Work with a Machiavellian?

 Should I hire someone Machiavellian?

Probably not. 

You might want this ruthless political genius on your side. 

But the thing is that he is never really on your side. He is only on his own side. 

When it becomes necessary, he will not hesitate to stab you in the back. 

The Machiavellian is actually unfit as a superior, a subordinate or even a self. 

In contrast to Plato, Machiavelli has divorced politics from ethics. 

It is not actually obvious, if you are a strict Materialist, why Machiavelli was wrong. 

In fact, we all are and ought to be metaphysical believers. 

Machiavelli cannot offer us a secular salvation. 

Theories of development

 One problem with some theories of development is that they have to posit themselves as the necessary and omniscient end point. 

Maybe Darwin, Hegel, Marx, Comte etc. are not in fact the last word. Maybe there is a kind of insane grandiosity here in need of restraint and further reform. 

Jordan Peterson's Message to the Christian Churches

 Dr Jordan Peterson does not say it all. He does not even say what is most important. But he does have something useful to say in his ten minute message to the Christian churches especially in the West and with respect to young men. 

Peterson argues that original sin has been weaponised by unhelpful ideas which have led to a total demoralisation. Society wants to make us docile, harmless, obedient. But three particular ideas are deadly:

(1) It's The Patriarchy

(2) Human beings are a threat to the planet

(3) Male ambition is selfish power. It is virtually rape. 

Of course there is some truth in all of these ideas, but they can be abused. 

Peterson is on to something when he says that we must call men to be who they are meant to be. To attend to their souls. To aim up. To sacrifice themselves. To kill the dragon and get the girl. 

We must say: You are not all you could be. We are not all we could be. Let us fix you up and you can help fix us up.

Now, there is much more to say. Mainly the grace of God and the power of the Spirit. But there is a kind of echo of the gospel here. There is much to learn from this urgent and passionate sermon. 

Structures of the Soul

 Dr Michael Surgue suggests it is fruitful to connect:

Plato's Gold, Silver and Bronze people

Christianity's God, Man and the Devil 

Freud's Id, Ego and Super-ego 

Critical Reflection on Practice

 Or stating the obvious. 

For almost any activity there will be some form of:

Plan 

Execute

Evaluate

Refine

Repeat

How do do each stage could of course be discussed at length and matters. 

To keep doing the same thing and expect different results is a definition of madness. 

Things change. 

We want to improve. 

Critical Reflection on Practice does not mean critical. It means forming some kind of justifiable judgement. And so this presumes some kind of criteria or body of knowledge against which an activity or outcome can be judged. 

For example, this cycle could be used to improve your preaching. But you would need to think about what preaching is, what a sermon is, what it is aiming to do, what makes a good sermon, how its effects might be judged, etc. 

Against a one person ministry

 There are certain buzz-words and fashions in ministry speak. "Collaborative ministry" is very much The Right Answer when it comes to ministry style. But, even if it is a truism, it is surely true. 

Yet most clergy are sole pastors, like the old single practice GPs. And we know this is not ideal. 

So, you should try to mitigate against the weaknesses of this. 

If you are C of E, you share the cure of souls with the Bishop. There is an Archdeacon and a Rural Dean. And clergy chapter. And all sorts of help and advice potentially available if you seek it and are willing. Discuss all this at your Ministry Development Review. 

But you almost certainly need to do something informal for yourself. You want some friends in ministry. You want to keep in touch and pray for one another. Think about what would really help you and try to make something like it happen sometime. 

But you must also avoid a one person ministry in the parish. You might be tempted to it. And your people might quite like it is some ways too. 

We all know that it can be easier and quicker sometimes to do everything oneself. And then of course it will be done your way, in your time, for good or ill. 

So:

(1) The minister must encourage an every member ministry. He is only one person. He has weaknesses of skill and personality. He has much to learn from others. 

(2) The people must embrace their ministries and use their gifts. 

Father does not always know best. Likely there are those who are more skilled in law, education, finance, buildings, publicity, gardening etc. than the Vicar. But the people must also embrace, you know, God! The Bible, prayer, evangelism and discipleship is their work too. It must not and cannot all be left to the Vicar. One Vicar told his PCC: "My liturgy; you gutters". That is too simplistic. We must all seek to live and speak for Jesus. The Vicar should try to help and encourage the spiritual gifts of others and see that the body builds itself up and shares its like. 

One error, in a C of E context, it seems to me is to treat those who are not Deacons or Presbyters as if they were. The C of E already has these roles. And there are roles for OLMs and ALMs and Readers and Churchwardens and PCC members and all that. We should understand and stick to our legal roles. The Vicar is the ordained Elder. Almost anyone could be elected as Churchwarden next year. But the Vicar is a fool if he does not listen to others, consult and collaborate with them.  

Parish Magazine Item for August

From The Rectory

 

On 11^th July each year, the Church of England remembers St Benedict of Nursia, the Abbot of Monte Casino and Father of Western Monasticism, who died around the year 550. Having a relatively quiet week, I decided to read his Rule in full. Its only about 9000 words so even if you are a slow reader, you could get through it in an hour or two with a bit of skimming. It (and indeed audio versions of it) are readily available online. It is one of the great masterpieces of spirituality and would repay your time. It is remarkable that this How To Be A Monk / Abbot Guide Book can still speak to us in surprising ways more than a millennium later. We feel we can get to know and admire Benedict, even though he seems to come from a different world.

 

Now, I have to confess that the Rule is perhaps not exactly what I would have written. I have my quibbles with the idea of monasticism. Like many after Luther, I fear that it might involve too much withdrawal from the world. And then we get on to sex and marriage and children and all that. The grace and mercy of God are clearly here, but I would want to stress the necessity of saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ rather more than Benedict finds it necessary to do.

 

To our twenty-first century years, some of the Rule is weird, some wonderful.

 

It remains good advice, for example, not to sleep too close to a knife, in case you accidently injure yourself in the night. And, Benedict says, remember not to have too many baths!  

 

I don’t know if you fancy a Benedictine menu? The rule is practical as well as spiritual and remarkably accommodating and pastoral at times. Basically there are going to be two hot main dishes as some won’t be able to eat one and might prefer the other. Then there is bread. And any apples or young vegetables that are available. And a pint of wine. But you can have more if it is a hot summer. And if you have lots of manual work to do, you could expect extra food too.

 

Of course following the Rule in every detail today is hardly practical or relevant, even for monks. And it was never intended for the parochial clergy or lay people.

 

But there is something to be said for the three main elements of the monastic day: prayer, study and work.

 

The rule has much to say about ordinary daily life. The iron tools of the monastery are to be looked after with the same reverence as the Communion vessels. Sacred and secular both matter.

 

And how we welcome ordinary guests is of paramount importance, because nobody, however poor or mean is really ordinary. In welcoming others, we welcome Christ.

 

But prayer is the centre of it all. Much of the Rule is given over to liturgical instructions and details of lectionary readings, though Benedict does sometimes say you might do it otherwise if you keep to the principles.

 

One thing that really struck me is the amount of Bible there would have been in a monk’s life. They would say or sing the whole of the Book of Psalms (all 150) every week. I don’t expect most of us can do that. But how about reading or listening to a psalm, or part of a psalm, most mornings and evenings? That would only take ten minutes or so. And we might then get the divinely inspired prayers and songs of the Bible into our hearts and minds. They might change how we think and live even more radically than any man-made Rule.

 

Whatever combination of prayer, work and study your August involves, I hope you have a blessed summer with some opportunity for rest and recreation too.

 

The Revd Marc Lloyd

The Way of St Benedict

 There is extraordinary wisdom, and a certain amount of weirdness, in the Rule of St Benedict. Although it was written in the year 500 or there abouts, it is strikingly relevant to today in some of the details and principles. Benedict was a brilliant organiser, an inspirational leader and a thoughtful pastor-theologian. 

The life of monks could be divided in to three main areas: (1) The work of God (prayer and Bible reading) (2) Study and (3) work. 

It is obviously impractical for the average lay person to follow the Rule all the time in detail. Indeed, nor could the secular clergy. Even for monks today there might need to be some adaptation. 

I am not, as it happens, overly keen on all sorts of monasticism. I have some typically Reformed concerns about withdrawal from the world or too much celibacy and so on. But I am in favour of prayer and the Bible. And I think it is really striking how much Bible there was in the life of a reasonably faithful Benedictine monk. Benedict goes into some detail about this. Make sure you say or sing the whole Psalter at least once a week, folks! Now, even that might be a bit much for most of us, but we could manage to say, sing or listen to Psalm say most mornings and evenings. We might then get the prayers and songs of the Bible into our head and live and think and sing and pray rather more scripturally than we typically do.

On Church Discipline

 Church discipline is very far from what it ought to be in the UK. 

But churches ought to have some respect for one another's discipline. 

Without this, excommunication is much less weighty than it ought to be as the one put out of fellowship can find so many other churches delighted to receive them as if they were in good standing. 

But this is also clearly a matter of Our Lord's command who said: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." This surely means, at least, a friendly email or phone call to the person's former pastor even if it does not mean slavishly following every decision of every other church. 

Is God male?

 

How would you begin to respond to this question? Maybe some things to consider are:

What do you mean by “male”?

God doesn’t have a body.

God has revealed himself as a “he” rather than a “her” or an “it”.

God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Father and Son are clearly “male”.

The Bible sometimes uses male, female and neuter metaphors to refer to God.

All language is analogical not univocal. And this is especially so of God who is Being Itself / Himself. God is his attributes. He has all his attributes in a uniquely God-like manner.

God is always incomprehensible to us. We can never know God fully and perfectly as God knows God-self.

God is the Creator and prototype. Creation reflects the Creator. It may be argued that all things in creation including male and femaleness reflect something in God.

We must not idolatrously project maleness or things we think of as male on to God.

See further:

 https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/is-the-holy-spirit-to-be-referred-to-as-she/

https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/topical-tuesday-is-god-a-she/

Judges chapter 3 - a handout

 

Judges 3 (p244)

 

The People’s Sin and The LORD’s Salvation

 

Recall the big picture / cycle / spiral from Judges chapter 2

 

OTHNIEL:

A textbook example of the Judges cycle:

Disobedience                               / Rebellion       (3v7)

Defeat                                            / Retribution   (3v8)

Distress                                          / Repentance (3v9)

Deliverance                                  / Rescue           (3vv10-11)

 

Surprising Salvation:

 

EHUD:

Disobedience                               / Rebellion       (3v12)

Defeat                                            / Retribution   (3v12-14)

Distress                                          / Repentance (3v15)

Deliverance                                 / Rescue           (3vv15-30)

 

SHAMGAR:

The one verse version: (3v31)

 

So…?

 

In our sin, disobedience, defeat and distress…

 

Repent!

 

And look for the LORD’s salvation – textbook or surprising, long or short

 

Jesus!

Judges Chapter 2 - a handout

 

Judges 2:6-3:6 (p243)

 

The big picture of the Book of Judges:

 

 

After Joshua (2v6)…

 

 

A cycle / downward spiral:

 

(1)   Disobedience / Rebellion        (vv10-13, 17, v19)

 

(2)   Defeat               / Retribution   (vv14-15, v20-23)

 

(3)   Distress             / Repentance (v15b, v18b)

 

(4)   Deliverance     / Rescue           (v16, v18)

 

 

The need for a better Rescuer (21v25)

 

 

Why did God leave the nations in the land?

 

(1)   A test of loyalty to the LORD (2v22; 3v1, 4)

 

(2)   Training in warfare (3v2)

 

 

So what? What now?

Some terms and topics in Philosophy

Philosophy

Physics

Metaphysics

Ontology

Logic

Epistemology

Aesthetics

Ethics

Politics

We might ask what is true and good and beautiful and then how we shall live together.

These topics and terms are actually remarkably few when we consider how many of the thoughts of the last 3000 years in the West which they can subsume. 

On the issue of ontology, thinkers will admit to physics or physics and metaphysics, and much else will follow from this. 

Two great traditions in Western Philosophy are Athens and Jerusalem: Reason and Revelation, Logos and Mythos, Secular and Sacred, Human and Divine, Socrates and the Bible. 

(Jottings from a Michael Sugrue You Tube Lecture) 

What is a Conservative?

 This is a question I would love to hear the candidates to lead said party address thoughtfully. What is the Conservative Party for? What do you want to conserve and why?

We want to hear big ideas in this leadership election. 

But one of the defining features of conservativism is in fact fear of the big idea. That's its big idea! 

It is pragmatic, traditional, conservative! It values what we have. It wants to keep the best, not risk it for the sake of an ideology. It knows that it is hard to build a thing and easy to wreck one. So above all it should be careful and cautious when it comes to the things that matter to us. By all means we must embrace new technologies and industries that can make money, for example. But a real conservative ought to have cared rather more about the mining communities that Thatcherism changed beyond recognition. 

Conservatism is for the common law, not a written constitution.

Its value of tradition thus gives votes to the dead. 

That's why it is monarchist, although strictly speaking its irrational. 

The Conservative Party must certainly be more low tax, small state, free market, pro-business than any of the serious alternatives. It must conserve personal freedom by getting the state out of people's lives as much as possible. But there is far more to life than money. We need to hear about the social as well as the economic. In fact, love and family and all that matters to us most is best kept apart from the need for cash if it all possible. You don't want to buy your sex or sell your children!

A Conservative Party worth the name would be for the little platoons and for place and habit. I'm not sure it would make a great slogan, but in short the Conservative Party ought to be for conserving what Burke might have called virtue and a society which makes it seem more possible. 

The cycles in Judges and so what?

 As Judges 2 lays out, there is a repeated cycle (or sometimes downward spiral) in book of Judges, thus:

Disobedience / Rebellion        (vv10-13, 17, v19)

 

Defeat               / Retribution   (vv14-15, v20-23)

 

Distress             / Repentance (v15b, v18b)

 

Deliverance     / Rescue           (v16, v18)

But so what?

The ultimate message of the book (see the last verse) is surely that we need King Jesus, the new and better judge, to save us. And to save us from this cycle. 

We need to put our trust in him definitively once and for all as we come to him in repentance and faith. 

As New Testament believers, with the outpouring of the Spirit and two thousand years of Christian heritage, the completed Scriptures and the church at a much greater level of maturity, I think we can hope for greater faithfulness than many of the believers in the time of the judges. But do we not also find ourselves in something of a similar cycle? In our own way, are we not still prone to wander? We also need to put our trust in Jesus daily, whenever we see hints of disobedience or rebellion in our own lives to bring our distress to Jesus in repentance and ask him to deliver and rescue us. Otherwise, we can expect defeat and the chastisement of our Father who loves us too much to leave us comfortable in compromise. 

As Judges also points out, we still live in the world (with the nations remaining in the land, if you like) that our loyalty to Yahweh might be tested and that we might be trained for the spiritual warfare of the Christian life. 

The fun of reading the Authorised Version

It can be a good thing to read a Bible translation with which one is less familiar. New things might strike you. And perhaps this is particularly true with the Authorised or King James Version of the Bible, the vibrant language of which has so shaped our mother tongue. 

I don't necessarily defend it as a superior translation but I enjoyed noticing two particular verses today. 

The New International Version's rendering of Acts 1:20's citation of Psalm 109:8, which Peter applies to Judas is a little bland: "May another take his place of leadership." 

The Authorised Version has "his bishopric let another take." The Greek is the word from which we get "episcopal". Now, the New Testament vocabulary for offices (of presbyter / elder and bishop / overseer) in the church is a complicated business, but it is interesting for this evangelical to be provoked to wonder about thinking of the Apostles as the first "bishops".  

* * * 

I have known some Christians who have worried about wishing people a "Merry Christmas". They fear it might encourage drunkenness. I've never thought that likely. And I was interested to see that merriness is spoken of positively in Authorised Version of James 5:13. The NIV has "cheerful". 

But maybe even more interesting is how James answers his question with advice for the merry. "Is anyone merry?" What should he do? Not sober up. But perhaps more surprisingly still for us, "Let him sing psalms [Greek: psallw]". Again, a rather more specific and interesting commandment than the NIV's "sing songs of praise." And maybe something to consider next time you're feeling happy: the hearty, joyful singing of the Bible's own hymnbook of praise, where actually there's something suitable for every emotion and mood. 

The gravity and gladness of preaching

 I have been reading The Revd Dr John Piper on this subject in The Supremacy of God in Preaching. I think he is on to something, you know. Drawing on Jonathan Edwards, he warns against preaching which is cold or in which we speak of the great things of God to sinners as if it were an ordinary conversation about indifferent matters. None of Edwards' 1200 surviving sermons contains a joke, but they do express an earnest passion for souls. He sought not to entertain his hearers with notions but to preach the Word of God with a certain seriousness of purpose. Even when Edwards read from a full manuscript with few gestures, his sermons could have a powerful effect. He would not raise his voice, but he would present an overwhelming argument with an intense sense of the presence of God such that the congregation were overcome with a great solemnity. 

Piper argues the great lesson we can learn from Edwards is to take our calling seriously and not to trifle with the Word of God or the act of preaching. 

Thomas Chalmers was said to be in bondage to his manuscript, even following along with his finger on the text as he read it, and given to long sentences but he had one thing: "blood-earnestness". 

Preaching should not be morose, boring, dismal, sullen, gloomy or unfriendly but it should arise from and seek to mediate a deep and reverent encounter with God.

Away with light-hearted, chipper, talkative preaching. The pulpit is not the place for trivial levity, flippancy or carelessness.  Don't forget: something eternal and infinite is being done there. 

Platinum Jubilee Sermon

 

 

Revelation 21:22—22:4

Luke 22:24–30

 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

 

It’s impossible to sum up any human person and any life.

When it comes to Her Majesty the Queen, we know both so much and so little about her.

Hers is both the most extraordinary life, and in some ways it’s very ordinary:

There may sometimes be golden plates and cutlery at State Banquets, but there is also Tupperware for the cornflakes at breakfast. 

She is one of us, the best  of us, and yet her life is unimaginably different from yours and mine.

There’s so much which we might say about her 96-year life and her 70-year reign.

She has been a symbol of continuity, and yet so much has changed.

 

I am going to say something about Her Majesty and our readings later, but I didn’t want us to miss the opportunity to hear from Her Majesty herself about what she thinks matters most.

We’re going to watch a specially compiled 9-minute video which picks out some of the things which Her Majesty has said about the Christian faith in her Christmas messages from her first televised broadcast in 1957 to last year’s.

 

* * *

 

Video / quotation from 2011 broadcast:

 

For many this Christmas will not be easy.

With our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face Christmas without their loved ones at home.

The bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard.

And, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times.

 

All this will affect our celebration of this great Christian festival.

Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas.

Jesus was born into a world full of fear.

The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not’, they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’

 

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) – but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.

 

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith.

It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities.

It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.

 

In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, there’s a prayer:

 

O Holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us we pray
Cast out our sin
And enter in
Be born in us today

 

It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.

 

* * *    

 

Over the last few days we’ve heard some wonderful anecdotes about the Queen.

Many have revealed her wicked sense of humour.

Not all monarchs, I think, would have agreed to films with James Bond and Paddington Bear.

 

The Queen was once at some great event and someone’s mobile phone rang unexpectedly.

There was frantic fumbling and the phone was turned off.

And Her Majesty said: “Oh dear, I do hope it wasn’t anyone important!”

 

I dare to suggest to you that today, someone important is trying to communicate with you.

Will you pause and ask yourself what God has been saying to you by his Holy Spirit?

What he is saying?

Maybe something from a hymn or reading, or something her Majesty has said?

Has there been a word for you, which you need to answer, rather than ignore?

 

Perhaps my favourite story of the Queen is one it’s hard to believe.

It feels like a preacher’s story but I saw the Royal Protection Officer in Morning Suit and Medals telling it on Sky TV.

The Queen and Richard, of Her Majesty’s Constabulary, were out near Balmoral with some sandwiches when an American couple came and spoke to them.

“Have you ever met the Queen?”, they asked.

Quick as a flash, Her Majesty said: “No, I never have, but Dick has, many times!”

Well, they wanted to know everything!

They even asked the Queen to take their photo with Dick!

Dick and the Queen persuaded them to have a photo with the Queen too, but they never let on, hoping they would go home and show someone the photo and all would be revealed.

 

Isn’t it a wonderful and unbelievable story?

 

But it’s a gift for the preacher too, because we are in danger of making just the same mistake.

 

It is good and right that we should make much of Her Majesty the Queen today.

We give thanks for her.  

But she would have us make much more of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, to whom she looks as her Lord and Saviour.

 

Jesus has been the model for Her Majesty’s remarkable lifetime of service.

He, the greatest of all, who was First by right, became the lowest and the last.

From the throne of heaven, he willingly served us by coming to a Manger and going to a cross.

He served and served and served.

And his life was spent, for us in our place.

 

We ought to have died for him:

That’s what subjects must do for their sovereign at need.

But he died for us.

He took all our sin and guilt.

He overcame our death.

 

He gave up his kingdom only to take it up again and to bestow it on us.

 

We may have felt blessed to be British these last few days.

But this Sceptred Isle is at best a Demi-Eden.

 

As we seek under God to do what we can in the power of the Spirit to make earth more like heaven, do we not feel our want, our need – how very far from paradise our nation is for many?

We need the Lamb and the Light!

The Kingdom of God can never come from our best efforts alone.

I am all for Big Lunches but they cannot truly and for ever bring our society together and make us whole.

We must come empty handed to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

We are hungry beggars whom King Jesus in his mercy would feed.

Real community is based only on Communion with the King.

 

Happy the British Citizen, perhaps, but happier yet those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life!

 

This Jubilee Pentecost Sunday, the Spirit of God invites all those from every nation to the good news of King Jesus.

He offers forgiveness, peace, hope, joy and more to all who will receive him with humble faith.

Honour the Queen.

Trust in God.

 

Friends, enter his gates now with thanksgiving!

Step into the Light!

Drink of the Water of Life!

Here is the healing of all hurts – now in part, then in full.

Eat and rejoice!

 

Only if we do so now with repentance and faith will we see his face with joy at last.

The gates of his kingdom will for ever stand open wide, but some will have excluded themselves.

 

My friends, as we celebrate the Queen, let us meet the King!

Let us leave here today not with a photo of a royal protection officer, but as subjects, and even friends, of the King of Kings.

 

That is what the Spirit of God says to you today:

Come and welcome to Jesus the King!

 

And so to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit be all honour and power and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Long term church leadership

I've been Rector here now for the best part of twelve years. Our eldest is about to start GCSEs. And just assuming for a moment that we were to stay here until our youngest finishes his A-Levels, I would have notched up twenty two years - quite a stint by modern standards. So I have been thinking about this. 

OPPORTUNITIES

One can know and be known. And show commitment to people and place. You live out perseverance. 

More and more, if you are doing a good job, people will come to you for weddings, baptisms and funerals across the generations. You will have lived through joys and sorrows with more and more families. You earn the right to speak into their situation quite boldly, perhaps, if you all know that you have poured years of love, prayer and practical care into their lives. 

You and the church will have changed together - perhaps for better or for worse. Even if you didn't come with a master plan for revolution, tiny tweaks over five and ten years might have made a big difference. It is said that people overestimate what they can do in a year or two but underestimate what they can do in five or ten.

CHALLENGES

You can't look to a change of place, necessarily, for stimulus. So how will you keep fresh?

If you are going to preach engagingly on Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Trinity for twenty years, you will need to expand beyond a few favourite Bible passages and ideas. You need depth. Your rootedness requires roots.  

And you need to pray for openness and optimism. Someone (perhaps you!) will say, "We tried that ten years ago and...." You need to be willing to try new and old things. You need to keep plodding on, sometimes slower, sometimes faster, but knowing the Goal and the Way, following Christ and leading others to him. 

Which of your weaknesses are deforming your church over time? How can you and others mitigate against them?

What do you think? What have you seen of long or short spells as Vicar for good or ill? What are your hopes and fears for the long haul?

Applied Focused Purpose and Church Leadership

 The phrase "applied focussed purpose" can help us think about the how, what and why of church leadership. 

You need FOCUS. Even in a small church, there are probably too many people and things to really concentrate on. For a time you may need to focus on admin, or the building, or even the flowers. But what are the things and people you really want to give your attention to? 

PURPOSE. Why? What are your aims large and small? Yes, the glory of God and the good of people. Growth in number and commitment to Christ. 

APPLIED. Break it down. What now? What next? How do your focus and purpose get put in to action by you and others? We don't want activism and we know that being matters more than doing, but you will do some stuff so what and how and why?

What might our church look like with the blessing of God in five years time? What are the next steps, as well as prayer and openness to changing our ideas?

Arian Sacraments

 Jane Williams argues that Arianism would view the sacraments as merely symbolic because its motivation is to keep the divine from contamination with the creaturely. It is held to be impossible for the creature and God to co-exist. "Sacraments become merely symbolic, since matter cannot receive the divine" (p27. 'Creeds: Boundaries or paths?' in The Bond of Peace: Exploring Generous Orthodoxy (SPCK, 2021)

Joshua J. Knabb, Christian Meditation in Clinical Practice (IVP) - some jottings

 

Joshua J. Knabb, Christian Meditation in Clinical Practice: A Four-Step Model and Workbook for Therapists and Clients (IVP Academic, 2021)

 

Drawing on research around mindfulness, Knabb argues for the benefits of a distinctively Christian approach to prayer, meditation and contemplation resourced by various branches of the Christian tradition. Three introductory chapters set out his approach with comparisons to Buddhist and secular meditation. Five subsequent chapters propose interventions for repetitive negative thinking, impaired emotional clarity and distress intolerance, behavioural avoidance, perfectionism and mentalization.  

 

Chapters include templates for keeping logs, exercises and questions for review. Audio recordings for some exercises are available at: ivpress.com/Knabb1 etc. to Knabb5

 

https://www.ivpress.com/christian-meditation-in-clinical-practice-ebook

 

Some things I thought worth jotting down:

 

Definitions of Christian meditation (p9) heavenly mindedness and communion with God (p11)

 

About one in five adults will struggle with depression during their lifetime to the point of meeting the criteria for a formal psychiatric diagnosis; one in three for an anxiety disorder (p22)

 

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) over 300 diagnoses. The danger of pathologizing normal experiences of psychological suffering (p23)

 

Domains to consider:

Thinking / cognition (e.g. repetitive thinking)

Feeling / affect (impaired emotional clarity or distress intolerance)

Behaviour (avoidance)

The self (perfectionism)

Relationships (p24f)

 

Assessing types of meditation consider: (1) the type of attention (2) relationship to cognitive processes (3) the goal (p36f)

 

Buddhist three marks of existence: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness / suffering, no-self/ non-self (p38)

 

John Ball, A Treatise of Divine Meditation: meditation as “the steadfast and earnest bending of the mind on some spiritual and heavenly matter, discoursing on it with ourselves, until we bring it to some profitable point, both for the settling of our judgements, and the bettering of our hearts and lives.” (Puritan Publications, 2016, p25) quoted on p43

 

Puritan Edmund Calamy on The Art of Divine Meditation (1680): “a dwelling and abiding upon things that are holy; it is not only a knowing of God, and a knowing of Christ, but it is a dwelling upon the things we know; as the bee that dwells and abides upon the flower, to suck out all the sweetness that is in the flower.” p23 quoted on p48

 

Biopsychosocial-spiritual model, dynamic interaction of biological, psychological, social and spiritual (p51)

 

Summary of Christian meditation p54f

 

Comparison of Christian, Buddhist mindfulness / loving kindness / secular meditation pp56f, including table

 

Lectio divina / divine reading – p41 – read, meditate, pray, contemplate

(1) Bite – read slowly

(2) Chew – ponder the meaning

(3) Taste – pray, thank, praise, recognise

(4) Savor – rest in God

p58, See further Guigo II, The Ladder of Monks, 2012

D. Benner, Opening to God: Lectio divina and life as prayer (IVP, 2010)

 

Developing the mental skills of attention, present moment (non-judgemental) awareness and acceptance (some openness, flexibility, curiosity, non-striving etc.):

 

Four stage process: notice, shift, accept, act (diagram p12)

(1) noticing mind, brain, body behaviour patterns such as repetitive thinking, worry, anxiety, self-criticism, judgementalism, perfectionism, avoidance of distress / conflict, emotions

(2) shifting to a more spiritual / heavenly God-centred perspective

(3) accepting the active loving presence of God with us

(4) acting. Fellowship with God and contentment in him as the basis of Christian living. (see esp. pp61-67

 

Gently and repeatedly bringing the mind back to God, perhaps by using some short phrase of Scripture

 

Cultivation a spiritual awareness of God’s active, loving presence in the here-and-now which avoids worrying about the past which cannot be changed and the future which is uncertain

 

We may seek to anchor ourselves in the present with God rather than allowing our thoughts to be on auto-pilot (p65)

 

Description of heavenly rather than earthly mindedness p69ff – rather than always looking at the ground around us, we might focus on Jesus who walks with us as our companion and on heaven as our destination (p64)

 

What are our relational habits / our self in relationship dynamics? (p63)

 

Try to slow down to notice any repetitive thinking and to understand your mind with a bit of humility and distance (p80)

 

Puritan Thomas Goodwin wrote: "our thoughts, at best, are like wanton spaniels, they indeed go after their master and come to their journey's end with him, but they run after every bird, they wildly pursue every flock of sheep they see." (Knabb, p75)

 

“God is the most glorious object our minds could even fasten upon, the most alluring…. But I appeal to your experience, are not your thoughts of him most unsteady? Do you not have as much trouble holding your thoughts on Him as you would holding a telescope on a star with a palsy-shaking hand?... So when we are at our business, which God commands us to do with all our might [Eccles. 9:10], our minds, like truant children… will go out of the way to see any sport, will run after every hare that crosses the way, will follow every butterfly buzzing around us.”

 

We should view our thoughts with a healthy dose of humility. Goodwin says, “As wanton boys sometimes scribble broken words which make no sense, so our thoughts sometimes are – and if you could but read over what you have thought, as you can what you have written, you would find as much nonsense in your thoughts as you will find in madmen’s speeches.” (The Vanity of Thoughts, Knabb, p101f)

 

God’s attributes, especially his four omni-s should lead us to trust him:

Omnipotence – he is in control

Omnipresence – his is with us

Omnibenevolence – he loves us

Omniscience – he always knows and chooses the best for us (p121)

 

Drawing on W. Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: A theological commentary (Augsburg Publishing, 1984), Knabb pp125-128 suggests using the Psalms as a model for how to lament. He suggests considering Psalm 13 as an example. The lament Psalms combine two main elements: (1) A complaint or plea to God to help remedy a present situation and (2) praise to God for listening to the petition. 

 

Or in more detail:

 

(1) Calling personally on God

(2) presenting a specific problem to God

(3) asking God to intervene 

(4) expressing a reason for the request 

(5) confidently stating that God has heard the request

(6) concluding by giving God thanks and praise for hearing the request, regardless of whether or not the situation is resolved  

 

Greek, eleos, mercy, compassion / kindness to the suffering. Cf. Greek, elaion, olive oil, used in healing wounds, soothing comfort p129 citing K. Ware, The Jesus Prayer (2014)

 

Some “C”s for Christians to consistently cultivate / contemplate:

Closer communion with God

Calm confidence in God

Contentment in God

Commitment to God and his will for me

Conformity to / conversion to Jesus Christ – Christlike-character – Companionship with Christ

 

In the desert tradition some logismoi, tempting compulsive thoughts / distractions from God and some alternative virtues:

(1) Gluttony

(2) Lust / fornication

(3) Money / material possessions

Love of God (charity) self-control (temperance)

 

(4) Sadness

(5) Anger

(6) Boredom / discouragement / restlessness

Patience and courage

 

(7) Vanity / fame

(8) Pride

Good judgement (prudence), understanding and wisdom

(p165f)

 

Cf. Brother Lawrence - Mindful activity e.g. doing the dishes slowly, carefully, deliberately, gently, lovingly, with present attention - not impulsive, hurriedly, distractedly (p172f) – worshipfully!

 

A summary of steps in Puritan mediation: (p191f):

(1) Select a short passage of Scripture on which to focus

(2) Pray for God’s help

(3) Shift from earthly focus to heavenly mindedness

(4) Meditate – focus sustained attention of the passage

(5) Move from brain to heart

(6) Feel (God’s love and grace)

(7) Commit to act on the basis of the meditation

(8) Pray

 

Human self in relationship processes / dynamics – self and others

 

Metacognition – thinking about thinking – an element of distance (objectivity / humility / compassion) from one’s own thoughts – a bird’s eye / balcony / helicopter view  

 

Mentalization (chapter 8, p203ff) minds minds. It involves the recognition that I have a mind and so do other people! It is an attempt to understand the relationships between (1) minds and intentions (the interior worlds), and (2) actions and behaviours (in the external world). It attempts to understand how I might appear to others (from the outside in) and why others might be acting as they do (from the inside out). How people think of things may not correspond to objective reality nor to how I think of them!  Mind reading and its limitations.

How To Lament

 Drawing on W. Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: A theological commentary (Augsburg Publishing, 1984), Joshua J. Knabb, Christian Meditation in Clinical Practice (IVP Academic, 2021) pp125-128 suggests using the Psalms as a model for how to lament. He suggests considering Psalm 13 as an example. The lament Psalms combine two main elements: (1) A complaint or plea to God to help remedy a present situation and (2) praise to God for listening to the petition. 

Or in more detail:

(1) Calling personally on God

(2) presenting a specific problem to God

(3) asking God to intervene 

(4) expressing a reason for the request 

(5) confidently stating that God has heard the request

(6) concluding by giving God thanks and praise for hearing the request, regardless of whether or not the situation is resolved  

Parish Magazine Item for May 2022

 

From The Rectory

 

On Thursday 26^th May, we’ll celebrate the Ascension of Christ. You are very welcome to join us for our joint benefice service of Holy Communion at St Giles’, Dallington at 7:30pm.

 

In case you need a little reminder, the Ascension marks the end of Jesus’ resurrection appearances. Forty days after Easter, the risen Lord Jesus ascended to heaven and was enthroned at the right hand of God the Father in glory. Ten days later, at Pentecost, he would send the Holy Spirit to empower the church for mission.

 

The Ascension doesn’t enjoy the profile of Christmas or Easter. The marketing industry has perhaps missed a trick by failing (as yet) to commercialise it. Perhaps it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to discuss the relative importance of different parts of the saving work of Christ: Jesus could hardly die if he hadn’t been born, his death is essential to his resurrection. The saving work of Christ all belongs together and each part is necessary. But St Augustine of Hippo spoke very powerfully about the importance of the ascension. As we might be tempted to neglect this festival which is always celebrated on a Thursday rather than a Sunday and not surrounded by a lengthy period off school or work, it is worth thinking about what Augustine claims: Ascension Day is "that festival which confirms the grace of all the festivals together, without which the profitableness of every festival would have perished. For unless the Saviour had ascended into heaven, his nativity would have come to nothing ... and his passion would have borne no fruit for us, and his most holy resurrection would have been useless." No ascension, no Christmas, no Easter, no Christian faith, Augustine is saying.

 

Why might the ascension matter to us? What can we say about it in the space remaining?

 

To some it has seemed rather absurd and primitive to think of Jesus going up into heaven like a human rocket. I guess we don’t think of heaven as literally up in the sky somewhere. But as with the resurrection, the physical bodily nature of the ascension reminds us of the Christian hope. Our bodies matter, as Jesus’ does. Jesus’ incarnation was not temporary but permanent. He continues to have a divine and a human nature. Matter matters. We are looking not to an eternity of disembodied souls, but to the resurrection of the body, as the creed says. On Easter Sunday morning the tomb was empty. The risen Jesus was no mere thought, idea or principle. He wasn’t a ghost or a spirit. And likewise our final destiny is the New Creation, or, better, a renewed creation. And so Jesus the God-Man’s human body ascending to heaven reminds us about the importance of our bodies and this creation. There is hope for my skin and bones and for this world.  

 

And the Bible also makes a point about what Jesus does when he gets to heaven. He sits down. We might even say he puts his feet up. His saving work is done and God is putting all his enemies under his feet. The ascension demonstrates the victory of Christ. The Father welcomes his triumphant Son back to glory and enthrones him as ruler and judge of the world. Jesus has done his job faithfully and fully. His mission was accomplished.

 

And though the world often seems in disarray and terribly broken, our Jesus is on the throne of history. The ascension assures us that love wins. Jesus is our friend in high places who ever lives to intercede for us. The ascension urges us to believe the Christmas prophecy has been, and is being fulfilled: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

 

A very merry ascension to you!

 

The Revd Marc Lloyd

Four tasks of strategic leadership

 In an interview with Niall Ferguson in The Spectator ('Putin still has a lot left to lose', 16/4/22, p18) former CIA Director, General David Petraeus mentions four tasks of strategic leadership he says President Zelensky of Ukraine has performed brilliantly:

(1) the right over-aching big ideas

(2) communicated effectively

(3) implemented relentlessly 

(4) refined again and again. 

These things might seem like stating the obvious, but sometimes we don't just have the wrong or partial answers, we fail even to address the right issues. It is so easy to be distracted from the big things which matter, it seems to me these four simple points form a useful reminder of necessities at the heart of leadership.