
Recently at B&A
MTV? - The System is Broken
What do the England Cricket Board and Russian politics have in common? This week James and Wayne discuss systems and what makes them choose impunity or scapegoating and how Christians can respond to the wrongs of the systems we find ourselves in.
MTV? - Impunity: Lessons from Sudan
James has visited Sudan and describes it as a country that has had a deep impact on him. He was shocked to learn from Sudanese friends in the UK that Darfur is back in the news, as reminders of what some called the 21st century’s first genocide circulate.
More Tea, Vicar? this week considers a Christian perspective on the concept of impunity, defined as “exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action” as the Janjaweed step up their campaign of terror against vulnerable and displaced peoples.
Outside of Jesus we are always creating division, we are always building walls; Hadrian’s Wall, the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China. The reason why dividing walls appear is because we don’t feel safe in other people’s presence. But with Jesus, it is safe to have no dividing wall. With impunity, we hide what makes us unsafe - Jesus wants us to bring it into the light so we can live alongside each other for our greater calling.
MTV? - Why We Cancel People: Lessons from "This Morning"
When ITV announced on May 20, that Phillip Schofield would be leaving flagship daytime show, This Morning, after more than 20 years, it lifted the lid on a supposedly “toxic” culture and sparked the spectacle of a chain of celebrities “cancelling” the former presenter and the story exploding daily with revelations.
But why as a culture, as people, do we need to distance ourselves from those who have fallen from grace? What does this reveal about ourselves and our society?
This week in More Tea, Vicar? we pick up on our podcast about Mike Pilavachi and how the story has unfolded, we look at biblical origins of the concept of a scapegoat and how Jesus is our true and better scapegoat because he died for us and ascended into heaven, in order that sin be dealt with once and for all.
MTV? - AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Human Creativity
Wayne and James talk about music, creativity and artificial intelligence. Musician Sting, animal rights philosopher Peter Stringer and the bible have different things to say about humanity’s place in the world. In Genesis, God creates man in his own image and humanity is made last; what does this tell us about God’s purpose for humanity? Is there something distinct about humans as compared to the rest of the created order? We discuss how a common grace and truth that resides in all of us, Christians and non-Christians, speaks to who God is.
MTV? - Annual Meeting - Filling Our New Building With Faith
This week we felt it was the right thing to share our vision for our new building at 279 Gloucester Road with you, and talk about where we are headed as a church family.
MTV? - When Leaders Fail (How Do We Respond?)
This week our discussion is around the news that Canon Mike Pilavachi, founder of Christian youth festival Soul Survivor, has stepped down from his role as Associate Pastor of Soul Survivor Church, St.Albans, as safe-guarding concerns against him are investigated. We look at individuals, at systems, at King David's Old Testament transgressions and how God would like us to respond and how we as a church family can learn to build greater health into our organisations to help prevent future leaders from failing.
MTV? - Why Do We Do More Tea Vicar?
This week we are definitely not talking about ducks in the font, currently causing a storm on Anglican Twitter. What we are talking about is why we do this podcast; how through More Tea, Vicar, we hope to bring a Christian understanding to contemporary issues in culture, and apply this to life as we are living it.
Sunday's Talk - Jesus & The Man Born Blind - James Stevenson
On Sunday, James spoke about Jesus' encounter with the man born blind in John's gospel and explored where we as disciples find home, how we get there and how we can help others to discover it.
MTV? - Letting Go For The Bigger Picture
We've recorded an MTV special all about our upcoming move! This week we take our discussion right into the heart of the Bristol communities where we live and work. As a church we're about to move buildings and we wanted to share the extraordinary story of how we came to our new home through God's grace.
Sunday's Talk - Jesus & the Samaritan Woman - Wayne Massey
This Sunday Wayne spoke about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well and how when we come home to a relationship with Jesus, we are filled and sustained by the Spirit, we are freed from the stories that contain us and we can see the world differently.
MTV? - When Our Past Catches Up With Us
This week we discussed Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages and why in culture and in life this happens again and again - our pasts always seem to catch up with us. We asked the question how does post-Christian culture handle the past and how do we, as followers of Jesus, see it differently?
MTV? - Is Jesus Enough?
In the final part of our series on human sexuality we look at the story of the woman at the well in John’s gospel and ask the questions do we need sexual intimacy for a full life? And what is the life that Jesus offers and is He enough?
We're Moving!
On Sunday we announced the exciting news that on March 31st 2023 we will be completing on our building swap with Horfield Baptist Church. We're beginning the process of moving to our new building at 279 Gloucester Road.
Sunday's Talk - Come Home - James Stevenson
Where is home? This Sunday James spoke about Andrew’s encounter with Jesus from John Chapter 1. We looked at Andrew’s question “Where are you staying?” - what it meant for him then and what it means for us now and for the people in our lives we want to introduce to Jesus.
MTV? - Welcome & Inclusion
This week we’re talking about inclusion and welcome, two words that come up again and again in debates and discussion around the church and human sexuality. Both are expected of the church by culture and society but can we actually offer both and do they mean the same thing?
Sunday's Talk - The Book of Life - Richard Moy
This Sunday we welcomed guest speaker Richard Moy from SOMA UK. Richard spoke on what it means to not fear death but to know that our names are written in the book of life.
MTV? - Sexuality & Identity
This week we’re talking about Identity. One of the questions that often comes up when we talk about sexuality is that if your identity is that you’re same-sex attracted, are you inherently sinful in a way that someone who is heterosexual isn’t? We discuss the turn inward since the enlightenment, the history of desire, what sin actually is and where we find our true identity.
MTV? - Grace - what is the gospel?
This is the fourth episode in our series seeking to understand the issues and controversy surrounding human sexuality and same-sex marriage going on in Church and culture at the moment.
This week we read an article in the Guardian arguing that those who are pro same-sex marriage think that God's love and grace is for everyone and that those who are against same-sex marriage believe that God's love is restricted. We wanted to unpick this idea and explore what living in God's love and grace looks like.
MTV? - Jesus & Marriage
Speaking in Parliament this week, Labour MP Chris Bryant said "Did Jesus say a single word about same-sex relationships or marriage? I do not think he did" and so we wanted to answer the question What does Jesus have to say about marriage?
MTV? - What is a Marriage?
We're in the middle of a series seeking to understand the issues and controversy surrounding human sexuality and same-sex marriage going on in Church and culture at the moment.
This week we're asking the question What is marriage?