Today I worked at M-store for the first time in ages. It was also the first time I've been up before 9am for a while! I'm currently reading Ishmael, a book that Chris lent me before he left for Nottingham (uni). It puts a rather interesting spin on the story of Adam and Eve. Each time I go to it I have to get over the fact that I'm actually 'eavesdropping' on a conversation between a human and a gorilla though.

Had central enrollment at uni today, then hooked up with Viv, Helen and Zoe to talk about this year in our Housechurch. I think we have a great adventure ahead of us.

Ellie and Daniel's wedding was great on Saturday. For a few photos click here. Before Daniel walked in "the final countdown" was playing in the background. When the music faded the voice of a wrestling commentator came over the PA "ladies and gentlemen...weighing in at 180 pounds we have...Daniel Clarke." Daniel strides in. It was very funny.

In the evening we went to Jordans Barn for a bit of a party. The band they had playing were real good - they even played Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'. Congratulations guys.

I think I've done tweaking this blog for now. Any thoughts on the layout?

We're travelling up to St Albans tonight ready for Dan and Ellie's wedding tomorrow. Should be a good one.

Howdy. Well, last night I finished the latest installment of the cardiff vineyard site. Something a little different. I think the last design was only meant to be for a short time.

Back to real life I guess, but not before redesigning this ole thing.

I'm the 2,372,468,828th richest person in the world. How about you? click here to find out.

I thought I'd give a quick update...

I'm delighted that Blogger has shut down their Pro service and are now offering the features of the service for free!

Last night our HC gathered in Shot in the Dark (our local coffee house) for the first time since the summer. It was cool to catch up on news and celebrate Rob's birthday. Others are yet to return to Cardiff - Emma is still in Swansea, Viv is doing a brief wedding tour while James is in South Africa.

The new cv site is going fairly well and will hopefully be online before the end of next week, by which point I'll hopefully be back blogging more regularly. Ellie and Daniel are fast approaching their wedding day - how exciting!

Sorry for not blogging recently - I've been re-designing the cv site (again, I know) ready for a new season. I'll hopefully redesign this one also.

Today my travel alarm clock rang 45 min before the time I had set it for (7.45). Ouch.

We're looking forward to the impending weddings that are ahead - Ellie and Daniel's on the 20th September and then Doug and Michelle's on the 27th December.

I've been listening to some music that I hadn't heard before this week - namely Ben Harper. It's real good, real bluesy and chilled. Also continuing to love Jack Johnson. To balance out the mellowness I've also been enjoying some Thrice and RATM (never boring).

at 9.30 this morning we had Zoe's 19th Birthday breakfast - Watermelon (not like Thailand) and Coissants - real good. We had some chill time, took Oscar for a walk and then at 2pm Michelle and Thia picked her up to take her to an undisclosed location (the Hilton) for some undisclosed activity (jacuzzi, steam room, sauna). I had packed her bag and she didn't have a clue what would happen.

This evening we all ate together and then watched Blue Crush, which was surprisingly better than I had anticipated.

Hey all, have been offline a few days as we've been laying flooring in 'the office'. I've reacclimatised to the UK, which basically turned cold upon my arrival (apparently), but it's a nice change from some of the heat that I've come across (and loved) since I've been away. It's Zoe's birthday this weekend, which should be cool - she doesn't know what we're doing!!

Guys, I'm home, in the fare city of Cardiff. I decided that my time in continental Europe was over and booked a flight while in Ljubljana. I didn't mention this sooner because I wanted to surprise Zoë - it's her birthday next Saturday (30th) and I thought it would surprise her to know that I'd be around. Our prior arrangements would have meant that I would be back on the 3rd of September.

More on Rome
Rome was a real nice city to stay in, an incredible concentration of vast relics from the Roman Empire. Also great Gelatti (ice cream). I had Cappuccino and this one with nuts in...mmmm.

I wandered next to the river, getting lost only a few times and even had a conversation with a local guy - his part in Italian and mine in English. I'm not sure what was said.

Apparently Rome is a Spa town (I don't really know how that works), and this is why there are little water fountains everywhere that people drink from. Now I can't stand spending money on something as basic as water and the only place where I have done so consistently was when we were in Poland and even Darek and Eva were drinking bottled water all the time. So I filled all my bottles from these little fountains. I even had what I dubbed "holy water" from the fountains next to the Vatigan.

On Thursday night I stayed at the lovely 'Gullivers House' - a great hostel where they really make you feel welcomed and at home (they even have video nights and breakfasts).

Friday morning I got up and ready for the long trip to Milan (by train) without Tim. I got on the train and immediately this girl called Melissa got on. She lives near Milan and is studying English - so I had someone to talk to! That was a real blessing. She had her dog (a shitsu) with her whose name is Gandalf.

From Milan train station I travelled to Bergamo, which is a city about 1 hour away. As I got on the Bergamo train I came across these guys from London who were heading to Bergamo Airport and so I had company on that leg of the journey - that was sooo God.

If you're in Cardiff at the mo give me a call!

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. I was going to update from Ljubljana in Slovenia, but the place I logged in at wouldn't access blogger.

Slovenia
We had a great time in Ljubljana, the sleepy capital of Slovenia. When we got off the train we saw a poster for a brand new hostel and went to check it out. Celica is a former prison which has only been opened as a hostel and arts centre for 2 months. It's amazing, nothing like a prison. It was painted all bright colors outside and there were pieces of funky artwork all over. It was amazing. Best hostel so far.

On the first night I went out with some guys who were staying there, looking for a club, or at least a late night bar, but none were to be found. I guess this was Monday night - but this is a capital city!!

The next day I started chatting with one of the girls, Anne and it turns out she's a follower and is on a great adventure at the moment. She introduced me to some more people who are followers and we ended up having a little impromptu God time in the "all faiths prayer room"!! It was real cool to enjoy this time of sharing.

We found this little restaraunt in L called Cafe Romeo which serves delicious Burritos for 1200 Tolars (that's about £3.50) and they even passed the cali test. The ice cream in slovenia is lovely and about 50p a cone...mmmm

On Tuesday night we caught the night train to Venice which left at 3.20am, so we had to stay awake for ages and then barely slept on the train. Venice is very overrated, but definately unique - very expensive. We hooked up with some people we met at Sir Tobys in Prague and found a little restaraunt that didn't charge all the venician extras. It was lovely.

Last night we took the night train to Rome, which is where I sit updating you - tired, worn out and ready for a goodnight's sleep at Gullivers House!

I hope to see the Sistene Chapel today - itàs one of the priorities of this little pilgrimage!

Over and out!

Austria
Iäm sitting in a cybercafe in Graz, about 3 hours south of Vienna. itäs a real nice city.

iäve just remembered some stuff about budapest...on the last night I had a bit of money to use up so we went to a pub just around the corner from our (really bad) hostel and had a delicious meal, for relatively cheap.

being in the Eurozone is pretty expensive, in fact a Vanilla milkshake costs 2euros and 10 cents, which is about 30p more than at home. Iäm back on bread and cheeze.

We camped out last night at Camping Central because there were no rooms at the hostel. Itäs areal nice place to camp and weäre both glad that tim brought his tent. There is a real nice pool - itäs massive. Iäm going back there for a swim soon.

last night we ate at a little pension owned by a lovely older couple. They just about understood my "no meat" and so I had omlette. It was good food and nice to just chill after a long day of carrying bags.

Weäre off to Bled tomorrow, which is in slovenia, in the Julian Alpes. It sounds and looks nice, so iäm really looking forward to the rest in nature. Cities are getting to me a bit. i need sea, or lakes!

I hope everyone is well. Im missing you all and am really looking forward to 2 weeks time when I can eat cereal and catch up with friends.

Love to all.

Weáre now in Budapest...apologies for the weird spellings, this is a hungarian kezboard.

Itás a massive citz and verz hot...must be more than 35 degrees and thereás no water to cool zourself- besides the near by danube river, which probablz isnát clean.

IÁm missing home quite a lot today and will be glad to get to a smaller city, or even the beach. Tomorrow weáre heading to Vienna, then Gratz. So weáll be in the eurozone for a few dazs before heading to Slovenia for some time near the Julian mountains. Then on to Italy.

The place weáre staying is a real dive, like a cross between talybont and the house in fightclub, though nicer than fightclub (just). Iáll be glad to leave.

Love to all.

Just killing some time before the train - in 3 hours. We decided not to do Auschawitz today because of timing issues. Still have to go to our hostel and pick up our bags, then catch the tram back.

Yesterday Krys gave us a guided tour of Krakow - we saw 'the mound' a big piece of grass that overlooks the entire city. we ate for about 1 pound in the evening and then walked around his favourite pubs and clubs. They were all in basements of the huge buildings in the town centre and had a real cavern like feel.

I drank lots of blackcurrant juice - the juice here is 100% fruit, which is awesome.

When we left one of the pubs we came across a guy busking, singing old standards and he was surrounded by people 3-4 person deep. They were all singing along and loving it. I think here is a place you can really enjoy busking, especially when you're good at interacting with people.

We've been adding 'ovich' and 'ski' to the end of all our words in an attempt to sound Polish!

Tonight to Budapest...

Well, we've arrived in Krakow, having said our farewells to Darek and Eva. We played one last round of Uno on Saturday night and on Sunday morning Darek took us to the train station at Gliwice for an express train staight to Krakow. This is the furthest east I've ever been, which is weird.

We're staying at a student residence just outside of the centre, which is basic, but fine. Yesterday we visited Krakow Castle. There's a story of King Krac (who the place is named after) who made the area suitable for living by outsmarting the resident dragon. Apparently he made him eat a sheep stuffed with gunpowder, which meant that he had to drink from the river and ended up drinking so much he exploded. At least that's what I could work out from Darek and Eva's explaination.

After the castle we walked through a park where there was an amazing outdoor photo exhibition. All the shots were taken from a helicopter and they were of places like Whitsunday Islands (also Frasier, Zoe) and Carpet sellers in Morrocco etc. Must have been 100. That was the best thing so far.

Then we visited the town square which is huge. Being Poland, Catholocism is rife and Krakow has lots of Cathederals. There is more room for photography than in prague - space to stand back and get it all in.

We ate a traditional Polish meal at a unique restaraunt - I had dumplings stuffed with Cabbage and Mushrooms (was more like ravioli than British dumplings).

In the evening we heard a Jazz band in the main square and then went and watched some folk dancing, which was audience participation!

Today we meet our new friend Krystoph for a local's tour of Krakow!

Pears at the Giant Peach...
After my bottomless cola and Tim’s trip to the museum of communism we travelled to the Giant Peach, home of Andrew Jones and family to see if anyone was about. Having navigated our way from the tram we were greeted by Erica and Rebecca, who are living at ‘The Peach’ over the summer, on vacation from Hawaii.

We chatted for a while and discovered that Tim’s super power is that he has the brain of a sports almanac – ‘almanac man.’ After some pears and water we headed back to Sir Toby’s, where we met Jeremy and departed for Joe’s Pizzaria for tea.

Jeremy assures me that I must try this drink (something ‘sunrise’) that has OJ, ice and vanilla – as served in the coffee chain ‘Coffee Bean’ (next time I’m in Cali...)

In the evening we ate Strudel on Charles’ Bridge with Tim, Tim (from Canada), Krys (Poland) and Jeremy after I did some gathering at Sir Toby’s (‘Dude, you comin out for strudel?’)

Darek and Eva in Gliwice
We are currently at the home of Darek and Eva, some friends of Tymek (Polish version of Tim) who are now my friends ;~) Darek picked us up from the station (after our 6 hour journey from Prague) at Gliwice and has brought us to their home here where we have had lots of fun. These guys are so warm and hospitable.

Yesterday we visited their local swimming pool – in the open air in the middle of a forest!

The weather has been lovely, I’m not sure exactly how hot, but the evenings are cooler than those of Prague which is good.

Ali and Kerry are here from Glasgow too.

Uno with Darek...
Last night we were up til 12.30 playing Uno with Darek... we all donned Polish names for the occasion – I’m Jasiu and Tim’s Tymek. It was very funny. We played the 7’s rule where if you put down a seven everyone must put their hands on top of the pile and the last one to do so picks up two cards (bear in mind that everyone but ‘the guys’ were in bed and that we were laughing very loud). Darek is very funny.

Tomorrow we head to Krakow.

Prague, city of strudel
or so I hear, I hope to try their famous dessert tonight. I had a conversation with a German guy at our hostel last night about how difficult it is to make studel - apparently he tried and failed. If the Germans can't do it it must be difficult!

Anyhow Prague is good although I was very knackered after a gruelling 'tourist' day and am chilling out now at Bohemia Bagel, home of the bottomless cola and 1.5 crowns per min connection. We ate out for 2 quid last night - a full on meal mmmm. Tim is loving the 20-25 crown beer (45 crown in a pound!)

Met a guy called Jeremy from Santa Monica last night, he taught me Jack Johnson songs on the guitar and helped me learn some of the state locations in the US. He was in Prague to have a tattoo finished...long way to come eh?!

Sir Toby's is a real nice hostel that is in a cheaper part of prague. The metro system here is awesome. I shot a whole film on my camera yesterday, but had to buy a little photo of the view I really wanted - looking over Charles Bridge as I couldn't find the vantage point.

Tomorrow morning we're off to Poland - Katavicha to stay with some friends of Tim's. Then to Krakaw.

Keep me posted with how you're all getting on.

Finally finished my day of packing. Decided to shave my head in the end but not before a slice of MULLET MANIA! Good to hear that Viv and Helen are back in the land of blog, having done a few days' touring round Cali.

By the way...last night had a great BBQ at the Fosters' place, Power Doug was on form as he dodged the flames!

There are now two Jonathans in our community, so Jon and I spent the evening wondering about nicknames...Mark came up with 'Jonny Danger' for the other Jon, not quite sure why but it may stick!

To shave or not to shave?
This morning is taken up with packing for our journey from Prague through Barcelona. One thing that I haven't yet concluded upon is whether to shave my head and abandon 3 or so months of growth or to persist through the heat of Croatia, Italy and Spain? Perhaps it will protect my scalp having hair? Perhaps I should just go back to the whole straight edge facade...

Not really an important blog.

This weekend I discovered the truth about Starbucks...while they distribute literature about being 'fairtrade' there is only one particular product that is. Having read through this literature I was unaware that it only related to their filter coffee and that I had been drinking non-fairtrade latte's for months without realising.

Shall we boycott?

I showed Thia around Cardiff yesterday. It was fun and we got to chat loads.

On Thursday I had met this lady who encouraged me by explaining how all that I'm planning to do can tie in nicely together. I always thought that my degree and any church planting/ ministry opportunities would be mutually exclusive and she encouraged me otherwise. Very exciting.

Today I finished working at the Solicitor's office. This means that my travels are just around the bend, almost in sight! Just some packing and an E111 and I'll be on my way to Prague.

Here's a quote from the end of the Hobbit that Viv posted on her blog:

'Then the prophesies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!' said Bilbo.
'Of course!' said Gandalf. 'And why should not they prove true? Surely you don't disbelieve the prophesies just because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!'
'Thank goodness!' said Bilbo laughing.

I've been out of the blogging loop for a few days as I've been working on the new cardiff vineyard site. I get very engrossed. I've only barely managed to keep up with the blogging of my friends who are temporarily dotted around the world (see my links).

Things are also quite crazy in the roll up to my European trip. I'm hoping to visit some churchplanters, although there are only a couple we've been in contact with. If you're doing this stuff and you're in a country on our trip (Prague, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Spain) then drop me a line!

Tomorrow we get to baptise Matt and Natalie, which will be awesome. Matt departs for Kenya on Friday for his Elective...I just know God has some great things in store for him.

Fightclub discipleship
I was chatting with Rob, Mark's housemate (and my ex-kickboxing teacher) last night. He's about to take his blackbelt and I was asking him about the dan system. Apparently what happens is that once you are a black belt, if you train someone else to that standard then you will be a first dan. If that person goes on to train someone else to the level of blackbelt then you become a second dan. It works in generations.

I'm sure there's a connection somewhere there with discipleship...

What a crazy few days. It's so cool to be surrounded by so many great people. Last night we had a joint gathering at Chris and Caz' place where we looked some more at the Kingdom of God. I love this subject soo much.

Helen and Viv are now in Cali. with Jason and Brooke and I'm a little envious, especially as the rain beats down on our rooftops. I'm even more envious that they get to see those guys face to face.

I'm gonna go to bed now.

Today I've been thinking about Matthew 6 where Jesus says:

"don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern"

I was struck by how simple what Jesus is saying actually is - "don't worry because if you put My Kingdom first everything you need will be provided." Perhaps this is why the early church so outlived those around them. They weren't concerned with winning arguments, but with living the kingdom kind of life. For them this teaching of Jesus wasn't some kind of mantra to chant when worried ("I must not worry, I must not worry") but rather a command which must find its practical outworking in real life.

How far am I from making the Kingdom of God my primary concern? How often I fall back on behaving like a "pagan," worrying as though it's me who is in control and not God.

Carson puts it like this: "...today's grace is sufficient only for today and should not be wasted on tomorrow. If tomorrow does bring new trouble, there will be new grace to meet it."

*Lord teach me to live this way. Not just to see your words as 'nice words' but as words which can revolutionise my being. Embed them in who I am.*

Last night we had a central gathering at the YMCA. It was a good time of vision casting and sharing. Kathryn told us a story from her trip to San Andreas which was cool.

Afterwards we adjourned to our local coffeehouse 'a shot in the dark' for some reluctant farewells. Cil is returning to London to do some pharmacy work and Matt is off to Newcastle to embark on a degree in medicine (after a pre-med year). It's so weird to be saying goodbye to these guys when they've been part of us for a while. God's been working in both of their lives and I'm sure that he has loads of places where he'll take them. It's just sad saying goodbye!

Helen and Viv depart for Southern California on Tuesday, so we won't be seeing them for a while. I'm off to Europe in 2 weeks which is exciting - so much to sort out first though!

Re:fresh
Just a short roundup of our weekend with a few highlights...

The talking tent: on Sunday morning Matt and I awoke to the cute sounds of children discussing the merits of a talking tent. It turns out that these very same children had, only moments earlier, been playing football on the near by field. When the ball rolled down the hill and hit the girls' tent Viv was lying there and decided to say "ouch..." this continued for some time as the kids kicked the ball repeatedly at the tend seeing if it really was talking.

Finally they all decided to attack the tent and as we strolled past towards the showers we could see the side of the tent being pounded by nippers!

The barn dance: I can't say much, but let's just say that the term 'dance' was re-defined. Much laughter.

We listened to some very challenging talks on following Jesus through pain, through desert times etc. There was consensus in the fact that we're sick of 'evangelising' and would rather simply share Jesus. On a similar note we're sick of being 'Christians' and would rather just be followers of Jesus.

Hey, now that I've finished on the 'summer 2003' re-design I think it's time for a fresh post. I've been thinking a lot recently about my role, God's role and life in general.

God has been showing me over the last few years, months, weeks and days that he is so in control and I'm soooo not. Part of this has come in the way that he has brought people around me who each have complimentary revelations of what it means to follow Jesus, although each is unique to that person.

You might have noticed that I've added/changed some contacts on this blog...check out Viv and Helen's travel blog which they will keep on their travels around Southern California. They'll be dropping in on the Evans family. Viv's solo blog is also worth a read!

I'm wondering whether or not to blog my European trip in August. Tim and I start our travels in Prague in early August and fly out of Barcelona in early September. We are travelling via Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and finally Spain.

We would love to hook up with some peeps along the way. If you're wrestling with the whole churchplanting thang and would like to share some stories with a welsh boy and a laddie from Belfast then leave a comment!

Zoë Returns
Though it may sound like the sequel to a film you never saw, this Thursday sees the return of my little sis. It'll be great to see her, hear about her stories and laugh like old times.

Roath Park on Sunday
Yesterday we chilled out at Roath Park, went rowing, laughed lots and watched our friends recover from the (welsh) three peaks challenge. It was nice to be outside with good friends. Summer fun. We have even more to follow next weekend when we set out for Reading and Re:fresh.

Tonight our little community met at Viv's place. We shared food, laughter, sang songs and talked about what it means to be Christlike and how we are to draw out the best (that which is most Christlike) in those around us. It was nice to chill out, I shared how I've had this feeling of weakness recently and how I don't really know how to interpret it - is it God saying "I am in control when you're at the end of yourself" or am I in a bunout zone? I'm just not sure.

I really miss the times with my now disbanded accountability group. We really got somewhere for a while back there, but I guess things move on. I pray that God will bring people into my life who will be in a place of forming such relationships again.

Until then...

Vineyard Worship Leaders' Retreat 2003
We arrived at Lee Abbey in glorious sunshine at the end of a busy week. It was great to be welcomed with such hospitality into this faith community of over 80 individuals from all over the world.

The view from the front of the Abbey is awesome - rolling hills plummeting to reveal the glistening bay.

In the evening Peter Davids (PD) introduced us to his topic of 'a biblical perspective on woship leading' through the illustration of the people of Rohan and their King. They call out "command us o King" - a great expression of what worship is.

The following day PD took us through the old and new testament asking what is our model for leading? He concluded that in the new testament there is no mention of worship leading, in fact there is very little mention of singing. In the OT we're faced with a different culture, the Jewish temple (which he vividly contextualised for us with his slaughter house-come-butchers description).

In the NT the physical 'temple' was superceded by the 'people' and therefore we can’t easily fall back on the OT as our reference point.

PD explained the living sacrifice involved in true worship. How our songs are merely a fragment of our day to day service of those around us. When we come to sing songs it is merely one aspect of our whole week spent worshipping.

In the evening Dan Wilt spoke on living in ‘sacred style’, how the church is in a phase of transition. We are called both ‘home’, to the centre and to the edge. His desire was that our interaction with the world will change from a monologue to a dialogue, no longer seeing the churches’ role as telling the world what it is not.

We will look beyond the walls of our buildings and see God working in the lives of those all around us, no longer limiting His work to our domain.

That’s my summary done with – all in all a cool weekend.

I had fun tonight chilling out with Emily and Claire. We went down the Bay and enjoyed some Chai Latte (a personal favourite), then wandered and finally ended up at Viv's. It was cool to just hang out and laugh a lot. God did a good thing when he invented laughter.

I've just noticed that we've been listed at 'sites unseen' a resource of recommended links for followers of Jesus. Cheers guys.

Have just come to the end of a rather busy few days. I've been working in the solicitors office doing admin. while trying to recover from the retreat last weekend. To make things even more interesting I had a 4 hour wait in casualty on Tuesday night only to be told that my knee was bruised.

I feel like I'm learning though which is good. I'm going to have a good night's sleep and then write something about the retreat.

I've just discovered that my good friend Tom Hope is in the realm of blog! Also, more importantly, he's getting married! Congratulations Tom and Nicola.

Today I went to see Chris' photo exhibition. I was very impressed with his prints which he did through tissue paper etc.

I'm back from Lee Abbey having had a great weekend. Far too tired to say anything profound - still processing everything. Watch this space for a roundup.

Today Lewis and I are off to a 'worship leaders retreat' at Lee Abbey in Devon. It should be a good weekend. I'll be out of blog range for a few days ;-)

A few of us hooked up at AJs (coffee house) for a time of coffee, sharing and prayer. I came away feeling incredibly privileged to have such a real, vulnerable group of friends. I think the awesome thing was that without any strong, human leadership we had a time that included worship, teaching, ministry - all informal and peer based!

I love the fact that God can meet with us wherever we are.

+Thank you God for your provision, thank you that the less we try to 'perform' the more you are able to shine through. Thank you that you take us where we are at+

Back from a few days at my friends the Parfitts. I really enjoy spending time with Lewis and Maria. They involved me with everything (well, a lot). Thanks for having me. Here's a pic of lewis in his native land.

Bristol Vineyard have finally done gotten themselves a live website. Check it out.

I've been going through the post-exam, unstructured crisis. It's crazy because you spend so much time looking forward to being off that when you finally are it's like a massive letdown. I guess I'm used to not having that many decisions to make and now that the world is my oyster so to speak I'm a bit confused.

King Balti RIP
We went down to the King Balti on Albany Road last night for our Fathers' Day curry only to find it had vanished. It left in its place a Mexican/Tapas bar called "etc." For a moment we were thrown off, struggling for words - how could it be gone? Reminiscing about happy memories just weeks before when our communities had indulged on their delicious pan-Asian cuisine. Soon we snapped out of it and went to Balti Empire just down the street.

Went to hear the Scratch Perverts at Cardiff Students Union last night. What a great night. They started out with their usual mix of new and old school hip hop from MOP (feat. Busta Rhymes) through Tribe called Quest, working it up to what must have been 45 minutes of real hard drum'n'bass from the likes of Twisted Individual via a remix of Breathe from the Prodigy. It's great to hear some turntablists mixing drum'n'bass, it brings a whole new angle on things.

The dance floor was electric all night, gradually giving it more and more energy as the atmosphere lifted and the beats got harder. When they dropped Nevermind in at the end everyone just went insane. Possibly the best time (out of 5 times) that I've heard them and definately the most dancy.

We visited the Purcell family earlier for the first time since their new arrival. Chara took great pleasure in showing off her new baby sister, Madlen Anne Purcell, who was born on Thursday (5th) at 6.14pm and weighed in at 7lb 2oz. Here she is sleeping:


And here she is eyeing my mum with suspicion:


They even let me hold her (the first time I've ever held a new born baby!) How exciting. Congratulations guys!

Look there's a pic of Zoe on the Web click here to view them and read the story of the guy who jumped the sky tower with them!

Took the matrix test that I discovered on Kevin Rains' blog...here's what it told me:


You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.


What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

that's nuts man, I must have answered the questions wrong!

Exams are over...very happy. I understood all the questions in my 20th Century European Intellectual History. woop woop. Partying ahead.

Congratulations to our friends Ian and Karen. Chara has a new baby sister! Madlen Anne Purcell was born today at 6.15pm. Weighing in at a grand 7lb 2oz. Our resident midwife in training - Kathryn - delivered her!

Got through my European Federalism exam this morning. The questions were pretty good. Please pray for my brain, it's beginning to feel a little strained and tomorrow's 20th Century European Intellectual History is quite a 'thinker.' Questions on Foucalt's conservatism and stuff like that. In fact if you could pray that I actually understand the questions that'd be ace.

I turned up for my European Federalism exam one day early (this morning). I don't know how I managed to mis-read the timetable. Land Law on Monday went real well which was a big answer to prayer. I only had 2 days of hardcore prep for it as earlier last week had been knocked out by a virus that made my head spin. The questions were better than I could have dreamed!

Just 2 more days of ::stress:: and it'll all be over. Thanks for all your prayers.

Came across The Brick Testament today. The Bible in Lego...

As for Matrix Reloaded...there were a few disappointing parts: you could see the animated frames; Trinity mounts a brand new motorbike (on the back of a lorry) and it has a full tank of petrol. I don't know if this is likely.

Good points...where Morpheus states: "what I believe doesn't require for others to believe for it to be true..." (ok it's not an accurate quote, but it'll do). Much was made of Neo's humanity. Also the statement that each has the same reason but a different purpose - I think the key maker says it.

Hopefully I haven't given much away to those who haven't seen it yet.

I had my Criminal Law exam yesterday. It was another toughie - like EC law. I was able to answer two of the questions fairly well, but I chose the wrong question to do last and I really paid for it. Oh well. I'm just praying I pass that exam. It would suck to cut my summer European travels short just because of a poor choice of question.

Last night I went to hear Todah last night. They were great and managed incredibly well, especially considering they had no monitors. Maybe we should all chip in and get Lewis a monitor for Christmas!

After they finished this youth event took place in which a load of insane Americans broke concrete bricks with their arms and heads. I chuckled.

As the anticipation of finally seeing the next installment of the Matrix builds up I've found myself shying away from the hype. It sucks that you have MTV and everyone else going on and on about this film to such an extent that you feel set up for dissappointment. Surely it can't be all that good? So I've begun boycotting blogs and channels that talk about it.

We're all off to see it on Sunday. While this is late for most people I generally don't go and see films as soon as they're out, so this is early for me.

In the meantime Criminal law.

Posts here will become less frequent for the next few weeks. Revising for my end of year exams...

Reading through the beginning of Genesis this morning, the end of chapter 4 stood out to me...

"When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was during his lifetime that people first began to worship the Lord." (Gen 4:26)

Now I've found myself saying a number of times: 'we were designed to worship/live lives of worship' etc. But this morning, reading the creation account and finding this little verse made me wonder if this was the case. I wonder what is meant by 'worship' in this context. My initial response was that when in God's presence, the kind of activities that go on are beyond worship. Perhaps worship is our expression of love for God within our disconnectedness from God.

In Easton's Bible Dictionary it says this:
"He lived nine hundred and five years. In his time "men began to call upon the name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26), meaning either (1) then began men to call themselves by the name of the Lord (marg.) i.e., to distinguish themselves thereby from idolaters; or (2) then men in some public and earnest way began to call upon the Lord, indicating a time of spiritual revival."

Looks like I'm wrong.

Anyhow I was also struck once again by the curses which are assigned males and females because of the fall
Women: Pain in child birth and finding your identity in your man, rather than in God (3:16)
Men: Being condemned to make a living form the ground, to have to work for a living, rather than just to work out of design we were now forced to work for what we eat (3:19)

We've so often fallen into the trap of living in these curses - condemning women to being identified by who they are married to and man to his work (just look at your conversation starters with Men ("so what do you do for a living") and Women ("so who are you with?"/"are you married"/"are you single?")

Shouldn't we be living out of God's original intention for mankind?

It also made me think about how simple following God was before 'religion.'

Yesterday a promo of the new Everyone album arrived on our mat. Jeff Searles and Darren Clarke's band. I'm going to listen to it some more and maybe string a review together.

Zoe is now flying to New Zealand. Please pray for her as she leaves that intensely nurturing environment of her little DMC team.

I just checked my stats and someone has recently visited my site having searched on yahoo for "Ali G" + "Postmodernism" how weird is that. Big up.

Anyhow it's nice to have the ole house buzzing once again. I was missing living in community. It's weird how you miss having people around and someone to talk to. I definately used the phone more. I'm no longer the only member of my family in the UK.

Don't tell anyone this, but I'm really starting to love this little country. I've had some time with Lewis, Maria and Michelle over Easter and they've reminded me how beautiful Wales is. I'm fascinated to learn of where God will lead me in the future.

Thoughts on finishing Lord of the Rings
A number of things stood out to me that I failed to make note of, but here are a few that I have...

In Lorien, one of the Elven homes, there is the best of everything except sea. This stood out to me after reading NT Wright's book Following Jesus, in particular the chapter on Revelation. In it he lists the things that will not be present when the Kingdom of God is complete. Within this list he says: "There will be no sea; in Revelation, the sea is where evil comes from." Now I was surprised to read this. I love the sea, having space to chill and breathe in sea air. I am happy to leave that to God though. I was just struck with the fact that the sea is not present in the Elven world and is also a constant pull on the Elves.

Also, in the final chapter Frodo says to Sam: "You were meant to be solid and whole, and you will be." This inspired me - it has the kind of excitement to it that we can have sharing Jesus with those we meet.

Finally I just couldn't get over the similarities between Aragorn "the King who heals" and Jesus "the King who heals."

I went through a phase of buying GAP boxershorts before I knew anything about the company. This is something I'm often reminded of for example when getting changed at the swimming pool etc. Do other people think me bad for wearing them, given their terrible reputation for non-ethical production?

Then I wonder: would it not be worse to get rid of these garments because they were made in sweatshops than to keep them? To get rid would surely be making a mockery of the whole thing - i.e. people died to make them and yet I don't even respect them enough to continue to wear them now that I know where they came from. I don't know really what I think of this, but I would love to see more fair trade clothing.

This is very weird. I occasionally watch MTV Cribs - the show where 'celebrities' show us around their homes. I like to laugh at the Rappers who don't know how to cook and yet describe the kitchen as the centre of the house.

Anyhow I was watching it the other day and Pamela Anderson was on, showing off her beach-side house where she lives with her little boys. As I was watching I sensed God say that she either was, or would, end up following him. I thought nothing more of it as the show ended and I had my tea. Then today I'm reading Steve Sjogren's blog only to discover that she has been "attending Vineyard in Malibu."

I was at Lewis and Maria's tonight. Lewis made an awesome, veggie, indian meal for us. They're good friends and I feel like I've known them far longer than I have.

Afterwards we watched Fight Club. It was my fourth time watching it I think. It's strange because I think that every time I watch it I like it less. I think it's very cleverly thought out and the production is great, but there's just something about it that seems to grab me less every time.

Perhaps it's the lack of emotion in it. It's a very cold film, it's like the characters deal with stuff only in a dysfunctional way and while they are claiming some form of salvation experience are actually spiraling downwards. This is obviously intentional.

Before I end this blog I want to point out that Fight Club has long been one of my favourites. Maybe I'm just changing.

Or perhaps I was just really in need of a good conversation and that's why I didn't fully love crashing in front of the dreaded screen.

I'm going to go put Oscar (our little dog) to bed.

I'm the only one in my family left in the UK and it's a bit weird. I'm very much part of a family and to suddenly be 'stranded' is a bit weird.

I gave my first 'talk' tonight. Although I've been dabbling a little since leading our little community this was the first in front of the 'whole' of Cardiff Vineyard. I was real nervous and felt very uncomfortable all the way through despite genuinely believing that what I had to share was what God gave me.

I spoke on the Kingdom of God using The Matrix as an analogy. The Matrix being what we see around us as opposed to the spiritual realm and the Kingdom which is where the action is (obviously).

My Dad gave me some good pointers afterwards. He was going to save them so as not to bring me down but I was just pleased to be breathing and they weren't negative as such. Pointers: give more eye contact; don't play with a pen - is distracting; use your notes less; watch people who are used to communicating (e.g. comedians) - learn from them about using your voice.

Feedback on the talk was good. I'm really going to have to learn to trust those around me. I am very reluctant to take seriously the comments of those around me - in fact the more they know me the less I trust them thinking "they must be just being nice." And then when they do compliment I try to drag it out to see if I can really believe them. Enough on that.

A new adventure and a whole load of new issues to deal with! Goodnight.

Last night while we were eating I was telling our North Cardiff Community about this guy claiming to be from the future. Click here to read the article which I discovered thanks to Mark Norridge.

Please pray for Zoe and the DMC team out in Thailand. They were meant to go on outreach today, but on returning back to the guesthouse last night discovered they had been robbed. Apparently in the afternoon an English man checked into the guesthouse and left later in the afternoon with cameras, cards, phones, passports, money etc.

Their trip has been delayed as a number of them (though not Zoe) have had to get new passports and have been sorting out their insurance.

I'm going to try and pull together a paper on these ideas at some point, but for now I'll just give a few of my thoughts on giving over the last week.

we need to try and embrace grassroots projects
by this I mean projects which are able to take most of the money which is given and applies it directly to the problems. I was chatting with Matt the other day and he told me that one of his friends out in India is able to carry out cataract operations for £15. This means that every £15 that was sent would give someone their sight. When compared with giving to Oxfam, which uses most of its donations to fund its staff, this is a far wiser way to invest.

In order to do this we should take advantage of our faith links
There are followers of Jesus all over the world who are working day in, day out in the poorest of people. We should network with these people and find routes of giving which will make most use our money.

Learning to live simple lives
We are told day in day out what we "need." I was struck recently when hearing about Zoe's experience visiting Thai Hill tribes. She slept on a hard floor in a wooden hut and was woken up by a rooster at 3am. It's incredible that most of the world live in these conditions. On the particular outreach she was on they were building a well, laying piping etc. Isn't it shocking that we take for granted having large sheltered accomodation, internet, coffee, tea, extravagant food etc. when there are people for whom a good supply of water is a luxury?

By living simply we can free up 'spare money' which would enable us to give more.

But how do we define simplicity in the midst of such a complex society? Where do we start?

Check out this article in the Guardian - it gave me hope that there may be a way of checking George's powers.

Just a quick round up of the last few days...

Going clubbing with my parents
There's this funk club in Cardiff called the Toucan. We went there to hear Sambaloco - a Brazillian drum'n'bass star. She sings on some of DJ Marky's tracks and was there (we thought) with her band. It was a new experience for all of us going into a club with my folks, but they seemed to have a laugh - particularly when this middle aged woman (Elaine) tried to chat up Matt.

Unfortunately when this lady, the dnb star came on she was like a one woman band. She sang and played sax, drum, keys and guitar all the while accompanied by her ibook. To be honest it was like a very talented version of a karaoke. It was funny though.

Easter Sunday
Yesterday Tim came round for lunch and we spent some of the afternoon organising our European travels in the summer. It took us a while to decide on the best flights but it looks like we're flying into Prague in early August and then out of Barcelona in early september.

Later we all sat around the table, ate Simnel cake and (in a rather belated fashion) meditated on some of the stations of the cross, discussing them as we went along. To be honest I've only come across the 'stations' recently and yesterday was my first experience. It's funny because while my folks are from a generation that was eager to flee religiosity in tradition, I've not ever experienced these things so it's real nice to be able to dip into them. It's so good to talk about Jesus, to learn from each others' perspectives and to allow the words to enter and fill our hearts.

I was struck by Mary sat at the foot of the cross hearing all these people walking past hurling insults. The mixed feelings she must have had - having heard God's promises and stored them in her heart, now her son is hanging there on a cross having abuse hurled at him. The way that even in the agony of the cross Jesus thought of others. He, as the first born, ensures that his mother is cared for. Having given up everything to follow Jesus, John now gains a mother through his saviour.

I've just been reading Altiero Spinelli's "The Ventotene Manifesto." He's a maximalist who believed that we should move towards a federal Europe (a 'super-state'). I often come across little pearls while reading political theory which relate a little to this journey of planting faith communities.

In the final paragraph of chapter three he states:
"The time has now come to get rid of these old cumbersome burdens and to be ready for whatever turns up, usually so different from what was expected, to get rid of the inept among the old and create new energies among the young."

He also talks about the need for leaders in times of revolution. Referring to democrats he states "they are suitable leaders only in times of ordinary administration" but that "During revolutionary times, when institutions are not simply to be administered but created, democratic procedures fail miserably." However he's not advocating some form of despotism which is why it made me think of the kind of paradigm we're in. How to be the kind of leader (to borrow from Todd) who can genuinely admit "I'm glad it's me sat here in this prison cell and not you"?

Regarding the identification of leaders, Spinelli states: "it must pick out and recruit into the organization only those who have identified and accepted the European revolution [instead read Kingdom of God] as the main goal in their lives..." Ok, maybe the last one was a little tenuous, but it got me thinking a little...

Occasionally I find my skin crawling at the question "how big's your church?" It's funny really but it seems that our 'movement' (if that's what it is) has become a little too intent on being small. I'm not saying that small is bad, but I am saying that a faith community that isn't growing isn't healthy. I think the perspective needs to be planting lots and keeping them small, rather than just 'being small.'

I'm not scalding myself for letting my skin crawl at those questions though. It'd be nice if people asked "so how's your disciple making coming along" - other forms of growth are just as important.

I think I'm rambling.

I was just watching Sky News. The camera was running by a road in Basra and they zoomed in on this family car. There was this tiny little girl sat in the window waving at the camera with a smile on her face.

A little quote I found on the howies website:

"On a journey of a thousand miles, we have not put our boots on yet
This is where we have got to on the journey of ours.
The journey is by no means complete.
And the journey so far has taught us some important things.
Like where we want to go. And just as importantly, where we don’t want to go."

Wow. I think I'm about to explode. That 'banquet' was great. Pan-Asian, therefore lots of noodles, pilau and fried rice, saag aloo, balti, naan...then Dr Pepper. Advice: don't drink fizzy after 3 plates of curry. I was happy as I won when we took bets on when Matt would arrive. I guessed 8.05pm and he strolled in at 8.01pm. Not bad.

We're having a guys night tonight - curry at the King Balti. They do a "banquet" which I assume is their version of eat as much as you like. I haven't eaten much all day, so I'm adequately prepared!

Earlier I was sat in a lecture on European Federalism. My professor was explaining how the institutions of the European Union were designed with different questions in mind (e.g. things like how to manage a strong centre, economic redistribution etc. with writers like Spinelli) and are now having to adapt to new demands. This got me thinking about what Todd Hunter says about the reformation and the fact that most of our explaination of Jesus/what church is etc. is designed to answer questions which people are no longer asking, that we have to learn to listen (like Eugene Peterson says) so that we can learn the new questions.

On Saturday I went to see my Grandpa. He told me that he'd been thinking about the fact that the word Christian seems to have so little meaning in today's world, it's a word used when you don't know what else to say you are (for some people). He was telling me how being a "disciple" or "follower of Jesus" is a far better term. I could only agree. I can't remember having chatted about that with him before but what he said to me sounded like what I could have said to him. Weird (and cool).

I can't help but think that it has only been since he retired as a minister of an Elim Church that he has started to get back to basics. It's like he's gradually letting go of all the religious legalism that he was brought up with.

We had a great central gathering last night. It was awesome to hear where everyone was at. The questions were "what first brought you here" and "why did you stay?" These are cool ways of encouraging each other to evaluate why you are part of the community you are part of and to get away from religiosity.

It was a time of encouragement - I love hearing the different perspectives people have on the same thing.

The vision is one of continuing to grow as a family. To see ourselves becoming the kind of people we were designed to be and to share that love with others. Through our lifestyles of vulnerability we can affect those around us.

I've finally started getting my head around Flash buttons...hence the distance all these days.

Tonight we asked the question: "do we think of ourselves as missionaries?" "do we really think of our 'gospel' as being capable of changing lives?" Challenging thoughts.

I love Jason Evans' blog from yesterday - particularly the statement "shut up and be something." It's so weird to think that there's this war going on on in a land far away and that there are innocent people just like us who are faced with such aggression. I heard an interview with a guy about to catch a train in one London station, when questioned about the war: "it's sad people have to die, but life must go on" as though his life is what life is about and those people the other side of the globe just don't matter. I get easily upset by things like that.

{Lord, bring good out of this tragedy of war. Make us more real and less selfish. Help us to see the Iraq as groups of innocent people who want peace, not as some far off entity.}

Luke 9
Sometimes the disciples were so dumb. Jesus had sent them on ahead to make arrangements for hospitality on his way to Jerusalem. They called off at a Samaritan Village and went to ask them if Jesus could stay there. The people refused. So James and John ask Jesus "do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down from the sky and incinerate them?" Let's blast them dude!

So how does Jesus respond? "Yeah guys, that'd be cool - let's burn them so hard that you can see the smoke rise." No, he ends things with a simple "course not."

I guess it just dawned on me that the disciples had never seen Jesus harm anyone with his 'secret powers' and yet that's exactly what they're willing to do at the first opportunity (once given Authority).

Before I sign off, I just remembered something in Luke 8. Jesus takes three of his disciples with him when asked to restore the life to Jairus' daughter. That's how he trained people. He was himself, he took people with him to see how he did things, later they were given authority to do the same.

Luke 8
Jesus says "let's go to the other side" then falls asleep while the others get him there. It's quiet but soon a storm breaks out - they really and truly believe that they're going to die, so they wake Jesus up to tell him so - he clicks his fingers, the storm stops, then he tells them off for not trusting him. Why did he tell them off?

I guess it must be because he, God had given them orders to get to the other side and being God, when he said it he didn't mean "head for the other side so I can wipe you out on the way" - he meant "go to the other side." The passage really spoke to me. So often I'm so absorbed in what's going on around me that I think "how am I ever going to get through the storm?" But God has told me that he's taking me to a place beyond that, so why should I give up trusting him just because the weather's changed. If he orders, he'll provide the resources.

Stuart Murray-Williams cont...
I realised that I had so much to write on tithing that I didn't mention anything else to do with his talks...I thought they were great, although aimed at a more traditional audience. Although he confessed that he didn't know the Vineyard all that well, I had hoped that he would provide a certain insight into where we as a movement had come from. That doesn't however mean that the christendom factors weren't relevant to us.

I would have loved to hear his thoughts on sex, for example - particularly when Jay had mentioned spending most of his time trying to get (unmarried) people to stop having sex with each other! The explaination that most things in the new testament were not directly applicable, but that all are indirectly applicable was certainly helpful, but I would have liked him to expand on his ideas a little. Perhaps some 'scholars' would have a better idea of how to apply that concept to a fresh reading of scripture but I'm afraid I don't (please comment if you have any tips!)

War
His reference to war was certainly an eye opener. I'd been long prodding this issue with a number of people to whom I had spoken. Some had mentioned the 'Just War' theory. SMW gave some insight to this idea, how it is a product of Christendom, and related it to our current situation - what is a 'just war'?

1. War must be for a just Cause
2. War must be with good intention
3. There must be reasonable expectation of success
4. War must be waged by proper means
5. War must be the only possible way of removing evil
6. War must be declared and fought by a legitimate Authority.

He pointed out that the current US-UK-Iraq situation does not fit cleanly into this criteria. The circumstances are in fact closer to those of the ("more Biblical") concept of a crusade. This thinking is a breath of fresh air. I couldn't get my head around the idea of Jesus waging war in a physical, or political domain and so the just war idea had never sat comfortably. Now I know why.

If I think of anything else I shall blog on this topic further...until then "roll on death of Christendom!" I pray that it will be the quickest thing I ever learn and unlearn!

I've noticed recently that there are two parties in our community (don't worry it's nothing "essential") - those who like the word church and who apply it to everything (i.e. I do church in a cafe with my mate, on a boat, in a moat (reminds me of Father of the Bride!)) and those who feel that the term is no longer useful to us, that it's so full of misconceptions that we'd be better to drop it altogether.

There are two ways of looking at it:
1. Firstly to use anything other than church can cause confusion, for example trying to explain to someone that you're part of a 'missional community' might get a bit tiring.
2. On the other hand there is the argument that when you speak of "church" they have images of the lifeless, the boring...

Should we redefine the term, or use something different?

NLC cont...

Jay Pathak
Jay spoke on Acts 1 on the second night. It was the most I've laughed in a long time. The idea of the apostles sat around a camp fire with Jesus asking him "are you going to take over Israel this week?" then him saying "no, I'll go away and you do it" and then being "taken up into the sky."

He painted a picture of the disciples, on hearing that they were going to be involved being like "hey we're the dudes" and then when Jesus floats off them being like "who asked that question anyways - you scared him off!" I had never noticed that they stood looking up (:10) until these guys in white robes came and asked them why.

His message was basically that if we don't really believe that Jesus can change peoples' lives, we won't be able to draw people into him. If we as leaders don't have our own stories of peoples' lives being changed, then those who follow us won't believe they can be changed.

I got some prayer and God was really breaking my heart, his spirit was all over me, it was awesome. I saw those I know who don't yet know Jesus and could feel the love that God feels for them.

On the Thursday he spoke again on Thessalonians 2. On the things that Paul lent into in order that those he ministered to could do the same:

1. He leans into Perseverence
2. He leans into Tenderness (7-9)
3. He leans into Holiness (10-12)
4. He leans into Evangelism (13-16)

People need to see the kinds of change we want to see in our church in us. He challenged us that if it's not our story, we shouldn't use it and that we should only use stories that are 4 months old or less!

Vineyard National Leaders' Conference (UK) 2003

I had a great week. It was great to hook up with some peeps in similar circumstances. I really met with God and was challenged on loads of things...

Stuart Murray Williams
Stuart talked on the "death of Christendom" which was interesting. He asked what this death means to those who are doing church here and now. It was very interesting, if mildly pessimistic. I didn't really feel that I had experienced a lot of what he talked about. I've never, ever contemplated Church being at the centre of society, having always been surrounded by those who don't know about Jesus.

His thesis on tithing is that we have lifted it from the Old Testament out of context. Originally it appeared at the time of Jubilee and was just one of the things that people gave away (out of 40%). He argued that when Constantine introduced tithing as a kind of 'tax', giving in the Church became about "charity" rather than redistribution of resources. His argument ran that we should 'call off' tithing for 6 months and then re-examine the Biblical references and see what we come up with. It's oppressive to those living in poverty and allows the wealthy to give little.

I spoke to a number of people with different reactions to the whole thing. Some were horrified with what he said, perhaps seeing it as a threat to their 'full time ministry,' while others were saying that they agreed with everything he said. I heard examples in the first group who said that people in their church had read SMW's book and had stopped giving altogether saying "we are actually supposed to be giving far more" and yet are not giving anything.

I'm somewhere in the middle, though undecided. I don't think that just dropping tithing would help us all that much...in fact I don't think we ever really took it up in any formal way. We've never expressed it in an oppressive manner and have always spoken about "giving" rather than "tithing." The key issue seems to be "are we making followers of Jesus" or just "Christians"?

If, by cancelling tithing, someone reacts "now I have more money for me," the problem clearly isn't that they are oppressed by tithing, but that they are so self-absorbed that they do not automatically try and give as much as they can. In a church full of disciples, the cancelling of tithing could only really lead to more giving (if there was any change at all) as the people who were once ‘confined’ by tithing are released to discover for themselves how much they should give.

I suppose my argument is that SMW's self-confessed bee in his bonnet is about a secondary issue. The question is not “is tithing wrong?” but “are we communities of disciples” or just religious theatre goers? If we are just theatre goers, why not pay a tenth of our incomes to sit back and enjoy the show!

Finally, for those who struggle with issues of generosity with finances, giving the first ten percent of their income can be a kind of spiritual discipline (i.e. learning to give) and can help a great deal with budgeting.

I'm back blogging! I've been around since Friday but really haven't had the chance to sit down for long enough and process my thoughts. On Saturday I went to Viv's party after work which was cool. Happy Birthday for tomorrow Viv! It was cool to chill out and listen to some professional musicians sing Jazz and stuff. We then got roped in to doing a song - we actually rewrote the words to "Breakfast at Tiffanies" by Deep Blue Something in order that they were appropriate to Viv (cardboard table, scones etc.)

It was quite embarassing actually, I think PJ was the wiser for not joining in. I then crooned my way few Iris by the googoo dolls (once I remembered the words) and exited the stage (but not after singing a few bars of the "la" song). Sorry to those of you who were there...

On Sunday night Kirsten and I went to see Jackass the movie. I was surprised that I didn't laugh as much as I used to at it. My theory is that the bigger their budget, the less entertaining they are. It's the same thing that happened to Ali G. He was hilarious on the 11o'clock show, but by the time he got his own show it all started to go downhill. Perhaps people flourish in obscurity?

I'm off to the NLC tomorrow. I guess I'll be back blogging on Friday...

I was introduced to being seriously misunderstood last night as I explained the way our church works. I think the biggest mistake was that I was sat in his church building telling him how we'll be unlikely to get tied to a building at any time in the future - we'd rather free our money up for the poor etc. Anyhow I think he interpretted what I said as an attack on the way he was used to doing things, rather than explaining how exciting it is that we get to do church in a different way.

In fact what I said was more of a reaction to his statement "so you're just starting out...I'm sure you'll grow and be able to afford a building at some point" as he named a number of other events based churches which grew and then bought a building (as any other respectable church would!) I suppose I was just taken aback - I'd read about such misunderstandings, but had never really experienced it.

I just road home from work (M-Store) only to get completely soaked to the skin. I guess it's only to be expected in the British climate. It must be like some kind of social contract, Rousseau stylee - where at birth you contract to be soaked for the majority of your life...ok now I'm just rambling. I'm dry now anyhow and may even return with some serious thoughts in a bit...