Bonhoeffer’s amazing quote: ‘The renewal of the church will come from a new type of monasticism which only has in common with the old an uncompromising allegiance to the Sermon on the Mount. Its high time men and women banded together to do this.’ ‘New monasticism’ has long been a fascination…ever since the day when … More ‘…new type of monasticism…’
I started to notice my aversion to this kind of talk in ‘deepest, darkest Aberdeen.’ Distasteful language which spoke of something that had failed generations of people in that place, that spoke no hope into anything. Something that filled most people with cynicism, made them critical, filled them with detached disinterest. You see, there in … More Mind Your Language!
The biggest message that has been impressing itself upon me from various directions is that of the balance of three ‘movements’ of life. It is very much discernable in a whole variety of neo-monastic writings (such as ‘A Passionate Life’, ‘Cave Refectory Road’ and ‘Reaching Out’ and others). By ‘movements’, I mean our movement towards … More 3
I’ve been laying relatively low on the blogging front of late. There has been a lot going on with regards our future. Many of you will have grasped that I’ve only just begun a 5 year (extendable) appointment as Ministry Team Leader at Trinity Church in Gosforth (a Methodist/URC parnership church), having been leading in … More Back to Blogging
I’ve been enjoying the challenge over the last few weeks of preaching on subjects that folks in the congregation have asked to be dealt with. We’ve covered giving, the Great Commandment, Hell, the Brutality of God in the Old Testament, and would Jesus recognise today’s church? (Light topics, I know!) However, I’ve been keeping the … More New Hymn: We are People of the Kingdom
To be honest, I’m too busy enjoying myself to blog! But seriously, things have changed a bit over the last few months, particularly my role at work. With my colleague moving on in January to a new pastorate, I’m fulfilling the role of ‘minister’ to Trinity under the title of ‘Ministry Team Leader’ for the … More Changed days
I just received news from Stuart Murray Williams about his new book. Its bound to be a ‘must read’ in my opinion. His writing of late has been profoundly helpful in trying to understand where the church is in the UK in these days. Here is what he says about the book: “We’re writing to … More New Book: Multi-Voiced Church
A couple of months ago I finished reading Brian McLaren’s book ‘Naked Spirituality.’ He strips away ‘religion’ from our interaction with God and sets out how he sees the process we travel through in our spiritual life. Stage one, which he calls “Simplicity” is the stage where everything is black and white, right and wrong, … More Seasons
The church becomes ugly when it is led as Church Ltd with a CEO leader and executive board. Its worse when that ‘CEO’ has autocratic authority (assumed or organisationally given) and when s/he leads from that place. It is mechanical, worldly, institutional, legalistic and open to a million abuses. More than that, the whole concept … More Church Ltd
Week by week, on a Sunday morning, I’m ususally on my chair in our worship area around 10 minutes or so before we kick off. From my vantage point, I look out on a couple of hundred people each week. I watch the chatter, the children playing, the last-minute arrivals settling in, musicians preparing. I … More Arisen
Andrew S M Clark 