>Book List

David HerbertLeave a comment

>Doing a bit reflecting in the shower I concluded that books no longer are my main source of learning. It’s probably debatable whether they ever were but the assumption was that a student needs books if s/he is going to learn. I would have to say that significant turning points – things that have set me thinking have been articles I have stumbled across on the internet and chance encounters and experiences. But books are easier to categorise – they are there on the shelf as visible reminders, and if I was to stack the ten which I think had had the most impact on me over the last ten years, these would be them:

  1. Transforming Mission by David Bosch

  2. Team Roles at Work by R Meredith Belbin

  3. Hard Times by Charles Dickens (and it only cost me a penny!)

  4. Transforming Priesthood by Robin Greenwood

  5. Ministry in Three Dimensions by Steve Croft

  6. I and Thou by Martin Buber

  7. A Sideways Look at Time by Jay Griffith

  8. Christianity Rediscovered by Vincent Donovan

  9. Being as Community by John Zizioulas

  10. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

These are books which have been memorable. Of course there are others – and I didn’t give it a great deal of thought – and I haven’t included any read in the last 12 months because it’s easy to be enthusiastic about what I’ve just read. None of them have been particulalry authoritative as once they might have been which leads me to conclude that the way we learn has changed so much and reflects our networked society – with one thing leading to another and learning being practical and contextual. Perhaps more relevant to me would be to list the 10 theories, or the ten thinkers, which have had the most impact on me – but that’s another post altogether.

Image is be Faeryan http://www.flickr.com/photos/faeryan/289547369/

Likes and dislikes

David HerbertLeave a comment

> If “no man is an island” (John Donne) why are we so insular? I often hear people report back from their holidays on friends they made while away. “We had so much in common” and “we all had similar backgrounds/jobs”. I wonder if we like the people who are most like us.

I’ve enjoyed the work of many people who have highlighted the many different styles of personality and behaviours we have. This is how we have been made. Some of us are built for a quick sprint, others for the long haul. We are individuals who need to like those who aren’t quite like us. Practical people lose patience with visionaries. Visionaries may regard the practical people as a bit boring – but both need each other. Those who can crack the whip can move people forward but may be seen as insensitive by those who are conscious of the feelings of others. To get anything done we all need to work together and talk together.

This is not a new insight. God from the beginning of time said “it is not good for man to be alone”. The stories of Cain and Abel, and the Tower of Babylon are both examples of how difficult it is to come to terms with our differences. Centuries later St Paul was shocked by the divisions in the Corinthian Church. Members had taken sides liking those who were like them. Paul calls them to order encouraging them to think that they were members of one body and that they needed to get co-ordinated. Every part of the body has a different function – fingers, bowels and eyes. Each member is gifted differently and we need to learn to like what we’re not like – otherwise we can’t live together or work together for a better world.

Paul’s is a good lesson (as is Belbin, Myers-Briggs and all those working on similar lines) for the Lambeth Conference (coming soon), and any group of people. Paul insists that it is all possible if we have a mind on the bigger picture and allow God to do the knitting.

written for Grapevine June 2008

Hope

David HerbertLeave a comment

When an organisation loses its shared vision and principles, its sense of community, its meaning and values, it is already in the process of decay and dissolution ….. Without a deeply held, commonly shared purpose that gives meaning to their lvies; without deeply held, commonly shared, ethical values and beliefs about conduct in purtsuit of purpose that all may trust and rely upon, communities steadily disintegrate, and organisations progressively become instruments of tyranny.
Dee Hock

Christian Aid

David HerbertLeave a comment

Lord Jesus, you were anointed to bring good news to those who felt no good news, to proclaim freedom to those imprisoned by injustice, and recover health and wholeness to all the world.You took up the cause of the oppressed.You proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favour.At the heart of your ministry was action.Remind us of the unlikely group of people you gathered around you to perform your work of love, and empower us to bring your good news so your kingdom will come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen
From Walthamstow Parish Magazine

>Christian Aid Week

David HerbertLeave a comment

>

Christian Aid Week begins on May 11th.

Here’s their advert.

http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DqAAAAIiSxp13MRsP2RXZVN7myjLLzF1-S8lLp154SmPo-zltREzg6lHyEFQ58CNpblrsedoZmDcf4lOTrhVb8zqrokoczrIl2w_OZpZUYIMqFdwZOiMBsxmcr1aXZHfST_U4IZM3RvTbxMXIoWB0GhOpQMbVM_s9xA3pXBJFTxNOEXy7vgvp5Q3laX1-CpyIVMECe7nhF13wQvgedb9h6Tx1kAojL4ncv8IdGeitdmxPNUY0%26sigh%3DMDFtKxShwjfbEg1tu-JC9ucIDQs%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26docid%3D0&nogvlm=1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D6b0dcb6a82c44e40%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3D3yG3Hn2XPOfq8CODXFkKTW148Z0&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den

Pentecost

David HerbertLeave a comment

>Getting ready for Sunday one job is to prepare a weekly newsletter. We call it Network and we try to have a picture/photo as a focus for the Sunday. This one isn’t one we are using on Sunday, but it’s one that refreshed me. It’s called Pentecost by Chris Shreve. Pentecost is a great Jewish festival which has become the festival of the Holy Spirit for the Christian Church. John Pridmore writes in the Church Times, and referring to Pentecost and the Holy Spirit points out that fire, water and wind are all metaphors for the Holy Spirit, and that they are all things that flow.

Chris Shreve has captured this flow with the flame and the wind blowing the curtain – with the suggestion of dancing. Chris also captures the new creation of the Gospel with what reminds me of the stone rolled away from the tomb and the light, breath and energy of God bursting into the world. It’s a very dry picture though – unless that is a water pitcher, or a container of oil – another sign of the Holy Spirit and the gifts the Holy Spirit brings to the world.