Why are there no Mega-Churches in Birmingham?

1) In the coming weeks I will be reflecting upon the state of our churches in the Birmingham and west midlands area; mainstream, black-led and black-majority churches. Some of what I'll have to say will be controversial, some will be complimentary and some will be critical. You will agree with me on some and disagree on other points. That's OK! What's more is that I want to invite you to contact me with your views on these issues. You can do so by phone, email or letter and I'll give you contact details later.

Background
John Mbiti, in the opening line of his book, 'African Religions and Philosophy' says simply, 'Africans are notoriously religious'. Little surprise therefore, that reading the ninth edition of his 'The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African', one sees that this is a deeply religious man.

Do you ever wonder whether your worshipping community demands more of you than God does? In other words, are you more a child of the church than a child of God?

If you're listening this morning and your place of worship is the Gurdwara, a mosque, or a synagogue, I suspect this question applies to you just as much as it does to Christians who go to church. Do you find fellow human beings more demanding that God in terms of the way in which you order and live your life?

Today I want to share something with you about marriage. What makes marriage work?

This may sound like a strange question for a bishop to ask. It is nonetheless a very serious question, and one that many people ponder. They may not externalize this in words, but they act upon the answers they give themselves. So, whilst for some, church remains an uplifting and fulfilling place, Christians had better face up to the reality that many people have concluded that some churches are not healthy places and they avoid them like the plague, except for special occasions like christenings, weddings, funerals, Christmas and Easter.

From the earliest times, thousands of Africans have lived in Europe, and not just as slaves, though increasingly many were. Africans came here as soldiers, merchants, performers, some were brought here by Arab traders, and of course many by European enslavers. But, the African did not have to come to Europe to meet the European, because the European spirit of discovery led them inexorably to the land of the blacks.

For today's reflection I want to share something about 'living with difference'. We're often reminded that we live in a world of diversity. And in order to cope with and prosper in diversity we're told that we need to have tolerance. I want to suggest that we need more than tolerance if we are to prosper and succeed in our present diverse world. What is the nature of our diversity?

This theological reflection is about one of the key aspects of the Christian life: prayer. What is prayer? What does it mean to pray?

In a biblical sense, 'Prayer' can be summed up in three words: 'entreat', 'intercede' and 'worship'. Let me break it down a little more. To entreat means to 'ask earnestly, beg, implore'. Sometimes the word 'supplicate' is used instead of 'entreat', and that means to 'beg humbly'. To intercede means to 'plead in favour of, to mediate'. To worship means to adore, love and admire.

Fourth talk in the Radio 4 Lent Series, 2003
Every Christian needs to embrace a mental image of Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, as someone who looks like them. I am convinced that this is particularly true for Black people like myself, who have undergone centuries of mental conditioning of seeing Jesus portrayed as a White European, with only the devil and his imps as Black.