SIMON PHIPPS

THEOLOGY | 3 MINUTE READ As Christians, our theology forms the compass of what we do in our daily lives. If we believe that God is good and full of love then this will be how we treat others. It is the same with regards to environmental concern. If we have a theology that tells us the whole world will be burned up and so there is no point caring for it, then this will be how we treat the earth. Eco-Theology I believe that scripture provides a blueprint for environmental concern that helps to act as a compass in our discipleship journey. The Beginning Right from the beginning in scripture, in the book of Genesis, we are called to be stewards of the earth. We are called to look after and care for the earth. Genesis 1:27-29 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the se...

If you have been looking for new resources to learn from – whether whole books or short articles or if you just fancy some bite-sized learning then this post is for you. Here are some things that I have learnt this month. I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) – Brene Brown - Book * I highly recommend this book * – if you haven’t read it, then buy it or borrow it. Brene Brown is a world-renowned researcher on shame. I was first exposed to her work through her amazing Ted Talks. In this book, Brene introduces us to her research on shame and defines what shame is. What is Shame She starts by differentiating between shame and similar emotions, such as guilt and embarrassment. One of the most powerful parts of this book for me was the difference between shame and guilt. Brene describes it like this: Imagine that you have just cheated on a test, you leave the exam feeling guilty. Your internal dialogue runs like this: “cheating is wrong, I should not have cheate...

As the intersection between faith and the environment continues to increase in importance, it becomes more and more important for the Church to take it's environmental responsibility seriously . Church is not a building, and church is much more than a weekly service but the fact remains that most churches are inexplicably linked to a building and utilise services. Much of what we experience and use when we gather as a community has a negative impact on our environment , including our money ; and we can do better . There is also much hope found within the church. This can include churches generating their own electricity , organising beach cleanups , or growing their own food . This infographic provides 11 practical ways that a church can begin to model environmental care to the whole community. I have created a short free e-book that goes into each of the principles in much more detail, with practical ways to implement them. Click here to get your copy . ...

I first heard about the Abundance mindset whilst reading Stephen Coveys book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” . I love this book and have received a lot from the models and advice found within – including the abundance mindset. What is the abundance mindset? The Abundance mindset is often contrasted with the Scarcity mindset – the idea that there is a shortage of everything. If there is a cake, and lots of people want to eat it, then there will be no cake left for me, therefore I must get there before everyone else and take as much of the cake as possible. The abundance mindset is the opposite of this. If there is a cake, then there is enough for everybody, therefore I don’t need to fight others for it or be underhanded, we can all have a slice. We can see the merits of this model. It essentially says, “You don’t have to climb over others to get ahead, you don’t have to be underhanded, it doesn’t have to be dog eat dog, we can work together and produce ...

At my church, we are finally about to change our bank account .  It has been a long journey. Changing your bank account is hard. Changing an organisation's bank account is very hard (so many forms!!!!!!!!). I bet you are wondering why any organisation would go through the hassle of making changing their bank a priority. The Kingdom of God Millions of good people give their hard earned money to the Church each week.  Billions of Pounds (or insert your nationalities currency here) are poured into the Church across the globe, and people have one express purpose for doing so – to build the kingdom of God . This looks different for different churches, whether it be to keep the lights on, run feeding programs, debt management programs, buy new equipment or teas and coffees – but they all have a similar theme: To reveal the transformative love of God to the world and to attempt to remake the world in the life-giving, loving way that we know God sees it. What Actua...

If you have ever tried to “ go ethical ” on anything, whether it is a new process, or product, or method, there is something that you probably realised very soon. It is either more expensive , worse qualit y, or takes longer . I want to talk about this in relation to the time, cost, quality triangle  (also called the Iron Triangle or the Project Management Triangle). For those of you that don’t know, the Time Cost Quality Triangle is a concept that is used in project methodology to understand how one change in variable will impact on other variables. It looks like the diagram below: Essentially it works like this: Let’s say you are planning a holiday, you have an idea of where you want to go, and what the holiday will be like, you have a budget, and you have the time that it takes to research and book the holiday.  Any change to one variable will effect all the others.  For example, if you realise that you don’t have enough money to afford the or...

Gentleness - "The word is best translated 'meekness,' not as an indication of weakness, but of power and strength under control" Father In-law: "No matter what you do, it will never amount to anything more than a single drop in a limitless ocean ",  Son In-law: "What is an ocean  but a multitude of drops " - Cloud Atlas "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead. When we begin to move away from consumerism, our steps seem so insignificant , our actions seems so pointless - We are but one standing against a current of mass marketing and shiny things - in danger of being swept away at any second. We fail to see how our small actions reverberate with a counter-cultural sound, we forget the power and strength of small things, we disdain the tiny mustard seed and do not notice the tree growing in its stead. ...

Throughout this blog series we have been looking at moving away from consumerism and looking at alternative lifestyles. Often when we begin looking at ethical simple living we start off zealous wanting to change the world and are eager to make changes in our lives. We are sickened by the treatment of fellow humans, we are disturbed by the potential impacts on our planet. As time goes by our fire wanes and we miss the level of consumerism that we see around us - for me at the moment this is Apple Music - I want it so bad! (I am not saying Apple Music is evil - just that I know that if I got it the financial implications at this time would involve compromising other ethical decisions that I have made). It involves a great deal of faithfulness on our part to stick with what we know is right - and Christs faithfulness to us acts as our guide. May we be faithful in our discipline to live an alternative lifestyle, may we stand against the hedonism's tha...

I was recently in a meeting discussing stock acquisition. We were looking at the choices that merchandisers have when buying stock. The cheaper, longer option was to get the stock brought over by boat; but if they needed the stock in quickly, then it could be air freighted at a higher cost. I was also reading about the impact of high demand and turnaround in the technology industry when a new product is released - the supply chains making the goods often implement forced overtime to cope with the demand, with some chains forcing 60+ hour weeks. Air-freighting = ecological devastation . Forced 60+ hour weeks = a modern day form of slavery . Patience truly is a virtue . Our demand for goods now is destroying the environment. Our fast food culture is hurting others. We live in a culture that values impatience, that makes demands, that gets things done. Instead we are called to value the wait, to savor the anticipation, to be content with what we have. ...

Consumerism and Us We are saturated in a consumer culture . Our identity is wrapped in what we do and don’t have.  I remember when I was in high-school I was one of the few who didn't care about what brands I wore. My parents used to get my trainers cheaply from a brand called "Hi-tech". When my friends used to draw pictures of us all together I would always be drawn wearing plastic bags on my feet that read "Hi-tech" - such was the perceived value of my shoes, and of my fashion. In the west we are subjected to around 4,000 advertisements in various forms in a single day. The psychological implications of the barrage of advertisements that we are subjected to every day are both varied and complex. Most of us in western society have far more than we need - but we constantly crave more. As Gandhi said: ‘there is enough for everyone's need , but not enough for everyone’s greed ’. The Fruit of the Spirit  The fruit of the spirit is found in Pau...

In November I became a vegetarian. When people find out, they often ask me why, to this end I thought that I would outline my basic reasoning. The impact of the meat industry on the environment was one of the first reasons that caused me to look at vegetarianism. A recent published study found that the meat industry (especially red meat) is responsible for more carbon emissions than the entire transport sector (through water consumption, growing food for the livestock, fertilizer etc). Considering the amount that planes contribute to global warming this statistic should be quite shocking. At the same time vast swathes of rain-forest every year are cut down to make pasture land to rear more animals for the meat industry, contributing further to the problem. Due to this my partner and I began to reduce our meat consumption to a less detrimental level. I don’t believe that everyone is called to be a vegetarian, but I do believe that each of us can reduce...

I recently read another article about our impact on the environment, another warning that so many are dismissing. In the letter ‘ Revelation ’, the final book of the bible, we see a scene in a throne room.  In the center of the room is a throne, upon which God sits, and around the throne is 4 creatures : one like a lion , one like an ox , one like a man and one like an eagle .  Day after day they sing praise to God. In a 1 st century Jewish mindset, each of these four creatures stands for the different aspects of creation:  The lion for the wild animals .  The ox for the tame animals . The man for humanity . The eagle for birds .  Each aspect of life bringing forth its hymn of praise. In this picture, we as humanity are creatures alongside all life , joining in the hymn of creation, not dominants, controlling it, bending it to our will, exploiting its resources. In this picture we are in a sy...