According to that post, it ‘takes square aim at these accelerating trends, while offering parents—and children—hopeful alternatives. Esolen shows how imagination is snuffed out at practically every turn:
Which is what we say in this video called Play from Breathe and offer a few questions and suggestions to a better way forward.
Worship was led by the inimitable Andy Flannagan and I highly recommend downloading his ‘we are blessed’, which makes it onto my social justice album. Andy is director of CSM and he’s making politics fun. I was representing Breathe and just really enjoyed the evening. I was inspired by the youthfulness of 75 year old Tom Sine and I’ll post some of the quotes that captured my thinking.
Tom and Christine live in a small community in Seattle and have spent their life helping the church think about how we live in a rapidly changing world and to embrace creative solutions to housing, mission and community. And perhaps above anything else as a result of listening to them I had ideas, imagination was stirred up and fostered and that’s pretty cool.
“Lifestyle change without community is impossible”
“The good life of God is the life given away.”
“The life taken on is greater than the life given up.”
“We don’t have to be satisfied with watching Idol and all that reality crap. We can celebrate better.”
Breathe are partnering with LICC, Livability and Tearfund for the evening and I’ll be there on Breathe’s behalf and take part in the Q&A at the end. Cost is a £5 donation to Tearfund & Livability. Come and say hi.
Here’s the info
“Tom and Christine Sine are well-known authors and speakers. They live in Christian community in Seattle and are active in an Anglican church but have had the opportunity to work with and learn from the innovative edge of the Church all over the world. See below for more information.
This event is particularly aimed at those who work during the week and are generally not able to come to events during the day. We know that many would like to learn how to connect more deeply with the needs in your communities and also how your faith should impact your lifestyle. There is lots of talk about ‘living simply’ but sometimes this turns into a discussion about using energy efficient lightbulbs. Maybe we can consider other, more sacrificial, ways to live in a more sustainable way.
Christine and Tom Sine will discuss:
* What is happening in our culture that is leading to a breakdown in community life?
* What are the opportunities for Christians to live differently?
* What does it mean to live more simply in order to show an alternative to the consumer culture of today?
* What are some examples of people who have done this?
There will also be a Q & A time in order to allow you to explore the issues you are facing.’
We worshipped, listened to my friend Mark Powley on consumerism and freedom, and then we watched this video
(let me know what you think)
Then we talked and it was just encouraging to see people engage with ways we can live that go against the culture and towards generosity and simplicity. Try it out for yourself, it’s liberating.
HT: Challies
Which is why it’s important what we teach our kids about money (click here for a summary). We live in age of unparalleled consumer credit, where technology is inescapable and there’s no reason to expect that to change much any time soon.
So, if you live anywhere near Shrewsbury, you might want to come to this event next Thursday (facebook event)to learn more about how we can live well in a consumer culture, we need a conspiracy of freedom. Do come if you can, I’m sure it’s going to be a great night.
Tim Creber from Journey Beyond writes,
“Because life is a gift… we live with open hands.
Imagine in your mind tightly clenched fists – what does it make you think of? I think of control.
It is absurd to think that we are ever really in control. Life happens – young people get cancer, the poor die unjustly, good people suffer, banks fail, hard workers lose their jobs… When we face these realities, chasing control is futile, unrewarding and, I would argue, in no way contributes to human fulfilment.
So why do I still chase control?
Jesus epitomises what it means to live with a life posture of ‘open handedness.’ With an open hand we are vulnerable – we surrender a position of strength. Facing life without chasing control forces us to trust. Having an open hand permits generosity without discrimination. Having an open hand allows us to travel light. By allowing room for grace we can let go of emotional wounds. By allowing generosity we do not horde our possessions.
An open handed life is profound – it gets to the root of the human condition, and sums up so much of the person of Jesus. Because life is a gift, we live with open hands… in the hope and expectation that when we do so, our God is able to give us more than could ever be taken away.”
To subscribe if you’re new: in@breathenetwork.org / Unsubscribe: out@breathenetwork.org
“This is Breathe’s monthly e-thought, with a reflection on the Promise of Life (our commitment to break the consumer mould, see below) and the month’s best web links.
PART 1
Because life is a gift, we live it thankfully,
Savour what we have, pray for what we need.
Something I have learnt from Americans is that the British tend to moan. Whatever the circumstance, the glass is likely to be half empty. With this attitude, as I have found to my peril, it is easy to become a victim of life. Why are we moaners?
This first section of the ‘Promise of Life’ sets the foundation. Life is a gift! Stop there just for a minute – pause. Life is a gift! If you are like me, you found it hard to say that without then qualifying that statement with the trials and tribulations that come with it. ‘Yes, life is a gift, but…’
Allowing the reality that life is a gift to penetrate deep into my being liberates me – I am not a victim, the glass is full. Life is precious, fragile, full of beauty, short. Life is given to be lived as an adventure of discovery with God and others on a beautiful planet.
Interpreting life through the lens of a gift transforms my experience of it. Living it thankfully becomes a genuine possibility rather than something I ought to do. That I live life, rather than life happens to me, empowers me to pause and savour what I have without rushing for more – the fruit of thankfulness is contentment.
This is not to pretend that parts of life are not difficult and painful. Life damages us – injustice, pain and brokenness are part of life. But our experience of them can be transformed. We pray for what we need, trusting that God knows what we really need, God loves to give and God gives us our food at the proper time.
Thank you God for the gift of life.
Tim Creber
10 Experiments in Simple Parenting (read, discuss or forward to friends from our blogsite): http://breathenetwork.org/2009/06/17/ten-experiments-in-simple-parenting/
Promise of Life
Because life is a gift, we live thankfully
Savour what we have
Pray for what we need.
No longer hurried, distracted, or worried,
We’ll walk through each moment with God.
Because everything is a gift, we live with open hands,
Tread lightly on the earth
Share freely our homes and our things.
No longer restlessly chasing identity,
We’ll be known by our love not our logos.
Because giving is a gift we live generously,
Give ourselves deeply to family and community,
Give joyfully to those in need.
No longer caught in the consumer dream
We’ll invest our all in the kingdom of love.
On 25th April over 150 people made a Promise of Life, why not join us for a year and see if it leads to life…
Pete Greig on dissecting consumerism
Mark Powley on the Promise of Life
If you can join us on Saturday 25th April, 10-3pm at St Paul’s Hammersmith, we’ll see you there. Bring lunch if you can, and register in advance for the morning crèche (editor@ibreathe.org.uk). Please continue to invite anyone you can think of. Details, and an e-flyer, are on the website
But even if you can’t join us, you can still join us. On the morning of the 25th we’ll be inviting people to take the Promise of Life (below) for 12 months. Why not join us in making this commitment, whether you’re around on the 25th or not? Make it with a friend / spouse / small group / church / pet and see what happens. The idea isn’t to get full marks for ‘simplicity’ but to start somewhere and, despite all our failings, allow God to break us out of the consumer mould.
The Friends of Breathe
(Jeremy Williams, Mark Powley, Holly Elson, Chris Webster & Phil Whittall)
Promise of Life
Because life is a gift, we live thankfully
Savour what we have
Pray for what we need.
No longer hurried, distracted, or worried,
We’ll walk through each moment with God.
Because everything is a gift, we live with open hands,
Tread lightly on the earth
Share freely our homes and our things.
No longer restlessly chasing identity,
We’ll be known by our love not our logos.
Because giving is a gift we live generously,
Give ourselves deeply to family and community,
Give joyfully to those in need.
No longer caught in the consumer dream
We’ll invest in the kingdom of love.
Breathe
Less stuff, more life
Breathe is a Christian network for simpler living.
To subscribe to free quarterly updates simply send an email to
in@ibreathe.org.uk
If you've ever felt stuck in a consumer mentality... If you want to embark on a more generous and thankful lifestyle...If you just want to work out how to follow God in a world of non-stop shopping, disposable relationships and unsustainable lifestyles... Come and join us for 'Breaking the Consumer Mould' the second Breathe Conference at St Paul's Hammersmith on 25th April, 10-3pm. Full details are now available on the website, but there's a list of the Breathing Spaces below. Not only do we have Pete Greig as the main speaker, we're delighted to have Viv Thomas from Formation, Will Campbell-Clause from A Rocha, Steve Pierce from Stewardship and Tim Creber from Tearfund. And we're launching the Promise of Life, too... If you can join us, you can register on editor@ibreathe.org.uk (advance notice would be helpful if you'd like to take advantage of the morning-only crèche for under 3's). Or just register on the day. You may want to bring some lunch, too, so we can spend the lunch time mixing it up together. Please invite anyone you can think of, and pray your socks off - that God would use this day to break us out of the consumer mould and into the 'life that is truly life' (1 Tim 6:19). Bring it on! The Friends of Breathe(Jeremy Williams, Mark Powley, Holly Elson, Chris Webster & Phil Whittall)
More on the Breathe Conference. In the afternoon we have Breathing Spaces which are an opportunity to share problems and share solutions in smaller, more interactive groups. This years are as follows
Generosity
What keeps us from being more generous? How can we inspire each other to share more freely our money, time and possessions?
Phil Whittall leads North Shrewsbury Community Church, writes The Simple Pastor blog and is a friend of Breathe.
Mastering Your Money
Why do we handle money like we do? Why is budgeting important, and how can we take steps to take control of our finances?
Steve Pierce heads up Stewardship Money
Connecting with the Poor
Who are the poor in our neighbourhood and beyond? How do we make space to connect with them, and what might it look like?
Tim Creber works for Tearfund and co-ordinates the Journey Beyond blog.
Investing in Your Neighbourhood
Is the place you live more than a delivery address and somewhere to sleep? How can we build community in a fragmented age and reach out across boundaries to our local communities?
TBC
Love Your Neighbour. But who is my neighbour?
How does the way we live every day affect others all over the world? How can we reconcile our own needs and desires with the needs and aspirations of the poor?
Helen Parry lived in Uganda for many years and is currently a lecturer at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
Finding Stillness in the Consumer Crush
Is 24/7 life in a consumer society squeezing your time for stillness and God? How can we develop rhythms and practices that rediscover the presence of God in daily life?
TBC
Working for the Man
Is it possible to work in commerce without compromising your values? How can those who work in business reflect the values of the kingdom of God?
Alice Huntley is a planner at a large London advertising agency
Sustainable Living
How do we get beyond green platitudes, failed resolutions and intimidating tick lists to live a life which treats creation well?
TBC
Creating Good Childhoods
The Good Childhood report has exposed how ‘aggressive selfishness’ in our society leads to unhealthy, unprincipled and unstable childhoods. How can we parent our children in a way that breaks the mould?
Ailsa Powley is a mother of three boys aged five, three and one
The Power of Thankfulness
We are richer than most of the people who have ever lived, yet seldom truly appreciate what we have. How can we unlock the power of thankfulness to transform our attitude to life?
Jeremy Williams is a writer, a contributing author of Make Wealth History blog, and a friend of Breathe
“
If you’ve ever felt stuck in a consumer mentality… If you want to embark on a more generous and thankful lifestyle… Or if you just want to work out how to follow God in a world of non-stop shopping, disposable relationships and unsustainable lifestyles…
Come and join with others who are often equally clueless but looking to travel towards a more simple, free and generous life.”
The day will look like this:
9.30am Registration and coffee (£5 waged; unwaged free)
10.00 Welcome & worship (crèche available until 12:30pm)
10.25 Keynote talk: Pete Greig, founding champion of 24/7 Prayer
11.15 Coffee break
11.30 Response and Promise of Life
12.30 Lunch – bring your own or buy locally
1.15 Breathing Spaces (details below)
2.30 Sharing stories
3pm Close
The 2nd Breathe Conference has a new date of April 25th. It’s looking promising. We’re privileged to have Pete Greig as our keynote speaker and we’re going to consider the Promise of Life as a way of helping us live differently in a consumer age.
If you’re on Facebook you can find details here or here for the website. Be great if you can come and do say hello, be great to meet to you.
Here’s the explanation…
“Greetings from Breathe,
We need to announce a date change for this year’s conference. We’re sorry for any inconvenience – especially to those who took our advice before Christmas and cancelled weddings or graffiti-ed the date on their nearest bus stop…
We caught wind recently of a major demo in London on March 28th involving a host of major development and environmental groups. We had to make a tough call about the date, and decided that it’s best to leave it free for people to come to London and protest for a fairer world. So we’ve moved the conference to after Easter: 25th April (still at St Paul’s Hammersmith, 10-3pm).
We’re still delighted to be having Pete Greig, a founding champion of the 24-7 prayer movement and author of God on Mute, to join us. As the day approaches we’ll also be releasing details of the Promise of Life -something significant and practical we’d like to try together, beginning on that day.
Please forgive us for the date confusion. Join us on the day. Check out details on the website, sign up on Facebook. And forward this to anyone you can think of…
Yours,
The Friends of Breathe
(Jeremy Williams, Mark Powley, Holly Elson, Chris Webster & Phil Whittall)
I’ll probably try and put flesh on those bones over the coming months (as if I didn’t enough material to blog from…)
Attitudes
Humble
open
not self-important and rushed
stillness
depending on God
Open-Handed
holding lightly
trust
everything is a gift
surrender control
Open Hearted (open home)
Contentment
stillness
awareness and appreciation
resist consumerism
Thankfulness
Relationships
Prayer
refocusing / recalibrating
incubates open-handedness and radical presence
with faith – for needs
with compassion – for others
True presence
to God
to others (radical presence)
and true absence (to be alone / to be with God)
Connection to everyone and everything
Feasting and fasting
joy and fun / weeping and mourning
openness to other’s experiences (vs. the dull consumer middle)
Deep relationships
authentic / genuine
vulnerable (giving power to the other)
hospitality of the self
honest (faithful) / vs. shallow and super-fluid
more of less / deeper involvement with fewer people
Work & Rest / technology and stillness
Resources
Hospitality
the dinner table
beyond insular families
marriage as a blessing for others
Generosity
Less / to choose not to…
Enough / frugality with self; extravagance with others
Budgeting / live within means
Freeing time
Joy, blessing and the habit of generosity
Justice
Using money as a vote
Community
offering ourselves as a gift
church
work as a gift
For me the challenging article this time out was on life without a TV.
His keynote address was superb on de-constructing consumerism and urging us from Paul’s letter to the Philippians to outclass the offer made by society by making a greater offer based on following Jesus. Inspiring stuff, I’ll try and get the audio up for you to listen.
Rev Mark Powley introduced the Breathe network and this was followed by a Q&A with a panel made up of Bishop Graham Cray, Helen Parry from LICC and myself. I felt a bit lightweight.
After lunch we broke up into ‘Breathing Spaces’ to discuss the challenges we face, I led a discussion on Generous Finances but the topics were so varied that we really didn’t manage to get down to specifics, which I think was frustrating.
However it was a great day with around 100 people there, with virtually everyone encourgaing us to do it again. So watch this space. When material is up on the Breathe website I’ll let you know.
This Saturday sees the first Breathe Conference take place at St Paul’s Hammersmith, London. The theme is ‘Following Jesus in a consumer culture’ and it should be good. Bishop Graham Cray is giving the keynote talk and the discussion groups should be lively.
As always with these things, you never know who will turn up, if anyone will turn up at all, but it’s right to step out and try, see what happens and tust God for the rest. We want to encourage the growing conversation that is happening in churches across the country that to follow Jesus in this consumer culture means we need a new depth of repentance and conversion in the way we go about our lives. I’ll be there, if you can make it too let me know…
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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