to blog...is to rant
Yes it has been a long time since I have blogged and for me today is the perfect day. It is 492 years today since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors in Wittenburg Germany. Sparking off the reformation, and opening peoples eyes to the truths of Jesus and the bible that had long been lost. He is a personal hero of mine (probably due to his theatrics) and should be remembered much more than a boring looking and sounding guy. He is of course much more.
so what i’m undertaking at this point is a quick study of why men dont go to church, basing it upon David Murrow’s book of the same title. this hopefully will come out the other end as a talk/study for the men at illumenate on monday night…parts of it could involve looking at what makes men men, a look into the male psyche, masculinity, manhood, and its pursuit, worship,teaching and women and how to be men!! Guys who read my blog this shan’t be one to miss!!! I am getting excited about this…still putting everything together…should continue to blog on the progress of this one
God has put it on my heart to talk about men being men….now lets do it
odd thing being im infinately more excited about the possibilities around this than my history essays but c’est la vie…my passions have moved on since then and it’s a matter of trying to align them together in some manner
still havnt began to read…as soon as i tried i found out that i had more uni work to do than was expected 
been a long time since i have blogged anything…a very long time…decided that this needs revived. this needs done. first sermon given today…i belive it went well…it had a very “the gods arent angry” theme running through it…was odd…fun…exhausting…tiring…brain frying…but possibly the most enjoyable and rewarding thing ive done in a long time!!
But yes now i have a desire to read again…rather than dip in and out of books but to sit and read one from beginning to end…finally time is opening to read my 12+ books
things are good
wow…i have to say im impressed by how quickly things gather speed…wasnt that long ago that i met with ally for a discussion on art in the church and now im somewhat bowled over. i’ve two writing projects with andrew dickson, one on the church centred around Acts and another of contemplative reflection type writings on easter to be ready by easter…rather excited…not only that but i’ve a couple of speaking engagements…life is becoming exciting!! there is a snag however in that i’ve two WW1 essays to write by the 16th march, but we will gloss over that!!
But yes the easter writings have captured my imagination, no consticting essay form, i can use various styles, poetry, prose, i can unleash the writer finally!! well ill have a go at it anyway. but this is exciting, and i can see this all spiralling from various conversations and rants…isn’t that how most things start? well that is how the blog got started (again thanks ally)
Also a chance to work on the church’s new website writing about the organisations and whatever else comes along…check it out but ignore the photos of me that make me look like a rastifarian (seriously not spelt right) http://www.highkirk.org.uk
i thought id open this up a bit…contemplating a proper title for the essays andrew dickson and myself are putting together…does anyone have ideas or suggestions??
chapter titles hope to be finalised by thursday
if anyone has major suggestions ie artwork, topics that should be introduced…ideas…perhaps even something for the future or myself to look into please just holler at your boy (little nod to jay-z there)
i have broken the screen of my laptop…and so i almost write this post in exhile to an extent. i have “borrowed” my housemates laptop, however i’ve noticed a direct correlation between the amount of work i get done and the lack of laptop….seems it has a negative effect. so the question i pose is this…does the laptop just get in the way most of the time when we should be doing other things?? definately this week will be teaching me many things about this…this is a sort of accidently self-imposed laptop fast
so after meeting with my co-writer…the delectable andrew dickson; we have decided that the essay collection needs a new direction. our hearts feel pulled to speak on issues about the church…big topic…very dodgy topic as well…we are hoping to cover a lot of ground. however with this new direction much more planning must be undertaken…aswell as the reading of vast books to ensure that we are pretty sound in our thoughts and beliefs. This will hopefully still be a manifesto…but a manifesto for the voices in the wilderness…where nobody else is….shouting
i will continue my own projects…these of course are minor in comparison but they keep me motivated…i’ll publish the finished works here
So i was scrambling across itunes last night, looking for something with soul, meaning, lyrics and not just words that are strung together….and lo and behold i found frank turner…great singer…great lyricist…great guitar…songs with a passion
I am actually quite excited about this find…below is a video…not his best song on the album…and the video is well dodgy but great words of a broken revolution.
The best song is by far “Love Ire and Song” Lyrics can be found below…*pardon the swearing*
http://www.lyricspy.com/f/Frank_Turner/lyrics/Love_Ire_And_Song/
#23 corner
so mr. bell has graced us with a new nooma…i’m beginning to see perhaps..or should i have noticed it a long time ago that he is dipping very much into the leviticus type books a lot…he does seem to be a fan of torah. the god’s arent angry tour says it all there but yes here is the preview via a link as youtube has not caught up yet enjoy!!
http://www.nooma.com/Shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=355
About two weeks ago i was approached by andrew dickson on the topic of men in the church. he had expressed a desire to write something…so together we are working on a collection of essays looking at the role of men, their participation, and now perhaps adding a new focus as to the emergence of a ‘Joshua generation.’
I am extremely excited about the prospect of this and I am open to any help, or advice anyone is willing to give. We do find that men…definately manly men feel lost in the lilac coloured churches, and that everything needs to fit together…to quote rob “in a eucharistic sort of way.”
Even to google men in church, the first hit is “Why so few men in church?” These essay will hope to tackle that and perhaps provide a few ideas to bring in the men in exhile.
Front cover art and other illustrations to accompany the essays will be included soon.
