{"id":470,"date":"2013-12-22T03:43:37","date_gmt":"2013-12-22T03:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.dminlgp.com\/?p=470"},"modified":"2014-08-13T20:42:30","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T20:42:30","slug":"visual-ethnography-london-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/visual-ethnography-london-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Ethnography London 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

MY PERSONAL INTERESTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 London! The world class city that contains places that I have only\u00a0heard of in movies, and historical narratives: The River Thames, London Bridge, The Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Lloyds of London, St Paul\u2019s cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the Underground tubes, double-decker busses and the iconic red telephone box!\u00a0 I mean, one can just go dizzy thinking of how awesome this city is to the outside world.\u00a0 So many famous people, real and fictitious, are connected with this most visited international city!\u00a0 There is C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Shakespeare, Bond, James Bond, Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes, even Peter Pan! \u00a0What joy I had to know that my first cohort gathering was to be in this most famous of celebrated cities.<\/p>\n

The religious history of England was also of great interest to me on two accounts.\u00a0 First, I am an ordained Anglican Priest having my ordination papers filed in Canterbury. \u00a0Second, as an International Missions Mobilizer I teach workshops wherein we discuss three groups of nations\u2014Unreached nations, Emerging Christian nations, and Post-Christian nations, we categorize England, along with all of the United Kingdom and Europe as post-Christian nations. \u00a0\u00a0Yet at one time in the history of this nation there was a strong Christian presence with high church attendance and an influence that stretched all over the world.[1]<\/a> \u00a0Men from England such as Charles Spurgeon, Charles and John Wesley, George Whitfield, David Livingstone, William Carey and many others were major world influencers for Christianity. \u00a0But for years now, England, along with all of the rest of the UK and Europe has witnessed a decline in Christianity. \u00a0From such lofty heights with \u00a0tremendous people and places like Westminster Abby and St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral, the world has seen this once Great Light diminish in brilliancy. \u00a0I was eager to gain first hand knowledge of this decline in Christianity, but also see where the church is alive and thriving.<\/p>\n

Aside from my personal interest in this grand and historical location, I was just as, if not more, excited to partake in the beginnings of a doctoral program that I had dreamed about for years.\u00a0 To gather with other like minded people, who were seeking the same goal as I was, would be the true highlight for me.\u00a0 We could have met in any mundane city and I would have been excited nonetheless. \u00a0To meet with these fellow students and hear their stories, their personal journeys, and their current ministry endeavors was a great highlight.\u00a0 The first day we gathered I looked around at my fellow students and was simply amazed that I was surrounded by professors, pastors, and missionaries, all lovers of God desiring greater education to better serve the Lamb of God and advance His glory on the earth.\u00a0 My heart was full with excitement and appreciation.<\/p>\n

Another great impact was sitting at the feet of the great scholars and practitioners.\u00a0 Each one of them brought such insight and clarity of focus to issues that we have only had cursory glances of.\u00a0 They did this with great impacting and powerful presentations.\u00a0 I was like a sponge soaking in the wisdom and years of experience that each one gave out generously.\u00a0 The humility of these servants was also very refreshing.\u00a0 I have unfortunately been around leaders who elevate themselves above the common folk as if to keep their scholarly robs from being tainted.\u00a0 These puffed up small people do not interact on any personal level with those that would be the recipients of their self-declared great wisdom. \u00a0\u00a0Though these London presenters were major leaders of international acclaim, authors, scholars, and entrepreneurs, they exhibited the Christ-like character of humility and allowed each of us the opportunity to get close to them.\u00a0 Even if I did not personally speak to one of them I was blessed to see other students conversing on some passionate issue.<\/p>\n

NEW KNOWLEDGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Having been in the ministry for some 24 plus years it is still surprising to me how much \u201cnew knowledge\u201d regarding ministry that you continually come across.\u00a0 Often times it is a fresh look, or the rediscovery of truths that have been buried in the needless accumulation of daily dribble.\u00a0 These buried truths were excavated and once again brought to the surface for us to breathe afresh their forgotten fragrance. \u00a0It was refreshing to bask in the reveled truth that Martian Percey declared, that at the bottom of a Minister\u2019s job, his occupation, is that we must be occupied with God.\u00a0 What would a minister, whose job it is to represent God to people, look like if his life truly was occupied with God\u2014to be caught up in the mystery, beauty, and love of the God he desires to communicate to people?\u00a0 \u00a0This is the knowledge that we must return to time and time again.\u00a0 Oh how I desire to be caught up in the love of God, to be fully occupied with Him.\u00a0 This was challenging and one of my great \u201ctake-aways\u201d from our time in the crypt.<\/p>\n

I also recall Dave Male sharing on bridging the gap like a spider casting his web between two secure points.\u00a0 Brilliant!\u00a0 We to must be able to bridge the gap that exist between us and those outside the church, casting a connecting \u201cweb\u201d and securing our conversations in such a strong relational way that we can truly transfer the love of God. \u00a0We must be about bringing the kingdom of God in innovative and appropriate ways in each of the particular contexts we find ourselves in just as Jesus did.\u00a0 This might provoke us to move further from the shore of our safe habitations and truly launch out into uncharted waters. \u00a0As Dave said, a leader must be, one who is out on the open seas, for ministry is not a car on a road but rather a boat on the open water.\u00a0 I really appreciated the quote by Sir Francis Drake that Dave shared with us.<\/p>\n

Disturb us Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,\u00a0when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,\u00a0when we arrived safely, because we sailed too close to the shore.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

How desperate we need to pray this prayer in our lives.\u00a0 How often have we seen our plans come to pass only because they were to safe, never demanding true courage and boldness.\u00a0 To Dave\u2019s credit he called us all to \u201cbe calm and be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came MayKate Morse speaking on Embodied Leadership and Power.\u00a0 My heart felt for her as she shared how rudely a fellow professor replied to her excitement that they would both be speakers at an upcoming conference.\u00a0 I could feel the knife slide in as she shared his stabbing words accentuated with his bony finger jabbing her shoulder, \u201cJust remember I am the main conference speaker you are just a break out session.\u201d[3]<\/a> \u00a0I then rejoiced with her as she shared her relationship with Dr. Leighton Ford, and how he lifted her up and praised her in a way we all should be treated.\u00a0 How I identified with her having my own similar experiences with dysfunctional and immature leaders.\u00a0 I resolved to watch my own body language as I interact with my fellow minsters gathered around me.<\/p>\n

PRACTICE AND APPLICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The fast pace life that I live, leaves very little time to reflect on what I have just experienced.\u00a0 The sights, sounds, smells, great people, and knowledge I experienced in London seemed to dissipate into the back ground of my life as quickly as I recover from jet-lag.\u00a0\u00a0 I often leave little time to reflect and therefore fully grasp the weight of my experiences.\u00a0\u00a0 This assignment allows for reflection, albeit under rather strenuous tension.\u00a0\u00a0 Looking back now, I have attempted to put into practice and apply the understanding of what Martian Percey highlighted, that as ministers we need to be more occupied with God.\u00a0 Yet re-reading my journal entries around the time of my return from London, there are distinct gaps.\u00a0 Where was I? What was going on? \u00a0What was I occupied with other then God?\u00a0 So, I continue anew and afresh each day with a recommitment to put into practice that which I learned regarding a God occupied life.\u00a0 Each morning before entering the gym to exercise my body I park the car and open my Bible.\u00a0 I enter into the calming pages of holy rite and ingest life into my soul through the Word of Life. \u00a0\u00a0Throughout the day I try to keep what I read in the fore front of my thinking.\u00a0 Ruminating and occupying my mind with God \u2013 attempting to stay connected to Him as much as He is connected to me.\u00a0 Some days are better then others, and for the most part, I breath easier and can forge ahead into those open waters with greater confidence that the Captain of my ship is Jesus.<\/p>\n

One thing I have placed in my life, to a more measurable degree, has been the discussion brought forth by Shawn Hotzclaw.\u00a0 Shawn, unlike most of the other presenters, brought a perspective from the corporate world.\u00a0 He opened up with a statement that I still carry with me to this day, \u201cYou have no value unless you meet your numbers.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 That seems so \u201canti-Christian.\u201d\u00a0 But, as Shawn expounded on this corporate reality it sunk deep into my shallow business mind, allowing me to understand more of the corporate life.\u00a0 Having never been in the corporate world in any significant degree I was unaware of such pressures that the corporate employee might be experiencing on a daily basis. These pressures are often overlooked by ministers who have the luxury of retreating into their tranquil lives of Bible study and prayer and denounce the half hearted commitment business professionals make to the church.<\/p>\n

I have spoken to a few business men since my time in London and have repeatedly investigated Shawn\u2019s \u201creality check.\u201d\u00a0 True to his words, Shawn correctly identified the importance of meeting your numbers.\u00a0 The business professionals I have spoken to understand so poignantly that unless they meet their numbers their value to the company is always in question.\u00a0 Though this realistic pressure was brought to light, Shawn, also skillfully balanced it with appropriate focuses that the business professional needs to maintain as he trudges through the corporate jungle. \u00a0\u00a0We as God\u2019s ministers can assist the business community in capturing these eternal truths and help the business professional maintain a healthy spiritual balance. \u00a0First, each person must look at the eternal horizon and not just the earthly horizon.\u00a0 We are more then our numbers. \u00a0We are more than what we can produce.\u00a0 Made in the imago Dei,<\/em>[5]<\/a>we must grasp that our eternal worth does not come about by what we can produce, but rather by the love that is freely given to each of us. \u00a0Second, we must understand that we are but stewards and only a fiduciary when it come to the finances of this world.\u00a0 Like the steward in the parable Jesus shared we maintain that which is not ours to own.\u00a0 As wise stewards we facilitate the growth of the master\u2019s wealth, trusting that the Lord of the Harvest will provide his servants with all their needs. \u00a0Third, we must realize that we may not have all the super leader gifts but, we have a unique DNA forged by God himself, possessing gifts and strengths that can, and will, be called upon to minister and administer God\u2019s resources to further His kingdom goals.[6]<\/a> \u00a0Armed with only these small corporate insights from Shawn, I have been able to empathize with different business professional and help them understand their eternal value comes from more then just meeting their numbers.<\/p>\n

The private time I spent with Shaw was also extremely valuable as I am seeking to enter into the corporate world through some type of cultural consulting.\u00a0 He agreed to assist me in reviewing a business plan and in any other way that he could.\u00a0 His time with me increased my confidence in the reality that I actually do have something to offer the corporate world more than just another sermon.<\/p>\n

SYNTHESIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The decline of Christianity in England and specifically London, has always been a concerning dilemma for me as a missiologist.\u00a0 For this great nation, as I discussed earlier, to have such a prominent Christian population and influence around the world, I am amazed at the \u201cfall from grace\u201d that seems to have precipitated the move toward a post-Christian status.\u00a0 Was it the lack of relevant theology?\u00a0 A theology that, Grenz and Olson advocate as one, \u201cthat articulates Christian beliefs in a manner that people can understand,\u2026speaks to the problems, longings and ethos of contemporary culture,\u201d and finally a relevant theology that \u201ctakes seriously contemporary discoveries and insights of various disciplines of human learning?\u201d[7]<\/a> Was it the exodus of many of the European theologians heading west to America in the mid 20th<\/sup> century?\u00a0 Prior to that point, Alister McGrath notes that, \u201cGerman and British theology tended to dominate.\u201d[8]<\/a> \u00a0More substantial was the theological developments known as \u201cthe Enlightenment\u201d which brought with it much uncertainty for Christianity in both Europe and North America.\u00a0 England had been hard hit just prior to these development.\u00a0 There was the Reformation and the ensuing Wars of Religion that followed, all of which had finally begun to settle down \u201cbefore a new and more radical challenge to Christianity arose.\u201d[9]<\/a>\u00a0 This Enlightenment \u201cpresented Christianity essentially as a rational and moral religion, easily harmonized with human reason.\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 This I believe is the largest contributor to the secularization of London.\u00a0 This state of post-Christian was addressed by Dave Male during his presentation entitled, \u201cDeveloping Pioneering Leaders For a New Missionary Context.\u201d\u00a0 Dave provided an overview of the projected decline of weekly attendance in the Church of England by Peter Brierley.\u00a0 The projection continues to the year 2057 and illustrates a continual church attendance in decline.[11]<\/a>\u00a0 Many are hard at work to reverse this decline.\u00a0 It was good to visit churches like The Oasis, that is stemming the tide of decline.<\/p>\n

Contemporary social theory wrestles with different preoccupations in approaching the critique of society and, from different theoretical perspectives, each offer its own survey of why a society functions the way it functions.[12]<\/a>\u00a0 Could there be a contemporary social theory study correlating the influx of the Enlightenment views with the lack of relevant theology that caused a decline in the church of England?<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

[1] Richard Mudie-Smith, ed., The Religious Life of London<\/em> (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1904).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [2]Sir Francis Drake, quoted by David Male, \u201cDeveloping Pioneering Leaders for a New Missionary Context\u201d (GFES London Advance, September 28, 2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 [3]Mary Kate Morse, Presentation:\u00a0Body Language and Leadership<\/em> (London, England.<\/em>10-1-2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [4]Shawn Hotzclaw, Presentation:\u00a0Leadership Value Defined in a For Profit Company<\/em> (London, England.<\/em>10-1-2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [5]David Ford brought out many arguments and debates regarding the conceptions of humanity as people debate how this \u201cimage is to be specified.\u201d\u00a0 David F. Ford, Theology: A Short Introduction<\/em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 66-67.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [6]Hotzclaw, presentation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [7] Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson, Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God<\/em> (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 99\u2013101.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [8] Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction<\/em>, 5th ed. (Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 66.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [9]Ibid., 67.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [10]Ibid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [11]David Male, \u201cDeveloping Pioneering Leaders for a New Missionary Context\u201d (GFES London Advance, September 28, 2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [12]Anthony Elliott, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction<\/em> (New York: Routledge, 2009), 232.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MY PERSONAL INTERESTS \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 London! The world class city that contains places that I have only\u00a0heard of in movies, and historical narratives: The River Thames, London Bridge, The Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Lloyds of London, St Paul\u2019s cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the Underground tubes, double-decker busses and the iconic red telephone box!\u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,62],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-ve","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1803,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/1803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}