mission & ministry | practical theology | priesthood

Kate and I had a belated Valentines evening on Saturday (belated not because of me forgetting it the first time round but because of Kate’s brother John and Jenny’s generous babysitting and bill footing – thanks very much John and Jenny). We spent sometime hanging around Oxford like normal people; casually browsing in bookshops and sitting on Starbuck’s couches until closing time. We ate at Kazbar (photos), which is fabulous and worth a visit if you’re around Oxford and looking for a great night out. We had many conversations of course, and some of those were based around Kate’s amazing ability to observe her surroundings and listen in to other people’s conversation.
One such observation was of a group of 5 people at the table across the aisle. The group friends included 3 white males, 1 white female and 1 female of Asian origin. I point out the racial differences because it became the topic of observation and comment. ‘Does she (the Asian) feel anything about her minority in that situation?’ was I think the opening question. The following assumptions, observations and conclusions brought us to a place where we recognised that everyone in that circle had their own minorities. Two of the white males turned out to be in a romantic relationship and thus in a cultural minority because of their sexual orientation. This made the other white man the only heterosexual male in the group (presumably since he was with the white female). The white female was of course a minority in the first place but we didn’t see it. In fact, since we only observed the homosexual relationship on closer inspection what we actually saw in the first place was our own racial prejudices and nothing to do with the actual minorities on the table across the way from us.
Of course, as it turns out we are all, each one of us, a minority in theory and in practice to a greater or lesser extent depending on the changing circumstance of our daily lives. If we don’t know what it feels like to be a minority it is only because we live our lives in the safety of numbers!
(photo care of and © jade2001ad – thanks)

Now commenting on the Lenten Blog around Miroslav’s book. You might like to check this out.

Just started reading this as part of my lent reading this year. It has been a while since I have read any of Miroslav’s work and as soon as I started it stuck me how much I have missed doing so.

I can only encourage you to get a copy details here. You might also be interested in looking at the Lenten Blog by Jason Clark which is based around this book and even has the author commenting to the posts!

Went to my placement, New College Chapel (NCC), for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes.

NCC has a coral foundation, which means it has a choir, one of the best in the country it appears (see). So the service is imbued with beautiful singing, which given the right posture can do something to lift you, or transport you, or just open the veil a little for a glimpse at God.

So what is it about music, and in this case a male (small and older boys) choir, that enables this momentary thinning of the veil? Why in fact, in whatever, tradition or culture, is music so linked with access to the transcendent?

My other experiences have largely been in the evangelical wing of the church, part of which was standing in a cow shed, or more latterly in a large tent, with thousands of others singing songs, which on the face of it have very little meaningful content, but nevertheless have the same thinning effect! To the extent that we were falling over ourselves to experience this thinning, or more precisely who is on the other side (as it were)

Oh, I also had a black cross on my head, which at first looked like I and the others belonged to some cult that you might encounter in a work of fiction; a cult that was either guilty of some conspiracy or there for laugh material only.

I did however, amuse myself thinking about a contextualised version of this very ancient practice that involved permanent black flipchart markers?!?!

This week is an Integrated Study Week; where a particular subject is looked at through the whole range of subject s covered in a normal weeks lectures.  Along side this there are sessions with a guest speaker bringing experience and wisdom on the subject.

This current ISW is on Health and Healing and we have Rev Chris Mackenna from St Marylebone Healing and Counselling Centre.

It has been a fairly full week since my particular course has only 2 sessions a week normally and this ISW means I need to attend doctrine, OT, NT etc etc.  Aside from that it has been a thought provoking week in all kinds of ways.  The low point and high point was watching a recording of a series that I think was broadcast on TV a few years back.  This documentary followed a two people who claim that miracles of healing occur in their ministires; Benny Hinn and Reinhard Bonnke.  Showing these videos in a college of students primarily from liberal / catholic / low evangelical churches was a brave thing to do and it took the student body the best part of 24 hours to debrief themselves and calm down. I am sure there will be some long term damage for some of us!!

For myself; even though I have seen this kind of ministry before, although have never been to either a Hinn or Bonnke rally / service, I still found the experience quite disturbing.

The parts of the video that we watched concluded by showing that the 5 people they had names and addresses for from the Hinn meeting had not actually been healed as was claimed on stage. In many ways this affirmed our groups belief that this sort of ministry ought to be legislated against.

However, my question is what if one, even one of those claimed to be healed on stage were in fact healed!! As was said by Chris Mackenna; I am sure there are people who have been blessed greatly at such meetings.  My point is that grace does not justify.  Even if someone was healed at such a meeting it does not justify the way Benny or Richard conduct their meeting or ministry. In the same way that it would not justify mine or yours either!

God, it seems to me, does not wait for us to get it right before he visits in his sovereignty.

More reflections about this ISW week of health and healing later.