Wednesday, May 14, 2008 The Becoming of G-d: What the Trinitarian nature of God has to do with Church and a deep Spirituality for the Twenty First Century

I am pleased to say, that at last, the book is available for purchase at £9.95 through YTC Press. This, my second book, seeks to explore the theology behind groups like Moot, Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church. It looks at the whole issue of knowing G-d through experience, and that the concept of the Trinity, formulated through the Cappadocian Mothers & Fathers, is a best guess understanding of the nature of God, which though partially revealed in Christ, remains mystically out of reach. However, the Western church, through the differences of latin and greek texts, never fully understood the concept of the Trinity, which has distorted its theology and practice.

I explore the importance of this understanding of God in the context of our postmodern culture driven under the logic of consumption and information technology, which drives a new form of cultural mysticism. In this brave new world, the importance of church reflecting the Trinitarian nature of God as 'mystical communion or community' becomes an imperative. Finally, I explore the difficult challenge of building community in a culture which is loosing its interpersonal skills to the cult of the individual.

So it should be a good read!!

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Prayer Development Day | 25th October | St Saviours Priory

Pleased to say we have finally got our act together regarding a prayer development day. So on Sat 25th October Ian Adams will lead an experiential prayer development day at the beautiful surroundings of St Saviour's Priory to explore contemplative approaches to prayer to enrich our own spiritual life. For more information or to book places, click here.

It is a common problem for us all to struggle with a personal spiritual life. Many of us struggle to find approaches to personal prayer that feel authentic and resourcing. The resulting danger is then created, where we carry a faith in our head with an inner desert in our heart. In our Rhythm of Life, we acknowledge the need for a sustaining spiritual rhythm that seeks God to resource us, over and above an approach to faith which is dependent on theories, theology and the stuff in our head. This is the great impoverishment of a an overly rational or postmodern approach to spirituality.

It is a great pleasure to have Ian Adams facilitate this day, who is an incredible resource in this who area. See event pages for more information.

Affluenza & Addicted to Love

Without deliberately wanting to embarrass Mike & Clare, I just wanted to point out that I think Moot is entering a new phase when we again consider the question "How should we live?" which we entered when we created our Rhythm of Life drawing on the wisdom of the Monastics. This requires us to consider how we live in contemporary culture but not of the darker sides of culture. Or put another way, where are we called to affirm the good things within culture and where are we called to be counter-cultural about the things that impair healthy living and being.

One of the important areas of being counter-cultural - is the whole issue of naming addiction that arises out of a life strategy dependent on consumption and the desire for affluence. Both Clare's book, and the book Mike has recommended us to read as a community in June, not only name these addictions, but taken together, challenge us to face our Rhythm of Life elements of Balance and Presence for a start, and then into all the other elements. Clare's book 'Addicted to Love' tells her story, and the place of Moot within it. She names the patterns of addiction she has experienced alongside God's grace in loving her and not shaming her towards her own human becoming. Affluenza, the book Mike has suggested, takes this further, and re-evaluates the pressures on us in Western postmodern culture, and names how affluence when gained, does little more than create more stress and unhappiness.

So if you are in Moot, do consider getting both these books, and we will be reading Affluenza together for June. If you have not got a copy yet, click here and Moot get's some money against every sale. Personally, I am very grateful for the input Mike & Clare bring to our community, which is at one level very challenging and at another, incredibly encouraging and loving - with a sense of humour!! Our community would be severely impoverished without either of them.

So we will be discussing this together in the new term, and the implications not only for ourselves, but for the health of our community. See the website for the term May to Aug 08.

Spirituality for the Twenty First Century

I had the good fortune to catch up with my good friend Barry Taylor today in London as he passed through. He has always inspired me, ever since we met at an event at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. This time in our explorations over a coffee, we explored the issue of spirituality coming out of a digital and technological age. Some know that I am considering starting a PhD in this area, and I was really encouraged to hear that others are pashed up about it as well. In fact, Barry, who is always miles ahead of my thinking, has already written a book on it, which I have ordered - which looks at the whole issue of spirituality being driven by deep things within contemporary culture. It is called Entertainment Theology. I am still reflecting on the conversation, how spirituality has become the new religion, and yet, we don't really know yet what people mean by spirituality. It is still emerging.

I am hoping that in my book tour of the States and Canada in June, that I will be dropping in to LA to do some work with Barry, as it is always a pleasure

You Dig the Tunnel, I'll Hide the Soil

This morning I had the good fortune to be invited to the White Cube Gallery to hear an introduction of the current exhibition (as above) by the Director of the Gallery.

They currently have a group exhibition in the gallery and the new basement of Shoreditch Town Hall. The exhbition draws on the work of Edgar Poe - who I remember from my teens. His writings are very dark, drawing on mythic imagery of the shadow-side of life.

The Gallery exhibition had this to say....

Poe is now recognised as an artist far ahead of his time, particularly for the charged psychological facets of his work, which seemed to foretell psychoanalysis, pre-dating Freud by more than half a century. His famous detective, Dupin, became the blueprint for many future detectives, including Sherlock Holmes, Poirot and Miss Marple, and he is also a pioneer of what we now know as science fiction, influencing such writers as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. However, Miller felt that Poe had become synonymous with whatever is merely gothic or dark, a misconception that he wanted to address by curating this exhibition. ‘There’s a real distinction here’, says Miller. ‘It was really telling when we’d approach people and they’d say, “Oh yeah, I’ve got this painting which is nearly all black!” That was really disappointing.’ Miller sought to address this glib association by selecting a dozen of Poe’s stories that seemed to lend themselves most to a more contemporary interpretation. Wherever he noticed a connection to an artist’s existing work, life or practice, he approached them to read the stories and asked them to respond in any manner they saw fit and to interpret the story with a new work.

This exhibition has got me thinking, and I love the new labyrinth rooms in the town hall.

Spirituality for MissionSpirituality for Mission

Its not very often that you find a gathering for practitioners of Emerging & Fresh Expressions of Church, who are particularly interested in seeking an authentic spirituality behind mission in the Twenty First Century. For those who know me, I consider this to be a very key issue. All to often, churches are unaware of how many in our culture are on a spiritual search for meaning, enchantment and substance, but not through traditional routes, or through the logic of modernity.

This 48 hour retreat is for practitioners who feel that this need connects with something of a calling to mission through an authentic spirituality. I am pleased to see it is being facilitated by Nick Helm of Soul Sparks and Colin Brown of Fresh Expressions & Arts as mission.

For more info, click here