Monday, 30 April 2012
Friday, 24 September 2010
a good try
Hi folks - seems as if a blog is just a bit too much for most people to cope with, perhaps a bit technical - so now we're transferring operations to Face Book - search for the group "Syncopated Saints" if you haven't already been invited to join!
cheers
Adrian
cheers
Adrian
Thursday, 27 May 2010
musings
So I'm wishing we had a counter on the blog and could see how many people have actually visited....perhaps the idea of a space for us to share ideas and thoughts about church life is a step too far...perhaps people just like to check out other peoples ramblings and pick the best to think about or pass on - so would we have more blog-success with a site that offered a pick n mix range of links, thoughts, comment, clips, music etc? - something that would provide a base for ideas rather than a gathering point?
You could let me know...
Adrian Jones
You could let me know...
Adrian Jones
Thursday, 6 May 2010
tradition within the church
Here's a thought ...could it apply to church traditions?!
"Bananas and Monkeys
Original source unknown.
Start with a cage containing five monkeys.
Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done round here.
And that, my friends, is how company policies are made."
from http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1UfmxL/paws.kettering.edu/%257Ejhuggins/humor/banana.html
"Bananas and Monkeys
Original source unknown.
Start with a cage containing five monkeys.
Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done round here.
And that, my friends, is how company policies are made."
from http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1UfmxL/paws.kettering.edu/%257Ejhuggins/humor/banana.html
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Resurrection!
Many thanks to everyone who enabled the Holy Week 24/7 prayer in the church building...for me this experience of "vertical" prayer (as Nigel described it) really helped in preparation for Easter this year. On Sunday night I preached on John 20, Mary at the empty tomb .....I love the very personal encounters that Jesus has with individuals in John's Gospel: Nicodemus, the woman at the well, Lazarus/Mary/Martha, Thomas, Peter...each one is so personal and yet the truths that Jesus leads each individual to appreciate are also so universal - they apply to all of us. In each case Jesus leads them to a new level of faith by revealing more of who he is... a positive, upwards spiral....as they respond in faith, He reveals more of himself, so that they can respond in faith and He can reveal more......
This reminds me so much of the dialogue that Moses has with God at the burning bush, except that Moses is more questioning in response to God's self-revelation. has anyone had their own experience of this God-led positive spiral of faith?
Adrian
This reminds me so much of the dialogue that Moses has with God at the burning bush, except that Moses is more questioning in response to God's self-revelation. has anyone had their own experience of this God-led positive spiral of faith?
Adrian
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Worship ...."Who am I?"
Who am I?
I have been challenged recently about who is at the centre of my faith and of my Worship. The obvious Christianese answer is ‘God’. Now we have established that I can give the right answer, lets look at how things really are. We begin with my worship. We sing lots of the ‘Jesus is my girlfriend’ type of songs. They drip romance and intimacy. I love them and still believe there is a strong biblical justification for them. A while ago, however, we realised that they were almost the only songs we used. We were dying of intimacy. There are, after all, only so many ways you can tell Jesus you are ‘falling in love’ with him in half an hour. Phase two of our journey has been to write and sing songs of commitment and intercession. So we knock on the door of heaven, offer up our lives, are led to the lost and basically tell the Lord how hard we are going to work for him. I am sure there is a place for this in sung worship. We need to make our vows of service and requests for the lost as well as our whispers of love.
Here is the question that has challenged me recently. How many songs do we sing that are just about God and do not bring us into the story. How much is God not only the object but also the centre of our worship? I am sure we need to sing more songs that praise him for who he is irrespective of what he has done for us. The picture of the worship of heaven we see in Revelation 4 and 5 is amazing in its colour and its sound and also its participants. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders seem to be having a great time as they take it in turns to sing their songs and fall down. A few million angels and then every creature join them. Great sight. Great noise. But incomplete. The centrepiece comes as the grand finale. The one who sits on the throne and the Lamb. The rest is incidental, the audience, the supporting cast. How God centred is my worship? Maybe I need to tell him a little less about me, what I feel and what I am going to do and focus a little more on him.
As with worship so with the whole of life. Am I living with Jesus as the centre or am I consumed with myself, my abilities, my plans and my work. The big mistake Moses made at the burning bush was in the first question he asked after receiving the revelation of God. He asked ‘Who am I?’ One would have thought he would have asked ‘Who are you?’ My mistake is that I ask the first question too often and the second too seldom. Peter made the same mistake on the mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9 v.28-36). What does he say in response to the revelation of the glory of Jesus? Is it Hallelujah? Does he fall on his face in silence? He says and I quote; ‘Master, it is good for us to be here.’ Can you believe it? He then wants to start a building project. Peter was truly the first Charismatic evangelical! Why can’t we just gaze at him, lost in wonder, love and praise?
There has to be more than a me-centred Christianity which always descends into hype and techniques and the latest quick fix solution to the problems of the Church. The answer is what it has always been, to see and savour more of the Saviour.
Peter Ward
I have been challenged recently about who is at the centre of my faith and of my Worship. The obvious Christianese answer is ‘God’. Now we have established that I can give the right answer, lets look at how things really are. We begin with my worship. We sing lots of the ‘Jesus is my girlfriend’ type of songs. They drip romance and intimacy. I love them and still believe there is a strong biblical justification for them. A while ago, however, we realised that they were almost the only songs we used. We were dying of intimacy. There are, after all, only so many ways you can tell Jesus you are ‘falling in love’ with him in half an hour. Phase two of our journey has been to write and sing songs of commitment and intercession. So we knock on the door of heaven, offer up our lives, are led to the lost and basically tell the Lord how hard we are going to work for him. I am sure there is a place for this in sung worship. We need to make our vows of service and requests for the lost as well as our whispers of love.
Here is the question that has challenged me recently. How many songs do we sing that are just about God and do not bring us into the story. How much is God not only the object but also the centre of our worship? I am sure we need to sing more songs that praise him for who he is irrespective of what he has done for us. The picture of the worship of heaven we see in Revelation 4 and 5 is amazing in its colour and its sound and also its participants. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders seem to be having a great time as they take it in turns to sing their songs and fall down. A few million angels and then every creature join them. Great sight. Great noise. But incomplete. The centrepiece comes as the grand finale. The one who sits on the throne and the Lamb. The rest is incidental, the audience, the supporting cast. How God centred is my worship? Maybe I need to tell him a little less about me, what I feel and what I am going to do and focus a little more on him.
As with worship so with the whole of life. Am I living with Jesus as the centre or am I consumed with myself, my abilities, my plans and my work. The big mistake Moses made at the burning bush was in the first question he asked after receiving the revelation of God. He asked ‘Who am I?’ One would have thought he would have asked ‘Who are you?’ My mistake is that I ask the first question too often and the second too seldom. Peter made the same mistake on the mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9 v.28-36). What does he say in response to the revelation of the glory of Jesus? Is it Hallelujah? Does he fall on his face in silence? He says and I quote; ‘Master, it is good for us to be here.’ Can you believe it? He then wants to start a building project. Peter was truly the first Charismatic evangelical! Why can’t we just gaze at him, lost in wonder, love and praise?
There has to be more than a me-centred Christianity which always descends into hype and techniques and the latest quick fix solution to the problems of the Church. The answer is what it has always been, to see and savour more of the Saviour.
Peter Ward
Monday, 8 March 2010
catching up!
Seems a while since we had a post....sorry for the temporary silence! Not doing my job well enough!
Last night was an inspired act of worship.....in that we had to work from scratch with short notice, given that the Eagles team were due to be with us but couldn't get visas in time to fly in from Malawi....so we were running on the Holy Spirit even more than usual! I wonder what anyone else made of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer introduction that I used?
I was inspired by Patrick's use of his ipod playlist to help our lenten meditation....it set me thinking. What six tracks would we each choose because they say something significant about our lives, or our coming to faith, or our discipleship...? The "Blowing your cover" course that has just finished has an interesting section on writing up your own personal testimony, and how to get it printed as a mini-booklet.... I'm wondering now if there is a way of individuals putting together their personal playlists with notes/words about why these tracks are significant to them and their own Christian story - anyone got an idea how this might work? Adrian
Last night was an inspired act of worship.....in that we had to work from scratch with short notice, given that the Eagles team were due to be with us but couldn't get visas in time to fly in from Malawi....so we were running on the Holy Spirit even more than usual! I wonder what anyone else made of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer introduction that I used?
I was inspired by Patrick's use of his ipod playlist to help our lenten meditation....it set me thinking. What six tracks would we each choose because they say something significant about our lives, or our coming to faith, or our discipleship...? The "Blowing your cover" course that has just finished has an interesting section on writing up your own personal testimony, and how to get it printed as a mini-booklet.... I'm wondering now if there is a way of individuals putting together their personal playlists with notes/words about why these tracks are significant to them and their own Christian story - anyone got an idea how this might work? Adrian
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