www.GomezHawkes.com

The new blog is live. Check it at www.gomezhawkes.com

Switchers

Last but not least, we'll be joining the ranks of the switchers and relocating to WordPress, which means a complete overhaul/relaunch with new features and content on the way. URLs coming soon.

Brad vs. Sara

So, the new blogs are in the pipeline and the competition is soon to begin. For shoes, travel, languages, culture, & food and more, you'll want to be paying Sara a visit. For church, boardriding, design, music, and all things Apple, stay with me. Or better still, help keep the peace, and join us both! More info shortly...

New Year, New Blog

Hopefully, if you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll have noticed there's not been much going on here lately. The truth is, 2009 was a pretty tough year for me, and a lot of times I just didn't feel like writing. Sometimes it was just that Sara and I didn't feel ready to be sharing things with the world. Other times we didn't feel comfortable trivialising our experiences by blogging about all kinds of unrelated stuff that seemed pretty irrelevant in the middle of what we were experiencing...hence, almost no blogging, and instead just a whole stack of short and sweet tweets.

The good news is we have a brand new year on our hands. The other good news is, we're expecting 2010 to be amazing. We're full of hope and expectation, and have made up our minds that no matter what the coming 12 months have to throw at us, we're going to do what we can to have a great year and to make the next 12 months count...AND, we're both climbing back up on the blogwagon and downloading our brains onto your screen again, and we'll be opening up the comment facility and going for some interactive stuff somewhere down the line, so hopefully some of you will join us for some good old digital community as well as some old fashioned journalling and the like.

More info coming soon...

Leadership Day with the Archbishop of York

Today my local church Renewal Christian Centre hosted a Leadership Day with Dr John Sentamu aka the Most Reverend Archbishop of York. Dr John spoke on the state of the church, returning to the core values of Jesus and how the church can continue to be a voice in modern day Britain and secular Europe.

The Archbishop has a lot of good things to say, as well as doing a surprise imrov set on the congas after sneaking onto the stage during worship, but what was for me the most helpful session of the day was an hour of Q&A with Bishop David Carr and the Archbishop.

Here are some of my notes:

Is there a probable possibility of a move of the Holy Spirit in the established traditions, and how can those from other traditions help?

New wine and new skins are important. Without new skins the new wine gets destroyed by the old skin. You couldn’t say that the Roman Catholic church hasn’t had a move of the Spirit. If you go to a meeting of Catholic bishops today, you’ll see them handle the Scripture in Bible studies the same way as those form the reformed tradition. There's new wine in every tradition, just as there's old wine in most too. Every tradition needs a constant inbreathing of the Holy Spirit and renewal.

Make sure that the fire is burning brightly. Keep praying and fasting and interceding and God will use that to break through...

We’re witnessing a lot of changes taking place in Europe. Where are we heading and how is the Church able to play a part in shaping the future?

To only call what’s going on today in Europe and purely secular isn’t accurate. Over and above secularity there’s a strong anti-God agenda in Europe today. The church in Europe has to return to a more radical interpretation of the Christian tradition, and as times get tougher and we're forced to pay a greater price for our faith, we need to remember that our saviour is not going to abandon us.

What do you think is the future of the state church as a state church? With EU legislation, how do you see that effecting the church of England and it’s legislation?

I think it will be a long time before the church’s legislation will change. The moment we’re excluded from the House of Lords and the church separated from the state, we’ll be losing a level of protection that is there today and putting ourselves in serious danger, but I think that will take time.

The British are an interesting breed. Take for example the abortion issue...there’s a law allowing late abortions, but there’s also an opt-out option for doctors who don’t want to carry out such an abortion. This is the English way...we want to keep a balance. But what’s now happened with the adoption issue is different. There’s no opt-out option, which shows that things are changing for the worse.

How can we be effective agents of change in our secular society?

Corporately as the Body of Christ.

As church in our local communities.

As individuals.

We can volunteer more than anyone else. We can help the poor more than anyone else. We can pick up litter when no-one else does. We can take care of the homeless... It's all about outdoing one another with our acts of love. The early church grew because they combatted lack and need by sharing everything. The more the early church was persecuted the more it spread. And the more the early church helped the broken the more it grew. Just keep outdoing the world in love! No longer wearing the label Anglican or Pentecostal, but as people of the Spirit. Also, be touched by Jesus every day and you’ll make a difference. There’s no other method than Jesus’ method. Just be like Jesus.

With an increasingly humanitarian and politically correct system of government in the UK, how do you see yourself interacting in it?

The role of the church is to be salt. If you remain in the salt cellar, it’s no good. Pray for your leaders and write to them about the things you feel God speaks to you about. I do that with Gordon Brown and I did that with Tony Blair. I warned him about my concerns over Iraq and have warned him about other things too, and he said to me that even though he knew I was one of the people most vocal about my disapproval of his government, he found it almost encouraging that I was consistent and that he could always expect a letter from me when he got something wrong, but also support when I felt right decisions were made. There should be no place where Christ people are not. All of life is in God and God is involved in all of life. We need Christians in politics and we need to continue to work for the welfare of the community.

We need to keep engaging and not be scared to speak. In the words of Master Yoda: Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, and suffering leads to the dark side.

Banish your fear and your hate!

As Christians often there’s a lot of unforgiveness and tension within the church and finger-pointing that's really just based on a hunger for righteousness and justice. How do we harness our judgemental attitudes and channel our eagerness to be righteous in the right direction?

Do what my mother told me: Never point a finger at someone, because then you’re pointing three others back at yourself.

None of us is worthy except Jesus...we’re all on a level playing field. If you don’t forgive, the you’re demolishing the bridge that you’ll one day need yourself. Rebuking always has to be done from our knees. We need to be examining ourselves and asking God for a double-covering as we speak out. John the Baptist was harsh all the way. Our Lord also said tough things, but always related them to redemption and forgiveness. Take people to Jesus and leave them with him and he’ll deal with them!

What do you think stops Christians from making the difference they’re attempting to make. Does our western thought pattern affect how we interpret making God priority by putting him in a box?

We protect the things we love. Maybe of us look at sinners and don’t actually love them . They’re too raw and rough. I’d rather spend more time with a gutsy sinner than a hypocritical Christian. Hypocrisy is play-acting. Don’t play-act Christianity...

Let’s not separate the sacred from the secular. God is the God of all. Don’t make God too small.

Find out more about the Archbishop of York here

One Day...

...I'll start blogging again. Until then, enjoy this.

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

Daredevil

This one has to score high on picture of the week.

Year 3 at NGUK

Last night we had an end of year barbeque with the whole Team from New Generation UK and the Team from New Generation Switzerland, and after indulging in some amazing ribeye steaks and barbequed shrimps, we recapped some of the highlights of the year and looked back on what we've been up to at the UKHQ.

Here's the condensed version:

- Set up a new office and base to make room for a bigger Team

- Trained first Swiss Team & helped set up bases & run events there

- Trained first Finnish Team & helped set up bases & run events there

- International conference in London with people from 10 countries

- 4 regional Wired weekends with 90 young leaders

- Over 50 youth meetings, seminars & events

- God is Colourblind tour with 10 concerts in 8 schools

- Launched 12 new websites and subsites in 3 nations

- Overhauled and relaunched our online Login Area

- Produced NG Bibles in 5 languages

- Released 2 ONE magazines

- Produced 2 video series and 3 trailers

- Signed our first UK book deal

- Signed our first DVD deal

With a new Team on the way in this September and our first 3 pioneer years behind us we're amped and ready for NGUK 2.0 To stay up to date with what we're doing, or even join the Team for next year (yep, if you're lucky and you're good we might still let you in) check us out at www.newgeneration.co.uk

Circle the Mag

Last week at Christ Air skate camp I bumped into old friend and fellow veteran boardrider Daniel Månsson. Daniel is the man behind a new project called Circle the Mag, a skateboarding magazine featuring premium photography and skating from some of the greats, interviews with 3 all-time skate legends, and the book of John all rolled into a nice, crisp magazine. The mag is perfect for passing around to fellow skaters and boardriding enthusiasts with little or no connection to circles of faith, and the first print run of 4000 have been well-received from all over the industry. Daniel has put this thing together with some help from friends at Lonka boardclub in Jönköping and skate contacts in the States he acquired whilst working on his Faces of Skateboarding project. Faces was/is a highly-acclaimed coffee table book profiling 100 of the greats in the industry, and Daniel has worked on similar surf publications, as well as other stuff like album covers for bands such as Blindside and press shots for high profile businessmen and celebrities everywhere from Stockholm to LA. You can see the holding site for Circle the Mag at www.circlethemag.se, check out the Faces of Skateboarding site at www.facesofskateboarding.com, or drop by Daniel's site for a full portfolio at www.danielmansson.com

Reading Neue

The 3rd edition of Neue is out, and as usual, it's great. With thought-provoking articles covering everything from sabbathing and social engagement to the miseducation of missions and how to avoid false Bible worship, the book/zine aims to give you the core content of 15 books in one publication. That sounds like a lot of good stuff and a lot of saved time. If you don't have Neue, you can find some stuff on their site at: www.neueministry.com

The Moleskine Bible

For fellow journal/diary-lovers the tried-and-true Moleskine won't be anything new, but recently Crossway released a Bible modelled on the Moleskine called the ESV Journalling Bible. With a third of each page devoted to free space for note-taking, these guys have finally found a way to make room for personal scrawlings without having to resort to scribbling all over the Bible text, or worse still, getting out the old flourescent pens and turning your Bible into a technicolour nightmare. I picked one up on Amazon for under £20 incl. shipping and have to say, it's changing the way I do the Bible!

To see more go to www.crossway.org

Inside Steve's Brain

A few weeks ago friend, colleague, and fellow-Apple-lover Fredrik bought me a book called Inside Steve's Brain. Part-biography, part-business book, it not only includes all the stuff you'd expect from a book about Jobs (that is the tantrums, the control freakery and the weird antics) but also some of what goes on inside the man's head, and why he behaves the way he does. Where other biographies cover the juice and skip the genius, this one's a bit more rounded, and there's stuff in here that will help you understand what goes on at Apple and Pixar and where they get the creativity from. If you're even slightly interested in tech, animation or business, this is worth a read for sure! I finished it in a couple of days, and already bought a copy for someone else.

Rio Rim

One of the things I did whilst "on tour" in Sweden last week was stop by a new clothing store in Alingsås where my old friend and part-time Skate Pastor Fredrik works as Store Manager. Apart from stocking collections by the likes of Ed Hardy, Affliction and a few other "LA rockwear" labels, the boutique is a showcase and retail outlet for an up-and-coming label based in Alingsås called Rio Rim. Specialising in unique upper end tees and tops for guys, Rio Rim draw inspiration from the traditional artwork of various ancient cultures, reinterpreting them into their own unique motifs and packaging them with the help of various different print techniques not often seen on the high street. I liked what I saw, and considering they now have retailers on board all over Sweden and beyond, I guess I'm not alone.

Check out their stuff and find a store near you here at www.riorim.se

I Am Second

I Am Second is a new initiative featuring a collective of celebrities featuring on billboards, advertisements and video sharing sites, all explaining why they are second.

The official I Am Second website has lists of various vices and addictions people struggle with, and famous people with corresponding issues who've come through them thanks to an encounter with Christ and help from clinics, charities and churches.

The campaign is intended to point people to a place near them where they can get help, and to inspire them to take the first step, having seen others who have fought through the same struggles and come out the other side.

To see the site, go to www.iamsecond.com

Christ Air

It's after midnight and I'm just back from an incredible day at Christ Air Skatecamp...despite the rain and subsequent lack of skate time in the park, everyone's having a great time. It's the 5th year Christ Air is running, and the weekend is jammed with 120 kids and a good few turn downs due to lack of space in the church and the park. The meetings have been great, and Chad Tim Tim and the Christian Skaters crew have brought loads to the camp, just chatting with the kids and inspiring them to skate and live life with purpose. More on Chad and Christian Skaters later, as well as some info on a couple of nice projects that Jönköping's Lonka Boardriding Club and my old buddy Daniel Månsson (of Faces of Skateboarding fame) are invloved in. Right now I need to get some zs.

It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright!

Now that I've had a little over a day to consume, digest and consume again, I have to say that the new mewithoutYou album is an absolute beauty! Whether you're a fan of their earlier - and substantially angstier - stuff or not, this one's definitely worth a lash. You can get it free on Spotify, or support the lads and pick it up cheap on iTunes. For a sneak peek, check the trailer above...unless you've already done so of course, in which case you might like to watch it again.

Frontline Facelift

Frontline Youth Ministry is part of RCC Church Solihull and home to a couple of hundred young people from around the Solihull/Birmingham area. Frontline is also now the name of the annual youth event formerly know as Momentum. In keeping with the times, Frontline have coupled the name change with a snazzy new site...and it's even got fancy inter-changable backgrounds.

Check it here

Get Relevant

The May/June issue of RELEVANT Magazine arrived in the mailbox yesterday and I have to say the publication just keeps getting better. With spotlights on Kings of Leon and Jon Foreman, some great book picks and all the usual goodness, it's well worth a read. What's better, for all you cheapskates who don't want to spare some change to support a good cause, you can view the whole thing online here

Join the Team at NGUK

Team With NGUK from New Generation on Vimeo.

To find out more about joining the Team at NGUK click here

4 New Albums Worth (Pre)Ordering