e~mergent kiwi

lovely anglicans

I am up to Auckland today, to speak at the Anglican Clergy Conference around themes of mission, church and leadership for 3 days.

And my family come with me. YEAH. First time ever. YEAH. The Anglicans have paid for their travel, our accomodation and even booked a rental car so that the family can go play while I talk. YEAH. Aren't they lovely?

Which only leaves the question asked by my 10 year old at lunch today: Why would the Anglicans want [to listen to] a Baptist pastor?

painting a print

Keith sent me this:

his painting of my blog header picture. The blog header picture is of a sea shell lying on a New Zealand beach and came from the invitation to the baptism of a good and dear friend. Keith made the following interpretation "I sorta made it where the shell is on safe ground but things are tough on the horizon."

help

desperate plea from one of our pastoral team ...

I have a problem.

Help.

Head on over if you might be able to help.

what dreams may come

Last year he attended my BCNZ Emerging Church course. Today we met over coffee and I listened to his dreams, to plant something emerging in his church and his denomination. It's the sort of coffee I dream of having.

a dream flight to heavenly sunshine

I had a dream flight to heavenly sunshine. Let me explain.

First, it was a full flight. I got a middle seat and my heart sank. My heart sank further at the sight of one of my travelling companions, who looked like they would need quite a bit of my seat in order to be comfortable. The companion toddled off to the toilet to get changed in their pyjamas (!), and never returned. So I got a window seat and a spare seat to sleep in!. That was heavenly.

The sunshine is the weather in LA, a stark contrast from Christchurch, where our conservatory roof was holed by hailstones on Saturday evening.

But the real heavenly sunshine - is that my accomodation has wifi - and the connection is named "heavenly sunshine." So I can surf and receive email (but not send). Such are the selfishness's of international travel - seat room and internet access.

on the road again

I am flying up to Auckland for 2 days, to speak twice at a youth leaders conference: on
global youth culture, identity and implications for the church

and once at a theological educators conference:
applying the notion of midwiving to theological field education.

I feel quite unprepared, so if you are ironing ....

Update: feel free at any time to read my blog carefully, in other entries in regard to prayer I have been known to say "I'll take my share of prayer..."

thanks mate

"do you have a personal trainer," the student asked.

"No," I replied, "My obviously resplendent figure is all natural!"

"Wait till you hit 40," he muttered.

Graduation special

On Saturday I graduated Doctor of Philosophy. In celebration, I am offering a limited edition A5 size copy of my PhD, A New Way of Being Church.

How do religious groups respond to cultural change? Recent global events have seen a hardening along fundamentalist lines.

A New Way of Being Church is a world first, an indepth academic exploration of how the emerging church responds to cultural change. It asks the question; how effective is the emerging church as a postmodern expression of faith? It takes one particular church, the innovative Cityside Baptist Church in New Zealand. It surveys 48 members and discusses three months of worship innovation. It deeply engages with themes of community, creativity and culture, in dialogue with the gospel and with postmodern thinkers. It draws on interviews and visits with 13 alt.worship communities in UK.

The thesis argues that in response to contemporary cultural change, people are, in the words of French philosopher Michel de Certeau, "making do," engaging in transformative processes to creatively subvert their surrounding context.

Three processes of "making do" were evident. Firstly, the use of a communitarian hermeneutic in which individual meaning was located within the narrative of the community. Secondly, the offering of imaginative space - both individual and communal - through practices of creative play, storytelling and creative pilgrimage. Thirdly, like a DJ, "tactics" of sampling from various cultural artefacts were used in order to renegotiate their relationship with gospel and culture.

Note: $NZ25 to cover printing costs plus P&P. (P&P approximately from NZ to USA or UK = $NZ20; From NZ to Australia = $NZ10, within NZ = $3.50)

Note: This offer lasts until the 24 September and the thesis will be sent at the end of September or on receipt of payment, whichever is the latest.

Note: Usual copyright applies.

Note: This offer assumes that the purchaser recognises that a PhD is a PhD, written for a select intellectual audience. A PhD is a demanding read and it bears little resemblance to my forthcoming book (due out February 05 with emergent YS).

Update: Credit card options for payment are now available.

Drop me your details if interested.

Feel free to use the accompanying graphic to advertise this on your blog.
img alt="thesis with title.jpg" src="http://www.emergentkiwi.org.nz/archives/images/thesis with title.jpg" width="259" height="72" border="0" /

best class ever

permit me a moment of self-congratulation. its the last day of my semester class here at BCNZ. 14 weeks on pastoral leadership and management, and i'm doing my best to teach in a postmodern way: interactive, honouring different learnings styles, valueing story and experience, strong emphasis on community.

so after class a student rocks up to say; the classes have been fantastic, the best classes he has ever had at bcnz.

time to say "cheers" after 14 weeks of hard work.

all in a days inbox

My inbox today included
: titling of my book
: working with the 8 people from around the globe who will comment on the book
: negotiation over a chapter for another book
: organizing to team teach theology at a conference in September: Applying Jesus to the environment, the foreshore and the information superhighway
: would I speak on radio tomorrow
: organising guest speaker for next week’s leadership class

our house is like a tardis

A friend visited our new house yesterday. They reckoned it was like the tardis from Doctor Who. From the road it looks small. Walk inside and it goes on and on.

Dear God
please may our house, our life,
call people on a journey, on and on,
into the mystery and hugeness which is the living God.

What is a TARDIS? The TARDIS is the Doctor's method of travel through both time and space - all Gallifreyan Time Lords use TARDISes for getting from A to B - and from then to now.

And TARDIS means? TARDIS, of course, stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Or Time and Relative Dimension in Space, if you're a purist.

You can download a tardis screensaver from here. For more Dr Who trivia, try here.

Examiners recommendations

that Steve Taylor's Phd on A New Way of Being Church be accepted and the degree be awarded once amendments have been made;
a glossary of terms
a brief and more fuller discussion of the contested nature of postmodernity, as per the candidates impressive answer in the oral defense
a more punchy conclusion.

Congratulations Doctor Taylor.

A toast: to God who gave a brain, the supervisors who lassoed 10 phd ideas into merely 3, and to family, who walk the journey with me.

"You'll be great Steve" - my wife as she drops me off at the airport.
"But how do you know that Daddy will be great Mum?" - my 4 year old from the back seat.

Daddy, what good does a doctor do? Most doctors you know help make people better. I will only be a thinking doctor - good for nothing else!

saturday evening party

Taylor's welcomed and commissioned;
Opawa Baptist Church
Saturday, 21st February 7:30 pm
All welcome

ask me tomorrow but not today

It has just taken us 22 hours to do the 1 hour flight from Auckland to Christchurch - one cancelled flight - one overbooked flight - two attempts at standby flights - and finally home.

2-day

My partner flies up to join me for the weekend and we share in a friends baptism at graceway on Sunday. We've had 4 days apart, every week for the last 3 weeks. I am looking forward to a weekend with her, without the kids, and on Valentine's Day.

Flying again ...

Auckland bound again ... it is a major logistical feat to navigate 12 hours of prepared teaching up and down the country. Last time I forgot my toothbrush, this time I forgot some shirts. I will stinketh by the 3rd day ... (no Lazarus jokes please)

a lighter note: my forgotten toothbrush

5th plane trip in 7 days and I'm getting sloopy. I forgot my toothbrush.

this company will help: Don't Forget Your Toothbrush Ltd., dfyt, is a registered company that offers you, its customer a subscription-based service, delivering your toothbrush directly to your door.

And this is a genuine story I can read my class about a turtle who also forgot his toothbrush: The story of “How Turtle Flew South” appears in many cultures. This version is a combination of Native American tale and a Chinese Buddhist version.

A snobs journey

OK, so I’m a snob. Now that’s clear, I need to weed through my life. How did I end up a snob?

Please, as you read this, don’t try and put names and places to my story. It’s my snobby narrative and I don’t want it used to think bad of any other people. It’s about me OK?

You see, I started out as a bright young thing in what would become a sort of NZ mega-type church. Along the way I realized that some of my mates were dropping out of the mega-type thing. So I began to ask whether they were “back-sliding” or what? Part of this was Graceway, and a journey with a great group of people, together learning about being real, being creative. A lot of healing, a lot of creating, a lot of redeeming went on.

Then along came what I call the “heresy trial”; on the mat, back at mega-type HQ. Never told what was wrong, but funding was suddenly an issue. This was a very painful period of my life, watching those I had loved and respected inflict some pretty painful wounds in me.

So I’ve been whacked about a bit, experienced a personal lack of space for innovation from larger church places. And I don’t want to see another young leader go through what I’ve gone through.

So God bless the large church. And I mean that. But my life experience makes me a bit wary of the relationship between institution and innovation.

In fact, I have a whole folder of “papers” on innovation I’ve given to various institutions. A waste of a few trees really.

So I believe that God uses all sorts of shapes and sizes, from Balaam’s ass (Numbers 22) to Jael’s tent peg (Judges 4). And I believe in Easter Friday and Sunday, that God can redeem; me, mega and emerging. So I plug away within institutions. That’s the call of God on my life. But I hate to see another bright young thing on the mat at mega-type HQ. Because it’s been a really hard place to be.

There. A snob’s story. Never before told on-line. I’m trusting you OK. It’s not for guessing and adding names and making connections.

a new start

Today is Shannon's 1st day at her new school. Today Kayli (our 3 year old) is choosing her kindergarten. Today I fly to Auckland to teach a 3 week intensive, Church and Society at University of Auckland. I will fly up Tuesday evening's and return for the weekends, for the next 3 weeks in a row.