A regular Friday round-up of articles which I have found interesting / thought-provoking / challenging / amusing during the week, pointing you in the direction of some stuff you might have otherwise missed.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is World Fair Trade Day and to celebrate, Harry Hill, comedian, entertainer, Fairtrade supporter and authority on salted peanuts, is working behind the till at the Oxfam shop on Kensington High Street.
In Step into Oxfam this World Fair Trade Day he says:
What I love most about Fairtrade is that it makes such simple sense. As Dyborn Chibonga, from the smallholder farmers in Malawi told me: ‘A bag of peanuts can just be a bag of peanuts – or it can be a way of helping farmers to build a real future for their families and communities and help build a real way forward for smallholder farmers in Malawi.’
On related theme, next week is Christian Aid Week. If, like me, you’ve missed the national ad campaign – here it is
Richard Littledale’s post on Circular Preaching got me thinking. He’s suggesting much more engagement with the process of preparing for Sunday worship and specifically the preaching. Richard’s suggestion for how things might run is as follows:
Tuesday – the preacher lets people know via social media what they are working on for the coming Sunday’s sermon. Insights on the particular topic are welcomed, as are suggestions for the music and worship.
Thursday – as a result of all this, a sermon shape is beginning to emerge, and a related prayer request goes out, together with a request for clarification on an elusive illustration or two.
Saturday – an outline of the sermon is posted online, accessible to those who prayed and contributed at a distance, as well as those who will hear it the following day.
Sunday – the sermon is preached, and the podcast is made available online.
Monday – a blog post outlining the sermon and questions raised by it is posted by someone who heard the sermon, rather than the person who preached it.
Wednesday – questions arising from the sermon, and from Monday’s post, are fed into the church’s home groups or fellowships for further discussion.
I’d be really interested to hear what anyone thinks – I’m open to it, how about you?
Three cheers for Vicky Beeching’s latest post: “Return To Mystery” – Doubt, God Unknown & A More Honest Faith. I’m always impressed by Vicky’s thoughtful offerings, and this one is packed full of challenging questions, penetrating quotes and theological reflection:
We create courses that we invite people to, where they can find out all the answers to their questions about life. If someone has serious doubts in their Christian journey, it’s often called a ‘crisis of faith’. Whereas it may actually be a moment of pushing beyond the veneer of what was formerly seen as true faith, into something much deeper and more mature.
And finally, there have been many posts in response to the Baptist Assembly last weekend. Although I couldn’t go, I was able to follow some of the proceedings on Twitter, and I have read many people’s reactions with interest. One such post – Baptist Assembly thoughts part 1 – included a rather effective rewriting of Matthew 6:25-34 which I thought was worth a mention, having preached on this recently:
Matthew visits the apple store
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what upgrade you will have, what network you are on what call plan, how fast your broadband is. Is not life more important than tech, and your relationships more important than gadgets? Look at the football fans hugging strangers after a home win, creating community. Are your relationships not worth more than these? Can you by surfing the internet add a single hour to your life?
The passage comes at the end of the post. Click through to read the whole thing and put it in context.