Q York

I believe there has been abuse and misuse of many principles conveyed and applied by the church and institutions which misrepresent the original idea contained within the thing and so make it a tool of manipulation rather than a means of emancipation. I want to talk about one of those things today

I don’t want to live in a society that survives because of mercy, I want to live in one that thrives because of loving kindness. If we cannot overcome the curse of tribal religion and its bleed into all forms of life from family to politics, this will never become a reality. This message should be listened to in tandem with the previous two entitled “God as changing reality” Find part 1 here: www.qyork.co.uk/post/god-as-a-changing-reality and part 2 here: www.qyork.co.uk/post/god-as-a-changing-reality-part-2

I know by long experience, that the choice of a certain title, or the subject matter of a talk, will cause some to bypass, switch off or ignore. Everybody likes the stuff on getting past pain and declarations of what will give them guaranteed success with dollops of warm, fuzzy feelings, but dare to delve into things that get close to challenging a hearer or reader's ‘need to change’ areas and, that’s not so popular. "God as an changing reality" is a two part message of that kind. Go on, I dare you…

The study of anthropology gives us insight into the human concepts of god throughout the ages. From the ancient text of the bible appearing to accredit to God the authorising of genocide, murder and ethnic cleansing, to the human propensity for prejudice, there emerges the still present defect of God, life, politics and religion viewed through the tribal model. How do we break that cycle and release the healing wholeness that comes through a different spirit?

ACTS OF NECESSARY VANDALISM There are times in our lives when to access the life we so longingly desire, we may need to vandalise what is. Now, that may seem a word and a statement inappropriate to use considering its strong and aggressive implications toward lawlessness, but, having got your attention, let me try and give you a different perspective on this subject that may help you initiate your breakthrough. Stop settling for stuck when you could journey to free.

WHAT LIES BEYOND THE PAIN? There are things in life that will keep you stuck in places from which you should have moved on but never did. Do you really want to die there? If you are determined to reshape the potential outcome of the story, break away from the pain of the past and the stagnation of the present, hopefully these steps drawn from ancient wisdom will help.

Without going into all the details, something has been nudging me towards sharing the following video with you. I am posting it particularly for my church friends out there, as I have this nagging feeling it’s what some of you need in your journey right now.

What happens when power pretends to protect?

Dear Q Church Family - Anth Chapman - 31st December 2020 by QYork

Incarnation - Anth Chapman - Saturday 19th December 2020 by QYork

The words we use can sometimes be unhelpful and misleading in respect to the message we are trying to convey. The bible translators were not immune to this. What makes it worse, is the thought that sometimes this was done deliberately! By looking at the characters on stage during the epic event we call the nativity, how do we unlock its twists and turns and secrets to bring us a life defining moment that will keep unfolding for as long as we can imagine? An understanding of the truth of incarnation really is the gift that keeps on giving.

The greatest devil you will ever face, possibly the only one, is the one on the inside. What is known in the bible as “the wilderness temptation” was not intended to convey some nominal exercise in script writing or storytelling, but to draw us into a very familiar human story which no human can avoid, the inner questions of identity and purpose. Like the story, we are led there, whether we like it or not.

The religious spirit is a vile curse that has blighted all humanity since the beginning of time. The religious spirit is like oil, it gets everywhere! It is not confined to religious organisations but seeps into anything and everything that holds power over people. What would you think should be the response?

Have you ever felt stuck in your life? The biblical story of the pool of Bethesda paints a powerful picture of what it means to be late to the party and addresses the frustration and reason why we reach the state of “stuck”.

There comes a time in all of our lives when we must face what we least want to face. In that moment we have to acknowledge that we ourselves have contributed to the situation we now have to face along with others along the way. The names we would give to the things we fear facing the most may be different but, at the core, they’re all rooted in the same things and there is one indispensable key to their resolution. Can an ancient story give us the insight we long for?

Socrates said, “I am wise, not because I know, but because I know that I don’t know”. There is something paradoxically powerful about this statement that asks important questions about what we would perceive constitutes wisdom, especially in regards to our quest for wholeness and what it means to be human.

If we can put aside the methods we adopt to simply survive situations rather than overcome them, like avoidance, selective blindness, and forced optimism, we may be able to accept there is a place from which to look that offers a noticeable and dynamic life changing shift. It’s not so much what you’re looking at but where you’re looking from that makes the difference in life.

Within the dynamic of life we often find ourselves facing challenging contradictions. What if these arise to alert us to the presence of a greater reality than the one we currently embrace? This is where the Judas principle comes in. We are QChurch! Why Q? We are on a Quest, a Quest for spirituality, joy, relationship, justice, beauty and a new world. If you enjoyed what you saw, click on the link below which will take you to our website. https://www.qyork.co.uk

I’m not sure the author of the nursery rhyme "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly” would have known just how relevant this poem would be to a 21st century world. Anything started from a basis of fear will always create reactions not conducive to healthy outcomes. If we spend our time reacting to the latest circumstance we will always end up on a path of more destructive consequence. To the casual observer, the approach to solving the perceived problem becomes more and more absurd. To the participator, it looks like the obvious and sensible next step!! Perspective is a great leveller of extremes.

Anth Chapman - Beware The Common Narrative - Thursday 27th August 2020 by QYork