Pete Greig's Blog: Scrambled Greig, page 3

Day 15: Melrose (Cuthbert's Way)

… in which we finally make it to Melrose Abbey, discuss the amazing life of #Cuthbert, ‘canny-ness’, the burning priority of prayer, the heart of healthy leadership, and the wonderful world of work.

Day 14: St. Ronan's Well, Innerleithen (Cross Borders Drove Road)

- in which we discuss the enneagram and spiritual warfare during a thunderstorm and Rich nearly poisons himself drinking holy water

Day 13: Neidpath Castle, Peebles (Cross Borders Drove Road)

- in which we just kinda hang out at a castle discussing today’s #lectio365 while Rich Dawson premieres his best song yet, accompanied by a barking dog and a (particularly gifted) blackbird

Aidan's Way Pilgrimage

In October 2021 I walked 300 miles on my own from the Scottish island of Iona to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in the footsteps of the 7th century Celtic saint Aidan. Honestly? It was… life changing.

My publisher asked me to do it again, but this time to let others share in the journey.

And so right now here I am back in the Highlands of Scotland on Aidan’s Way, but this time with two friends: Charlie Kang - a photographer for the book which will come out next year, and Rich Dawson - a sound engineer who’s putting out #Lectio365 devotionals and #ThePilgrimPodcast daily from the road. (I’ll be posting the podcast here.

We’re having a lot of fun!

Whoop!

This is just so encouraging. Writing a book is a lonely business. You tap away at the keyboard for weeks on end, never really knowing whether ithe things you’re saying make sense. So it’s just lovely to get moments like these when you dare to believe that the things in your heart and your head have somehow connected with the hearts and heads of others through the mystery of of writing. Grateful.

This is just so encouraging…

A Blessing for Christmas Day

May the extraordinary love,

by which the Father sent his Son at Christmas,

embrace my family and friends, my heart and my home, this day.

And may the astounding sacrifice,

by which Jesus was born in Bethlehem,

mark all my attitudes, actions and interactions this day.

And may the irrepressible joy,

by which the Spirit conceives and breathes new life,

fill me with the holiness of heaven’s happiness, now and forever more.

Amen

A Christmas Blessing

May the extraordinary love,

by which the Father sent his Son at Christmas,

embrace my family and friends, my heart and my home, this day.

And may the astounding sacrifice,

by which Jesus was born in Bethlehem,

mark all my attitudes, actions and interactions this day.

And may the irrepressible joy,

by which the Spirit conceives and breathes new life,

fill me with the holiness of heaven’s happiness, now and forever more.

Amen

Vineyard Anaheim Statement

Many people have asked me to explain my role in Vineyard Anaheim’s decision to withdraw from Vineyard USA, and particularly my subsequent resignation from its Board. This statement is personal. I am not speaking on behalf of Vineyard Anaheim’s Board, nor of its Pastors, Alan and Kathryn Scott who have already issued a statement here.

 

I am choosing to speak now for three reasons: Firstly, the depth of pain and confusion that this decision has caused has broken my heart. I love Alan and Kathryn. I also love the Vineyard movement which has shaped my life profoundly. I have many friends within the worldwide Vineyard family to whom I owe an explanation.

 

Secondly, there is a great deal of misinformation and unhelpful presumption circulating, and I believe that this is contributing to the current confusion and pain. I hope that by speaking up I can bring a little more clarity.

 

Thirdly, the 24-7 Prayer movement is committed to Christian unity. I recognise that my words and actions have a bearing on thousands of people who are actively and wonderfully engaged in 24-7 Prayer globally, some of them members of Vineyard churches.

 

A painful process

I attended my first meeting of the Vineyard Anaheim Board on January 19th, having accepted an invitation to visit twice a year for two years in order to bring an external perspective. I had made this commitment because Alan and Kathryn are friends, and because Vineyard Anaheim is a church I have deeply admired for many years.

There was no mention on that visit of any plan to leave Vineyard USA (VUSA), and neither had this possibility been raised with me previously. I have subsequently learned that it had been discussed in other contexts prior to my arrival, and was the subject of active discernment at that time. Had I known this, I would not have felt able to join the Board.

When Alan and Kathryn sensed that the time was right to leave VUSA at the end of February, they requested the Board’s support (although technically, under the terms of the bylaws established by John Wimber, they did not need our permission to do so). I did not give my consent because this came as a complete shock and there did not appear to have been any due process. Instead I urged Alan to slow down. As a result, on Sunday February 27th, he publicly acknowledged ‘mis-steps in… communication’, and announced his desire ‘to host a further conversation.’ 

I then met with Jay Pathak the National Director of VUSA in Denver, and strongly encouraged him in his desire to engage the Scotts in a meaningful process of dialogue and mutual discernment.

On Sunday March 6th I attended a Vineyard Anaheim Board meeting at which a plan was made to meet with members of the VUSA Board for off-the-record discussions. At this point I resigned from the Board because I felt that I had played my part in brokering better communication between the two parties and because I could see that the reputation of 24-7 Prayer was being damaged by the public perception of my continued involvement.  

In the eleven days between the Scott’s initial announcement and my resignation I spent many hours, much prayer and a few tears, trying to leverage my position on the Board for the sake of peace and grace between people I love and ministries I continue to admire. I held my peace publicly during this time - and until now - out of a desire to help facilitate dialogue. I did not want to say anything that could be construed as taking sides which seemed to me, both then and now, to be unhelpful. I am truly sorry for any confusion and hurt my choices have made, both amongst those who wish I had not resigned, and those who wanted me to offer an explanation like this sooner.

I am deeply aware of the shockwaves this decision has sent through the Vineyard family worldwide. God knows I have tried to help.

Posture

I do not wish my resignation, or this statement, to be weaponised in any way against the Scotts.  They, along with the whole Vineyard Anaheim Board, have been consistently gracious and godly towards me. I have never once heard them speak a bad word in private or public towards VUSA. They have served faithfully and fruitfully within Vineyard for decades and are truly people who listen diligently to the Lord and simply seek to obey. It grieves me to see the animosity unleashed against them online. I understand the pain behind such comments but the language used is not appropriate within Christ’s family.

Likewise, Jay Pathak is a remarkable and brilliant leader. I believe that he has been raised up by God to lead VUSA for such a time as this. Long before this dispute arose I invited him to speak at our Wildfires Festival in the UK next month, and I am pleased that he is still fully intending to come. I have made myself available to Jay as well as to the Scotts to help in any way I can in an informal capacity.

I acknowledge the sense of bereavement within Vineyard and of bewilderment within the wider church triggered by this sudden separation, and deeply regret my inability to get both sides talking. The process has not been good. I’m sure that some people will continue to be angry with me, not least because this statement fails to address certain questions which can only be answered by the two respective Boards. However I do continue to pray for both VUSA and Vineyard Anaheim, that all concerned will flourish to the greater glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we are one, confident that we shall one day:

‘all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.’ (Eph. 4:13)

  

Pete Greig

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Contemplative Prayer + Popcorn - a user's guide to the meaning of life

Contemplative prayer is a journey that tends to passthrough three phases, from meditation (me and God) to contemplation (God and me) to communion (only God). This may sound pretty heavy but I guarantee you do it already, and with a little practice you can go deeper and learn to enjoy God’s presence in prayer more than ever before.

1. Meditation—the “Me and God” Stage

As it says in the very first sentence of the first Psalm: “Blessed is the one who . . . meditates on [God’s] law day and night” (verses 1-2). Contemplation begins with meditation—fixing your thoughts on a picture, an object, or most frequently, on a phrase from the Bible. Sit quietly, reflecting on a verse, exploring it from every angle in your mind. Whenever you get distracted, bring your thoughts back to focus again on this simple, single phrase or sentence. Meditation takes effort, but it does get easier with practice. “No other habit,” says pastor Rick Warren, “can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflections on Scripture.” Poet Mary Oliver says that we have only to “pay attention” to the wonder of the world—even its less beautiful bits—to step through the doorway into that contemplative “silence in which another voice may speak.”

Praying –
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.

As we enter into contemplation through the gateway of meditation, we may well find that particular concerns begin to knock at the door of our minds. When this happens, the contemplative approach is neither to shut them out nor to start interceding about them, but simply to welcome them as guests and lift them to the Lord in silent prayer. We acknowledge the situation that is troubling our minds or the person who is weighing on our hearts and lift them to the Lord.

“Intercessory prayer is not primarily about thinking that I know what someone else needs and trying to wrestle it from God,” suggests Ruth Haley Barton. “Rather, it is being present to God on another’s behalf, listening for the prayer of the Holy Spirit that is already being prayed for that person before the throne of grace, and being willing to join God in that prayer.” Referring to the apostle Paul’s description of the Holy Spirit interceding for us in groans beyond human vocabulary, she continues: “As I enter into the stillness of true prayer, it is enough to experience my own groaning about the situation or person I am concerned about and to sense the Spirit’s groaning on their behalf.”

2. Contemplation—the “God and Me” Stage

As I meditate on the Lord and become aware of his presence, my center of gravity shifts from “me and God” to “God and me.” He takes center stage. I’m no longer slogging away, trying to fix my attention on him, using that logical left hemisphere of my cerebral cortex, because I can now see that his attention is already fixed on me! “Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage,” teaches Jesus. “The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” Words become less necessary as prayer becomes no longer something I’m doing but something I’m being in the presence of God. “The discovery at the heart of contemplation,” says Bishop Stephen Verney, “is not that I am contemplating the divine love, but that the divine love is contemplating me. He sees me and understands and accepts me.”

3. Communion—the “Only God” Stage

Sometimes it’s possible to become so absorbed in God’s reality that I forget myself completely. I am no longer consciously praying or worshiping. Words would be inadequate and even inappropriate. It’s as though time has stopped and I’ve somehow stepped into eternity. Anthony of the Desert described this experience more than 1700 years ago like this: “Perfect prayer is not to know that you are praying.”

You may be surprised to learn that you probably embark on precisely this kind of meditative and contemplative journey every time you go to the cinema. First, at the start of a movie, it’s “you and the movie.” You are eating popcorn, working hard to pay attention, tutting at anyone who’s chatting, trying to get into those all-important opening scenes. But then, if the movie is good, it starts to affect you. It draws you in. You laugh and cry. You find yourself caring about the characters, forgetting that they are actors. You no longer need to work at getting into the film because the film is getting into you. Meditation has turned into contemplation.

If a movie is better than good—if it is truly great—you will eventually get completely caught up in its plot, utterly absorbed and deeply affected. Your popcorn will be forgotten. It will no longer be “me and the movie” nor even “the movie and me” but “only the movie.” The story will have transported you into a place that seems more real than reality.

This blog is an extract from How to Pray, chapter 8

Such all-consuming experiences and the overwhelming human desire for them—in art, in sex, in nature, in moments of sporting euphoria, in deep conversations late at night with dear friends—are rumours of another world. They whisper that we are made for eternity, wired to worship, happiest whenever we abandon ourselves to something greater and more beautiful than our own little lives.

Like you. Not like you.

People talk a lot about making the gospel culturally relevant as if it is a contemporary irrelevance. As if Jesus has passed his sell-by date. Nothing could be further from the truth.

That’s why churches are now growing again in the UK - ahead of the population - in spite of an insidious anti-faith agenda from today’s cultural elite.

Meanwhile, our call as the people of God is not to cultural relevance but to cultural presence. We are wired as change agents; designed to be outsiders on the inside.

Again and again in the Old Testament the Israelites got this wrong. Syncretistic assimilation in one generation, pietistic exclusivity in the next. Our task is to be undeniably different yet defiantly present in ordinary streets and offices, in recording studios and research labs, from classrooms to the corridors of power. ‘You are the Light of the World!’ Jesus cries, “Now shine!’ Compel the culture’s attention with a better, more beautiful way of life.

Does the political right criticise our championing of the poor, our hospitality towards refugees? Hallelujah!

Does the political left despise our commitment to family and the sanctity of life? Praise the Lord!

“The days are coming, I suspect, when we will be hated for what we stand for but loved for what we do. ”

Are our sexual ethics openly mocked by the media? Is our belief in God pilloried by the academy? Are our brothers and sisters being persecuted by the Powers in China and Iran, slaughtered for their confession of faith in Nigeria and the Middle East? Kyrie Eleison.

Yes, we are with you. Yes, we like you. But no, we are not like you.

The days are coming, I suspect, when we will be hated for what we stand for but loved for what we do. It has always been so. And if we recant at such a time; if we bow down to the State and trade authority for power, if we marry the spirit of this present age we will be widowed in the next (Inge). As old-man Moses once said to God (as he eyed the Promised Land) ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here… What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33)

It’s time to carry God’s presence into an alien land. To celebrate our own strangeness within the culture, to herald the margins and rage against the relentless beige of modern life.

The hope of the world today is still the same, uncool, unchanging gospel of this punk rock messiah who walked amongst us, as one of us and showed us another way to be.