Alan Mann

Love him or hate him, it seems there is no escaping Todd Bentley and the latest revival taking place in Florida. I’m open to accept that amazing things might possibly be taking place, and if people are genuinely being drawn to Jesus through these meetings, then let Todd preach. However, having lived through the Toronto Blessing and Brownsville Outpouring , as well as a number of more local ‘revivals’, I can’t say I’m rushing to book my ticket for Lakeland. I guess I’ve come to feel that ‘outpourings’ are the spiritual equivalent of an economic boom and bust. It’s great that the boom happens, but the bust is inevitable, with the result that many Christians simply get depressed and either constantly hark back to the ‘good old days of revival’, become fixated with finding the next outpouring, or simply give up on a faith that in reality has to be lived out in mundaneness of everyday life.

I think part of the problem lies in the fact that we have come to believe that the supernatural and the miraculous are what make us like Jesus, when the thrust of the New Testament writings suggest that it is the more ordinarily human things - feeding the hungry, providing water for those Read the rest of this entry »

‘Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.’ (Everybody’s Free: To Wear Suncream - Baz Luhrmann).

I hope Baz Luhrmann is right on this one, because today (Friday 27th June) I turn 40 and I still don’t really know what I want to do with my life.

In my time, I’ve been a student of art and theology. I’ve worked as a photographic technician, and in the newspaper industry. I’ve packed crisps, frozen peas and waited tables. I’ve guided students through distance learning theology degrees, and written dozens of magazine articles and several books. All these things have had their delights and their tedious frustrations. And all have contributed to making me the person I am today - but that person is still not sure what he really wants to do with the years he has post-40.

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Hmmm? I see Antony Gormley has won the latest competition to have his artistic creation installed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Basically, members to the public can sign up to occupy the empty plinth for an hour at a time. I think it’s a great idea. I would - because I suggested a very similar idea to a member of the Fourth Plinth Committee around three years ago during a debate on Radio Five Live. It caused rather a lot of interest at the time and it was put to the member of the committee that the idea should be considered. Naturally, it was dismissed because ‘they had a short list’ - in any case, what would a member of the public know about public art and its importance?

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A few days ago I sat with some friends and watched one of those Rob Bell ‘Nooma’ DVDs. It was called Noise, but it was really about silence - or rather than absence of silence in our lives.

The concept is really clever. As the viewer, you are watching Rob, watching TV. There’s lots of background noise going on. He’s switching channels and adjusting the volume. At times the noise is distracting you from hearing what Rob is trying to say. Then he turns the TV off. There is a blank screen. And there is silence. A silence that you really notice. Which got me thinking. Is silence simply the absence of noise, or is it something more tangible than that? And is it something we should be pursuing?

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In 2 weeks time I will have finally left behind my thirties. So what better thing to do on the cusp of such a momentous stage in life than to regress to being 15 one last time and go and see Yazoo, who last performed together 25 years ago.

Within a few electronic pulses of ‘Nobody’s Diary’ I was transported back to impromptu teenage parties, cheap cider, menthol cigarettes and making out with anyone who would. I was rake thin, my clothes were tight and black, my arms adorned with silver bangles; my head with a floppy fringe.

But then I opened my eyes, and I was back in a concert venue, with 3000 of Bristol’s middle-youth, dressed like the middle-class, eco-conscious, balding adult I’ve become. Thankfully, no one had Read the rest of this entry »

The latest edition of Sublime Magazine is currently on the shelves, so do check it out.

As ever, it’s an eclectic mix of interviews, features and reportage all flowing from a concern for sustainable and ethical lifestyles, and this month shaped around the theme, ‘Innovate’.

As for my contribution, I’ve pitched in an awareness raiser on the subject of Microcredit. There’s a taster below, but given that Sublime is a business, you’ll have to buy the magazine to read it all.

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What micro-credit has tapped into, and proven time and time again, is that those who live close to the poverty line are just as entrepreneurial as anyone else. What they lack isn’t skill but opportunity. Charity remains a vital need, especially in times of crisis, such as flood and famine. But charity is not an answer to poverty. Indeed, many have argued that it simply allows poverty to continue and Read the rest of this entry »

As regular readers will know, I’ve been attending a Happiness for Life Course. Well sadly (how ironic) the course finished last week. But that’s OK, because the ending of the course was simply the beginning of the rest of the journey into a happier and more fulfilled way of being - and I’m sure I will continue to blog about my discoveries.

Two things that are currently agitating my happiness genes are the fact that summer is now here and as a way of celebrating this, the annual BBC Spring Watch Programme is currently being shown every night on BBC 2. If you’re not fortunate enough to live in the UK and able to watch Spring Watch live, you can check it out at BBC iPLayer - though episodes are only archived for a week.

But if you really want a treat and something guaranteed to make you feel happy and glad to be alive, then you simply Read the rest of this entry »

There’s only six weeks to go to this year’s G8 Summit in Hokkaido Toyako, Japan.

Most of us won’t be invited. And many of us will feel powerless to set agendas and influence what goes on behind closed doors. But people power and activism can make a real difference.

Since the End Water Poverty campaign launched last year, we have been lobbying G8 leaders to put water and sanitation on the summit agenda. Last year, despite thousands of messages to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and concerted lobbying of the then UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, water and sanitation did not make it onto the agenda. BUT . . .

never giving up hope, campaigning continues, with the result that this year Japan has agreed to ensure that water and sanitation will be discussed as part of the G8 Summit.

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My good friend (and Director of the public policy think tank, THEOS), Paul Woolley, sent me an interesting little piece they are running over on the THEOS website.

It’s a thought provoking read, and while you are free to leave comments below, I’m sure THEOS would love to hear from you.

As a heads up, this is simply a taster of a larger report they have produced which can be downloaded here (Report) or purchased as a hard copy.

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One of the Prime Minister’s advisers on faith, the author and social activist Jim Wallis, has backed the conclusions of a new Theos report published today, arguing that the church must think carefully before partnering with government.

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Please don’t let doubts about whether donating to help the people of Myanmar will actually result in aid that will reach those in desperate need - it’s only money after all.

Most organisations who are appealing for money will have people already on the ground in Myanmar who can make a real difference with your help.

I know Hope International Development Agency have the capacity to help.

And there are guarantees being made from the Disasters Emergency Committee that donations will be channeled to those agencies who are best placed to intervene.

If you need reassurance check out the BBC’s Website here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7389735.stm