Archive for January 1st, 2007
Woke up … some good coffee … started the day with the Moravian Daily Texts.
Finally posted up “the Emerging Church” article .. but realized some of the fonts wasn’t compatible and the piece was peppered with “question” marks 
Tried to take care of the 2 kids while May Chin went out of the house for a while.
A delightful surprise was a skype chat with Steve Knight and the postmodernegro prophet in person … then one and only Anthony Smith. It was short but extremely edifying. I jokingly said we should start a “lump together” village together because I’d be happy to lump myself with these guys!
Lunch with Ben Ong and friends made me feel young. I enjoyed the food, and conversations. Especially the wonderful line, “If all else fails, there is still chips!”. But what I caught right early on is some questions and currents of faith and ways forward which I hope to explore further someday.
Managed to catch a little nap after “forcing” Elysia to eat her pasta …
Attended a nice cosy birthday party having the them colors yellow and orange. Orange has emerged as one of my favorite colors the last few years. Orange and Black!
Just came back from a wedding dinner. One of the youth whom I pastored years ago is moving into a new stage in life. It was good to see old friends. It’s always a challenge for the 2 kids and mummy especially when we have to try to finisih the whole event – which usually starts an hour late and followed by a ten course dinner with toasts and some fun program in between.
Hardly had much space for contemplation apart from now. Just a little bit.
But I thought even these random thoughts are good to unload what’s in me for the day – a pretty eventful day.
Started with the Moravian Daily Texts this morning which I think is good. will read the texts and prayers again before I sleep tonight.
In 2006 I had been give more opportunities (or forced) to write. Kairos Research Centre (KRC), Malaysia asked me (with the help of some friends) to put together what we see as the emerging church phenomena as well as the emergent conversation. Since the word “emerging” somehow is getting more popular now as a kind of “branding”, I think it’s easy to forget it’s more simple usage which KRC decided to put “Emerging Church Issues” as the cover theme in the issue we contributed in.
I think it’s a good move. Because I think even the conversation we are participating in perhaps specifically “emerging church/emergent” most surely is merely part of the wider conversations we are participating in which includes many other concerns, in the Malaysian context as hinted in the “Emerging Church Issues” Monograph ranges from worship to emigration, evangelical heritage to local stories, mission trends to personal faith, etc.
At this stage while a small group of us here are engaged in some level of conversations around Gospel, Church, Discipleship/spiritual formation and the World (culture/context) perhaps looking like an Emergent Village cohort and we’re slowly finding out how we are maturing in this process, due to the questions posed and the buzz surrounding “emerging” & “emergent” we limited our sharing on what we do at the end of the article.
I think the process of writing the article and going through the editing was helpful for me personally to consider many who have no idea or an unclear idea of all things “emerging church” and “emergent” especially through the blogs and books which is gaining more publicity. And with some strong critics, somehow this forces the need for more nuance and focused efforts in the engagement (for all our benefit).
Here’s our humble offering … we offered to the Malaysian church and now to the rest of the world who may be interested.
The Emerging Church Movement: A Quest for Authentic Faith & Community
By Sivin Kit & Friends
We have often been asked what the Emerging Church movement or the emergent conversation is all about. We usually hesitate in our response since we are still grappling with what it means, even as efforts are underway to unpack and articulate this recent phenomenon. You may have come across buzz words such as “missional”, “postmodern”, “postcolonial”, “contextual”, “friendship”, “local”, “justice”, “safe place”, “culture” and “story” that are often used in the context of discussions about the Emerging Church movement. In this article, we have put together excerpts and references that explore the subject in an exercise likened to “eavesdropping” on the conversation. We will also share some developments that have been taking place here in Malaysia.
Read the rest of this entry »
[Note: The cross with the Scripture above is on a memorial plaque at Flossenbürg Concentration Camp Site (which I gratefully had the chance to visit in November 2006) honoring Bonhoeffer, Canaris, Oster, and others who were executed here in April 1945]
“Gracious God,
thank you for your faithfulness to us as we begin a new year.
Deliver us from all that has been wearing us down and holding us back.
Give us a fresh vision of who you want us to be
and how you want us to live. Amen”
- Moravian Daily Texts 2007, p. 1
It was sobering to spend this evening at a memorial service. While I’m more familiar with the husband after a memorable bus ride home from Singapore, listening to the eulogies for the wife was moving and made me see how she had impacted those who were around her.
Memorial services and all that happens there have a way of making me “pause” and re look at the “luggage” of my own life. It’s hard not to reconsider what is more important and necessary in relationships and how we live the remaining days of our lives in “faithfulness day by day.”
Originally, I had the idea of doing some “2006 in review” which already is partially scribbled in my journal. But somehow, after coming back thinking about 101 things during the whole journey has exhausted my blogging energy on that idea (maybe a delayed post)
There’s a noisy party downstairs with loud music, and dancing … the kids are asleep, May Chin and I hope to have a “simple” evening nothing fancy. I told her about how I felt at the memorial service. Life is so fragile, broken, unexpected, painful, hard … and yet, beauty surprisingly still oozes out, healing emerges slowly, strength comes out of weakness …
On TV now are thousands of people packed at a shopping mall, I’m glad I’m not there.
Made quite a number of phone calls tonight. It was good to hear of friends with their newly adopted baby boy. Others moving on to a new home. Keeping in touch here and there ….
I’ll just press publish now … it’s going to be 2007 VERY soon.
(oops I was late … just a little)