Today I escaped from under a pile of admin to meet Jonny Baker, my old mentor, for a curry. As expected, this was a stimulating experience. Jonny's one of those people who have a way of making you think deeply about what you're doing and why you're doing it, which is always a helpful thing to do. Even if it did give me slight indigestion.
I managed to convince him to let me loose on the blah website, which discusses cross-cultural mission and the like. Check it out at www.blahonline.net . I think I mumbled something about church-based mission in an urban context, particularly last year's Soul in the City bonanza. I think I might have picked a few holes in the Soul in the City model, which I find equally exciting and worrying. Exciting, because I always enjoy being provocative. Worrying, because I can't help feeling I'll be vilified if I dare to say a word against Soul in the City. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. And perhaps it's not Soul in the City that's flawed; perhaps it's my methods and my church's approach to local outreach that need altering. Hmmm. Some research necessary here, methinks. Once my article's finished and uploaded, I'll let you know here.
In the meantime, check out www.soulinthecity.co.uk for more on Soul in the City.