Ekklesia: Telling the truth on Remembrance Sunday
The truth that cannot be spoken on Remembrance Sunday is that many lives lost in war have been wasted. Actually, we are allowed to say that, but only when the events concerned are safely in the distant past, and it’s too late to do anything about it. It’s fine to appreciate the poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, and deplore the slaughter of World War One, but asking whether those killed in Afghanistan have had their lives squandered is condemned as insensitive and disrespectful. If we don’t ask such questions though, how do we avoid more young men and women being sent to die for a dubious cause?
8 November 2011
tags: grief,
non-violence
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9 years
Nine years ago, we lost our baby.
Teifion was born, weighing in at the perfect seven pounds seven ounces but never breathed a breath. Teifion died a few days before his birthday.
I held him in that hospital room and whispered ‘Life to you, Teifion,’ but none came. Yeah, I know that I should have expected that much, but remember that bloke Lazarus in the bible? Well, he’d been dead for a while as well…
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8 September 2008
tags: faith,
god,
grief
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What's Your Condition?
My favourite wife has despression. She’s also a happy person. She’s also a brilliant speaker. She told the story of her journey into happiness at our church on Sunday. It is a story worth hearing. I promise I’m not saying that just because I am married to her. Have a listen (23 minutes)
Also, you might enjoy checking out Christine’s related project on Flickr, Room 37
25 February 2008
tags: church,
depression,
grief,
stories
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Even more shame on you
There are many, many churches and Christians in the world who have no interest in piling shame on anyone. But we still don’t see the masses rushing to talk to them about their lust and their gluttony and their failures and their griefs. Our minds tell us that those are secret and private. Our culture is in agreement: Hide it away! And we get no arguments from our own pride and shame.
The kingdom of God – and all the healing and life that come with it – doesn’t work well with a lot of secrets. 1 John has a lot to say about living in the light and bringing things into the open – stuff that goes against natural human inclination.
So when we are trying to move people away from shame and ‘into the light’, we need to be aware that we are not just overcoming church culture, but also the broader culture and human tendencies. And that leads us back to thinking about the questions I asked in part one of this little series.
10 February 2008
tags: church,
failure,
grief,
leadership,
shame
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Shame on you! And while I'm at it, let me give you some condemnation and rejection as well
In my experience, there are a number of life issues and sins-that-so-easily-beset-us that the evangelical church really stinks at addressing. We’re good at inspirational messages about How To Succeed and How To Get Over It (and those are often useful and necessary). We are very good at shock and shame and savagery when people Don’t Succeed and Don’t Get Over It. But we are not so good at teaching people How To Fail, nor are we very good at coming alongside the failures among us and walking with them into success. We are really bad at understanding Getting Over It and what an ordeal that actually is.
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10 February 2008
tags: church,
failure,
grief,
humans,
leadership,
shame
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