Paul writes - The Waikato Anglican Diocese have their Ministry School @ Findlay Park at the end of August beginning the 31st August and running on into the first couple of days September (1st and 2nd).
I’m also exploring organising a workshop with Dave like three of us did with Ian Mobsby earlier in the year. The two options as I see them are: (1) a public workshop hosted by a supportive congregation or at the Diocesan Campus; or (2) An Anglican Parish in Hamilton or the outlying towns might want to engage Dave as part of a parish working group (that’s considering questions of mission, ecclesiological shape, creating hospitable spaces for “spiritual seekers” etc) for 2-3 hours and make a financial contribution to help cover the costs of bringing him to NZ. I’m open to being persuaded with respect to which is the best option. Perhaps too there is a third option...? I also have a number of topics that Dave could work with and feed into the conversation or workshop for you. Let me know and I can send these to you.
Dave is a fascinating guy. He organised one of the early Alt.Worship groups in London – The Holy Joes – and like our own Mark Pierson and Mike Riddell has been a significant influence on a good number of younger leaders who’ve emerged into the Alt-Worship scene in the UK over the years.
He is now the Anglican vicar of a creative and thriving parish in London, and is a regular speaker at Greenbelt (UK). This year he is doing some workshops in conjunction with Kiwi Jenny McIntosh (now living in London, and who, along with Alan Jamieson, was a founder of Spirited Exchanges in NZ). Dave and Jenny will be addressing the following theme at this year’s Greenbelt Gathering, before Dave jumps on a plane and heads south.
Friday evening (28th August) at 6pm Jenny [McIntosh] will be doing a joint session with Dave Tomlinson - So, what the hell should we believe? There is increasing debate and controversy surrounding the ‘right’ tenets of belief for evangelical Christians. Many people find their integrity challenged when expected to believe in a more literal interpretation of Scripture. Many of these interpretations seem more about keeping people ‘out’ than welcoming people ‘in’. We propose to explore issues around ‘right’ believing …
Dave has also written a number of books, the most significant of which was his (at the time) controversial (for all the right reasons – creating needful debate and space for new conversations an experiments) book The Post-Evangelical (pub. 1995). This book still has legs and names well the experience of a great many people who felt uncomfortable with British Evangelicalism of the early 90’s, and maybe feel uncomfortable with the trajectory that evangelicalism has taken since then. Dave’s book still resonates strongly, and although the context has changed markedly, I found, and continue to find it an excellent book and well worth reading for the first time, or reading it again. It spawned the interesting and generally useful collection of essays by a number of people including Bishop Graham Cray and Maggi Dawn (Maggi’s essay was the standout one for me, and Dave picks up on it's theme in his latest book - see below). It was titled: The Post-Evangelical Debate. As an aside, blogging friend Jason Clark is asking some interesting questions of Evangelicalism. See his PhD outline here.
This book was followed up last year by his Re-Enchanting Christianity: Faith in an Emerging Culture (pub. 2008). Like its predecessor I think this one reads well the signs of the times and again offers Dave as a useful conversation partner for those grappling with (Christian) faith and wondering if there is more to this tradition than has been on display for a number of decades. Is there a richer deeper vein and a way of “re-enchanting Christianity” so that it again speaks words of life, transformation and hope in a culture asking some fascinating questions? This is a very useful and thought-provoking book. I again highly recommend it. It's good for the imagination.
From my point of view Dave’s time Cambridge and the Waikato will build upon earlier work done, and questions asked, in this diocese by Alan Jamieson (the 2005 Houchen Lecture and the Houchen workshop); Steve Taylor in 2007 (mission in Western Culture, the Opawa story and the multi-congregational model); Ian Mobsby in April 2009 (church and mission beyond the edge of the typical parish congregation, and now Dave who will be focusing on the creative and imaginative ways that parishes can engage with culture, spiritual seekers, and changing times. Clearly the key-note addresses will have broader appeal and congregations of other denominations would benefit from interacting with Dave and his thinking... For example, I can think of a creative open Bretheren congregation doing some interesting things and asking some very interesting questions.
Details of his three keynote talks at Ministry School are as follows:
CHANGING CHURCH IN AN EMERGING CULTURE
What sorts of churches are required for the 21st century? And how can we produce them? Are traditional churches capable of making the necessary changes? Where can we begin?
IDENTITY AND CHANGE IN AN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY
How do we listen and respond to what is happening in the world, whilst continuing to listen, and remain faithful, to our tradition? What do we let go of, and what do we hold on to? And how can our traditions be reconfigured and re-spirited to meet new needs?
NOURISHING COMMUNITY IN A FRAGMENTED WORLD
How can church communities provide vital sustenance for 21st century spiritual pilgrims? How can we connect with the rising wave of churchless spirituality? Can we regenerate a sense of belonging in a ‘homeless’, disjointed world?
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