Pentecostal Discussions

Theology & Film - Podcast Lectures 4 & 5

Well… the theology and film podcast lectures have certainly been an interesting ride so far. To start with, we looked at the medium of film quite broadly and discussed how a theologian might go about reviewing film.  Now, in these latest lectures, we begin to look at some of the more specific issues raised by particular films or groups of films.

In lecture four, Dr Shane Clifton discusses Christ films and the cultural influences which have impacted the way in which Christ has been portrayed. Following this, lecture five presents Shane, together with Dreu Harrison, engaging in discussion surrounding the Nietzschean influence on contemporary culture and subsequently on modern and postmodern film. In this discussion they focus specifically on the 1957 classic, The Seventh Seal.

In addition to these podcast  lectures there are also film reviews available for you listening pleasure. All of the above lectures and reviews can be found here. Enjoy!

Theology & Film - Podcast Lecture 3

In this lecture Dr Shane Clifton looks at reviewing film by using Bernard Lonergan's eight functional specialities.

To download the podcast and view comments please go to
http://scc.typepad.com/theology_and_film

Absent Concerns 4: 'My First School'

by Mark Hutchinson

[from C S Lewis’ ‘Notes on the Way’, Time and Tide, vol. XXIV (4 September 1943), p. 717]

Every now and then one stands and looks at oneself in the now as compared to what we have been in the past. Perhaps a photo falls out of a box, perhaps we meet an old friend after many years of separation, perhaps we have a conversation with someone younger who wakens in us a memory…. whatever the spur, we are left thinking, “this is me as I was, and I am because of that, but that is not what I am”.

Theology & Film - Podcast Lecture 1

by Shane Clifton

As you may have heard, I am teaching a new unit this semester, theology and film.  Students will be watching a series of films in class (listed below), and i will be delivering the lectures via this podcast.  If you are not a student - please feel free to join us and listen in (apart from these lectures, i will be posting a series of mp3 film reviews which should stimulate some interest).

Download film_lecture_one.mp3

For those of you who use itunes and ipod, I am trying to get this mp3 audio into the itunes podcast feeder. I am somewhat technologically incompetent, so give me a few days.

Finally, everything that is good about this podcast, is the work of Kate Tennikoff - who had to sit through my initial recording disaster, and then edit the current version.  Everything that is tacky about this podcast is my fault.  Feel free to leave whatever feedback you deem appropriate on the comments below (students - that can be your first podcast assignment - since i forgot to include one in the lecture).

If it is at all possible, enjoy,

Absent Concerns 1: Chivalry and the Cultured Self

by Mark Hutchinson

In August of 1940, C S Lewis published an essay in Time and Tide called 'The Necessity of Chivalry'. The following is a reflection on this essay, later republished in Present Concerns, as the first in a series of reflections on Lewis' work and their 'currency' for Christians engaged in thinking about popular culture.

In the shadows of the Battle of Britain, C S Lewis put pen to paper on the need for Chivalry.  The setting was suitably ironic. The roaring of Spitfires overhead left little doubt as to the contrast between medieval organicism and modern machinery. His question, however, was not about machines, but about men. In those days, one could still talk about ‘men’ rather than ‘people’, intending both the biologically masculine and the generality of humans. Lewis does not seem to have conceived of a time when such a definition would become a matter of personal preference.  The ‘necessity’ of which he spoke was partly driven by a sense that there were certain ‘natural’ elements to human life which were fixed in stone.  There were good men, and bad men, and hard men and soft men, and like categories for women. The idea that one might interchangeably choose to be man, or woman, or both or neither, at a legal or surgical whim, was just not in his calculus.

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 6)

by Deborah Taggart

Conclusion

Having examined some of the major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the EM church, what now? We can rejoice in its strengths: the variety and experimentation, the intentional engaging with culture, the emphasis on building community, the culture of self-critiquing, and the space allowed for mystery within an integrated, holistic faith that leads to personal and social transformation. We can embrace the opportunities that our current setting presents: the cultural change around us and the newness and adjustability of the EM movement.

 

But what about the weaknesses? What do we do with a movement without clear definition and direction, which is prone to unfair stereotyping, false dichotomies and exclusivity? If we pause to put this in historical perspective, we can then acknowledge that the church has never been perfect in practice (as a quick glance through Paul’s letters to the Corinthians might remind us) or theology (as we can see in the disagreements between Paul and Peter in Galatians).

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 5)

by Deborah Taggart

Threats

While many aspects of the EM church’s environment offer opportunities, there are also threats to be overcome on the journey to healthy, sustainable development.

 

Common Threats to Church Plants

Firstly, as most EM churches are new churches starting from scratch, they will face many of the same threats as any other church planting team. George Lings and Stuart Murray^[1] identify some of the issues that are often unexpectedly troublesome: the pressure of keeping motivation alive; the attrition of weekly setting-up; ceaseless creativity in worship; a constant multifaceted learning curve; a widening agenda as the church matured; and a misunderstanding by surrounding churches.

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 4)

by Deborah Taggart

 

Opportunities

Not only are there strengths and weaknesses within the EM movement itself, but there are also outside factors which can help us examine its potential.

 

Cultural Change

Many people see the EM church poised to reach several of the needs and orientations that people now have due to cultural change in Western society. Michael Moynagh^[1] lists various key changes, such as:

• the fading out of churches – churches that pop up ‘outside of the box’ can attract people’s attention;
• the urban struggle for time and money – churches can revise what expectations are placed on their congregations and how they find and use their financial and human resources;
• hyper choice (personalised consumerism) – people are looking for churches that meet them on a personal level and share their values (this would also need to be challenged, as an encounter with Christ and his church should challenge some of our values, not simply cater to all our personal preferences);
• spiritual spending – people’s consumer choices are often towards ‘products’ in which they hope to find “identity, acceptance, belonging, connection to the whole and meaning”^[2] – all of which the church and faith in Jesus can supply. Another inroad for EM churches is their emphasis on social justice – the secular world is becoming increasingly sympathetic to ‘good causes’, and they are more likely to connect with churches who want to ‘make poverty history’ than with those who are only pointing their fingers at “litmus test issues as homosexuality and abortion”^[3];
• experience economy (shopping, eating, and activities are geared toward not just another boring consumption, but creating atmosphere and memories – ‘an experience’) – there is an opportunity to create churches that don’t just have ‘services’ comprised of standard segments, but instead where rich experiences can be created, where the synergy of creativity, atmosphere, community, transformation, service and symbolic actions combine to help people enter into an experience of God’s Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”[4];
• liquid lives (people live flexibly with transitions, ages, expectations and life choices) – times, demographics and expectations can be remixed into a surprising ‘church cocktail’; and,
• relational recreation (people’s relationship-building is shaped by their choices of leisure and consumption) – so church groups can gather and evangelise enjoyably, centred around relationships and shared leisure preferences, rather than having to approach people with whom they have little in common.

 

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 3)

by Deborah Taggart

 

Weaknesses

Having discussed the main strengths of the EM movement, we now turn to examine some of its weaknesses and how they may be overcome.

Lack of Clear Definition and Direction

The newness of the EM church and the nature of its reaction against ‘5 steps to church success’ and ‘one-size-fits-all’ models has meant that many EM churches are hesitant to define themselves or lock themselves into a certain method, description or category. While this can be helpful and allow a church to move forward rather than stagnate; it can also be counterproductive to have a lack of direction. As Kim Hammond admits, “my fear for the emerging church is that it defines itself by what it isn’t”^[1]. Alan Roxburgh points out, “in too many ways, it is still reacting to the immediate past of the church in the West, and no movement of reaction brings real innovation”^[2]. It is all too easy for many EM churches to identify the flaws of other church models and practices, but their real fruit will show as they continue to move from simply protesting about problems to creating and implementing positive solutions.

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 2)

by Deborah Taggart

Strengths
Variety and Experimentation
Firstly, a major strength of the emerging missional church is their willingness to be flexible with culture and experiment with something new, all part of what Sweet identifies as “our continuing struggle, as followers of Christ in a changing culture, to live out the meaning of the incarnation”^[1]. This flexibility and experimentation leads to a wide variety of EM churches (hence the definition problems discussed earlier), so Moynagh writes of an Anglican church in Halifax, England, that has started a Monday Lunch Box (communion and lunch service, attracting people who don’t go to church on a Sunday, and are asking to be baptised) and also of Saddleback church in California where they have a video café service (offering a choice of worship styles, smaller crowds, and videotaped sermon)^[2]. Although these churches differ in structure and style, both have decided to move beyond the traditional forms of church to create a worship gathering that will resound with local people. Variety in types of church is important not only contextually, but also culturally – moving away from one-size-fits-all church models is an important step towards reaching out to the growing numbers of people who, wearying of the standardisation that came with modernity, are looking for personalisation^[3].