Sivin Kit's Garden

Out of the Salt Shaker

"Christians and non-Christians have something in common. We're all uptight about evangelism. Our fear as Christians seems to be How many people have I offended this week? We think that we must be a little obnoxious in order to be good evangelists. A tension builds inside: Should I be sensitive to people and forget about evangelism, or should I blast them with the gospel and forget about their dignity as human beings? Many Christians choose between to be aware of the person but then feel defensive and guiltyt for not evangelising" (p. 11)

I think Rebecca Pippert does a pretty good job unearthing the voice of many Christians I know. I too struggle at times with this tension (even though I'm a pastor) On one hand, I can't and won't forget about evangelism. And yet, i want to be sensitive to where my non-Christian friends' are in their life journey. I recognize impatience does not help genuine evangelism but I also feel that inactivity and apathy is not an option.

I've always loved the title of the book Out of the Salt Shaker: And into the World. It kind of captures the essence of Evangelism as a way of life in a ordinary daily life metaphor. I managed to work through the book (the revised IVP UK edition - which i think has great improvements, especially the addition on "the witness of community" & reworking her thoughts using "the three ways to witness" as a framework!) for the first time in preparation for three sessions in the SUFES D'Nous Academy (new youth camp) based on the book.

Her stories, humility and honesty really encourages even the most timid. And I think she's done a wonderful job bringing together sound theological reflection and practical application (i.e. the "how tos" which is helpful to get us started and be clear of the stages/process involved as long as we don't "fossilize" methodology). Her comments on "How do we work in sync with the Spirit of God in bringing a person to Christ?" is noteworthy:

" ... conversion is a profound mystery ... conversion is beyond our control. Again, it's a mystery and 'mystery,' writes Flannery O'Connor, ' is a great embaressment to the modern mind. Ernest Becker concurs: 'Moderns try to replace vital awe and wonder with a "How to do it manual." ...The mystery and the paradox of conversion is also seen in the fact that God doess all, yet he chooses to save us in and through human decision and obedience." (p. 184)

In my quest & pursuit for a model of evangelism that is "natural" (I can be myself so can they!)-"relational"(more human!)-"conversational" (which is more fun & enriching) -"long-term"(cures the impatient bug)-"communal" (glad I'm not alone in all this) & "spiritual" (i.e. genuinely trusting in the work of the Spirit) I find her contribution a blessing to me to move forward! And move forward we must!

True Heroes in The Lord of the Rings

Here's an excerpt from the article from Morris Institute for Human Values (a link I got from Jason Clark),

"Little children amuse us as they learn new skills by declaring, "I do it myself!" We applaud their desire to leave behind infant dependency and to grow into more and more independence.

But we never outgrow dependence entirely. When an adult always says, "'I'll do it myself," this isn't either amusing or admirable. It is literally megalomaniacal: the insanity of thinking you're much bigger, and more powerful and wiser than you really are. "

Six Action Shoes

What Action Shoes do You Wear?. The danger of enjoying the whole thinking hats process with no action is very very real. We need hats and we need shoes! Reflection & Action ...

Star Trek & Church?

Here's a pretty comprehensive set of Emergent Church notes taken from sessions by Stuart MURRAY-WILLIAMS via Andrew Jones. The Star Trek Analogies were useful!

Six Thinking Hats

How about some Parallel Thinking with some fun?
“The quality of our thinking determines the quality of our future.”
-Dr. Edward de Bono, creator of Six Thinking Hats®

Try out De Bono's Six Thinking Hats! (A useful chart here and powerpoint presentation)

I might try it out in in the sub-regional pastors meeting afterwards :-)

Understanding Islam

Calvin Shenk's booklet "Understanding Islam. A Christian reflection on the faith of our Muslim neighbors" reminded me the need to continue my understanding not only at a theoretical level but at a more practical one. I did a course on "Islam" for two semesters (one year), participated in an extra course last year (to deepen my understanding), and I live in a Malaysian islamic context. We just celebrated Hari Raya the last two days after the month of Ramadhan. And yet my understanding is really shallow on a personal level.

Missional - Mennonite flavour!

Here's some goodies from the Mennonite Mission Network (USA) and the Missional Travel Bag from Canada.

I like ideas and reflection questions in "Through a Missional Lens"

Spiritual Health Survey

Got this survey (pdf, or doc) via the next church.

I'll be walking through the questions afterwards. don't want to wait until last minute (e.g. 31st December 2003)!

Learning in progress

It's great to have a look at Jason Clark's Dmin project presentation. It spurs my own hunger for life-long learning.

Todd Hunter & Eric keck has put up their project too! Got linked to Winn Griffin's project and Mike McNichols' project as well!

I'd dream some day (soon) I'd be on this journey with a few other friends in Asia as well (staring in Malaysia will be good!)

No-Sweat Speaking

Here's an online free e-seminar on public speaking. cool! Click here

Enlightenment from Baby Bath

Gareth loves water, so far bathing (& swimming) has been "enjoyable" moments for him!

I realized in this picture the blue bathtub actually enhanced his whole "enjoyable" moment ... no bath tub - no "solid" to allow him to enjoy the "liquid" environment.

During these three years and almost a half of journey in and through BLC, I really struggled working through the value of "more formal" (or structured/planned/strategic) meetings like the Sunday Worship gathering, LiFE Group meetings & Learning Classes, etc. in the light of a strong desire to see "more informal" (or spontanous/flexible/creative) relationships develop and grow in our midst so the BLC environment as a people and "church culture" is authentic and real. I keep telling BLC we don't go to church we are the church! And I really believe it. And as I do so, I don't want to fall into the trap that our meeting together (especially formally) has not value or minimal value at all. Lutheran's talk about the "Church Scattered" and the "Church Gathered" .. I found the "Scattered/Gathered" Model a good way to keep the focus right! (To add to the fun - I found this "House"-"Street" Model adapted by Lutheran Theologian Vítor Westhelle another helpful one!)

It's obvious! I don't have to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" (BTW, the bathtub is still useful! so don't have to "throw the bathtub as well!)when it comes to thinking about meeting as a "congregation" (which is often seen more formally, e.g. Sunday Worship Gatherings, LiFE Group meetings, etc) and out side "a congregational" meeting (which is often seen more informally, e.g. three of us having a drink at Bangsar Seafood, a cup of tea at the cafe, etc).

I like the call from Peter Ward to a "network" & "fluid" model of seeing relationships happening as church which he calls "Liquid Church" (Here's an Intro & an Interview & book review & a cool video) and yet Jason & Jonathan's critique & cautions are on target - we need "Solid Church" as well!

Hunter On the American Church

Todd Hunter's blog hasn't been updated lately (i.e. more than 1 month!), but this little bit on the American Church with Relevant Magazine is worth a read & some reflection!

Walking with the Poor

I was delighted when World Vision Malaysia (associated with World Vision International) was going to do a couple of training classes facilitated by Mrs. Grace Goh at the office. It was so timely, as we had just begun the "seed" processes on becoming more involved in our witness through the social dimension. I was attracted to the who series partly because I knew we were going to work through the framework and ideas found in Bryant L. Myers book Walking with the Poor. WV Malaysia included the outline in the invitation email and i was immediately "caught"! It was just good to be a student and listen to someone from another location and perspective.

I left the 1st sessions "shaken" by what I believe are areas that I need to change - especially faulty and hurtful mindsets and even existing behaviours and decisions (or non-decisions) that contribute directly or indirectly to injustice. In short, I was convicted. After that, I talked with May Chin about some things that need to change. Not that the seeds for change were not planted, they just needed extra water, fertilizers and sunshine. And this opening session gave me that.

A noteworthy ending to the half day training was the emphasis on the awareness if my own poverty in the light of all this, i.e. the Poverty of the on-poor. And that sparked me into a couple of directions. Now, it's focusing all this into daily practice and daily "repentance" (to use a more Christian term) and ongoing "renovation" by the Spirit and the Scriptures.

The "Bigger Picture" was so timely, as I'm also in the process of "refocusing" BLC's journey inthe light of GOD's Big Picture. I'm encouraged thought it's difficult but we are on the right track! I believe GOD is saying to us "Walk on!"

For more reflections from Myers, check out the MARC Newsletters

Brow's Back

Glad to see Robert Brow back writing with a new colour for his website!

Positive thinking vs. Constructive Thinking

Got this from my bedtime reading book, New Thinking for the New Millennium by Edward De Bono because I felt I was overdosing myself with Theology, so try something not so "Christian" for a change ... and it was fun. I got back to this book on "thinking" because I was reminded in the "Ecclesiology (Lutheran Distinctives)" class by our very own German Rev. Wolfgang (LCMS consultant in Lutheran Theology) that Luther emphasized education in order for people to learn to read and write so they could read the Scriptures for themselves. I guess, today many of us can read and write. What we need is to learn how to "think" and "articulate our thoughts" in new ways and constructive ways!

Check out his General Thinking Course, fun! (at least I can see the outline for free .. . learning "how to think" aint cheap ... hahah!)

Anyway, here's a quote from p.35:
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There's a huge difference between positive thinking and constructive thinking.

You are standing in a market-place and a car parks on your foot. Positive thinking suggests that you make the best of your enforced immobility. You look around and appreciate the architecture. You watch the stallholders and human nature. You inhale and appreciate the smells. You chat to children who gather around. constructive thinking suggests you make an effort to get the car shifted.
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Communicating Change

Communicating the process of change and where to go from here is much harder than I thought. I take my hat off to how Cedar Ridge Community Church did it in the light of Brian D. McLaren's growing role to the wider Christians community.

The caption put up was this:
The Church was not created as a resort for believers. It should be a delivery service for God's kingdom. ( i like this!)

Brian and Chris (one of their leaders) describe the calling and the decision process that is leading to a greater role for Brian - and Cedar Ridge - in delivering God's love to the world.
(To listen how it was communicated to the congregation click here).

I Have Only Today

My Life is an instant.
An hour which passes by;
My life is a moment
Which I have no power to stay.
You know, O my God,
That to love you here on earth -
I have only today.

~ Therese of Lisiux
Therese is famous for her "Little Way" of prayer in which she sould seek out the menial task, welcome unjust criticisms, befirend those who annoyed her, and help those who are ungrateful. (From Richard Foster's Prayers from the Heart, p. 46)

2 Asian Leaders Before us

SUNDAR SINGH: Most influential Indian Christian ever lived DR JOHN SUNG: Greatest Chinese evangelist of the 20th century.

Dr. Hwa Yung, Director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia at Trinity Theological College. (who taught me Christian Theology & Asian Theology in seminary and got us to read his Mangoes & Bananas? before it was published!) had some interesting observations in his article Sundar Singh, John Sung and future of Asian Christianity, some excerpts :

... the records revealed that both men placed central importance on the Bible and spent much time meditating on it. Do the Bible and prayer have the same place in our lives?

... both men lived lives of simplicity, holiness and sacrifice. ... If the church is to impact Asia significantly today, we need to recover the same spirit of simplicity, holiness and sacrifice.

... Sundar Singh and John Sung read the Bible through Asian eyes, took the supernatural and the Holy Spirit seriously, and the rest followed.

... In their own ways, both John Sung and Sundar Singh worked towards Asian church independence and developing a genuinely indigenous Christian identity. Yet to this day, some 60 to 70 years later, we have yet to fully understand their concern.

... everywhere in Asia people are seeking to recover their indigenous cultural roots. Witness the resurgence of the traditional religions all over Asia today. If a Western Christianity was a hindrance to the advance of the Gospel in early 20th century, it is no less so today. If you think otherwise, you might want to ask why Buddhism has been growing faster than Christianity in the 1990s in Singapore -- possibly the most westernised city in Asia.

... certainly we should not be constantly looking over our shoulders to Western Christianity for leadership and direction. Instead, we should look to the Holy Spirit and the Bible. Only this will make possible the emergence of a truly indigenous Christian identity, without which the churches in the non-Western world will never mature!

Leaders in the Missional Church

This is an article by George R. Hunsberger, Gospel and Our Culture Network Newsletter june 1998 newsletter volume 10 number 2 now has got me re-fining & re-visioning my leadership again (& again). This card which a member gave me during my ordination serves as a wonderful reminder that whatever "leadership" I'm working through must be centred on Christ!

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Recently I had occasion to spell out what kind of leaders I thought the church needed right now.

The occasion was a process of curriculum revision at the seminary where I teach. The Dean's request–that each of us on the faculty prepare a statement about what kind of graduates our program ought to produce–pushed me beyond the immediate aims of the curriculum review. I began to realize that the perspectives that pushed their way forward in my response were those that had been nourished by many companions in the GOCN movement who see the "missionary encounter of the gospel with our culture" as the clue to the life and witness of the church.What began as an attempt to grasp the aim of theological education, I quickly recognized, has wider implications. To state the aim of seminary training is to state what you think leaders of the church–both clergy and lay–ought to be like. What I sent to the Dean was really an emerging sketch of a deep curriculum for the continued cultivation of leadership within a congregation as much as it was a description of the formation of pastoral character and action.
For me, the description which follows below represents an emerging vision of those in the church who lead well because they lead missionally. It is not a fixed recipe for any particular kind of success. It attempts a portrait of leaders living in faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That attempt sets a certain trajectory that cuts a different path from what has too easily been accepted as conventional wisdom. The leader is not an entrepreneur. Leadership is not about personal charisma. It does not have to do with surgical, technological precision. Rather, it has to do with being on the leading edge of the missional church's response to the calling and sending of God. This list is still "on the way." Perhaps that is best shown by adding to it the comments of a trusted and insightful friend, Laurie Baron. What she adds deepens the vision and invites others to do the same.
In that spirit, I offer these statements about the leaders we need.
1. Leaders who know what time it is. They will be people who possess a discerning historical memory and an expectant future perspective, people who discern the signs of the times. They will recognize what is true of the current era and moment in the history of both the human circumstance and the presence of the church, and they will be able to interpret what makes this time significant within the mission of God.
2. Leaders who own shared responsibility for the church's calling. A personal sense of call to ministry by itself will not be adequate. We will require pastoral leaders who know the church's calling, its missionary identity, and know that the calling includes them. The personal dimensions of their own calling will be oriented within that larger picture, and their calling will be pointed toward helping the church fulfill its own calling.
3. Leaders who read well. They will be people who can and do read what is around them, interpreting what is generally true for many people, and what is particularly true for the people of the most immediate concrete context in which they find themselves. Along with hermeneutical skills for reading texts (especially the biblical texts), and for reading traditions (their own particular Christian tradition as well as other traditions), they will be readers of culture (and cultures), of social systems, and of the human person.
4. Leaders with vision. They will size up where things are and where they are heading if left unattended. They will possess dreams for the future that will be infectious. They will be able to see paths from the present to the approximations of dreams that are possible under the Holy Spirit. They will be always working on the edges of transformation and change for persons, for the Christian community, and for the broader society. They will possess capacities to help churches to welcome, navigate, negotiate and redeem necessary change.
5. Leaders who en-vision. Whether in worship, where a world is cast and the Bible re-shapes our corporate way of envisioning what "reality" is, or in evangelism, where the gospel is said again in the tones and hues by which it comes to vivid expression in the life-worlds of varieties of people in contemporary circumstances, they will be people ever seeing new opportunities to forge pictures of the alternate which the gospel poses in our cultural settings.
6. Leaders full of spirit. Grace, wisdom, knowledge and power. They will have a wide and generous spirit, with a far-ranging ecumenical urge for the unity of the church across confessional, structural, and cultural lines that work to divide. They will be deeply passionate for the peace, justice and joy of the reign of God. They will care without bounds for persons as made in God's image and for all the created world as made for God's joy.
7. Leaders with a deeply-rooted curriculum. Their vision for the essential ingredients of Christian growth and maturity will be pervasive influences on the personal "care of souls," the nurture of discipleship, the preaching and teaching of the scriptures, the style of administrative work, and the fashioning of the faithful community. Grand curricula such as Paul's "faith, love, and hope" or the covenantal structure of "dependence on God's care and loyalty to God's rule" will guide them.
8. Leaders who believe. They will believe God with, and sometimes for, the people of God. They will demonstrate and nurture the ability to believe within a secularized environment and nourish fresh ways of holding and commending belief in a pluralist social context. They will nourish faith into the warp and woof of daily life and vocation.

A POSTSCRIPT

Laurie Baron
Freelance Writer
Holland, Michigan

I find one particular point to celebrate, and also find one ingredient missing.
#2: Leaders who "own shared responsibility for the church's calling" will bring a powerful witness against the clergy/lay distinction that pervades the church. Currently we speak confidently of being "called" to ministry as really the sole and necessary legitimation of that choice. We talk some, but not much, about the church's calling, and never as the primary call into which all of our personal callings fit. The minister's, yes, but also my calling and everyone else's, for no one who is called into the kingdom is left without work to do. But to speak of being called to other work is often suspect. Instead of legitimizing a deep sense of vocation, it's often perceived as aggrandizing personal preference. It has no "hold." The sense in this paragraph that all our callings are part of the one mission and calling of Christ to the church on behalf of the world is moving–it clarifies a troublesome image and gives me hope.
I'd add #9. Leaders with humility. In the push for leadership, I think we risk a kind of arrogance in our clergy that may take the form of over-control and love of power or, maybe just as harmful in the long run, the conviction that they are the ones who know what God is doing. So I would like to see leaders who understand that God's intention is bigger than their vision–bigger than the church. Who know that the heart of the gospel is a mystery in which we are invited to participate, and that the church's role–and indeed their own role–in that mystery is a holy calling only partly available to our understanding and who are well-enough acquainted with sorrow and failure to have developed patience, and wise enough to listen to critics, skeptics, the tired, and the slow, even while pursuing the passion that grips their own ministry.
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Opps! ... Argghhh! ... phew!

Got this amazing unsinkable boat manouver via Jason Clark. It was a fantastic ice breaker for the morning before my Bible reading & prayer ... its a wonderul picture antidote for leaders in a "tough" spot!

No longer a salesperson ...

One gem that caught me this morning from Bevan's book Models of Contextual Theology on his introduction to what he calls the Countercultural model:
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The gospel, rather than being a list of doctirnes or moral principles, is considered as a story to be told and witnessed to rather than something to be argued for abstractly. As one practioner of the countercultural model, David Lowes-Watson, put it, we have to image persons who proclaim the gospel not as "salespersons" but as "journalists". (p. 121)

____________________________________

The Father's Love Letter

To open the envelope click here for the song version or here for the narration version

Money & Ambition

It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it is good, too, to check up once in awhile and make sure you haven't lost the things that money can't buy. -- George Horace Lorimer

Christianity is the foe not of ambition, but of wrong ambition; not of covetousness, but of the covetousness which is idolatry; not of discontent, but of contentment with what is inferior. Our difficulty is not in expecting too much of Christ, but in not asking enough. We are too easily satisfied with what is mediocre or unworthy. We are content with a measure of achievement, with limitations to our powers, which are far below the will of God for us.
-- Robert Speer, Seeking the Mind of Christ

Church Dating?

Read this linked from Richard Vincent's Putting Small Groups in Their Place Blog:

Put simply, "[b]elonging happens when you identify with another entity - a person or organization, or perhaps a species, culture, or ethnic group" (p. 25). People are looking for healthy relationships, a home, a place to belong, a group with whom to identify. We could say they are "church-shopping" but the better metaphor is "church-dating":

What I believe may be happening is that people are dating our congregations. They are looking for communities where they can become a part of the family. You do not shop for family. You date to find family. (p. 130)

Last Thursday, I was encouraged by a handful of people who "dated" BLC and felt they'd like to become part of the family! This Sunday we'll be welcoming them and Baby Darlene into the fold!

Richard Foster & Renovare

I think Foster's book Celebration of Discipline was really instrumental in my journey for a more wholistic discipleship (and also view on Spiritual Disciplines - Discipline was a good word after reading his books!), his book on Prayer gave me the vocabulary to understand and explore the variety of heartfelt communion with GOD. And Streams of Living Water gave a wonderfully balanced vision of how the best of the different traditions of Christianity can bring renewal in my life. The book on Money, Sex & Power (also titled The challenge to the Disdciplined life) gave me some handles to wrestle through what i think about them.

Renovare is a wonderful organization that is committed to working for the renewal of the Church of Jesus Christ in all her multifaceted expressions. The newsletters Perspective & Heart to Heart has been a tremendous help to me as well...

Thanks Richard & Thanks Renovare .. for sharing!

The Matrix Bug

After using "The Matrix" again in my Sunday messages and conversations (I dunno how many times it just creeps in), I'm not surprised a new BLC member sent me this ... hahahah!

Ecclesia

Got this from a new blog linked from theOoze.com http://www.liquidthinking.org/

____________________________

Ecclesia is the Greek word translated "church" in the New Testament. Here are the various ways ekklhsian was used generally in the Hellenistic world, in the Septuagint and Rabbinic culture, and in early Christian history (including the New Testament):

1. General Greek Usage: a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly a) an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating. b) any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously

2. OT usage: the assembly of the Israelites (most often in the Septuagint it represents the Hebrew word qahal--meaning assembly, multitude, gathering1)

3. Christian usage: a) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting b) a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake c) those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body d) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth e) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

I think it's wonderful that the word for church2 cannot be pegged to any one particular usage. Even the general Greek definition is somewhat vague and contradictory...is it a gathering that is planned or spontaneous? In the New Testament, the word represents all Christians and yet also referred to individual gatherings3. Perhaps part of the problem for contemporary Christian culture is that we have defined church too clearly. Maybe it's meant to be enigmatic...too slippery for us to get our dirty fingers around it.

1 See the following two links for a quick look at the word's usage in the Old Testament. In the Septuagint the word is translated both as ecclesia and as the Greek word for synagogue.
Link 1 & Link 2

2 The English word "church" is really a bad translation in our English Bibles. "Church" derives from the Greek word kuriakon, having a simple meaning "of the Lord". In Old English and German the word was pronounced 'kirché.' In Scotland, it was 'kirk.' The word kuriakon only appears in the New Testament in two places. It is found once in 1 Corinthians 11:20 where it refers to 'the Lord's supper,' and once again in Revelation 1:10 where it refers to 'the Lord's day.' In both of those cases, it is translated 'the Lord's' - not 'church.' This word does not appear again in the New Testament. A better translation for ecclesia would to have been simply "assembly", "community", or perhaps, "the called together"...although perhaps the Body is properly the ecclesia kuriakon, a gathering of people belonging to the Lord.

3The word is used to describe the body of believers in Acts 20:28; Gal. 1:13; Eph. 1: 22, 23; 5:23. 1 Cor. 1: 2, speaks of the ecclesia in a specific area, as does 1 Thess. 1: 1 and 2 Thess. 1: 1, while, Acts 9:3 1, seems to be speaking of the ecclesia(s) in the areas of 'Judaea and Galilee and Samaria. ' Romans 16:3-5, and verse 23, speak of individual ecclesias in the homes of specific individuals

What I've Been Reading or Read Lately?

Books ...
1. Making Sense of the Church by Spencer Burke (just finished it last night, I loved especially the chapter on "Metaphor for life" and am starting to think of what metaphor captures who I am)
2. Models of Contextual Theology by Steven Bevans (a review here Started this because I wanted to really have a sharper focus on what "contextual theologys is about, paused for a moment, now back to it again.)
3. Once and Future Church by Loren Mead (Finished it in a couple of days, gave me some hope that renewal is still possible in an institutional church like my denomination and we can work towards it.)
4. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions by Marcus J. Borg & N.T. Wright (I must admit Wright was more of the reason I bought this book than Borg but reading the different visions of Jesus expounded by them clarifies my own perception of Jesus and more importantly the meaning he brings to my life as well!)
5. The Divine Drama: Biblical Narrative & Our Narrative by Harry Wendt
6. See Through the Scriptures by Harry Wendt
(I'm a picture person and the Discovery Seminar with Harry Wendt was liberating! So, I've been working through some of his pictures in the above three manuals ... the pictures opens up my imagination for transformation!)
7. New Horizons in Hermeneutics by Anthony C. Thiselton (wow! this is really heavyweight stuff ... I got stuck at the Intro & chapter 1, plan to get back to it soon. This Transforming Bible Reading framework is worth working through ... need time!)

Blogs ...
http://www.jordoncooper.com/
He always has some worthwhile interesting posts and links ...

http://futuremargins.com/
Fred Peatross' recent discussion on Spiritual & church DNA 1, 2 & 3 caught my attention ...

Stuff I got Online ...
1. Social and Bioethical Statements from the Lutheran Church of Australia
2. Articles from Fulcrum

Driving vs. Walking

It's been sometime since I've walked a decent distance. The most is walking from the car to the door of my destination. Somehow, there was a chance to walk more on Tuesday. Refreshing (and sweating as well!) What I'm about to say is obvious not very profound but brought to new light again!

Walking is different from driving. It's slower and I got to hear more sounds around me - whether it's the breeze blowing past my ear, or the birds singing away, and the noise of people chatting and cars driving pass me. I feel the warmth of the sun on my face (thus the sweat!), I smell the rubbish people scatter along the pathway to my in-laws house from the Father's House (BLC premises) - it's only 5 minutes walk. Read a notice on the board of the nearby mosque and was struck by the amount of lectures planned out everyday for the muslims during this Ramadan (fasting) season. Walked past the Secondary School after the mosque and thought about walking in someday to really have a look.

In air-con car I drive, I'm sheltered from all this. I'm faster and yet more isolated from my surroundings. It's as if I'm in a mini-world of my own disconnected from the realities outside. If I put on the radio, the music would even drown out any possibility of hearing or feeling anything outside. the most is I'd get a jolt if someone "horns" me loudly (in frustration). I'd be on the road but miss the little paths like the one I past by.

I feel we often are in a "driving" mode rather than "walking" mode in life. We need both I guess ... (there is a time for everything) but the fact is - we "walk" too little. "walking" has values that "driving" doesn't provide. And it times where we are so "driven" by all sorts of demands (often unrelated to the KINGDOM agenda or even distracting us), "walking" allows space, time, and possibilities for the SPIRIT to speak. More I think starting for us to be ready to LISTEN.

We are what we read?

Again a link from Jordon Cooper where he actually has some comments which are interesting, click here, here's the orginal article Pastors’ Picks: What Preachers Are Reading. Interesting ...

New Kind of Church

I wish i could have had a chance to join the New Kind of Church conference in the UK. Sounds really exciting ... but thanks those who blogged their thoughts I get bits anf pieces of gems as well especially from the organic church blog and eavesdrop on some discussions after the conference.

here's at least three paragraphs worth chewing on!

We all particularly appreciated the attitudes of Brian and Jason. The posture of hope, humility, expectation, and grace in a time when many things are being questioned was a refreshing change. It was not a question of what was wrong with church but what can be learnt and changed. The image of learning not being linear but being maybe more like a tree trunk's rings was helpful, i.e. each new stage having to incorporate all of the previous stages to grow. In answer to the question "We don't want to chuck the baby out with the bath water" Brian said "I don't want to chuck anything out", but learn from it. Many of us are trying to chuck *everything* out, so it is a timely lesson. ~Mark Norridge

By embracing the good, bad and ugly of our church story including our own stories we can learn from them rather than simple react. It was precisely this kind of gracious attitude that Brian (and Jason) demonstrated so well throughout the course in the way they presented where we are at and began to layout thoughts for where we might consider going. ~ Dave Eadie

If I had to some up the theme of the 3 days, it would be that it is not about Christianity or The Church; it's about following Christ. That got me thinking about the fact that we used to be referred to as "the people of the Way." That carries with it ideas of movement and direction, a way of life and a community. Now we talk about "Christianity" or "Christians." This gives the impression of an institution or religious adherents. There are significant differences there. ~ Graham Old

The Garden & Streams of Living Water

"Christian Denominations" has a negative ring to it. But that's really part of our history for better for worse. And I learnt from Robert Brow that we can actually see this more like a "GARDEN" which is a much more beautiful picture and I've learnt from Richard Foster a more balanced vision of at least six "Streams of Living Water" how the Spirit has been renewing the church throught the ages and even today. Now that's a more positive way forward. Tried to share that across to a bunch of Secondary School teenagers at the Scripture Union School Christian Fellowship(SCF) Leaders camp in Seremban yesterday in a session "The CF as an Interdenominatinal group" ... I prefer to see it as a mini-garden with little streams flowing.

Farewell to the Rapture

"Little did Paul know how his colorful metaphors for Jesus' second coming would be misunderstood two millennia later. " ~ That's how the article from NT Wright bombs our often distorted view of Biblical end-time teaching.

OUCH! Click here for more!

Post Discovery Seminar Thoughts

After three days with Dr. Harry Wendt, I've discovered how little I know about the Scriptures (especially the Old Testament) and how I need to "soak" myself and "saturate myself" further & deeper with a "Big-picture" approach into GOD's Bigger Story and Jesus the Messiah is indeed much much BIGGER than my small brains can contain. The Christ-centered focus was throughout the last three days.

The challenge I have after these few days interacting with him & his wife personally is captured in these thoughts found in an article "Seekers to Soakers" :

If we do not immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, we finish up believing in a little Jesus, and demonstrate little discipleship. The "gospel" is not merely that Jesus died, and therefore we are forgiven and will go to heaven. It is that, but much more than that. In Jesus, the Messianic Age, the kingdom of God, broke in. The forgiving Servant King calls us to commit life to Him, to follow Him in servanthood in a world He made and owns, and to reflect Him in all we do. We have to know, and show, others the BIG Jesus we want them to believe in.

I find the Mission of Crossways International a catalyst towards my personal growth in God's Word and our relationship with the Living Word as well as in sharing the Word to others!(and hopefully corporately in and through BLC). It states:

To help people read the written Word,
to understand the Living Word,
and to demonstrate that Word in their daily lives.

More on the seminar ...

Historical and cultural insights came alive especially for me today when he did the Parables of Jesus (using Luke) and the Road to Coronation (an exposition on the Godpel of John) which added so much more depth and colour into my perception of Jesus message and his mission.

Throughout, I totally loved his Descriptive teaching graphics : Pictures & Symbols are powerful tools to help think through and visualize the message.

A big chunk of us Malaysian Christians read the Scripture without context or out of context (whether textually or historically) thus missing out on GOD's message to us. I''m glad he came to poke us lazy Christians a bit (in fact a lot!)

I left also with a growing appreciation for Good Biblical Scholarship that serves the Church (people of GOD) used properly allows us to see a clearer picture of GOD's vision for us and hear a sharper message for life on earth! Picked up a frequently quoted name of a Biblical Scholar Kenneth Bailey (will check him out!)

Seekers or Soakers May 2001
Today, many churches devote a lot of energy to attracting "seekers," helping them understand the biblical message at a basic level. There is a real need for this, and many are being reached and helped. Praise God for that! However, a note of caution is in place. We have to move people from the "seeker" to the "soaker" level - where they are prepared to soak themselves in the biblical message as they might soak themselves in a hot tub! If churches fail to do that, they pay a price.

I [Harry Wendt] recently conducted seminars in several Easter European countries that, until a decade ago, were ruled by Communist governments. Colleagues there described the Communist leaders' tactics to destroy the Church. They told Christians, "Sure, go to church - we don't mind. But there will be no Bible study groups, no mid-week activities, no prayer meetings, or anything like that. Just go to church and listen to those sermons!" The strategy worked. The tragedy is that though the Communists imposed this system on the Christian communities, many in the Western world embrace it as the norm.

If we do not immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, we finish up believing in a little Jesus, and demonstrate little discipleship. The "gospel" is not merely that Jesus died, and therefore we are forgiven and will go to heaven. It is that, but much more than that. In Jesus, the Messianic Age, the kingdom of God, broke in. The forgiving Servant King calls us to commit life to Him, to follow Him in servanthood in a world He made and owns, and to reflect Him in all we do. We have to know, and show, others the BIG Jesus we want them to believe in.

By Harry Wendt, President, Crossways International, from the Winter 2000 issue of Adult Talk.

Crossways

I'll be off to the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Headquarters to spend three 9am -4:30pm in the Discovery Seminar by Rev. Dr. Harry Wendt (read his thoughts on Radical Jesus, Radical Truth and a brief history) It's my little quest for resource and material firstly for BLC's Discipleship School, and then beyond BLC. My former insurance agent & his wife (my former Bible Study teacher) mentioned him to me years back. It's surprising how that seed now has grown to a desire to find out more myslef. The main thing that attracts me is his use of Descriptive Teaching graphics (i.e. pictures & symbols) and his whole emphasis on narrative theology (i.e. Biblical stort line).

Plus, this Because Therefore Picture captures it all for me ... Because GOD has or is _____________ , there fore I have and will _______________ (Good Christian Framework here!)

PUNCTUALITY

Found comment in a blog on
Malaysian Culture

- Punctuality: It seems that there is a ruling for Malaysians and punctuality. Say, for example I have to go to my friend's party, which starts at 7 o'clock. Surprisingly, no matter how early I get ready and no matter how early I start leaving my house to go to my friend's party, I will always arrive there at least half an hour late until as bad as 2 hours late. Its a phenomenon that cannot be seen in other countries. Unique, but very irritating.

I remember a speech I did for Toastmasters entilted "Late-a-holics Anonymous", even now I find myself a need to be intentional in eradicating this "irritating" Malaysian culture.

All major events I went to the past week ... all started late. Reformation Celebration, BLC's TQF Night, and Sunday Worship Gathering. Thinking back about other appointments I've had whether it's with an individual or group, the tendency is late. For all this Asian Values talk, I think we need to learn from the West & the best of the EAST (of course I heard Japanese are also very Punctual)

Contrast this with German Culture
"If there is one German custom you should learn and stick to, it is punctuality. An invitation for 4pm means EXACTLY 4pm. Not 15 minutes earlier and not 10 minutes later. Fashionably late is not a German custom. Germans, particularly business professionals, are sticklers about being on time. Arriving late will certainly draw a comment and, in a business situation, put you - in German eyes - in a compromised position.

If you realize you are not going to arrive somewhere at the appointed time, the custom is to call and announce you will be late."

Definition: [n] the quality or habit of adhering to an appointed time

A Christian Perspective on Punctuality
The Character of Punctuality

Other quotes on Punctuality
"The most indispensable quality of a cook is punctuality; it should also be that of a guest."
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) 'The Physiology of Taste'.

“I have always been punctual at the hour of dinner, for I know that all those whom I kept waiting at that provoling interval would employ those unpleasant moments to sum up my faults.”Nicolas Boileau (-Despreaux) (1636-1711)

"He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality is the thief of time." ~ Oscar Wilde

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late." ~ William Shakespeare

Another one from Mike

"Do you know why I wrote this book (Messy Spirituality)? Because there's a whole lot of people who are so freaking busy, they're so cluttered that they're at their wits' end. And if they'd only just stop for a minute, they could hear the God of the universe whisper to them, 'I love you.'" ~ Mike Yaconelli, from the Dick Staub Interview, Christianity Today

I sat there listening to the BLC pilgrims sharing about their feelings in the "CALLING" class ... and quietly thanked GOD (even until now) for the chance for all of us to "stop for a minute" so we can at least begin to hear ... (and most of all these fellow pilgrims are beginning what I believe is a crucial discipline for life-long discipleship and service!)

Hear Mike Speak

"If I died right this minute, I would be able to say, 'God, what a ride! What a ride!'" ~ Mike Yaconelli at the YS Convention in Charlotte on 10/24/03

It's great that Youth Specialities put up the last public message Mike Yaconelli gave before his death (There's a few others too)

Here's an article in Christianity today dedicated to him.

Uncle John Kit & Friend

Yes, i recognize that my brother looks so much cooler than me. That's cool!

Grandparents Kit

Here's the latest photo with my parents ... 1st time Grandparents

Godparents

Here's Gareth during his baptism with his Malaysian Godparents Daniel & Michelle Tan (He's got a cool International Godmother in Geneva!). He looks so small, cubby and cute!

A Family Photo

most of the time you'll see just Gareth & May Chin or Gareth and me ... a kind man saw us taking photos of each other and offered to take this shot during our last family holiday together in Genting Highlands (nope we didn't go inside the casino - babies not aloud! haha! It's near and we like a cooler climate!)