3 August 2019 • WAR CRY • TELEVISION 3 BBC/FX/ERIC LIEBOWITZ
Bob and Gwen have a complex relationship
All that jazz
Dancing duo show it is not always easy to stay in step, writes Sarah Olowofoyeku
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T’S complicated. Choreography, the entertainment industry and relationships are all complicated in BBC Two’s Fosse/Verdon. Last night (Friday 2 August), the first two episodes of the US miniseries introduced a UK audience to the world of showbiz in the Sixties and the complex relationship between two of its big names – Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams). Viewers were taken on a journey down the real-life husband and wife’s timeline, from their first electric meeting to the later years of their marriage. At the height of his fame in the 1960s, Bob is still frequently haunted by flashbacks to his days as a young teenage dancer. His teacher was a hard taskmaster, spurring him to dance better and work harder. On one occasion he said, ‘I could replace you a million times over’, making Bob insecure and in need of approval. In the early days of Bob’s career, when a scene from the musical he
was making was poorly received, the director and producer told him they wanted to cut it out of the show. Bob was not impressed and he stormed out of the meeting, taking Gwen with him. That night the pair worked on something different. Their new number dazzled the audience in the next performance, proving that they made an amazing team.
Feelings of inadequacy can upstage us Bob and Gwen married and had a child, while continuing to work in the industry. They enjoy life in the limelight. As time moves on, Bob decides to try to take his career in a new direction and applies for the job of directing a movie. One of the film’s executives suggests he come on board along with Gwen. But Bob isn’t keen on joining the project as a couple and gets himself hired alone.
However, when shooting the film in Munich, he begins to struggle and the flashbacks to his teenage years haunt him again. He calls Gwen, asking her to fly out and help him, saying: ‘I need you here.’ Feelings of inadequacy can upstage us whatever industry we are in. They can trip us up in family life and friendships too. We might feel as though we have to live up to demanding expectations or always to please people. And often we feel that we can never do enough. It is a difficulty that people have stumbled over for centuries. One man who played a major role in early Christianity, Paul, said he had lived for the approval and acceptance of others until he encountered Jesus, who accepted him in spite of the way he had lived his life. He urged a group of fellow believers who were judging, rather than caring for, each other: ‘Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you’ (Romans 15:7 New Living Translation). Jesus does not demand that we live up to any unrealistic expectations. He lived the perfect life so that we do not have to. All he asks is that we let him take the lead and follow in his steps.
8 FEATURE • WAR CRY • 3 August 2019
FINDING THE TOOLS As news outlets continue to report on the tragedy of knife crime, Sarah Olowofoyeku finds out about a movement which is transforming weapons to help solve the problem of violence
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IOLENCE is nothing new, and neither is the approach that activist Shane Claiborne is taking to tackle it. He is collecting weapons that are used for violence, murder and destruction, and using them to create tools that encourage life – gardening equipment or pieces of art. The American believes that the obsession with having weapons is compelled by fear. ‘We see a world that’s held captive to fear,’ he says. ‘And we just keep arming ourselves. It’s a very fragile world with masses of people who are living in extreme poverty and a handful of people who have way more money than they can ever spend.’ I meet Shane on a particularly rainy day in a church right in the heart of Luton. He is in the middle of a tour promoting his new initiative, Beating Guns – or, as it is known in the UK, Beating Knives. So far this year, more than 100 people have been killed by knife crime in the UK. Their loved ones and communities will continue to be impacted by their deaths. The Beating Knives tour stems from the work Shane and his friend Michael Martin Metalsmith Mike Turner beats a knife in east London
3 August 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 9
TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Shane Claiborne and Sally Mann speak at the Beating Knives event in east London
Red Letter Christians UK
have begun in America. Their mission is to offer ‘hope for people who are weary of violence’ by suggesting a way to be part of the solution that dates back centuries. ‘We have been inspired by the prophetic vision of the Bible characters Micah and Isaiah,’ Shane explains.
The initiative gives people space to honour their pain The two prophets are recorded as speaking words of hope for a future with no more violence. Through them, God spoke about the people of Israel, saying: ‘They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks’ (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3 New International Version). Shane says: ‘It’s a hopeful vision that life gets the last word. Old things can be
made new, death can be turned into life.’ Earlier this year Shane, Michael and others embarked on a 37-stop Beating Guns tour. ‘It started as symbolic, but then as we began to have more and more victims’ family members, we realised that the tour was bringing healing,’ says Shane. ‘It is giving people space to honour the pain and is an outlet for their anger, trauma and tears.’ The Beating Knives tour received support from the newly launched Red Letter Christians UK, a network of Christians who aim to work for social justice. Sally Mann, who heads up the network, tells me about its first act of protest in support of the Beating Knives tour. ‘We took knives seized from our streets and melted them down to make a garden sculpture and some tools for our community garden in Newham,’ she says. At the same time, children at the launch made a peace banner out of ribbons. Each ribbon represented a life lost to knife crime.
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10 FEATURE • WAR CRY • 3 August 2019
From page 9
When we create communities that respect people, we’re countering violence words of Jesus are printed in red letters. ‘Living out those red letters of Jesus can create healthy communities,’ says Sally. ‘Everything we do that provides a nurturing community, welcomes people and takes them seriously prevents violence. You can’t hate and feel respect at the same time. So when we create communities that respect people, we’re countering violence.’ Beyond the physical act of beating knives and guns into tools, Sally and Shane believe that living like Jesus means being non-violent. However, there are some gruesome passages in the Bible, and the history of Christianity contains a lot of violence. So, I question, is believing in God truly the path to non-violence? ‘There are certainly many versions of
Red Letter Christians UK
The tour moved on to work with young people in other areas of the country. ‘Before unveiling the young people’s sculpture in Luton,’ says Sally, ‘there had been months of engagement with them to talk about why they felt afraid and threatened and the solutions they could come up with to the culture of violence.’ While the face of violent knife crime is often young, Sally asserts that it is not just a youth issue. ‘The biggest arms fair in Europe takes place in my community,’ she says. ‘We as adults are selling weapons of mass destruction to nations that have a proven track record of abusing human rights, so how can we say to young men, “Do not use the threat of violence to achieve a feeling of safety”, when we as a nation are doing the same thing?’ Sally believes that the remedy to the problem can be found at the heart of the work of Red Letter Christians UK. The name of the organisation refers to the fact that in some editions of the Bible the
East London local Paris Tankard helps beat a knife
Christianity where we can distort verses and do tremendous violence and harm,’ Shane admits. ‘Hitler had a Bible in his hand to justify what he did to Jews, and the Ku Klux Klan has a page on its website dedicated to its “theology”. ‘We can make Christianity violent, and that’s true of any faith. But for us, Jesus is the lens through which we interpret Scripture and the world – when Scriptures feel like they’re competing with each other, Jesus is the referee. So Jesus, who said “blessed are the peacemakers”, shows us perfect love when we look at the cross and see him say “forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing” as he is experiencing torture and violence.’ Jesus also told his followers to turn the other cheek if somebody slapped them.
3 August 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 11 Jonathan and Lee Raggett launch the knife bin in Newham with members of the community
Newham Council/ANDREW BAKER
‘We want to get these weapons off the streets,’ says Jonathan, as he explains that a knife bin has been installed outside the church, providing a safe and anonymous location for people to surrender their knives. ‘Our work is about A knife sculpture breaking the cycle of revenge. Getting one up on each other is never going to suceed; revenge will just create more problems.’ Lee says that God feels the same way. ‘I think he is feeling heartbroken at the poor decisions we sometimes make, but he sees how much we are hurting and he sees how hard it is. I think he is calling us back to loving our neighbour as we love ourselves.’ It is a feeling that Shane echoes, adding: Lee admits: ‘I’m not sure if the work ‘We’re told to love our enemies; we can’t ever gets finished. But even one knife off do that and simultaneously prepare to kill the street and one life changed is a good them.’ start. While he is unsure that everyone can ‘We’re having conversations with people be convinced of their need for God, he about laying down weapons and being believes that a way of life that is centred kind. ‘The current problem is caused by gang on loving others and pursuing justice can be fulfilling. activity. There is not enough for the young ‘Deep down we are all made to love and people to do. There is gentrification too. be loved,’ he says. ‘Jesus is inviting us There’s a big amount of money on one into living life to the fullest, a life in which side of Stratford and no money on the we can live for something bigger than other. We are heartbroken about what’s ourselves and be set free.’ going on in the community.’ Red Letter Christians
UK
Shane says that, rather than this being an instruction to remain passive in the face of violence or oppression, it is ‘a better way’. He explains: ‘So often, we end up mirroring the exact violence that we’re trying to heal. The words of Jesus show us a way to resist evil without mirroring it. ‘The idea of an eye for an eye is one of those verses in the Old Testament that I think was part of God’s intention in trying to stop the spiral of violence – it limited the harm that you could do. So if someone poked my eye out, I could only poke out one of theirs, not both. ‘But then Jesus says he’s going to show us an even better way. It doesn’t mean we get walked on or abused, or that this is a reason for a man or woman to stay in an abusive situation. It means that you don’t need to retaliate. ‘One of the examples Jesus gives is that if someone sues you for the coat off your back, take all your clothes off. It exposes their greed. It holds up a mirror to the injustice. It’s neither violence nor passivity, but it’s active non-violence that resists evil without becoming it.’ Later, I have the chance to speak on the phone to a Salvation Army couple who have similar ideas. Captains Jonathan and Lee Raggett are ministers at the Salvation Army church in Stratford, east London, and were part of the Beating Knives tour. Their church is in an area where knife crime is prevalent.
God is heartbroken at our poor decisions
12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 3 August 2019
Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Kerry, who is experiencing a hard time; for Nicky, who has health concerns; and for Cloey, that she will receive strength. The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.
Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures
Joel
ITTLE is known about Joel, a prophet L to the southern kingdom of Judah. Unlike many biblical books of prophets,
his contains no date references. When he witnesses a plague of locusts devouring crops, Joel is inspired to see a parallel between the agricultural devastation and a military ruination of Judah to come (chapter 1). Like an early warning system, he announces: ‘The day of the Lord is near’ (1:15). ‘The day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand’ (2:1). ‘The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful’ (2:11). On that day, Joel says, an invading army will slash and burn its way through the land of Judah and into Jerusalem, destroying everything, locust-like, in its path (2:1–11). In response, Joel calls Judah to show repentance by putting on sackcloth, fasting and meeting together for prayer (1:13 and 14; 2:12–17). He urges the people to rend their hearts, saying: ‘Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate’ (2:13).
Key verse ‘Everyone who calls on the name 2 of the Lord will be saved’ (Joel 2:3 ) sion New International Ver
If they do so, God will take pity on them, drive the invaders away and restore the land’s fertility (2:19–27). He will also renew his people spiritually. Everyone will be included. He will pour his Spirit on young and old, male and female. Everyone who calls out to the Lord will be saved (2:28–32). Many scholars regard the Day of Pentecost, when Jesus’ disciples were filled with the
God will pour his Spirit on young and old, male and female Holy Spirit, as the ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy (Acts 2). Scholars also think that the ‘day of the Lord’ in chapter 3 is an apocalyptic vision of the end times. When the time is right, God will gather all nations together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (3:2), which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. There, he will judge them for their treatment of his people (3:12–16). In that day, Judah will be at peace, verdant, fertile and forgiven (3:17–21).
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