Distinctly Welcoming

Christian-Muslim Relations

Back to the grindstone and I have some fruit of summer studies available to read on the web. Fulcrum are publishing a series of 4 articles I've written on the Church of England and Islam so feel free to go here, download and join in the discussion. Following my earlier post on the Christian-Muslim Forum and its ethical guidelines for evangelism, a petition is now available to sign here for the Pakistan government to address the issue of the persecution of the church there. This petition arises out of bi-lateral discussions and the names of leading British imams has been added to this, demonstrating what can be done collaboratively between faiths. Another site, "livability" has an extract from my book Distinctly Welcoming, to download. Their site is a great resource for churches engaging in community service so do have a look around.

Archbishop Rowan in Birmingham

Yes, he looks surprised too, doesn't he? Well, after weeks of preparation, tomorrow we welcome Archbishop Rowan Williams to formally open our church-based Childrens Centre and speak at a short service of worship. It's one of those events when we are very conscious of hosting influential folk (local councillors and MP's, Muslim leaders, as well as Rowan himself) but wanting to represent the ordariness of our mixed local congregation. I for one am really excited to have Rowan WIlliams on our patch.So much of what the church is about chimes with his vision of a Christian faith that is engaged in the public square: thoroughly orthodox and trinitarian, pointing to Christ as the hope of all creation yet working with and for the full diversity of the wider community.

I was talking to a friend last night who was remarking that when Rowan is interviewed by the media, there are often long pauses, deliberations and the hallmark sub-clauses and qualifications. He concluded, "Rowan Williams is so counter-cultural. He shuns the soundbites; the easy answers. It's almost as if he's trying to listen to God before answering". Yup.....give me someone anxious to "listen to God before answering" rather than soundbite leadership.

So, think of us tomorrow. We'll be ever so busy putting out chairs, setting food out, struggling to squeeze all our guests into church and engineering encounters with local Christians and Muslim families helped by the project's work that are not part of the usual parade of political influence. Pray that it is more than just a grand occasion that goes smoothly; pray that God is present and speaks to all of us.

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!

Distinctly Welcoming - the blog of the book!

"Distinctly Welcoming: Christian presence in a multi-faith society" is now out in all good bookshops, published by Scripture Union! Click on the book link in the sidebar to see the Amazon order page. This blog is an attempt to continue the conversation on how Christians can have a distinctive presence for the good of all amidst our current, challenging diversity.  I will aim to signpost to resources, offer reflections, and bring in some other voices from both academic and practitioner backgrounds engaging across faiths. The book itself offers approaches to practical issues such as community action, dialogue, youthwork and evangelism in the multi-faith context. As with the book, this blog will seek to hold together reflections from practice with creative biblical reflections. It seems that no day passes some issues of faith rearing their head in the news. It's easy to forget, but this was not always the case. The Distinctly Welcoming blog will be a place to chat through some of those issues, be challenged, offer challenges, and hopefully sharpening our sense of what it means to be distinctive followers of Christ today. Watch this space!