Coal and Diamonds.

The following poem needs little introduction. The Bless Network [http://liveforothers.tumblr.com/] shared this gem with One Church Brighton last Sunday & likewise, I want to share this with you. May this be our prayer, for today, for tomorrow:

We believe…

… every human being

has a worth worth seeing

Every name is a sound worth saying

Your potential a prayer worth praying

You see coal – God sees diamonds

 

We believe in the grace

of the gifts God gives

His breath in everything that lives

Greater gifts to be discovered

Deep in you, disguised, dust-covered

You see coal – God sees diamonds

 

We see traces of truth

In the yearnings of youth

God’s image in imagination

We crave a community

that will honour audacity

And cherish the dreams of its children

You see coal – God sees diamonds

 

We see God seeking

A servant generation

Kindness as the kindling

To kick-start transformation

Love as liberation

Of a captive creation

We are digging

for the diamonds God sees.

In the beginning…

I have the undeniably peculiar gift of stumbling into things. Albeit often literally, I’m talking about fresh and exciting opportunities of adventure which would turn the likes Robinson Crusoe a darker shade of green. More of a blessing than a curse, the God I serve and the countless people I have met along the way have undoubtedly been instruments of opportunity. Traversing across the bitterly cold Rocky Mountains, risking the unforgiving heat of the African plains and engaging with the gangs of SE11 have led me to where I am today.

Today I am contemplating, pondering and speculating. The topic at hand is creation. This morning my dad and I literally found ourselves eating dirt as our bikes ploughed the steep hillsides of the South Downs. Whilst churning up the chalky soil and both doing our utmost to stay upright, I took the time to engage my peripherals. With my heart racing as the pedals turned effortlessly, I glimpsed the beauty of creation. Taking the eyes off oneself for just a moment or two, I acknowledged the beauty of creation as it pointed to its creator. As the Lord God Almighty had said, “It was good’.

Back to the land of opportunity and adventure. A little more than six weeks ago I almost accidentally stumbled onto your television screens, again. The context? The BBC were making a documentary on the highly debated and controversial topic of evolution and were looking for half a dozen twenty-somethings. Fitting the bill I casually emailed my correspondent at the BBC. Days later I had been interviewed and encouraged by the prospect of an all expenses paid trip to the Deep South, America. With numerous racks of ribs and a free holiday in mind, life was looking up.

I must warn you – I am terribly naive. After a little digging I found out the documentary was led by a keen evolutionist; his sole purpose to prove the theory of evolution whilst the cameras caught the demise of those who called themselves religious. A little perturbed I awaited the call. You may be pleased to know the call never came. In a world where the church is often silent or reactionary, I assume my answers were far too middle of the road, my faith far too unshakeable.

As for creation, the issue still exists. Are science and religion mutually exclusive? Did a cataclysmic explosion of matter create the earth? Am I in fact little more than a monkey? Unsurprisingly reams of books have been written on the controversial matter, finding themselves at both ends of the spectrum. Dusting off my bible I had a date with Genesis.

Sunday school had taught me that God created the earth in six days, resting on the seventh – if only life was oh so simple. Now the divinely inspired book of Genesis is written in a poetical and allegorical sense. The events of creation and the fall are therefore poetic and not historical, brimming with beautiful imagery thoughtfully used to stretch the mind.

My Sunday school teacher had understandably dumbed it down for me. Well over a decade later and a pop-up picture Bible I took oh so literally would just not cut it, although almost! Since those developmental years I have learnt that the creation story, as Christians stereotypically know it is predated by an undeniably similar Babylonian story. The Babylonians would have understandably engaged and admired such familiar story. Well there’s creation (if only!), how about evolution? The plot thickens.

In my opinion there is an undeniable selective process. Gradual changes and adaptations have taken place over hundreds and thousands of years as the battle for survival has rolled with the wind. Look at your feet for instance. Do you honestly believe feet have and will always look this way? As footwear has evolved our toes have curled inwards, the very feet that support us evolving and taking a new shape. Nevertheless the bible tells us that God set us apart in Adam. God intended us to be different, to steward the earth as we were in relationship with him. As amazing as I am at climbing trees, I am not a monkey. Indeed if any of you happen to have the missing link hiding in your cupboards at home, I’d love to see those dusty bones. I digress.

I believe in intelligent design. The fact that something must have been behind the nothing, as we know it. It is here that my faith in God as a Christian is crucial. Acknowledging that I clearly do not and never will know such answers, I put my trust in God. We all put our trust in something.

Nevertheless as the church I believe we must fully engage ourselves in such debates as we individually examine our perspectives. In my opinion the God (good) vs. Science (bad) outlook is both immature and unfounded. You may come from the ‘there are bigger fish to fry’ school of thought and honestly, I’m with you too. As CS Lewis so expertly put it himself  “We see through a glass dimly.”

To Transform, or Conform?.

I have this friend called Philippe. The other day Philippe introduced me to the fascinating idea that we are all Prosumers. Our bodies & minds are countlessly digesting what society throws at us, as a result often shaping our innermost identities. Put simply – “You are what you eat”.  Taking this further Philippe explained that as individuals we have begun to produce all that we consume. Allow me to break it down for you:

Consume + Produce = Prosumer

Take this blog for example. My brain is tirelessly processing climatic events & differing opinions as my fingers rapidly type & produce posts that are both accessible & thought provoking. You’ll find Facebook & Twitter [ed_wyeth] are just the same.

Well yesterday evening I tagged along to the Six, a service held predominantly for the hip & trendy twenty-somethings of St Peters Church Brighton [www.stpetersbrighton.org]. If I’m honest recently I have been struggling with idea of church, or at least in the stereotypical manner in which we view it. Indeed often I catch a glimpse & wonder whether in an attempt to relate to culture, we have just created services that are themselves consumeristic. With all this in mind, the service began & in line with God’s sense of humour, the talk was on Romans 12:1-2:

‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’

God has the habit of doing just that. I took note with a smile & listened intently. Sarah began by using the example of the nightmare that is, the weekly shop. After weaving through each & every bustling aisle of the supermarket, you find yourselves drained & quite frankly, at the end of your tether. The diagnosis – decision fatigue. It is here that the supermarkets pack till displays full of ice-cold drinks, sumptuous chocolate bars & cheap DVDs. With everything crossed off your list, you literally have everything you need. ‘Just one chocolate bar… I deserve it’ you bargain with yourself. The conveyer belt gets that little bit heavier, your wallet a little lighter. Supermarkets 1 – Consumers 0.

As Christians we believe that Jesus came so that we could have life in all its fullness (John 10:10). In light of Romans 12, I ask myself ‘how can we transform our minds?’ in an attempt to be less conformed by the world around us. More to the point ‘what even is a mind?’ Google it, it makes for interesting reading actually. Sure I can change my hairstyle, the clothes that I wear & even my fitness in all honesty with quite little effort… but the mind?! Well the answer my friends is research. We must research by opening ourselves up to such things. Much like you’d open the H&M catalogue to transform your entire wardrobe, you should read Gods Word if you are to transform your mind. Additionally you should be willing to spend time in Gods presence as you reconnect with your heavenly father.

Therefore we must be transformed, not conformed. We are called to be the salt & the light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt that does not lose its saltiness & light that does not allow itself to be hidden. Imagine yourself as a Transformer for just one moment. You’re pretty functional; in fact you’re not that bad at all (you’re a car by the way!). However at the flick of a switch you have been transformed into something amazing, beyond imagination in fact. You have been renewed & renewal my friends, is an active word.

As Jacob himself wrestled with God (Genesis 32), I myself wrestle with such issues. Many of my theological peers have grown to resent church (Sunday mornings) & this makes me sad. The bride of Christ is a beautiful thing & in Brighton alone is making a real difference to the lives of those who struggle with issues of homelessness, addiction, divorce… the list goes on. I believe such a church is modelled closely on the first church we see in Acts & this brings real hope. However as always, I am a little wary. We must not find ourselves plugging into church in an attempt to get through the week. The life and work of the church must run through our veins as we are transformed into Christ-likeness. How this works is up to you my friends… will we allow ourselves to be conformed or transformed?

The Hunger Games

Last night I embraced the hype that it is ‘The Hunger Games’. Set in the post-apocalyptic world, the movie depicts a televised battle in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts fight to the bitter end. With each contestant selected at random, the lives of these twenty-four young innocent children rest solely on the outcome of this barbaric lottery.

Fear not, this is not a spoiler. Read on. In complete submission to the authorities, the children (some as young as twelve) must ironically murder their way to ‘keep the peace’. ”May the odds be stacked in your favour” they say. I knew little of this as the trailers rolled; indeed all I was certain of was the fact that I will not be viewing the new Twilight film. Yawn… I digress. In light of the films 12A certificate the cinema was packed to the rafters with children & their parents alike – it was a real family affair.

Nonetheless there came a part in the film where I was visibly shaken, my heart stirred you could say. I turned around & viewed hundreds of people like you or I, except these people had enjoyment plastered across their faces. The mindless murder of a twelve-year-old girl & not even a flinch was to be felt in the entire cinema. A numbness. ‘This is wrong’ I thought to myself. My mind raced back to the man who famously stood up in Rome’s Colosseum & was repulsed by the mindless violence he was witnessing. His actions that day halted the fight of the Gladiator. I Edward James Wyeth however, stayed seated.

You may think that this is completely OTT & fair does. However as a youthworker I saw the faces of twenty-four young people who I come into contact with, mindlessly murdering one another. Then there is the millions of children & young people that absorb such harrowing ideas. I’m sure that many will think they’re acceptable and sadly, a few even who will imitate such actions. You may say that in today’s society there’s no difference to our young people watching Neighbours, Hollyoaks or Rhianna’s latest music video. Sadly I think you have a point.

I just thought there was a certain amount of irony involved. In the film the residents of district eleven rise up against the corrupt society. As consumers they realise that without watching & therefore consuming the events, the producers (the authorities) will be forced to stop producing. Now take a step back. We have certainly consumed the movie in our drones, with the film on its way to easily becoming the smash Box Office Hit of 2012.

If I’m honest I just don’t understand what all the hype is about. Yes we can use the film to explain the forgiveness & mercy of God in Leviticus. Indeed the film can be used to portray the dangers of our contemporary culture. It just worries me the levels of violence we expose our young people to. We become comfortably numb to the pain & violence of the world. How many Anders Behring Breivik’s have to commit horrific atrocities before we realise we become what we consume?. I for one am in favour of the imagination, however what was essentially created from channel hopping – blurring a reality television show with the war in Iraq seems to me, nonsensical. Call me crazy, but someone had to say it. Tell me, how did you feel when the credits stopped rolling?

There They Are.

As a creative writer myself, I have SO much time for Spoken Word. Spoken word takes the phrase ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ & turns it on its head. The power of words in my opinion, are unparalleled.

Not one to usually post videos, I thought I’d make a change & share this beautiful vid that our friends at Katalyst Ministeries [www.katalystministries.org], not least Mattaw Children [www.mattawchildren.com] have done for us. Looking at Luke 14 the video focusses on how we can ’embrace the mess’ in a world where many go hungry while many of us live abundantly.

Now Spoken Word in my opinion is subjective. You may switch off after thirty seconds & that’s okay. You may even want to write your own [as I will] or go deeper & view the somewhat controversial ‘Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus’ vid. With just one click of a mouse you too can have infinite access to a goldmine of thought-provoking & inspiring Spoken Word clips that is Youtube. Enjoy.

Fabrice Muamba & the Power of Prayer.

When the fiercest of rivalries boil down to no more than empty words & countless communities worldwide are left silenced & shaken, sport & indeed life itself are all put into perspective. Saturday 17^th March was that day, White Hart Lane was the backdrop & ESPN made for harrowing viewing that afternoon.

Fabrice ‘The Fighter’ Muamba, a promising 23 year old athlete who fled the warn-torn DRC (Congo) to make a career in football – facedown & lifeless. The former England under-21 international who came through the ranks with the Arsenal youth team – dead. As players fought back tears & medics rushed to this young mans side, I began to question my own mortality. What if I died today? Back to North London & the medics proceeded to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as the clock ticked on for a painfully long six minutes.

The shell-shocked crowd beginning to chant the name of Fabrice Muamba, as he was stretchered off into the awaiting ambulance. It was later revealed that it took an astonishing 120 minutes before Fabrices’ heart eventually began to beat on its own two feet. A visibly shaken Howard Webb dutifully called the remaining 21 players into the changing rooms & the match was laid to rest. Not one utter was heard as 30,000 spectators traipsed out of White Hart Lane in complete silence.

Now I’m not even going to begin to debate how such a fit young man could instantly drop down under the weight of a cardiac arrest. Such a talented athlete is constantly wired up to innumerable electrodes & put through their paces with a dose of rigorous drug screening on the side. This is all before he or she can even begin to think of playing at such a physically demanding level.

I do however want to draw upon the countless comments, images & ‘#prayformuamba’ hash-tags that have understandably been filling our screens worldwide; not least this quote from the Bolton manager himself, Owen Coyle:

“Everybody is praying for Fabrice (Muamba) which is very important & has been a source of strength to the family.”

I must say I have been blown away with the number of times prayer has been mentioned in this harrowing situation, by fans & players alike. Indeed many individuals confess that they pray, far more than those who confess the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord & Saviour. Such a discipline has great power. There are millions of individuals out there who don’t know what to believe, yet they believe that prayer can raise a person from the dead. They’re not wrong.

James 5:16 tells us that the prayer of a righteous person has great power. Moreover John 15:7 goes on to say that if we abide in God & his word abides in us, whatever we ask for will be done for us. Romans 8:11 tells us that the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the grave lives in us. Inside of YOU. Now I could quote scripture at you all day but I’m not here to ‘bible-bash’. Whether #prayformuamba is a commitment to actively praying for Fabrice or not, I pray that God will reveal himself to millions through this, be the outcome a beautiful miracle or an awful tragedy.

Now Mother Teresa, an all-time hero of mine gave many a beautiful insight on the art of prayer. Now I’m going to level with you, I wish I could have met Mother Teresa more than anything in the world; least not for her wisdom yet for the way she walked with integrity in the love & grace of God. As Mike Pilivachi so often says I’m “coming in to land…” on this one & am going to end on this particular beautiful insight from none other than Mother Teresa. Let us start this journey together.

“If we pray, we will believe. 
If we believe, we will love. If we love, we will serve.”

KONY 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Not meaning to turn up late to the party, I have spent this past ten days or so allowing the dust to settle as I began to ponder the controversy surrounding such a bold campaign. Meanwhile the YouTube hits have seemingly been racking up in their millions. 71 million to be exact & in little over a week the video can be said to have definitely gone viral.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about you need to sit down & watch the 30-minute documentary. The video highlights the atrocities of a certain Joseph Kony, a brutal African warlord who has been vindicated for crimes against humanity. Murdering tens of thousands of people, forcing more than 1.5 million to flee their homes & abducting over 30,000 children to work as soldiers & sex slaves, Kony finds himself occupying the top spot in the World’s Most Wanted list.

Sadly arguing as many have done, Kony & his guerrilla army (the LRA) claim to be waging a war under God’s orders to establish a society based on the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. How Kony managed to miss the glaringly obvious “Thou shalt not kill” I’ll never know.

The campaign, run by American activist group ‘Invisible Children’, aim to MAKE KONY FAMOUS in a bid to stop such atrocities from continuing. For 26 years this has been daily life in Uganda, yet before the film was released on Monday 5^th March 2012 I guarantee most of us had no idea whom Kony was. Although any campaign to make such a bloodthirsty warlord ‘famous’ seems in essence wrong, the group have clearly been successful. Now what?

Unsurprisingly the group (Invisible Children) have come under fire in regards to both their motives and charitable records. Accusations surrounding expenditure of donations on film production, wages & transport to name a few. Moreover the founders, who in fact back military action against Kony, have also been criticised for supporting the armies of Sudan & Uganda, despite claims that both have also been involved in rape & looting. Hypocrisy?

Nevertheless I am not here to pass judgement, well maybe just a little. I must say on the whole I have been impressed at the campaigns efforts into raising global awareness on such a huge subject. However almost a fortnight on, I doubt even half of us have given a second thought to Kony & his relentless campaign.

Controversial or not you can say the same for the earlier ‘27 million’ campaign which attempted to raise awareness of human trafficking. 79p down & we feel like we’ve changed the world. When will we understand that it will take us more than a day to change the world? We are more than just one-hit-wonders. We need to be in this for the long run & must not allow ourselves to get caught up in our own lives. Look up. Uganda’s problems are our problems. We must not be passive in this. ACT NOW.