Archive for September, 2003
“The Magic Eyes” was a really good fable from “Forgive & Forget: healing the hurts we don’t deserve” by Lewis Smedes I used for my “storytelling” Advanced Speech No.1. The response was more positive than I expected. the message of forgiving was clear I think!
I enjoyed interacting with two fellow toastmasters for supper. One Christian, the other well-informed non-Christian. Both of their minds have an interesting mode of operation. 
“Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace” was a good realistic movie we watched this morning. The quotes in the movie on lying and truth, on a new form of Christianity and the prayer/poem on “Who am I?” rocked me a little.
Got two books from Pastor Chan (quite a intellectual-academic-pastor) on “Radical orthodoxy” which caught my attention some time ago. wow! these books which are part of this so called Radical Orthodoxy Project are expensive. Milbank is the name that captured my attention. Sharp ideas don’t come cheap these days, let’s see what they have to offer tonight!
OUCH … the headache was bad after the morning session and lunch. Wonder why. A short nap helped a bit. We are embodied beings!
Stepped into LCMS HQ office after a long gap … the comments kind of caused me to wonder what is in people’s minds these days. What keeps those brain waves electrifying the matter in between the ears?
Enjoy feeding Gareth every morning or whenever I can. he’s got great appetite. Some impatience here and there. Overall .. a cool kid as he approaches one years old. Time shoots … it doesn’t just fly!
Wondered about “compromise” .. when is it when we are compromising? or what can or cannot be compromised?Even in Christian practices… if I don’t do a traditional “altar call” does that mean I am compromising in preaching the gospel and inviting people to the kingdom? What happens if I do it differently like asking them to join a “inquirer”-seeker class and/or ask them to come up to communion to be prayed for? Is not the substance what we are looking for?
How about big meeting crusades whether it’s with the healing component or not? So if I feel the better strategy is to empower local churches and ordinary members to pray for healing and share the gospel, and downplay the traditional “evangelistic” big meeting … does that mean we are in danger over accomodative?
When were certain practices “non-negotiable”? I do not mean to say that these methods have no value … many have been blessed and channeled into the kingdom of God through these means. But, the priority is “to invite people into the Reign of God” right? – that is non-negotiable … and we must not compromise that ….! As for methodology …. if something doesn’t necessary work, or may even paint a misleading picture of what discipleship, GOD, and Christian life is all about … or some “teachings” which are not really core to our faith (e.g. Christians must be “nice” – what about the nastiness of the OT prophet? or even Jesus to the pharisees and Paul to false teachers!?). I’m open for giving those methods (& teachings) up for better ones, revise them, or re-construct them .. whatever … it’s a long journey!
Grace, Gospel, GOD - must not be compromised! Amen to that … our well-intentioned, culture-mixed (whether it’s sub-culture or ethnic-culture or foreign-culture) good ideas and well-intentioned ways … well ….
“The magic eyes” metaphor (i.e. a new way of seeing) maybe translated to this discussion … as well. It’s a start not the end though. Thanks Dr. Luke, Acts 15 was a great help to put things in perspective! Gentile Christianity had loads of construction involved after that 1st letter … check out the other letters from Romans to Revelation!
http://lutherthemovie.com/ .. cool!
and review from Christianity Today A Reformer’s Agony
A high-caliber film shows how messy it was when Luther helped change the course of history.
After reading some thoughts on how one struggles with “leadership” in the his job and overhearing how some Christians practice leadership even in so called “Christian ministry” (which sickens me honestly), I walked through Transformational Leadership: Max DePree – Todd Hunter Lecture Notes again to get some sanity and was captured by the heart warming-mind sharpening insights either from Max or Todd in bold (this is going to be long with my earthly responses in between):
Leadership is an art to be learned over time, not simply by reading books. Leadership is more a weaving of relationships than an amassing of information…and thus hard to pin down in every detail.
I remember reading from John Maxwell to Stephen Covey, from Peter Senge to Warren Bennis, you name it. Been to the seminars, overloaded before and downloaded as well. Good stuff, but DePree liberates so nicely and beautifully. Simple and absolutely right!
Though necessary and desirable, it is easy to include people procedurally in committees, lunches, or even in profits, just as it is easy to write contracts.
It is more difficult, but far more important, to be committed to a corporate concept of persons, the diversity of human gifts, covenantal relationships, lavish communications, including everyone, and believing that leadership is a condition of indebtedness.
Yeah … copying a job description is peanuts, writing contracts is chicken feet for some huh? (not me!). Anyway, the more important stuff is always slower, time consuming, relationally demanding … not short cuts here. The achiever in me wants fast results – efficient and effective work. The human in me craves for relationships that flourish as well. Can we have both? lots of effort here!
What is real? Reality? The most real? Great leadership avoids the deceptive simplicity of a single bottom line. Rather, having a self-perception faithful to reality, it demonstrates a quality of leadership and service arising from an understanding of and commitment to a common good, by which Max means a quality of life that touches every one.
It is fundamental that leaders endorse the concept of persons being created in the image of God, and that God has done this creating in a “population mix”. The “good goods” of the art of leadership is the sacred (dedicated to God) nature of our relationships.
Sad to hear that Christian businesses and even ministries profess “GOD” but seem to have a “functional athesim” in their midst (please refer to the notes for explanation on this!). How tragic. This angers me, and frustrates the real plans fo GOD. Lots of repenting needed – lots of changing … advertising results and glory makes no difference to me. I’ll give GOD the glory … the methodologies and actions speaks louder than professed philosophies of ministry. Maybe I’m harsh, I don’t want to doubt people’s integrity or sincerity … but what’s happening I believe is destructive … in a subtle way. The potential and creativity is stiffled or squashed .. It’s sad when one want to improve the quality of life of others while destroying their own.
A legalistic atmosphere controlled merely by things like rules and job descriptions creates an environment of spiritual and psychological mediocrity that paralyzes the noblest impulses of a workforce.
On the other hand, a more covenantal, relational approach-where words like love, warmth and personal chemistry dominate–releases creativity, risk-taking and new ideas.
Short-term solutions leading to long-term problems. It’s tough in Malaysia where all talk is development, investment, expansion, keeping afloat, and beating the competition, etc. Listening for three years to Young Adults in BLC has made me conclude … many noble impulses are already paralyzed if not going to. And worse is when this is brought into the Christian community …Red Alert …
The “glory” (dignity) of work: work properly understood and practiced is good for the soul; it is one of our greatest privileges. People are nourished by transforming work, growth and reaching their potential. Only by continually renewing its members can an organization continually renew itself. A vital organization is full of vital people.
I hear it again and again … “Wouldn’t it be nice if I don’t need to work?” That’s how low work is nowadays? Any revolutionaries out there … before we just surrender and hide in our cocoons hoping the world will change by itself?
The art of leadership is liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible. Thus the leader is the “servant” of his followers in that he removes the obstacles that prevent them from doing their job. In short, the true leader enables his or her followers to realize their full potential.
The driving force in our organizations ought not be goal achievement or asset management or quantifiable growth, important as these are. Rather, our society badly needs organizations and people that move relentlessly toward reaching their potential
the most effective and humane way possible. I like that. We’re not just here to have a “buddy-buddy” feel good hug. No we’re here to get things done … EFFECTIVENESS is crucial but not at the expense of HUMANITY. Can we Christians set the trend? Thanks Max De pree for pioneering the way…
In very real change, risk seems to be the essential ingredient. The success of both innovation and renewal in organizations depends on the degree of risk the group is prepared to take. “Risks” are the opportunity to move closer to our potential. BUT…
1. Risks involve ambiguity and uncertainty
2. Risks result in a kind of learning available in no other way
3. Risks may entail a loss of control and an acceptance of vulnerability
4. Risks accompany abandoning the old, but abandoning the old makes way for the new
-Endings
– Neutral Zone
– New Beginnings
5.Risks on the part of individuals are the only way to improve our world
6. Humility invites risk; pride discourages it
“Faith is spelt R-I-S-K” … I always loved the way John Wimber said that .. loved it. Steve Sjogren says “Ready, Fire, Aim”. Mike Yaconelli taught me to “Jump First, Fear Later” .. enough said.
Heal people with trust, caring and “forgetfulness”. When trust permeates a group, great things are possible. (Trust helps us get by when something or someone has gone wrong or made a serious mistake. Trust is rooted in a personal commitment to respect others and to take everyone seriously. Trust is earned by being able to be depended on to consistently and competently do the right thing for the organization and it’s people. It cannot be commanded, bought, inherited or enforced.)
It’s hard to Trust people nowadays … and I’m not sure whether I can ever too easily trust people .. somehow the older we get the bank account of trust runs lower especially if we’ve been betrayed before. There’s always that bugging thought in our minds, Can I trust this person? Time will tell …
But, I can grow into a person who’s “Trustworthy”. I can allow GOD to shape me into someone others can trust. I know I’ve flopped before, I’ve messed up, and I’ve stumbled. But the way of Trust is one way I know I can’t do with out. So help me GOD!
Know that organizations are social environments; they are “whole life” not just places of making money. They need to have good “order”; that is civility, good manners, great communication, sensitivity and forgiveness, etc.
“whole life” and not just places of making money. That’s not the way many people around me see it … but we spend so much time at work at least 40hours a week. .. most of us more than that! Time to change the way we look at work .. that’s the place to start … personal opinions and viewpoints aren’t going to get us there. Getting plugged into GOD”s story as revealed in the Scripture is a better deal starting with Genesis 1 and ending with the book of Revelation.
The challenge presented by DePree’s philosophy is not like the intellectual demands of rocket science or brain surgery. It is far more challenging; it requires serious personal growth and development. We must first be transformed before we can become transformational leaders. The organization can never be something that I, as a member, don’t choose to be. We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.
Personal change precedes corporate change … New Wine needs New Wineskins but New Wineskins need New Wine. Internal and external change go hand in hand … the real change in organizations happen when people change … and a group of people change starting one by one. It’s stating the obvious … I know. We forget …
We are not victims of our corporate cultures, we are co-creators of them. Thus, grow and change as a person. Learn to embody selfless, secure love. Be a model, because leaders reproduce in kind.
I like that! We are not victms . We are co-creators .. It’s great when one is included to play and not sidelined.
Just came back from an interesting lunch with a pastor who pastors a church nearby BLC, a Christian active in social work & action, his son who’s in Bible College, his auntie and uncle (two seniors) who are owners of the beautiful restraunt we ate in. We spent a fruitful time together especially for me … listening to the senior uncle talk about his opinions and views on matters. Wise man indeed.
Before I leave the thinking room, I thought I’d post this link I got from another blog. I find it amazing not by the explanations given but the amount of effort and energy devoted into such a project.
After the last blog on Study, I’m getting back to put effort and energy on what really matters for me as a human being – starting with the Bible, the Willard book then looking through some homework a couple of BLCians and my AYALI students passed up to me. I may leave the thinking room but thinking does not leave me … heheh!
I’ve made a “commitment” to work through Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy” with a study guide, so I suppose this is going to be at least about 10 weeks worth of study.
Willard’s comments (in bold) in the foreword to the guide is noteworthy (p. 1-3) – my thoughts in brackets.
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.. Until the present century, Christians assumed that anything that was important had to be studied and restudied and studied again. they did not think that studying something many times was strange. It is the twentieth-century illusion that you can comprehend aspects of Jesus and his teaching in a quick, snappy sermon.
(More and more nowadays .. I’m reading slower, I’m re-reading stuff I thought I read years ago. More and more, I’m highlighting, scribbling, reflecting and responding with actions that I believe will make a difference. I remember at one phase of my Christian pilgrimage when I finished reading the New Testament once I was not motivated to re-read it again. How wrong I was? Now every passage is worth unending re-studying)
In the nineteenth century, for example, people heard long difficult sermons at church in the morning. then they went home and discussed the meaning of the sermons with neighbors and family in the afternoon. We can not imagine people doing this today.
(Frankly, I have a difficulty sitting through a long difficult sermon myself. In many ways, I’m a child of my age – i.e. can multi-task and yet unable to plunge the depths of issues. But, I think this can be unlearned and relearned into a new mode of thinking. This process of “renovation” (there that word goes again!) takes time … I’m just beginning to enjoy its fruits now .. that’s after 4 years of Seminary and another 6 years of pastoring, about 15 years when I “conciously” affirmed my faith in Christ and got back on the journey with Jesus … 31 years of learning to live out the promise of my baptism as a baby (if you want to count the day of God’s chosenness from infant baptism)! I think BLC’s effort with a whole morning dedicated to worship & learning is kind of a “revised” version of a long diffucult sermon, heheh! The LiFE group sharing has been rewarding thus far … still rom for improvement
We need to return to the idea that we have to put thought into God’s kingdom and how it works. We accept that someone spends years becoming a dentist and even more years training to become a surgeon, but we do not accept that we need to spend years giving serious though to the nature of the soul, the nature of God, who Jesus was, and how it all works. In early periods of the church, it was assumed you would devote your whole life to understanding the fullness and complexity of God’ kingdom.
(emphasis mine. I feel that last line liberates me from rushing and squeezing too much too soon. I still hunger for learning and yet I know it’ll take a lifetime for the processing and progressing to take place. Such Grace! As for the analogy of training, it shames the Christian community when even leaders take short cuts, and recently this “cheap”-”short-cut” theological degrees specifically doctorates have raised quite a number of eye-brows. Lord have mercy. Now wonder, Christians follow suit in their dicipleship. With out making it in accessible, or over intellectualized (the danger in Malaysia is anti-intellectual), time to make ammends… REPENT?!)
Yet rarely this happens in churches today. We recruit church members in a quick and easy manner so that Christians and non-Christians think they do not have to study. We have copied the media and the educational establishment by doing so. Both say that the public will not look at or try to understand the intricacies of complex issues, so they produce “dumb down” versions that people will look into because they are easy to understand. Yet understanding anything important requires major effort. Understanding Jesus’ teaching is more important than learning algebra, which takes a great deal of effort; yet most Christians have never put the same amount of effort into understanding Jesus’ teaching that they’ve put into solving algebraic equations.
(I believe in simplicty, I believe God’s truth is not just for scholars but for the ordinary – it’s plain. And I also believe with whatever capacity we’re able, we’re called to put effort into it. Looking at how we’re willing to put effort in pursuing education, making a living, creating opportunities for pleasure and entertainment. I wonder why is it so hard to do the same for what is the most important – our re-forming of our worldviews, the shaping of Kingdom values, the nurturing of authentic relationships, the cultivation of a right & healthy lifesytle, the investment into the next generations, add to the list…?) Ok! after complaining, now it’s time to get our hands dirty and start constructing!)
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I was originally looking for “instrumental” music so I could enter prayer easier for the “Sacred Space” site.. I found what I wanted and got surprised by WINAMP.COM so clicked on this …
Always wondered what “ambient” music is (like how come ambient is under electronica) … I like the word. then wahlah! … woaaahh … that was fun!
But the pleasant find was “electic rock” .. liked the so called “electic intelligent rock” stuff … which led me to …
yup .. movies and music … for now, the music … Michael Hedges – Prelude to Cello Suite #1 (JS Bach) is good! Followed by Sinéad O’ Connor’s You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart. from In The Name Of The Father (Soundtrack) a pretty good movie as well! This stuff is my kind of music man .. whoah!
Nicely angled, I put the rectangular placetic table facing the sky and greenary (whatever that’s left behind the Father’s House), the wall behind my back and the fan turned to a gentle 3.
The weather was cooling for a Malaysian morning. Though it may seem gloomy and cloudy without a strong sunshine, but I liked the calm environment. It’s amazing how near I am to the heart of the city since we’re at the edge of Bangsar, but there’s Sacred Space carved out even here! And now, the “Pilgrim’s Zone” as I like to call our newly cemented, fan & light equipped former eating area is transformed to a place where God’s Word can restore life into my soul (i.e. life)
The “Pilgrim’s Zone” is kind of an in between “sacramental space” to keep me along the pilgrimage with the Spirit. I like it. It’s new and renewing. Makes me want to come earlier to the Father’s House and be slower to run to the computer. Because when that happens .. then the roller coaster day rolls really fast!
Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness. — Meister Eckhart
(Thanks Chin Hor for this beautiful picture of Gareth’s hand when he was sleeping!)
Got linked here by Brian McLaren’s church website. It’s a site run by Irish Jesuits (thus the catholic flavour).
It’s a new experience to spend some time to create some Sacred Space for God in front of the computer. Yes, even what is most mechanical (humanly speaking) can be redeemed to be a tool for the Mystery of God’s presence to be recognized!
I guess the 2nd Year Christian Spirituality course in seminary made a significant impact in me (thanks to Dr. Voon for her spiritual direction as well). It was here that I was introduced more systematically to this whole idea clearer. This is also when I started reading Henri Nouwen and Richard J. Foster more seriously. I also grew more appreciative of the best from the roman catholic and eastern orthodox traditions. So, a whole journey of integration – and renovation began! Still on the journey …
Lately, I have found Dallas Willard to be a wonderful guide of course I need to be patient slowly chewing his thoughts (cf. The Renovation of the Heart is great! I’m still working through the Divine Conspiracy – got a study guide to help yesterday). The whole process I believe helped me to progress beyond a busy-bee ministry, and I felt especially liberated from legalism or guilt-shame based discipleship. One major progress is seeing that God works in the ordinary of my life, and the “body” dimension musn’t be neglected. Any form of “super-spirituality” got a severe beating from then onwards (cf. I was very exposed to and involved in the charismatic-pentecostal world – the best & the worst) . I’ve been enjoying the humble, quite work of the Spirit ever since (with some “dark nights of the soul here and there.)
It was also in seminary where we used to get these free World Vision Australia newsletters “GRID” and the name Rowland Croucher stuck with me, here’s his article on “Individual and Corporate Spirituality” His writings has added a nice Aussie touch to my life(no wonder we have one Aussie family in BLC!) Here’s a very useful intro:
Spirituality (from its 17th century French usage) is mainly about how I relate to God. ‘Spirit’ in the Bible equals breath, life. The opposite of spirit is not matter, but death. ‘Spiritual’ worship is the offering of all we are to God (Romans 12:1). It’s about my ‘desire’, how I pray (the very best index of who I really am). So Spirituality is about the work of God’s Spirit, enlivening, enlightening and empowering us to become holy, or ’saints’, so that our desire is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and love others as ourselves. The Eastern Orthodox prefer to call it ‘mystical theology’ which they define as ‘loving knowledge’ or ‘wisdom or knowledge that is found through love’ (William Johnston). (emphasis mine)