The Complex Christ | Signs of Emergence

The New Conspirators

There are lots of reasons why you really should go and buy Tom Sine's new book 'The New Conspirators', and none of them are that it's got a quote from me telling you to on the back.

One of them would be that I think it's the best looking Christian book I've seen for ages. Really good design work. Unfortunately, the US version is the usual pap, so you'll have to go direct to Paternoster and get the one that'll properly grace your shelves.

Another would be that Tom Sine is a genuinely incredible person. Carson can talk about 'Becoming Conversant With the Emerging Church', and others can prattle on about the emerging conversation; Sine actually is conversant with a massive number of people from around the world. When he tells stories, people ought to listen.

When the great book of life is opened, some would see it that it'll be the stellar Christians like Mclaren, Baker, Rollins and Wallis who should get all the plaudits. I wouldn't want to take anything away from any of them, but quietly, 'one mustard seed at a time' Tom has been actually inspiring people to do the stuff. It's a quiet, background role, perhaps, but I think if you could trace the significance of his words and actions through all the things that have happened because of them, you'd have quite an amazing list. Vaux certainly owes him its existence in many ways.

So go buy the book and get some low down on the real stuff people are doing beyond the spun-sugar of so much else that markets itself as the emerging conversation. And you'll have a nice looking cover to boot too.

Technorati: Carson | Sine | Rollins

Waterlogged | Foff

It's been a difficult few weeks:

'What are you reading?'

'A book about open-water swimming.'

'Errr....'

Actually a far more subtle and interesting book than one might think, Waterlog is a homage to John Cheever's classic short story 'The Swimmer', in which the hero decides to swim the 8 miles home from a party using his neighbours' swimming pools. I blogged about Roger Deakin's other book, Wildwood, some time ago, and this is equally good.

The swimming, like the trees in Wildwood, is just a vehicle for meditations on British life, and on the relationship we have with water. Deakin parallels swimming pools with lawns: both are sanitised versions of nature, and neither will fully satisfy. Far better to wander the woods, or swim in rivers, natural pools or the sea.

It was also a lovely surprise to read a chapter about Jaywick, where Deakin spent many childhood holidays, and to hear him describe my Great Grandfather, who bought the land and developed the resort:

Like a lot of makeshift landscapes, Jaywick grew up as plotlands, sold off in the 1930s by a developer from Dulwich, F.C 'Foff' Stedman, with ambitious plans for the place as a holiday resort. In 1928, Stedman paid £7,500 for the reclaimed marshland, dunes and dykes, but Clacton Town Council refused him planning permission for houses because they were unhappy about the sewerage arrangements on such low-lying land. Undeterred, Stedman got permission instead for 'Beach Chalets' and 'Bathing Houses'. By 1929, he was offering beach chalets in the London papers for £20 to £100, and plots with land for car-parking or a garden for anything from £25 to £200. The chalets caught on with East Enders and by 1931 there were 200 of them at Jaywick.

Strangely, my wife and I almost bought a house in what would have been the garden of the house he had be born in in Dulwich, South East London. His wife, my Great Grandmother, lived next door. Her parents thought him unsuitable; too much of a wheeler-dealer. Troubles with dirt, reclaiming land, I love his spirit. We live just up the hill from, and I often think of him.

The last of the family's holdings in Jaywick were sold last year. I feel I want to go back and swim there again, and spend more time in open water.

Technorati: Cheever | Deakin | Dulwich | Foff | Jaywick | Swimming | Stedman | Waterlog

Rollins' New Book Gets Pulped. Ouch.

Poor old Pete - seems like some Fundie at the printers for his new book has taken exception to the title of his new book 'The Fidelity of Betrayal', done some reworking, and sent it out to stores as 'The Betrayal of Fidelity.'

Ouch. That's gotta hurt sales.

Both copies have been pulped.

Crazy for God | Frank Schaeffer at Greenbelt 08

"I'd rather be arrested for shoplifting than ever be an evangelical leader again. There was a certain basic and decent honesty about stealing pork chops that selling God had lacked."

It's only March, I know, but I'll put a punt on Crazy for God still being one of my top 5 books of 2008 in December.

The subtitle, "How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back", pretty much sums the book up nicely. Frank is, of course, the son of the massively influential Christian leader Francis Schaeffer, who was a profound influence on my parents and their generation's view of faith. Francis Schaeffer set up 'L'Abri' in Switzerland where everyone who was anyone hung out at some point in the 60's. The Rolling Stones, Led Zep, Os Guinness and every other star in the Christian constellation all passed by there to argue faith and culture with Francis and the L'Abri workers.

While Frank skiied, avoided school, hit on the scores of girls who passed through and scored with plenty of them, and his right hand too. This is what makes Crazy for God such a refreshing read: here's someone from the true Christian royalty actually telling it like it is, with all the sex drugs and rock and roll edited in. If you don't want the honest truth about a teenager helping a disabled friend jack off, praying for him to be healed by emptying a jar of oil over his head and ruining his clothes in the process, then this book isn't for you.

But if, like so many in the emerging movement, you've wrestled with your parents' faith, wildly oscillated between crazed commitment - and Frank does a very good job outlining how he did set up the Religious Right, and exactly what he thinks of it now - and total rejection, then you'll absolutely love it. Indeed, as the US heads into election fever again I'd say this should be required reading for all who are looking for their candidate to back up their faith perspective. Here's a book by someone who really knows, and has really been through it: extraordinary childhood, celebrity, acclaimed artist, teenage father, Hollywood director, jet-setting evangelical speaker... and he gave it all up, and had so much taken away, and did end up stealing pork chops.

It's a genuine laugh-out-loud read, moving, committed and written like the proper novelist he is (and if you haven't read Portofino, you must) and I'm really excited that he's agreed to come to Greenbelt this summer. That's reason enough to get your ticket now, before the March discount deadline ends.

Technorati: Francis Schaeffer | Frank Schaeffer | Religious Right

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America

Very interesting article by Nicholas Guyett, around Chris Hedges' book in the current issue of the London Review of Books. Hedges was a theology student, and is also a very experienced war reporter.

Well worth a read, or buy the book here.

"According to Hedges, we may be only one cataclysmic event away from a total reordering of American politics and a takeover by the theocrats. Many of the Christian conservatives I spoke to last year fully expect another 9/11, but their gloomy view of the future has more to do with Ezekiel than the Fox News Channel."

Technorati: Christian Right | Fascism | Fox News | Hedges | 9/11

Has Old Father Thames Lost His Virility? | Sacred Rivers

Last night I went to hear Peter Ackroyd speak on the South Bank (pictured here), ostensibly about his new book: Thames, Sacred River. It was a fine lecture on the thread of the sacred throughout the history of humanity's interaction with London's river, followed by a hilarious Q&A led by the Times' Literary Editor, who had a torrid time trying to get anything much out of the old curmudgeon.

One recurring theme was the votive offerings that have been dug up from the Thames, covering pretty much every age for millennia. In more recent times churches have lined its banks, and one interesting observation by Ackroyd was the number of them dedicated to the Virgin Mary. There seems no rhyme or reason to this - and yet over the river's 240 mile passage there are over 50 churches given that name. Ackroyd connected this with the deeper history of the river as a place for fertility rituals: women would come to bathe in the Thames' waters before trying to conceive.

I got a brief chance to speak with him afterwards. I was interested in the idea of the sacred - in this case a river - as places for us to throw our shit. The votive offerings and the general detritus of society have emptied themselves into the Thames for so long, and I wondered if he thought the river would at some point call a halt and begin to fight back. "Of course not," he growled, "the Thames is cleaner now than its ever been."

Precisely. With its concreted banks and strict laws and worries about health and safety, the waters pass through the city now with no interruption. Nobody bathes, nobody enters the water. We pass over it atop buses and gaze down at the greying ripples. Our detachment from this river that has fed us and led us in worship for thousands of years, and carried off our shit, is now almost total.

The river-spirit flows through the centre of our capital in a well defended channel, leaving us dry. We cannot be fertilized by it now. We have, to corrupt Jung, purified 'Old Father Thames' to the point of sterility. Which makes me want to head to Putney and the boat houses, and have a swim.

Connected Post: Nature Watching in LA | Mango Body Whips and the LA River

Technorati: Catholicism | Fertility | London | Peter Ackroyd | Jung | Thames

Wikiklesia Paperback Available | A Tale of Two Publishers

I'm really pleased to see the Wikiklesia book published in physical form. Go get your copy here and support Not For Sale as you do. I contributed a chapter on the move between text, audio and video, which seems to have gone down well.

Wikiklesia is one of those great publishing projects you are happy to be a part of, with no thought of payment. Good people doing good things... the gifts have cycled well.

Unfortunately this isn't always the case. Many months ago now I was keenly asked to provide a couple of articles for a large and very well known US Christian publication. The deadlines were tight, the turnaround not easy with juggling other things, but hey - they seemed so keen and nice about it! My queries were answered by the editor within hours, they seemed really pleased with what I'd produced... And then it came to payment. I was patient, I can tell you - I don't like hassling people for cash - but suddenly, with the articles published, I couldn't get a squeak out of them.

Finally, after a number of unanswered emails, a cheque for one of the articles arrived, with a copy of the piece for my file, which I was more concerned about to be honest. I've since heard nothing about the other one, which was published months back, but for which I'm still owed.

Should I be bothered? I can take or leave the cash. Some can't, but I'm lucky enough to have income from my teaching. But I just feel that the principle is important. It's basically theft, right? Should writers have to hassle people for what their due, however small it might be? I know for a fact that this publication has treated others in a similar way. Is this the sort of way we'd want a Christian publication to run? I've no desire to write for them again, and if that means I'm shooting my US Christian publishing empire in the foot, well, so be it ;-) I'd rather spend the rest of my days pushing work out for free to projects like Wikiklesia than have the sour taste of having to chase poorly run, industrial-sized Christian publishing houses for cash.

Rant over.

Technorati: Christian | Publishing

Review from Bill Dahl at The Porpoise Diving Life

"One of the top 5 books I have read in 2007. You MUST read this book now. Trust me, this book will rearrange your soul! A tremendous contribution."

Bill Dahl, editor of The Porpoise Diving Life.

Hidden Trees and Weeds | The Interstitial Jesus

I have been reading, sitting quietly with, meditating on Richard Deakin's wonderful book, Wildwood - A Journey Through Trees. Having previous written of his swims around England, this book is simply a series of reflections on the transformative power of this 'fifth element'. Much of it is taken with stories of sleeping out in the middle of woodland, fully engaged with and alive to the busyness of this environment.

There are a number of things that I want to blog about from it, but, to begin with, the book has simply opened my eyes to an new appreciation of our forests. I spent yesterday out in the Surrey hills, which Deakin mentions (he died almost a year ago to the day) and it was wonderful to read the book in the very environment it spoke of.

But it was when traveling back into London by train that the book gave me a wonderful insight: there are scattered forests everywhere along our railways. These inbetween spaces, tucked safely between dangerous high-voltage rails, are havens for all manner of plant life. And with the plants, animal life too. I was surprised to learn recently that the best honey the UK has to offer is made in London. Why? Because London has such high bio-diversity, and thus the bees carry a rich mix of flavours into their hives. In the countryside, where much of the land is given over to industrial agriculture, the honey is bland.

Those who have read here before will know about the allotment that a few of us keep, and this is one sort of 'hidden land' that excites me about the city. But it was only traveling through Clapham Junction, East Croydon and London Bridge that I began to see that there are huge acreages of small clumps of trees and bushes, all living with no threat from mankind. All growing in the gaps that our developments have left. All working their quiet transformations of our air, our ecology, our sight.

And I can't help but think that, hidden away in these places, an interstitial Jesus is camping. Quietly working. Beyond our boundaries, and in places we simply miss as we glide along rails in steel carriages. I need to look more closely.

Technorati: Deakin | Ecology | Environment | London | Railways | Wildwood

Scot McKnight Discusses Signs...

Over at JesusCreed.Org

Some good debate going on about leadership, what it means to be 'emergent', and whether the book is 'concrete' enough.

Thanks Scot.

Technorati: JesusCreed | Scot McKnight

Emergent, emerging, emergent? | Is Signs 'Just Another Emerging Church Book'?

No this isn't a lesson in Latin conjugation... but language and its evolving meanings are important.

With the release of the book, people have been wondering if this is just 'another emerging church book'. I'd like to answer that with an emphatic no!

Part of the reason for that is, I feel less and less confident about the use of the term 'emerging church' anyway; like verbal spun sugar it appears to mean something, but on closer analysis, appears to shapeshift into anything you like.

Two points to make: firstly, when I wrote the original version - 'The Complex Christ' - back in 2003/4, I had never heard of the umbrella organization 'Emergent'. I think what Emergent is trying to do is, in many ways, fantastic, but my use of the term 'emergent' (lower case) in the book actually refers to the science of emergence/complexity/self-organzation.

Secondly, then, the book is not about the emerging church, but it is about how the church could 'emerge' - it is, as the opening sentence says, a book about change. I strongly believe that all arms of the church need to change - to listen to and adapt themselves to meet the challenges of their local situations. The thesis of the book is that this is what we see God doing in the incarnation, and that 'theomorphosis' gives us an archetype for how we too might change.

So the book is for all Christians who feel the divine itch of dissatisfaction with their church - Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal, Alternative... I've had some wonderful feedback from all corners. It offers no 'off the shelf' solution for what the perfect church should look like, but rather some DNA code to take and evolve into some wonderful beast totally suited to the local environment the reader may find themselves in, whether that be South London, South Bronx or South Africa.

In other words, it's for you, so click the link and purchase now ;-)

 

Technorati: Signs of Emergence | Emergent | Kester Brewin

Wikiklesia: Voices from the Virtual World

I am really pleased to have been able to contribute a chapter to a great new book: 'Voices from the Virtual World'. It's been put together under the umbrella of 'Wikiklesia', which is a collaborative publishing project.

"Voices of the Virtual World explores the growing influence of technology on the global Christian church. In this premier volume, we hear from more than forty voices, including technologists and theologians, entrepreneurs and pastors… from a progressive Episcopalian techno-monk to a leading Mennonite professor… 'Voices' is a far reaching exploration of spiritual journey contextualized within a culture of increasingly immersive technology."

"Conceived and established in May 2007, the Wikiklesia Project is an experiment in on-line collaborative publishing. The format is virtual, self-organizing, participatory - from purpose to publication in just a few weeks. All proceeds from the Wikiklesia Project will be contributed to the Not For Sale campaign."

 

My chapter is entitled 'Text/Audio/Video: Probing the Dark Glass'. Our journey from birth to adulthood takes from video (we see first) to audio (we learn to speak) throught to text (we learn to read). Paradoxically, our technological path has started with text (printing) moved on to audio (sound recording / pod-casting) and finally on to video (video calls, HD video streaming). How do these two different paths impact our rendering of faith? Go buy a copy from 23rd July, and find out. Don't worry, there's a host of great people to read other than me ;-)

More info from Wikiklesia.

Technorati: Wikiklesia | Dark Glass | Kester Brewin

Book | Endorsements

I've just received a copy of the book from Baker, and I have to say it looks great - thanks to everyone who's worked so hard to get it to the shelves!

I'm also very thankful for the great endorsements that the book carries - thank you all so much! I liked them so much I put a random generator on the sidebar; should change each time you load the page.

Just about finished tinkering... hope you like the new design, which hopefully has a lot more info upfront without being too busy...

Technorati: Baker

Dave Eggers | Valentino Achak Deng | Sudan

I went to hear Dave Eggers in conversation with Valentino Achak Deng at the ICA this evening. It was wonderful, moving and sad and funny.

Deng was one of the Lost Boys in Sudan. After his town was pillaged by militias, he got separated from his family and joined 4000 or so other young boys on a walk to Ethiopia. Some were ate by lions. Others shot. Others just died of hunger. After 3 years in a refugee camp there, Ethiopian militias turned on the boys and drove them out again. So they walked to Kenya. 10 years later, Deng and some 3000 others were taken to the US. He met Eggers; 'What is the What' is the 'fictional autobiography' of Deng's life. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Much as cynical postmodern life tells me they shouldn't, heroes do still exist. Dave Eggers is one. His 'Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' is just that. Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is the best vehicle for new writing around, and The Believer the best writing magazine ever. That's before we get to the inner-city work of 826 Valencia, the Voice of Witness human rights oral history project. Faith has never been mentioned. I don't want it to be. He's simply a person of huge spirit.

One of the questions after the talk was about how much of him is in the book, and how much is Deng, and whether there was a theme running through his work. He commented quickly that he didn't think there was, in particular, and that he had tried to be as 'invisible as possible' in What is the What.

In some ways I'd like to disagree: I think there is a theme. HBOSG is essentially a work of the ego. It is about him-Self,

about getting to know the Self, if you will. His second book 'You Shall Know Our Velocity' tells the story of a suddenly rich American guy going to Africa with the naive intention of giving money to the poor - a project that spirals into disaster, and his own death. And now we have 'What is the What'.

My thoughts? That the trajectory of his writing has been, having examined the Self, putting the Self to death, and disappearing into the service of the other. And that's good enough for hero status for me.

Please buy What is the What. All the money is going back to Deng's town to build a Secondary School and a Library. And please visit his site to find out what you can do to put pressure on governments to act to stop the violence in Sudan and Darfur in particular.

Technorati: Eggers | Sudan

Spiritual Failings of An 'Emerging Leader' 3 | Literary Hypocrisy | God's Ultimate Passion

There are a couple of book projects I've got on the go at the moment. 'Signs of Emergence' is coming out in July, and there's been some work to do on getting final edits and, more dirtily, getting endorsements. And I'm still in a rolling process of re-drafting and sending out to agents a novel I finished at Christmas.

It's the same task with both: asking people if they'd be kind enough to read something and give some feedback, write a review, or a cheque ;-)
Spiritual Failing part a: I get frustrated when my pearls aren't turned around by busy people and sent back to me with gushing plaudits within the day. I'm sure most good Christian writers wouldn't suffer from it, but I'm a sucker for appreciation.

But that's internal affairs. Hypocrisy is worse. A couple of months ago I was asked to do the very same for someone else: read Frank Viola's new book and blog about it. I agreed. And I just haven't been able to read it. There are excuses I'm sure: babies, work, deadlines, a huge backlog of reading I want to find time for. But I'm less than forgiving about those in the other direction, so shouldn't throw them up this way.

That's the problem: I'm a hypocrite. Which means you shouldn't trust me when I say that it's a great book and you should go and read it.
Trust Andrew Jones instead. He has. And he rates it, and everything else Frank has written. So please do.

Sorry Frank.

Technorati: Frank Viola | God's Ultimate Passion

Jordon Cooper Review

Big thank you to Jordon for a really great, comprehensive review of the book.

"I think I have read the book probably 20 times and I will soon retire the book as soon as Signs of Emergence comes out in North America for no other reason to give it's battered binding a must needed break. If I had a list of the ten most important books for the emerging church and for the church in general, I think this one would definitely be on it."

The cheque's in the post ;-)

Technorati: Signs of Emergence