Hi all!
Huge apology for not posting on here for ages. All 5 of you that read this must have been twiddling your thumbs down to the bone in impatience... Maybe not.
Anyway, the sort of blogging on here will no doubt change in the near future as I have just set up a new church with a great friend (Andrew 'Ed' Edmondson). The church is called Church of Christ the King, Selly Oak (CCK). We are very excited about the church, and looking forward to what will happen. It's going to be really quite different to what we have been used to so far in our church experience, and we hope that this is a good thing.
Anyway, on the church website there is a blog where I shall be posting thoughts etc, and I'll reserve this blog for both the more controversial and academic postings!
Any questions about the church and the blog, please get in touch!
Thursday 30 September 2010
Monday 22 February 2010
Shocking News About Young People
Jon Birch over at Asbo Jesus has posted a good cartoon this morning.
Click on the picture to see the full article.
Asbo Jesus does it again!
Click on the picture to see the full article.
Asbo Jesus does it again!
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Rejected Application
YOUTH PASTOR
APPLICATION FORM
APPLICATION FORM
First name: Yehoshua
Surname: Benyoseph
D.O.B: circa 5 BC (so they tell me)
Self disclosure: have you ever been convicted of a crime? And what was the punishment?
Yes. Blasphemy. Capital Punishment.
Do you agree with our church doctrine and praxis?
I know your deeds, your hard work and your
perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate
wicked men, that you have tested those who
claim to be apostles but are not, and have
found them false. You have persevered and
have endured hardships for my name, and have
not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken
your first love. Remember the height from which
you have fallen! Repent and do the things you
did at first. If you do not repent, I will come
to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
My advice is to stay well clear.
Please state any previous Experience:
I began working with furniture,
I began working with furniture,
and after many years of carpentry, I became
a rabbi. Preached to many people on numerous
occasions - however, this often led to a plot
to kill me...
I was a big influence on the few young men whom
I discipled. In fact, nearly all of them were
killed for their association with me.
Do you have any relevant skills for youthwork?
Can work wonders. Great patience and love,
but will say it "as it is". Good sense of
humour, like telling stories. Good at party
tricks with water.
Do you have any relevant skills for youthwork?
Can work wonders. Great patience and love,
but will say it "as it is". Good sense of
humour, like telling stories. Good at party
tricks with water.
Self disclosure: have you ever been convicted of a crime? And what was the punishment?
Yes. Blasphemy. Capital Punishment.
Do you agree with our church doctrine and praxis?
I know your deeds, your hard work and your
perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate
wicked men, that you have tested those who
claim to be apostles but are not, and have
found them false. You have persevered and
have endured hardships for my name, and have
not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken
your first love. Remember the height from which
you have fallen! Repent and do the things you
did at first. If you do not repent, I will come
to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Please include 2 references with your application.
Reference:
Dear Conservative Evangelical Church,
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal.
It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things
within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities.
Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes.
He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything - He is first.
Yours,
Paulos
Reference:
Dear Conservative Evangelical Church,
This is a dangerous man, who has caused more harm than good. His suitability for church work is questionable. On numerous occasions he has been seen to mix with very undesirable people: prostitutes, criminals, unsavoury unemployed, corrupt politicians - the list goes on. He makes troubling statements about what constitutes right living, and has encouraged his previous followers to give up on life as we know it, in pursuit of the "Kingdom of God".
There are many who have willingly given up their lives in following this man. It has been said that he often drinks alcohol, and attends far too many parties.
If you are wanting to grow your church, again, I would dissuade you from employing Yehoshua. Each time he managed to dupe a good number of people into his group, he would almost always lose them with harsh, inappropriate words.
The man is a dangerous radical, who cavorts with vagabonds, and encourages unrealistic behaviour from those who listen to him.
My advice is to stay well clear.Yours,
Conservative Reason.
Monday 25 January 2010
Christmas Number 1 2010...
It has been a long time since I last blogged - I'm sure you coped.
One of my friends, though perhaps the following will put question to that label, recently brought my attention to something that is currently becoming viral; namely, 3 minutes and 50 seconds of pure 'genius' provided courtesy of a certain Maxine Swaby. Written by Patrick McNeill, "Pardon Me" is a song and music video that will change your life - if for no other reason than you will find yourself whistling it almost every time there is nothing else to do - and even sometimes when there is...
This comes with what may seem an attempted comedic warning. However, let me assure you, this is gravely serious. Please, only listen to this if you think you can cope. Furthermore, I hereby take absolutely no responsibility for this decision of yours. If you click, be it on your head - please do not hate me for it. Okay...
And for those of you who are reading this on facebook, or whatever, where the embedded video may not work, here is the link: Pardon Me
Now, where can we possibly begin? Cruelty is certainly an option, but I think a terribly cheap one. However, neither is a sensible critique or review an option - that would cost too much... Should I mention that it looks like she went into a hairdressers and asked for "everything"? I won't, as that is unnecessarily cruel. I also, shouldn't spend too much time questioning the directing techniques, or the sudden appearance of deer at the end. Instead I'm going to invoke "Poe's Law".
Poe's Law points out that it is hard to tell parodies of fundamentalism (or, more generally, any crackpot theory) from the real thing, since they both seem equally insane. Conversely, real fundamentalism can easily be mistaken for a parody of fundamentalism. Of course, Pardon Me hardly falls under the label of fundamentalism, nor a crackpot theory. Yet, I think the law still applies. There are so many poor, and downright bizarre things that can be found on the internet, that I find it plausible (even hopeful!!) that this is some sort of parody. I know deep inside (however impossible that actually is) that Pardon Me is as genuine as they come. And I am reminded of that every 20 minutes when I find myself humming it through. Again. Someone help me for goodness sake.
I suppose, the point of this little rant is that people are weird. I don't understand people. However, it is that strangeness that gives me some little bit of hope. That actually, I'm quite normal - because I'm weird. To misquote The Incredibles "If everyone is weird, then no-one is." The potential for anarchy is terrifyingly wonderful, however. To truly get one over on the X-Factor crowd, this should be campaigned for a Christmas number 1... besides, it seems fitting that a follow up to "F### you I won't do what you tell me" should be, "Pardon Me".
This video is really getting viral now (in every meaning of the word). I've just been made aware of many "Re:Pardon Me" videos (even a Re:Re:Re:Pardon Me...). It's generating a fair amount of talk too. One person asking, and seemingly not seeing the ironic side of his suggestion, that due to her pronunciation of certain words, she may be deaf. Yes. Well done. A deaf person singing a song called "Pardon Me"... the weirdness continues...
One of my friends, though perhaps the following will put question to that label, recently brought my attention to something that is currently becoming viral; namely, 3 minutes and 50 seconds of pure 'genius' provided courtesy of a certain Maxine Swaby. Written by Patrick McNeill, "Pardon Me" is a song and music video that will change your life - if for no other reason than you will find yourself whistling it almost every time there is nothing else to do - and even sometimes when there is...
This comes with what may seem an attempted comedic warning. However, let me assure you, this is gravely serious. Please, only listen to this if you think you can cope. Furthermore, I hereby take absolutely no responsibility for this decision of yours. If you click, be it on your head - please do not hate me for it. Okay...
And for those of you who are reading this on facebook, or whatever, where the embedded video may not work, here is the link: Pardon Me
Now, where can we possibly begin? Cruelty is certainly an option, but I think a terribly cheap one. However, neither is a sensible critique or review an option - that would cost too much... Should I mention that it looks like she went into a hairdressers and asked for "everything"? I won't, as that is unnecessarily cruel. I also, shouldn't spend too much time questioning the directing techniques, or the sudden appearance of deer at the end. Instead I'm going to invoke "Poe's Law".
Poe's Law points out that it is hard to tell parodies of fundamentalism (or, more generally, any crackpot theory) from the real thing, since they both seem equally insane. Conversely, real fundamentalism can easily be mistaken for a parody of fundamentalism. Of course, Pardon Me hardly falls under the label of fundamentalism, nor a crackpot theory. Yet, I think the law still applies. There are so many poor, and downright bizarre things that can be found on the internet, that I find it plausible (even hopeful!!) that this is some sort of parody. I know deep inside (however impossible that actually is) that Pardon Me is as genuine as they come. And I am reminded of that every 20 minutes when I find myself humming it through. Again. Someone help me for goodness sake.
I suppose, the point of this little rant is that people are weird. I don't understand people. However, it is that strangeness that gives me some little bit of hope. That actually, I'm quite normal - because I'm weird. To misquote The Incredibles "If everyone is weird, then no-one is." The potential for anarchy is terrifyingly wonderful, however. To truly get one over on the X-Factor crowd, this should be campaigned for a Christmas number 1... besides, it seems fitting that a follow up to "F### you I won't do what you tell me" should be, "Pardon Me".
This video is really getting viral now (in every meaning of the word). I've just been made aware of many "Re:Pardon Me" videos (even a Re:Re:Re:Pardon Me...). It's generating a fair amount of talk too. One person asking, and seemingly not seeing the ironic side of his suggestion, that due to her pronunciation of certain words, she may be deaf. Yes. Well done. A deaf person singing a song called "Pardon Me"... the weirdness continues...
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