It’s Been A Funny Week . . .

Time to spill the beans on my online reading this week. It’s been a particularly busy one so I haven’t had much time to scout around, but here are some of the things that have caught my eye.

First up today is this interview with the comedian Marcus Brigstock: Why I am not a Christian. He has a new book out, God Collar (Bantam Press), based on his 2009 show of the same name,

I wrote my show God Collar because I found myself on the atheist bandwagon and suddenly thought, ‘I don’t like where this is going.’ And I found myself a bit separate from a lot of the comedians I knew who were devoutly atheist. I spoke to a friend and said, ‘I’ve got all these ideas but I don’t have any answers.’ And he said, ‘That’s what you should write. Why don’t you write about the questions?’

Brigstock talks honestly about why he cannot accept the Bible and especially the God of the Old Testament.

Next, something Rick Warren tweeted last Sunday made me think:


What do you reckon? It’s a question I find myself facing every time someone asks me how long I’ve been in Faversham (14 years now) which happens most weeks, and has happened three times this week. Coincidence? Have I been around here too long? You will let me know if I have, won’t you?

The story of August Landmesser, Hamburg Shipyard Worker Who Refused To Make Nazi Salute has resurfaced, along with the iconic photo that speaks volumes about the man’s courage (see it by following the link). The photo to me is a perfect illustration of the verse: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by a renewing of your mind.”  (Romans 12: 2)

Beyond The Walls is the latest post from my college friend Dennis Pethers. I haven’t seen very much of him over the years as he’s been very busy with Viz-A-Viz Ministries (which he founded) and as International Director of More to Life. He is now heading up The Rooftop – an initiative aiming to mobilise thousands of Christians across North America to look over their local communities and gain a fresh vision of God’s heart for the lost. Dennis writes:

A question that I have been asked far more times than I can remember is ‘how do we reach people outside of church?’ . . . This is the wrong question to be asking . . . when we use this phrase we think of people outside of the walls of our building but we often forget that it is us who built the walls. There is only an ‘outside’ because we created an ‘inside’. Most people who don’t come to church are not aware that they don’t come! They are just living their lives and are no more UNchurched than we are UNbingoed!

Christians in Parliament, an official All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), chaired by Gary Streeter MP, has launched Clearing the Ground – a preliminary report of the committee’s findings into the freedoms of Christians within UK public life. The inquiry was facilitated by the Evangelical Alliance, and was tasked with considering the question: Are Christians marginalised in the UK? The Executive Summary includes these points:

The last century saw a privatisation of faith and the development of a sacred-secular divide through which Christianity lost much of its social and political influence. Now, too often the Church is defined by what it opposes rather than what it stands for. It is essential that Christians once again provide hope and a vision for society that goes beyond defending their own interests and includes the good of all.

Christians need to take seriously their historical role in leading and serving in public life, and church discipleship needs to account for this role – because the gospel is good news for society.

In fact, it’s all worth a read if you have the time.

Lastly, it was an eventful night last night. I’ll let my tweets tell the story:

 

PS Promised not to mention Chelsea every week, but the result against Napoli must get a quick mention. Get in there!