thecrowdedhouse

Hit me...chop me

2008-06-18T21:45:00.003+01:00

You may remember a posting way back where I invited you to keep the gospel before me and to hit me with your gospel stick.

I still mean it.

In fact, maybe I need Butch Yelton's method:

Existence of God

2008-06-13T08:39:00.003+01:00

knockin' on heaven's door

2008-06-12T09:41:00.003+01:00

Latest voxpop for Summer in the City

No thanks to Windows Movie Maker

2008-06-05T09:58:00.002+01:00

I don't know why I keep using it. It is pants. More crashes than an evening at the stock car track. But finally, it helped me come up with this for our upcoming Summer in the City.

New church beginning

2008-06-02T21:58:00.005+01:00

My bro Ant Adams in Derby has at last answered the call.
(Did you realise my recurring Farside cartoon was aimed at you all this time, bro !? That's you on the sofa and Emma urging you on).

I am very very excited for them and the Urban Life Team.

Sam, Fi and I from TCH went down to spend a lovely and evening with them recently. I came back really inspired as they make their first tentative steps to plant a household congregation in Normanton, Derby- a very similar area to our beloved Sharrow. (A report notes that "There are 27,200 people who live in Normanton and the area contains over 50% of Derby’s minority ethnic community. Normanton is the one of Derby’s areas for regeneration as agreed by Derby City Partnership. There is a range of social and economic problems...").

Sounds perfect for church planting!

Please pray for these brave soldiers of Christ.

Blessings guys. Lots of big ones!

appreciating communal prayer

2008-06-02T21:32:00.002+01:00

We're praying more in The Edge Network.
One aspect that I appreciated today was that it encourages me to be less individualistic about MY ministry and opens my viewpoint wider to see I am part of a family, a body, a team and we are ministering together. Communal prayer has that effect. I like that.

wow

2008-05-22T18:36:00.000+01:00

You should watch this... exceptionally rare candidness

Trapped

2008-05-22T08:59:00.004+01:00

Many asylum seeker mothers are trapped in a scheme making it very difficult for them to buy essentials for their children. The government supplies them with luncheon vouchers instead of cash. This means they cannot use public transport or buy non food items (eg. nappies and baby items) but they can buy McDonald's and shop at certain supermarkets (which may be several miles from their home).

See the BBC report here.

We are part of a counter-scheme in Sheffield buying vouchers from mothers with young babies. Can you help?
A friend of mine has been running this scheme to help by buying vouchers from mothers with young babies. The scheme has grown over the last few months and we now have a stockpile of Morrisons vouchers and luncheon vouchers (usable at all major supermarkets for food items). Unless we can sell these, we cannot buy any more. Luncheon vouchers can be used for any food shopping at a large range of supermarkets, listed on the books.

If anyone could buy some vouchers from us now and consider buying regularly in the future that would be wonderful!

Please contact me if you can help in this.

Please pray for Apo

2008-05-12T11:10:00.004+01:00

I have just started praying for Abdullah "Apo" Ocalan. Will you join me?

He is the founder of the PKK - Kurdish organisation aiming to form a Kurdish state. He is at present imprisoned on a Turkish island. He is the hero of many Kurds. What a bombshell if he was born again!

Friends round for curry...or are they?

2008-04-15T12:07:00.005+01:00

A great evening last night at our regular Curry Club as we ate and chatted. I asked for my Pakistani friends to explain and tell me what they thought of something a Kurdish friend had told me the night before:

"More friends, more stress".

The idea being that you are expected to do anything for a friend. They own you, almost! They need money you will give it. They make a n agreement with someone without consulting you, ON YOUR BEHALF (even for the marrying off of your daughter!) then you comply. Of course you do. You are their friend.

What ensued was a wonderfully challenging and fascinating hour or so of insights into friendship and how it is seen in Punjabi culture. It really got me thinking. It made me question if I can ever really be a 'fast friend' of a Pakistani (in their eyes) such is the expectation of utter commitment and personal sacrifice. Is this my guarded western-ness? I think a lot of it is. We have diluted and minimised friendship to the extent that we treat it casually. I think I have.

All kinds of beautiful glimpses of Pakistani thinking and cultural practice came out as we laughed and talked. Such as Punjabis exchanging turbans with closest friends. Once they exchange turbans they become friends for life and forge a permanent relationship. They take a solemn pledge to share their joys and sorrows under all circumstances. Exchanging turbans is a glue that can bind two individuals or families together for generations. Reminscient of David and Jonathan, I thought.

But also, there came the questions of when a friend betrays you or simply disappoints you. What happens then? Someone who has been this bosom friend can become your enemy. "That's it!" said one of the men there, gesturing strongly that such a situation meant it was all over. "Khalas!"

I have witnessed this many times as friends idolise friends and then become disenchanted and break off. No forgiveness. I think this is a key thing in that friendship is often a deeply selfish thing (in any culture). The thinking is so often: "It serves me and my needs and must meet my expectations". This is a recipe for disaster.

What did it mean that Jesus was the friend of sinners? Yes he made the ultimate sacrifice for them, but how did it play out in everyday life? His was in an Eastern context after all.

I am trying to think biblically what it means to be a friend. I am finding it hard. Maybe you have some insights into the Word on it or some comments about Western thinking and friendship.

Drop me a line.

Easy to miss...

2008-04-11T16:41:00.001+01:00

h.t. Andy Shudall

We talk a lot about strategy in TCH.
I hope we don't miss what God is doing in and and amongst our detailed looking at stuff and fail to see what God is doing.

Have you booked yet?

2008-03-31T14:21:00.002+01:00

10 days of glorifying Christ the King of our neighbourhoods as we share his good news and serve the community with words and works of light.

Join us?

This was on secular TV?

2008-03-26T15:06:00.002Z

An excerpt from ER

Should Christians support homosexuals suffering discrimination?

2007-12-01T09:55:00.000Z

I found this helpful. I reproduce it here for any of you who have felt uncomfortable (as I at first did) or even shocked, that I should be helping to spearhead the campaign to halt the deportation of Pegah Emambakhsh, an Iranian lesbian.
( Facebook: Stop the Deportation of Pegah Emambakhsh)

Christians should be in the forefront of those who protest when homosexuals are treated unjustly. That is because love and injustice are incompatible. Whenever homosexual people are the object of snide humour on the television screen or harsh penalties in the law-courts, genuinely loving Christian people ought to be the first to stand up in their support. Any minority group which suffers discrimination should have full Christian backing in a struggle for their legal and moral rights.
My second suggestion is also a requirement, if biblical standards are to be kept. Those who accept the Bible’s veto on homosexual behaviour must go out of their way to express genuine love for homosexual people.

David Field,
formerly Vice-Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, London.

The full article appears here

Macedonian Call?

2007-11-28T15:13:00.000Z

“The Kurdistan Region is open for business! We have many needs and thus many opportunities. Nearly everything we use and consume, including much of our food, is now imported from abroad. We need foreign investment in every area of our economy, and my advice is: come here, look at our markets, our people, and our infrastructure, and help us to build our economy…. Fly into our new airports, drive our improving roads, and bring your expertise and knowledge. You will not be disappointed.”

--Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani

Sound tempting??

2007-11-28T09:06:00.000Z

This attractive sounding eatery is up in Burngreave. I haven't been in yet. Maybe one day.

Shame and honour

2007-11-10T22:25:00.000Z

I think we all would acknowledge the cultural differences between (broadly speaking) Eastern and Western worldviews. It wasn't until I was asked to speak at a conference last week on Shame and the Muslim mindset that I realised just how vast the differences were. A UNICEF report especially helped me see the issues of publicness/visibility being the factor that enabled some to behave in certain immoral ways as long as it was unknown or unmentioned. Honour is not a quality it is a gift to the Pushtoon people. What matters is what the community think, not what your personal values/conscience say.

I enjoyed thinking into and presenting some thoughts on shame and defilement, shame and community and shame and association, and realised how very little I was aware of this whole 'other world' (and how much Scripture addresses these issues).

So many Western theology books fail to engage with shame. I had to go to good old John Owen to bring some helpful Scriptural thinking:

Through fear man is taught the guilt of sin. Through shame man is taught the filth of sin. By the sacrifices of atonement, God taught his people the guilt of sin. By the ordinances for purification, God taught his people the filth of sin. By these Levitical laws, sacrifices and purifyings, internal and spiritual things were symbolized. They foreshadowed Christ and his work, which brought real and actual spiritual cleansing (Hebrews 9:13, 14). So the whole work of sanctification is pictured by 'a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness' (Zechariah 13:1).

John Owen, 'Holy Spirit'.

Here is the link for UNICEF report which makes for disturbing reading in its latter part, but is so worth reading for its section outlining shame culture (p.12ff) which so very helpfully blows the whole shame culture in NW Pakistan wide open: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/SexAbuse1.pdf

I am sure some of you out there have thoughts that would help me as I continue to think into the subject, especially as it relates to ministry among M's.

Care to share them?

Siding with the oppressed

2007-10-31T21:25:00.001Z

Isaac and I and a friend from the Kurdish team went to show our solidarity with our Kurdish friends on Saturday. I had helped them plan a silent demo outside the Town Hall protesting the Turkish oppression of Kurds in Turkey and now increasingly in Iraq. And now we stood with them to show they are not alone in their plight.
There is no doubt that the Kurds have been treated abominably throughout history and still today are denied basic rights in the countries that 'occupy' their land.

"Why don't they protest back in their own country?" asked one passer-by rather contemptuously. Some of them have and ended up in prison for it. Simply possessing the Kurdish flag in some instances will land you in real trouble.

The balance of political involvement, entering into the arena of the many painful Kurdish issues and our commitment to building the Kingdom of God with the gospel remains a difficult tension. And probably it is good that it is so. Please pray for us in that constant struggle. We want to be clear in our Kingdom priorities but compassionate and empathetic for a hurting people and involved in the stuff of their world.

You may have thoughts on it. Let us know.

Shabbey

2007-09-26T21:51:00.001+01:00

TCH Kids has been reborn and renamed, reflecting a new cooler image (as the kids get older) and nicely expressing the partnership that is being ratcheted up between TCH Sharrow and TCH Abbey (hence 'Shabbey' !).

Please pray for Isaac, Seth, Josiah and Al (from Abbey) as they plan and execute this gospel ministry.

The Night of Power/The Night of Destiny

2007-09-26T10:07:00.000+01:00

Sounds like a corny movie title, but the Night of Power/Destiny ('Laylatul Qadr') is the key moment in the Islamic calendar (23 or 27th day of Ramadhan) coming up any day now, when Muslims often pray all night as it is believed one's prayers will be much more likely to be heard and answered; the one night of the year when heaven is open and blessing is available.

Here's what one Islamic writer says about it:

I am sure everyone of us would like to live a life free of sins and free of mistakes. Everyone would like to meet Allah on the Day of Judgment without sins. Everyone of us would like to feel that he/she is reborn today. All of us wish to rejuvenate ourselves, and to start a new year with a fresh outlook and a fresh life. Everyone of us wants to live a pure life and everyone wants to purify himself/herself without anguish or torment. The Night of Power is one of the best ways in which a person is to achieve all these ideals. For this reason may I suggest that you start looking for it, so you will be able to observe it and enjoy it.

The authoritative Islamic writings say:
"Whoever stands in prayer in Laylatul Qadr while nourishing his faith with self-evaluation, expecting reward from Allah, will have all of his previous sins forgiven". (Hadith)

We are revelling in Hebrews as a church at the moment. I taught last week the thrill of the reality of Hebrews 10:19-20:
’And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the of Jesus. By his blood, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.’
There's no one day when we can be extra close to God, no single moment of power because of my prayer or merit, the way is open now and always because of the shed blood of the Saviour. Joy in these words Christian:
‘So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God … let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.’

The biggest Kurdish Party in Sheffield

2007-09-26T08:52:00.000+01:00

Such fun! What I thought was going to be hyperbole, turned out to be a matter of fact as the Kurdish party that our new TCH Kurdish Team organised really was the biggest thing Kurds had experienced in Sheffield. It went so well in every way. A great opportuntiy to show the Kurdish community here that we want to serve them for Jesus' sake.
The dancing went on for ages, but my legs have recovered now!

Biji Kurdistan!

2007-09-12T23:55:00.001+01:00

We're having a party for our Kurdish friends and the Kurdish community in Sheffield.

Part of our thinking is to showcase Kurdish culture and encourage Kurds to get their music, food, etc., out into the public domain more.

Next plan, a Kurdish film club (!?)

BBC and the campaign

2007-08-13T17:51:00.000+01:00

We (Free Adnan & Hiwa Campaign) get some air time on Tuesday from local BBC radio and television:

Tuesday BBC Radio Sheffield news bulletins.

and

Tuesday BBC1 Look North news 20 past and 5 to the hour (from 6am -9am) then 1.30 pm and 6.30pm news.

Thanks Marco & Natatlie.

Trip down memory lane

2007-08-11T09:27:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went back. Back to where I grew up before I was 10.

72 Westby Street, Lytham.

It always feels like a bit of a dream when I go back to Lytham (near Blackpool). Nostalgia sure is a strong thing. I indulge myself every so often. Judith came with me and suffered the stories along with Jo and two young friends from TCH.
The power of stories, especially ones from the childhood of a parent can be very cogent. I still remember little memories my mother delights in: tales of local oddballs, Dickensian style schoolmasters and long gone places. They become part of my history somehow.

The windmill on the Green was the perfect backdrop for a story of mine. Aged 6, we as pupils at St John's Primary school were taken some sunny lunchtimes onto the Green to play. The rule was "No one must go around the windmill". I have no idea why! One day I decided to go around the windmill. I wasn't spotted. But back in the class room, snotty snitch Dawn Christopher pipes up: "Miiiiss. Andrew Stovell went round the windmill". I was called out and duly punished. Which was trousers down in front of the whole class and a slap on the leg. I went back to my table, trying to be brave. "It didn't hurt anyway", I whispered through gritted teeth to snotty snitch Dawn. What does she do? She pipes up again in her whining voice, "Miiiiss! he says it didn't hurt". The teacher called me out again and repeated the whole humiliating 'trousers down slap on leg' experience!

(It still didn't hurt, only my pride!)

(BTW, I forgive you Dawn and Mrs Poulter)

Then over to my back ally. The scene of many peashooter battles and water fights between "our end" and the enemy at the other. Strangely, they were Catholic and we were Protestant as it happens. ("St Peter's can't beat us, cos they've got rubbish teachers" went the war cry. We were from St John's Primary, they from the Catholic rivals, St Peter's)
Here we are standing on bins peeking over my old back yard wall. Not a lot has changed. I talked to a few old ladies, but none of them were around 35 years ago when I was a boy on Westby Street.

We then made our way to St John's graveyard. I wanted the kids to hear one last story. And by now, they were hooked. (What is it about memory-stories?)
I told them of Antony Storey. Looking back, he must have been a hydrocephalic child when he joined my infant class. Aged just 5, his oversized head made him instantly the one to laugh at and joke about. I remember not joining in but made him a friend. (Probably due to my mum's emphasis on kindness and looking after the misfits). Just a few weeks into term, Martin stopped coming to school. He had died. When the class visited his grave in St John's churchyard, I remember thinking how glad I was that I hadn't joined in the mocking. That at least he had had one friend.

It was great to catch up with Jan & Jamie who were with us in TCH and are now heading off to Afghanistan. Blessings guys. We had a farewell fish and chip tea with them at Whelans. Probably the greatest chippy on earth. As a kid, Saturdays were the business when we had fish and chips (or their amazing steak and kidney pudding), a bottle of D&B from The Dolphin, as Whelans was then called. I couldn't think of a better end to a day of nostalgia.

Any ideas?

2007-08-11T08:53:00.000+01:00

Have you seen this kind of thing in your neck of the woods?

Do you know why people throw trainers over telegraph wires?

Apparently, it's the boundary marker for drug dealers. I have it on good authority.

There's way too many in Sharrow.