Suprised by Hope

Here’s a review of NT Wright’s wonderful Surprised by Hope on Christianity magazine’s website.

Incomparable

Here’s another review on Christianity’s website, this time of Andrew Wilson’s excellent book Incomparable.

Reformed and Always Reforming

Thought you might like to see my review of Roger Olson’s intriguing book from the Christianity website.

Help I’m leading an All-age church service!

Visiting churches on holiday during the summer season can mean that you get exposed to more all age services than you might have bargained for. That was my experience this summer. The problem with all age services is often everyone hates them. The young people hate them because they don’t get to go out to their groups and the adults hate them because they feel they are not getting a proper service (normally meaning a lack of a deep sermon.) Parents of younger children hate them because they have to spend the service keeping their little ones quiet and entertained in a restricted area  So it was with some trepidation that I offered to lead an all age service this Sunday, as we had decided to honour our sunday school teachers by giving them the month off. But then I found it we were doing a series on the proverbs, and I had a chunk with 60 verses which left me a bit stumped. What would you have done? Here’s what i tried… let me know what you think as I continue to reflect on what would work for a successful all-age service.

iphone says hello

10.30am welcome and introduction - Krish
intro included a clip from Apple’s iphone advert “Hello” to introduce the theme of God’s advice for good communication
10.35am My Lips shall praise you
10.39am Let everything that has breath praise the lord
10.42am Teaching block 1
Interactive quiz looking at who in our culture we look to for wisdom and advice… see if you can spot who the following tv personalities are…

Reading: short passage from Proverbs 2 looking at how God’s wisdom works…

10.52am Interview with Jo and Tim
(a new couple in the church who are both medics and have been married for two months).

questions;
Colgate or McLeans?
Track or Field?
Phelps or Bolt?
Liverpool or Aresenal?

When I opened it up to the congregation to ask additional questions my son  Luke (aged 8 ) asked “Pet or Baby”  which got a lot of people laughing!

Serious questions included:
How did you become christians?

How do your jobs require you to use wisdom in how you communicate?

Tim talked about breaking bad news to patients, Jo talked about how to help new mum’s handle expectations.

What were the first words you said to eachother? ( Tim told us his chat up lines…)

At this point the under 5’s went out to another room as creche was available - so the rest of the service was not strictly all-age

10.57am Teaching block 2

I gave out printed out copies of Proverbs 10 to one side of the room and Proverbs 15 to the other side and asked people to discuss in groups (remember our church meets Cafe style around tables) which of the proverbs had to communication. At this point I set off a colouring competition for the very young children:

I gave an on the run commentary on the proverbs that people picked out we talked about the following themes:

1. how to take criticism

2. how to avoid escalating conflict

3. how to think before you speak

all topics I know I need help on!

11.07am Prayer Focus

this was done interactively too - asking people to suggest personal, local and global things to pray for and encouraging people to pray around tables. I gave a disclaimer to people who weren’t comfortable to pray to maybe think about how we can help in some of these situations.
11.12am Song: O for a Thousand tongues to sing
11.17am Teaching block 3

I handed out sheets to help people think about how to apply the teaching we had done today.

We had a good discussion about using email, text and phone conversations in a godly way in light of the proverbs we had looked at.

11.27am Take my life and let it be

11.33am Communion - linking in with the need for good relationships in church and putting things right between us.

11.43am Song: Blessing and Honour

We did over run a little bit and the young people stayed engaged with us. I am hoping the adults learned how to read the proverbs and try and live them out. Some visitors commented on the service being comfortable and welcoming. Another (single) felt that it was too family-focussed. One of my children still complained he had missed his group. How can we get the balance right  for everyone?

Best kids movies 2008

Once again our friends at Blockbuster video are offering a great deal 50p a video for two nights. Not to mention going to the cinema is a great way to enjoy a rainy school holiday… Here’s my pick of the best kids movies on DVD and in the cinemas at the moment. I am thinking of primary school aged children

1. Wall-e

Irresistably good movie - even my two year old loves it - Wall-e was one of her first words! OK so there’s not a lot of dialogue for the first 40 minutes of the movie. But Pixar have a great way of helping you connect with inanimate objects. There are some great ideas in this film concerning the enivironment, excercise, commercialism - there are a lot of nods to other Sci Fi Movies - notably - Wall-e looks a lot like a robot from Silent Running and the autopilot looks like HAL from 2001. There’s enough action to keep the kids involved and don’t get me started on the Apple Product placement…

2. Speed Racer

The Wachowski Brothers (the guys behind the Matrix) bring a real boys movie to the big screen with a film which is essentially 3 big car races. The plot is a little hard to follow for the kids in the first 20 mins but keep going because the action is great. With amazing colours some really great chase sequences and some laughs with a monkey and a 10 year old boy this is a great film for all the family. It reminded me of playing Mario Kart Wii!

3. Enchanted

Here’s a great Disney movie for a change. With a great musical set piece in the middle and a fun plot here’s what happens when someone from the world of the fairytales enters our world - innocence conquers evil with some great singalong tunes along the way - there’s even a great joke on Snow White where the vermin help clean up a house this is a really fun movie you’ll want to watch over and over.

4. High School Musical 2

OK so I wanted to hate this movie - but once again the Disney channel has come up trumps with some really great songs and dance set pieces. Both boys and girls will enjoy watching this film. They have been wise and kept the relationships simple so that primary school children can watch - and some really memorable songs will have you humming along in no time. (it’s less than £7 on amazon at the moment too…)

5. Horton Hears a who

A real classic of a movie - this is beautifully narrated and artfully drawn. great colours, some fun one liners and even the possibility of a little philosophical reflection. Don’t miss this great movie. It could be a parable about tolerance, inclusion and cross cultural friendships or simply enjoyed as a fun and distracting animated comedy. Highly recommended.

6.Prince Caspian

I really enjoyed this film. Yes it’s two hours long but the action sequences are great. It is pretty fair to the CS Lewis original (with ramped up action maybe). It feels more of a mature film than the Lion the Witch and Wadrobe. The budget feels bigger and the sets more expansive. Still the Lion the Witch and the Wadrobe has the stronger story line. (see my full review here…)

7. Spiderwick Chronicles

My son devoured this book series (great deal on amazon at the moment) and the film lives up to expectations well. There’s a great combination of action and intrigue with enough thrills to keep older children interested without it becoming too scary. Good performances all round.

8. Mr Majorium magcial Emporium

9. Happily Never After

10. Nim’s Island

Phelps Olympic Powerhouse

gold again

If like me you have been blown away by the phenomenonon that is Michael Phelps you might be interested in this story from the Guardian online. What does the man eat to give him all the energy he needs to become the greatest Olympian of all time (in terms of his awesome Gold Medal Collection.)

Here is the Breakfast of a Champion:

three fried-egg sandwiches with…  cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and, of course, mayonnaise.

two cups of coffee

an omelette - containing five eggs

a bowl of grits (a US form of porridge)

three slices of French toast, with powdered sugar on top

three chocolate chip pancakes.

Lunch

half a kilogram - ie a whole packet - of enriched pasta

two large ham and cheese sandwiches.

1,000 calories of energy drink.

Dinner

half kilo of enriched pasta

an entire pizza

1,000 calories of energy drinks.

The man’s dedication and singular focus is incredible. As Phelps himself has said: “Eat sleep and swim, that’s all I can do.”

Rebecca Adlington Powers to Gold

What a race! Everyone was expecting Katie Hoff the american swimmer to win and despite swimming a tactically flawed race Hoff had it in the bag until the last 5 centimetres! We were always taught to dive for the tape in our school athletics, to remember that the race is not over till the end. Now i’m sure there’s a sermon illustration for any sermons on Paul’s second letter to Timothy in there somewhere.I do feel really sorry for the recurring nightmares Hoff will have after losing Olympic Gold by 7 hundreds of a second. But what a race Adlington put in - the never say die attitude - after appearing to be completely out of medal contention. Her outstretched fingers powering into the wall at the end has given her a place in history. The first female british medal winner in 40 years - she has a swimming pool named after her and she’s only 19 years old!

Apparently her parents used the incentive of designer shoes to help her keep getting back in the pool. She would need a lot of incentive as the training is gruelling.

Well done Rebecca!

Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

The New Harry Potter movie is on it’s way, coming to a cinema near you in  November. In the mean time, there is a great trailer to watch. I love the idea of a collection of memories that other people can enjoy - it’s kind of a mix between the crystals in the Christopher reeve superman movies and a Holodeck from Star Trek the next generation.

How could things have been different if Dumbledor had known who he was dealing with… I wonder what great catastrophes could have been averted if someone had taken some of the great villains of our time under their wing when they were kids. I guess it makes our work with young people so important - youthwork in the power of the Spirit has the potential of changing the world!

(see the harry potter and order of the phoenix review)

Essential Texts for Theological Undergraduates

1.  N.T. Wright: The New Testament and the People of God.

Christian Origins and the Question of God v. 1 (Christian Origins & Ques God 1) by N.T. Wright

“A must read introduction to an appropriate methodology for theological / biblical studies”

This is a landmark book providing a brilliant epistemological and methodological foundation for theological an biblical studies. This is the first volume in an incredibly provocative and challenging series. It may well mark NT Wright as the finest theologian of his generation. This book raises some very powerful questions on methodology and provides some intriguing possibilities for apologetic work at the same time.

2. Alister McGrath: Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister E. McGrath

“McGrath provides a masterful historical survey of Christian theology”

McGrath provides us with a whistle stop tour of historical theology. It is fast pace and easy to read providing an excellent map of the terrain. You will never know where McGrath stands on some of the current debates but you do get a masterful survey.

3. Lesslie Newbigin: The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

“Provides a very useful and readable christian epistemology”

This book changed my life. Newbigin’s work provides an incredible mix of theology, philosophy and apologetic reasoning. As an astute cultural critic having spent 40 years in cross cultural mission contexts Newbigin combines both the wisdom of practitioner with the reflection of a scholar. If you only read one book this year….

4. David J. Bosch: Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, Orbis

“The best single volume introduction to christian mission”

This is Bosch’s magnum opus. It combines shrewd biblical analysis with historical insight and then a prophetic challenge to postmodern mission. Unmissably good.

5. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text?: The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge

“Vanhoozer provides an excellent engagement with postmodern literary criticism and the possiblity of  reading the bible”

If there is only one book you read that engages with the challenge and the opportunities provided by Postmodern literary criticism and the way we read the Bible this should be it. It is surprisingly readable and yet is a no holds barred engagement with the philosophical issues at stake.

6. James K.A. Smith, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church (Church and Postmodern Culture)

“excellent engagement with the postmodern thought from a christian perspective”

Too many books see Postmodernity as the moral enemy of christianity. This book redresses the challenge. With short readable chapters looking for the positive elements of key Postmodern thinkers and their usefulness as dialogue partners with the church.

7. Helmut Thielicke, A Little Exercise for Young Theologians

“a challenging little book about living devotionally and academically”

This book helps theological students to think about the impact of their subject for their own personal relationship with God. Worth the hour it would take to read this one cover to cover.

British International Motorshow Review for Families and children

Today I went to the Motorshow at the Excel Centre in the Docklands, London. Just so that you know the context of this review. Today was my wife’s birthday and I have four young children - who all came too. My wife is no petrol head and my youngest daughter is 2 so can’t say the word Car yet.

So when I tell you that this was a fantastic day for all the family you will know how good this day needed to be!

First up we got in free - through a promotion with Costa Coffee.
Second we got there early enough to park on site - it’s £10 for the whole day.
Third we beat the crowds in so that meant in the first hour we:

1. Drove a Landrover Discovery over a crazy all terrain assault course - exciting especially when my primary school aged sons were in the back saying - don’t take your foot off the accelerator or we’ll crash daddy!”

2. My eldest kids went on a free hour long sailing excursion (anyone aged 8-16 years old can go) and parents are not allowed to accompany them. They loved it.

3. This left me some time to go on a 58mph Powerboat ride - I had the privilege of being the co-pilot on one of the Thundercat boats. It was simply breathtaking - the acceleration is out of this world and they can turn on a penny. You do have to suit up… (see picture) and hang on for dear life - but wow is it an adrenaline fix!

That was before we went inside and checked out the main car attractions. There was plenty for the kids to do - including: free ice creams from FORD; a pretty cool dancing routine that my daughter thought was amazing involving some magicially quick costume changes (also at FORD) and an excellent climbing wall and football competition also at FORD. OK so we liked the Ford stand the best for fun things to do.

But honour must be given to the Zurich Insurance free gokart rides. The opportunity for a free shave from Gilette and the wait for it… special VIP treatment that Vauxhall drivers get in a special hospitality lounge. It was the first time in ages I felt truly proud to be a Vauxhall Zafira driver!

There were some pretty good car stands. With the usual array of concept cars and super cars around. My wife had been worried this was going to be as much fun as walking around a carpark. But she said that it was a great day out and a cool birthday treat for the whole family. for my birthday we have agreed to go to a flower show…

Best Wii Games for Children

The Nintendo Wii is definitely the best games console for kids. But what are the best (and worst) games for children to play on it. Lots of the reviews I read focussed on serious game players but I have three primary school children (aged 9 to 6) and here are the games we love the best:

1. Mario Kart

A fantastically designed game. With amazing graphicsm very catchy sound and options to race on your own, with friends in the room or people all around the world. It comes with a wii wheel - which is basically a plastic wheel casing for the wii remote.  You can play with up to four players on screen at any one time.  You don’t need to buy an extra wheel as with a bit of practice you can use a normal wii remote on its own - alternatively you can use the wii remote with nunchuk. You need quite a big screen to be able to play four player as the screen divides into four - but it is a great game nonetheless. With motorbikes and lots of extra characters and vehicles to unlock there is lots of replay value even after you have unlocked all 32 beautiful circuits. It is a great game for the whole family to play together. This was my favourite game on the Nintendo DS - so not only is this great fun for the kids its a great game for Mum and Dad too! It is £34.98 on amazon - and they have stock at the moment.

2. Wii Play

A great way to buy an wii extra controller and get some fun games too. ( A wii controller costs £25 anyway so you are only paying £4 for this game.) My kids really like playing the table tennis, cow racing, tank shooting and the fishing game. Great for primary school aged children who want to play a quick game with their siblings or mates. All the game are two player - no four player games sadly.The following mini games come with wii play:

• Play an updated version of the NES classic, Duck Hunt
• Table Tennis
• Laser Hockey
• Wii Billiards
• Fishing game
• Wii Pose
• Find Mii game

3. Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz

The main game doesn’t get much play in our household but there are 50 party games (multiplayer mini games) that keep them entertained. Four children can play at once on games like:

frog racing;(jolt the wii remote upside down to race frogs up a hill)
asteroid shooting; (aim the wii remote at the screen like a laser pointer to shoot asteroids)
basketball shooting: (aim and shoot)
submarine game:(steer a submarine around an underwater landscape)

The games makes full use of the the wii remote’s flexibility. This is a fun game to have out as entertainment at a birthday party.With some great bright colours and funky music this game is a real hit in our household. A couple of the mini games need more than one nunchuk controller. Its reduced to £21.98 on amazon.

4. Sonic and the Magic ring

Again the main game is not the main attraction but the 40 mini games. There are scores of games including: spin steel survival ( you have to spin a ball on a chain to knock people off towers); mine kart racing,  they can take a little time to get used to but it will keep the kids coming back from more. We used this game at a birthday party to entertain 4 children as there is a race mode that means the four children compete over multiple mini games for an overall competition - including a pirate themed progress chart which went down well.Amazingly amazon are selling this for the absolute steal of: £12.99 (reduced from £39.99)

for more reviews from a kids perspective see http://nintendodskids.wordpress.com

Fresher generation

Thought you might like to see Miriam and my new article in Christianity Magazine. It’s about how churches can get involved in helping students make a good transition to university life and is linked to our book FRESH.

Twenty Four Remixed

Here’s some viuals I have been playing with - see if you like them.

New and Improved Twenty Four!

With a brand new cover and internal design. Twenty Four now includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter. Twenty Four can be used in small groups or in mentoring situations.

Twenty-Four’ takes a day in the life of an ordinary person and shows how every aspect can be part of worship.’Twenty-Four’ is designed for Christians everywhere to gain an exciting new perspective on all parts of their lives. It works through a normal day: getting up, commuting, working, shopping, cooking, family, fun, exercise and sleeping. Each chapter is filled with illustrations from modern culture and the biblical viewpoint on each area is considered.Through Krish Kandiah’s thoughtful and original teaching we see how to serve and worship our amazing God in each of these.

‘Krish is both a personal friend and inspiring author whose passion for people to know and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength is writ large on the pages of this engaging book.’
Ravi Zacharias, author and speaker

The Shack

The Shack is a daring new book from William P. Young. It tells the story of a man who loses faith in God after his daughter is apparently kidnapped by a serial killer.  A year after the abduction he received a mysterious invitation to visit the shack where the most incriminating evidence of his daughter’s abduction was found - a blood stained dress. The note seems to be from God himself.

This book takes many risks by portraying God in a way that as far as i have seen has never been attempted before. Many will be challenged by the book to think about God in a new way, many will find this book unpallatable but nobody will be neutral about this book.

I want to recommend you to read and then post your comments either here or on the facebook group.

SPOILER WARNING- don’t read any further if you don’t want to know what happens!

This book is definitely read before any one tells you the plotline. So don’t proceed if you want the best reading experience.

1. The plot makes up about 25% of the book and is gut wrenching stuff - you can really connect with the experiences of the characters. The writing style is a cross between Dan Brown and Tim La Haye - so don’t expect poetry - but it certainly serves to set up the rest of the book.

2. The bulk of the book is a conversation between Mack and the Trinity. God the father is represented as black woman, Jesus as a middle eastern man and the Holy Spirit as an Asian lady. So the multicultural card has definitely been played here. It is deliberately provocative - I love taking things to the edge but I did find it uncomfortable - God felt like an all american family - and God does seem to say some stuff that feels more like a Hallmark Greeting Card than the God of the Bible. Nevertheless i think it is worth reading in order to unmask some of our unhelpful presuppositions. Many of us think of God the father as a bearded white guy in the sky which is no more off beam than an african american woman who likes to cook.

3. The pace of the book really changes for the dialogue sections and there are some interesting ideas - i don’t think it would work as an apologetic book to give away to a friend but it might help some Christians to think more theologically.

Wimbledon 2008 Federer Nadal Final

Wow! What a final! Felt like I was watching a little piece of history. Some would say the best final ever. It did remind me of the time when McEnroe finally beat Borg and the way the games used to swing from one player in the ascendancy to the other. Felt like I was watching the changing of the guard. It was the unstoppable force of Nadal versus the immovable object of Federer. It was sport at its best - drama, strategy, tension and creativity. Lets hope Federer comes back - and doesn’t fade away like Borg did after the McEnroe defeat.

Quantum of Solace Bond 22

So the new Bond trailer is out and I must say it is not up to the usual cram-in-every-possible-exciting-moment-from-the-movie standard. In fact it goes out of its way to show you that the film is going to pick up half an hour from the last one.

Things I like the look of:

1. Damaged Bond

he is going to walk around with blood on him. rather than the old days when Bond will walk out of a burning building and look like he had just stepped out of a gentlemen’s club - having his hair and suit looking imacultate.

2. Emotional resonance

he is carrying the pain of betrayal and has revenge on his mind. It’s great to get a bit of emotional depth to him.

3. Bourne Inspired Car Chase

The chase scene looks more like something form Bourne Identity than Roger Moore’s Submarine Car from the Spy who loved me.

Things I don’t like

1. Over Prententious Title

Quantum Solace - I guess it means there is only the tiniest fragment of peace for someone like Bond.

2. Pace

Casino Royale seemed to drag on for me. The card game wasn’t very exciting and the trailer for this film doesn’t really inspire either taking ages to get going. Its not a great sign if I can get bored in a 2 minute trailer! So lets hope they up the ante for the actual movie!

Cloverfield

Don’t read this if you don’t know anything about this movie. It’s best watched in ignorance.

Sometimes a film that is a great concept doesn’t really work in reality - Sliding Doors, 300, Sin City - visually arresting or philosophically clever but overall they don’t work. But I think Cloverfield does work - its a little bit like the excellent NIKE advert below:

99 % of the movie is shot from the perspective of the first person - you see events unfold through the eyes of one of the partipants - well nearly through their eyes- actually it is through a high def cam corder with an SD card and an incredibly long battery life.

The movie starts innocuously enough as we are introduced to the participants through someone documenting a goodbye party. Its a great idea as you can quickly get to know the relationships and everything can happen in real time. Then something happens…

The fact that it all takes place in New York and there is such a large scale of devastation that includes a massive dust clouds moving between the large buildings. It is a deliberate but strange homage to 9/11 which felt somehow inappropriate in what is basically a fright / horror movie.

Although it is motion sickness inducing to watch the handycam footage is brilliant. It means you experience the film in the first person - it feels like a cross between a computer game like half-life and real life. Like a lot of Jerry Bruckhiemer productions - the concept is good and the tension grows at the beginning but then it ends in an unsatisfactory way. Having no superstars in the movie means that anyone can die at any point in the proceedings which makes it exciting to watch.

Let me reflect on it some more and i’ll write more later…

National Treasure 2 (can’t believe i rented this)

Ok so I am a glutton for punsihment. But I thought to myself how far wrong can you go when Harvey Kietel, Helen Mirren and John Voigt are in a movie? World class actors they wouldn’t sell their actings souls for a few extra dollars - they are bigger than that. Then I remembered the magic ingredient to make any movie feel overacted and poorly scripted - Nicolas Cage. I can’t remember a Nicolas Cage movie I actually liked - Snake Eyes had a great trailer, Leaving Las Vegas was self indulgent, Con Air, The Rock, Next… all pretty formulaic hollywood blockbusters.

So the problem with this is that they solve the riddle too quickly, making jumps of deduction that no mortal could possibly make. The stunts aren’t exciting enough and there are no real plot twists. So it is a pretty dull affair. Avoid if possible.

Fresh the Conference

University life is make or break for many Christian students. The Evangelical Alliance, UCCF and Schools workers from Sutton and Kingston put on a special day conference to help 6th formers think through the opportunities and challenges facing christian students as they go up to university.

The day included - testimony from Matthew Archer a student at Liverpool University, a session on handling money and sorting out housing from Filippe de Baros from Greenwich University. I gave a couple of sessions based on chapters of my new book FRESH.

Kate Erith a schools worker in Sutton was really positive about the day explaining how she wished she had been better prepared for going up to University and how it would have made her first year a lot better experience.

Stolen Coldplay Viva La Vida?

The Album is growing on me now. (See my early thoughts…) But my favourite song’s melody may have been nicked from someone else. What do you think? I listened to this a couple of times - now i can’t stop singing the “original” version. I think Viva La Vida is the entry point for the whole album for me- would love to know what the band say about this video clip…

A song about the crusades - that is interesting. Could Cold Play be singing about the end of Christendom? The end of the Christian empire where the name of Christ was used as shibboleth, when the church sought to conquer not through persuasion but through the sword. The song seems to have a nostalgic angle though - like it was a good thing when we ruled the world and I think it is time we faced up to the abuse of power and rediscover Christ the peacemaker, the one who subverted both Jewish and Roman imperialism and called all people everywhere to know his love and transforming grace.