Earlier I was sat in a lecture on European Federalism. My professor was explaining how the institutions of the European Union were designed with different questions in mind (e.g. things like how to manage a strong centre, economic redistribution etc. with writers like Spinelli) and are now having to adapt to new demands. This got me thinking about what Todd Hunter says about the reformation and the fact that most of our explaination of Jesus/what church is etc. is designed to answer questions which people are no longer asking, that we have to learn to listen (like Eugene Peterson says) so that we can learn the new questions.

On Saturday I went to see my Grandpa. He told me that he’d been thinking about the fact that the word Christian seems to have so little meaning in today’s world, it’s a word used when you don’t know what else to say you are (for some people). He was telling me how being a “disciple” or “follower of Jesus” is a far better term. I could only agree. I can’t remember having chatted about that with him before but what he said to me sounded like what I could have said to him. Weird (and cool).

I can’t help but think that it has only been since he retired as a minister of an Elim Church that he has started to get back to basics. It’s like he’s gradually letting go of all the religious legalism that he was brought up with.

We had a great central gathering last night. It was awesome to hear where everyone was at. The questions were “what first brought you here” and “why did you stay?” These are cool ways of encouraging each other to evaluate why you are part of the community you are part of and to get away from religiosity.

It was a time of encouragement – I love hearing the different perspectives people have on the same thing.

The vision is one of continuing to grow as a family. To see ourselves becoming the kind of people we were designed to be and to share that love with others. Through our lifestyles of vulnerability we can affect those around us.

I’ve finally started getting my head around Flash buttons…hence the distance all these days.

Tonight we asked the question: “do we think of ourselves as missionaries?” “do we really think of our ‘gospel’ as being capable of changing lives?” Challenging thoughts.

I love Jason Evans’ blog from yesterday – particularly the statement “shut up and be something.” It’s so weird to think that there’s this war going on on in a land far away and that there are innocent people just like us who are faced with such aggression. I heard an interview with a guy about to catch a train in one London station, when questioned about the war: “it’s sad people have to die, but life must go on” as though his life is what life is about and those people the other side of the globe just don’t matter. I get easily upset by things like that.

{Lord, bring good out of this tragedy of war. Make us more real and less selfish. Help us to see the Iraq as groups of innocent people who want peace, not as some far off entity.}