September 29th, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Just For Fun
I didn’t realise there was a photo of me on Blind Date until I found it on a odd unmarked CD earlier! Yay! Oh the memories of singleness (which I don’t miss!), and the fun of making the date video…which can be watched below thanks to google
September 27th, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Christianity, Just For Fun
Huh I hear you cry from the blog title - all will be explained
Where am I? I hear you think as you pick yourself up from the floor having fainted, Mark’s blogged again!
So, my bee may have flown…from my bonnet
Yesterday in CROPS I borrowed Decca’s ‘Audacious Revolution’ book expecting to be annoyed by dodgy theology and lots of jargon words which sounds good yet make no sense, but having read the whole book today I’m quite impressed, the theology seems to be pretty spot on, some of it matching what I’ve been taught on my course so far.
The only bit I’d complain about is the complete overuse of the word Audacious, they do give a dictionary meaning but I still find it a bit like jargon but I got what they were trying to say.
The other bit which got me thinking was a bit when they talk about how boring churches might as well not bother because Jesus was (to use the buzz word) Audacious. To an extent I see where they are coming from, they talk about how when you’re excited about something it sorta bursts out of you and that Jesus should be like that and therefore we should all be jumping etc! They also talk about how when people were healed they ‘Jumped praising God’ which depending on your translation of the bible but it does give a good explanation to people like me who usually fail to see why we have to jump, at least now I know where they’re coming from, I don’t agree that you have to jump, I believe that true worship comes from the heart and it’s where your heart is at when you worship, but I think expression is important in worship because it publically shows that you love God, yes you could pretend to be into it but not be inside but that’s a problem between you and God, I think expressive worship is an important part when we praise God through song, after all everything we do should be as worship to God (remember worship isn’t just singing it’s way of life), and Romans talks about faith being about actions as well as words so perhaps that’s where action in worship fits in?
Anyway, at some point expect a proper worship thought, verse etc blog!
September 26th, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Just For Fun
Hello readers,
I aprechiate not much has been happening here on planet ‘tarkmiddy.blogspot.com’ blog lately and I’d like to apologise and say that I have been quite busy so perhaps I shall use this blog to update you on my life for the moment.
I’m quite liking Peterborough so far this year, it feels like I’ve been back forever though, but I don’t feel that I have as much to do as last year, I guess I did too much last year really, but it’s cool because the Oasis course is getting started and in a way I’m looking forward to it, however at the same time, if I’m honest I want it to be over asap, the way I see it it’s a stepping stone for me on the way to doing the Youth Work God has called me too and part of me really wants to get out there and do God’s thing (not that this isn’t God’s thing, it is, but God’s thing with a proper salary would be nice).
Last week I crashed at Mark Pummells which was cool cause I didn’t have to come back from London both nights which meant a lay in! Tomorrow I’m doing the same and we’re going out which should be fun, a night out in London! yay! I’ve come to the conclusion I don’t mind London, I wouldn’t wanna live there but it’s a change.
This week both Park Road Youth Groups started up again which is cool, I’m really looking forward to where God is going to take them this year and I think he has big plans! At the same time I felt leading worship on sunday evening went well and I felt more God-lead than before which was cool, however I wish I could sing! (God if your reading this, do your stuff! teehee).
I caught up on days off yesterday and was a good day off all round, Sarah came up (or rather across) from rainy Yarmouth and we spent the day wandering round shops, bowling and watching Jimmy Carr which was great, it’s been odd not seeing her as much since being back. Yesterday evening after Sarah left I went out with Matt, John, Grace and Tom which was fun and random as always, so yeah, Peterborough so far this year is good, I’m having fun both being out and working for PRBC and doing Oasis stuff.
Anyway, a half six start suggests to me that my arse should now be in bed, so I leave you with my new weekly feature… ‘Insult of the week’
September 16th, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Uncategorized
September 16th, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Articles, Christianity, Church
This blog is going to be quite long so make sure you have a few minutes free, it’s in little bits that perhaps could relate to each other but at the end of the day they are my thoughts and although it may make sense in my head it may not when you read it. I have tried to change names basically so if you know what I’m on about you’ll get it, if you don’t it’s just a dull read! hehe!
When people try and start a con or a fraud I think the ideal aim and quite possibly most important thing is for it to look legitimate, for example a fraud website trying to con people to buy products, or a fraud eBay member will make it look as real as a genuine site, they will have (in the case of eBay) good feedback, they will have good about us, return policies, postage questions, FAQ’s and perhaps even a registerred address, pages on their company policies may read to be fine but on the inside things may be completely different. They may not actually be based somewhere, their practices may turn out to be very different to what they say they do, and it’s with irony intended that I say ‘Practice what you preach’. And of course with cons the main talent is being able to convince those worried customers, those concerned folk that everything is actually fine.
As large Churches become more and more well known in the UK it’s quite obvious that they are getting lots of money, not just from the large numbers and expensive equipment but from the obvious fact that they must have more money in the bag than they spent, a large Church in Peterborough was able to afford several million to build a brand new building and is, i think the largest purpose build Church building for perhaps centuries. However as previously discussed these mega-churches/rock Churches (the peterborough one not included in this from now on) worry me, how much of it is about the music and lights and how much is it about Jesus?
Being head of a large church can probably go to your head quite easily, people may start to put you above other things, perhaps even God. From talking to several people I have this to say about a particular church which I shall refer to as Log* throughout this blog.
Love is one of the main teachings behind Christianity, Love thy neighbour, Love your enermies, turn the other cheak, etc etc. Log, seems to adapt these ‘Love thy enermies but slag them off anyway!’, yes, Jesus called people sinners but I believe he did so in love, not bitterness, the two are quite easy to tell when people say them to you. If someone says something in love you can tell that they’re genuinly compassionate about it, but if they say it in bitterness it’s obvious from the way they say it, you can sense it!
The Log Church, on the outsite appears to be fine, mission statements seem pretty darn sound (theologically) but once again it’s the ‘Practice what you preach’ phrase, by which I mean Practice what your statement says. I believe that God can shape us and help us through the critisism of others, that as humble people we should be willing to hear what others say not stamp our feet screaming that we’re right and not even considor what the critic is saying.
The Log Church from my experience behaves like a spoilt brat! Metaphorically stamping it’s feet not willing to listen to what the ‘Critic’ or even ‘Equirer’ has to say but insisting that it is right, saying things to make you feel like 1 - you’re talking to a brick wall and 2- you were wrong to even as to start with! They say things that make you think everything is ok, and from experience I think that it works with most people who ask, until that is they realise they are merely being fobbed off by clever language or points etc.
Is it wrong to give money to a church? Of course not! Jesus teaches us to, the entire bible teaches us to, but what I do believe is wrong is for a Church to use clever guilt trips to make you feel that you absolutely should give money to their church (i.e. to The Log Church). It’s all about figures, I don’t believe that we should be made to feel guilty about what we give by a church, I’m not even sure that I think God makes us feel guilty, he might challenge us to think about what we give but I believe we should give what we feel in our hearts not empty our wallets because of a guilt trip.
And on the same note, the bible is a funny kinda book, it potentially could allow us to come up with an ‘ok’ for so many things by taking bits out of context, to forget their original meaning, and what better way to make people give money than to make them think that by giving it all, God will bless them by giving them twice as much back or something. Taking a verse of scripture completely out of context to say something like that (as the Log Church has indeed done before) is downright wrong. Humans are naturally selfish, if we had a box and we knew whatever we put in would be doubled we’d do it with money, and telling your congregation that God does that is rubbish! Yes, I believe God does bless what we give but I don’t think God’s blessings are as simple as to double it, God knows what we need and I believe God will provide us with what we need, whether that’s money or food or whatever but I don’t believe God will double what we give, however a nicely put out of context bit of scripture with the original meaning completely forgotton could tell us that!
In any church the leadership is a key, a church leader can control basically wherever a church goes, if a leader decides the church are going to have a prayer week it pretty much happens in some churches. The Log Church seems to have the wrong kind of leadership, rather than humble leaders willing to listen to the people of their church they seem to have the arrogant ‘I’m right, you’re wrong, and not only are you wrong we’re now gonna make anti-you comments to people’. As Christians we are called to be like Jesus, is that Christ like? About as Christ like as a suicide bombing transexual mormon! i.e. nope it’s not!
Jesus in character was humble and caring, he was willing to hear what people had to say, and yes I’ll admit in Jesus’ case he was always right but he was God so that’s not really surprising, however a church leader is not, and just like all Christians they have to learn how to be more Christ-like, to listen to their Church and to be corrected. I have now started a 3 year course to become a trained Christian Youth Worker/Minister (not of the ordained type!) but at the end of the 3 years it doesn’t mean I’m perfect, it won’t mean I’ve learnt all I need to know, it’s merely a learning curve, I will never be completely perfect and Christ-like and have all the answers until I join My Saviour in heaven.
And this is where I leave this long blog, I could find more points to talk about but I wont, maybe another time, see if you make the connects between the first few paragraphs with the rest of the blog, see what you think, it is merely my thoughts, however thoughts which several others I have spoken to also agree with and these opinions have been stressed by the individuals before I spoke mine. Blog rant over!
*Log - Could perhaps mean Lack of God, then again you could also come up with Lots of Gays, Laugh over gorillas or even Lucy Opressed Graham!
September 5th, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Just For Fun
Well it seems forever since I wrote anything meaningful here and a while since I blogged properly. Does this mean I’m not thinking? Well…yes but that’s not the reason, I started one of my pondering blogs last week on love but I don’t think it needs discussinning really, if you’re in love you know and it seems that lots of the time discussions about feelings get no where because feelings are indescribable!
Thursday I set sail back to sunny Peterborough after 6 weeks at home of working, seeing friends, being with Sarah and bumming around and yes, I’m looking forward to going back but at the same time I’m gonna miss my home comforts, oddly I’m looking forward to my Peterborough bed, no idea why!
This blog I feel is going no-where, I think I’m quite sleepy and I have to be up at nine tomorrow so I guess it’s time to leave the internet and sleep, it’s so hot here! I don’t think I have anything else to say…thoughtful ponderings coming soon…
September 2nd, 2006 by Mark Tiddy Posted in Uncategorized
A new addition to my blog! The ‘Currently Floating my boat’ box, half way down on the left!
