Gerard writes about being stirred into prayer with Twitter a few days after the Amsterdam air accident, not far from his home. He was stimulated to start sharing his answer to the question “What are you praying?”, in 140 characters or less. The result was a new Twitter channel, Twitturgies, connected with his Tumblr blog and a special Twitturgies Tumblr blog.

The most recent Twitturgies:

It’s your city God. Its history riddled with your story. Its future cradled in your dream. May our town plan cry You are Here

There is a curtain between us God. At times so fine I can almost hear you breathing. May I learn to live in such thin places

God’s goodness is deep in the earth. But you have to dig for it. All people. All places. Take the spade of the Spirit and dig

We are fragments of the mirror of God; 6 billion shards of his shatterred image. Glue us together God. Make us a mirror ball

#haiku God’s breath stirs the leaves / God’s sun bathes the day’s last hours / God’s love holds my heart

About Gerard Kelly

Gerard Kelly is known as a poet, as the founder (with his wife Chrissie) of the Bless Network, and is Senior Pastor of Crossroads Amsterdam. Gerard is the author of RetroFuture: Rediscovering Our Roots, Recharting Our Routes (2000), Humanifesto (2001), Spoken Worship: Living Words for Personal and Public Prayer (2007).

McLuhan was a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communications theorist. He spent most of his working life at the University of Toronto, who worked with him to set up the Centre for Culture and Technology. See the Amazon.com widget at the bottom of the post for a selection of his books.

I find McLuhan’s book, Understanding Media, helpful in that it introduces a wide range of media that we often overlook. Here’s a list I used in the Media and Communication course last week to get us started.

• The Spoken Word
• The Written Word
• Roads & Paper Routes
• Numbers
• Clothing
• Housing
• Money
• Clocks
• The Print
• Comics
• Printed Word (Typography)
• Wheel
• Bicycle
• Airplane
• Photograph
• The Press
• Motorcar
• Ads
• Games
• Telegraph
• Typewriter
• Telephone
• Phonograph
• Movies
• Radio
• Television
• Weapons
• Automation

Laws of Media

We explored the laws of media, looking at the Massage effect, in which the introduction of new media shapes a society and connects with already existing media. “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us”.

A new medium ENHANCES existing media, extending, amplifying, enhancing some human capacity. A new medium RETRIEVES experience or media from the past. A new medium, when pushed to extreme, REVERSES so that it’s effect is opposite to its original intention. A new medium OBSOLESCES, makes some older media obsolete.

We explored how these might apply to the latest mobile phones available on the market. The new mobile phone enhances the telephone by making it usable almost anywhere, with the addition of imagery and video footage. The phone can be used for internet access, GPS navigation, the playing of music and games, listening to radio. It retrieves the short text messaging capacity introduced earlier with the telegram. It has the potential to make many other media obsolete or dispensable, including land lines, purpose built portable radios and MP3 players. If use of the mobile phone is taken to extreme we can end up losing freedom rather than gaining it. Our lives can become driven by the need to access and share information and connect with others.

So what message does the mobile phone carry within itself? Our value of compact, multi-functional and mobile devices is a reflection of our ever increasing individualism. However our concern about being connected at all times and in all places says something about our hunger for community. We are tempted by the offer of disembodied communication, in which we can avoid face to face, body to body meetings with our peers.

The data projector ties together the functions of film projector (with spools), overhead projector (with transparencies), slide projector, television screen and computer screen. Connecting the projector to other media input (computer, DVD or video, or advanced mobile phone), along with HiFi sound reproduction, makes it possible to achieve a high quality audio visual experience without the worries associated with moving parts. The data projector has already effectively replaced slide, film and overhead projectors, and has the capacity to make obsolete the distribution of printed paper in public gatherings. If used without care, the data projector has the capacity to remove our capacity to read and reflect before and after shared experiences. Live communicators can find themselves outpaced by their own tools unless they continue to hone their capacity for engaging in an interactive manner.

The message carried within the medium of data projector is tied up in search for audio and visual entertainment. What’s missing? Taste, smell, touch and interactivity. We’re presented with a screen from which emanates our cues for thinking and feeling. Without dialogue and response we run the risk of becoming receivers alone rather than responders.

Here’s a clip from the 2002 documentary ‘McLuhan’s Wake’ released by the National Film Board of Canada, available in the Amazon.com list below. The video includes a visualization of Edgar Allan Poe’s story, The Descent into the Maelstrom, in which a sailor manages to escape a whirlpool only by studying the effect of the vortex on the objects swirling around him.

Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)

Links

Marshall McLuhan Official Site
The Marshall McLuhan Program on Culture and Technology
Marshall McLuhan on Wikipedia

The Beheading of John the Baptist, by Caravaggio

We moved the desks away and sat in a circle, face to face, changing from a classroom mode into an encounter group mode.

I invited participants to share what we knew of John the Baptist before reflecting on the significance John’s community had for the followers of Jesus. John would have been seen as a mentor, the leader of a formational community. We then gave thanks in prayer for people and communities that had mentored and formed us. A responsive prayer was used, “We give you thanks, in life and in death”.

We then shared in the narration of the story of John’s death, from memory, without the support of written text. Questions and answers helped us explore the perspectives of characters in the story, from Herod and Salome through to John. We moved on to wonder about the people who take the role of prophet today, and the cost of integrity. We finished with open prayer.

We didn’t sing. There are not a lot of songs that can be sung from memory, that relate well to the gravity of this reading. Maybe Kumbaya, the Creole spiritual. If we’d had access to words on screen or paper (which we deliberately did not) we could have sung “God of Freedom” by Shirley Murray, a hymn written for Amnesty International, or “Jesus Christ is waiting”, by John Bell of Iona Community. Or “Freedom is Coming”, or other tracks from the Wild Goose collection, “Songs of protest and praise from South Africa : performed by Fjedur”. Maybe we could have put together our own song, tying together the themes of gratitude for mentors and prophets and the search for integrity.

1. Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit, 1991 (Video)
2. Rage Against the Machine, Killing in the Name, 1992 (Video)
3. Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah, 1994 (Video)
4. Joy Division, Love Will Tear Us Apart, 1980 (Video)
5. Radiohead, Paranoid Android, 1997 (Video)
6. Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, 1975 (Video)
7. Jeff Buckley, Last Goodbye, 1994 (Video)
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Under The Bridge, 1991 (Video)
9. Foo Fighters, Everlong, 1997 (Video)
10. Led Zeppelin, Stairway To Heaven, 1971 (Video)
11. John Lennon, Imagine, 1971 (Video)
12. Oasis, Wonderwall, 1995 (Video)
13. Radiohead, Creep, 1992 (Video)
14. The Verve, Bitter Sweet Symphony, 1997 (Video)
15. Radiohead, Karma Police, 1997 (Video)
16. Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, 1975 (Video)
17. Hilltop Hoods, The Nosebleed Section, 2003 (Video)
18. Muse, Knights of Cydonia (Video)
19. Metallica, One, 1988
20. The White Stripes, Seven Nation Army, 2003 (Video)
21. Powderfinger, These Days, 2000 (Video)
22. Massive Attack, Teardrop, 1998 (Video)
23. Hunters and Collectors, Throw Your Arms Around Me, 1984 (Video)
24. The Beatles, A Day in the Life, 1967
25. Pearl Jam, Alive, 1991 (Video)
26. Michael Jackson, Thriller, 1982 (Video)
27. Powderfinger, My Happiness, 2000 (Video)
28. Radiohead, Fake Plastic Trees, 1995 (Video)
29. Pixies, Where Is My Mind?, 1988
30. Jimi Hendrix Experience, All Along The Watchtower, 1968 (Video)
31. Metallica, Enter Sandman, 1991 (Video)
32. New Order, Blue Monday, 1983
33. Silverchair, Tomorrow, 1994 (Video)
34. The Living End, Prisoner of Society, 1997 (Video)
35. Smashing Pumpkins, 1979, 1995 (Video)
36. Nick Cave, Into My Arms, 1997 (Video)
37. Tool, Stinkfist, 1996
38. The Killers, Mr Brightside, 2003 (Video)
39. Pearl Jam, Better Man, 1994 (Video)
40. Nirvana, Come As You Are, 1991 (Video)
41. Michael Jackson, Billie Jean, 1983 (Video)
42. Bloc Party, Banquet, 2005 (Video)
43. The Beach Boys, God Only Knows, 1966 (Video)
44. The Beatles, Hey Jude, 1968 (Video)
45. Queens of the Stone Age, No One Knows, 2002 (Video)
46. Faith No More, Epic, 1990 (Video)
47. John Butler Trio, Betterman, 2001
48. Beastie Boys, Sabotage, 1994 (Video)
49. Guns n’ Roses, Sweet Child O’ Mine, 1987 (Video)
50. Crowded House, Don’t Dream It’s Over, 1986 (Video)
51. Smashing Pumpkins, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1995 (Video)
52. You Am I, Berlin Chair, 1993
53. Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb, 1979 (Video)
54. The Cure, Close To Me, 1985 (Video)
55. Bob Dylan, Like A Rolling Stone, 1965 (Video)
56. Jeff Buckley, Love You Should Have Come Over, 1994
57. Tool, Forty Six and 2, 1996 (Video)
58. Daft Punk, Around the World, 1997 (Video)
59. Augie March, One Crowded Hour, 2006 (Video)
60. Johnny Cash, Hurt, 2003 (Video)
61. Blur, Song 2, 1997 (Video)
62. Nine Inch Nails, Closer, 1994 (Video)
63. AC/DC Thunderstruck, 1991 (Video)
64. Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun, 1982 (Video)
65. Underworld, Born Slippy, 1996 (Video)
66. Elton John, Tiny Dancer, 1972
67. Ben Folds Five, Brick, 1997 (Video)
68. Blink 182, Dammit, 1997 (Video)
69. Jeff Buckley, Grace, 1994
70. The Prodigy, Breathe, 1996 (Video)
71. The Smiths, How Soon is Now?, 1985 (Video)
72. The Shins, New Slang, 2001 (Video)
73. The Clash, London Calling, 1979 (Video)
74. Nirvana, Lithium, 1991 (Video)
75. Green Day, Good Riddance, 1997
76. The Stone Roses, Fools Gold, 1989 (Video)
77. Gotye, Heart’s A Mess, 2006 (Video)
78. Smashing Pumpkins, Today, 1993 (Video)
79. David Bowie, Life on Mars?, 1971 (Video)
80. The Rolling Stones, Paint It Black, 1966 (Video)
81. Pulp, Common People, 1995 (Video)
82. System of A Down, Chop Suey, 2001 (Video)
83. Placebo, Every You, Every Me, 1998 (Video)
84. Bob Marley, No Woman No Cry, 1974 (Video)
85. The Dandy Warhols, Bohemian Like You, 2000 (Video)
86. The Beatles, Come Together, 1969 (Video)
87. Coldplay, Yellow, 2000 (Video)
88. The Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter, 1969 (Video)
89. Rage Against the Machine, Bulls on Parade, 1996 (Video)
90. Kings of Leon, Sex on Fire, 2008 (Video)
91. AC/DC, Back in Black, 1980 (Video)
92. Bon Iver, Skinny Love, 2008
93. Massive Attack, Unfinished Sympathy, 1991 (Video)
94. Modest Mouse, Float On, 2004 (Video)
95. Stevie Wonder, Superstition, 1971 (Video)
96. Daft Punk, One More Time, 2000 (Video)
97. Midnight Oil, Beds are Burning, 1987 (Video)
98. Led Zeppelin, Kashmir, 1975 (Video)
99. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me, 2006 (Video)
100. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out, 2004 (Video)

The President and General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), which represents 75 million Reformed church members, have linked commentaries by the 16th century lawyer and theologian to the current global economic crisis.

In their statement, WARC’s president, Clifton Kirkpatrick, and general secretary, Setri Nyomi, quote Calvin’s instructions to the church about how to respond to 16th century economic and environmental concerns and note that these speak to contemporary concerns about the impact of climate change and the market crisis on the worlds poor.

Saying that people are hurt when there is injustice in the economy, Kirkpatrick and Nyomi note: “To this Calvin stated: ‘A fair distribution can become reality if the rich do not greedily swallow up whatsoever they can get together; if they do not rake up on every side what belongs to others to satisfy their greed…’” (Calvin’s Commentary on Exodus 16:19.)

The statement’s authors add, “In our world today where humanity is blatantly ignoring the environment and in fact destroying Gods creation, Calvin’s words can be instructive: ‘Whoever owns a piece of land, should harvest the fruits in such a way that the soil does not suffer damage…If we follow this line, nobody will behave immoderately and destroy through misuse what God wishes to preserve.’” (Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis 2.15)

In pointing to the relevance of Calvins legacy for today, Kirkpatrick and Nyomi say: “It is our hope that inspired by this, we who live in the 21st century will also be faithful … to doing everything we can to be Gods agents of transformation, making a difference in our communities.”

The Official Statement in Full

Here’s the full statement from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Five hundred years ago this Friday, July 10, John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. The Reformed family is commemorating this, not so much to create a Calvin cult or even to hail him as a perfect saint. Calvin certainly was not perfect, and it is against the grain of Reformed Christians to foster personality cults. John Calvin himself would insist Soli Deo Gloria, Only to God be the Glory.

We commemorate this day in a spirit of gratitude to God for how what Calvin did has inspired a movement of people committed to living faithfully for God in different contexts, and how his legacy continues to inspire us to be true to God in responding faithfully to current challenges.

In our world today, many are hurting because of injustice in the economy long before the current meltdown in the financial markets. This has indeed been further aggravated by the financial crisis and job losses in many countries while those who benefited from the system before continue to be bailed out. To this Calvin stated: “A fair distribution can become reality if the rich do not greedily swallow up whatsoever they can get together; if they do not rack up on every side what belongs to others to satisfy their greed…” (Calvin’s Commentary on Exodus 16:19.)

In our world today where humanity is blatantly ignoring the environment and in fact destroying Gods creation, Calvin’s words can be instructive: “Whoever owns a piece of land, should harvest the fruits in such a way that the soil does not suffer and damage…as God’s stewards…If we follow this line, nobody will behave immoderately and destroy through misuse what God wishes to preserve.” (Calvin’s Commentary on Genesis 2.15)

In our world today where even within the church there are so many divisions and many church leaders and Christians do not take seriously the call to Christian unity, we are reminded by Calvin: “Each time we read the word one, let us be reminded that it is used emphatically. Christ cannot be divided. Faith cannot be rent. There are not various baptisms, but one, which is common to all. God cannot be torn into different parts… Faith and baptism, and God the Father and Christ, ought to unite us…” (Calvin’s commentary on Ephesians 4:5)

John Calvin wrote these commentaries in the 16th century. They continue to be relevant today. That is the legacy for which we thank God. It is our hope that inspired by this, we who live in the 21st century will also be faithful to God in our commitment to Christian unity, to confronting the forces of evil and injustice in society, and to doing everything we can to be God’s agents of transformation, making a difference in our communities.

We take this opportunity to greet all who are organizing activities and worship services this week-end (July 10 12, 2009). May God bless you as you commemorate this jubilee. We take this opportunity to greet those who have had some activities earlier this year, or are planning to engage in jubilee activities later this year.

We would also like to thank all those people and congregations who made it a point to give a special Birthday gift in the form of financial resources with which the World Alliance of Reformed Churches can continue to be faithful to God in carrying out mandates that are in part inspired by the life and ministry of John Calvin. For those who want to follow this good example, please visit the WARC website (http://www.warc.ch/ ) and go to “Calvin and WARC”. You can also find more information on: http://www.calvin.org/.

As we commemorate 500 years after the birth of Calvin, may all our actions and responses to global and community challenges today give glory to God.

Monday July 6 - Media and the Gospel

Morning Session (9 - 12.30 am)

Opening worship experience exploring the death of John the Baptist using oral/aural expressions only, using music, story telling, silence, extempore prayer, call and response. Mark 6:14-29.

Introduction to Marshall McLuhan’s focus on Laws of Media, with reference to Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media. Read Shane Hipps on Laws of Media (Download excerpt).

Exploration of impact of print media on Christian faith, using Shane Hipps, The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture (download excerpt).

Afternoon Session (1.30 - 4 pm)

Exploration of electronic culture using Tex Sample, The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World, Peter Horsfield, The Mediated Spirit. (Download Peter Horsfield, Theology, Church and Media)

Exploration of ambient approaches to learning, marketing and worship.

Tuesday July 7 - Communication and Community

Morning Session - Effective Communication ( 9 am - 12.30 pm)

Worship experience using printing, writing, speaking, exploring the metaphors of salvation in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Information Sharing, Semiotics, Cultural Texts, Community Building, Dialogue, Feedback loops.

Afternoon Session - Developing a Communication Plan (1.30 - 4 pm)

Mardi Lumsden, Communications Director, UCA Queensland Synod, on the Synod integrated communication plan, and on developing a local communication plan.

Wednesday July 8 - Local Media and Communication

Morning Session - Local Media (9 am - 12.30 pm)

Worship experience embedding visual media exploring Psalm 24.

Marketing and the Church - billboards, TV advertisements, Direct.

Phil Smith, ABC radio presenter, on hypothetical situations - relating to newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Proactive communication and crisis management.

Afternoon Session - Online Community (1.30 - 4 pm)

Online Church - using email, designing a web site, blogging, podcasting, videocasting, social networking.

Thursday July 9 - MultiSensory Worship & Ethics

Morning Session - Multi-sensory worship (9 am - 12.30 pm)

Multi-sensory worship experience, using 2 Samuel 6 (The return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem).

Visual Arts, Film and the Church (a retrospective)

Exploring the concept of curator in worship experience, using The Prodigal Project, Kathy Kirkpatrick, Mike Riddell and Mark Pierson (Download Excerpt)

Afternoon Session - Ethics, Media and Communication (1.30 pm - 4 pm)

Exploration of principles for virtuous reality, using Quentin Schultze, Communicating for Life, and Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age.

Evaluation

Useful Reading

Understanding Media, the Extensions of Man, Critical Edition, Marshall McLuhan, Gingko Press, 2003. (Original edition was 1964)
The Mediated Spirit (CD ROM) Peter Horsfield, 2002
Introducing Cultural and Media Studies, a Semiotic Approach, Tony Thwaites, Lloyd Davis and Warwick Mules, Revised Edition, Palgrave, 2002
The Media & Communications in Australia, edited by Stuart Cunningham & Graeme Turner, Allen & Unwin, 2006
Belief in Media, Cultural Perspectives on Media and Christianity, Edited by Peter Horsfield, Mary E. Hess and Adan M. Medrano, Ashgate, 2004
Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith, Shane Hipps, Zondervan 2009
The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel and Church, Zondervan, 2005
Entertainment Theology, New-Edge Spirituality in a Digital Democracy, Barry Taylor, Baker Academic, 2008
A Matrix of Meaning: Finding God in Popular Culture, Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor, Baker Academic, 2003
Reel Spirituality, Theology and Film in Dialogue, Robert K. Johnston, Baker Academic, 2000
Engaging Technology in Theological Education: All That We Can’t Leave Behind, Mary E. Hess, Rowman & Littlefield, 2005
Between Sacred and Profane: Researching Religion and Popular Culture, edited by Gordon Lynch, I.B. Tauris, 2007
Understanding Theology and Popular Culture, Gordon Lynch, Blackwell, 2005
Digital Storytelling: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship, Len Wilson & Jason Moore, Abingdon 2002
The Prodigal Project, Mike Riddell, Mark Pierson, Cathy Kirkpatrick, SPCK, 2000

Peter worked with us using a range of exercises to identify twelve leadership strengths that are needed by any team. The point was that no one person holds within themselves all the competencies and capacities needed by the team.

The twelve leadership strengths are listening, connecting, envisioning, exploring, inspiring, empowering, structuring, communicating, optimism, acting, resolving and learning. The six personal foundations are spiritual foundations, clarity of purpose, sense of self, integrity, supportive relationships, balance and boundaries.

The resource includes a really helpful book, a workbook, and a booklet, each providing a new way to read about, workshop and reflect on the model.

Here’s the whiteboard list of leadership capacities we put together in the NCLS workshop at Ashgrove Baptist. Normally Peter looks for a bigger whiteboard - but this had to do!

I enjoyed learning some of the practical details of how Ramadan is practiced, organising prayer routines, physical contact between genders and alcohol abstinence. I wasn’t aware of the need to wash up before prayer, including hands, face and feet.

Here’s a humorous but to-the-point video on Muslims in the workplace, from Salam Cafe, a ten week series run on SBS in 2008, based on the Channel 31 title Ramadan TV.

Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)

Watch this space…

So what’s involved with “Unpraying”? According to the dictionary it means to revoke or annul by prayer, as something previously prayed for. I guess it’s a bit like the “Recall This Message” feature in Microsoft Outlook.

An Unpray Story

Maxine was driving down the street in a sweat because she had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up toward heaven, she said, ‘Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up sex and wine.’

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

She looked up again and said, ‘Never mind. I found one.’

Some classic Unpray messages

Oops.
Cancel that one God.
Hang on, I didn’t really mean that!

What would you add to the list?