‘Stories from the Street: A Theology of Homelessness’ by David Nixon [Review]

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

stories-from-street-theology-homelessness-david-nixon-paperback-cover-artAs a Christian who has been working with homeless people over the last 20 years, I was very excited to see the publication of this book.   Christians working and volunteering in this field need a strong theology to inform, guide and nourish their activism.

Despite the fact that the majority of homelessness organisations and projects started in churches, the integration of Christian faith and spirituality within the practical work has been a major weakness.  Many homelessness projects have gone down the well-worn path of ‘dis-integrating’ faith from their work – either by abandoning it overtly or quietly allowing it to recede into history.  But despite this trend in homelessness charities, the Church continues to sprout new responses, such as the rapidly growing Night Shelter initiatives where seven different churches work together to offer hospitality to the homeless every night of the week.

So a ‘theology of homelessness’ should help define what the Church has to say about justice, hope and transformation.  Disappointingly, Stories from the Street does not achieve this.

Real life stories

The structure of the book promises much.  David Nixon, an Anglican Priest in Plymouth, constructed the book around interviews with eleven people who have experienced homelessness – these are the ‘stories from the street’.  Their centrality to the book gives a prominence and weight to the real life stories of actual homeless people.

Part One of the book outlines a theological and sociological basis of the use of stories and Part Two introduces the results of the eleven interviews. A summary of each of their life histories gives a flavour of what their lives have been like and the difficulties they have faced.  Then the themes from their lives are analysed and threads are drawn out such as health, relationships, childhood experiences and substance abuse.  Part Three draws out conclusions towards constructing a theology of homelessness.

Part Two is the most helpful part of the book because having the experiences of real homeless people establishes a raw human reality at the heart of the book.  But unfortunately the analysis and theological reflections which surround the stories are very disappointing.

Theological jargon

Firstly, like many books drawn from a PhD thesis, I found much of it a turgid read.  Outside of the stories of the homeless people it is densely packed full of theological and academic jargon.  This means that the defining narratives of the book are obscured by a density of theory relating to the story telling process.  Take this sentence as an example:

‘The intersection of writer and those written about, together with issues of voice, point also to the influence of postmodern thinking and, as in a mathematical problem, the desire to show workings; what Jagose calls in relation to Queer Theory a display of exoskeletal support. This translates here to a recapitulation of the story in which we find ourselves, and in particular to a wish to isolate moments where previously held theory may be challenged by such empirical data that conversations and interviews have provided. A theology of homelessness is the destination to which these markers point.’ (p.140)

Sentences like this might work within academia but they will serve to blind most readers rather than illuminate. Ironically, it is a quote from one of the homeless people, ‘Julie’ which best highlights this point:

‘God made life so simple. It was people who complicate it.  We’re losing each other with lots of big words that people don’t understand.  Jesus spoke in parables and things like that and made it so simple.  He took something from life to explain something. They don’t do that here. They explain things with things people don’t understand.  With jargon, people don’t understand jargon. They don’t need jargon.’ (p.130)

The complexity and chaos of homeless people’s lives offer enough variables and challenges to coherent analysis.  It would have served the aim of the book better to have a more straight-forward approach using concepts such as human worth, shalom, sin, injustice, salvation and hope. As Julie’s quote illustrates, the power of the faith of many homeless people lies in their straightforward understanding of the challenges of life and their genuine sense of hope in God.

Broader context

Secondly, there is a thinness of the base from which Nixon is drawing his reflections.  Eleven people in one city are not a large sample so these stories needed to be assessed within a broader context.  Nixon does not draw significantly enough on the important research with homeless people over years (for example by Lemos & Crane) or on the perspectives of staff within the centres.  It reads as the theological musings of someone who visits homeless centres rather than someone whose ministry has been embedded within them.  This contributes to a perceptible lack of confidence to probe and grapple with the harder questions.

Thirdly, the book displays the weaknesses of much liberal-left social theology because it tends towards presenting homeless people as simply victims of a degenerate economy. There is little counter-balance to this perspective and consequently very few hard questions grappled with about personal responsibility and the role of self-sabotage.  It shows the classic danger of middle class liberal social analysis which tends to minimise the role of personal agency as a component of social problems.  Although these perspectives appear sympathetic and compassionate, and win applause from Bishops and academics, those on the front line know all too well how imbalanced this perspective is.  At one point the author refers to the ‘lack of theological literacy’ in the local homeless projects. But sadly it is theology like this that contributes to this disconnection.

Important times

These are important times for Christian work with homeless people.  Rough sleeping increased in the UK by 42% last year and churches have a critical role, especially through the growth of the churches Night Shelter initiatives. Also the recent report Lost & Found: Faith and Spirituality among Homeless People gives a trenchant critique of the prevailing secular orthodoxy in homeless services.  One factor which has brought about this reality is inaccessible and incoherent theology.  More than ever, Christian social action needs a theology which draws on the best transformational work and which expresses confidently the relevance of Christian thinking, the hope of the gospel and the practice of Christian spirituality.  This is the kind of theology which will excite activists and be able to really help Christians make a difference to homeless people.

Stories from the Street: A Theology of Homelessness by David Nixon (Ashgate, 2013)

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The power of the F-word

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

On Sunday at our youth group we were looking at forgiveness. It is such a big issue for everyone: How can we find forgiveness for the things we feel guilt for? And how can we forgive others who have hurt us?

Forgiveness in South Africa

Desmond TutuOne of the other leaders had just got back from South Africa and we talked about the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission led by Desmond Tutu which granted an amnesty to those who gave a full and public confession of crimes committed during the apartheid regime. (the story of the Commission is told in Tutu’s amazing book No Future Without Forgiveness)

Of course South Africa continues to face many challenges but rather than brush the issues under the carpet, the process of forgiveness did the opposite: it helped the country face up to the horrors of what had gone on. Tutu said:

“Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering— remembering and not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened.”

Forgiveness in South London

Margaret MizenThen, closer to home, we looked at how Margaret Mizen has coped with the murder of her son Jimmy Mizen who died 5 years ago following an attack in a bakery in Lee, South London. Margaret Mizen said in an interview last week:

“I can say that unless I had God in my life we would not have coped. Prayer got us through…I don’t feel anger because it was anger that killed my Jimmy. Anger breeds anger. I won’t let bitterness ruin my family…My understanding of forgiveness doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. I forgive because it helps me, I let go of the anger because it helps me”

The trap of retribution

The examples of these two brave people of faith spoke to our young people. We talked about the everyday conflicts which break out at school, at home (or at church) and leaders shared similar stories from work.

Everyone can see the trap created by retribution and bitterness and our tendency to be drawn to a form of justice which perpetuates conflict. Our discussion showed that everyone, whether young or old, Christian or not, has a deep need for the grace which can break cycles of bitterness and discord.

Forgiveness which liberates

The words and wisdom of Desmond Tutu and Margaret Mizen show that forgiveness is not about ignoring what has happened or offering a ‘cheap grace’ which skirts over reality. Rather true forgiveness faces what has happened but refuses to allow a burden of bitterness and corrosive anger to grow. Forgiveness liberates the forgiver as much as the forgiven.

When we do forgive others, we are following the example of the One who even when being executed prayed for the forgiveness of those who were killing him. This is the heart of the Christian message and the awesome power of God’s grace and forgiveness.

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The world won’t change till we do – by Anthony Landahl

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

I always wondered...Murder, hatred, inequality, war, greed, love, compassion, selflessness, peace, anxiety, depression, fear.

When I pause from the day to day mania and busyness of my own life, the paradox of our human condition becomes stark. In fact thinking too much about the horror of what some humans wake up to and face each morning can be too much to bear. So with no apparent explanation for our contradictory behaviour, we just hold our head up and stoically ‘get on with things’. The ‘haves’ preoccupied with themselves and the ‘have nots’ with surviving.

Distintegration

Meanwhile society disintegrates in every corner of the globe. Levels of violence, corruption and despair are unprecedented. One in seven humans are hungry (World Education Centre 2012 Facts and Statistics), across the globe in the next twenty four hours, 1,439 teens will attempt suicide, 15,006 teens will use drugs for the first time and every 2 hours another youth is murdered (Denise Witmer; What is happening to our children). Corruption, greed and power have infiltrated government, business and sport, the left and right in politics seem irreconcilable, new age ‘causes’ and band aid solutions spring up in isolation making no long lasting change.

And to this backdrop life goes on with no real solution on the horizon.

For all their contributions over thousands of years moderating, managing and solving society’s problems it is becoming clearer that governments, humanitarian programs, religions, new age movements, self or imposed disciplines and restraints are not going to save us from our seemingly self-destructive plight.

‘None of us are right’

However insight as to where the real solution might originate from are found in the words of world renowned philosopher, Sir Laurens van der Post:

‘For we are none of us right; we do not know ourselves sufficiently. We have not faced up to the fact that we ourselves, not our institutions or stars, are the source of the error, and that until we have dealt with the error in ourselves we cannot deal properly with what is wrong with the world’ (A Walk with a White Bushman 1986).

Throughout history there have been a handful of philosophers and scientists, including Plato, Marais, Jung and Koestler, who have ventured to the ‘source of the error’ and contributed to understanding our troubled condition. This leads me to Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, who has been writing about and explaining this ostensibly off limit subject of the human condition for some 30 years.

I draw on a passage from Griffith’s book The Real Book of Answers to Everything;

‘the issue of the human condition has been the real, underlying issue we needed to solve if we were to exonerate and thus rehabilitate the human race, we have been so fearful and insecure about the subject that instead of confronting it and trying to solve it we have been preoccupied denying and escaping it. The truth is that while much attention has been given to the need to love each other and the environment if we are to ‘save the world’, the real need if we were to actually succeed in doing so was to find the means to love the dark side of ourselves–to find the reconciling understanding of our ‘good-and-evil’-afflicted human condition that was causing so much suffering and destruction!’

Making sense of the world

The power of Griffiths’ work is its ability to give full explanation and compassionate understanding to the world we live in and to our own lives. It makes sense of a world that seems inexplicable.

Through first principle biology Griffith explains that the paradox of the human condition is our capacity for both ‘good and evil’, of why when the ideals in life are to be cooperative, loving are selfless are we humans capable of such incredibly angry, selfish and divisive behaviour. And until we could explain this dilemma we were left carrying a deep ‘burden of guilt’ and insecurity about our fundamental sense of worth, and could barely even admit we had a problem, let alone confront the issue of the human condition. We just held our head up and got on with life, living with the premise that our behaviour was immutable and unable to be changed.

Understanding and knowing

However suddenly, with acknowledgement and explanation of the human condition, we can reconcile the polarities in life, reconcile ‘good and evil’ and understand there has been a very good reason for all our selfish, divisive, destructive and literally crazy behaviour. And  through understanding and knowing  the reason for our behaviour, it can change; And quickly. And all the psychological trauma and veil of confusion that we have all being living with since time immemorial lifts like mist rising from a valley. The underlying burden of guilt and insecurity,that previously we have been unable to acknowledge, can be lifted from our individual and collective psyche.

So from this despairing path to self-destruction, I believe there is now incredibly exciting hope that our children will inherit a better world. Hope that a path to liberation from the duress of the human condition is being paved through understanding the ‘source of the error’.

Anthony lives in Sydney, Australia. While his greatest interest lies in how the human condition be reconciled he also has a huge passion for playing and watching cricket, tennis and rugby.

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Share or Die: why collaborative consumption is the future – by Neal Gorenflo

Posted on May 5, 2013 by

Share or Die!R&R were contacted by the publishers of a new US book ‘Share or Die’.  Below is the Editor’s Preface which is reproduced as a guest post with permission.

About six months ago, a weather-beaten, middle-age man  asked me for money on the platform of the Mountain View Caltrain station.

I gave him three dollars. He thanked me, and asked what I  did for work. I introduced myself, learned his name (Jeff) and we shook hands.  I pulled out a card from my computer bag, and handed it to him as I told him  that I publish an online magazine about sharing.

Jeff lit up, “Oh I get that, when you’re homeless, it’s  share or die.”

That got my attention and I asked him to explain. Jeff  said that a year earlier, his girlfriend drank herself to death alone in a  motel room. He said she wouldn’t have died had someone been with her. For him, isolation meant death.

Jeff explained his perspective further, that he had no  problem giving his last dollar or cigarette to a friend, that it comes back  when you need it. But there are those that just take. You stay away from them.

I asked him about the homeless in Mountain View, which is  in the middle of prosperous Silicon Valley. Jeff said there are 800 homeless  people in the city, and that each has a similar story.

That conversation got under my skin. I shared it with  Malcolm Harris the next day on a call about this book. Half-joking, I suggested  Jeff’s phrase, “share or die,” as a title. At the time, I thought it was  over-the-top. I wasn’t serious. But, thankfully, Malcolm began using it in  correspondence about the book. It stuck.

My conversation with Jeff marked a turning point in my  thinking. I had thought of sharing as merely smart because it creates positive  social, environmental, and economic change through one strategy.

But Jeff’s story and the directness of his phrase – share  or die – broke through my intellectualization of sharing. Jeff helped me see  something that I was blind to, even though I knew all the facts – that sharing  is not just a smart strategy, it’s necessary for our survival as a species.  This has always been so, but today our condition is especially acute – we’re  using 50 percent more natural resources per year than the earth can replace.  And global population and per capita consumption are growing. It’s now  glaringly obvious to me that we need to learn to share on a global scale fast,  or die.

But the threat is not  only one of biological death. Those like me, who are in no danger of starving,  face a spiritual death when we act as if well-being is a private affair and  gate ourselves off from the rest of humanity with money and property. We can  neither survive nor live well unless we share. It’s my outrageous hope that the  young voices in this book do for a generation what Jeff did for me – wakes them  to the idea that sharing can save them and the world.

Neal Gorenflo is the co-founder Shareable Magazine, a nonprofit online magazine about sharing. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Why should you care about the new book, Share or Die? Sharing might just be the most important movement  you’ve never heard of. On a planet with growing population and dwindling  natural resources, it should be obvious to everyone that we need to share more.  But it’s not. For this movement to succeed, young adults everywhere need a new vision for what’s possible for them in an new economy emerging today that  values relationships over stuff and purpose over profit. Share or Die was  written by young adults for young adults to do exactly that.  It contains 25 articles with hands-on, practical advice about career, relationships,  travel, education, housing, and volunteering.

Shareable is the online magazine that tells the story of sharing. We cover the people and projects bringing a shareable world to life. And share how-tos so you can make sharing real in your life. In a shareable world, things like car sharing, clothing swaps, childcare coops, potlucks, and cohousing make life more fun, green, and affordable. When we share, not only is a better life possible, but so is a better world. They show that a new world is emerging where the more you share the more respect you get, and where life works because everyone helps each other.

We tell this story because a shareable world might be just what’s needed to enjoy life to the fullest today while creating a better tomorrow. Visit us at http://www.shareable.net

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Do Hard Things – a rebellion against low expectations

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

Do Hard ThingsDo Hard Things is an unusual book.  It was written by two teenagers for other teenagers. Its message is blunt and challenging: that young people should rebel against the culture of low expectations of what teenagers are capable of.

The book starts like this:

‘Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book.  And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care.  And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last.’

A different kind of book

The clarity of their message comes from their personal experience of taking up challenges and encouraging many others to do the same (their website has had over 35 million hits):

“What you are holding in your hands right now is a challenging book for teens by teens who believe our generation is ready for a change.  Ready for something which doesn’t promise a whole new life if you’ll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant.  We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming.  And we’ve noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it’s also more difficult.’

The myth of adolescence

After exploring the very brief history of teenage life (Readers Digest only coined the term in 1941) they expose what they call the ‘myth of adolescence’ which promotes the idea of an extended gap between childhood and adulthood.  They challenge the idea that teenage years are a time when you are only waiting for ‘real life’ to begin.

The central theme is to challenge the culture of low expectations. They forcefully make the point that the bar for teenagers has been set way too low – that so many people expect teenagers to simply ‘goof around’ and success is defined simply as the avoidance of problems.  Their message is that teenagers are capable of so much more.

Dismissing the challenge

Critics might say it’s easy for the Harris’ brothers to be saying this kind of stuff.  They are clearly from a supportive and secure family, are blessed with talent, good looks and confidence to burn.  Also many of their references clearly align them with the more conservative side of US politics and Christian culture.

But it would be wrong for these observations to be used to dismiss the challenge of the book.  Most of the stories and examples shared they give are to do with what teenagers can do for others, through engagement in public life, charity work and social justice.  This is no ‘health and wealth’ message of personal advancement.

Five types of hard things

Their summary of the ‘five types of hard things’ that they urge fellow teenagers to do are relevant for us all:

  1. Things which are outside your comfort zone
  2. Things which go beyond what is expected or required
  3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone
  4. Things which don’t earn an immediate payoff
  5. Things which challenge the cultural norm

Like a lot of good books and resources aimed at youth, it’s actually contains an important message for everyone.

Alex and Brett Harris’ website is called The Rebelution 

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Five lessons from Living Below the Line – by Alexandra Lilley

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

Live Below the LineFive days on five quid. What would you spend it on?

Last year I took up the Live Below the Line challenge, living on porridge made with water, lentil dhal and potatoes. Here’s what I discovered:

1. The less you possess, the more you need friends

Obvious really, but this was a lesson in community living. Five of us (I’m detecting a theme here) formed a group to shop and sometimes cook together over the week, giving us a more diverse diet and an essential sense of solidarity.

2. Head knowledge vs gut knowledge

The stats are sickening:

  • 1.4 billion people in the world – around 20 times the population of the UK – live in extreme poverty (i.e. on no more than £1 a day)
  • 870 million – 1 in 8 people – will go to bed hungry tonight because they have eaten nothing or next-to-nothing all day
  • 2 million children will die this year because of malnutrition – that’s one every 15 seconds.

But sometimes the stats remain as aloof figures in our heads. Living differently causes our bodies to remind us of these terrible truths. Similar to when I ‘slept rough’ one night to raise money for a homeless charity as a teenager, I then cared about homelessness in a more personal way, so too did this small act of deprivation penetrate my psyche in a way that reading or watching something never could.

3. Smugness banished

Lots of people were complimentary about this ‘sacrifice’, which felt embarrassing. Then I came across this quote from the 4th century Bishop Ambrose of Milan, who sets things straight:

“It is not from your own possessions that you are bestowing alms on the poor, you are but restoring to them what is theirs by right. For what was given to everyone for the use of all, you have taken for your exclusive use. The earth belongs not to the rich, but to everyone. Thus, far from giving lavishly, you are but paying part of your debt.”

Ha! According to the Bishop, living below the line should be the norm, so no pride allowed.

4. The Local Line

As well as the thick, black marker pen line between the global rich and poor, there’s a thinner pencil line where you and I live. For me, living near Kings Cross, it’s the Caledonian Road. It’s cuts through this part of London with social housing estates on one side and (multi)million pound houses on the other. It’s no good limbo-ing under the global ‘line’ and living within our local barriers.

One of the small prejudices that I crossed during LBTL was dietary. I realised that it’s not possible to buy fruit or veg with a tiny income – but I could afford a whacking great pack of value biscuits. Acknowledging the judgements we make against either rich or poor in our own community, particularly in our increasingly fractured UK society, plays a significant part.

5. Blessings and curses

Jesus says these terrifying and marvellous words on the Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled…

Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.”

Enforced poverty is a curse that Jesus came to break. But for those of us who have the privilege to choose to go hungry, it’s blessing. I certainly discovered that last year, as through the drudgery of diet and caffeine cravings, I found a freedom of depending more fully on the one who provides my daily bread.

So I’m doing it again. And so could you…

  • Please do think about whether you take part in Live Below the Line sometime this year. You can sign up here: www.livebelowtheline.com
  • And please consider donating towards alleviating extreme poverty through sponsoring our team – we’re raising money for Tearfund.

Alexandra Lilley lives in and loves King’s Cross, works as assistant minister at St Mary Islington and is training to be a vicar.

Related Posts:

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‘Christians cannot be passive about hunger, sickness and injustice’ Tim Keller

Posted on April 22, 2013 by

The Prodigal God by TIm KellerOn holiday recently I read Tim Keller‘s book The Prodigal God. This is a short, accessible and beautifully fresh description of the heart of the Christian faith. I would recommend it to anyone – but especially to those who those who are outside of the church and who are sceptical about Christianity.

The book focusses on the well-known parable of the Prodigal Son. But despite its fame, Keller asserts it is also one of the least understood of Jesus’ stories. He argues that the core of the story is a prodigal God, whose recklessly extravagant love can meet the deepest needs of individuals and our society.

Keller makes absolutely clear that a genuine acceptance of God’s love and grace (i.e. being a Christian) will be expressed in a concern for social justice. It’s worth quoting him at length:

“In Matthew 25 Jesus describes Judgement Day. Many will stand there and call him ‘Lord’, but Jesus says, stunningly, that if they have not been serving the hungry, the refugee, the sick, and the prisoner, then they hadn’t been serving him (Matthew 25:34-40). There is no contradiction to what we have heard from Jesus in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He is not saying that only the social workers get into heaven. Rather he is saying that inevitable sign that you know you are a sinner saved by sheer, costly grace is a sensitive social conscience and a life poured out in deeds of service to the poor.

Christianity, therefore, is perhaps the most materialistic of the world’s faiths. Jesus’ miracles were not much violations of the natural order, but a restoration of the natural order. God did not create a world with blindness, leprosy, hunger and death in it. Jesus’ miracles were signs that someday all these corruptions of his creation would be abolished. Christians therefore can talk of saving the soul and of building social systems that deliver safe streets and warm homes in the same sentence. With integrity.

Jesus hates suffering, injustice, evil, and death so much that he came and experienced it to defeat it and someday, to wipe the world clean of it. Knowing this, Christians cannot be passive about hunger, sickness and injustice. Karl Marx and others have charged that religion is ‘the opiate of the masses’. That is, it is a sedative that makes people passive towards injustice, because there will be ‘pie in the sky bye and bye’. That may be true of some religions that teach that people that this material world is unimportant or illusory. Christianity, however, teaches that God hates the suffering and oppression of this material world so much, that he was willing to get involved in it and to fight against it. Properly understood, Christianity is by no means the opiate of the people. It is more like the smelling salts.”

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What is your response to the word ‘evangelical’?

Posted on April 20, 2013 by

I was having an conversation with someone the other day about the word ‘evangelical’ and how it is perceived by people.  In my experience, perceptions and responses to the word ’evangelical’, especially from those outside the church, are almost entirely negative.

The context I hear these comments are often people saying to me things like ‘Oh, you’re not one of those evangelical Christians are you?’  This is often said in a tone which is clearly suggesting that being evangelical equals being judgemental/happy-clappy/right-wing/homophobic/bonkers (delete as appropriate).

Consequently, I use the word rarely and answer carefully when someone asks me that question…

Unhelpful label

And it seems I am not the only one.  A few years ago I did some research on evangelical perspectives on social injustice and I interviewed a number of high profile church leaders.  I was surprised that Nicky Gumbel, the author of the Alpha course, turned me down for an interview on the specific basis that he does not consider himself an evangelical Christian.  He was very clear with me that he finds the label unhelpful.

Of course, the word ‘evangelical’ gets used loads in church arguments and you could do endless blog posts on the technical and political uses of the word.  But I am not concerned so much with those kind of internal debates. What interests me more is how the term is perceived by those outside the church.

US evangelicalism

A key factor is the profile of US evangelicalism which unlike its British counterpart, has an overt role in mainstream politics and is perceived as almost entirely right-wing.  By contrast, in the UK we never hear the media talk about politicians ‘chasing the evangelical vote’.

But the profile and nature of US evangelicalism affects people’s perceptions of evangelicals generally.  I wonder whether the word evangelical has become so encrusted with negative associations that it is beyond redemption.

Energy and commitment

It is not that I think the underlying beliefs of an evangelical faith be jettisoned.  The passion, energy and commitment to Jesus and seeing his love transform people are all strengths of many evangelical churches.  If anything, these beliefs and commitments need to be emphasised more within the Church.  But as a label, I wonder if the word evangelical comes with too much baggage.

But what do you think?

Remember the question is not about what you believe, or whether you would consider yourself an evangelical or not.  The question is what is your response when you hear the word ‘evangelical’?

And please leave a comment below about why you voted as you did!

Related:

Posted in Theology & Church | Tagged | 22 Comments

The word ‘babysitting’ should be banned – by Tom Kuhrt (aged 8)

Posted on April 16, 2013 by

No BabysittingWhen both my parents go out in the evening another adult always comes over to look after us.  But why is this called babysitting?  Its a rubbish word.

There are at least 3 big problems with the name ‘babysitter’:

One, it scares little children. My friend Zac is only 4 and when someone came to look after him who said they were a ‘babysitter’ he said ‘Do you really sit on babies?’  He was very worried to have someone looking after him who regularly sits on babies.

Two, it’s unaccurate. I am not a baby. I am eight, so why should looking after me be called babysitting? We are told at school to use the good describing words. As a word babysitting is rubbish.

Three, it’s embarrassing.  Babies are cute, little and funny but they wear nappies and can’t do anything much. I am not like that – I am big and tough and good at football – I don’t want people to think I am a baby and wear nappies.

So we need a better word to replace ‘babysitting’. Looking after me is fun – I never give much hassle – I go to sleep when I am told, I am not a baby and I certainly don’t need sitting on.

So what do babysitters actually do?  As far as I can see, they come round, hog the TV and eat all your best snacks (except for my favourite Matthew Graham who lets us play on the Wii for ages).

When I complained to someone who was looking after me about the name babysitting, she agreed with me. We thought it would be better described as ‘coming round to watch TV and do knitting’. The problem with that is that it’s a bit long and not all babysitters knit (Matthew Graham never knits).

I can think of some far better names to replace babysitting like child carer, night watcher or Snack Attacker.  But I think the word babysitting should be banned for anyone over 2 years old – what about you?

And if you have any ideas about a new name, please leave a comment below.

Are you with me? We can change this!

Tom lives in south London and is in Year 3 at school.  He loves Cub Scouts, his friends and Everton Football Club.

Posted in Social commentary | 12 Comments

The resistance and renewal of John Bunyan – by Peter Morden

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

John Bunyan lived in a time of political turmoil. The Puritan Commonwealth, which ran the country following the overthrow of Charles I, had collapsed. The monarchy had been restored.  And the new regime was not favourable to Christians who dissented from the authority of the established Church.

Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years for refusing to conform to the Church of England and for preaching without a licence. During his years in prison, it is reputed that his blind daughter, Mary, brought him soup in a jug to supplement his meagre prison diet.

Bunyan faced immense suffering and difficulties.   Yet throughout all these challenges he held fast to his faith in Christ and resisted the powers that sought to silence him. At the core of his faith was the cross of Christ, the place of total forgiveness and true renewal.

Burdens released

In his famous allegory of the Christian life, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan depicted his pilgrim, ‘Christian’, struggling as he carried a crushingly heavy burden. Then, as he wearily approached the cross:

“his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back; and began to tumble… Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, ‘He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.’ Then he stood still a while, to look and to wonder; for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the Cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks.”

Bunyan’s way with words

This beautiful piece of writing is a great example of Bunyan’s way with words. To be sure, some of his seventeenth-century language can seem a little strange to us today. But it is still understandable and – I believe – immensely powerful.

For me, the description of Christian as ‘lightsome’ evokes his joy quite brilliantly, especially as it contrasts so well with the severe, heavy burden which has just rolled away. The final sentence, with the ‘springs’ in Christian’s head sending ‘waters down his cheeks’ is a striking, poetic description of the tears that fell as he contemplated the cross and what this meant for him. This deep emotional response is appropriate for all those who have been set free from sin, shame and guilt, and who realise the immense cost Christ paid to make this possible.

Strengthened and sustained

John BunyanOne of the things that struck me most forcibly as I wrote my biography of Bunyan is the vein of suffering that ran through his life. Another thing is how God sustained him and strengthened him in suffering. In fact, in prison, he knew God in a deeper way, once declaring,

“Jesus Christ…was never more real or apparent than now; here I have seen him and felt him indeed.”

Moreover God used this suffering to strengthen others. Would he have ever written The Pilgrim’s Progress if he hadn’t spent these years in jail? Would he have had the time?

And would he have had the empathy for others which shines through the pages if his life had been all sunshine and no shadow? Personally I doubt it. The way of the cross is also the way of fruitfulness.

The way of the cross

We shouldn’t be surprised by this. Jesus accomplished his mission by the cross and calls on us take up our own cross daily and follow him. This is a call which will involve suffering. But it is also the way to know Christ and to know fruitfulness in our lives. In other words, the way of the cross is the way of the Christian life. There are no short cuts. The cross which is the source of joy and freedom is also the pattern for faithful Christian living.

Peter Morden is Tutor in Church History and Spirituality, and Chaplain, Spurgeon’s College in London. He is the author of John Bunyan: the People’s Pilgrim. Watch a brief video of Peter talking about his new book and view the interactive eBook.

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