Sivin Kit's Garden

Vineyard Church Sutton

Totally delighted this morning to check out Vineyard Church Sutton where Jason Clark is the Senior/Founding Pastor

Wisdom

Got this via Jason Clark who credits imagine! .. anyway, good stuff ...

Father Richard Rohr (Franciscan father from the States who spoke at last year's Greenbelt). This is his "five messages that a teenage boy needs to learn to become a wise man":

1. Life is hard
2. You are going to die
3. You are not that important
4. You are not in control
5. Your life is not about you

I guess it's simple and yet profounds truths that battles the illusory lies that often plague our minds ...

On No. 1 --> strange but somehow we have this illusion it's supposed to be easy, but it just gets plain harder.
On No.2 --> i heard somewhere (I think it's Robert Farrar Capon) the number cause of death is birth (something like that)... sobering.
On No.3 --> then why do we work so hard to be "important" especially in the eyes of other people?
On No. 4 --> Ahh ... how I wish things were more predictable! Something always crops up when I feel things are settling down.
On No.5 --> then what is my life about? finding the answer for this is already one more step to wisdom!

Rethinking Church Models Through Scripture

Thanks to Mark Norridge who posted this on >article which focuses on the Old Testament Sciptureson the Organic Church blog Mind Mapped some thoughts and hope to explore this further relating it to my journey through BLC and beyond. Here's a liberating gem from Walter Brueggemann,

"There is no one single or normative model of church life. It is dangerous and distorting for the church to opt for an absolutist model that it insists upon in every circumstance. Moreover, we are more prone to engage in such reductionism, if we do not keep alive a conversation concerning competing and conflicting models. Or to put it positively, models of the church must not be dictated by cultural reality, but they must be voiced and practiced in ways that take careful account of the particular time and circumstance into which God's people are called. Every model of the church must be critically contextual. "

Foreign Politics

I've never really followed USAmerican elections or Presidential race. The last jolt may have come during the Bush-Gore Episode - "What's going on here?" was the popping question. Now, just having a glance at PRIMARY RESULTS: Delegate Scorecard makes me wonder how our Malaysian Political process really works (For a non-mainstream viewpoint in Aliran read New Politics In Malaysia) ... because what I read about in USA is really foreign to my experience here in Malaysia.

A Big Theory Of Culture

Plan to read A Big Theory Of Culture: A Talk With Brian Eno tonight ...

Contemplative Gathering Stations

Thanks Justin Baeder for this idea:

Purpose: To allow people to explore Christian spirituality in a multisensory, move-at-your-own-pace environment of immersion in Christian word, symbol, and practice.

Format: 12 or so stations set up in a large but cozy room.

Stations:

1. Confession/Release: Write sins or burdens on a plastic card with a wet-erase marker. Drop into a basin of water (symbolizing baptism) at the foot of a cross.
Text: Name your sins and burdens, and make them Christ's. Release them to him, and allow them to be dealt with by his victory over and through death.

2. Prayer wall: Panels or posters on walls for people to write prayers on, either directly or using post-it notes.
Text: Offer your prayers of thanksgiving, desperation, longing, peace, gratitude. [The prayers themselves serve as the primary text for this installation]

3. Incense/Prayer: Pray silently or in writing while lighting incense.
Text: Rev 8:(3) [The] angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. (4) The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.

4. Candles/Pray for someone: Candles to light with a prayer for a loved one.
Text: Light a candle as you remember a loved one in prayer.

5. Communion bread: Participation in the broken body of Christ.
The body of Christ - take and eat. "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

6. Communion wine: Participating in the blood of Christ with wine or grape juice.
Text: Remember the blood of Christ, poured out for our forgiveness.

7. Reconnection/Healing relationships: Write a letter to someone you are on bad terms with, to start the healing process. Paper, pens, envelopes, stamps, and mailbox available. Also put out Europe postcards
Text: Take the first steps toward healing in a relationship.

8. Discipline/One Thing: Make an effort to work on one thing in your spiritual life. Wallet-sized cards available.
Text: Choose One Thing to focus on in your spiritual life. Write a reminder to yourself.

9. Baptism: Remember your baptism. Bowl of water to dip finger in and make the sign of the cross.
Text: Romans 6:4 "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

10. Spiritual Topography: Topo maps to set the mood; graphs to draw a line chart of your spiritual ups and downs.
Text: Chart your spiritual journey's ups and downs. Pray for the road ahead.

Centering Prayer

Lots of resources on this area from Father Thomas Keating in Contemplative Outreach Website (yes ... it's ok to learn from a Roman Catholic Cistercian “Trappist” priest)

My first introduction to contemplative prayer/centering prayer and Lectio Divina was during the Introduction to Christian Spirituality Course in Seminary by then Ms. Voon Choon Khing (now Dr. Voon and soon getting married I heard! Congrats ...) I know some of my fellow future pastors was uncomfortable with it - some felt it was too Roman Catholic, others felt it's too Zen-like. But, I found this way of prayer extremely helpful for a person like me who has difficulty "focusing" or "settling down" to pray. It helped me not only to "slow down" my breathing, and "center" my scattered throughts, i found I could "calm down" my often quick drumming heart beat and appreciate the silence where GOD can truly speak to me in a "still small voice".

Apparently Father Thomas Keating visited Malaysia in 2001.

Leadership - - not evil!

"See, I'm a little nervous about the "emerging" leadership discussion, because I think our reaction against the "authority and control" leadership style, is to just simply NOT LEAD.

Leadership in itself is not an evil. Vision is not evil. Mission Statements and all that rigamaru, not evil. The problem is, leaders screw up. I would hope that most of us though, have had an experience with a leader that made us want to be around them. Be like them. Be led by them. Be influenced by them. And to commit to them. Follow their vision. ETC. "
~ a new Jason I'm reading (Sailor and a Scholar on Servant Leadership (with cool Last Samurai Picture! )

Working through Henri Nouwen's wonderful little book In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership did me much good ... I stumbled on this study guide on the net, I think I'm going to swim through it's 81 pages one more time after Jason's "samurai" blog!

People will swallow anything

"America's self-help gurus are making millions. Francis Wheen traces the rise of mystic mumbo-jumbo...", for more read Would you buy a way of life from a guru?

Hunter on "Dancing" properly

"After a lifetime in the church and 28 years as full-bodied participant, here is my suggestion: whatever one’s diagnosis about the leadership disease, the answer is not to throw it out. A better option, in my view, is to locate it on a different map or in an alternative story. " ~ Todd Hunter

For more, read Dirty Dancing: Leaders and Followers

Garrison Keillor

Dr. Richard A. Jensen (who retired as Professor of Homiletics at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and wrote Thinking in Story: Preaching in a Post-Literate Age) was the person who introduced me to the "Lake Wobegon" monologues and master American story-teller (and writer) Garrison Keillor during his visit to Malaysia a couple of years ago. For a taste of Keillor's gems click here A Prairie Home Campanion

While I've been pretty focused in appreciating "Chinese-ness" the past week, I'm listening one of Keillor's show right now appreciating the best of humor, music, and storytelling beyond my heritage as well. We are not alone ... and somehow the strange combination for humor, music and stories manages to connect us in our common humanity.

Great Questions to Ask ...

It's hard to switch from a "giving-an-answer-or-comment" focus to a "offering-a-question-to-invite-response" focus in a conversation. I've been thinking about it during before the Chinese New Year celebrations. Thanks DJ Chuang for posting the questions (which credit is given to Brian McLaren for them)

Questions for normal people:
1. Where are you in your spiritual journey?
2. Tell me about your spiritual life or religious background?
3. Do you have any kind of belief in God?
4. Have you ever felt you experienced anything like a miracle or intervention by God in your life?
5. Tell me about some of your heroes or mentors in life.

Questions for fellow disciples:
1. How's your soul?
2. How would you describe you relationship with God and your neighbors since we last met?
3. Have you experienced God in some fresh or memorable way recently?
4. Has someone expressed God's love to you recently, in word or deed?
5. Have you been able to express GOd's love to someone else recently, in word or deed (especially to someone poor, elderly, lonely, or needy)?
6. What good things in life are inspiring you with gratitude to God and others these days?
7. What have you been worrying about lately? And how could you turn those worries into trust in God?
8. How have you cared for your soul in some way recently?
9. What spiritual practice are you concentrating on, and how is it going?
10. Have you forgiven or asked for forgiveness since we last met?
11. How have you been practicing joy? What good things or moments can you celebrate?
12. What small acts of kindness have you been able to practice lately?
13. Did a Bible passage help you in any way this week?
14. What experiences of prayer, meditation, and/or spiritual reading have you had lately?

Where are my People?

DJ Chuang's commentary upon the fastest growing minority group in America - Asian Americans.

HiStory

I'm going to walk through an article "The story of Chinese Philosophy"
later in the afternoon. somehow I felt I don't know enough of the story or stories from my own history. (click here for massive Biblio on Ancient Chinese Civilization - which I'll read later when the time is right, phew!)

Thanks to Jason Clark for the link to Winn's ebook . I read one of his essay's last week and I like what he's doing and how he's doing it. In the midst of understanding myself and my history better as a Chinese, I'm plugged into HiStory as a Christian and thus a parrallel learning journey right now ...

Here's neat quote too ...
"Those who tell the stories rule society" ~ Plato

Human Nature

Here's another set of wise words (please click View image)

My "rough", "raw", "earthy" translation is ... (note: "it" can be an action, an activity, a project, ...)
The lower quality human -- talks about it but does nothing
The middle quality human -- does it while talking about it
The high quality human -- does it then talks about it

Timing & Opportunity

In good Chinese New Year mood allow me to be philosophical about life :-) Here's my personal translation of the wise words in the another picture-image (View image it's a different one from the monkey-red one posted here, that's just wishing you joyous prosperity)

Based in the title I believe these words are in the context of the timing in engaging opportunities ... anywaym here goes:

The Foolish One - Waits for opportunities
The Wise One - Seizes the opportunities
The Able One - Creates the opportunities

Survey on "Pastor"

Alan Creech has posted two important posts on January 20 & 21, 2004 (with excellent questions) and drawing wonderful comments, please allow me to repost the questions (We'll have to drop by his blog for the rest).

Survey One
Q-1 >>In light of some rethinking and redefinition you may have done on your present journey into the life of being the "church" - what is a pastor? what does a pastor do?

Survey Two
Q-2 >> Taking into consideration your perhaps new understanding of what a "pastor" is and does - what qualifies one to be a pastor?

Benedictine Values

Thanks to Karen who blogs in onehouse for this (which is via Jordon Cooper again ... ) .... fabulous spiritual food to add to the menu for Chinese New Year when i'm thinking about our so called "Chinese Values". Yummy!

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Benedict's teachings provide a gospel way of life for women and men.

Listen - To hear keenly and sensitively the voices of persons and all created things.
"Listen with the ear of your heart." RB: PROLOGUE

Awareness of God - To look for God not in the abstract but in the ordinary events of every day.
"...every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection." RB: PROLOGUE

Community Living - To become who we are by our relationships with others.
"The younger monks must respect their seniors, and the seniors must love their juniors." RB 63

Respect for Persons - To respect each person regardless of class, background or professional skill.
"No one is to pursue what is judged best for oneself, but instead, what is better for someone else." RB 72

Hospitality - to offer warmth, acceptance, and joy in welcoming others.
"Let all be received as Christ." RB 53

Dignity of Work - To appreciate the dignity of work as a share in God's creation.
"...they live by the labor of their hands." RB 48

Stewardship - To appreciate and to care lovingly for all the goods of this place.
"Regard all utensils as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar." RB 31

Moderation - To be content with living simply and finding balance in work, prayer and leisure.
"All things are to be done with moderation." RB 48

Stability - To cultivate rootedness and a shared sense of mission.
"To stand firm in one's promises." RB 58

Justice - To work toward a just order in our immediate environment and in the larger society.
"...that in all things God may be glorified." RB 57

Peace - To strive for peace on all levels: with self, with neighbor, and with God.
"Let peace be your quest and aim." RB: PROLOGUE
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The Chinese Mind ~ Happy CNY!

Read NT Wright's article on "Transforming the Culture" and interacting with a book the Chinese Mind from STM Library ... Oh Happy Chinese New Year .. the celebration mood should last 15 days starting tomorrow ... I'll be missing from BlogSphere for a coupld of days too!

Found some other articles I might check out ... if the TV programmes are going to be terrible ...
THE CHINESE DOCTRINAL ACCEPTANCE OF BUDDHISM

The Challenge of Reading Chinese Literature in Translation

The Chinese Cultural System : Implications for Cross-Cultural Management

Two Great Traditions Part 1

... ahhh .. I check out some stuff when I've got more time ... this Chinese Community Forum has tons of stuff!

Bloglines

got this via Jason Clark's recommendation For those of you getting into RSS feeds to read peoples blogs here is a great on-line tool. For more click on the picture-logo ...

Life's Legalities Forum

It all started when my younger college-studying friend Wai Nyan wanted to start a Project on Romans So he started a Forum ... which included the discussions on Romans and other issues, it turned out the discussion on "Homosexuality" is really on the move (possibly going out of control). My purpose of joining the forum is twofold. One, to simply listen to what some Malaysian younger friends are thinking. Two, to play a part to encourage "Integrative"-"Christ-Centred"-Scripture-formed"-"Spirit-led" Thinking (what a mouthful)

A Puppy's Chinese New Year

James took two beautiful shots of this puppy roaming around my house freely and happily. It's almost as if your can see a smile!

So, to all those celebrating CHINESE NEW YEAR ... Gong Xi Fa Cai! (of course, our CAI ... prosperity includes but is more than money!)

Toyplaying

Thanks to Winn for these simple & profound scribblings...
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Like most things in life, when I find a new toy to play with I spend a lot of time with it to the exclusion of other toys that I have, wondering if this new toy will be the "ultimate answer" to my "toy playing," hoping so, so I can rid myself of all other toys that now have no value.

Wonder if I could ever learn to play with all the toys, playing with one or two toys at a time, when appropriate to play with a specific toy, without throwing out all the other toys in my quest to play with only one or two toys. Of course, I break my toys from time to time as well, which causes me great distress. But, if I changed my perspective and didn't see the toys as mine but only playful things that the "toy giver" has given to me to help me along on my "toy playing journey," how would that change my mind when one toy becomes broken, or are they really abused because of my own overplay and not really broken at all? So the inward toy cries out for help and throws "caution to the wind" and tramples on the other toys or visa versa. Sometimes I wonder what the "great toy giver" thinks about my quest to discover more toys or older toys for the sake of my own personal toy playing while forgetting how to share my toys with others around me for their sake. ____________________________

HELP?!

I look as if I'm dancing in HELP Institute's Christian Fellowship (i think HELP=Higher Education Learning Programme) 1st meeting for the year 2004,.

I was honoured to be invited to share at this opening meeting (Thanks James for the photo). In fact, I've also been asked by Melissa to write short devotions for their website-blog. Glad I could HELP in some way ...

Actually, I've been HELPED by Kiffer (my young techno-mahaguru) a previous student to get my blog life going. I'm happy to also get connected with their previous president Wai Nyan is a what I call a "pastors-son-not-just-turned-out-ok-but-fervent-&-faithful!" (He's doing law in another college now). I'm HELPED by his zeal for growth, learning, and witness. He started a couple of Forums on his website which I try to listen to the conversations and contribute a little.

Being Human ...

One of the blessings & benefits of the Internet is the sharing of resources and especially personal discovery and learning. I read through Winn Griffin's essay Foundationalism & Story: A Penchant for Minutia and Its Antidote and found the way he integrated his reflection and practical outcomes to be refreshing.

I've downloaded Jason Clark's essay Being Human: The Nature of Spiritual Experience for my after Sunday reading. It's wonderful to "eavesdrop" on the conversations of others & "peek" into their discoveries. I guess that's pretty much of just being human ... in a good way!

Karl Barth?

I was pretty suprised by the results of this quiz ... I haven't seriously read Karl Barth, maybe I should start :-) at The Center for Barth Studies?

The many faces of Sivin Kit

My attempt with "fooling" around with the filters in Photoshop ...

Just as I am ... before Chinese new year 2004!

Group Study for Books

The answer from McLaren on this matter is worth a separate posting, because so often I've found it difficult & challenging to lead a group study for books or the Bible (I know many feel the same way).

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... even without a formal study guide, I think you can use one of the methods below - pretty simple, but effective - to use the books in a group setting.

1. The Underline and Share Method If each member of the group is actually reading the book, each reader is encouraged to keep a journal and/or mark up the text - with agreements, disagreements, questions, personal examples, applications to your setting, etc. When the group gathers, each member is given a set amount of time - say five or ten minutes - to share his or her responses. This might seem awkward at first, but being given a set amount of time - without interruption - is quite a rare experience. After the person is finished, you can have another period for responses, or you can go to the next person and save responses for the end.

2. The Discussion Leader Method One person is responsible for selecting key quotes or themes from the chapter(s) being discussed. She might also prepare questions for discussion - making the questions relevant to your situation. If you have a skilled discussion leader, this is a great method. Otherwise, #1 might be better!

3. The Read Aloud Method If you aren't in a hurry, the old art of reading aloud can be very effective - a number of people have let me know that they have done this with good results. They read a passage or chapter and then give their immediate responses. This is great for groups that never complete homework.

4. The Critical Reading Method This method trains participants to do critical reading. The leader basically does the same thing each time the group meets. First, she says, "Let's believe the author." This is a way of inviting positive comments about the passage. What did you agree with? What was well said? Only after the material has been dealt with "believingly" does she say, "Let's now doubt the author." This invites questions, disagreements, identifying dubious generalizations or loose logic. Readers try to imagine and express contrary opinions to what's written. Finally, the leader says, "Now let's respond as readers." Here each reader talks about what he or she wants to do with the material that was read. Is there some application to one's life or ministry? The group could also respond as a "we," as a community or staff team or whatever. Once a group gets practice at this method, it can be very exciting and intense and productive.

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Dialogue for Dummies!

I've always appreciated Brian McLaren's Conversational tone & dialogical approach in the way he speaks and writes. We need more of that in Malaysian Christianity to move forward. I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of hours just listening to and talking with two "younger" men yesterday on a number of issues close to our hearts. I was "nourished", "energized" and "encouraged" to grow more as a person as well as a pastor!

Here's 3 samples that struck me from McLaren's Dialogue Page on his Website.

Liberalism
My senior pastor said that you are liberal. Is that true?
Thanks for checking.

"Liberal" and "conservative" represent two ways of being Christians in the modern era, and since I believe we are moving beyond the modern era, I am not very excited about either label. I'm much more excited about a convergence that is beginning to occur - bringing post-liberal and post-conservative Christians together in exciting new ways.

Sometimes, for conservatives who don't understand the postmodern transition that I write about in my books, anyone who isn't conservative (which means "good" to them) is automatically considered liberal (which means "bad" to them). My guess is that this is why your senior pastor said what he did. You can assure your senior pastor that I am a committed follower of Christ, deeply rooted in the Scriptures, engaging in mission and ministry, and that I am deeply grateful for my conservative Christian heritage.

You could also let him know that I love and respect both conservatives and liberals, and I know that each group has its own problems and challenges, and I do all I can to be of help and encouragement to each. I hope this will not leave me in a "bad" category for him, or for you.

Rumors
I heard a rumor that you are a universalist. I thought I'd check out the rumor before I passed it on.
Thanks for checking! The last thing we need is more rumors flying, whether about me or someone else. About universalism ...

In a few of my books, I describe three responses to the question, "Who benefits from the grace of God in Christ?" Exclusivists say that only confessing, believing, committed Christians benefit. Universalists say that everyone benefits, regardless of their current faith or lack thereof. Inclusivists say the grace of God may extend beyond those who are identified as Christians, but do not wish to define how far.

I find it hard to choose any of these options because I don't like how this question is framed, because it seems to assume that the primary focus or benefit of the gospel is saving individuals from hell after death. As I read the gospels, the focus of Jesus' message was not on getting your soul into heaven after death, but rather it focused on the kingdom of God, which is about God's will being done on earth as in heaven in history, in this life. For Jesus then, the gospel is good news not just for a few individuals beyond history, but it is good news for all creation in history, and beyond. I plan to grapple with this subject in more depth in the third in the "New Kind of Christian" trilogy.

I feel about universalism much the way I feel about pacifism: followers of Christ, if they aren't pacifists, should be pacifist sympathizers - hoping that even if pacifism isn't true yet, it will be someday. Similarly, if universalism isn't true, nobody should be happy about it, but should wish that it could be true. After all, Scripture tells us, God doesn't wish for anyone to perish, but wants all to come to the knowledge of the truth. Similarly, Paul felt anguish about his unconvinced neighbors, and like Moses he preferred that he be rejected rather than his companions. This is the attitude I hope I can have as I approach this question.

The traditional exclusivist doctrine of hell often (not always) becomes the tail that wags the dog (or the dog becomes a walking, barking tail), creating a callous superiority among some (not all!) of its adherents; people think and speak of their "unsaved" neighbors in ways far different from Paul, Moses, or Jesus. That kind of callous hellfire talk cheapens life, betrays the gospel, and makes any alternative look better and better.

But once again, I think that the question that universalism, inclusivism, and exclusivism answers is not framed wisely, and so I would rather focus on other - to me, better - questions, at least for now.

Talking About Postmodernism
I'm a seminary student. Your books have really helped me. How will I talk about the issues of postmodernity with "normal" folks - once I'm outside of seminary? How do you do this?
A short answer - it depends.

With unchurched people in my area - so many of them are postmodern already, so with them, I can just talk about the gospel and life and God in their native language (rather than having to "speak modern" and then translate, or talk about postmodern language and thought patterns). In other words, with them, postmodernity isn't the issue. (I talk about this in More Ready Than You Realize.)

With churched modern folk - it's a whole different story. With many of them, it's not even worth trying to change their thinking. In some cases, I think it would damage their faith to try to do so; their faith and modernity are so entwined that to challenge one is to challenge the other. With these people, I think we need to keep Romans 14-15 in mind. I try to bless them in whatever way I can without tweaking their thinking too much.

With some churched modern folk - especially a) those who care about evangelism, b) those who have sons and daughters who have left the church, c) pastors and denominational officials who feel that what they're doing isn't working - I find a lot of receptivity. They realize the modern approach is losing ground wherever you have pluralism (in the sense of people of different cultures mixing) and higher levels of education, and they are often grateful for help in understanding what's going on.

With unchurched modern folk - I would seek to practice good missiology and speak of God, life, gospel in their native language, just as with #1. I hope that helps!

The Word That Moves

"The beautiful thing about Movement preaching was that every sermon presented the possibility of a focused response. Because every sermon was an expression of God's solidarity with the Movement, there was always something its hearers could do, hope, or suffer in harmony with this new Way God had unleashed in the South. "

For more see The Word That Moves: The Preaching of Marting Luther King, Jr.
By Richard Lischer

the Ekklesia Project

The central questions of ecclesiology, in our time as in all others, remain stark and straightforward: to whom or what do we belong? To what body do we pledge our allegiance? What commitments do we recognize as those to which all others must bend or bow?

That's how the "About the Ekklesia Project" starts off! Questions that REALLY gets to the heart of the matter ...

For too long, such questions of ultimate loyalty and allegiance were kept at bay by most Christian churches. The Church as the Body of Christ–the material, living community that crosses all borders and human divisions–has been too easily and often compromised and fragmented by unwise accommodations with states, ethnic and racial imperatives, and the naturalized imperatives of class, gender, and ideology. By minimizing or denying the distinctiveness of the life of discipleship–a set of affections, dispositions and practices learned within churches faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ–too many churches have turned the clear and unambiguous call of Jesus and the Holy Spirit into a confused and contradictory mix of caution and self-interest.

The intent of The Ekklesia Project is to remind the church of its true calling as the real-world community whose primary loyalty is to the Body of Christ, the priorities and practices of Jesus, and the inbreaking Kingdom of God. In doing so, The Ekklesia Project will work with, within, across, and beneath existing churches and structures.

Members of The Ekklesia Project are drawn from a wide range of Christian traditions and legacies. Included in our number are mainline and evangelical Protestants, Catholics, and persons influenced by the Anabaptist tradition. We are scholars, pastors, lay church leaders, and writers. After much prayer, study and reflection, we have come to see that the time is right for initiatives aimed at church-centered renewal within the Christian family, and that increasing numbers of people are becoming aware of the limits of the so-called Constantinian bargain that compromises the Gospel in order to cultivate good relations with secular institutions of political, economic, and social power.

We envision The Ekklesia Project as a means to provide coherence, leadership, and vision to some of the still developing, occasionally inchoate, stirrings of discontent and reappraisal within the Christian community. We hope to remind all Christians of the spiritual ties we share, and the real-world solidarity and allegiance God intends of His church in a world of lesser loyalties and commitments. By calling attention to the Body of Christ as our “first family” in the world, we aim to put discipleship and a picture of the church as an alternative community of practices, worship, and integration at the center of contemporary debates on Christianity and society. This is the vision we share and the reality we seek.

Richard B. Hays

Rev. Dr. Ezra Kok first "highlighted" NT Scholar Richard B. Hays to me specifically his book - The Moral Vision of the New Testament. Here's some articles or excerpts I found on the net.

Salvation by Trust? Reading the Bible Faithfully

Richard Hays' story of Gary - It's how he begins chapter 16 ("Homosexuality") of The Moral Vision of the NT

Ecclesiology And Ethics In 1 Corinthians

James & Job!

Happy to see James Tan our very own Worship Catalyst (our experimental new term for what was formerly known as Worship Director) is blogging again! My young friend's scribblings are worth a read to catch a glimpse into his soul ...
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Reading the book of Job from The Message by Eugene Peterson, I'm intrigued by the fact that reading this book at this stage of my life bears a different meaning from my teenage years.

The advice given by Job's friends sound all too familiar.

We can all be honest with God. He can take it. He can take our doubts and our interrogation. He really can. Isn't that what a real relationship is about? Working through uncomfortable situations, and having uncomfortable conversations... all this so that you can both grow closer together.

__________________

Mayhem!!

Well ... this is another event I would have wanted to go to ... (or would have been nice if we Malaysians could try one of these!). For some taste of it, thanks to (Jordon Cooper for the links) and the rest:-

# Paul Oyler for a personal collection of pictures
# Alan Creech I could check out a large gallery of pictures!
#Jeremiah Smith for excellent notes which I read this morning with my "not-1st-choice" coffee.

There was much that "punched" me or "grabbed" me this morning!

~"Christians in the US have another problem. There is a Christian public that works against what you’re trying to do. All you have to do as a pastor is say something against James Dobson and you’ll find out who has the real authority (thank you, Christian radio)."
We have this problem here too in Malaysia - Asia (I think) and we don't have Christian radio ... just a mutated form of Christian public (or subculture)?? Kyrie Eleison (but then again it's not that culturally acceptable to say anything against someone in public ...)

~ "Whatever the kingdom of God is, it’s an environment in which genuine community flourishes. It’s the kind of community that brings together people who would never associate with each other because of race, class, or affinity. Greet one another with a holy kiss was meant to break through social barriers across racial/ethnic/social/class lines etc as a community of grace rather than a community of exclusion."
Absolutely Rejuvenating ... these words!

~ “What’s the difference between emphasizing community and emphasizing love for one another?”
Totally world-class knock-out question! And it hit me hard because I'm going to talk about "community" this week ... message adjustments immediately!

~ "when you think community you automatically think of small. But sometimes you can experience community in a large group, and not in a small community."
Hmm .... another myth on fire! A discussion time response knocked it in deeper "It doesn’t matter if you go from a big church to meeting in a house, if you go from a worship band to interpretive dance, if you don’t do it out of love it doesn’t really matter."

~ "I think Buddhists honor the Buddha better than Christians honor the Christ. Buddha found a way of life that his followers try to emulate. Jesus had a way of life that we want to learn to emulate."
OUCH!

~ "If you listen to Christian radio for any 3 hours in a given day, the 3 most important issues according to them are 1) homosexuality 2) breakdown of family 3) the existence of democrats. What would God’s list look like?"
If I listen to the majority of Christian messages or teaching today through the year in Malaysia, what would the 3 most important issues according to them be? Or check out what Christians are buying in the bookstore? talk about in their cell groups? conferences organized? So far, swimming through 12 chapters of Isaiah God's list is quite different than our list. Lord, have mercy!

~ "I think we’ll find that the existence of the automobile might have been the most destructive think for community."
I wonder would TV also be close on the most destructive list ... how about our pre-occupation with the Mobile phone? (thus I keep it on silent mode and don't mind calling back later!)

~ I hope that what catholic comes to mean in the world is “post-protestant.” There’s problems in the Catholic church, so we decide to protest them and we made the Lutherans. Then we see their problems and we protest them. So we form the Pietists. Then they protest and we have Calvinists. That sociology is possibly more destructive than the selling of indulgences we all know about."
What about a sociology that's "constructive"?! I like the tone of Emergent lately which leans more to "co-creation". How's that gonna work out here in our competetive Malaysian Christianity ...?

~ "Andrew Jones talks about a deep ecclesiology. Let’s honor the church in all it’s forms. 2 or 3 gathering in a coffee house. The most orthodox among us."
I really REALLY like this ...

~ We still think of spiritual disciplines in terms of the individual not the community. Brian’s comment: One person asks another: “Do you have the gift of speaking in tongues?” “Yes. I don’t personally, but someone in our community does, so I do too.”
Never thought of it this way before ... at least not in such a focused way!

~ "For the first time in history, the average Christian in the world is not of European descent. We reached a point in the 20th century that there were more Christians in the 20th century than in the previous 19. Christianity is the biggest religion in the world. If Christians are jerks, it’s bad for everybody. If Christians are just consumers with bumper stickers and bracelets, its bad for everybody."
I've been thinking a lot in terms of "models" for a while ... which is very helpful to focus my reflection process and set me up for imaginative experiments. But then the word "MIRROR" hit me this morning (could it be the caffine or the Spirit? probably both!) All our efforts (e.g. Models), are trying to MIRROR God's reality better, some are more useful & more faithful than others, all in all it's a fragile, humbling, rewarding & come to think of it SOBERING exercise!

Go Make Learners

I was surprised to find a stack of this book at the SUFES sales at three Ringgit per book! I read it for free at The Robert Brow "Model Theology" Webpage before I got involved in "re-starting" BLC. It got me interested & thinking about "church models" more theologically (in contrast to just methodological models). Thanks Bob!

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones

I just came back from the Scripture Union-Fellowship of Evangelical Students (SUFES) Bookstore and got a set of tapes by Martin Lloyd-Jones for just one Ringgit! Frankly, I don't think I'd see myself that influenced by him theologically or practically and there's much that I find myself differing in. However, I do remember I've only read one book by him --> Preaching and the Preachers and I like the phrase associated with him .. i.e. "Logic on fire!". And it did spark some fire during my not-so-exciting preaching classes in seminary.

Here's a quote that from the book ...

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"My reason for preaching, is that to me the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called. If you want something in additon to that I would say without hesitation that the most urgent need in the Christian Church is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also."
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Then I saw "preaching" primarily as one who stands up in the pulpit and shares God's Word. Now, I'd see it in a broader perspective even seeing "true preaching" when I'm in conversation with someone seeking to understand the gospel. There's a need for a new kind of "logic" which helps them plug into GOD's story and a new kind of "fire" which warms rather than burns?!

The Passion of Christ

The official website for The Passion is www.thepassionofchrist.com. You can go to this site and register for more info on how to help spread the word about the film. Also visit www.passion-movie.com. The movie comes out February 25 (Ash Wednesday) in theaters nationwide (The movie’s dialogue is Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew which heighten the emotional impact by effectively bringing the time, place, and events to life. According to a source it may have English subtitles ...)

The Heart of Worship ~ Video Tuition

Thanks to The Heart of Worship click this link for short-Quick time music tuition (check out the archives for lots more!!) Those with Broadband will enjoy this more!

Here's a sampling of topics (probably especially relevant for BLC .. heheh!)
Not so basic Djembe
Vocal Tech - making sound, dynamics&adlibs, Vowel sounds, etc.
Tambourine and Shaker
Warmup and Technique - acoustic guitar, Developing rhythmic feel, etc.

The Garden of Prayer

I've decided to change the picture of the upside down guy to this one View image
by Thomas Kinkade. I guess his comments for the painting says it all ...

Perhaps in a garden we are closer to our creator. We certainly are more close to His creation. My prayer is that this painted garden will be a meeting place for many that would speak to their God in the silence of the morning. Or the silence of evening. Or any time in between. ~ Thomas Kinkade

PROLEPTIC

This is a new "word" I learnt from Ted Peters after dancing through 34 pages of his Systematic theology. Here's his intention for the whole book from the start (there's much to digest in the pages ahead), here's a peek:

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By proleptic consciousness I am referring to our awareness and anticipation ahead of time of the future whole. Such awareness and anticipation are based upon God's promise and upon faith in God's faithfulness.

The blueprint for structuring such proleptic theology will follow a destiny-wholeness-integration formula. We will see that the gospel of Jesus Christ is essentially a promise for the future. In fact, it is more than just a promise. It actually embodies ahead of time the future God has promised for the whole of creation, namely, new creation. If the gospel be the key to understanding reality, which I believe is the central Christian commitment, then it defines what seems to follow that what is real is future-oriented. Destiny determines and defines what things are. Further, only at fulfillment of the divine promise will reality itself become a whole, and only with this whole of wholes will the true nature of all the participating parts -- including ourselves -- be revealed. Only in the light of the God-determined whole can we apprehend the purpose according to which all the world processes and human enterprises will be integrated, according to which separated and fragmented parts will be transformed into an integrated unity. Of course, that God-determined whole is not yet actual. It does not yet exist. But it has been revealed -- it has been incarnated -- ahead of time in the life, death, and resurrection of the Nazarene. Hence, it is to Jesus Christ that one must look to find human destiny, to gain a vision of the whole, and according to which people can integrate the disparate elements of their lives. A life so integrated around Christ is a proleptic life. It is the future actualized ahead of time. It isnew life in the midst of the old life. It is beatitudinal life because it is true life. It is beatitude. (pp. 21-22, emphasis mine)
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God—The World's Future

Picked up this "Systematic Theology for a New Era" authored by Ted Peters just before Christmas and started reading it last night & this morning (He's more well known as an expert on the theological implications of the new gene science and the author of many books, including "Playing God?: Genetic Determinisn and Human Freedom").
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Knowing & Doing

Here's a good collection teaching quarterlies (with challenging articles, interviews, and reviews) from the C.S. Lewis Institute (I'll try to leave some on a table for people to pick up this Sunday and see what happens?!)

Testing 1-2-3 ... click!

Thanks to
... here's the "picture"-version of my pilgrimage at Sivin's FotoPages!

Resources Overload :-)

The Xenos Summer Institute (initiated by Xenos Christian Fellowship) has loads of plenary sessions & workshops from a variety of thinkers-practioners. Lots of stuff to pick & choose from ... when you have time.

Blog Heroes

Jason Clark is so kind to introduce "Blog Heroes" on his site. He started with James Mills.

Today, I smiled after seeing the picture Jason used to introduce me as one of the "blog heroes" (it brought back a lot of memories & giggling!).

On top of that this kind Englishman keyed in some really kind words to describe me ... Look out for the other "Blog Heroes" he'll be posting soon.

Discover Anew ... !

6 tables - 5 for adults and 1 for the pre-schoolers. 6 pieces of Mah-jong Paper on the walls so the groups can post their responses on coloured paper. A slightly more "dramatic" reading of the text (with two of our readers in sunglasses for a while!), toddlers yelling their lungs out (to keep us plugged into reality), I shared from the book of Daniel using the Message, both "seekers" or "inquirers" and "Christians" together in worship, etc .

.... all this were some of the environmental & functional changes to facilitate the "Discover Anew" series this post-Christmas & season of Epiphany! We fumbled here and there ... but it was worth it!

We started this series based on material designed by the Mennonite Church Canada (check out Missional Church travel bag). While using the ideas from the series to "spark" possibilities and the topics as an outline to allow us to create space for more "interaction" in our Worship Gathering, a lot of prayer, preparation, tweaking and adapting is involved because context & sensitivity to what God wants to do with us specifically is crucial. (Anyway, with a group of around 40-45 it worked pretty well yesterday even with a handful toddlers crying, calling for "mummy", or simply sleeping ... and older kids colouring, playing with some plastic "kitchen sets" .. come to think of it -- it was quite hilarious!), .

All this is merely the surface, if we plunged deeper ... I enjoyed our "council meeting", some phonecalls, personal conversations, and dinner with some BLC fellow pilgrims old and new to see "where can we go from here?" in small steps ... often unseen by the public but even more crucial to our journey!

I'm looking forward to see how GOD will work in our midst to "understand", "embody" and "express" this interesting word ... "Missional"!

Thanks James Tan for the design (one of his best so far ... and he's got a long journey to try new stuff!)

Updates ...

Jason Clark (definately my No.1 UK blog hero) has moved to a new site here! (Got tempted to check out Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts he mentioned)

(Cute site with cute pictures with unkymoods?!)

If it's from Paul Baloche then I might still get an Integrity Hosanna! Album. Here's his cool site.

Goodies from Vineyard Music ...
- NT Wright: Freedom & Liturgy
- Matt Redman: The Musician's Heart
- Brian Doerksen: Accessibility In Worship
- Other Eclips & AudioLab (take your pick!)

LOTR Fever ...

The last link in this blog has a surprise goodie! So read on ...

Celeborn If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Celeborn, Elf, King of Lothlorien, husband of Galadriel and grandfather of Arwen. In the movie, I am played by Marton Csokas. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

According to the Hobbit Name Generator

Sivin Kit is Mungo Smallburrows of Sandydowns
Gareth Kit is Togo Smallburrows of Sandydowns
May Chin Long is Esmerelda Hornblower of Waymoot

According to The Elvish name Generator,

Sivin Kit is Finrod Oronrá
Gareth Kit is Haldamir Oronrá
May Chin Long is Inwë of Nargothrond

The 10 Uncommon Insights on Evil From Lord of the Rings by Philosopher Peter Kreeft is a great listen (For other Recorded Lectures click here!)

What an Ending for a Beginning!

Third row from the back, smack in the middle with one of the best views in the cinema! Yes, May Chin & I had a "wow!" time watching the last installment of the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy to start our New year!

Thought about how I ended year 2003 when I finished reading the whole book of Daniel (using The Message) in one sitting ... it was awesome! That way of ending the year sparked another beginning of a greater love for "reading", "reflecting" & "responding" to God's word!

To top that up .. I think I heard Gareth call me "Papa" consciously, intentionally, lovingly & funnily today ....

We had a leisurely morning with enough sleep, and some mini shopping ... happy to see May Chin get some stuff she wanted.

Gareth was browsing some books with me at the "Pay Less Books" shop. Got Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes for a decent price by William Bridges (I think I read about this in Todd Hunter's Articles Part 1 & Part 2 last year in Allelon)!!

Ended the evening reading a couple of pages of "The Hobbit", and then fell asleep until this morning well rested again ... what a way to end the night (or in another way to begin the day (i.e. being restful assured that God is at work even when i'm asleep!)

Faces & Phases 2004

Happy New Year to all!

Here's a picture taken in December 2003 that became a Christmas present to us. We're excited to see what God has install for us and the phases he wishes to lead us through. We're also looking forward to get to know "New" & "Old" faces better & somehow see how all the phases we go through fit into GOD's beautiful story!