Distinctly Welcoming

Tony Blair's Faith Foundation and good compromise

I was talking to someone the other day about Tony Blair's new Faith Foundation. This austere site gives the briefest of information about its purposes. In between sorting out ecological meltdown and the intractable divisions of Israel and Palestine, Tony Blair will be giving his attention to relations between faiths in Britain. A whole load of experts and practitioners are being canvassed for their views on the issues of faith and community cohesion and I was intrigued to hear the view expressed that, "It's going to happen, there's going to be lots of money spent, these people don't know what they're doing so let's at least make it happen as well as possible."

This got me thinking about compromise: a word loaded with negativity. But actually, is an engaged life about a whole series of considered compromises? In the church we have ideals (big assumption I know), but those ideals have to inform real practice on the ground. It's not about debunking ideals but living in the tension of what we are and what we are becoming.  A whole series of exciting developments  in the church (Pioneer Ministry, Bishop's Mission Order to name but 2) are to some extent good "compromises". The ideal is that the church organically releases and affirms mission and new leadership; in the meantime broken people and structures fail to do so. Is that a cause for revolution to bring about necessary change or compromise? To resist the compromise and hold on to the ideal is in danger of creating a sectarian church that somehow denies God's grace to transform the whole of life. Seeing God's vision limited to the structure conversely immunises us from the prophetic challenge that we all need to live with. It's the already and the not yet of the kingdom. For many, the church is "already" sorted and fine thankyou very much. For others, it's "not yet" something they wish to be part of/suffer any longer.

So what  good compromises are you deciding to make? The very fact that it is a "compromise" involves decision and cost, and dare I say it, some humility. Are our ideas for interfaith relations, the church, society the best, or do we believe we have to work with and alongside some discomfort to be part of God's work?

And the female contributors are........?

I have a confession to make. I've been stirred into action by Maggi Dawn and Jen Baker but sad to say I've needed their nudge. Posting details of the RUN conference I fell into that oh so easy trap of emphasising those speakers I knew and, funnily enough, they all happened to be men. I'm committed to a church that makes no distinction in gifting based on gender and believe that for us men, that requires some active peaking beyond our own privileged circles....So my apologies!

I don't mean this as an exercise of donning sackcloth and ashes but, I guess, to highlight that we need to be constantly vigilant and proactive: no excuses, I was lazy.

Other speakers at the RUN conference include:
Anne Hibbert - Founder and Director of the Well Christian Healing Centre in Leamington Spa and Liz Bibbs, international author, performer, broadcaster, speaker and creative prayer consultant. I notice now too that Kate Pearson, who I know here in Birmingham, of the Nehemiah Project, is running a seminar. Kate is a brilliant lawyer committed to faith based community transformation and is gold-dust so go and listen to her!

While I'm at it, go and visit the Sophia Network which is a resource hub for female Christian youthworkers.

...Thanks for the challenge sisters!

Down to Earth

Apologies for the absence of blog posts, but I've been away on a mega holiday to Kuala Lumpur and Australia for three weeks. Anyway, the bump back down to earth was tempered by a baptism service yesterday that was a great reminder of what being local church is meant to be like in an area like this. A family of Albanians who have been here for 8 years and have just received their right to remain, a Muslim Afghani who came to the UK in the back of a lorry escaping persecution and a middle-aged English, recovering alcoholic: all made very public statements of their commitment to Christ. All these baptisms came freighted with pain and fragility but lifted with hope and signs of transformation.

I return after the break with the church's community project opened in the new build Children's Centre following the demolition of the church hall. The photo above is that very centre, in which I now have an office, and is the hub of the church's engagement with the community. So, back from the optimism, sunshine and outdoorsiness of Oz, here is something to inspire vision and a future.

I caught a brief discussion on the radio yesterday about the increasing ambiguity of the word "evangelical". The word might be shopworn and unhelpful these days, as so many theological labels are, but yesterday's service underlined how the church can still be genuine good news.

Oh, and some personal news...Just before leaving for holiday I learned that I had been accepted for training towards ordination in the Church of England. In many ways, it confirms and structures what has been in process for some time now. It's going to be a very different and quite innovative route through as I will be a "Pioneer" minister, working part time for the local church here in Birmingham, with a specific brief and specialism in interfaith ministry, getting input from the Queens Foundation and carrying on with the PhD part time. I will continue to be a CMS mission partner; the role is to some extent making a statement that new forms of church and ministry are required in the inner city and in multifaith contexts as much as the other areas that are more frequently the focus of Pioneer ministry. Watch this space!