pilgrim blog :: steve jones

Simply... Days 90-99.

Been enjoying the company of old friends and new 

- Andy, Donna, Ed, Francis - great food Andy !

More personally the exciting news is that I'm going to be released to spend more time and energy developing Simply... from September 1st. Although I had thought of spending half my time with a new training network within the Methodist Church , after much soul-searching we decided that I need to jump in with both feet into this exciting opportunity !!

So big changed for me cos I have much enjoyed serving the Methodist District especially with my two friends Pete Pillinger and Dave Martin. I will miss them dearly but they'll still be around...

Ironman is in 5 weeks and if you want to sponsor me - click here - all the proceeds go to the charity, Simply...

 

Simply... Days 80-89. Easter 2013

Been having time with my tribe and away serving at ECG in Scarborough - great place..

Simply... had a great Open Day in a local pub with built in roast and pint! Great chat and real clarity coming on ways forward for us all.

Still thinkin and prayin about the next phase for me from September 1st when my current contract with Methodist Church ends...

There's some interesting possibilities - it's just the uncertainty has been hanging over me for months, if not for over a year.

Getting ready for the Ironman - you can sponsor me here. Still struggling to get the cycle speed up but training hard ! COME ON JONESY !

Tribe doing well also..

 

 

Simply... Day 75-79... Friendship is Everything

I'm so blessed to meet new friends ... Friendship is a big deal - isn't the movement Christ started supposed to be just a bunch of friends having friendship with God and welcoming all into friendship ...
Much of church structure has been formed, I'm guessing, when friendship has broken down and we needed something else to hold us together??!!

Simply... Sharpening a Countercultural Life. JOIN ME FOR 7 WEEKS IN FEB/MARCH 2013

When I look at the life and example of Jesus, I see a counter-cultural lifestyle where His life choices shouted His message louder than His words - giving extra authority to His already radical Good News of the Kingdom. The Kingdom He spoke of was upside-down -  He led by serving others, He loved His enemies, He spoke in hidden whispers and viral stories, He taught using questions not answers, He loved to break religious rules, He hung out with those on the edge of His society, the prostitutes, the mentally ill, the uneducated, the powerless, the poor, the children.

Stealing an idea from my friend Jon Curtis, I’m hoping to have a ‘habit-focusing’ 7 weeks of Lent - that’s those weeks before Easter Sunday.

The 7 weeks are meant to symbolise the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert preparing for His big 3 years of public ministry - denying himself food, company, power or privilege. Check out this little cartoon for more info about the 40 Days. Followers of Christ for centuries have been using Lent to mirror this ‘denial of self’ in order to sharpen their lives and their spiritual practices before the celebration of Easter.

 

7 Weeks of Lent 2013 

 

• Week 1  w/b 11th Feb - Week of the Little, Big Planet  - Thinking Globally, Acting Locally (no meat or animal products, Vegan, big exercise week) anti-crazy meat industry!?
• Week 2 - w/b 18th Feb - Week of Being Generous. (saying yes a lot - til it hurts; giving time, possessions, money) anti-self!?
• Week 3 - w/b 25th Feb - Week of Making Friends (talking to everyone I meet deeply; no solitude; lots of storytelling, food with friends, story-listening) anti-loneliness
• Week 4 - w/b 4th March  - Week of Flying Free (giving up vices, giving up Big Corporations, No Logo) anti-addiction, anti-capitalist?!
• Week 5 - w/b 11th March  - Week of Living Simply (no money spent, no buying) anti-materialism
• Week 6 - w/b 18th March - Week of Treading Lightly (no waste, no fossil fuel, etc...) anti-overconsumption
• Week 7 - w/b 25th March - Week of Being Thankful (spiritual habits, solitude; no TV streaming or live) anti-emptiness!?
• Easter Day Sunday 31st March

Feel free to join me for the 7 weeks or for as much as you fancy or not at all  - contact me here

 

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Simply News - Christmas 2012

Simply... Days 62-65. Simply 12's and Lovin' It !

Simply... Day 71-75. Winter Struggles

Had  a few days of struggle with illness, ill and injured children and the death of my amazing Gran...

"Our Gran will never be forgotten - a rock to many. So many great memories from childhood and beyond - what a full life she led - she means so much to family & friends. We'll see you soon Gran - put the kettle on..."

We had a wonderful celebration of her life at Bramhall Methodist Church on Friday.  

My daughter slipped off her bike and bashed her head - concussed... so struggling a little but that's all part of life and following Christ I guess - it ain't all roses!! but His story has got a happy ending...

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Simply... Days 68-70. A new year

Simply...Days 66-67. Grassroots Up...

Simply... Days 68-70. A new year

I love this time of year - had a good break with the family... great day out to Sennen Cove near Lands End then watched sun go down at St Ives with chips by the christmas lit harbour... a heavenly family time.

Good day with swym yesterday training some youth leaders in "Mastering Change" - sounds posh but wasn't.

Next few days meeting with a Simply Hub here in Exeter and chatting to folks who want to start a hub where they live...  real exciting time for Simply. Got an Open Day coming up so if you want to come and find out more about Simply... book in here for free.  

Got loads of catching up with the Regional Training Officer role on Wednesday !!

Big personal challenge for me this week is to try an do a 55 mile cycle (thats the Ironman 70.3 distance I'm attempting in June) so I'll see how my training is going.??!!?? I've lost over a stone and a half since I began training in the summer! I'm still overweight though so kick me into shape and motivate me when you see me next!!

 

I also got on my bike and watched the sun rise on new years day over the Exe Estuary - beautiful !!

Saddest news was the passing away of my dear Granny Bet yesterday  - I'll probably blog about her amazing life of over 90 years at some point - A real inspiration to hundreds of folks in south of Manchester area... She's at peace now with her God - "put the kettle on Gran - we'll be there soon !!"

Simply...Days 66-67. Grassroots Up...

Salvation Army - had some great chats with senior folks from Salvation Army and we got excited about all God is doing around churh-planting, partnerships and fresh expressions of church across the SW.

Grassroots Up - been very encouraging to find myself connecting with many grassroots folks across the region who are about to start simpler expressions of church and are exploring connnecting with Simply... as a resource for encouragment and nurture. 

Google+ Let Down  - shame, tonight I was all set to have an online hangout with my friends exploring Simply... from across the region and Google+ really let us down and didn't work... :(

Learning from Paul and his journeys  through these 2 books 

• Roland Allen
• Neil Cole

Within 10-15 years he had developing Christ-centred communities all over 4 provinces of the Roman Empire and made himself 'non-essential' by the end of the process - now thats real mission and real leadership. What can we learn from Paul ?

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Simply News - Christmas 2012

Simply... Christmas Newsletter

Click here for latest Simply... newsletter

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Simply... Days 62-65. Simply 12's and Lovin' It !

Having such a good time developing the first Simply 12's with some friends - good food, good chat and lots of laughter - I was made for this kind of stuff.. What is Simply 12's?

 

'Simply 12's' are a key part of the Simply... movement.

Very simply speaking they are simply based around the ways of Christ. How did he seek to change and influence the world for good? By spending His time with a small group of guys and gals - that was the essence of what He did... no curriculum, no formality, no distance - he shared His life. They caught the flavour of what He was about by basically hanging out -

Jesus used this method...

M - Modelled and showed his followers what 'fulness of life' was.

A - Assist - let them have a go really early - alongside Him, no pressure - doesn't matter if you succeed or fail

W - Watch - 'now you go do it on your own and I'll watch and offer some feedback at the end

L - Left them to it, no heavy-handed interference just trust and support

Simply 12's are looking to Christ's method all the time - the MAWL stuff above but also keeping the wonderful balance of HIGH, WIDE, DEEP and LONG 

 

 

Leaders who are part of Simply 12's, commit to...

1. Rhythms - developing an annual ‘Rhythm of Life’ with a mentor including nurturing patterns and habits of prayer, learning, fasting, eco-habits, mission, hospitality and simplicity.(you could call this our HIGH)
2. Soul-Friends - Developing groups of 12 including being part of a regular 4mation for habit development and encouraging friendship. Leaders also regularly mentor each other in one-to-ones for growth and development. (you could call this our WIDE)
3. Deeper – Lifelong and intentional learning including weekends away and weekly online and face-to-face input. (you could call this our DEEP)
4. Doing the Stuff – starting new simple missional hubs continuously; developing leaders and helping to form followers of Christ through 1to1's, 4mations and groups of 12'ish.(you could call this our LONG)

GOT QUESTIONS ?? WANNA CONNECT ? CONTACT ME ANYTIME

 

Out Cycling by the Sea

Enjoying some time cycling to beach - hoping to do 35 miles +.. We'll see ...

Week of admin catchup ahead, leading 2 safeguarding sessions in Torbay, got a Simply... leadership 'hangout' tonight using Google+ !!?? And 2 'bands' - where I meet with close friends and share our lives, support and pray for each other..

Simply.. Days 59-61

Got my website back from the militant hacker !!! Wow, I think we all need to wise-up around web and email security - I've had several nightmares these last few weeks.

Got so much from the launch of the Pioneer Connexion last week - video and website here. Pioneer are seriously planning to equip hundreds of church-planters who will work in partnership with Methodist Districts, Circuits and Churches to RESTART many closing congregations.

Pioneer Connexion from Family Creative on Vimeo.

This week doing street work on my patch, meeting some Exeter Simply friends tonight around food, hanging out with some parents from my kids school, praying lots, maybe meeting a good friend who wants to connect with Simply from Dorset, plus facilitating the wonderful team leading Exeter Food Bank in discussion, reflection and future-building, two safeguarding training sessions in Tavistock, staff meeting and Exeter Street Pastors meeting, lots of meals and hopefully time for dissertation and triathlon. Then a relaxed weekend with the Tribe... all good stuff !!! I'm just so aware though that the good can be the greatest enemy of the great, the focused...

Peace and Goodness to you and yours this week, Steve.

 

The saddest thing of the week ...

One of my children saying, 'if I don't get my GCSE's, is my life over?'

Somewhere in deepest Hertfordshire

Somewhere in deepest Hertfordshire - I actually don't know where, I'm mid-journey between trains.. Pretty though !

I work so hard on trains - I can zoom through tonnes of emails, phone calls, and find moments of reflection and creativity - I love trains ! Still so cheap - I got my tribe to Penzance for less than £20 a few weeks ago ... that's 3 hours there, 3 hours back !!

Simply... Day 55-58. Diversity is Good.

Got a few diverse days - never a dull moment with the Jonestribe !!

Today I've been...

1. Website has been eaten by a virus so Simply... web is down until techies can sort out their problem... grrrrr !!
2. Praying lots 
3. Planning a few days lovin' Bude ! Lindsay and me are planning to go to Bude in December for a few days kipping on church hall floors and hanging out with particularly the 'street' community' of this lovely Cornish seaside town - join us if you want!!??
4. Simply 12's - the leadership community of Simply... is gathering tonight on the Devon/Cornwall border with lots of food, prayer and chat. 

Tomorrow I'm wandering around Exeter chatting and offering to pray for folks and we'll see what great things God has in store for us.

Then later in the week off to London to meet friends within the Pioneer Network and then my comrades from VentureFX

 The week finishes with leading Safeguarding Training in Barnstaple for 80+ folks  and then chuck in lots of family time, cooking great food, mending a car, jogs, cycles, swims and disertation time  and you've got a wide-ranging week - diversity is good.

Simply... Day 54. Edgey in Barnstaple !

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Been wandering around Barnstaple again with a new friend called Ed... We spent some time in the town centre chatting to folks and praying generally for the area. We offered to pray for folks if they were poorly, believing that God is good and wants to heal. We offered 'Life Reading' where we hope to share some encouraging words, hopefully with some inspiration from God.

Great to get to know Ed on the train.

Picture is of Wonford, Exeter - an estate close to my heart ... Do pray for this estate - special place.

 

Simply.. Days 50-53

 

Been to Barnstaple today with my mate Clive - we met an amazing church that basically runs the social provision for the council to vulnerable adults - homeless, chronically addicted, the hungry. Wandered around a housing estate we might connect with soon.

Only a smallish church but it was a real example of what Jesus-followers can do when they focus on what they should actually be doing - the 'works, words and wonders' of Jesus instead of all the other stuff we do like running a weekly entertainment club.

Helped on a conference on mission and being a follower of Jesus on Saturday... met some great new friends who want to connect with Simply... so looking forward to the new journey ahead with them.

Meeting with the Simply... Oversight team tomorrow as we look backwards and forwards... then London on Thursday to meet with the other VentureFX guys and gals doing a wide variety of church planting stuff around the nation. Exciting days !

 

Simply... Days 46-49 'suffering for Jesus'!!??

Yes it's me in the car but no it's not mine but yes it was great fun being a passenger on a sunny October afternoon around the Gloucestershire countryside. Never done that before.
Last few days with Simply - been to see a good friend in Newquay, prayer-walked with friends around Exeter, chatting with folks down my local, lunch with Jon Curtis who is developing community around a nightclub here in Exeter, bit more study and driving sports cars - suffering for Jesus !!??

Ironman Update

Rather than automatically sending all my runs, cycles and swims to my Facebook account and boring many of my friends and family - you can always find the latest via my Fitness Website at Runkeeper.

 

Simply... Day 45. Starting my Masters Dissertation on 'Changing the World'

I'm now in the third year of a Masters degree in missional leadership and have enjoyed 2 years of taught input with 6 big essays to write... Now it's time for the icing on the cake, what's called the dissertation - 14,000 words by May 1st 2013 ( ouch !! ). I'm going to be supervised by a good friend called David Lawrence from Inspire .

I've always been excited by the possibility of a better world by the time I move on - rather than a worse. This piece of work will build on this innate passion that I have and explore how individuals can help to kick-start people movements that bring change to the world about them. Look at the Early Church - from a bunch of 12 uneducated Northerners to the biggest people movement in history; what of the Apple phenomenon - what are the factors of its world-changing success; what about early Methodism, that was said to have impacted the UK and USA and helped to have set the foundations of these nations. ????? ( the Green movement, socialism, Facebook, Wikipedia, what is going on - what are the exponential dynamics of such movements? )

I'll be exploring questions like these...

• Are there key factors within all people movements ?
• Are organisations and people movements mutually incompatible ?
• How does Organisation diminish people movements?
• How does Organisation catalyse people movements?
• What are exponential dynamics and how can a single individual or team seek to nurture such dynamics?

I enjoy working hard on brain stuff when it's motivated from my heart stuff...

Simply.. Days 42-44.. Pioneers Breakout Conference 2012 - nr Derby

Great input from Ann Morisey on pioneering - focusing on stances and ways of being a pioneer... great insight and some good wisdom shared ... you'll be able to listen to her talks here in the next few weeks.

 

Downloads - Break Out Pioneer Gathering

 

Went to see my Gran last night in Stockport, last time I was in that hospital I was being born! What a wonderful old lady - 94 years old. She has been a rock in my life and even last night as she nears the end of her life, she was funny and wonderfully curious about me and my family... at peace with a hope of a future life with Her Lord. She expressed real sympathy for atheists who don't have the same hope as her.

Back at the conference, I always love the interaction and new friends and old of such gatherings as these... we even went for a jog this afternoon - ouch!