Torn bits of paper (Abstract Confessions of a Cynic)

This is an attempt, by me, to be poetic. And not just for the sake of it either. There are limitations to endlessly trying to prove a point about anything, especially God! This is an attempt at removing those limitations. Writing a poem instead of an argument frees me up from being defensive, how do you defend a poem? You don't, you share it and allow people to come to their own conclusions. So, how do we get passed relating to God and Jesus in a systematic and rigid manner? I don't know the answer, but this poem is an attempt to be expressive not rigid, honest not defensive, hopefully it comes across this way...

The Poem:

Like torn bits of paper
At the mercy of the morning breeze
My thoughts are littered(I confess)
Disgusted and diseased

Like torn bits of paper
On a canvas of chaos
My heart is broken (I confess)
A mess and lifeless

Like torn bits of paper
In the hands of an artist
I am reconciled (I believe)
A mosaic in his likeness

Like torn bits of paper
Rough edges, tossed and tumbled
I am repentant (I believe)
Moved, aware, and humbled

Like torn bits of paper...

AndyC

So what 2... (pictures of faith)

I've been really humbled in recent weeks by the lack of love I've been able to show to fellow followers of Jesus! It is really frustrating...

I've found that cynicism has robbed me of genuine intimacy in the body of Christ. I've found that I do not have it all together. I've found that at times I've been blind to love of God in the very people of God. I've found that my deepest struggles are not with people and what they believe, but with my own insecurities, my own feelings and thoughts of wanting to be right.

At the moment I'm compelled to go on my knees, but often find that I lack the words and will to be honest with God, Jesus and myself. What do I say when I'm so convinced and convicted of the shortcomings in my life? How do I pray to Jesus in this moment of tremendous awareness of my unwillingness to love, when I know I should? So what do I say, what do we say to Jesus at that moment?

There is a story in Mark 10 that sheds some light on this, its in a totally different context to the one I find myself in, but still fills me with hope, expectation and a longing to more faithful.

The story in Mark 10:46-52 goes like this:
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

What an encounter, right?! I think it's when Bartimaeus hears that Jesus of Nazareth is walking by, is in his midst, that he is filled with hope. But it's really interesting that he doesn't ask Jesus straight away to restore his sight. In his moment of hope and expectation Bartimaeus shouts! "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Everyone else in the area then immediately tries to get him to shut up, 'but he shouted all the more, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

And Jesus responds.

It seems that no matter our situation whether we be blind to the love of God, calloused by our cynicism or overcome by our hurt and pain and disillusionment, when we call on the mercy of Jesus he responds. For Bartimaeus Jesus ultimately repsonds by restoring his sight. Bartimaeus' faith healed him. So what does faith look like for Bartimaeus? It looks like calling on the mercy of Jesus with expectation and hope.

Maybe faith isn't as complicated as I make it out to be? Maybe faith is as simple as calling on the mercy of Jesus to meet me in this moment. If there ever was an aspect of faith that we could be totally sure about, it would be that Jesus will respond to us with his mercy! Jesus will respond! Perhaps his mercy might be shown by restoring your sight or it might be totally different from what you expect. But be assured, he will respond and you will know his mercy. Call on his mercy!

AndyC

So what!

Jesus...Faith...Doctrine? As I mentioned in a previous post, when looking or trying to understand faith from Jesus' perspective we'd be better off looking for how to live out faith instead of just...trying to understand? Does that make sense. Ok I'll get to it!

In Mark, chapter 9 to be exact, there's this amazing story. There's just so much to see, like Jesus for instance you basically feel the tension and heartache, maybe even anger in his words, "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?..." It's like he's just waiting for people to get alongside him and be part of what he's doing!
But when Jesus talks about "unbelief" what does he mean?

Then theirs the dad and his kid! The Dad sheds so much light on what faith could be considered to look like. After Jesus asks him what wrong with his son, the dad exclaims, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" What does Jesus do?

He heals the Boy! Not only does the dad struggle with "unbelief" he is taking on the faith of his son. So, two things, the first; having faith is not about conjuring up magical powers from God to know, that you know, that you know that everything will be ok. No, it seems that faith consists of being honest with the way things are, not pretending that you feel like crap, or that you doubt whether or not God will show up. But faith is not just wallowing in those unredemptive feelings and thoughts.

Secondly, having faith is not all up to me! Do you know how good that feels? I don't have to be all good all the time, I can be honest, I can be human, I can be me. I can rely on friends and family, when I just...don't....have the strength to pull through those times when I doubt and curse and can't see God in the situation. It's not all up to me, I have my part, but I don't need to pretend anymore.

I'm not suggesting that what I've written is 'the' model of faith, but I do think it's part of it. Why else would that story be in the Gospels?

AndyC

What Now? pt. 2

I have a tendency to go in circles especially when I'm struggling with something! This time it's faith... how do we express it? How do we define it? Do we define it? Is it something we're absolutely sure about? Or is there room for doubts? There I go again! Maybe the only way out of this downward spiral or bottomless pit or any other metaphor you can come up with that isn't good, is for me to look at Jesus, his example, his life.


As with all the things Jesus teaches us, and I think the apostles have come to this conclusion too, is that inevitably all of Jesus' teachings are undeniably active. The Hebrew 'idea' or better yet the Hebrew way of knowing truth is to express it. For something to be true, it is expressed, it's lived, truth has meat and bones in the Hebrai worldview. So, for Jesus and the people in his time, the line between (their idealogical musings with) the doctrine of faith and faith itself does not exist, atleast not for Jesus and those who walked with him in the 1st Century. Might it be fair to conclude that nowhere in Jesus' teaching we'll find an exact doctrine of 'faith'? Perhaps we would, and I'm just putting this out there, be better off looking for a praxis of faith? A way to live faith out, instead of keeping it to the amount of 'will' I can conjure up in a trying time?


So the next best question to ask, i think, is: What does faith look like? At times it can appear as the calculated brush strokes of an accomplished artist, or like your first attempt at learning a new dance and then there are other times when it's just plain messy, and even ugly, undefined and out of control.


Can faith really be so many things? All at once, for different people or even the same person? Or do we need a strict definition or atleast a biblical-hermenuetic of the scriptures that pertain to the notion of faith in the believer?! Another formula perhaps, will this help? I don't know, can I just get that off my chest, I really don't know! Perhaps the Gospels will give us a better insight...yes we'll look to Jesus!

Next time...

AndyC

What now?

Things have been really frustrating lately. Ever feel like things are just not adding up? Like everything, ok some things, don't make sense anymore. Yeah? Well, I don't know what to make of church, God and even Jesus sometimes. More recently, these feelings, these thoughts have come up more often than I'd like to admit to. Like this feeling or thought of me having to have it together in order to fully follow Jesus, to fully be in awe of God. To fully be Christian.


What do you do when the Jesus you follow isn't the one portrayed by mainstream, or more accurately the majority, of Christianity? What then? What now? Do you just throw in the towel? Do you conclude that, I don't know, you might not have an accurate or right picture of God? Would it be possible to feel like you're not following the Jesus of the Bible, because you're not too sure? Does struggling with unbelief constitute that you don't believe? What do you say? What do you do? What do you conclude?


Is this the way of Jesus? To have fool-proof answers to everything? To be so sure that you're right and that everyone else is wrong? That your picture of God is the right one. That you have it all together. Is this right? Is it wrong? Is it faithful to scripture?


Me asking these questions, is it faithful to scripture? Does believing in Jesus allow me to have doubts when, I don't know, when I don't feel like I have it all together? When I don't feel or think that following Jesus is worth it, worth the struggle, worth the fight? I have these thoughts, I have these feelings, I go through those times.

One things for sure, if I stay in this place, having these thoughts, stuck in this rut, with these feelings then it won't be long before... before I actually throw in the towel. So what now? Where to from here? What do we, what do I, conclude?

Maybe it's worth asking what Jesus has to say or teach about this? About living with your doubts, fears and imcompetencies... What do you think he'll say? How will he react?

So I've asked these questions...what now?

AndyC

Would you like to throw the first stone?

There is a story in John, chapter 8, which has intrigued me lately. It's that one where the Religious leaders bring the woman that has just committed adultery to Jesus, and I just love Jesus' response! "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone."

But just before Jesus’ unarming response it’s interesting to note that the “Religious teachers” tried to justify the stoning by saying, “Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” By the way, while all this is happening Jesus is drawing in the sand. So, after Jesus’ response they all start walking off, one by one. Who was left to condemn her? No one. “Neither do I”, says Jesus, "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."

So many times we "Christians" want to throw the first stone, we want to condemn and bring judgement upon those “unrighteous ones”. But how many of us haven't sinned? How many of us then have the right to bring judgement upon them? Maybe we have to look at ourselves first? Maybe the Church needs to sort out its own sin, before we go condemning people about theirs! Does Matthew 7 ring a bell? "Don't look at the splinter in your brother's eye, when you have a log in your own eye".

So my question is, why point out people’s personal issues when there are bigger things to worry about like the gap between the rich and the poor, consumerism, climate change or the Aids crisis in Africa?

Would you still like to throw the first stone?

Andy Crowe

Why do Christians s**k? by Tom Davis

I found this article and thought that it would be quite a good article to post and to see what other people think!?

Why Do Christians Suck?7/17/2008by Tom Davis

Each Sunday, millions of Christians in America gather to worship the God who commands us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” We belt out praises to the God who tells us that “pure and undefiled religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress.” We kneel in pious prayer before the Almighty God of the universe who describes Himself as loving, gracious, merciful, and generous. Then, we walk out the back door of the church, step into a world in need, and proceed to withhold the love, grace, and mercy that’s extended to us.
We might as well give God the middle finger. Outside of a tiny minority of Christians, we have become a self-centered group of priggish snobs. In short, we suck. Before you pick up a rock and throw it at me, think about this: I could have used other words that aren’t as nice as “suck.” Like “white-washed tombs,” “brood of vipers,” “fools,” or the ever ego-inflating, “Get behind me Satan!” Jesus used all of these choice phrases to describe religious leaders and some of his closest of followers. But calling someone a white-washed tomb just doesn’t cut it anymore. "We suck" is a much better choice for our cultural context. Poverty sucks. Divorce sucks. And, unfortunately, some Christians suck, too.

Here are the facts: Eighty-five percent of young people outside the church who have had connection to Christians believe present-day Christianity is hypocritical. Inside the church, forty-seven percent of young people believe the same thing. And why wouldn't they? We’re pretty stingy with our money:

- 80 percent of the world’s evangelical wealth is in North America.
- Giving by churchgoers was higher during the Great Depression than it is today.
- Christians give an average of $13.31/week to their local church.
- Only 9 percent of “born-again” adults reported tithing in 2004.

And let's take a peek in on our neighbors:

- More than 1 billion people live in absolute poverty.
- 500 million people are at the edge of starvation.
- 200 million children are being exploited as laborers.
- Half of the human beings on the planet live on less than $2/day.
- 1.5 billion people do not have enough money to buy food.

This is information that anyone can collect from the Internet, just as I did. Any reasonable person could make this simple conclusion: Most American Christians do not care about what God says in the Bible.We pick out the scriptures we like, as if we were dining at a five-star buffet. We conveniently ignore the scriptures that talk about caring for the poor, giving away material possessions, and loving money. Scriptures like:

- Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” (James 1:26-27)

- Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? (James 2:15-17)

- "If you have two coats, give one away," [Jesus] said. "Do the same with your food." (Luke 3:11)


When Christians care about their political views, what sexual preference someone has, or their bank account more than they care about the millions of people who die in the world because they don’t have five dollars to buy the medicine that would cure them, something has gone drastically wrong. These kinds of Christians suck. What can we do to stop sucking? I think the answer is relatively simple. It's found in the Bible:

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22).Give away material possessions to those in need, love the unlovely, take care of the widow and orphan. This is not rocket science. It just takes a heart committed to doing the things God said to do. Want ten simple steps? You got it.

Christians, listen up: People are tired of being criticized, judged, and listening to the lip service we are so great at giving. Instead, why don’t we commit to making the changes we can make? Christianity needs a renewal of the principles that made it great. It needs to be more like Jesus—compassionate, self-sacrificial, unconditionally loving, and caring for those who are most in need. That kind of lifestyle allowed twelve men to change the world. It will help you change yours, too.

*This article was originally published by Beliefnet.

Bieng Serious about Change!

"Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'who am I to be so brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God: Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

~Marianne Williamson

(widely mis-attributed to Nelson Mandela)

"Injustice furiates me. Yet I keep oppressing!
Two-thirds of our world lives in poverty. Yet I keep consuming!
I desire for all to experience the fullness of life. Yet I keep protracting!
I see the oppression on their faces. Yet I keep forgetting!"

When I wrote this poem I realised that there would come a time when; belief would lead to action, and truth is the way you live and breathe the teachings of Jesus. Belief in Jesus should no longer just mean agreeing with right doctrine and truth should no longer be theological ideas.
Now is such a time! Not just to be enthusiastic about the Teachings of Jesus, but also to be obedient to them, to live and act on them as it was meant to be. To be truly converted not just in the mind, but in the heart also and in the way we live.

Those who follow Jesus should be known for the way they live, and love and serve others and not for what they’re against. They will love their neighbours, but not only say they do, in fact they would as Peter says become, ‘administers of God’s grace’ (1 Pet. 2:10). Faithfully serving others with the gifts God has given them. Grace is not something we have earned, yet we hold on to it as though it were. We are to be ‘administers of God’s grace’. Jesus’ teachings call for a serious change in the lives of those who follow him. Changes in lifestyle and priorities, changes in the way we use our money, changes in the way we respond to those in need among us.

So, how serious are you about change?

Andy Crowe
Incedo Gisborne

*This piece was an article I wrote for the Gisborne Herald as a part of the Christian Comment for the week.

Got Fish? by Harry Heintz

Text: John 21: 1-14

There are questions we don’t like to hear.

-Did you finish cleaning your bedroom?
-Where is that milk you said you’d bring home?
-Did you misplace this speeding ticket I found in your car?
-Is that your natural hair color?
-What birthday is this?
-Honey, do you remember what day this is?

If you know fishing and you’re fishing on waters you know well and you recently made your living fishing those very waters, here’s a question you don’t like to hear: "Friends, haven't you any fish?” Ouch. What do I answer? “Sure. They’re swimming right beneath this boat.” “Are you kidding? I’m a bass master.” In my childhood we went to Sunday evening worship. We would get home just in time for “Candid Camera.” That TV show would set up people to look silly while a hidden camera was catching the action. I remember one segment set in a pet shop. There was a wall of aquariums with colorful tropical fish. In the aisle was a large aquarium with this label on it: “invisible fish.” The camera caught just the right guy. He went from casual observer to obsessive watcher. He looked from every angle in every possible way. He was going to be the one that saw the invisible fish. Instead the nation watched him get caught by a simple net. I suppose Peter might have tried this line: “We’ve caught a lot of fish, invisible fish.”

“Hey, out there. You fishing men of Galilee on that weathered fishing boat. Have you caught anything?” "No,” they answered. Give them points for honesty. I wonder what that no sounded like: no, or No, or NO!, or what’s it to you, buddy? Don’t you hate it when someone sees you in a moment of failure and lets you know it? When I have a small fix-it job to do at home, the kind any kindergarten graduate should be able to do in, say, two minutes, I don’t want anyone in the house for the next two hours. I want all traffic within one mile of my home detoured. I especially don’t want any members of my family present. If I do it right I’ll let you discover it. If I don’t, please don’t remind me. There is a plumbing truck that says on its sides in big letters: “We repair what your husband fixed.” Have you any fish? No.

Why did they go fishing? The placement of this appearance in the Gospel of John is interesting. On Easter morning Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene in the garden. She goes to the disciples and says, “I have seen the Lord!” Then he appears to the disciples in a locked room, except Thomas isn’t there. There are overjoyed and when they see Thomas they say, “We have seen the Lord.” A week later Thomas, the one we call the doubter, is doubting this when Jesus appears to him and says, “My Lord and my God!” Now it’s a while later. We’re not sure how long. John simply says, “Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.” Seven disciples are named. Three are well known: Peter, Thomas, and Nathanael. Two are implied: James and John. And two are left unnamed. That means we’re there. Either named or unnamed, we’re there in those seven. With our faith and with our doubts, we’re there. And Peter, true to his nature, speaks up, “I’m going fishing.” The rest join him.

Why did they go fishing? There are several options. Some Bible students see this as a return to what they used to do. Though Jesus was risen and had already appeared, they knew he was going back to his heavenly home. So what had they to do but go back to fishing? Some see this as a way to get some food. And some see this a picture of the global mission of the Church. We remember that Jesus had said to these would-be disciples three years ago, “I will make you fishers of people.” There is a fascinating interpretation from a leader in the Church about 300 years after this. His name was Jerome and he noted that Greek zoology at that time had identified 153 different kinds of fish. So he, being a good preacher, saw the catch of 153 fish as a picture of the Good News of Jesus going into all the world.

Why did they go fishing? I take some little truth from each of those options. Fishing was what they knew how to do. Fishing can be very relaxing. And fishing wasn’t just a sport, but a way of making a living and feeding hungry people. Fishing is mentioned a lot in the Gospels, but never do the disciples catch a fish in the Gospels without help from Jesus. Seems there’s a lesson there about learning to depend on him in everything. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” We’re still learning that truth. What strikes me as far more important than why they went fishing was what happened while they were fishing. They saw Jesus. Again. He keeps appearing in the most everyday places.

Jesus is raised from a borrowed tomb. He then proceeds to appear to his disciples in their everyday lives. He doesn’t appear to them in the Temple in Jerusalem. He doesn’t show up only when they’re gathered for worship. He doesn’t appear when a committee has completes its planning and sends out announcements. He shows up in a garden. He appears on a long afternoon’s walk to an otherwise forgettable town named Emmaus. He arrives on the shore of the Sea of Galilee to help some fishermen catch 153 fish.

Where do we look for Jesus today? I think the more accurate question is, where is Jesus looking for us today?
Here are some of my suggestions:

-Look for him in the needy around us. He loves to reveal himself to people in need and through people in need.

-Look for him where people are rejoicing. Jesus loves to rejoice with those rejoicing. He loves a good party.

- Look for him where people are weeping. Jesus weeps with those weeping. Our tears matter to him. He is well acquainted with suffering.

-Look for him where people are serving. Jesus defined his ministry as serving the Father and serving others. Help serve the community dinner at First Baptist in Troy some Tuesday evening. You’ll see Jesus there.

-Look for him on mission trips. In the last month we have had people serving on short-term trips to the Gulf Coast and to Naivasha, Kenya. They saw Jesus in those places, in the midst of need and in the midst of active faith.

Let me make this clear. I believe Jesus reveals himself when people gather to worship God in places set apart for the worship of God. Jesus regularly reveals himself here, in this very space. I have experienced that and so have you. But if we only look for him here, we’re missing him way too much. The cross of our Lord was not set in a sanctuary and gilded with gold. It was set by a roadside where the everyday folks traveled and turned their heads from the gore of bloodied crosses. When we’re getting this right, what happens in here has everything to do with who we are and what we do out there. And who we are and what we do out there have everything to do with who we are and what we do in here. If Jesus is present when we break the sacramental bread and lift the cup to our lips in here, he is present when we have grilled fish and toast for breakfast on a lake shore. We’re trying to break down that wall between who we are in here and who we are out there, because the Jesus who is present when we gather in his name in here is present when we scatter from here to out there where we live and work. Elizabeth Barrett Browning said it as well as anyone I know: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God. . . .” This risen Christ cannot and will not be confined to our sanctuaries.

Here is my simple challenge to us—for the next week, or month, or year, or all our years. Let’s be looking for Jesus where he is looking for us. In our daily living. In the stuff of our lives. In our fishing. In doing our homework and practicing the piano. In our neighborhoods and schools and factories and offices. Yes, in our worship center, too; but never only there. Never only here. If we are looking, we’ll be seeing him out there. And we’ll be saying it in here and out there, "It is the Lord!” We’ll join Mary Magdalene and the disciples in saying, “We have seen the Lord.” He is risen indeed.

an extract from www.ivmdl.org , a website dedicated to lowering the wall from being "in here to being out there".

"Appropriate Spirituality: Is there such a thing?" (Part 2)

"Trips like ours are greener grass left unknown for fear of believing trite sayings; sayings that are sometimes true. But our friends back home live an existence under the weight and awareness of time; a place we are slowly escaping; a world growing fainter by the hour and the mile." - Donald Miller (extract from, Through Painted Deserts).

Why a narrow view of devotional life may not meet all our spiritual needs.

Picking up from the last article we'll continue to explore the topic of spirtuality, this time unpacking why a narrow mindset of devotions and spirituality can hinder our lives.

There is nothing wrong with the desire to build good devotional habits into the lives of young believers. Regular bible study, regular prayer and a disciplined approach to a relationship with Christ are all commendable and necessary. John 15:1-4 is as important today as ever. However when reading two different translations of the same passge we notice some differences. One (kjv) uses the very old-fashioned term "abide in me" which people simply don't use today.

Times have changed, imagery has changed, the way we live daily life has changed. Central biblical truths have not changed but the way we set them in our current context is different-and different for different people, circumstances and cultures.

For example,

- If our devotional literature uses mainly rural images and we live in a strongly urban environment, it is hard to make the connections.

- If the language used is not our language, it means we have an extra step in the process of understanding.

- If the content focuses on explaining background in the Bible times without linking the principles with current issues, then I'm left without help for the issues I face.

That which we use as an aid for our spiritual understanding must:

- capture my attention
- deal with my realities
- bring scripture to life for me
- contribute in a systematic and progressive way to my spiritual stature
- speak in language and pictures I can understand and identify.

Now that sounds like a lot to ask. What do you think of these demands?

If you use some form of devotional material, how does it rate by these measures?

And consider in passing two other simple questions:

Do I understand the content of my devotional reading?

Here's a qoute from someone who's been there and back, "Many people surprisingly have what I call the 'dose of medicine' view of spirituality. When we thake medicine prescribed by a doctor for an illness, it doesn't matter that the formula of the medicine is a mystery to us. It doesn't even matter that we can't pronounce what we're taking. What matters is that we take it!
"Sometimes people get thouroughly confused and think the important thing about 'daily devotions' is simply that they 'do it.'
" 'Understanding isn't part of the deal. I have taken my medicine for the day, God has ticked it off in my record in the sky so it will all be OK!'
"Now my apologies if this iis pushing the picture too far but there is enough reality there to be warning to some at least."

Does it work for me, with the personality I have?

Here is something we will come back to but it is considerably more important than most of us realise.

in some way even to raise these issues feels like trampling over sacred ground. Is it not destructive to analyse or criticise the way a person goes about the devotional life?

However the aim of this article is not pull down but to force us to ask if we have the very best spiritual resources available for facing the real world on Monday.

Please do comment on the articles as a big part of this project relies on feedback. And thats just another confession from me a Jesus Freak...

-AndyC.