Lovely morning for a ride

The December sun is low on the horizon, and even in a clear blue sky with little or no wind I wouldn't describe it as anything other than "pale". Notice the swan trying to bite the blokes bum (bottom right photo) in an effort to get at the bread (in the clutches of a child a good deal shorter than the swan.

A great day for a bike ride though, including a break for a fairtrade "cappuchino" (what it said on the button...) at the RSPB visitor centre at Fairburn Ings.

Staff Christmas Party

Great party!

Good food and good company, and not too much wine...

check out the menu - and all this for poor missionaries - it's a hard life.

Must away and start my bit of the clearing up.

(I got the record for the silliest flashing hat and the most party poppers set off)

"Fair trade is good - as far as it goes"

Maybe a bit further than I was giving it credit....

Forgive me - but I always think with my mouth open (usually a second behind the noise...). This seems to apply to my keyboard too - maybe I need to ask the someone to build one that allows me to think before my fingers type the word - no - sorry - I have one - for "comfort curve" read - "they've moved the keys a bit and made them different sizes so I keep mistyping stuff".

Anyway reading Kez (Lamas Log) and also talking to my friend David who has just left me with a treasure chest of fair trade divine chocolate (we were photographing it last night before going out to lose another pub quiz).

Mmmm.. (FX: Man eating chocolate coin {fair trade})

Where was I?

Well this article just goes to prove me a grumpy old git. Fair wams the cockles of your heart.. (or was that the chocolate?)

Something to be proud of?

Just heard that the CD I helped put together has got into the charts! (well a chart anyway)

Does Fair Trade suck?

No honestly.....

This came back to mind while catching up with Maggi Dawn's blog, which I always find refreshing.

At best fair trade is putting a sticking plaster on a big gory wound (no more please - I hide behind the sofa when Holby City is on)

It can no doubt be good for some people - particularly the people we buy from - and their supply chain. I happen to really like Divine Chocolate - and it is cool that Divine is 47% owned by the growers in Ghana.

But let's face it - Fair trade goods are a luxury. And luxuries are for rich people. Are we just inoculating rich people with a little bit of feel-good?

As for boycotting a brand because it uses sweatshops - that is downright stupid. We rich folks get to feel complacent because we are not buying this big nasty brand, and said brand sacks a few hundred child workers. Congratulations - we've just made poverty more unbearable for people who lived off our leavings.

So let's not be satisfied with boycotting - it kills the people we say we care about!

Let's not just use a sticking plaster - fair trade is good - as far as it goes (not very far) - and it does demonstrate we care (not much).

Now trade justice - that is a good cause! Lets get Chirac to be a bit bold, lets start dismantling trade barriers like the EC subsidy.

It's still not enough of course - when many developing countries see most of their GDP magically dissapear into Swiss bank accounts.

Fair trade does suck - because it breeds a self satisfaction which is downright shameful.

The Missionary task (Simon says...)

I was reading "new missionary" Simon Cozen's blog here

Simon is uncomfortable with the way in which we perceive the missionary task of the church. I must say I can understand his reticence. Mission agencies can too easily get caught up in the numbers game - whether it is counting "converts" or in the big numbers of statistics in books like the (excellent) book Operation World. Simon points out that we tend to swallow the modernist view of things gradually getting better.

It is relatively easy for post-moderns to critique moderns - and I have to say I think there is a lot to be gained from that, but we cannot allow that same modernist pride to invade our thinking - post moderns miss stuff too!

he says:

"Yes, yes, I know that the Gospel is to be preached to the ends of the earth. But the ends of the earth may well reject it. When that happened to the disciples, they were told to shake the dust off their shoes and go somewhere else. But so long as we continue to measure the spread of the Gospel in terms of reaping rather than sowing we tread a dangerous path - and we tread it over and over again."

Sure - playing the numbers game, or allowing the militaristic (in metaphor ONLY...) "lets convert them all" approach to dominate can be very counter-productive. But preaching (using words only if necessary) is not enough. What we are needing to see is spiritual transformation - lives radically changed by an encounter with Jesus - and that is necessary if we are to get to the goal.

The great commision tells us to preach (and heal etc...) - but the great vision that grips me is the one in Revelation (7 vs 9) where we see people of every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping together. That for me is a goal worth striving for - and I do strive - not mostly by preaching (I am a rubbish evangelist), but also in prayer and in faith.

Sure there are corners of the world (big ones!) where people don't seem to "get" christianity - and there's lots of reasons for that - often centered around the church sadly. I do believe that if people could get to encounter the real Jesus - he would transform their lives.

Most sermons are forgettable

I suppose I shouldn't admit to this, but most weeks I've completely forgotten any sermon I hear on Sunday by about... Monday morning.

I do remember the ones I preach, then I guess someone has to.

So it is unusual that I can remember Sunday evening's sermon, - and it was a blinder - in fact what-his-name (forgotten) was speaking about forgiveness.

Rather than giving forgiveness, feeling the awfulness of the sin, and receiving it recognising the grace of God, we should give recognising the grace of God and receive recognising the awfulness of sin.

Simple, profound, memorable - shame I cant remember the name of the guy preaching...