November 30, 2004
Random Thoughts in front of MPH 1 Utama
I'm going to have a fun day today ... just like Gareth in this picture. I'm introducing him from young to the pleasures of potato chips or "Crisps" (That's the way I said it when I was in UK!)
when it turns December 1 tomorrow, the roller coaster ride of ministry will plunge into excitement ... wedding rehearsals, speaking on Sundays (the usual), two youth camps, Christmas caroling atb MPH midvalley and Bangsar Village, visiting Rumah Hope, Emergent Malaysia Christmas tea party (on the 18th December, contact me if you are interested), our own new year and christmas party, etc. It's ok to have more activity for a change, why not? Let's enjoy the ride ...
Will make my return back to Toastmaster's Bangsar tonight ... looking forward to reconnect with many of my friends who aren't Christians. And of course, I need to pay up my dues! Hopefully, I can finish of another 10 speeches in 2005.
My understanding of humanity has deepened. For that I give thanks ... and thus worth some celebration :-P
It's been some time since I drove the little Kanchil car ... and I was surprised by some noises coming out. I'll refrain from trying too hard to make a life application here. It's a random thoughts section.
Had a pretty good look at Baby No.2's face through ultra sound last saturday. Awesome. Had another look at May Chin ... and AWESOME too!
Nice to do a post without any links for a change ....
Got two emails yesterday and today. One from a new friend and contact who's involved with holistic mission. Another from Gareth's international Godmother who's just started her Campus/college ministry. Will blog about them more another time ... two people involved in two areas of that energize my passion!
I really appreciated some simple words yesterday ... they somehow lifted me to a different place of serenity. Thanks to my friend in Sutton.
I need some Brit humor
Thanks Jason for an amusing start for the morning from John Cleese (At times I think we take ourselves too seriously ... I know politics is serious business .. I hope no one would take offense by this post *smile*)
___________________________________________
To the citizens of the United States of America, In the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy.
Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without th! e need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium". Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour', skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise".
You will learn that the suffix 'burgh is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh.
You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation. Gener! ally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up "vocabulary". Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up "interspersed". There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows.
When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.
2. There is no such thing as "US English". We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize".
3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents - Scottish dramas such as "Taggart" will no longer be broadcast with subtitles.
While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon". If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.
4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as "Men Behaving Badly" or "Red Dwarf"
will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.
5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.
6. You should stop playing American "football". There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American "football" is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays "American" football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series' for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called "rounders" which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.
7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns.
You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called "Indecisive Day".
9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts.
You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps". Real chipsare thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.
11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.
12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer", and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager". The substances formerly known as "American Beer" will henceforth be referred to as "Near-Frozen Knat's Urine", with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as "Weak Near-Frozen Knat's Urine".
This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen, Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.
13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or "Gasoline" as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon - get used to it).
14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).
16. Last but not the least, and for heaven's sake.....it's Nuclear as in "clear" NOT Nucular.
Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.
_________________________________________________________
November 29, 2004
Ordination Revisited
Thanks to Jason Clark for the encouragement (It's never just about being called Rev. isn't it?)! Here's what he said ...
___________________________________
Something I posted to my doctoral cohort this week about why I value being ordained.
-----
Now I confess, I see things functionally. You are only a pastor as long as you are pastoring. But I'm not ready to give up ordination. Yes, a leader is leader, and no more valuable than anyone else, and I hold to the priesthood of believers.
Yes ordination isn't in the bible.
So why do I want to keep it:
1. Pastors are valueless: in the UK there is an anti clerical move, to see pastors as parsites suckin the life and money out of church...I hear it regulary, but most pastors are not in it for the money but to servce christ.
2. When I marry people, bury them, pray with the terminally ill, they want a priest/minister, the role of a priest, and yes in theory anyone can do it, but why do they want me as an ordained priest/minster...there is something about the office of priesthood.
3. Right of passage: we have so few of these, and I look back to my ordination with fondness and it sustains me when I want to quit and go make a shed load of money without all the crap of church.
4. Calling: having people remind me like marriage that I made a committment to something for the rest of my life as best as I can...I am a pastor...
So I'm not arguing for the elite of ordination, I'm arguing that for some it is of value and for me life giving, and I don't see it as making me any better than anyone else.
Jase
____________________________________________________
Advent & The Christian Calendar
Thanks to Christian Scharen for the link to what Advent is all about.
The past four years since I serving in Bangsar Lutheran Church and embarking on this what I call a "John 20:21 journey". The Christian Calendar (or church year) has helped me "redeem" time and invite me to me "in Christ" even in time as I prepare during Advent, celebrate Christmas, start the year with Epiphany, move into introspection during Lent, walk to the cross with Christ during Holy week, and get surprised on Easter and then experience the resurrected Christ during Pentecost while being empowered by the Spirit! As the year ends, I'm already checking out the dates for 2005 the secular calendar (or to be more precise the Gregorian Calendar). We just celebrated Deepavali and Hari Raya that reminds me of the Hindu/Indian Calendar and Muslim calendar. Soon, the Chinese New Year celebration will plunge me into a new Chinese Lunar Year. All these different ways of "seeing" time keeps my feet on the ground in the world I live in. The Christian Calendar keeps me walking with Christ in this world.
November 26, 2004
Obscurity
Thanks Unedited Ravings for this one ... I'm really into wise missionary insights right now!
_____________________________________
"I do not trust spectacular things. Give me the seed growing secretly every time."Roland Allen- English missionary to China [1933]
______________________________________
Thanksgiving Day
I just realized It was Thanksgiving day for USA yesterday. Inspired by Tom Reindl's list of 50. I'll try 5 for this last week.
1. Had a wonderful time munching Pringles (the more authentic version we got at Jaya Supermarket) with May Chin on Monday night.
2. Gareth recovered from a scary episode of coughing, vomiting and nose/throat infection on Sunday & Monday. He's happily pushing chairs again now!
3. I got a needed good sleep last night and I doubt I'll be falling sick :-)
4. It was simply wonderful to just listen and pray for someone really in need this week. The chance to show & share God's good news to dispell "burdensome" & "imprisoning" advice given by well-meaning but misguided individuals was liberating.
5. A two in one here - first, it's great to get Two 2005 planners from STM (I can begin to look forward the next year while closing the chapters for 2004) and second, the music I'm listening to right now is bringing much wholeness and healing.
November 25, 2004
Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998)
There's something about one's voice that communicates not only wisdom (which we can even read in books) but a kind of passion that is harder for a reader to get from the written format. So, when I got hold of the two tapes from Holy Trinity Brompton where Bishop Newbigin gave two lectures on "Bible Overview" in 1997, I immediately paid attention to his insights as I drove to pick up May Chin.
I was captured not only by his wisdom and simplicity in presentation but also the strength of his voice and the clarity of his thought (especially at his age! I'm deeply challenged here!) . And surely, the passion the surrounds each word and movement of paragraphs engaged even as I was stuck in the routine KL traffic jam.
There's a whole lot of documents worth checking out a wonderful online collection that goes way back to 1937 at Newbigin.Net
The TransMission, Special Edition is worth downloading.
I got three of the results for my entrance exam for the Mtheol programme :-) and at this point the only "A" I got is Missiology. I think reading Newbigin and the inspiration from him has something to do with that! *grin*
November 23, 2004
Random Thoughts before picking up wife
This young man searched the net for a puppy and he found one in the little fella he's holding up here. He was so kind to let me know how this one is doing and I'm glad this puppy is in good hands. There are three more puppies left in need of new masters. They are growing fast.
It was good to meet up with an "old" Methodist friend from seminary today (more of a junior actually) and it's just encouraging to hear of the positive response for the camp which I've been invited to be the speaker in. It's always great to listen to the process and the passion that has led him and his team to this point. So, now it's "hearing" from God what's the message specifically to "encourage" more than 100 youth from the age range of 14-19.
I was encouraged again today ... and grateful that my feeble meditations and words could be a source of encouragement to 2 people today. It was great for them to share their thoughts with me. So often, I wonder what happens in the minds of those who listen to my weekly messages.
I'm happy to finally finish Christianity Rediscovered yesterday. There's a whole lot that needs to settle down for me to digest and reflect for my present context. Overall, reading a book that describes a totally different context strangely opens up a broader perspective for me this round. I'm looking forward to read the sequel.
I'm also re-reading Go Make "Learners" and revisiting some of the ideas and mainly Robert Brow's attempt to re-look at "church" using "model" theology , this round working through the study questions really surfaced fresh and deeper insights even for my own pilgrimage.
One thing was good when I spend some time to look at the major learning steps I had in matters of faith, discipleship and ministry this morning. Having a "pause" helped make some space to listen and maybe even try to look into the future.
100 worship tricks!
Thanks Johnny Baker for the hard work, and I'm delighted by the second series that's already on the move!
November 22, 2004
Emergent Cohort CJ "sample" meeting
Thanks to Tony Jones for the link and Adam Cleave a chance to peek into and eavesdrop what's happening on the other side of the ocean at Central Jersey, here
November 20, 2004
Ben & Chris ... and Mr. C
After Mblog messed up I'm glad my young friend Ben Ong is back blogging here (and it's always nice to be included in his post.) I'll self-indulge a bit by quoting part of the post ... simply because it's encouraging and it sums up last night from another person's point of view.
_____________________________________
Last night, I met up with Sivin, May Chin and Gareth at MPH Mid Valley, where he conducted a forum on media literacy. It was kind of Sivin's dream topic (since the first time he'd been engaged to facilitate, a few months ago). Sadly, due to time constraints, we could only skim the surface.But I think he found it all worth the effort when a student from HELP Institute, Chan, stayed back to ask a few questions. As it turns out, he was the very kind of person Sivin had been looking for, for a long time -- a seeker in every sense of the word. The discussion leaned towards the philosophical, and reached a certain profundity where both realised it would be better to meet up again sometime to continue to conversation...
__________________________________________________
Another delight yesterday was meeting Christopher Choong in person whom I linked a few post ago on his reflective piece as a "brethren". He was also nice to recapture our time together here ...
____________________________________________________
It was great meeting Sivin Kit in person, not to mention in action as well.
Aside from the food, which was of course no less important (haha!), the topic on Media Literacy captured my interest because I've heard it mentioned by both Brian McLaren and Curtis Chang about the need for a new media to reach our postmodern generation. Then of course, I was hoping to get some tips on how to initiate meaningful conversations based on movies, moving beyond the nice, cool, interesting, boring, etc kind of remarks.
Such a pleasant surprise when my friend told me that Sivin would be the facilitator, speaking of added value eh...And such a shocking surprise to find a small group in which we were expected to participate! Thought we could slip-off as backbenchers...
Nonetheless, it was an eye opening experience. Observing the different characteristics coming into play was really something - an opiniated Indian, a Malay war-movie buff, a pro-American manager, an uncertain 'how do we know' lady, a seeking HELP student, and not to mention us, the 'younger' representatives. *grin*
Intriguing how a simple dialogue like this could generate topics such as 'what's right in a plural world', Bush-Kerry debate, Nazis and the concentration camps, and some others that fell off my frail mind. Short as it was, some deeper questions in life were brought to light.
Looking forward to joining one of the emergent conversations soon!
_________________________________________________
It's a bit strange posting up what other people posted which included me in it :-) Anyway, maybe I need some "wine for my stomach" (I'm preparing my message for tomorrow and Paul's personal words of concern to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 somehow really resonates with me somehow. That's a whole other story) Anyway, it was great to see Ben yesterday considering he's in the midst of his final exams and a delight to meet Chris for the first time. And then of course, I'm looking forward to continue my conversations with Mr. C a very interest non-Christian who ask fabulous questions!
November 19, 2004
The Sabbath Mind
I genuinely echo these words from Chris Erdman ... my mind is brought back in time to one of my first quiet retreats with David and Joyce Hugget more than 8 years ago, I really treasure the gift of solitude, space and silence there which I'm more than ready and open to recieive it once again.
______________________________________
Amidst a busy time I am needing to find some sabbath space where ever I can find it. I must let the mind find its contemplative place in order to have anything worth saying, anything worth doing. For without the quiet, speaking becomes a mere clatter of words, and actions become pushes and prods.
________________________________________
November 18, 2004
Random Thoughts with Mango Citrus
One thing about staying in KL/PJ is that we don't get to witness a sunset like this one (which I was pretty happy to capture in Port Dickson two days ago!)
It was nice to read this reflective piece by one brethren (small b) who's determined not to blunder - Plymouth Reloaded. I just spoke in a special evening service organised by the nearby brethren assembly which was nice. Anyway, the piece made me think about my small "l" - Lutheran heritage again. I was pretty tickled when a friend of mine visited an Anglican church lately expecting liturgy but got a big dose of Charismatic excitement ... I know I'm first and foremost a Christ-follower ... but reality tells me I'm not a a-historical person.
With more than 40 comments Maggi has done it again (i.e. stir up a good conversation!) with her piece - Resentment and theologians. Jonny Baker responds here. I used to have some pretty good chit chat seasons over tea or lunch with a NT specialist and it kept me on my toes .. and he felt free to pick on my experimantal ideas. I think I'd like to resume this practice. Let's see ... first Seminari theoloji Malaysia must accept me for the Master's programme huh? :-)
It was nice to eavesdrop on Professor James D.G. Dunn (it's the first time I'm hearing his voice) and Bishop N.T. Wright's "An Evening Conversation on Jesus and Paul" and also download some lectures here (here's is when I pause and thank God for the internet, amen! Thank Paul Fremont for the link)
Random Thoughts after Port Dickson
I think this is the second time Gareth has come to Port Dickson (about 1 half hours drive south from where we stay). The last time, he wasn't too excited about the beach and sand. This time he seemed pretty excited and I think he always looks kind of cute with his hat!
It was a good break from the city. Port Dickson (PD) no longer is much of a tourist attraction compared to other places especially the Islands like Redang Island or Tioman Island. But, I have many fond memories which go way back to our family outings when I was a kid and also quite a number of church camps as a teenager too! It's always more then just the place isn't it? It's more about the "magical moments" we have with family and friends. There are also special "grace moments" ofpersonal and spiritual renewal as well ...
It wasn't a total break though mentally at least ... after two nights in PD, I was already on the way again yesterday morning to Seremban for a session with a Scripture Union (Malaysia) National School Christian Fellowship Leaders camp on the topic "Surviving as a Student". Thankfully ... I think both the audience and I "survived" the session :-) we had fun!
It's also been a break from blogging for a while .. my longest break so far ...
Managed to read Christianity Rediscovered by Vincent J. Donovan quite a bit. Not only did I find my mind stimulated and challenged, but my heart was deeply moved by the stories told. More thoughts on this after I finish the whole book.
I was also delighted to just spend time with family and friends .. I admit didn't talk much (which is not that usual) but there's a time for silence and just "being" there. As the year is coming to an end, I sense this will be quite a "special" phase and season for me personally and I need the time to just "allow" the Spirit to work (to put it more theologically!). Come Holy Spirit!
November 10, 2004
A therapeutic whinge or poison?
These are the closing words in a frank wise piece from Maggi Dawn
_____________________________________________
There is a place for a bit of therapeutic negativity, but there comes a time when you have to choose. Either go back and make it better, or go elsewhere and find something that suits you better, or just go elsewhere. There will always be battles to fight; there will always be whinges to have; there will always be things wrong with the church, whether it's trad, emerging or whatever. There's nothing wrong with a therapeutic whinge every now and then, and it's just a fact of life that things have to be toughed out from time to time. But if you feel like whingeing all the time, something's wrong. If the core of your life isn't positively committed to where you are and what you're doing, you'll end up poisoning yourself, and the people around you. You can't build a church on a foundation of what's wrong with another church. It doesn't work.
__________________________________________________________
Here's the entire post ...
__________________________________________________________
A few months ago I posted this, and I'm posting it again because I found myself writing almost the same thing over again. Something I read or heard in the last few days has set me thinking about the kind of aggression and anger with which some people kick out at the Church. There are all sorts of good reasons for being angry with the Church as we know it. But there's also the need to accept and forgive the Church as we know it - especially if you want to start something new. Being angry will never form the foundation for a new thing.
[Update: apparently those in the US don't know what "Whingeing" is - it's that kind of repeated moaning about a particular subject that someone can't quite get over. ]
[I've been] thinking about some of the 'emerging' type groups I've been involved in. In 1990 I was a founder member of Holy Joe's - the church-in-a-cellar, turned church-in-a-pub that later came to fame as the community about which Dave Tomlinson wrote The Post-evangelical in 1995. (I was one of 6 authors who wrote a response - The post-evangelical Debate - in 1997.) Holy Joe's was an 'emerging' or 'alternative worship' community before either of those terms had been coined - we didn't know there was going to be any big movement, or anyone else like us - we were simply a group of people who found each other pretty much by accident in South London in 1990. At the start, we met as something of an artists' community - most of us were singers, musicians, painters, writers, or whatever. But we also found a common interest in that we were all people who had pretty strong convictions about faith but, to varying degrees, didn't feel altogether at home in Church. Some of us were going through a transition out of Evangelicalism into... well, we didn't know what yet, and some were probably on the way out of faith altogether. So really we started out as a group of slightly rootless Christians who were all pissed off with Church. Many of the regulars at Holy Joe's were what I termed 'recovering evangelicals' - they practised what Alan Jamieson later called A Churchless Faith. For a while, the main topic of conversation at Holy Joe's was everyone's anger, hurt, and general critical comments about 'Church' as they knew it. And for a while, this was therapeutic. But fairly soon, I began to get bored with the fact that no matter what kind of interesting topic we started off on - hermeneutics, atonement theory, church and culture, christianity and the arts... we ALWAYS ended up in a slanging fest about 'the Church' - all the reasons, rehearsed over and over, about why the church was so bad, such rubbish, so stupid, so hurtful. After a while, I began to think that there were 2 options: either get stuck back in to the Church in some recognisable form and get on with doing the job in a way that we felt had integrity, or check out altogether. I was the first from Holy Joe's to set out on the road to Holy Orders. But interestingly, about 5 more followed, including Dave T himself. There is a place for a bit of therapeutic negativity, but there comes a time when you have to choose. Either go back and make it better, or go elsewhere and find something that suits you better, or just go elsewhere. There will always be battles to fight; there will always be whinges to have; there will always be things wrong with the church, whether it's trad, emerging or whatever. There's nothing wrong with a therapeutic whinge every now and then, and it's just a fact of life that things have to be toughed out from time to time. But if you feel like whingeing all the time, something's wrong. If the core of your life isn't positively committed to where you are and what you're doing, you'll end up poisoning yourself, and the people around you. You can't build a church on a foundation of what's wrong with another church. It doesn't work.
____________________________________________________________
November 09, 2004
Habits of Holiness
From Three Things "Gentile" Christians May "Never" Understand ...
_______________________________________
Yes, actions need to be intentional actions. Hypocrisy is a real danger. But I was raised believing that the intention to please God had to precede the action. My exposure to Judaism makes me think that it doesn't matter which comes first. A typical non-Messianic Jew thinks he or she needs to make themselves feel thankful and only then give thanks. I want to give thanks and allow that to help me to feel thankful.
And this is a gift I believe Messianic Jewish Christians can give to Gentile believers; to encourage them in Habits of Holiness -- helping them to live not just plotting "what would Jesus do" each step of the way, but to live in the rhythm of the Scriptures -- to be so immersed and affected by it, that becomes the default
___________________________________________________
Travel Mercies
John See beat me in posting up something on the book lauch at MPH 1 Utama, he even throws in a short except!
Anyway, I was there too ... and was deeply encouraged by the turnout and most of all delighted to catch as much as I could from Soo-Inn's talk. Here's a cute picture of him doing an imaginary flag raising motion while telling his first story from schooldays ... which indirectly brought back some memories of my own.
I had to leave early to teach/facilitate some sessions on Evangelism. But even now I can still feel the "grace at work" (and not finished yet) when he was sharing and it somehow spills over to me. I suppose this is exactly what I needed at this time. Maybe there's an extra blessing because it's always a double bonus to not only read the book but also know the author personally in some way.
My thoughts are still hovering over some of the words that saturday, "complexity", "pain", "lessons", "loneliness", "protected", and of course "grace", there's much more. I suppose that's why the ministry of Grace@Work has this central value permeating every aspect from the e-commentaries, the seminars to the books, it's very much what's being experienced and embodied in Soo Inn's life and ministry.
It was good to see a substantial turnout in support of the book launch and Soo-Inn personally. I guess, in some way, through his sharing we are all invited to taste the Travel mercies he talks about so honestly all this while.
Thanks Soo-Inn for giving me some space to have a better view of my own travels while listening to yours.
The Da Vinci code & God's Jewish accent
I've been enjoying the insights and wit of Conrad Gempf lately especially this one from "Might Jesus have been secretly married?" where he says,
"I don't know about you, but I am SO tired of answering questions about Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Last week it was the Discovery Channel and since they wanted to devote a whole programme to it, I doubt they'd like my comments:
Dan Brown is a novelist and The Da Vinci Code is fiction. Asking a New Testament person to comment is like asking a Marine Biologist to comment on Finding Nemo. The expert is of course going to say that sting rays do not sing and clown fish do not talk.
Enjoy the thriller for what it is, but when the lights come on it's time to leave the cinema."
The other article I'm looking foward to check out is Three Things "Gentile" Christians May "Never" Understand
November 08, 2004
Community Revisited
I recall reading these insights before somewhere ... Thanks to Fred Peatross for highlighting them again below (for more checkout What is community building? and the downloads).
_________________________________________________
Faith communities talk about community as if all are in community but there is some hard-work ahead for those who want to live in genuine community.M. Scott Peck has outlined some stages groups go through to reach community.
Pseudocommunity—a “stage of pretense” that pretends there are no differences that could cause conflict. Because this stage takes time and work, and is not easy or effortless, may never get beyond this stage.
Chaos—this is when “profound differences” emerge, and chaos follows in the wake of trying to obliterate the differences. This stage can be self-destructive or a retreat to pseudocommunity. It means loss of control—giving up some control for sake of community.
Emptiness—the “hard, hard work” when members work at getting rid of everything that is in the way of genuine community—“prejudices, snap judgments, fixed expectations, desire to convert, heal, or fix, the urge to win, the fear of looking like a fool, the need to control,” is a slow, painful process that requires open conflict and discussion—people must pass through the pain of intimacy; churches plaster over the pain rather than pass through it; we avoid pain at all cost.
Community—often comes suddenly and dramatically, in a spirit of peace. “There is more silence, yet more of worth gets said. It is like music. The people work together with an exquisite sense of timing, as if they were a finely tuned orchestra under the direction of an invisible celestial conductor. Many actually sense the presence of God in the room.” Community comes when people feel they can be “real”—they don’t have to like one another but must care about each other.
_____________________________________________________
A Pagitt Parable
somehow this parable did more to me than make me laugh ... Thanks to Doug Pagitt
________________________________________________
A man came home and said to his wife, “Honey, I have terrible news. I am dead”.
“You are not.” said his wife.
“Yes I am”, the man shot back.
“Go and see your doctor, see what she says”, replied his wife.
“Good idea, then you will see for sure”, said the man.
So, the man went to his doctor.
The doctor said, “How may I help you”.
The man said, “Well, you see, I am dead and my wife does not believe me. I thought your word would prove it to her.”
“I don’t think you are dead” said the doctor.
“Yes, I am!”
The doctor said, “Well let’s do some tests. Do dead men bleed?”
“Of course not” Replied the man.
“Then we could check and see if you bleed, then we would know”, offered the doctor.
“Deal.” Said the man, “Poke away”
The doctor poked his finger with a needle and blood came running out.
The man sat down, starred at his finger. He shook his head and began to sigh and weep.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it”, the man said.
“Dead men do bleed”.
_______________________________________________
November 04, 2004
Shaped by God's Heart
In year 1999, I first came across the book Missional Church I was captured by the theological vision of church offered in the book. Now, of course I also recognized the differences in context where the book emerged from i.e. North America, but the theological reflection provided me with some framework to explore what concerns me here in Malaysia as well (especially increasingly we import often the best and many a times sadly the worst from outside of our country.).
Interestingly a couple of weeks ago, I managed to get a hold of a kind of "practical version" in the form of Milfred Minatrea's book Shaped by God's heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches and it kind of brought me full cycle (or the center) to where I started from when I envisioned a church I'd like to be part of!
Here's some quotes from the Missional Church Center where the author is the director:
"A missional church is a reproducing body of authentic disciples being equipped as missionaries sent by God to live and proclaim His Kingdom in their world.
Mission is the essence of the church, the reason for which His body exists. The mission is His, not ours. Each Christian is called into relationship with Him and sent as His emissaries. The missional church understands; every Christian is sent by God as His missionary."
Blogging & Revival?
When I started blogging I just wanted to have a kind of "work in progress" space to reflect "openly" my journey and things that concern me or stimulated me, so it's kind of interesting to hear out Tim Bednar in this interview Blogger Predicts Revival via Web.
There is one thought I wonder whether may be over-optimistic. He says, "In the blogosphere, there are no gatekeepers. We explore ideas without being pre-judged.", I hope I understand this statement correctly but I get the feeling that "pre-judgement" is still going to be there no matter what tool we use. On one hand, I agree there's more potential for openness and conversation in blogsphere, but when ideas are explored ... pre-judgement is always standing at the doorstep. That's just reality ...
November 03, 2004
You know you are Malaysian When
Thanks DB for the Aussie bit and Cath for the Malaysian bit!
| You Know You're Malaysian When.... |
|
You complain about the quality of the pirated DVD you just purchased. "What, RM10 for DVD5?! Aiyah, boss ... sound no good, cheaperlah ..."
You're willing to consume sambal petai and durian and gladly suffer the bloating and wind-breaking incidents. You're exceedingly polite to the Mat Sallehs but you slag your own kind. "Hello, sir. Why don't you sit here, it’s got the best view of the city skyline." But, "Aunty-ah, your table is over there next to the kitchen." You order Maggi goreng and fried chicken, complain about how oily the food is, and then proceed to finish it anyway. You love to talk about food. You're already thinking about what to have for dinner while eating lunch. "I'm stuffed. What shall we have for dinner?" You dive into a communal-style meal the moment the dish lands on the table only to hesitate at the last morsel of food on the serving dish. There are two possible explanations for this: the first is the pai seh (embarrassed) factor, while the other is the myth that the person who eats the last piece will be a spinster. You hit the accelerator the moment the first drop of rain hits your windshield. "Alamak, it's going to rain. Sure traffic jam one. I'd better drive faster." You seize the opportunity to make a U-turn anywhere ... especially where there is a sign telling you not to. Well, so long as the cops aren't in sight. You feel a burning desire to send text messages and even have the gall to give your friend a blow-by-blow account of the movie to your friend on the handphone — during the screening of the movie. "Okay, now that girl Lizzie is impersonating an Italian singer; she so doesn’t look Italian ..." You forsake your loved ones for the all-important four letter-word: S-A-L-E. "Sorry, mum, I can't take you to Aunt Mary’s because I have to go to MidValley before the crowd." You’re also more than happy to be part of the insane traffic jam that forms around malls during weekends and sale periods. 11. Reality shows Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol dictate your social life. "What, no TV at the mamak? Count me out — I'm staying home. Rinie needs my support." You pepper every sentence with lah. "No-lah, I can't see you today-lah. I have to study-lah. You know-lah, the prison warden aka mak is watching me like a hawk" You fail to function normally without your daily dose of teh tarik and nasi lemak. You have owned at least one Proton in your lifetime. Cheap, cheap. That is until you start to make enough dough to buy that Honda you've been salivating over. You slow down at an accident site to take down the car number plate, but won't step out of your car to help — the victim could be a robber! You'd rather park your car along the main road outside the mall, where there's a yellow line, rather than pay RM1 to park inside where there are adequate bays. You plead, bat your eyelids and relate a sob story to the officer at the town council office to let you off the hook (or reduce the amount considerably) for the fine you incurred when you parked your car on the double line. You make an appointment for 10am and conveniently show up a half hour late — Malaysian time, what ... You pop open the wet tissue packet at the Chinese restaurant by squeezing the trapped air to the top of the packet before proceeding to smash your fist into it. The louder the pop the better. You greet your friend / neighbor / acquaintance on the street with "How are things?" or "Have you eaten?" or better yet, by stating the obvious: "Went to market ah?" Ramlee burger is the "piece de resistance" of your growing-up-years cuisine. You catch all major televised events at the mamak. You have roughly six meals a day (breakfast, mid-morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper). Then there's the snacking — keropok ikan, pisang goreng, muruku, jam tarts and the like. You get the whole family dressed to the nines, jump into the car and head for the minister's open house — and ask for styrofoam boxes and plastic bags to tar pau food. Your accent and language style vary according to the race of the person you are conversing with. You've got a friendly disposition. Smiles are abundant and your "Apa khabar?" is warm and sincere. You exclaim loudly how expensive everything is, even though the items may in fact be going for a steal. "Wah! So expensive, ah? Hak sei ngor (Scare me to death)!" You dig deep into your pockets to contribute to the latest appeal for donations in the newspapers. You "dis" our country all the time, but as soon as something good happens (like winning the Thomas Cup), you morph into a proud Malaysian. You never travel abroad without a bottle of chilli sauce, or sachets which you can sneak into restaurants. You're proud to be Malaysian - and you pass these jokes on to all your Malaysian friends! |
November 02, 2004
USA Presidential Election 2004
I pray with my friend Willzhead these (grace-filled tonic) Election Eve Prayers and thanks to Winn for the link to this blog article entitled "The Wounds of America" which brings out much that was not discussed in the papers.
Please allow me to quote Will's prayers in full ...
__________________________________
# That each citizen of this country who wants to vote and is properly registered will be allowed.
# That one candidate might have a clean and decisive win, avoiding the pain and agony of 2000.
# That on Wednesday, November 3rd, each person who follows Jesus will remember that our model for governing is to serve. As “Christians” that is the only power we have.
# That each one of us will reach out to those with different beliefs and look for how Jesus might be expressed in our lives through them. This will be especially true for us in the Church who might hold different opinions. After all, someone is bound to be disappointed. But remember that everyone is watching, and a test of being a follower of Jesus is how you love other followers.
___________________________________________________________
November 01, 2004
The Manchurian Candidate
Here's a review which I didn't really read :-) and I've never seen the 1962 version. But, since this is the earliest movie I can get for today and Denzel Washington is in it we'll see what happens. It's been quite a while since I've been to the cinema one BLC member said, "Yeah! Haven't heard any illustrations from movies lately...". Maybe that might change for this week?
The Emergent Mystique & Response
I'm slow to post this up partly because of quite a crazy two weeks but here it is The Emergent Mystique and a personal response from Andy Crouch the author of the article thanks to Tony Jones (this where the Internet and blogland is fun!)
Random Thoughts at Free Wifi Zone
(flower shot taken in front of the Father's House gate at 8.35am on sunday yesterday. it simply refreshed me!)
Nice to just sit here trying out One Utama shopping centre's Free Wifi Zone! Free is good...
Glad on a Monday morning just to be reminded of some good healthy wisdom from Jason Clark (Thanks Mate!) which he posted under Advice to a younger pastor/minister. At first I thought of picking out 3-5 but then on seconds thoughts the whole list is great!:
_______________________________________________
"~ Don't start things in life you aren't willing to finish ~ Love everyone but be carerful with deep trust ~ Learn deep faith in God through all the difficulties of life, faith during good times means little. ~ Read the old dead guys and proverbs and the gospels alot. ~ Be who you are and nothing more or you will end up being less. ~ Be serious about being devote and holy. ~ Listen ~ Enjoy the little things of life ~ Measure yourself by how you treat the least in your church ~ Preach God's Word not your opinions or the latest fad ~ It's a sin to bore people with the Word of God which is the most relevant information in the universe. ~ Love your wife above all without letting your eyes see any other -if you have one ~ Have a friend you can be drop dead honest with ~ Find something to do that brings you joy apart from ministry ~ Realize what a staggering call it is to be a pastor, it is the most powerful and terrifying job in this life anyone can have."______________________________________________
Read The Blogosphere's Favorite Real Live Preacher last week, here's a few things that caught my attention - especially because I feel I relate to them.
_________________________________________________
"... I started Real Live Preacher not as a ministry or an attempt to do anything other than write, and write as honestly as I could.
... I wrote only for my own gratification and all of these people started coming to read.
... I've become very disinterested in some of the things that seem to be of great interest to "churchy Christians." I don't really care what kind of music we play at church. I don't care how many people are there. I don't care what kind of clothes people have. I really don't care about the finer points of theological discourse. If a person is willing to follow Christ, that's all I need to know.
... Become a blogger if you wish to be a part of blogging, if you want to write and to share who you are. I started Real Live Preacher because I wanted to write and share my voice and view of the world in a forum where everyone is doing that.
... I started Real Live Preacher not wanting to do anything for anyone other than myself."
______________________________________________