Nothing will change; only you will change; then the structures will follow God too.

Radical Grace Group refers.

The Spiritual Community.

Symbolically, the model has a village, with a flag and spiritual centre. It will serve as a restoration centre, and a gracious garden. Here, we join in encounters with God; we join in multi-lingual with multi-faith participants. Also within the simulation model will emerge, commitment to marriage, democracy, worker-owned co-operatives and the ‘Triple E’ of sustainability. They all transcend economy, ecology and equity. These simulations will confirm grace in a new encounter with God.

Village

Have you been to Darling? Some friends tell me that the whole town runs itself. Prince Albert has a similar idea. The whole world lies in the grip of nationalism but it is a silly little idol with no power. All we need is a village for all our political, economic, religious and legal affairs.

Village Flag

Every day on my walk, I look out for a flagpole in a suburb near me. On the 16^th December, the old ‘Oranje Blanje Blou’ (the apartheid flag) flew to commemorate the day the Afrikaner defeated Shaka. The flag has disappeared but I wonder who the village members are, of the complex, around the pole. What now do they set up? I wonder what the people would mock this week, Zulus and Afrikaners? I think we should ban all flags. In mocking the need for flags, the village participants (that is our group) will spend a year designing ‘grace’ for a flag, which we will fly above the spiritual centre.

Spiritual Centre

Not only all forms of faith but all meetings will share this for business, politics, economics and worship. Other buildings will become available as the need arises but hopefully the poor will find many religious areas as havens.

Restoration Centre for justice

When grace drives our lives, we do not need the present legal structures of religion or more. All human beings and nature are welcome in an inclusive, non-violent, non-hierarchical and restorative justice. Supporters of the bible alone, will be screaming at you saying “wives submit to your husbands’. Let alone what your Muslim friends will say. Gays and Masons, too, get a lousy biblical shrift. I say the bible is wrong and cannot give me direction except on faith. Here I am an expert (not), so too, the Quran will help with faith not politics. Other scriptures will guide other forms of faith.

Gracious Garden

Hopefully, somewhere in the church garden, and elsewhere (Church Street), we will prove grace in nature. Moving from the literal to every area of life in grace means nature reaches equity with us.

Encounter with God

In this group, we will do a different kind of prayer. Listening for a discerning move towards God without idols, like Methodism, Nationalism, the law, politics, economics and beyond pride, greed and un-faith! Enjoying ubuntu, an ecosystemic and theonomous world, by joyfully counteracting laws as God breaks through into our minds (not hearts) with truth.

Multi-lingual Participants

What happened to our wonderful aptitude to laugh at one another? Except for Trevor Noah and Evita Bezuidenhout, race has become a huge block to joy. ‘Rooinek’ and ‘rock-spider’ together made friends in the mythical Bophuthatswana. ‘Gamat’ has gone into exile in Indonesia, Van is hiding in Paraguay, Paddy has gone to America for help, Jim Fish, Shangaan Blue- ‘n-Green bokhat jeans are doing big business in Mozambique. In our model for radical grace, we will find huge blocks to grace, simply in the apartheid townships where Shangaans live on the outskirts; all the other recognised language groups live separately but next to one another and all hate the Shangaan who is the only one prepared to do the lousy work. Nowadays we hate the Zimbabwean as well.

Be open to change.

I know that our simulation is not going to bring immediate freedom and equality. If we plan and commit to our children seriously learning a third language (not French or German), we may find a gracious God. Our goal as the group is to live graciously so that God’s truth emerges. It may take a while for you and me…

Multi-faith Participants

In this group, I hope we will welcome those with no faith and atheists. I suspect that a lot of good people switch off religion (church). As I understand it, many Muslims no longer practise their religion so once again let us not lay down any prescriptive range of religion or not.

Marriage

Of all things, “why throw this into the pot? We know we have failed as humanity but society has moved on and our old-fashioned ideas failed. Why hit us with this? It does not work.” Are you sure? Just look at what is happening: people fall in love and move in with each other. That is our biblical description: ‘that they should become one’; this is marriage, not the certificate, or the lavish wedding. Nothing holds them together, only their commitment. Modern families enjoy freedom and equality, exactly what all the above desires. In God, we transcend freedom and equality.

Democracy

Again, you cry, this has failed. I agree. Nonetheless, when all participants agree to both freedom and equality, supporting ubuntu, an ecosystem and theonomy, democracy works.

Worker-owned co-operative

Society in South Africa rejects ‘co-ops’ because of the old farming thing. The idea here is different: it brings democracy to the workplace. People say, incorrectly that because the shareholders vote we live in a market democracy. In our simulation, we will learn what it is to be an owner and worker. In God, we transcend freedom and equality.

Triple E of sustainability

In the same way, we will transcend economy, ecology and equity; the essential point is business does not lose out and nature takes part.

Fighting pride, greed and idols

All the time, humanity must contend with its own downfall. In overcoming pride a person sees the other person and nature as equal so pride dissipates. When we see the whole picture of our future ecosystem we enjoy sharing wealth so that no-one loses out. The idols of money, sex and power are useful and not powerful with ubuntu, ecosystems and theonomy in operation.

Using joy

Being present in the sight of laws, makes a mockery of them and suggests that ‘being present’ mocks laws as we do not need law if we are all present in God with the unnecessary laws. The winning action here is in ‘all present in God’ or if you like the whole world ‘laughing at the laws’ so that life improves with grace. People ‘want’ to obey laws in joy. Laws are not necessary.

If you have not yet read it, look out for Radical Grace Group and join one or start one.

Simulations follow this model.

Steps to setting up a radical grace group

All the focus is on trust; do you trust God and live in grace?

The gift from God is grace

In error, we have spiritualised grace but grace is more than spiritual. When we accept the gift of God, grace is total. God frees us but not just our souls. God reconciles all of us with God. The power of God lives in us. The power overwhelms law to act out grace. It is a new creation, a resurrected Lord making grace continue to work. We fail it because of religious and other laws. Here in this group, we will focus on God beyond religion. We will find other forms of faith searching for grace in God. A radical just future for the whole world awaits us.

Grace, here, is the empowering, setting free, forgiving attitude that says, “you first!” It has political, economic, legal, national and religious versions but all based on God being gracious with us!

Theoria-praxis is the philosophy that insists in every act there is a thought behind it and vice-versa. Between thought and action is a model. Part of the process is to experiment with a simulation of the practical to test it out. My theory is a book I have written that reveals my life in the praxis. It suggests an improvement for us all to adopt.  The group in church that the Mission Commission agreed to set up will simulate ideas from my book, called common wealth and available on my website called www.movementingrace.com. I will give the book to all participants. Ralph and Dot already have one. I sent a copy to the connexional ethics committee. Others are welcome to join us.

These are the steps to setting up the Radical Grace Group; each one of us will accept:

Freedom in grace leads to equality or ubuntu

This is an innate part of the human being: we are both free and equal with nature. Society pushes one or the other but in God’s grace we are free and equal. Ubuntu says ‘we are because of you (plural)’ and the cockroach.

The value of water, warmth (the sun), weeds (minerals) and worms:

The future depends on our insisting now that nature is an equal partner in ubuntu so that an abundance of water, warmth, weeds and worms sustains us.

Justice instead of judgement

Inclusive, non-violent, non-hierarchical and restorative justice. Joy moves us away from excluding anyone, being violent, male dominating and retributive in judgement.

The joy of grace finding community in the village not the nation

The village ‘flag’ describes our diversity of nature and culture in religion, economics, gender and sexuality.

Other forms of faith joining us

Hindu, Jew, Muslim, African Independent and other Christians in the group seeking the one God.

Presenting the gospel is not suitable here so seek others’ grace

While we may celebrate that our radical grace comes from our gratitude to Christ we do not have to push it.

God beyond religion in joy with other forms of faith

Joy or presence with others produces a closer walk with God until justice emerges.

The world via the internet; we seek God’s truth in neo-Gandhian ashrams

Gandhi wanted to make friends with the enemy by threatening them with power: we will use joy in power.

Our own ‘value of being’ – joy

There is no greater life in grace than our value of being, which is all God wants from us and for others.

Laws taking us away from grace and the ‘value of being’

All laws, political, economic, legal, religious and national seduce us away from the value of being and joy. The seduction appeals to our pride, greed and idols (all the -isms). We fight laws in joy, ecosystems in a theonomy.  Now read the simulations letter.