Evangelical Christians and the Joy of Sex

When I got married in 1975, Dr Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex was a bestseller.  It was marketed as the gourmet guide to sexual intercourse.  The black and white line drawings of a young energetic, trendy looking couple left little to the imagination. I was intrigued to read within its pages that Dr Comfort advised his readers, when seeking advice on sexual matters from their doctors, to avoid evangelicals. At that time Forum was a popular magazine and sold well at most newsagents.  Some young schoolgirls working at Saturday jobs, at the local shop which sold newspapers and magazine, found its content somewhat embarassing and too sexually explicit for adolescents.  Mrs Mary Whitehouse, the campaigner for Christian morality in the media, would not have approved!  Billy Connolly once remarked, that after reading Forum, "my sex life must be incredibily dull."  I think he was referring to the section in Forum which shared letters from readers, who described in vivid details their sexual antics.  Mrs Whitehouse would definitely not have been amused.

Evangelical Christians had been active in supporting the Nationwide Festival of Light in the early 1970s.  Mrs Mary Whitehouse and Malcolm Muggeridge were the leading speakers for this movement, which on one  occasion packed  London's Trafalgar Square.It was a sincere attempt to influence the media and to prevent the spread of "bad" films, books and ideas, which were thought to be corrupting the moral fibre of society.

Whether you agree with the stand that Mrs Whitehouse took or not, I think it is right to say that evangelical Christians and perhaps many in Anglo Saxon society were, and still arguably are, very uptight with regard to discussing openly sexual matters and the joy of sex. We still have a very conservative approach to the human sexuality and the body. It's a generalization but one worth discussing.  And the problem is not confined to Anglo Saxon society at all.

The following true accounts illustrate what I'm trying to say.  A group of British young ladies went for a winter sports holiday in Northern Europe.  At the end of the day after an exhausting time on skis, the group retired to the women's ski lodge. After taking showers the British group dressed very quickly and kept together, enjoying the warm log fire.  They were extremely shocked by the naked and scantily clad young Nordic women who were drying their hair, frolicking around the ski lodge and chatting merrily without a care in the world.  These women had no desire or thought to cover up.  Such behaviour was considered most unladylike by the British group.

As many of my readers will know, I have been to Sweden and particularly Finland on many occasions.  I have even worked in a kitchen during a Swedish speaking Lutheran conference and been involved in a confirmation camp, even though I'm a Baptist!  On one Sunday I was with a Pastor (Kirkoherde) of a large church (fo"rsamling) in Western Finland.  I preached, wearing my Sunday best, at the morning service and my friend, dressed in Lutheran ecclesiatical finery, translated.  The service went well and we really felt the presence and enabling of God's Spirit, especially in the translation process.

After lunch at the vicarage (pra"stgarden), the clergyman friend wanted me to enjoy a typically Finnish Sunday afternoon in high summer. Now I was not sure at the time if that meant attending some sort of fellowship picnic or outdoor Christian meeting.  So we drove to his parents' flat and collected a large container from the garage; this container was then attached to a trailer behind the VW camping bus.  The four of us drove many kilometres into the Finnish countryside and eventually arrived at a summer cottage by the shore of beautiful lake.  There the container was used to heat the sauna and before long we three men were naked enjoying a swim and a sauna.  I wondered at the time, what would the congregation think of us now?

Peace at Peniel Church, near Brentwood, Essex

If you visit Peniel Church today you will find all reference to the previous ministry has been removed.  Yes, a certain name has, as it were, been execrated  from buildings and signs.  The artillery cannon no longer points towards the Brentwood Council Offices; it is gone.

 The current senior ministers, the Linnecars, who served under the old regime, are rebuilding links with the local Christian community and church leadership, who no longer feel at odds with the Peniel Church ecclesiology.  I understand the Peniel Church has re-joined the Evangelical Alliance and supports the Churches Together in Brentwood.

Peniel Church has excellent resources, talented members and much to offer in fellowship, Christian music and education.  The future looks very promising for them as they are now stronger and spiritually fitter to face the challenges of Christian evangelism and living in the 21st Century.

Dennis Hopper, the Easyrider and Rebel, who died recently

Dennis Hopper will always be remembered by my generation for his iconic performances in great 20th century movies such as Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, and in other successful movies in the 21st century. He, therefore, has a remarkable career in films going back to the 1950s. Posters of Hopper, as Billy, on a motorbike riding alongside Peter Fonda, as Wyatt, in Easy Rider, adorned many a student bedroom in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Teenagers and folk in their twenties went to see the film many times, played the movie soundtrack on vinyl disks and cassette tapes, dressed in similar hippy clothing and used the Hopper/Fonda hippyspeak in everyday life.  As the years passed they rented the video, bought special editions and eventually obtained DVD versions.

Peter Fonda seemed laid back and cool, while Dennis Hopper seemed much more menacing and volatile.
Dennis Hopper went on to play violent men, psycho killers and disturbed characters, who arguably reflected something of the turbulence of his own life.  Sex, drink and drugs were an integral part of his lifestyle.  He was married five times and needed treatment for alcohol and drug related problems. DH had three children, two daughters and a son.

Dennis Hopper was famous for his art collection, estimated to be worth well over two million dollars, and his love of works of modern art.  This love for art and art history was greatly influenced and encouraged by Vincent Price, who had an academic education in art history having studied at the Courtauld Institute in Bloomsbury, London.  DH was a prolific painter, photographer, and sculptor, who exhibited his own work and items from his collection from time to time.  He felt comfortable in the landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico while working in Hollywood, California.  DH's final resting place was Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, following a burial service on 3 June.

Prison Conversions

Prison conversions happen.  It has been said that prisoners are very likely to hear the Gospel in the prison context because of the activities of Prison Fellowship, Restorative Justice programmes, Kairos initiatives, Alpha courses, chaplains, volunteer Christians workers and other Christians active in prison visitation and ministry.  There have even been claims of revival breaking out in Her Majesty's Prisons.  And I rejoice in all who come to faith and a deeper walk with God in and through these many forms of Christian ministry in prisons. Services and Christian courses have been well attended in recent years, with significant help from the voluntary sector.

In The Times today it was reported that there has been a dramatic rise in inmates converting to Islam, but this religious phenomenon was "in order to gain perks and the protection of powerful Muslim gangs."  It seems that benefits can be received that are only available to practising Muslims.  There are currently 9,795 inmates listed as Muslim, according to 2008 figures.  The latest figures would be much higher then, well over ten per cent of the total prison population in England and Wales.

Inmates learn quickly what is beneficial and how best to cope with the harsh realities of prison life.  Strategies to avoid being locked in a cell for hours on end, sometimes with someone who is bad company, can lead to changes of behaviour.  The regime can be dull and monotonous, so religious conversions offer a different way.

Personally I would prefer to spend time in the chapel or faith room, where there are works of art and religious symbolism, to the cramped conditions and smell of the cell.

Our hearts go out to the grieving people of Cumbria

Words cannot express the deep pangs of grief that folk are now suffering in Cumbria.  It is not the time for pious platitudes but prayers for the mourners, for those feeling such pain and sorrow.

The Psalms can help in these situations.

O Lord, may those who seek You find comfort, help and grace in their time of suffering.   May they experience Your grace, which is sufficient for our every need.  In Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Bully for them!

We have all met a bully at sometime in our lives.  At school, in the workplace, in various institutions, in the church, in the club etc., etc., the bullies come and go.  Some places are in denial about bullying, claiming that it does not exist because they have established values, objectives and policies. There is this rather stupid belief that if one commits a policy to paper and talks about it enough, then somehow in some unexplained way the perceived problem will disappear and the right course of action will always come about.  There is a belief that setting objectives has the power to control performance.  Now with psychological and social programming there is some truth in this. But people are looking for objectives to achieve perfect performance.  We live in a fallen world; false hopes of perfect performance through objective setting, targets and agreed values will lead to frustration and failure.  I'm not saying that setting objectives etc. is wrong.  I'm challenging the false philosophy that believes that setting targets and smart objectives would have some mystical force to achieve the desired outcome.  I have seen situations where objectives, targets, values have been agreed, discussed and debated without any extra resources, funding and investment.  Failure, frustration and futility came about, but this was covered up by retrospective evaluation.

Bullying has been the bane of many a workplace.  The office bully is often easily identified.  He or she may has risen in the organization because they are driven; they are driven by their own temperament to reach objectives and targets, often at the expense of those under them by running roughshod over the feelings of others, insensitive to the needs and wishes of those beneath them.  In their selfish world, performance comes before the people.  People are regarded as instruments to achieve goals and results.  Bullies, then, lack empathy and a good understanding of human frailty.  They consider themselves strong, strong leaders of the weak and wanting. 
The top management may support and honour these bullies because they seem to guarantee results and meet the perceived objectives. They are high achievers and bully for them. But I want you to consider another side of the coin.

These bullies often leave a trail of wounded workers in their wake.  Sick leave, unauthorized absences to avoid the bullying, mental health problems, poor performance, fear factors, high staff turnover, job vacancies, lack of confidence, and low morale can often be directly attributed to bullying behaviour.

Is the party over for fat cats in the Senior Civil Service?

So Prime Minister David Cameron is reviewing the salaries of very highly paid senior Civil Servants.  Some of them as we now know are much better paid than the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet.  Yet many would concede that the Prime Minister and his Ministers of State do arguably more important work and have more responsibility.  The buck really stops with the PM.  Some senior civil servants are known to be masters of buck passing, blaming junior staff and circumventing difficult decisions.  They can be high skilled at hiding information, being economical with the truth, massaging statistics, using delaying tactics, and keeping information under various cloaks of secrecy and subterfuge.

The over payment of consultants, who were sometimes members of their clique and club (metaphorically and sometimes literally), will perhaps now come more into the light of reason and openness.  We need more glasnost when it comes to Civil Service finance.  There have been cases when a consultant was doing a middle managment job or project, yet the consultant received a much higher hourly rate of pay when all the time the work could have been done by a competent Higher Executive Officer, perhaps a really good Executive Officer.  Why did this happen? Well the consultant knew the right people in high places.  Nice work if you can get it?  Not so nice for the poor, over burdened tax payer.  A doctor told me (before he retired) that he knew of colleagues in the National Health Service who were receiving, at the own admission, inflated fees for quite easy work.  They did not think that the work merited the rates of consultancy pay, but they were laughing all the way to the bank.  And we now know how the banks let us down.