Sivin Kit's Garden

Random Thoughts without any Football matches

I managed to swim quite a bit this week. I'll pat myself on the back. :-P

I'm a little tired now physically (not because of the swim) because of a long day. But there have been good stuff happening ... orientation for new ministry support for BLC, sharig contacts, good worship practice and prayer ... spiritually and emotionally refreshing.

Glad there's no football to day. Need a break. May Chin says tomorrow the whole family will be watching the Germany and Argentina match. Wow! I'll get the chips!

It was great when Elysia yelled on top of her lungs "Papa! Papa!" when she heard me coming up the stairs to pick her up to go home from my mum's place. Then when I reached the door, she said "Mummy?" ...

Gareth and I practiced a simple "share your hi and low" examen exercise. with so many forces aready beginning to shape Gareth's young mind and soul, I'm conscious the little things we do together with him would make a long term difference. That's our heart's desire - Christian formation beginning at home.

May Chin's cake came out pretty good. Bravo! The taste was fine for me.

Lots of "stuff" to catch up tomorrow. I'll try to sleep earlier tonight -- I mean at midnight. :-)

The traffic in the city doesn't look like it's going to improve. This has become so much part and parcel of my everyday travel ... very often it drives me nuts, other times I manage to "redeem" the time doing some thinking, reflection or day dreaming ... with my eyes open of course, radio is boring, the music has mostly revolves around the same old thing even if it's hits.

Turning off the radio did some good ... the silence is helpful at some stage - transforms the car into a moving chapel?

the day didn't start so well today with a number of mini-crisis situations and not the most upbeat, but the evening has turned out better. Patience and perseverance was needed this morning, thanksgiving is reserved before I sleep.

And sleep I will go.

What do you mean by missional church?

since there is still much confusion or lack of clarity in the term "missional" (like any unfamiliar word that's trying to move us beyond old catergories). I found this helpful, and heartily agree (and subscribed to it).

"God is about a big purpose in and for the whole of creation. The church has been called into life to be both the means of this mission and a foretaste of where God is inviting all creation to go. Just as its Lord is a mission-shaped God, so the community of God's people exists, not for themselves but for the sake of the work. Mission is therefore not a program or project some people in the church do from time to time (as in "mission trip", "mission budget" and so on); the church's very nature is to be God's missionary people. We use the word missional to mark this big difference. Mission is not about a project or a budget, or a one-off event somewhere; it's not even about sending missionaries. A missional church is a community of God's people who live into the imagination that they are, by their very nature, God's missionary people living as a demonstration of what God plans to do in and for all of creation in Jesus Christ."~ Alan J. Roxburgh & Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader, p.XV

Random Links 99

eBible.com
Thanks Cory for the invite. Will be exploring its potentials in due time.

Transforming Spirituality (A Summary of F. LeRon Shults’ Three-Day Session)
I'm amazed by the amount of summaries Richard J. Vincent "gifts" to us. This paragraph is so needed for anyone of us talking about "spiritual transormation": "God calls me to find my identity in God. My life is hid with Christ in God. My identity is not ultimately found in how others react to me. Others may crush/crucify or abandon me. But God will never crush or abandon me. We desperately attempt to secure the true, good, and beautiful in finite relationships and by our own control. A spirituality that does not live in fear of being crushed or abandoned by a finite other because it is rooted in the absolute infinite life of the God will not only transform us, but will be transforming to others. In this way, transforming spirituality is not only about personal transformation, but the transformed person as an agent of transformation in his or her environment."

The Little Way: The Power of Small Things (Luke 13:18-21)
Another gem from Richard (many thanks). I need to hear this, "Small acts result in big change over time. Mother Teresa is right, “To God, there is nothing small.” All acts contain the seed of the future and will affect lives far beyond this time and place. This gives us patience, hope, and a humble sense of accomplishment."

No, I!
Sherman getting a little excited about all things theology.

Ten propositions on preaching
Proposition one already grabbed me into read on:
"1. What is a sermon? Wrong question. A sermon is not a what but a who. A sermon is Jesus Christ expectorate. You eat the book; it is sweet in the mouth but bitter in the stomach (Rev. 10:9-11); you spit out the Word and spray the congregation. When grace hits the mark, it always begins with an unpleasant recoil."

Moltmann on Mission
I liked both expositions on "Mission" and "participation".

re:SABBATH
I'm still dwelling on this as far as reflection goes even though in practice it's more challenging.

Jesus the Pastor
2 great quotes .. get the book, and i'm waiting for the sequel!

The Missional Church
nice to be reminded and sharpened on this.

The Second Coming of Superman: Finally, a "Christian" movie not marketed to churches
I can never forget mom and my cousin sister waiting for me after school to bring me to watch the first classic Superman movie. Ah memories ...

You’ll never find the church you’re looking for

I told someone recently, "...to just pick a church -- any church -- and attend service regularly for six consecutive months." Part of the reason is in our conversations it's easy to spin in circles on where the church is often inadequate, or our personal struggles in relation to belonging and discipline, so after a while even the conversation topics become tiring. Perhaps, because deep down we desire steps to take us forward rather than being stuck in one place along our Christian journey. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for rest and sitting still because we need to listen or re-center ourselves. But, whether it's as one who's in church leadership or not, perhaps we'll need to focus more on our energies not on "finding" a church or even "doing church" but first by "being church" and then see what happens- part of that being process is "being there" :-)

Jason Clark says it well here in You’ll never find the church you’re looking for.

"I remember George Barna several years ago surveying non christians, unchurched people, asking them what would church have to do and be for you to ever consider being involved with one. They gave him a long list of things. He then followed it up by going back to people saying, ‘good news!’ their are some churches that have lots of those things you wanted, are you interested. And guess what they almost all said no thanks.

The reality was that people can easily list the things they say a church should be and do, but even if their is a community near them that is all those things, they still won’t by and large get involved. It’s easier to be a critic than to participate.

And in our desire to re-examine church, to adapt and change in the face of our changing world, under a vital missional mandate to do so, I keep reminding myself that relevance is greatly overrated. We can (and I think we should) strive to be kingdom based, break down sacred and secular divides, be communal with our experiences and learning, listen and be open to outsides, serve our communities without hidden agendas, foster a habit of participation and creativity, value ancient, modern and future, be networks rather than hierachy.

And still people will say no thank you, handing my life over to Jesus and serving the Mission of God with others in my community, doesn’t fit my consumer lifestyle and requirements. And maybe whilst we strive for those changes, we’ll stop beating ourselves up over not acheiving them all.

wise & realistic words above.

eMo 2006.6 Notes: Orthodoxy in the Shadow of Theotokos

There goes Alwyn again ... with a quick follow up post Orthodoxy in the Shadow of Theotokos. I'm still very much in a Sabbath posture right now - thus no intensive blogging. I'll just repost Alwyn's post for the benefit of those who come to this garden for refreshment :-) For graphics, italics, etc go to his link. I'll just copy and paste his excellent text - "unplugged" ...

This is the second part of the notes on the EMO Meeting held last Saturday at BLC. The first was on post-colonial orthodoxy as outlined by Sherman. Now I'd like to share a bit about Father Daniel Toyne's brief (though still almost 1.5 hours!) explanation of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its uniqueness.

Father Daniel began, as a sound theologian might, by explaining the Orthodox's source of authority which, according to him, was epistemically superior to the Reformed position which relied on Sola Scriptura (which more often than not produced far less agreement on doctrines other than Sola Scriptura which itself is not unambiguous - cf. my thoughts on how greatly evangelicalism reflects the Derridean myriad gush of meanings, interpretations, etc.) and also the papal authority of the Roman Catholic church, whose universal juridiction was decided at a point in time - what then of authority before the pope?

Therefore, one is ineffective in producing consensus, the other historically dubious. The best option would be, failing direct divine revelation on a regular basis (smile), a return to apostolic continuity in the form of the early Church Fathers. Hence, Father Daniel's talk was sprinkled with names like St. John Chrysotom, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Athanasius and so on. Don't even try to keep up (grin).

This, really, is the capstone of the Eastern Orthodox Church: Whilst the Fathers themselves were not infallible, their consensus (on doctrine, on ecclesiology, on the liturgy, on Christian spirituality, etc.) is deemed to be. "We believe in the holy apostolic church," has, I suppose, never been more crucial in a theological thinking as the early Fathers are usually recognised as the right successors of the 12 (minus-1, plus-2?) apostles.

Which leads us to the issue of a core element of the faith which should and must be independent of culture (and here Father Daniel delightfully affirmed his belonging to the English culture but also his conviction that this culture simply cannot be said to be "Christian", what with legalised abortion, war-hungry politics and football hooliganism). This is also why Eastern Orthodox churches have a similar look regardless of time and nation-state. It is believed that such worship and liturgy constitutes the one true apostolically inspired/ordained manner of doing so, allowing only for variations in icons and maybe the music. And if I heard Father Daniel correctly, any other form of worship (including the addition of musical instruments) would imply a poor incarnational theology.

Whilst nobody pushed the point, I think it'll be only honest to say on behalf of most of the non-Orthodox participants that this is one of the element that will be hardest to accept, not least because the forms of worship are simply not prescribed in Scripture, to say nothing of how an under-ground church could take such form. I also wonder if incarnational theology might be expressed in ways other than a strict requirement about the appearance and feel of the inside (and outside) of a church, for the sake of appealing better to the contemporary experiences of ordinary folk, thereby connecting better with them. Nevertheless, such reverence for apostolic continuity in all expressions of the faith is certainly something worth admiring.

I'm certainly not the best qualified to write about the Orthodox Church (those interested can find far better material on sites like Orthodoxinfo.com, Wikipaedia, etc.) but there was at least one more point from Father Daniel's talk worth taking to heart.

I was touched by his sharing of how the Orthodox Church has grown in missions and how they've grown throughout the world. At least anecdotally, it can be said that there is now no country which doesn't have an Orthodox Church (they even have churches in North Korea and Cuba! Praise God for that!). And it isn't just sanctuaries they've planted but schools, clinics and welfare institutions.

I would like to think, and I'm sure Father Daniel wouldn't mind someone saying, that such a wholistic program of mission reflects their holistic theology in which every 'piece' in Orthodox theology is related to each other. One cannot understand God without understanding the Trinity, which doesn't make sense without the Incarnation, which would be diluted and devoid of full significance with the theotokos (a unique view of Mary which, like that of Church authority, charts a strong path between Mary the Mother of God, a'la Roman Catholicism, which could mean too much, and Mary the ordinary humble carpenter's wife and nothing more, a'la evangelicalism, which means too little). Mary's identity, in fact, is almost the capstone of Orthodox theological and ecclesiological construction, as it serves as the key to unlocking the links between theology and worship, between between heaven and earth, between spirit and matter, and (I think) between God and Man. Remove the theotokos and one could confidently say that you would have no Orthodox Church.

The Incarnation and theotokos, then, is the soil from which is nurtured liturgical worship (which includes incense and iconography, all of which reflects the beauty of holiness - no shortage of "multi-sensual" worship here!) which provides the backbone of an understanding of the church (or ecclesiology) whose duty it is to manifest sacramental and pastoral ministry, an important element, I suspect, of what it means for God to be "in the world" and loving it. And so we've come full circle.

Father Daniel also talked a bit about the gift of tongues (including a fascinating story of how two people speaking different languages could communicate with each other, each thinking that the other was speaking his own language!), fasting ("We empty ourselves in order to be filled with the Spirit"), being a spiritual father to his church members (which included the task of passing on Biblical teaching as distinct from his own opinions i.e. "I think" is not something a preacher/teacher of God's Word should use), all of which I won't elaborate on here, as even he stated that he didn't consider these very unique to the Orthodox church.

It was refreshing to learn, however, that even within such a robust theology, Father Daniel admonished that we must never forget the element of mystery in the faith. He and Sherman were one in suggesting that maybe the phrase, "I don't know", should be used more often in theological circles.

How fitting for an incarnational way of life, one which not only embodies God's Spirit and presence on earth but continually seeks to plug-in, ponder and receive from the Way, Truth & Life. I feel privileged to have heard from someone who has undoubtedly done so.

Once again thanks Alwyn for being our fast-blogging and deeply reflective scribe!

Fantastic GoOOOaaaAALLLs!

I missed watching this match which many has told me is the best thus far. I love the way the commentator expresses himself FULLY ... !

Fantastic Goal?!

Whether it was a fluke or not it doesn't matter ... a fantastic goal nonethe less. Let me look for the others!

eMo 2006.6 Notes: A Post-Colonial Kind of Christian

Alwyn Lau is always the fastest and well-articulate participant and blogger of our conversations thus far. Here is his blog post A Post-Colonial Kind of Christian for yesterday (check out the comments too).

"Well, that's two firsts for me today at the Emergent Malaysia meeting in BLC.

I've never met an Orthodox monk before, so it was a pleasure to hear Father Daniel Toyne's succint outlining of the Orthodox position and distinctiveness. I plan to blog more on this later, but this post will be more about the second 'never before' of my Saturday: Listening to Sherman Kuek speak on post-colonial orthodoxy.

Post-colonial orthodoxy is about rethinking what it means to live, think, work and witness as Christians in post-colonial territories (there was one British and two Americans among us, which added to some of the humourous dynamics cropping up here and there), yet doing so within the acceptable bounds of Christian orthodoxy.

Sherman explained upfront - after showing some eye-catching slides of depictions of Jesus throughout the world, very nice! (see the Chinese and African depictions above) - that he intends to raise more questions and problems than give concrete answers and solutions, given that post-colonialism is very much an evolving consciousness far from any hint of a final form, especially in theology. He also noted that post-colonialism is itself not exclusively Asian i.e. African and South American theologians will doubtless think differently. And even within Asia itself, we find a kaleidoscope of beliefs and worldviews (which forms the basis of why Sherman thinks that focusing on post-modernity may be somewhat premature in Asia: How can one talk about what comes after the phenomenon called "modernity" when this phenomenon is as superficial, "washed ashore on Asia's coasts" as Sherman puts in, as it's manifestations are manifold?)

But to get straight into the discussion, Sherman offered three guiding principles to rethink theology within an Asian context (and at this point I'll note that whilst I wish to see how "Asian post-colonial theology", as Sherman has introduced it, differs from "Asian theology" or the significance if these are in fact two synonymous terms, I still appreciate the term and look forward to its further development) :

1. The first principle is pluralism, almost a 'bad word' in evangelical traditions, but a necessary (missional?) trajectory if one is build bridges to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists and Confucionists with their unique understanding of monotheism, karma, enlightenment, cosmic balance, social order and so on. If nothing else, perhaps this is a call for us to frame our questions and answers in ways which makes sense to the worldviews (and worlds) of our listeners.

If I could throw in a pence or two here, I recall reading Joel Green and Mark Baker's insightful Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in Contemporary Contexts, where the authors suggest that the 'Western' account of sin would have received far less attention in Japan, than would the Asian idea of shame. Pitching Anselm, Calvin or what-have-you in the Land of the Rising Sun may be akin to trying to convince sushi-eating people that fish-'n-chips is what they really should be going for (maybe that's a bad analogy but I think you get the idea).

I'm manipulating (helpfully, I hope) some of Sherman's thoughts here, but I'd like to suggest that the call to incorporate (cautiously, no doubt) pluralism into Christian theology resonates well with the call to reexamine evangelicalism's evangelistic paradigms and scope of engagement (two of four points on 'Evangelical Shifting' blogged by Sherman earlier).

Over against an over-emphasis on conversion, numerical growth and factory-like efficiency which tend to objectify persons as mere 'souls' to be won, Sherman proposes a comeback to dignifying people. I recall a non-Christian friend telling me many years ago that he doesn't want to become an evangelistic project. Wow. That such terminology could arise from people outside the church ought to be cause for reflection and, maybe, repentance on our part.

The Christian offer of salvation also should go beyond, well, the 'Christian' offer of salvation which has usually meant being saved for heaven and little else. Reconciliation with God also entails reconciliation with creation and community. Positive moves here might include combining a talk on Jesus' Lordship and the call to surrender to it with a strong ecological message? Or moving social, health or political concerns (instead of personal sin) to the top of the agenda of an evangelistic rally?

2. Sherman then talked a little about the multi-faceted nature of Asian thinking. This is the part which resonated most with my post-modern explorations (despite the dissimilar priorities he and I have regarding post-modernism). Western thinking is more linear, either/or; Asians think in circular, parallel manner, accepting both/and. The West treasures propositional dogma and system over and above relational authenticity and intuition. Asian values the latter over the former.

Whilst such pairings are controversial and doubtless some would say that Sherman is dealing with false dichotomy here, I found myself nodding, especially given the boundary-making tendencies prevalent in Western theological mindset: "A Christ-like life isn't worth much if you don't believe the right things, we'll still consider you a heretic." (along with the requisite appeal to Galatians, no less) On the contrary, I suspect it'll be difficult to find Buddhists or Hindus ex-communicating each other over a matter of doctrine, as long as the requisite rituals and festivals are observed. (And yes, I am over-simplifying matters somewhat but I think often one must ZOOM OUT in order to get a good view of the differences, even at the cost of sacrificing some granularity and detail).

I think this factor aligns well with the rexamination of evangelical epistemology. A milestone suggestion by Sherman here, IMO, is that truth is universal whereas truth-claims are not(!). I think this creatively emphasizes the post-propositional nature of truth and how little attention evangelicalism has given to it, whilst acknowledging, as Sherman did throughout his presentation, that logic and proposition are necessary even in proposals to go beyond this).

As an example, Sherman echoes my views on the near-irrelevance or non-necessity of the doctrine of inerrancy, which he believes dies the death of a thousand qualifications (to be fair, he limits this to an Asian context whereas I think it plays throughout the world. I'm also beginning to think that what Sherman says about Asia I tend to view as more or less true globally given the advent of post-modernism. But this is another story...*smile*) Yet, thank God, an Asian Christian like him doesn't NEED this doctrine for him to accept the authority of Scripture. It's intuitive i.e. no strict logic or proof or argument needed. The certainty arises from the community - why insist on less secure footing such as logical argument?

3. The third factor a post-colonial orthodoxy should bear in mind is what Sherman called the Great Tradition. I suppose this is the 'anchor' to ensure that however far one explores the territory away from one's historical roots, one ought to remember the value and contributions of not only one's predecessors, but also the others who have ventured into new paths of their own. We journey to the ends of the world, but we do not severe ties with Judea and Samaria, much less Jerusalem.

I think this is another way of saying that whilst we're living waaaaay ahead in the story of God, we would do well to remember that we're still IN and PART OF a wonderful story and so our lives must reflect all the beauty, power, love and truth of God's people throughout time i.e. all the characters since the first chapter. The spiritual life is a storied life and the storied Christian life is a dramatic unfolding and pushing forward to a glorious climax of God's victory in full learning and humility about what came before, what promises were given, and what it means to 'progress' along the narrative.

Post-colonial (or Asian?) orthodoxy is about digging deeper (into our culture and our spiritual history) to find new resources we need to navigate the world's challenges and fulfil our God-given mission. This can be scary as it often requires rethinking and reconstructing our identity, the core of who we are in Christ.

At the very least, it's a strive, almost a pilgrimage, towards authenticity. And this, one hopes, is always a good thing, no matter where you are. East or West."

thanks Alwyn for being our "official-unofficial" emergent Malaysia scribe.

eMo 2006.6: Post-colonial orthodoxy & the Eastern Orthodox Jesus!

I don't have a fancy picture file for this round. But here's the basic info. In short, we're meeting tomorrow.

Date: Saturday, June 24, 2006
Time: 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Venue: The Father's House (Bangsar Lutheran Church)
23, Jalan Abdullah off Jalan Bangsar,
59000 Kuala Lumpur
http://blc.net.my/

I'm excited because our good friend Sherman Kuek is kind enough to nudge us further to explore "post-colonial orthodoxy" (My translation is - Exploring Jesus and what it means to be a Christ-follower in a post-colonial context). We definately have more questions than answers here. But I suspect it will be an interesting start to get our conversation moving in this direction.

An added bonus is we should have a couple of friends visiting who are from the Eastern Orthodox Heritage (which many of us are unfamiliar with) and this will be a good chance to hear and understand how Jesus is understood in their tradition and broaden our horizons.

So, welcome.

Kão Scored! GOAL!!!!

I thought this is fun during this world cup season

what would your Brazilian name be?

and the results are ...

Kão for me
Laça for May Chin
Kito Pau for Gareth
Kson for Elysia

Finding God

"If you find God with ease, perhaps it is not God you have found." ~ Thomas Merton (via Maggi Dawn)

More and more I tend towards a "God finding me" way of thinking. But there is a sense where we are looking for God :-) I find lots of freedom in knowing that even though my concepts (often distorted views) of God may be shattered, I don't have to be in a place where I'm abandoned and left on my own. The shattering opens up possibilities to "know" God better .. it's an ongoing journey. Paradigms are fascinating but we're confronted with a Person and therefore the dynamics are less within our mechanistic control.

Beyond being right

"We’ve got to get beyond being right to becoming good, to living the good and to being the truth in community." ~ via Scot McKnight (HT: Purple Pastor)

The tendency is about justifying who's right and who's wrong. Or at least covering our tracks so we are not in the wrong, right? :-) We have so much to learn.

Random Thoughts after a decent Swim!

I don't want to live my life defined by the word "busy" - and turn into a mad man. I'm already crazy enough ...

It's funny :-) after I got out of the pool it rained. Spent a decent 20minutes swimming finally after talking about it for dont know how long. I notice the difference in my breathing.

It's strange how interconnected the emotions are with the physical body and how a simple exercise allows for not just relief but refreshing. My brain juices are bubbling a little bit better. We shall see how the spiritual effects are ... there is a sense of spaciousness.

I confess I'm not a highly rationalistic kind of person and all these non-rational or beyond rational elements are important to my personal well-being which includes my theology, spirituality and ministry posture.

I moving back into a more rhythmic reading cycle again which is good news.

The "silent prayer" time this morning especially meditating on the Gospel text for this week opened up many aspects I missed. Even though use a variety of readings for my times of solitude and journaling, the revised common lectionary has become not only my resource for preaching but more intimately for my personal spiritual growth.

I enjoy a lot when I have the chance to share how returning to many of the ancient spiritual practices or disciplines has "saved" my "walk" with God - in fact, it has freed me to "dance" :-) Of course, I do get strange looks sometimes. Hmm ....

Tonight, I have the chance to "facilitate" some space and conversations for a group of faithful servants who've been working faithfully for young people. I don't have many answers or fantastic insights for them (hope they won't be disappointed with me *smile*). But, I do hope to create an environement where we could be grateful, lament if necessary, be open to listen and ready to respond appropriately. I'm sure we'll have time to talk about stuff and reflect deeper about our ministries but God ... we need you in all this - we are so "human-centred" (in the name of relevance and sensitivity). Lord have mercy.

Wow. .. the effects of swimming is kicking in very well. The rain outside and a little thunder is a welcome presence.

Time to go ... through the traffic .... through more traffic ... Got an idea to redeem the time. Let's see whether there are batteries :-P

Have I Succeeded?

I read this while I'm breathing slower and not feeling driven ...

"To laugh often, to win the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" ~ Emerson

The Sense of the Call

It's been quite a while since I've posted up the books I've been trying to read. Very often, I'm overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I want to reflect on and yet have not seriously dwelt longer on. It's the I glance through lots of material widely but have a deeper desire to plunge in deeply as well.

Perhaps it's out of need as I'm my 7th year in BLC and my 10th year in living out my response to "the call" upon my life that drew me to this book. Marva Dawn's words below did catch my attention immediately:

"Why is it SO HARD to serve God these days? Everywhere I go, pastors and lay people tell me how discouraged they are. Congregational budgets are not being met; council leaders or influential members lurk and attack like crocodiles; volunteers are difficult to gather; there is always too much work to do and not enough time to do it, too many needs and not enough saints to meet them all."(p. 1)

someone asked me on Sunday how would I describe my last 6-7 years in planting and pastoring Bangsar Lutheran Church? I paused and replied, "It was much HARDER than I expected .. *smile*".

The funny thing is after a wedding recently, another "fulltime" pastor friend asked me how come I look so relaxed and seem like I'm enjoying what I'm doing. Perhaps the hardship doesn't show huh? I know I'm not acting or something. It''s true there are lots of surprising joys ... but there are also discouraging times. It's a mixed bag. I'm learning every day to take note of where "grace" is happening.

It was good to be reminded, "... the sense of our call is that God's Kingdom reclaims us, revitalizes us, and renews us and thus reigns through us before others, on behalf of others, sometimes in spite of others, and always with others." (p. 13). There's a lot to unpack in the last statement. And I'm looking foward to process this slowly through the book.

At this stage, I've only read until this part on "patience" ...

"... we need patience -- or perhaps we should resurrect the old rendering, "long-suffering". It will cost us loads of long hours, myriads of conversations, scads of sorrow, masses of disappointments and frustrations engaging people in the instruction and mission of the Kingdom. The only thing that makes it worth the bother is that the Kingdom is the only treasure worth having." (p. 18)

I'm not ready to "surrender" the whole concept and idea or image of "calling" to the my past charismatic experiences or encounters with so called "prophetic" personalities. I've been happily revising the content of what "calling" means and I trust it's closer to the Biblical-theological vision I'm growing to appreciate and understand better. Some baby steps forward with stumblings here and there. I think this book will give me some space and make room for more improvement.:-) I especially like the way the whole "Sabbath Way of Life" is thown in the equation.

Random Links 98

Amazing Grace: The William Wilberforce Story
Hope they bring this movie to Malaysia. :-)

Why theocentric preaching isn't as boring as it sounds
These two paragraphs caught my eye --> "The story of David and Goliath isn't about how to handle the giants in our lives. It's the story of a man who did the job God asked Israel to do hundreds of years earlier, which they'd neglected: to drive giants out of the land God had given them. It's about doing what God asked, even when what he asks seems impossible. Still relevant, and much closer to the purpose of the text.

Jesus obviously doesn't calm all the storms in our lives. The story is ultimately about Jesus' identity, and we're not meant to allegorize the storms. It takes a bit of work to get there, but I believe Mark's account of the story is there to communicate that the Kingdom is secure, even when everything looks lost, because Jesus is in charge. My circumstances aren't as important as the fact that Jesus is okay, and the Kingdom is okay because of that."

Post-Christendom hermeneutics
how does this relate to post-colonial hermeneutics? Need to talk about this with someone.

The New Testament Hyper-Concordance (thanks to Stephen Shields)
Will explore this further.

What’s the Point of Church…?
Ouch! There's lots of truth in these words, "“…Church takes place when groups of people get together with other people and do something outside of [their] own interests…[and in doing that] what we start to find is that community, church, fellowship is inconvenient, it’s costly, it’s about other people, it is organised, it is planned, and it’s intentional – some [of] the things that we’re all allergic too…

One of the reasons 55,000 Christians [across Europe] are leaving church every week is because – the problem is with the church, but [it’s] also because we will not pay the price of orientating our lives around following Jesus together…"

the unbelieving priest
I too wrestle with this ... "Sometimes I wonder how much a priest should artiiculate their own struggles, their own doubts. ... The issue isn't always about truth v. lies, but about how much of the truth you should tell in a given situation."

Dancing in New Creation's Light

Thanks Alwyn for capturing in words in his post Dancing in New Creation's Light how our offering of thanksgiving and worship unfolded during last night's 6th anniversary celebration for BLC.

"Hard to believe it's been a year since Bangsar Lutheran Church's (BLC) 5th Anniversary.. Last night we celebrated her 6th, a sweet evening of thanksgiving themed after creation, dancing, light and resurrection.

At the start, in typical much enjoyed BLC creativity, Sivin read from the creation account in Genesis 1 and during his reading, at the appropriate times, the small altar at the front was slowly furnished with :

...candles ("Let there be light"),
...water poured from a jar ("Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water"),
...sprinkled earth and a budding plant ("Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land..."),
...two balloons one bright one dark ("God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars"),
... a photo of a dove ("let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."), and
...toy animals[!] ("Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals").

In World Cup history there's this term, "total football", popularised by Holland in the late 70s', where every player is expected to be a striker, a defender, a mid-fielder and so on (of course only one person can catch the ball).

Likewise, if there's one church which understands the importance of engaging virtually all the human senses holistically in worship and the reading of God's Word, it's BLC. Such "total worship" was also witnessed in Soo Chian's mesmerizing dance to Ezekiel 17:22-24 ("I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain"). There's prophecy in motion if I've ever seen it.

Sivin then led us on a quick history tour of the past 6 years, his first slide photo being the state of the bungalow before it became The Father's House (BLC-ians' affectioned term for the venue). Everything looked simply torrid, lots of broken tiles, overgrown grass, dirt all over. And the only tenants were two dogs. An apt representation of the pre-creation 'chaos', the God-forsakenness of the world (and, sadly,our lives) which is our Lord's mission to redeem, repair and resurrect even at cost to Himself.

It was very clear from the slide tour that God has bathed Sivin and his little church with new light (sometimes, literally!), new growth, even new goals and new dancing (there was a great video of children, those whom we grown-ups can emulate faith-wise). In a word, God has given new life to an area which, six years ago, was a symbol of decay and abandon. That piece of land, that house, now reflects new creation, its members seeking to reflect the shine of Jesus all around ("We just want to be like Jesus" is one of the guiding mottos).

Reading the new footprints story, Sivin invited us to dance with God and His people and, in the missional tune, to teach the world this new dance, this music, this drama which is God's new world for those who would believe in His Son.

Paul Long then closed with a magic show involving a candle ("You are the light of the world") later crushed ("But don't just point out the faults of people") to become salt ("You are also the salt of the earth - mingle, be part of your world, learn from it and share yourself to it") and glowing red ("You are both light and salt"). Like much of the agenda last night, words can't - and shouldn't, IMO - suffice to capture what went on.

The prayers and gifts for the fathers (I guess it was a football, I was half-right) plus the sumptuous dinner capped a reverent evening. Thanks again, BLC, for role-modelling the kind of community even God can, and perhaps never ceases to, celebrate with holy hip-hop."

6th Anniversary Photo Appetizers

I'm grateful to see many working behind the scenes as well as more visible aspects. And for those who showed up and join our thanksgiving!

I enjoyed myself joining the deco team on Friday to see what they did. It was more of how they did it together that was worth the trip.

Guessing "Who am I?" has always been a fun and simple game. I was "Richard Gere" :-) The laughter was good.

I'm grateful we could make room for Yu Chiet, Gim Han, Ee Chia and Kia Meng to take some baby steps in affirming their faith, reconnecting to a local congregation and refocusing on their missional calling! :-)

Of course, the post worship gathering buffet meal is very much part of the celebration

One thing I enjoyed this year is to see a good mix around the tables where different generation mixed and we could have closer conversations with our guests.

Thanks DB for the appetizers. More to come!

Letter to Barefooters

Getting this email means so much to me ...and the BLC family. thanks

To our very dear BLC family,

You have been a family to us when we really needed one. We cherish the times we spent growing, learning, praying and eating together. You opened your hearts to us and accepted us. Even though outwardly we look very different, we found connection and common ground in the things that really matter. We were nourished, challenged and changed by our short time together with you. God showed us yet another facet of His grace, His plan and His purpose through all of you.

Happy Anniversary, BLC! Enjoy your curry or whatever turns up under the red tent. Meanwhile we will be searching for a church in America where everyone is barefoot and that serves roti canai and mee hoon goreng after the service. =)

Love,

Amy, Eric, Noah and Eliana

when I read the barefoot bit ... it connected with the two versions of "footprints" I used (classic version and 'New' version)to to open and close my sharing on the BLC Story - using the metaphors of walking and dancing!

Which Action Hero Would You Be?

You scored as Neo, the "One". Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix. Batman, the Dark Knight 71% Neo, the "One" 71% Lara Croft 54% Maximus 50% The Terminator 46% James Bond, Agent 007 46% The Amazing Spider-Man 46% William Wallace 42% Indiana Jones 42% El Zorro 38% Captain Jack Sparrow 8% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

I just woke up and I thought how about a quiz?

Random Thoughts while My wife is still awake!

There's so much beyond our "control". We can "cultivate" an environment and space but gettign over attached to the results can be tiring.

It's a lot of hard work this "move beyond" kind of thinking ... the temptation is to get stuck or revert back to old ways of framing the questions and pursuing the answers.

What does "change" involve? how does "transformation" take place? What are we looking for? Who are we willing to open up to support the process? Fixed paths may seem to be the easier path. Uncertainty can be paralysing. Change is never comfortable ...there's a counter intuitive dimension to it - a seemingly contradictory approach to our own thinking? At least for a moment.

Interesting to hear about how the imperfections of our church is actually a source of encouragement. Sure, we don't want to remain at a stage of brutal and plain honesty on our failings (which may lead to just giving excuses). genuine humility is conducive for growth towards maturity - with true passion and rare wisdom ... we're not there yet ... looks like a long way to go. three steps foward with perhaps one step back, another few steps forward and a fumbling here and there. Learning to dance is tricky.

It's always wonderful to see people included. It's always sad when we're losing touch with others disconnected. One person can't make everyone belong.

Nice to get more comments the last few posts. totally unexpected. All encouraging.

I enjoyed teaching someone to "hum" today and then later learn some unfamiliar songs. It was a bonus when we managed to do some parts.

Had a long day this morning. Good time thinking through and talking through the support needed so we can be freer or others can be freer to explore the meaning of "priesthood of all believers" and "vocation". Hope it works.

This continued with refining ideas of what community life might look like in BLC and experimenting more at a mental stage right now. I find myself benefitting a lot when I can "talk" through the ideas floating in my head. The conversations open up space to think deeper and be more creative and constructive.

More and more these days I'm learning to distinguish what are some urgent musings and what are more priority. There are times I think I'm really shallow, and other times I think there are sparks popping in my feeble brain. I'm learning to look at the "trees" better, but I still think it's easy to get lost in the "forrest".

Prayer - listening prayer ... is so so important. It's getting harder to communicate that in a world where it's either neglected or cheapened. how does one share the importance of prayer? For now, I just pray - create space for conversations, listening, waiting, rest with an awareness of God. Sometimes, it looks routine - feels ritualistic, etc. But it's a rhythm I'm growing to appreciate and cannot live without. Am I a prayer warrior saint or whatever? By no means! Like any human who needs to breath to live, I know I can't do otherwise when it comes to prayer - rightly understood - even if it's wasting time with the almighty.

Random Thoughts while everyone else is asleep

I was looking through the photos we've taken as part of the BLC story-journey. That's a LOT of photos to look at. Both old style as well as loads and loads of digital stuff. This one on Gareth I think at least 3 years ago is simply awesome. How could I have missed this one :-)

Time is moving so fast nowadays that it can become "frightening" if I don't pause and allow some of those "frames" of life to freeze. Looking at the past 6 years brought back lots of memories, some emotions, many insights ... little "whispers" here and there.

This exercise of looking through 6 years of pictures - was part of an Awareness Examen exercise I've been practising more intentionally the past three weeks. It's been helpful to have a fresh look at where I took baby steps forward, slipped, took steps back or even fallen flat on my face. This exercise is a conscious choice to sit down and have a greater awareness and understanding of my life script and where it could go from here.

Things are so unpredictable these days .. a "yes" can become a "no", a "no" might turn into a "yes", and there's lots of non-commital moments inbetween. I think I read from Lewis Smedes' book Caring & Commitment this quote that has stuck in me since, “When a person makes a promise, she reaches out into an unpredictable future and makes one thing predictable: she will be there when even being there costs her more than she wants to pay. … With one simple word of promise, a person creates an island of certainty in a sea of uncertainty.”". Watching John Q accidently on TV created some space in me to process this a little bit more.

Googled and found more quotes from Smedes on keeping promises which is rare these days: "Yes, somewhere people still make and keep promises. They choose not to quit when the going gets rough because they promised once to see it through. They stick to lost causes. They hold on to a love grown cold. They stay with people who have become pains in the neck. They still dare to make promises and care enough to keep the promises they make."

The Nasi Lemak and Chicken today at a nearby stall was better than I expected, so was the Ice Lemon Tea. These are little gifts (yes even though I had to pay for it) that brightens up a rainy night.

Noticed that even though we have different races seated in close proximity with each other there was no interaction. It was more of different races grouped around their respective tables and taking to each other with little contact with the "Other" who was unlike them. I sat alone.

After reading Genesis 1 during our worship practice tonight, I'm reminded again that it was "evening and morning" then it was one day. It's the evening right now, and the clock is ticking fast (at least steadily) moving towards morning... I'm getting ready to sleep while trusting God is still at work while I rest (in ways I'm not conscious of.)

Sometimes I wonder whether I've grown up or am becoming more like a child. Especially after enjoying playing Wiggly Worms with Gareth this morning as well as little things which give me a great sense of joy when I least expect it.

BLC is 6 years old ... wow!

Random Thoughts During a football match

I'm happy for Asia - KOREA REPUBLIC 2-1 TOGO!

I've been having some "long meetings" lately ... all necessary ... no nonsense ... lots of laughter ... many moments of seriousness ... real engagement ... we are dealing with important stuff :-)

I still haven't seen X-Men: The Last stand yet. Lots of other stuff to do first like "revising" the draft of a statement from the recent pastors & leaders retreat.

Looking forward for this Saturday's BLC Anniversary Worship Celebration and dinner. Interesting liturgy with some important additions ... a special "magical" appearance of Uncle Paul Long will be special indeed! :-)

I notice I've been falling asleep after the half-time whistle during the midnight football matches so far. I'm awake now because I'm blogging. I just heard a shout outside my apartment. Some people are getting a little too excited over this FIFA World Cup.

We had an interesting night Gareth and me last night when he couldn't sleep because of itchiness. I tried telling stories and he started telling stories. And then I can't remember who fell asleep first. I thought that was nice. Hope he sleeps through tonight.

I'm grateful for those who've been so faithful in "serving" in their respective roles and responsibilities in BLC. Now we are exploring deeper what "calling" REALLY means. A response to the divine initiative? :-) an honor ... with lots of learning experiences along the way. Part and parcel of spiritual fomation.

Might drop by the hospital tomorrow ... Lord, please be merciful to Aunty.

Got an email today requesting prayer. And we shall pray ... for one another. Christ have mercy.

Nothing much to say tonight. Perhaps more tomorrow.

Blessed Trinity

"... the feast of the Blessed Trinity, it is not an invitation to theological speculation about three persons in one God. Rather it recalls the experience of Jesus, our brother. He spoke of himself as a beloved son, as one who does not send himself but is sent on a mission, and as being joined by the Holy Spirit to the Father (this was the metaphor he liked to use for the sublime majesty of God). We too, sisters and brothers of Jesus, are sent into this world with a purpose, we are God's beloved children, and we are joined to God by the Holy Spirit -- we are temples of the Spirit. Already we are living in the life of the Trinity." ~ Sacred Space

Random Thoughts in between Football matches

I symphatize with Japan but the Socceroos made an amazing comeback! AUSTRALIA 3-1 JAPAN

It's nice to have the whole day with Gareth today. There were some "Hi's" and "Low's". We had a good afternoon nap. Both of us needed it!

Elysia's got some new vocab today!

I got two calls today ... both aren't "great news" (in fact it could be defined as "bad news"). My prayer is for "good news" to emerge ...

Haven't got back the Blogging rhythm back. Some one asked me where have I been? :-) I'm slowly coming back.

Interesting "breakfast" conversation this morning reflecting on some "phenomena" in our Malaysian Christianity especially in the youth scene. How does one deal with a kind of "over-aggresive" display of one kind of spirituality over other forms? And if one doesn't go with the "flow", what's the price? losing friends? Then why is our friendship based on whether we go with "one kind of flow" compared to giving the freedom and respect for us to express our spirituality in a different form or flow? I thought our friendship to one another is based on our common friendship to Jesus right? Of course, right now I'm thinking in a interdenominational context.

Random thoughts flowing here ...

Then again ... I might need to pause here ... help Gareth sleep first.

Random Thoughts after "Silent Prayer"

Making the "space" for silent prayer is so needed for me. A simple Awareness Examen settled me down. Walking through John 3:1-17 (later I glanced 18-21) using Lectio Divina made more room for me to spend some time Listening and reflecting on the Dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. The unhurriedness of practising this "Sacred space" is so needed!

I wondered yesterday what if we had another one? :-) Seeing Gareth and Elysia grow up has been rewarding. But there are also times like when the "sleeping" patterns are disrupted and things get frustrating that in our weakness we are tired as well.

May Chin sorted out my room!!!! Thanks, luv! I'm still trying to find out where's some of my things :-P

We had a very quite "wedding anniversary" - wow! it's been 7 years! I was away in Cameron Highlands. But, we managed to get in touch. So, often in my kind of schedules, lots of personal events have to be interupted here and there.

Lots of phonecalls to make, appointments to fix, meetings to support or facilitate. Lots of space needed for thinking, listening, praying, dreaming, fine-tuning.

The last two days has been helpful to "re-enter" my own life and ministry a fresh. The weeks away in Seremban with students of the seminary and another one with church leaders and pastors in Cameron has made some things clearer to me.

Changes .. changes ... changes ... unsettledness ... pilgrimage ... wilderness .. wanderings ... whisperings ... wonderings .... starting all over again ... back to the drawing board ... it's no longer about having the right plan, it's now more about being "prepared" .... Relooking at how "practices" & "processes" fit into the whole equation.

Friends move on, new friends enter in. Family adjustments and adaptations. Schedules running on a variety of rhythms - some times better, other times crazy! I need a swim ASAP. Re-practicing slowing down has been helpful ... many a times, I think it's more about "slowing down" internally as well ...

I love it when Elysia says "it's raining" in Mandarin .. "Xia Yu Lor!" :-) I'm always blessed to see the world through her eyes. Her loud crying can be difficult to handle, but when she's in her "wonder" mode ... she's an amazing "sign" pointing me back to stuff I need to see!

Slowly ... re-entering back into normal mode.

Random Links 97

Getting Your Numbers Right
This would have been helpful in a number of conversations I had the last three days at the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore Pastors and leaders retreat :-P

Simple Things You Can Do Right Now To Jumpstart Your Writing Efforts
so much common sense truth here.

Dealing With Our Differences
Was reminded of this during a yahoo chat especially when "liberal" is used liberally for descriptive purposes!

da Vinci Talking Points
these are those who would still like to talk about the issues raised DVC. that's ok.

The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism
interesting

Is Jesus the Answer or the Question?: rediscovering the role of mystery in our faith
There's so much mess that needs to meet with the Mystery ... and in the process we arrive to some meaning ... perhaps not so much of arriving, but sparked to embark on greater meaning?

Free of Charge: Review and Interview with Miroslav Volf
At first I thought the book was free of charge :-)

The "New" Footprints

From The 'New' Footprints ... I like this version, I mumbled it in one of the classes this past week ~ Sivin.

"Now imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking along the beach together. For much of the way the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying in the pace.

The Lord smiles, then laughs. "You didn't know?" He says. "That was when we danced."

Back from Seremban's Teaching assignment!

It's good to be back from the seminary in Seremban. And I feel a great sense of joy and satisfaction for completing my maiden course on Spiritual Formation & Discipleship (with an emphasis on Youth Ministry).

Part of the joy maybe is because I was part of the group that gave input in designing the overall course anyway, and now having a chance to teach and facilitate one of the courses is pretty cool! :-) But then again, I went through a load of stress in preparing the course (how ironic since I wanted to be in a more "contemplative" mode!) Of course, having Sherman Kuek as co-lecturer at least for 2 sessions out of the 15 sessions was a great help. All 15 sessions of around 2hour sessions in four days! Thanks bro! Thank God for energy (and some coffee)!

Sherman did the sessions where they had "theological perspectives" behind the title *smile*. I did the rest ... it was great to sit in his sessions and see him in action. I had lots of fun becoming a kind of "conversation partner" and like blogging chip in comments here and there. So, Sherman first "blogged" his lectures before the students and I "commented" .. I liked that.

I enjoyed teaching too ... and listening to the students as the were many times where we had very "conversational" moments.

The students were an interesting bunch all 9 of them! Add me that would be 10 right? Who says the course lecturer or facilitator isn't one of the students? :-) 1 baptist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 independent Charismatic, 2 Anglicans, 3 Methodists ... 2 men and the rest women.

There was a lot of good interactions, we practiced Lectio Divina and some "Examen" exercises (tweaked and contextualized), there was silence and songs, times of prayer and sharing. Lots of laughter, and some tears. Right from the start, this was not just knowing about "Spiritual formation". The course it self was meant to model it or create space and an environment for "Spiritual formation" to take place more consciously.

In that context we then covered a wide range of topics from theological-biblical-historical perspectives, to spiritual disciplines/practices, mentoring/spiritual friendships, community/belonging/small groups, intergenerational perspectives, the place of technology, some thoughts on change, etc.

One of the highlights which was mentioned today by one of the students was we had two youth Ben and Joan come for one of the sessions and they were "interviewed" by me so we could all see and hear what "spiritual formation and discipleship" meant for them. Here's an except from Ben post A visit to Seremban (Thanks Ben for the photos too!):

"Joan and I travelled down to Seremban yesterday on Sivin's request, to help with the week long course he's giving on Spiritual Formation and Discipleship in Youth Ministry.

It was a good experience; we were 'interviewed' by Sivin, and later fielded questions from his students. Along the way we talked about the impact and influence of d'NA, our experiences in church and the school Christian Fellowship, and the roles played by mentors, parents and friends in our walk with God.

Just before leaving, we popped by the STM library. It's quite a nice place, and we noticed that its copy of Eugene Peterson's The Message desperately wanted wear. Looks like the translation isn't a hot reference source for seminarians!

None of the following is true, although it was mentioned during our session: Mr Sherman Kuek lectures in the B.Th. (Bachelor of The Heresy) course at STM, and is willing to publish the entries on TMsquared via his company, SK Publications. ..."

Some other highlights outside of the classroom were our lunches and dinners together (I think I should include our tea breaks too). A lot of our conversations spilled over into our times around the meal table. Insights and questions raised from the course as well as from our lives so easily flowed in and out of our "table talks" which was very rewarding for me.

Another highlight was the two journeys back home to KL that I took. The first was in one of the students car where we again continued a variety of topics through our drive back on the highway, and in later there was a time where one shared a slice of life during a train ride back with me. The second journey home which was today where I had the chance of having another student as a fellow passanger as I drove back and sent him to the bus stop. And it's amazing how small this world is and some names were mention whom I knew, and that led to us to talk about the nature of learning, theology, and teaching.

So all in all ... yes, it was stressful especially being my time teaching a full course in seminary (with Sherman's help of course), yes, it was challenging and many a times I wondered whether I offered enough for the students or whether there was enough content. I was encouraged through the feedback, the "What" I gave was appreciated and the "How" I presented it was accessible which was a great relief :-)

What was important at the end is we "made space for not just learning but also for the Spirit to breath upon us"! I felt very much part of the process.

So will I take on another course come day and land up back in Seremban not just to borrow books from the Library or pay fines, or hang out with some of the lecturers, or check on our our denomination students are doing, etc?

Who knows? For now ... Phase 1 and phase 2 of the "crazy weeks" are over .. phase 3 is coming in 24 hours time, and somehow, I think I missed a phase 4.

"Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me!"