Recovering Awe…
In an age where fairly ordinary experiences are described as “awesome” (“awesome movie”, “awesome meal”) there is a risk that we trivialise awe away. To confuse the mildly pleasing with awe is an issue, especially when it leaves us unobservant of that which should truly leave us in silent, speechless wonder. I’ve had a few awe struck moments in the last week, largely because I was able to get down south to the beachside resort of Dunsborough. There were times when I was on the beach alone, a vast ocean ahead of me. I had the strangest sensation of...
Read MoreRemembering and Hope…
We live in an era of chronological snobbery, where only the most current is seen to be worthy of attention. Often we judge the past too severely, assuming every tool at our disposal was available to earlier generations and forgetting how much they did with so much less than we have. While I am convinced that we should look more to the future than to the past, it is possible to push that too far. After all, one of the most frequent cries in scripture is “remember”, and to forget to remember is too risk misunderstanding the part we are called to shape and play in the ongoing story...
Read MoreBecause Place Matters…
I still remember the lines from Paul Tournier’s book, A Place for You, “Basically I have always been looking for a place. A place to call home.” Tournier writes at the interface between faith and psychology and insightfully explores the importance of belonging and knowing that there is a place for you. Place might be a psychological zone, but often it is a physical one – the tangible contours of a garden or a familiar chair that is left open for you. In my last post I explored Wolterstorff’s idea that Shalom (or Flourishing) is made up of 4 large blocks –...
Read MoreWhat does it mean to flourish?
It’s become a bit of a catch word – one you find in vision and mission statements which commit to building flourishing communities of hope or whatever. It’s a noble and inspiring sentiment, but what does it mean to flourish? We could immediately dash to definitions. Depending on your source, you will be told that to flourish is to prosper, to thrive, to be in a state of activity or production. If you go to the Greek philosophers you might well come out at Aristotle and his idea of eudaimonia (roughly translated as flourishing) by which he was pointing to the life well...
Read MoreChurch-Lite
Let’s face it. If you say the word “church” a less than enthusiastic response is likely to follow. True, there are some glorious exceptions, but by and large those who have never been part of a church tend to express views that have been shaped by the press coverage the church has been receiving (almost uniformly bad), while those who have often launch into a story of feeling let down, disappointed or even betrayed. Many will tell you that they now embrace a churchless faith, one which is real but which effectively says “Jesus yes, church, no!” Others will tell...
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