Buds and new life!

here's a photo i took in my garden today. (with my new pentax K20D)
the first buds and blosom are appearing...
signs of Spring, warmth,
new life...

about time to, j'en ai marre d'hiver!

Oceans and stewardship

i went to see the film oceans this morning - by jacques perrin.
an amazing movie beautifully filmed revealing the complexity of the seaworld.
the message is clear - man needs to reconcile with creation...
man needs to stop and think...
man needs to stop exploiting creation, whether on the earth or in the oceans.
this is a biblical concept.
we have been given the responsibility of being stewards of the earth.
creation is not merely a resource , something to utilise.
there is an important connection between creator and creation.
God is the sustainer of the cosmos, always present in creation...
the challenge is to join in with the creator and fulfil our task to be good stewards of
his awesome creation.
(sorry if all that seems a bit preachy - i'm just thinking out loud!)

Truth and Mystery

i was in conversation with a fellow christian the other day. he was telling me how we need to proclaim the truth, to correct where there's non truth, to be 'spiritual policemen' so as to protect the church from wrong thoughts, doctrines and practices.
this is my perception of our conversation. when we receive informaion it passes always through a 'filter', so as i said this is my perception.
anyway just came across this:
God's revelation is always surrounded by mystery. the danger of us thinking that we know the truth is idolatry. paul writes in colossians ' see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition the basic principles of this world rather than christ'(col 2/8)paul warns us to beware of human abstractions that draw us into a conceptual prison...even the revealed side of God is mysterious (p rollins: how (not) to speak of god).

i find that there is a certain arrogance to say that i have the truth as if i've got a complete understanding of god!
God is God, he's is not a system, a set of rules...
God reveals himself, if he chooses to...
you can't put her in a closed box...
this is the mystery...
and he may just turn up in strange places!

No Not Everything is going to be OK

seth godin (author of tribes...) posted something interesting on his blog (in fact you'll find loads of intersting things on it)...

the post speaks about change. the very nature of change is that things are no longer the same (quite logical). this can often cause stress and therefore things are no longer ok. we what reassurance that the change will be fine...it seldom is...there is anxiety in the process of change...
seth says that finding the bravery to shun faux reassurance is a critical step in producing important change.
check out the whole post.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/no-everything-is-not-going-to-be-okay.html

WRANGLER RED - AMAZING!

wow...!!!

preparing my advertising class when i came across this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40QSW4Ncx_M

wranger's new image for 2010 called Red.
the ad is amazing, sensual and primal...
it touchs the emotions by its beauty and texture...
the atmosphere reminds me of the matrix (i think 3)
when they are doing a kind of primal dance in sion.

Living in present - Acting with confidence

last night at our house we looked at a story where jesus and his disciples went out their way to get some rest, some time out together. Unfortunately they were seen and followed by a crowd, a very large crowd (possibly 10,000 people)!
the disciples observe that the folk are hungry - they tell this to jesus.
jesus replies 'you give them something to eat '
what feed 10,000 people, are you crazy, i'm not a millionaire! (would have certainly been my response)
jesus then asks them 'how much bread do you have?'
it turns out that they had 5 loafs of bread & a couple of fishes - not enough to feed a crowd...
but jesus took it and miltiplied it and there was plenty!!!

an incredible story...

there's a problem - the people are hungry - jesus says get on with solving the problem yourself!!
i often moan and complain when a problem arises but in this story i'm encouraged to act!
don't just stand there do something!

i often feel inadequate faced with certain challenges, but what's amazing is that if we give the little we have somehow that will be transformed...
so we are encouraged to act (agir)...to get on with it.

another challenge that comes from the story is to live in the present...jesus & his mates wanted time out but it didn't work out. why? because jesus saw the crowd and had compassion - he lived in the present - seeing the present need and acting accordingly.

god help me to live in the present and to act with confidence!

Mind Your Language!

when we hear the phrase 'mind your language' - we immediately think of swearing and obscenities...
(to be honest i'm becoming a lot more tolerant to 'swearing')...

with 'mind your langauge' i don't want to focus on swearing but the 'religious jargon' that so many christians use.
look at the words of the songs we sing:
glory, glorify God, majesty, holy, lamb slain, blessed be your name,reign in me...

the danger is that our religious language is so alienated from our everyday language...
we repeat the words but they no longer have any real impact ..because they have
become meaningless, trite...

i suggest we think before we speak...
being prepared to use words that can be understood by those who don't speak the religious language...
in this way our faith talk may be more pertinant,
authentic,
and understood...


so MIND YOUR LANGUAGE!

Pentax reflex

bought myself a Pentax K20D in the sales recently.
i've been wanting a decent digital reflex camera for some time now. (my old school pentax A serie takes great photos but it's not degital)...i'm getting used to the fontionalities...

as i've now got a decent camera i also decided to open a flickr account
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marklindores/

all have have to do now is to learn how to take great photos!!!

Important Questions for 2010

i know we've just celebrated xmas and the new year but i read the easter story in mark's gospel this morning. (i've been reading through mark).

these are the questions that tom wright presents in his commentary:

do we take easter for granted, or have we found ourselves awestruck at the strange new work of God?
what do we know of the risen lord?
where is he going ahead of us?
what task has he for us to undertake today, to take 'the gospel of the kingdom' to the ends of the earth?

searching questions...

Blogging tips from Andrew Jones

here's a link to Andrew Jone's blog - Tall Skinny Kiwi -
some tips on blogging...
http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2010/01/blogging-tip-find-your-inner-luke-and-blog-on.html

andrew advises raw unpolished posts, honesty, including seemingly unimportant trivia...

he likens blogs to the Acts...
i'm grateful that Luke bothered to document the events in the early church...
maybe someone in the next century will be equally grateful to read about the 21st century church will all its challenges, successes and failures

Grace and a feather on the breath of God

grace in south ealing, London is a creative christian community that hosted part of the resource weekend.

the ethos of grace is:
Create = grace values creativity
Participate = grace doesn't see 'worship' as a show led from the front, but everyone is welcome to participate.
Engage = grace wants to engage with the culture and members are supported in this endeavour
Risk = grace likes to take risks, reinvent, think and explore out of the box, not afraid to fail

i enjoyed the service on Saturday night. the theme was 'rest'. we were asked to write down any burdens on a piece of paper and to dispose of them in a bag.
there were 3 installations (for want of a better word) - all linked with the theme rest...
we were then encouraged to reflect on sabbath, rest, sunday...
there was an excellent slam (linked to theme of rest)...

this quote was beamed onto a screen:
The feather flew not because of anything within itself but because the air bore it along. thus am i, a feather on the breath of God


we are then asked to take a feather from a box...
(i still have mine)

it was a great experience...
and no preaching!

this was my first church service of 2010
i came home with the thought that i want God
to breath on me and porpel me into this new year...

Moot and New Monasticism

moot is a new monastic community in the city of London.
it is led by ian mobsby, an ordained anglican priest.

the core community live by 'rhythm of life' which conprises of:

• Presence (living in secular culture without being of it)
• Acceptance
• creativity
• balance (integrity, discipleship, life & play)
• accountability
• hospitality

see http://www.ianmobsby.net/mobblog/?p=29

moot ask the question 'how should we then live?
our discipleship is not a written program or a formal study
our discipleship comes from experience in particularly helping the poor...

moot is seeking to engage in our post modern society and especially among spiritual seekers...
moot asks what it is to be human in the city...

ART AND FEAR OF THE DARK

while in London over the weekend visited the Tate Modern.
the aim of the visit was to reflect on theology and popular culture.
the first piece we visited was created by Miroslaw Balka (a polish artist).
the piece is a massive 'container' an immense dark metal box
that you walk into...
there is no light
as you step into the darkness, the unknown, the unfamiliar.

i was seized by fear and then a panick attack, i could go no further
i turned to walk out
not wanting to return...but i did...

the fear of the dark, the unknown is a familiar human emotion...
art evokes emotion, engages us with our inner self, screams or whispers
a response...

surely our church 'worship experience' should touch our senses,
draw out our inner self and engage us with the Artist...

god how we fall short,
how dull and monotone
are our offerings of worship...

if you're in london check out Miroslaw Balka's big dark metal box at the Tate Modern
it's worth the experience!

RESOURCEFUL

just had a resourceful week end...
an emerging church training organised by resource (www.resourcemission.com ) and hosted by Grace and Moot two communities in London seeking to connect with culture in distinctive ways.

grace (www.freshworship.org) is based in south ealing - a creative alternative worship community.
moot (www.moot.uk.net) is a based in the City of London (tube Bank) and is a new monastic style set up.

i was fuelled with fresh ideas and also 'experiencing' new expressions of worship was stimulating.

it's now time to take action here in france.

Taking risks is something that was encouraged during the training; simply having a go...
that's the next step!


(i'll try to post some more detail about the weekend and some of the stuff that i found helpful)

N'aie pas peur , crois seulement

n'aie pas peur, crois seulement (roughly translated 'don't be afraid, only believe')...

encouraging words from the master...

"don't be afraid..."
yes but there's loads of things that can cause us fear -
the unknown, failure, rejection, unemployment...

but the master says:
"only believe."

the context is a guy whose 12 year old daughter is dying...
he goes after jesus to ask for his help...
between time she dies...
that's when these word 'n'aie pas peur, crois seulement' are spoken...

don't be afraid, believe, have faith, trust me...


i don't know if the guy did...
but his daughter is brought back to life by the master...
(full version mark 5:21 - 43 the bible)

Don't be afraid, only believe (trust, have faith)

words of hope for 2010...

a year full of opporunities!

Bono & Power To People

Bono suggested the 10 ten for the next 10 (years).

Here's on of them:

People Power and the Upside down Pyramid

A lot of us have seen or lived the organizational chart of the last century, in which power and influence (whether possessed by church, state or corporation) are concentrated in the uppermost point of the pyramid and pressure is exerted downward. But in this new century, and especially in some parts of the developing world, the pyramid is being inverted. Much has been written about the profits to be made at the bottom of the pyramid; less has been said about the political power there. Increasingly, the masses are sitting at the top, and their weight, via cellphones, the Web and the civil society and democracy these technologies can promote, is being felt by those who have traditionally held power. Today, the weight bears down harder when the few are corrupt or fail to deliver on the promises that earned them authority in the first place.
The world is taking notice of this change. On her most recent trip to Africa, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton bypassed officials and met instead with representatives of independent, nongovernmental groups, which are quickly becoming more organized and more interconnected. For example, Twaweza, a citizen’s organization, is spreading across East Africa, helping people hold local officials accountable for managing budgets and delivering services. (Twaweza is Swahili for “we can make it happen.”)

yep, i've been reading clay shirky's book here comes everyone and he's saying the same thing...
with new communications technology we can be more organised, faster...forming groups is becoming easier with the increase of user-generated-content on the net...
mobile phones, emails, social network sites...

we've got the tools...

see : http://marklindores.skyrock.com/3.html

Power to the people!

Let's try some Hope Mongering

here's a bit from seth godin's blog:

Fear mongering is a lousy profession, one that ought to be regulated, if not banned. I'm more in favor of hope mongering. 2010 is the year that the world will change. In fact, every year is that year, but this is the only time we'll get to change the world this time.



i really like that...

Agonizing in the Garden

read the story of jesus in the garden of gethsemane (mark14:26-52)...
this is what tom wright says about it:
are we, like the disciples,
full of bluster one minute, sleep the next,
and confused and shame the next?

are we ready to betray jesus if it suits our other plans,
or if he fails to live up to our expectations?

or are we ready to keep watch with him in the garden,
sharing his anguish and prayer?

we are not called to repeat this unique moment...
but...it is part of normal christian experience that we too
should be prepared to agonize in prayer as we await our own redemption
and that of all creation.

couldn't resist it!

couldn't resist it again...
on the last day of 2009 i went to see avatar and yesterday once again...
with jack (my wife), nathalie & esther (my daughters)
the first time was in 3d but unforunately the second time wasn't...
despite this the film was worth seeing for the second time.
great action, super effects...
an exotic yet dangerous new world...
jake the hero has a pure heart...

suspense, romance and heroic exploits...

a great film!

change or frustration?

i recently read this post on Seth Godin's blog

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Here are my picks for the two most important trends of the decade we're just starting:

1. Change: The infrastructure of massive connection is now real. People around the world have cell phones. The first internet generation is old enough to spend money, go to work and build companies. Industries are being built every day (and old ones are fading). The revolution is in full swing, and an entire generation is eager to change everything because of it. Hint: it won't look like the last one with a few bells and whistles added.
2. Frustration: Baby boomers are getting old. Dreams are fading, and so is health. Boomers love to whine and we love to imagine that we'll live forever and accomplish everything. This is the decade that reality kicks in. And, to top it off, savings are thin and resource availability isn't what it used to be. A lot of people ate their emergency rations during the last decade. Look for this frustration to be acted out in public, and often.

I think the coolest thing is that just about everyone gets to pick which one of these two alternatives they want to spend their time on. And being frustrated about change doesn't count as doing both.

i can really relate to this being a frustrated boomer!

just hope that i will be an agent of change this year,
part of the solution.

2010 Blitzed With Blessings

woke up this morning with the wish that 2010 would be blitzed with blessings and should i go to the market to buy some dvd albums...
the 2010 blitzed with blessings thing stuck (it's far too cold to go to the market).
blessings - a word that i think is often over-used;
by blessings i mean good stuff, God moments, health and wholeness, harmony and hope and loads more...
the blitzed bit is an image of all these 'blessings' being bombarded down to us... yes, i believe that in a sense God blitzs us with blessings...
but i also think that as christians, we're indwelled by the spirit and that we are channels of goodness to to those around us...
a channel where all that grace flows from us and touches those around us...
we're 'hope bringers' - 'grace givers' - ''blessing blitzers' (??!??!) -


May 2010 be blitzed with blessings!
for you and those around you

friends are important

it's been a cold day here in lille...
snow this morning.
it was great to catch up with Matthieu & Anne good friends from paris...
we spent a great time at les 3 brasseurs near the train station.
they brew their own beer on the premises!!

it was encouraging to share our journey with matthieu & anne...
friends are important.

thanks matthieu & anne for your prayers and advice...

A new year, a new decade, a new blog

yes,
it's time to change...
so here we go a new blog...
new thoughts...
new sensations...
new experiences...
fresh hopes...
new dreams...
and all that crap!