Christmas is coming.  The end of the exile is near.

Rob Bell says that:

Exile is when you forget your story.

Exile isn’t just about location; exile is about the state of your soul.

Exile is when you fail to convert your blessings into blessings for others.

Exile is when you find yourself a stranger to the purposes of God.

Tomorrow, the 4th Sunday in Advent, I’m going to talk about exile and how God found a most unexpected way to end our separation from him.

no angels
no stars
no shepherds
no wise men

Just God, here, with us
Always

We’re big fans of the Snowman so the new Irn Bru advert tickles me greatly:

No Line On The Horizon, the new studio album from U2, will be released on 2 March 2009.  While I’m excited about the album I’m more excited about the TOUR!  U2 are still the best live band on the planet so any chance to see them should be taken.  Start saving now!!!

In the meantime… here’s a little festive offering…

The Something Beautiful Podcast crew have produced a pretty cool crowd-sourced advent episode.  Listeners and regular contributers were invited to read one of the 9 Christmas Bible passages and send in Christmas wishes.  It’s turned out pretty good!  Avril and I read one and all the family read another.  I think our three boys do a particularly good job of shepherds and angels!  Have a listen at something beautiful.

This Sunday is the 4th in Advent.  We’re almost there.  The waiting is almost over…

And yet the lectionary has us at Gabriel telling Mary she’s going to have a child.  It’s as though they don’t want us to get to the birth.

Perhaps all this waiting is important.

Perhaps we’re meant to hang around for a while longer…

wondering…

wishing…

watching…

It’ll be here.  Soon enough.

Or maybe too soon for some.

This week’s sermon almost didn’t happen.  I was really busy and thinking about simply rehashing last week’s offering.  But as I started to rework it I deleted it and started again.  And I’m glad I did.  As usual your comments, reactions and thoughts are most welcome.

This sermon was preached on 14 December, the 3rd Sunday in Advent, at Hamilton United Reformed Church.

A sneaky peek at Sunday’s sermon…

Because of the way we arrange the Christmas story we sometimes forget that John and Jesus are the same age.  Remember John is Jesus’ cousin.  His mother is Elizabeth who was pregnant around the same time as Mary.  When John talks about scanning the crowds he’s looking for a fully-grown Jesus.  He’s not talking about a baby in a stable.  He’s talking about the Messiah, coming, now.

John’s father was Zachariah, the priest.  That means that John would be destined for the priesthood and yet we find him in a very different priestly role.  The holy man not in the synagogue or the temple but out in the wild.

This is our first clue about this Messiah John is raving about.  Jesus isn’t going to be religious in the conventional sense.

But then conventional is never astonishing is it?  Conventional means tried and tested.  Conventional means agreed on, decided, settled.  And that doesn’t seem to describe Jesus to me.  At all.

It’s getting closer.  This Christmas thing.

‘Emerging’ Church

The first thing to say is that McLaren doesn’t like the term Emerging for all kinds of reasons.  But with no other word to replace it I’ll use it as a catch all definition of new developments on the fringe of church.  He spent some time unpacking where we are and where we might be heading.

Trees

Trees grow taller by accident.  They really grow fatter and that’s how we measure their growth.  So instead of thinking about the emerging church as a slice of a pie, think instead of the new ring of growth on the outside of a tree.  People on the outside, in this new place may have more in common with the others in that ring than with people from their tradition towards the centre.  This ring of new growth reflects how the church has responded to the current climate.  Like a tree, some years will see more development than others given the prevailing climate and nutrients.

3 Worlds - Pre-modern, Modern and Postmodern

Theology is framed by modernity.  It’s language and world view are informed by the modern world, the world of the industrial revolution, colonisation, empire and domination.

We don’t all live in that world now.  There is a move towards a new era but the problem felt is that the people making that move first are very dissatisfied with those who don’t want to move yet.  The point of movement has lots of tension and friction, between the established church and the new models and expressions of church. (This had a useful diagram to explain it… not that I can reproduce it at the moment but I’ll have a go later and add it in.)

The challenge for the early movers/adopters is to imagine the new world and describe it to those they are trying to convince to move.  It’s no use shouting at someone, telling them there is a better way if you can’t describe, or better show, how it can be.

Downward Pressure

McLaren used another diagram to show the downward movement from ‘high church’ through the reformation to ‘lower’ expressions.  This showed:

Orthodox

Roman Catholic

Anglican

Lutheran

Presbyterian

Methodist

Pentecostal

Charismatic

with new expressions at the bottom.  This describes the movement from control to shared responsibility, from high to low and from structure to network and micro-church.

So, is McLaren right?  Does this downward pressure explain church development?  And if it does, what drives the downward pressure?  Are you on the fringe?  An early adopter?  Do you shout or convince?  Complain or paint pictures of how it could be?

Neal has some good links to other bloggers who’ve heard McLaren over the weekend.

Last night I went to hear author and pastor Brian McLaren speak at Vertigo in Strathclyde Uni’s Student Union.  These are my notes and some attempt to make some sense of them.

Jesus didn’t come to start a religion.  He came to start something else which he called the ‘Kingdom of God’.  But would Jesus use that term now given that the world is not organised in what we would know and understand as kingdoms?

If Jesus wouldn’t use ‘kingdom of God’, what would he use?

The Dream of God?

What is God’s dream for the world?  What does God hope for his creation?  How can we help to achieve that?  By working at what we think is important or by finding out what God is doing and joining in?

The Peace Revolution of God

Violence met with violence legitimises violence.  Peacemakers are blessed.  How can we actively make peace?  Not just abstain from violence but work for peace and reconciliation?

The Mission of God

What is God up to?  Is there a difference between the ‘evacuation gospel’ which says that this world is doomed so salvation is a ticket to somewhere better and the gospel that says God sent Jesus to redeem the world, so we should join in that work and make the world a better place now.

The Party of God

Like it sounds.  Jesus seemed to hang out and have a good time.  Is life for living and enjoying?

Or what would the political party of God look like?  Instead of pointing out why the ‘opposition’ is wrong might it highlight good ideas, areas of co-operation and opportunities for reconciliation?

Network of God

Like an online network.  A coalition of radicals joined in a common cause

Dance of God

Some of the early church fathers described the Trinity as a never ending dance where the Father is poured into the Spirit who is poured into the Son who is poured into the Father…

Ecosystem of God

Or the never ending dance of creation (it got a bit Circle of Life here)

God’s New Planet

A redeemed and restored world.  I had an interesting conversation today about whether the second coming would be at the end of the 6th age on the day of Restoration, the Sabbath.  A time of healing and renewal.

Beloved Community

Not just the people we live near but a world where we truly love our neighbours.  All of them.

God’s Economy

Can we imagine a world where economic growth is not measured in consumption but in how much we give back?

Or how about the Unterror Network of God?  Little cells of people meeting in secret, intent on doing good.  Planning guerrilla acts of kindness.

This reimagining of terminology may seem a little flippant or pointless but it points to some wider thinking about what the ‘kingdom of God’ is.  If the terms above describe the Kingdom then the question which follows is ‘How do we live in the Kingdom?’

We have a tree outside our window.  It’s a very artistic tree which places itself nicely in all kinds of shots.  There are more examples of trees getting in the way over on my Flickr site.