The Orange Order is in decline…

And I can’t say I’m too sorry to hear it. Membership of the order in Northern Ireland has more than halved in the last 60 years. Grand Secretary Drew Nelson blames the decline primarily on the increasing secularisation in Northern Ireland, and that the order was suffering the same fate as churches with people turning away from religion. Interesting and heavily ironic. As an organisation that encourages its members to be church-goers it too is struggling with the church. Or perhaps people are turning away from bad religion as experienced in the Orange Order. Growing up in East Belfast there certainly seemed little connection with church as I knew it to the drinking and sectarianism of the local bands and orangemen. Nelson’s second reason for the decline is:

“Secondly, there’s the whole ethos of the state in Northern Ireland – it appears to be leaning somewhat against the Orange Order.”

In which he refers to PSNI members having to inform superiors of their membership of the order. Just right too. I wouldn’t want any policemen or women to be members of any sort of sectarian, never mind historically misguided organisation which brings ambiguity at best to the gospel of Jesus. The Jesus who told us to love our enemies and to serve – which seem to be things the Orange Order has forgotten or fails to practise.

Could it also be suggested that the fall in membership of the Orange Order is also a result of the ending of the troubles and many trying to move away from the sectarianism that has been eating away at us for the last who knows how long?

doctrinal purity vs grace

Does an emphasis on doctrinal purity rule out grace being the most obvious smell we give off?

I’ve been mulling this over a little over the past weeks. Is it possible for the two to live in tension?  I know it must but I have rarely seen it happen..

It seems than when our focus is on making sure people think/know/believe the ‘right’ things we become arbiters of what is ‘right’ and set ourselves up in judging and defining ourselves over and against others. It can be seen in lots of ways – both in those who are nervous about the gospel being diluted and those who wish people could see the bigger picture. In fact even when we want others to espouse a more gracious and liberating way of living we can become so focused on whether they are doing it right that we lose the gracious way of life we are trying to see more of.

I wonder if our focus is on doctrinal purity (of whichever sort that may be) if we can really live, breathe and smell grace?

It keeps coming back to the far side

“it’s not what you tell them, it’s’ what they hear that counts”

Red Auerbach, Former Boston Celtics Coach

Communication is something that is so intrinsic and so key to all areas of life, and yet the source of so much conflict and misunderstanding. Perhaps if we made more efforts to develop and understand others then we would communicate more effectively, avoiding unnecessary conflict. It’s not enough (and one could say a sign of immaturity) to say “well I told them”. If they don’t understand, then we have to realise that is not simply their problem but ours too. We are the ones who need to work at making sure other people hear the right thing, what we intend them to hear.

The obvious question is how much as the church do we pay attention to this? Are we still expecting people to speak and understand our language without learning theirs?

And then in relationships, we begin to realise that maybe we aren’t so blameless after all and need to start taking some responsibility for how we communicate.

And in work it’s simply not a good enough excuse to use the ” I told him/her” as a means of shifting blame and avoiding responsibility.

Dammit, this means I need to work this out now..

If we can’t trust the integrity of the people who make decisions…

… and laws then how can we trust the decisions they make?

A valid question from a radio phone in this morning. The whole expenses scandal has raised lots of interesting questions. Not just why is the upkeep of a swimming pool so integral to performing the role of a Member of Parlaiment? One phone in listener last night admitted fiddling expenses himself yet was outraged that MPs were doing exactly what he had done. It is true that we hold our leaders to higher standards than ourselves. And rightly so if they are to lead. The moral component of leadership has certainly come to the fore again in recent months and years. we want leaders we can trust, who act with integrity. Yet on another level they are flawed individals like ourselves – but does that mean we should simply excuse ther actions? The issue of trust for me is perhaps the major one. If a leader loses the trust of those s/he claims to be leading then obviouslt those people are no longer following and their leadership in many ways simply becomes positional or in name only. When trust between a leader and those they lead breaks down, how can it be restored? Gordon Brown’s apology is a beginning, and then we want to see evidence of changed behaviour. I’ve been wresting with this question of how trust can be restored when it breaks down as I see it not just in the expenses scandal but in churches and work situations. Patrick Lencioni argues that a lack of trust is the foundational problem in dysfunctioning teams. Again I agree. But how can trust be restored? I’ve grown up hearing “trust has to be earned”, but recently was also challenged by someone who added “trust also has to be given”.  How much are we prepared to give our trust again, and how much should we if we keep having that trust broken? Where does Jesus stuff about not just forgiving a few times but many come into play?

Inaugurated eschatology – the kingdom is here but not yet

So sometimes people will say that it is not the place of Christians to fight for justice, to fight against structural injustice in governments or trade systems, or to be green warriors crusading for the environment. Our task is for the higher purpose of tending to people’s souls. I’ve long had problems with this, and yes I am caricaturing a little but to be honest very little. The problem with taking such an approach is that it is verging on dualism, on even gnosticism. It implies that all that matters is the ’spiritual’, the physical world is bad and will be burned up so lets concentrate on the spiritual. It sounds reasonable in some ways. But stop and think about it for a moment. Why did Jesus rise bodily from the dead? If the physical is not important surely he would simply have risen as a spirit? Why did he go to such lengths like eating, and having people touch him to show that he was a real physical person? Is it not because in the resurrection we see that God desires to restore the physical creation?

Take another perspective. We all recognise that we will never be completely holy until Jesus returns. Does this mean we give up on pursuing holiness? The same in terms of care of creation and justice. Yes we will not restore them completely, that will only happen when Jesus returns, but that doesn’t mean that there is little we can do so we don’t bother. Jesus announced that God’s kingdom had come. Jesus came to demonstrate what life in God’s kingdom – as God would have it – was like. He calls us to do the same. He asks us to pray ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earht as it is in heaven’, so of course we are to pursue the care of creation and justice, because when in those small moments when we see justice, or people are stewarding God’s good creation as He called us to, there are glimpses of God’s kingdom as it will be. It inspires us with the hope of what is to come. It shows people what God is like, and his plan for redemption and restoration covers every part of life. We are not disembodied souls being whisked off to the clouds, we are real flesh and blood, feeling people, living in a physical environment. Everything is God’s. He is restoring everything. and obviously humans are the pinnacle of that restoration. Just because I believe God calls us to pursue justice and care for creation doesn’t mean I am not passionate about god restoring and reconciling people to himelf as part of that.
when we talk and think about these things, let’s make sure our thinking is joined up and not fragmented. Lets not slip into simply reacting against someone else and going to the extremes. Let’s have a big view of a huge God that is holistic.

(Can you tell what I am currently reading?)

The return of the egos – the Apprentice is back!

Wednesday nights are now being cleared in my calendar (or at least the time to catch up on iplayer) with the new series of the Apprentice. It’s one of the few programmes I watch on TV. I love watching and analysing how people relate to and treat each other, how they work in teams. It never ceases to amaze me how despite the fact that the aim of each programme is to win the task, so many are so self-obsessed that they would rather spend time and energy bickering, proving they are the best, bad mouthing colleagues or deliberately not trying to get others fired. I know after watching their performances I wouldn’t want to employ many of them. They claim to be leaders, to be skilled managers, yet they fail to be able to do some of the simplest tasks working in teams because their egos get in the way. Integrity is certainly not a word you often associate with many of the candidates. Servant leadership is also alien (despite not just being a biblical concept but also accepted in the leadership world). I really don’t like Philip – yes he may be a ‘grafter’ but did he say one positive thing in last night’s programme? Constantly sniping and trying to undermine his team leader. Last night in homegroup we were thinking about Philippians 3 and how Paul’s definition of maturity is someone who knows they haven’t yet arrived, who knows there is more to learn. For us that was a liberating discovery, when we realise maturity isn’t about thinking we are sorted or when we know it all, we can stop pretending, we can stop being defensive and can be free to be the people God created us to be. That sort of person to me is so much more attractive than the arrogance and over-confidence we see displayed on the Apprentice. I’m not a fan of Debra either – the ice queen, who again seems too quick to pull others down.  I wonder how employable going for broke to win the Apprentice really makes you? All that aggression may be good in the short term, but longer term an ability to relate and treat colleagues well does tend to be helpful…

Patrick must be turning in his grave

I had my first experience of St Patrick’s day in Dublin last week, and to be honest am not so sure if I really want to repeat it! It is impressive that off licences aren’t allowed to sell their wares until 3pm in an attempt to at least keep the parade sober. I was intrigued to hear a little girl behind me say “Daddy, what’s the parade for?”, It’s for St Patrick, came the reply. ” who is Patrick?. I was left hanging at the crucial moment as the crowd swallowed up my opportunity to eavesdrop.The streets were thronged with people, and maybe i’m becoming old and grumpy but it really was pretty grim. My observations of the 3 essentials for the day in Dublin are:

1. Wear something green

2. If you are female dress as tartily as possible

3. Don’t forget your step ladders – the essential accessory to see the parade (or allow your kids to see it). I even saw a set of ladders chained to a fence like a bicycle…

Integrated Education – time to take it seriously?

I remember reading Brian Mawhinney’s book and being fascinated and appalled by the vitriol that came his way for his part in bringing in integrated education.  I’ve long thought that part of our problem of a divided society begins with education. When children from differing religious backgrounds don’t get the opportunity to mix, no wonder suspicions and caricatures grow. I grew up in a loyalist part of Belfast where we were told you could tell Catholics because their eyes were closer together.  Zoomtard (although growing up in the Republic of Ireland) was told the same thing about Protestants. My attitudes began to change through school – not that we were an integrated school – it was mostly protestant but was mixed. In fact I think it is one of the only secondary schools in Northern Ireland which has a school motto in Gaelic – it certainly was back then. As I grew up with friends from differing religious backgrounds, the other ’side’ became people who were my friends who I loved and laughed with. The integrated education debate has stirred again with Johann Hari’s comment piece in today’s Independent, although to say:

But here’s the good news: there is a proven way out. There is a policy that has been shown to erode these hatreds. They are called integrated schools – and the parents of Northern Ireland are calling for them. Today, only five per cent of children in Northern Ireland go to a mixed school. The other 95 per cent are segregated in sectarian enclaves where they project feverish fantasies on to the other side. Violence is an inevitable bedsore where two uncomprehending tribes rub past each other in a small space.

But that 5 per cent hold the key. A six-year study by Queen’s University, Belfast has looked at the long-term consequences of being schooled alongside The Enemy. They interviewed adults who attended these schools – and found that whatever their parents’ attitudes, they were “significantly more likely” to oppose sectarianism. They had “far” more friends across the divide,

Is perhaps a little overly optimistic.

The issue is certainly raising hackles within the hierarchy of the Catholic church. Although more related to the issue of  school management reform, Cardinal Brady is using the argument of protecting religious freedom for maintaining the status quo and safeguarding the “right of parents to have their children educated at Catholic schools”. In the broader picture of division and sectarianism how should the church respond?  Is playing the religious freedom card an appropriate resonse? One does have to ask the question – are the Catholic Bishops who called academic selction at 11 an ‘injustice’ willing to bring the same biblical understanding to ending their grip on schools? Are the Protestant churches prepared to stand with the Catholic Church and call for an end to segregated education? No matter what we teach children in citizenship classes, it is only when friendships can be built that prove the divide is one constructed for the sectarian means of some is a hollow one…

It’s not the quick fix, but it certainly would be an important step…

A Just Life

JustLife is an initiative set up by a group of us  based around a Tearfund  event last Saturday called ‘Invest for Life’.  JustLife is a space dedicated to exploring the connections between faith, money, justice and lifestyle.

‘Invest for Life’ was about  money – the theology and practice of giving, budgeting, investing and using our money for the good of ourselves and the world around us.

JustLife is designed to help us go deeper on some of the issues that are raised at the event. Every Wednesday until the 25 March, a group of us involved in Invest for Life will be posting short pieces discussing topics like fair-trade, ethical banking, giving and sustainable living. We hope you’ll feel free to join in the conversation.

I’ve just posted my contribution on giving…

Jade Goody – are we taking celebrity culture too far?

For many of you the obvious answer is probably yes – our celebrity culture has gone far too far, and our obsession with celebrity and five minutes of fame has become destructive in how we so quickly write people off, and dispose of them once their celebrity usefulness is over.

Jade Goody’s very public struggle with cancer has been making me think a bit. Her openness at living out her illness in the public eye has resulted in many women going for cervical screening and all sorts of other screening. This is a good thing. The media’s attitude to Jade has been fascinating. She tends to be a love her or hate her character. The was vilified in 2007 over the racist comments in Celebrity Big Brother. Even then what did we expect when people are put in such an intense environment and despite what Endemol may have claimed they are put under pressure so they do and say shocking things, cos we all know that’s what pulls the viewers in. So we despite our verbal disdain often fuel that obsession with celebrity. It’s interesting watching how the media are now responding to her – tragic is the word often used. Have they forgotten how they treated her? Does her illness wipe the slate clean in their eyes?

Today she has gone for more surgery but there is something that just makes me very uncomfortable about watching what looks like her eventual death in the public eye. The article is peppered by statements from her publicist,  the very phrase ‘her publicist’ makes me squirm and I just wonder how morbid we have become? Are we quite content to watch someone’s life ebb away in the public eye? Are we just taken in by the dramatic twists and turns in her very public life? Does anyone else feel the deep unease I do? When it comes to the end stages of cancer we often hear the phrase ‘dying with dignity’. What does that mean to die with dignity? Is it a completely subjective thing or is there a point when we should say no – enough is enough?

I’m also intrigued that she plans to get christened with her two sons next week. I hope and pray she finds even more than she is looking for…