New from LICC

NEW ARTICLES

Visit the LICC website www.licc.org.uk, where the following new articles are available to read online or download:

Fear, Faith and Finance
Times are hard. Mark Greene asks what the Church should be saying. More

Obama’s Inauguration – Thoughts from an American Abroad
As Barack Obama makes history by becoming America’s first black president, LICC associate speaker and American citizen, Mary Hippsley reflects. More

Dido – Home at Last?
Listening to her new album, Safe Trip Home, Mark Greene believes Dido makes a compelling case for the power of the still small voice, and should be taken seriously. More

Filed under: Resources , Barack Obama, education, LICC

The Struggle

Reading Obama, my mind was taken back to the struggle of the black people in America to achieve freedom and equality in that country, and I was struck by the way in which he seems to have translated that theme into a present struggle for justice and prosperity for all the American people.

Then I watched Rageh Omaar present another excellent episode in ‘Christianity –a History’ on Channel 4 (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/christianity-a-history/episode-guide/series-1/episode-4) – this time on the Crusades. And he reminded me that Jihad is the Arabic word for struggle …

I am sure Omaar is right to challenge both our Western lack of attention to the outrageous connection of violence and penance in the crusades, killing in imitatio Christi; and also to the over-attention of Eastern states to the legacy of the crusades, so that Al Qaida calls westerners Crusaders on a daily basis.

But we do have a struggle on our hands. For God’s kingdom to come it seems that all that is not of God does have to be confronted, struggled with; and there is a real sense in which a laissez faire attitude can lead us to lose Christ’s way.

Perhaps that is the clue to how to resolve this puzzle. Christ’s way of struggle is radically different from that which comes naturally to us. His kingship is unlike any other in that it gives its power away – and so is both free from the taint of false domination, and can in the end hold all power without disempowering others. It’s the same line of thinking that leads me to dare to suppose that Christianity when fully true to Christ has something unique to offer to a world of a myriad faiths.

So our calling, our struggle, is to remain completely true to Christ, to be truly Christlike, in our own struggle against the sin that is within us:

Col 1.28-9 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. ^29 To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me

even to the point of seemingly losing the struggle by accepting our own death, not causing the death of others:

Heb 12.4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

^By doing this, putting on the nature and armour of Christ, we also confront the powers of darkness in the spiritual realm:

Eph 6:12: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

But here’s the rub. I am acutely unaware of how unChristlike I am. This is a struggle worthy of the name, and I am hugely grateful for the support that you as individuals and the Church give me through your prayers and sharing in the fellowship of word and sacrament with me. And I am grateful beyond words that beyond all my struggling, which will never reach the mark, there is a Redeemer who makes the difference up for me.

If I’ll let Him.

Filed under: Media Matters, Thoughts for the Day , Barack Obama, Bible Study, History, Holy Land, struggle, TV

CANDLEMAS SERMON, ELY CATHEDRAL 1st Feb 2009

 

‘Suddenly, the Lord whom you are seeking will come into his temple’. Simeon must have felt like that. At last the old words were being fulfilled, his long-held hope melting into reality, his prayers answered. ‘The Holy Spirit rested on him’ and it is the Spirit in Luke’s Gospel who is driving the story forward with visions and promptings. God is breaking through again into his world.

Filed under: Sermons and Talks , 3D Church, anglo-saxon, Barack Obama, candlemas, cathedral, Ely, Holy Spirit

CEO Obama – Good to Great?

Mark Greene writes in the excellent Connecting with Culture email from   LICC:

In 2001, Jim Collins wrote Good to Great, arguably the most influential business book of the decade, pored over in the offices of NGOs and charities, as well as in the gleaming HQs of multinationals. Collins analysed what turns good organisations into great organisations. One of his key findings was that the character of the CEO was vital. Two qualities distinguished the great leaders from the good, the bad and the mediocre. It wasn’t their ability to cast a vision or their personal charisma or their soaring communication skills – all of which Obama has in brimming measure.

No, the two key characteristics of the truly greatest leaders were humility and iron focus. Humility – because the humble leader puts the needs of the organisation before personal preferences, ego needs or whims. Iron focus, because great leaders always retain crystal clarity about their long-term goal. The resonances with the character of the one who came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many are hardly surprising.

Filed under: Current affairs , Barack Obama, LICC

Obama Inaugural Address

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

Filed under: Current affairs , Barack Obama