I was introduced to ted.com by Mark Craig, our communications director, a little while back. Its such a brilliant place.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll find there – three minutes of pure genius!Have a look – it could be the most productive three minutes you’ll spend this week, and then consider this question: apart from the leadership principles espoused, what does this video say to you about your life, your hopes, your ministry, the universe and everything?Comments welcome…
When that bastion of righteousness, the Sun newspaper says Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, is the most dangerous woman in Britain, we all sit up and take notice!So last month, with three heavies in tow, I went off to meet this fearsome woman!
Why interview Shami Chakrabarti? Well, she is arguably one of the most influential women in the UK today, and whichever way you cut it, she is right there in the thick of the arguments about civil liberties, tolerance and religious freedom.
So here’s my take on what is happening here in the UK, in one respect at least, and then I’ll let you make your own mind up as you watch the interview below.
The old Christendom is disappearing as fast as a rat up a drainpipe!In the old world, the Church had a privileged place and those privileges are being taken away.Its not unnatural to lament this especially when some of the court judgements that have gone against Christians have more than a whiff of naked discrimination.
Why was it even considered a disciplinary matter for Caroline Petrie, a Christian nurse, to offer to pray with a patient?Or for a court to decide that Nadia Eweida wasn’t discriminated against when BA said she couldn’t wear a cross?Stupidity!
But tread carefully.If you have a lurking sympathy for Christian B & B owners who wish to exclude gay people from their business, before long you’ll be back in the 1960s when my parents came from Ireland at a time when the signs read “No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish". You can’t get your morality at the pick ‘n mix counter.
Besides, hasn’t Christendom made us lazy?Go and live in a country where Christians are an oppressed minority and ordinary people (such as me and other BMS mission workers) suddenly discover the excitement and challenge of mission.Faith grows stronger when you’re up against the odds.
So that’s the background, and the big question is this: are we going to sit on our rear ends and lament the passing of an era? Or are we ready for a truly missionary encounter with our own culture.
So, go and get a cuppa and enjoy the interview.
And don’t worry, she doesn’t bite, unless you meet her in court!
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