Having played around with blogging for a while I have changed URL, blogging service and themes several times, but this time I have resisted this. I have had a blog-holiday for a little over 7 months and am now ready to start again with a slightly more focused approach; as reflected in the change of tagline. Let me explain…
I have officially begun my PhD on diversification within evangelicalism since 1980 and this will now be the focus of much of my thinking, reading and writing; but this is not just about a PhD. This research is as much about my own life and journey as it is about writing 100 000 words. A journey through the dark forests of evangelical spirituality and theology. A journey that has been travelled with friends and those who looked to me for leadership and inspiration. A journey that is by no means finished but one that already has the way-points mapped out in a curacy beginning in June 08.
So, in the context of life, mine and my friends, in the context of the on going ‘talk of God’, in the context of real life ministry, I hope this blog will now focus on the issues that arise from and feed into this piece of research that is set before me. I’ll use the tag / category ‘evangelicalism’, partly in the hope that this will be picked up else where too.
PhD, evangelicalism, ministry, writing
During the summers of 2002-05 I was leading a team that established a summer event youth cafe in Hazlemere, High Wycombe: called Fresh Cafe.Some of the agenda for that first cafe was to have no evangelistic content, despite there being about 40% non-church-attending attendance. God had some slightly different agenda and out of going with what God was doing a theology of mission emerged that was quite different than what we had experienced and yet strangely familiar to our theological convictions.But before we get on to what emerged I need to explore where we were at the beginning, which brings me to my first question.Jason Clark bloged [back in September] about Salvation and Spiritual Formation in which he distinguished two approaches: Creation-Fall-Redmeption and Creation-Incarnation-Recreation.The first goes like thisCreation: God made the world; it was ‘perfect’ (perfection being a greek idea of static purity)Fall: humans fell, from this state of perfection.Redemption: and need salvation or redemption to a higher order of being (back to perfection).So my question is, if you know or use this framework, what are your influences? Where are your sources and how do you use them?I would be very grateful if you have a moment to comment.
MTh Applied Theology, writing
I’m back on my placement for the next 2 weeks and my family have gone back home after dropping me off.
Two weeks is long time to be away from home and something that we would not normally want to do, but this is the way it worked out - hey-ho!.
I am staying with a local family in their gorgeous house in which I essentially have a flat to myself. I will be working on finishing my placement report. This is made up from the blogs I have and will be posting on this time here in Chipping Campden.
I will also be aiming to finish my Liturgy and Worship Essay entitled Common Worship Eucharist: Building community in a fragmented society. This will be looking at the mixed references [Ricoeur] and the ‘performativity’of Eucharistic language. Basically looking at the effectiveness of the community language in a Eucharist service and what effect it has, or how to increase its effect, in a society that has little concept of what community might be.
Picture is the lounge area of the flat in the house where I am staying with the mess I have managed to create in less than 24 hours.
general, writing