual disempowerment and a group of gradually de-skilled people.  At least with “Father knows best” we have a situation where everyone knows the social conventions.   There is a certainty in this with which we all can work. 

To illustrate further, my wife recently went to a “initial consultation” at work to look at the “vision statement” of her department.  In the “consultation”, a presentation was given of the finalised vision statement with the instruction “take this a disseminate it widely in your department”.  Effectively, an autocratic system of leadership with the language of consultation.  Or as I would prefer to call it as I am from Yorkshire, “a lie”.

So am I arguing for the autocratic style of church leadership that we all seem to experience and yet which we all firmly deny exists?  Am I suggesting that we point at the elephant in the room and call it what it is?  I am a Yorkshireman after all and it would seem meet and right to declare that the spade is on the left and the shovel is on the right. 

Of course I’m not suggesting an autocracy.  That would be silly.  What I am calling for is a more radical approach to our view of “shared ministry” that doesn’t include an unspoken “father knows best”.  Real sharing of power and responsibility means that we need to be empowered to let go.  We need to nurture those we meet and facilitate them as they explore their gifts.  We must support them as they try things for the first time.  To be the safety net for those in our communities who want to fly for the first time and have just plucked up courage to spread their wings and leap from the branch.  To encourage each other as we develop communities that build each other up.

Most importantly it means being able to congratulate and encourage someone who did it better than we ever could.  We must shelve our pride and recognise that God does not depend on us, we depend on God.

Have more faith in the church than you have in yourself.  Have still more faith in Him who made all than you have in the church.