Welcome to my Editor's Blog – I hope to write regularly on here about things that grab me and possess a spiritual dynamic. It won't be daily, but will hopefully be at least weekly – and I'd love your feedback and comments. Just mail me, and I'll add comments on the bottom of each piece.

Russ Bravo, Editor

8 March: Is the internet a fundamental human right?

What did we used to do in, say, 1994 BI (Before the Internet)?

It's extraordinary to look back for a moment at the technological revolution that has swept over us in the last 15 years or so – years that have seen the internet move from a quirky geeky thing only universities and a few keen businesses had joined, to an all pervasive world that dominates our work, our leisure time, our shopping, our entertainment and in many cases, our relationships?

What on earth did we do with all the time we must have had then?

We are now in a place – according to a BBC story – where access to the internet is seen as a human right. Ranked alongside food and water, shelter, clothing, sanitation and basic healthcare.

A poll carried out for the BBC World Service across 26 countries, and involving 27,000 adults, has seen almost 80% declaring web access to be a fundamental right. Finland and Estonia have it ruled in as a policy statement, the UN is pushing for universal access and the EU has it down as a basic freedom where citizens' rights are paramount.

And you can see how we've reached this point. Some of us get a little twitchy if our internet access goes offline for an hour or two – or a family member hogs the computer. Teenagers are as likely to be watching the TV while doing things on their laptop at the same time.

It has bred an interconnectedness, yes – but it has also dropped many of us on communication treadmills where we're afraid to switch off for too long in case we miss something. An e-mail, a Tweet, a Facebook conversation or an instant message.

Some of us spend so long in cyberspace, we've forgotten what it's like to live on planet earth.

So what are the implications for a society where knowledge and information is so widely, freely and powerfully available?

A few things occur to me:

1 We are in danger of drowning in information, and being swamped by sensation. We cannot properly assimilate all that we find ourselves consuming, and so ...

2 We don't do enough thinking. Even sitting on a train, I can listen to music on my mp3 player, surf the net, watch videos. Switch off, read a book. Or even just stare out of the window. Or (whisper it quietly), talk to someone – if you find someone without earphones in.

3 We struggle to pace our lives. Technology brings everything to us, instantly. We have everything at our fingertips. We don't need everything – we can't handle it. Quantity and choice overwhelms us.

Clearly, the internet isn't going away any time soon. We have to learn to live with it, and manage it. And I haven't even touched on the issue of the digital divide, where the rich have access and the poor are excluded.

But what about the implications for most of us, on a personal level?

A few choice verses occur that may help us sort out the wheat from the chaff: Phillipians 4: 6-8 provides good, practical advice. The words of Jesus in Matthew 6: 19-24 are telling ("the eye is the lamp of the body"), and then there is Paul's admonition to the Ephesians (5: 15-16) about "making the most of every opportunity" (or "redeeming the time" as an older version put it).

The internet can be a massive blessing in so many ways. But it has the capacity to be a huge drain on our time, too, as well as a tool for evil. We need help to use it wisely – and not let it use us.

What do you think? Mail me

5 March: Reaching outside the Church's comfort zone

I'm looking forward to reading Steve Hollinghurst's new book Mission-Shaped Evangelism (Canterbury Press).

There are all sorts of challenges for the Church in sharing its message in today's world, but among the biggest in my view are:

1 Presenting an authentic message that is clearly lived out in the lives of the people presenting it

2 Being able to listen and learn from those outside the Christian community. This will help us present the Gospel in an intelligent way, with understanding and compassion

3 Being prepared to address the challenge of discipleship in a fast-changing world, against the backdrop of a slow-changing Church

4 Being prepared to allow mission-shaped theology to challenge the whole way we do church – from the way we worship to how we get involved in the key issues of the day

5 Being committed to doing the long-haul hard work of friendship building, partnership building and caring for others. Deeds and words have to work together.

What do you think? Mail me

22 February: Police, prayer and a falling crime rate?

A story caught my eye today that I've read before, saying similar things but applied to different places. It's been a consistent theme over maybe the past 15 years – where Christians get together and prayer specifically and consistently about local crime, things improve.

This particular story, run by the Daily Express, quotes senior police officer Inspector Roger Bartlett (right) from Barnstaple in Devon, saying: “For the past six years or so, I have reported to quarterly meetings of Christians from different churches in Barnstaple who want to pray for local policing issues.

“I have seen a number of specific answers to their prayers, like the unprecedented Halloween night in the town when the police did not have to attend a single incident of disorder.

“Also, a prolific serial dwelling ­burglar who, after a significant series of offences, was apprehended in very unusual circumstances within three days of that group praying that he would trip up and be caught.”

He says that the local crime detection rate has improved from 26% in 2007 to just over 40% today, one of the best in the UK.

Inspector Bartlett adds: “The prayers I hear from Christians are for officers to be good at their job and implement practices that will lead to offenders being brought to account and victims seeing justice done.

“Clearly, many who do not have the faith would say that this is just coincidence, but the increase in that figure is so marked that it is indeed some coincidence. From my experience, the more I pray, the more coincidences I seem to see.”

His findings are backed by the Christian Police Association, and it's also no accident that Street Pastors are operational in a number of towns in Devon as well.

Also in the mix is the fact that the CPA has launched a new project called 'CoAct', part-funded by a £10,000 grant from the Home Office, in a bid to improve links between police forces and the church and to improve confidence in the police service.

The 'CoAct' [action in the community] project encourages Christians to work with offenders coming out of prison, set up youth groups to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, and work as "peacemakers", mediating in communities.

What do you think? Reading the Comments under the Express story, it's clear that not everyone thinks this approach is credible or to be encouraged. 'Bonkers', 'insane', 'offensive' and 'flabberghasted' are among the responses.

I'd have thought that a falling crime rate is to be welcomed, even if people differ on why it has fallen. And the key point is that nowhere is the Inspector suggesting prayer replaces the need for good policing and needed resources – simply that it is a help and a support in the overall picture.

And anything that encourages community involvement and support for the police is a good thing, surely?

So let me have your feedback: is there a prayer group in your area supporting the police? Is the crime rate falling? And how is the Street Pastors initiative helping your community? Mail me 

16 Feb: Ringo finds God, according to US newspaper story

While stories of people in the entertainment business giving God a namecheck are regular in the US press, and can mean anything, it's interesting to read the Liverpool Echo's recent story on Ringo Starr's spiritual awakening.

"Beatles drummer Ringo Starr revealed he has found God after decades of searching," reports the paper.

"The rock legend admitted he had lost his way when he was younger, both as a Beatle and after the group broke up.

"But the musician, who turns 70 later this year, said religion was now one of the most important aspects in his life.

"He said: 'I feel the older I get, the more I’m learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it’s all about finding yourself.

"'For me, God is in my life. I don’t hide from that. I think the search has been on since the 1960s.

“'I stepped off the path there for many years and found my way [back] onto it, thank God.'”

"Ringo, who is married to former Bond girl Barbara Bach and splits his time between homes in Los Angeles, London and Monaco, was speaking to an American newspaper at an event at the Grammy Museum in LA."

Now whether by finding God, Ringo means reconnecting with his Maharishi explorations into Eastern mysticism and transcendental meditation – or something more akin to orthodox Christian faith – it isn't clear.

But it would be good to pray for the guy, and those he mixes with. It's been a long and winding road, but maybe he's found the true source of peace and hope ...

What do you think? Mail me ... 

9 February: US 'hate church' countered with surrealism

Loathe though I am to give any mention to the odious US 'hate' protesters at Westboro Baptist Church – they specialise in angry banner-waving anti-Semitic and anti-homosexuality protests, run a hideous website and the leaders are currently banned from the UK – it was heartening to read this week about a creative response to their torrent of bile.

The Times reports on a Twitter-generated counter-protest to their planned vigil outside the San Francisco offices of Twitter. Readers of organiser EDW Lynch's blog were invited to assemble with their own absurd placards with slogans like "I have a sign", "Me", "Build prisons on the moon", "I was promised donuts" and "God hates flags".

In the end, more counter protesters than representatives of Westboro turned up (right, photo by Rubin Starset), and the Laughing Squid website has created an absurd sign generator to help US citizens make their own contributions if the 'hate' protesters turn up.                             

Capital idea – any so-called church that bases its public message around the two words 'God hates ...' has got something very twisted. And they speak for no-one but themselves.

What do you think? Mail me ...

1 Feb: Why our favourite colour in 2010 should be green

Whatever your views on climate change, there are few of us that don't want a cleaner, less polluted planet.

And when times are tough, using the car less often (and spending out on petrol rather less) is an easy choice to make. So I've signed up to the 1010 campaign, aimed at getting all of us to cut our 'carbon footprint' by 10% in 2010.

Of course, there are all the arguments that the difference you and I make with our small efforts are miniscule, compared to the effect of the industrial juggernauts like China and the US, but if we're doing our bit it's much easier to pressure them with a clear conscience.

And every little helps.

Particularly when you start to analyse who easy it is to use energy without realising what you're doing: leaving lights and computers on unnecessarily, idling your car engine at level crossings, leaving TVs and radios on when no-one is watching or listening.

As Christians we're meant to be the champions of stewardship and looking after the planet. But years of surrendering envirionmental action and concern to other organisations (worried they might be too 'New Age' or politically motivated for us) have left us with a lot of catching up to do.

Yes, there are still question marks over the effectiveness of some recycling campaigns run by local councils. And there are welcome signs that businesses are having to sharpen up their act too (see today's BBC story on new battery recycling rules, for instance).

But the sooner we each start taking responsibility for ourselves, our families and our churches, the more chance we have of making a real difference.

What do you think? Mail me.

COMMENTS

Chris Vickery: "I'm doing the Tearfund Lent carbon fast again. I removed some light bulbs at the beginning of Lent last year – and haven't put one of them back."

26 January: UK poverty: are we losing the battle?

New figures from Save the Children suggest that the number of UK children living in "severe poverty" went up in the four years prior to the recession.

The number of children in this category has gone up by 260,000 to 1.7m from 2004 to 2008, and the charity's report says there is a danger severe poverty could rise even further.

The Government had pledged to halve child poverty by this year from the 1998/99 figure of 3.4 million, and end it completely by 2020. It says it has taken half a million out of relative poverty, and helped the very poorest, as defined by its own criteria.

As the BBC reports today "The government defines relative low-income poverty as less than 60% of contemporary household median income, and absolute low-income poverty as less than 60% of 1998/99 median household income.

"However, Save the Children defines severe poverty as those living in households with incomes of less than 50% of the UK median income (disregarding housing costs) and who were also missing some basic possessions, such as a winter coat.

"The charity used this method to try to analyse if help was reaching the very poorest families.

"Save the Children calculated there were 1.46 million children in what they call severe poverty in 2004-05. Four years later the number had risen to 1.7 million.

"The charity claims that at the end of 2008, 13% of the UK's children were living in severe poverty, up two percentage points on 2004 – and that not only have efforts to reduce child poverty stalled, they have gone into reverse."

There are plenty of charities and ministries working in this area with great resources to offer: Christians Against Poverty, Church Action on Poverty, Salvation Army and Church Urban Fund to name just a few.

But isn't one of the major problems in Christian response to poverty that too many of us live away from the areas of most need? Plus the fact that UK poverty always seems modest compared to some of the poorest nations around the world (eg Haiti)?

Maybe it's the radical approach of initiatives like The Message Trust's Eden Network and 2009 Inspire Award winners Superkidz that show the way: moving into the hardest places to make the biggest difference?

What do you think – and how is your church helping to fight poverty where you live? Mail me.

18 January: Monks' strong wine is a betrayal of Christian values, says bishop

A potent row is brewing over a fortified wine made by the monks of Buckfast Abbey.

Buckfast Tonic Wine, said to be little changed from a recipe brought by French monks who settled at the Devon abbey in the 1880s, has been criticised by a Scottish Episcopal bishop as a "moral double-take" because of the social and medical damage it allegedly does to those who drink it to excess.

It is seen as a particular problem in Scotland, which accounts for more than half of all Buckfast sales.

The Rt Rev Bob Gillies, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, tells a BBC Scotland Investigates programme to be broadcast tonight (18 January, BBC1 Scotland, 7.30pm) that "St Benedict ... would have been very, very unhappy with what his monks are doing nowadays".

Buckfast fortified wine is 15 per cent proof, and according to the programme is mentioned in 5,000 crime reports by Strathclyde Police in the past three years, with the Buckfast bottle used as a weapon 114 times.

Police are quoted as saying that the figures suggest an association between the drink and violence, and a neuroscientist is quoted saying that one bottle of Buckfast contains 281mg of caffeine – as much as in eight cans of cola.

A spokesman for J Chandler & Co (Buckfast), the commercial company that distributes the drink, said the Benedictine monks were not to blame for the effects of Buckfast on consumers: "People take it by choice because they like it, because it's a good product".

Well, what do you think? Clearly, alcohol has a lot to answer for in crime, violence and relationship break-up. And some beverages seem to figure more highly in the roll-call of misery that comes when they are abused.

And, added to that, it seems that many of the world's more potent drinks have traditionally been brewed by monks – anyone who has sampled Belgian beer to any great degree can testify that the really strong stuff is often made by someone wearing a habit.

But is it a straightforward fact that monks are betraying Christian values, as the bishop claims? Should they simply stop producing the stuff, and force Scottish boozers to move on to something else?

Or is that just too simplistic? Drinkers have a responsibility to use alcohol wisely, and so surely the problem is more to do with desperate lives seeking solace in drink, than the drink itself?

And from a Christian point of view, there is as much in Scripture about the joy and celebration of good wine, than there is warning against drunkenness and debauchery.

What's your view? Mail me
 

11 January: Community action and the big freeze

While some of us are still in the midst of the big freeze, up to our knees in snow with no gritter in sight, and others of us are starting to see a longed-for thaw – the cold weather has at least made us talk to our neighbours.

It's that shared experience that only comes out in extreme weather, train breakdowns or – presumably – wartime. And it reminds us that despite our individualistic age, we live in communities.

The question is: have local churches been leading the way in community action in recent weeks – clearing snow, checking elderly people to make sure they have food and heating, offering lifts and all that?

You'd hope that's been automatic across the UK – a great chance for serving your neighbour and letting the love of Christ show in practical ways.

I wonder, though, if it's actually happened. What went on in your neck of the woods?

Some of the best community action in our area didn't come from a faith base – but just a group of people doing the neighbourly thing and clearing the steps over a railway line. It didn't take much organisation, just a call out on Twitter and a few blokes with spades and rock salt.

I felt a bit ashamed not be joining them, but it was 10am on a Sunday, and I was doing the children's talk. Which activity had more of God's love in it?

I'm not sure but I felt bad and wished I'd joined them and got a stand-in at church. What would you have done?

Mail me your thoughts ...

COMMENTS

The changing face of the media is going to be one of the dominant stories of 2010 – and there could be real opportunities for the Church to get involved, particularly at local level.

It's clear that the old traditional media is broken, and no amount of sticky tape is likely to mend it. Certainly, whatever economic recovery comes along in due course, it will not return the media to what it once was. Too much has changed – and will continue to change – for that. (Check out this recent piece from experienced media commentator Roy Greenslade).

The development of social media – content put online by anybody through tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs – has taken power away from big corporations, and dropped it into the hands of anyone with something interesting enough to say or show that will gain an audience.

There are national newspapers now with less readers than Stephen Fry has following his Twitter feed, for instance.

So the question is: as traditional newspapers and magazines continue to close and scratch their heads over how to get people to pay for online content, how will Christians and the Church respond in the new entrepreneurial media landscape?

One of the biggest opportunities is surely in what is being called 'hyperlocal' media. This is the chance to deliver something very focused and specific to a very targeted audience – often within a small geographical area: a town, a village or even a few streets.

The opportunity is there because as traditional media shrinks and withdraws resources, local issues are often not covered in any depth, and local authorities not held properly accountable.

Not all hyperlocal sites are just about campaigning though – they can be good, reliable sources of information, places for local groups to communicate with a local audience, debating places for local issues to be discussed, and 101 other things that give people a greater sense of belonging and community.

There have been a number of Christian-based groups looking to set up local web portals, with varying degrees of success. Some have been excellent at serving the local Christian community, but few have managed to engage the wider community successfully.

I'd love to hear from Christians working in this area already – and others that are thinking of doing so. As people rooted in local communities, this is prime territory and a great opportunity to work on something that can make local communities better, and give a voice to the voiceless.

What do you think? Mail me ...

GET EXPLORING: some interesting hyperlocal sites to investigate ...

http://www.kingscrossenvironment.com/
http://pitsnpots.co.uk/
http://www.4ip.org.uk/
http://thelichfieldblog.co.uk/
http://parwich.org/
http://ventnorblog.com/
http://talkaboutlocal.org/

COMMENTS

Anthony McKernan says: Yes. What a great opportunity for a church to show its commitment to the local area. A blog/twitter/website in this snow sensation could be providing immediate, much-needed news on school and road closures, latest comment from the council etc. With sightings, postings and pictures submitted by the public of course.

Dawn Dorrington: My only concern at the moment, is that many of the more elderly people in our church do not have the internet and already feel marginalised because of this. Not sure how to overcome that – short of buying them all computers and giving them lessons on how to use a computer and the internet!

Russ Bravo: Yes, I can see that's a concern, Dawn, which I'd share. However, a few things are worth considering:

1 There are many more 'silver surfers' than many people realise. I know eightysomethings who are quite nippy on the web once someone has shown them the basics. Many local libraries have internet access, then there are internet cafes and community centres with PCs etc

2 Hyperlocal sites can help build and develop community cohesion, encouraging small independently run businesses within walking distance - the heart of town and village character and vital for those without cars or the ability to walk far.

3 The CofE is linking up with the Government and the Post Office to keep small post offices open in rural locations – effectively maintaining community hubs: the kind of physical place that is the equivalent of a hyperlocal website, provided it's well run.

4 Rather than scrap older PCs or Macs that still work fine, they could be given to community schemes looking to get senior citizens and others online.

Dawn Dorrington: Thank you for your reply, Russ, and I agree with your comments. I have found, though, that some elderly people in my church do not want to use the internet and actually seem to resent it, especially when information is only available on the web, or special offers are only available to those with internet access.

I realise that this is more of a problem of encouraging 'silver surfers' to actually try the internet, but some of them are very set in their ways!

Louise Morse: It depends on how it's put to 'elderly' people. They don't like to feel coerced into doing something any more than any other age group. They like to have choice. Who cares about an offer if it's only available on the web? But I know 80-year-olds who have learnt it, and more. In fact, this cohort has mastered more technology in their life times than any other before, or after them.

Angela Booth: 1 Our school has been closed on several days this week. The kids got this message out to one another via Facebook quicker than the parent emails and the school website. Highlighting that this is indeed the "new way" of communicating.
 
2 Many churches have now developed their own websites, but to varying standards and many are not kept updated.
 
3 Church should always be inclusive, but with the best will in the world there are going to be those who are up with technology and those that still do not even have a computer and are not even likely to get one. So, society will be split by technology.
 
4 Resources – there isn't always money in the pot to keep up with technology. I can produce better quality leaflets, posters etc at home than cope with the old worn out copier at church.
 
So, yes, technology is a way forward, but we need to be careful not to make it another place where the Church will be split to the haves and the have nots.
 
We also need to remember overall that when Jesus walked the earth, he met the people where they were at, the woman at the well, the blind man at the side of the road, the paralysed man in the temple. We still need to show Jesus' love on earth by meeting people where they are at and showing love in a physical way and not making it all 'virtual'.