Sivin Kit's Garden

Random Thoughts after Networking overload

[this cool bike above is at the lobby of the resort we are in]

There's a sudden feeling of "networking" overload right now which makes me need some "unload" time right now. Thus, random thoughts return.

I'm glad I'm here ... at Port Dickson. I'm sensing a kind of leading of some sort. Now it's discerning what is the next step.

The dinner tonight was good ... not because of the food (which was also good) but because of the opportunity to listen to men who are so much more smarter and in many ways wiser than I am. The conversations beyond dinner have totally stimulated me until I find it hard to sleep. Thus, some random thoughts.

I hope I can cope in the next few days physically and emotionally :-)

I miss my kids and wife.

I need to work out how to "delegate" for church ministry tomorrow.

I find myself genuinely and happily suprised by what is "emerging" out of the new relationships forged and the conversations since Monday night until now. I never imagined this would have happened. These surprises are good.

It's nice to get lots of goodies - books, CDs, DVDs etc.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day - with some traveling and connecting people again. I'm noticing this today "connect" - "connect" - "connect" ... I enjoy it. It energizes me to see what might possibly happen.

Glad there was no rain today.

I got to know my room mate better today too ... he's sleeping.

I've got a lot of things on my mind. Name changes. Possible new directions. It's easier to think about Malaysia. Asia seems big but perhaps that is one dream to consider. After all is said and done, some of the current "networking" - or genuine friendships formed is already better than I expected.

I have so much I need to learn ... and there's much floating in my head that requires settling down. Keeping theological reflection close together with missional praxis consciously is a fascinating exercise. Now how to we move to the next level and do this in community ... naturally (and perhaps virtually?) but more important consistently for a sustained period of time which would bring genuine fruit.

I REALLY feel much gratitude to those who made it possible for me to be at this place. A big thank you to them .. a Big thank you to God!

Now, feeling a little bit wiser :-) more restful ... with much more reforming to happen .. I shall move into horizontal meditation - sleep. :-)

Younger Leaders Gathering 2006

Finally I managed to make it for the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering 2006. At first I thought I was unable to make it due to multiple reasons but thanks be to God I'm here. And I'm glad to be able to get the wifi signal in our room!

Here's the YLG 06 Blog.

Am I Emerging/Emergent if I'm ...?

I laughed and laughed the first time I saw this You Might Be Emerging If… Apparently Brian McLaren has strong opinions on this. Hamo from Oz did his version here You TOO might be emergent… which inspired me to join the fun :-) I will take great liberty to rephrase whatever I want - as a form of self-examination.

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Might I Be Emerging/Emergent if…

I am a Thirty something Chinese Malaysian (Ok I'm not too sure about how Chinese I am .. but that's another story). Can never get that mustache grown in time (dont' even talk about a goatee!) Defintely no sign of body piercing and tatoos.

from

a short while lingering in (I'm cheating here ... I spend 5 wonderful Childhood years here)

I use a Compaq Presario X1000 (Note: I don't own it, the church loans it to me)

Without me giving last names (in some cases first names), I still know who these people are:

Yoon
Lesslie
Hwa
Ng
Brian
Siti
Wong
Sherman
Jason
Herman
Alwyn
Scot
Mahatma
Boon
Hsi
Tony
David
D.T.
Tan
Abdullah

I like to drink

and reading or discussing one or more of the following:

and of course ...

with a liberal (at times conservative) dose of

Lor ... Lah ... Ah? ... Aiyo! ... What.... Changgih! ... Wahlau ...

I'm listening to:

on my (ok I confess I do have an IPOD but most of the time I use the notebook to listen)

I use these words in a positive way:

Contextual, Christ, Creed, Post-colonial, Conversation, Asian, Resonate, Authentic, Missional, Catalyst, Center, Journey, Partners, Local, Global, Lutheran, Jesus, Quest, Random, Blog, Emergent, Emerging, Learning, Culture, Social Concern/Justice, Open, Scripture, Heritage, Theology, "Jamban"

I use these words in a negative way:

Legalism, Arrogance, Heresy-hunting, Judgmental, Trends, Hype, Busyness, Imperialistic, Insensitive, Rationalistic, Technique, Formulas, Religious, "Sui"

I have

on the windscreen and

stuck on my rear view mirror

on my (which in reality belongs to my wife!)

-or- (my son would have prefered)

I have to look at these pics twice because it might be me:

(actually once will do!)

Our worship service looks like

-or-

-or-

-or-

-or-

This is my leg:

I see this on a website and know exactly what to do:

I do quite a sense of humor,I'm not REALLY that tad irritated with this post.

* This “list” is neither exhaustive nor exclusive. No single one of these traits indicates that I might be part of the EC, but at some point, a cummulative weight will let me know if I am Emerging or Emergent.*

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On a more serious note, it took me quite a while to do this post. Dan Kimball is insightful here after walking us through Origins of the terms "Emerging" and "Emergent" church :

"What all this word origin discussion means in the light of world problems, people suffering, wars etc. is so incredibly insignificant and even silly..."

Emergent Echoes

Yesterday it felt good to send in a article entitled "A Quest for Authentic Faith & Community in the World Today: Eavesdropping on the “Emerging church”/”Emergent” conversation" to a local Malaysian Christian Publication. I will post it up after they publish it :-)

Being excited I sent it out a "sneak preview" to see if there would be any responses. Here's some edited versions of what they said and my immediate (slightly unrefined) reply. I'm posting up these conversations between us Malaysians to give a glimpse on themes and concerns (their words and questions in bold):

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Are the words used to describe Emergent movt and Emergent churches ours (i.e. Malaysians speaking that same language)?

Some of us find "resonance" with the words used like missional, conversation, friendship, and the characteristics mentioned in the Emerging Churches book. But I can only speak for myself and some of us (which to me is a minority). Thus, I don't "see" this movement here (as compared to the cell church movement, etc) .. it's too early to tell. I would suspect that some of us might find some convergence with the themes discussion in the more theologically oriented Emergent Village related conversations ... (cf. McLaren, etc). At least I do, whether or not postmodern is used. I talked about it in my book review on the Church on the other side here years ago (before Brian was making waves and facing with criticisms)

Personally, I don't like the term "emergent churches" (sounds too much like a brand) .. I can bear with emerging churches as a descriptive term (in short I don't like branding)

I did not hear you mention what words some of those at the Emergent Malaysia might use to describe why they came together.

good question .. we tried to hint at it here and there in the last part .. an article is always limiting. I'll try to send an email to the Yahoogroup and see some response.

I think it would be good to get a local perspective - local stories / narratives of the issues people are having about their churches. If not we still follow a trend began in the US or in the West and so may be seen as being Western-influenced.

I think we are slowly working on this .. but with caution - because we want to handle with care some of the stories ... and allow some space for constructive processes to take place .. so when the stories are shared, some angst have been worked through.

Like it or not, because of how we are already so influenced ... it's not suprising, we have similar results with what is happening in the US and west. One person did comment to me .. our "angst" is more respectful :-) and less deconstructive.

Personally, I have consistently insisted right from the start ... using the phrase "conversation partners/friends" to differentiate that we are NOT merely "following a trend" imported from the west (cf. in contrast with "whole sale imported" programs?) I think this distinction is important.

Anyway good piece to get people thinking about it. Now will they begin to look at themselves and their churches and learn to be self-aware and self-critical? May our Lord move us to reflect Him and not ourselves.

Thanks, I had the impression people wanted a kind of primer and intro about it. and then a little on any thing in Malaysia :-) Appreciate your participation in one way or another.

Thanks for the preview. I have enjoyed reading the article. It will be a good introduction to readers on what the emergent church and movement is all about. It will also introduce readers or even make known that there is Emergent Malaysia. Good work.

That was what I think was expected so, we went along that drift. Notice, we never used the term "emergent church" in the piece. It was quite deliberate. Persoanlly, I don't like the term (because it's tends towards a branding mentality I'm uncomfortable with). I'm still ok with emerging churches, and Ray Anderson's use of "emergent" theology (see attached excerpts from what I think is his useful contribution theologically to the whole jazz - here (preface) and here (chapter 1)). In my mind, I think I would generally follow Anderson's way of seeing the whole phenomena and what is possible.

At this stage I don't "see" an emerging church movement in Malalysia (cf. compared to what we felt through the cell chruch movement for example) and it's very much still a conversation amongst a small group of us. I may be wrong.

If I may offer some comments ... you have not adequately addressed the issue why so many mainline churches are wary of the emergent church movement. I know you have touched on it briefly. As a reader, as I read your piece, it sounds as if the emergent movement is the coming revival. Then I would wonder why so many church leaders are worried about it (and it is not the generational gap).

Perhaps as one who is not an "objective" outsider, I can't hide some of the excitement because of how being part of the conversation has generated for me personally. But I'm not sure "the emergent movement is the coming revival" was what I intended. I think it's a needed conversation, I think we need to allow for some space for it.

As for critics, if you read the 9 Marks link .. I think the authors there have articulated themselves pretty clearly. It's interesting to read the one Bio datas of the authors.

it is not so much from mainline churches (e.g. Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran - in fact according to Diana Bass she is welcoming of the developments) One of the early participants (and still is) of the emergent village USA coordinating group is Rev. Karen Ward (who encouraged me to blog by the way) She isl inked with the Lutheran and episcopalian denomination in church planting. I see the emerging church movement and emergent conversation (notice we try to distinguish it a little without dividing it) as part of the bigger move of the Missional Church emphasis (which I STRONGLY feel has relevance in a contextual form in Asia)
This link captures the deeper theological currents underneath (Emergent is mention at the end of the article).

Where did the initial definition of the emergent church (the not flattering one) comes from?

I think you have brought out a good point (an earlier draft included it - maybe I should have put it in) - but the piece was getting longer. It's mentioned in Brian's Book A Generous Orthodoxy. But Dan Kimball tells us about it here and here

The article reads a bit choppy. The flow is not really there

Perhaps we were trying too hard to sqeeze too much in there. And then again, it might actually reflect reality of our "choppy" conversations :-)

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"... The problem I have is that in this conversation, I am just learning to speak. I have not spent enough time to make any comments of significance in terms of trends and the thoughts of writers. so sorry, I can't comment much on the academic aspects of the article. However I must say that if really pushed for why I would then want to align myself with a "conversation" that is generally badly maligned and misunderstood, it would simply be the attractiveness of the godly spirit in which the whole "movement" is set and the generally uncharitable spirit in which other camps which fight for truth seem to have.

... people are more receptive and open simply becasue they know you genuinely respect and love them - even if you might disagree with them strongly etc."

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Posted by sivinkit at 01:40 AM | Comments (7)

HOW TO SMILE LIKE GOD

Thanks Bob Brow for this piece. I sure miss our email exchanges :-)
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"How can you say God smiles when there is not one reference to smiling in the Bible? And yet smiling seems to be an essential characteristic of genuine Christian faith.

Obviously some kinds of smiling are not compatible with the love of God. There is the smile of the torturer who loves to watch his victims writhing in agony. When gladiators were made to fight in the Roman arena, the emperor and his officers smiled as a brave man died. And there is the smile of self-satisfaction when an opponent is defeated in a business deal.

But here is a list of some of the smiles that make life happier and more beautiful:

THE SMILE OF GREETING As I have been convalescing from a stroke, I have gone walking every day. I try smiling at those I meet. About one in five are happy to respond with a smile. My wife Mollie who died two years ago was known as the lady who smiled at everyone. A warm loving church congregation is recognized by the smiles.

THE SMILE OF WELCOME Lovers smile when they see each other. We smile at friends and relatives and children. If people don’t smile when you come to their home you know you are not welcome. "Please come another day when it is more convenient for me." But that can also be turned into a smile as we say "Can you come later this afternoon?"

THE SMILE OF FORGIVENESS When we are greeted with a smile if we have made a terrible blunder or said the wrong thing, we know we are forgiven.

THE SMILE FOR ENEMIES Paul said "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). The best way of restoring a relationship or winning over an enemy is to make up our mind to smile when we meet them.

The problem is that each of these kinds of smile only emerges from adopting a heart attitude. The smile begins long before it is expressed. With an enemy or tiresome person at work you have to practice the smile till it comes out naturally at the right moment.

Now we can see that God’s love for us is a continuing greeting. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit love it when we notice them on the way. They never exclude us or say "come back when it is convenient for me." And there is always forgiveness for us, however badly we have failed or hurt one of the members of the Trinity. Their way of winning over enemies is by smiling at them again and again.

Having grasped the smiles of God, we can then ask for the miracle of smiling to bubble up from deep within our heart. When that happens life takes on a wonderfully new quality of love and joy and peace."

Voice of Asia from Malaysia

Sherman has been offering some dishes for us to taste and see whether it's good for all - especially those of us in Asia. I'll pick out some samples (in bold) and throw in a few comments.

Voice of Asia (Prologue)
"A friend of mine - a journalist by training, presently working as a writer for a mission organisation and also a student of the seminary I teach in - has been engaged in a series of conversations with me concerning Christianity in Asia, and more specifically, in Malaysia. This conversation arose from his interest in understanding the present ethos of Asian Christianity and how the Church in Asia may seek to mature in her faith and proclamation of the gospel."

Indeed we often clarify ourselves better in conversation with "another".

Voice of Asia (1)
"Let me begin with what is not (and if I may emphasise, what should not be) a primary influence of Asians coming to Christ - arguments, no matter how logically coherent they may be. I think many well-meaning western-influenced apologetic-inclined Christians are culturally very insensitive and disconnected from the local paradigm of life and religious faith. They think that if they come with a nicely charted out linear-logically constructed argument about why Jesus should be embraced as Saviour and Lord, then people are obligated to accept the faith. Eventually, they find themselves becoming little more than pedlers of a historical faith that has been reduced into a series of simplistic propositions about the Christian faith. In their process of gospelising the Asian society, the heart of the gospel itself is somewhat lost.

... To sum up, I would say that a solely propositional proclamation of the faith (represented by logical arguments, also called "apologetics") is deficient in representing the heart of the Christian faith. The faith must be presented as a relational one, where God is demonstrated as the personal God. For the fulfilment of this requisite, I believe power encounters have been very instrumental in the propagation of the gospel in Asia. This case becomes self-explanatory when one contemplates on the way in which the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement has grown in Asia in the past several decades."

Voice of Asia (2)
"I think our understanding of the Christian faith needs to be restored into a communal paradigm of life and faith before Christian discipleship can take place effectively. After all, the community of faith is the interpretive community for the revelation of God. Much of Christianity here needs to rise beyond an individualistic paradigm. Local Christians need to learn to live within community, for community, and be accountable to community for the way they choose to express their faith in their lives. Only within such kingdomic relationships will Christian discipleship take place in an authentic and effective way."

Voice of Asia (3)
"What I'm trying to say is, deeply etched within the Asian cultural paradigm is a narratival way of communicating our values. Why should it be different for the communication of the gospel? Look at the way Jesus communicated with the Asian crowd (just so we're reminded that Christianity IS an Asian faith!) - what method of communication did he commonly use? Stories! He narrated his theological principles in the form of stories. Stories have a powerful way of impacting people, ranging from the most intellectually sophisticated to the most simple-minded people. Stories have a way of penetrating through psychological and emotional defences that people erect to guard their reluctance to change."

and even our cultural vocal chords are no longer "pure" but may sound "hoarse" after the pounding of foreign influences for better or worse and has evolved into what is before us now (and not we nostalgically we may want it to look like?)

Voice of Asia (4)
"We also need to re-examine our foundations. Within our tradition, this preceeding statement itself would provoke a fear of slipping into the clutches of liberal theology. But to not re-examine our foundations is to embrace the equal folly of misrepresenting the heart of the gospel, which may constitute an equal wrong. There are those among us who have emphatically affirmed that as Asian Christians, we have to move beyond the colonial Christianity that we have received. In the same breath, it is emphasised that this enterprise has to start with the word of God. But isn't our understanding and handling of the word itself (our hermeneutical exercise) also colonially conditioned? Do such realities not need to be acknowledged? If so, does it not also present the imperative of examining, deconstructing, and reconstructing our foundations? Are we culturally as unperceptive as many well-meaning colonial missionairies were? If the Christian faith has in all these past decades and centuries been presented as a faith based on a linear-logical foundation, perhaps it is time for us to recover the circular-logical and parallel-logical dimensions of the faith as Asian Christians. If it has all this while been based on a propositional foundation, perhaps it is time for us to recover the relational and intuitive dimension of the faith as an authentic Asian faith."

perhaps we are working with a kind of "rationality" that includes reasons (while recognizing it's limits) and relationality (which perhaps may have been neglected and needs renewed emphasis) as a key enviroment in which we reason, experience, feel, guess, explore, etc.

Voice of Asia (5)
"For as long as Malaysia does not have an intention to develop a theology that is grounded upon our own contextual realities and be willing to pay the cost for that belief, I don't think we will be anywhere near being ready to send missionaries on a large scale into the missionfield. We will merely continue living on a borrowed faith and subsist on teachings from the West which aren't very connected to our context of ecclesial life and theology."

Voice of Asia (6)
"We need to see, as a Malaysian Church, that we are "called" into different vocations based on our personalities, our giftings, our competencies, and our dispositions. These vocations are the very platforms for us, as Malaysian Christians, to be salt and light in the world. Our vocations are the vehicles for our being the sacramental presence of Christ in the world. Only when this theological value is ingrained in the Malaysian mind that it will "make sense" for one to desire to establish the presence of Christ through his/her vocation in a less developed nation."

I think more posts are on the way.

Random Links 114

A MHP Interview with Simon Chan, author of Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community (HT: Sherman)
OK! I'm getting the book ... for now this sounds good: "If the church is extrinsic to God, then its worship is equally extrinsic, a matter of taste and of fulfilling some pragmatic end like evangelism. If the church is essentially a sociological reality, then worship is largely to achieve certain social ends. But if the church is a spiritual reality, linked in some intrinsic way to the life of the Trinity—and this link can only make sense if the church is related to God’s eternal purpose—then worship is also a spiritual activity intrinsic to the very being of the church. If the action of the triune God brings forth the church, then worship is simply the response of the church to the work of the Trinity.

... A church whose drawing point is the polished sermon of the preacher is likely to draw people of a certain intellectual level. Whereas a good liturgical service with its sights and sounds, tactile and visual elements, rational and imaginative dimensions, fixed (“ordinaries”) and variable components (“propers”) will have something for all classes of people from all walks of life."

My vision of our great Church (Ht: Maggi)
I sent this to my Bishop .. he replied positively: "...the best things happen in parishes. Important bishops may stack up the air-miles travelling to important meetings, but it's really in parishes* that the Church does its stuff: the assembly at the school; communion in the home for the elderly; going for a walk with the woman whose husband has left her; the funeral visits; the youth-club disco; fund-raising for the local homelessness charity; the bloke out walking his dog and stopping to tell you how long he has waited for his operation.

God flits in and out of the conversation. Then it all comes together on a Sunday morning, as the word is preached and the bread is broken. For a real treat, it all has to be topped off with the choir singing Howells's Coll. Reg. at evensong. None of this is theological rocket science, but it's what we do best. Act local, think cosmic."

Some theses on heresy
wow! "A mere recitation of confessions of Jesus Christ does not preserve theology from becoming heretical, but makes it all the more heretical. The mere recitation of confessions is christological superstition."

Disappointment with the Church
There's more than meets the title in this book review!

Is Christianity Irredeemably Sexist?
This is not merely about women's ordination or being in leadership!

Salvation and Spiritual Formation
Interesting ...

A Grace Party
We need more of these!

Emergent Carson?

* Andrew Hamilton (Hamo) did us a great service by posting up his recent conversations with D.A. Carson - and confirms to me the need to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slower to publish. That is partly why people like me in Asia have been pretty silent and cautious on matters regarding emerging church movement or emergent conversation unless I'm asked. Hamo did ask me to give some thoughts which was nice - and I said I'd try to do it after an article i wrote on "the emerging church movement" for a local monograph/magazine. For now, I'll pick out the stuff Hamo wrote that caught my attention.*

The Carson Conversation I
"I re-read Carson’s book on the day before and as I did got quite angry at the criticisms he levelled which just are not true of most of those I know in the Australian scene. I found myself needing to stop and pray that we would listen to each other and not just fire a bunch of bullets, because I was not impressed."

... One thing he did stress was that he felt the EC in Oz (at least as defined by Geoff and I) would not be considered EC in other parts of the world. Hmmm… And therein lies much of the problem.

the Carson Conversation II
"Those who know me would know that I haven’t always sat comfortably with the term ‘emerging church’, because it has such different meanings around the world and I don’t want to sign on to some of those definitions.

... A large part of my concern with what Carson had to say was related to the fact that I don’t know any theologically aberrant ECers, but the book seemed to suggest they were the norm."

The Carson Conversation III
"Someone asked me if I still see myself as part of the emerging church, given Carson’s critique and his statement that ‘we may not actually be considered emerging in other parts of the world’. My response is to say ‘Yes I am.’ Not because I subscribe to all that he critiques, but largely because I am not about to allow him to define me out."

The Carson Conversation IV
"He did however mention yet again that we seemed to be of a different breed to the North American scene and that he was not concerned that we drift off in eccentricity. That’s an interesting comment because (as much as I am ignorant) I would assume there is great diversity in the US scene also."

The Carson Conversation Final Reflections
"Perhaps the critique that is offered of the EC would be better received if it were not given (by some) with the implication that many of us are probably no longer Christians. In the face of those kinds of comments I do get tempted to sign up for a crazy liberal theological position just out of frustration. Usually its only the more wacky ‘reformed’ bloggers who make these suggestions, but others sometimes walk a thin line too."

Sivin makes the point that even if there is some validity of this stuff to the English speaking western world, there is still Asia and Africa to consider. Do they fit the critique also? Sivin - I’d love to hear your take on it all.

"If I had to choose some issues to say ‘yes’ to, then I’d sign on to the final warning about sectarianism. There is always the danger of creating divisions and polarising, not what we are about (see Geoff’s section) Of course the publishing of the book actually contributed to a further marginalisation of the ECs as churches became somewhat more skeptical and other significant leaders (Piper etc) began to speak out also. So in a sense the sectarianism was actually foisted on us by the critique."

eMo 2006.9: And What Have You Been Reading?

Funny thing is this was the first time we've met at a Starbucks for an emergent Malaysia open meeting (eMo for short) . I think it's also a first for using Sunday as well. It was a small group of 9 of us this round (would have been 10 if I didn't miss seeing an SMS sent to me earlier) but good to have those who were missing for quite a while make their return.

As usual Alwyn is the fastest blogger to "craft" a post out to reflectively report our meeting yesterday afternoon here: And What Have You Been Reading?
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Stepped for the first time into Bangsar Village. New mini-mall: low ceilings, cool clean ambience, perfect for family shopping, a date, a comfortable meal and catching up with friends.

Met up with Sivin, Alpha, Reuben, Don, Kia Meng, Yew Khuen, Joanne and Jade at the Bangsar Village Starbucks. Kinda interesting how books led the (informal) agenda.

Got a copy of Stanley Grenz's Renewing the Center, generously bought for me by Sivin (can't wait to take that with me to the train-station!) Flipped through it and one of the first sub-sections I saw was Rethinking Calvinism. Ahh. Like I said, can't wait.

Jade talked a little about her latest N.T. Wright book, Simply Christian. She contrasted it with C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, noting how MC had a more rationally oriented bent compared to SC which used worship as a launching pad for thinking about Christian coherence, spirituality, mission from both individual and communcal perspectives.

She highlighted Wright's triple perspectives on the integration between 'heaven' and 'earth', the first being pantheistic (where nature is worshipped as God), second the deistic view (where God is absent) and finally the (presumably) Christian view with God being the creator yet suffering for His creation and creatures. (Note: Wright also talks a lot about the dualistic view - where nature is ignored or degraded - in his other books and how the Gospel is meant as a subversive challenge to both pantheism and dualism - deism is more of an Englightenment add-on to these two ancient worldviews).

Simply Christian is out in paperback, at least in the UK. May it make it's way safe to our local bookshops, if it hasn't already.

Then Yew Khuen and Joanne told us how their cell-group was studying Philip Yancey's (who's actually a proto-Emergent, in someone's colourful phraseology) What's So Amazing About Grace?, particularly their delight at how their cell members began pouring out their stories bit by bit. Yancey, like many good authors, gently carves out a pathway in our hearts for further questions, deeper authenticity and awe from the "scandal" of grace and overall more sensitivity to the world and God's heart for it. [Disclaimer: These aren't their exact words, but I hope I won't be seen as just making things up! *grin*]

Somewhere between 3.30 and 5 o'clock we re-celebrated Alpha's wonderful quote about nurturing the hunger for God - surely one of the best gifts we could offer to seekers, to struggling disciples, to the younger generation.

Reuben then told us a little about SoulAction. He also shared about how Raj, pastor of CLGC, announced to the church a scientifically proven method for selecting a cell-group: Go to the buletin board, take a look at the faces of the cell leaders, and choose your cell! This was part of a discussion about how there is a "hierarchy" (often unspoken, at times oft-spoken) that a Christian must progress along in his life of discipleship, and about how there is a lot of suppressed pressure and anxiety by many Christians about 'moving up' the ladder.

(Urgent: We also need to stop right now and pray for Pastor Raj's little boy who's suffering from dehydration of sorts and as at this afternoon was warded. His condition is stable but let's ask the Spirit to heal him and be with Raj's family.)

We then more or less rounded with Alpha and Kia Meng briefly mentioning their leafing through M. Scott Peck's People of the Lie and James KA Smith's Who's Afraid of PostModernism? respectively. I was intrigued by both. I haven't read a word of Peck (except in a few of those motivation books), only know him for The Road Less Travelled and didn't even know he passed away last year.

As for Smith's book, Kia Meng briefly touched on Smith's selective dealing with aspects of Derrida ("There is nothing outside the Text" - everything has to be seen in context, not that there is no meaning or objective reality outside language), Foucault (discipline isn't always a 'bad' thing and in fact breeds true freedom, especially in a community like the church) and Lyotard (we needn't be concerned about Christianity being a meta-narrative because it isn't one[!], hence the possibility of full-blown declaration and proclamation of the Gospel). For an on-going and very scholarly conducted discussion of Smith's book go to Church & PostModern Culture: Conversation.

Two hours. Half a dozen books and more than a dozen conversations. Loads of laughter, learning and comraderie. What more could one ask for?

eMo 2006.9: Because We Miss Each Other?

Here's the invitation I sent our via our yahoorgroup.
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... we also don't have any "big" thing or agenda for this round. The fact is some of us miss each other, or have new friends to introduce to one another, or are trying to keep up with our reading, etc. So, probably the main accent of this coming meeting is "friendship" and charting the remaining part of the year. Exploring some possibilities for Brian McLaren's visit for 2007, and how we can "get ourselves organized" :-)?

If I can manage a little topic I will try - but I dare not make any promises yet. It's been a fruitful time of ministry from a local church perspective and personal end like my experience with SIBKL's E06 conference. So, there's a lot on my mind. And lot's to throw out for all to consider. I know Raj and CLGCPJ has something coming up with I think is good in November.

WHEN?
September, 17 SUNDAY
3pm

WHERE?
Bangsar Village
Star Bucks (got free wi-fi I heard)

WHAT?
Catch up .. and whatever I can manage to get us going.

Raj did an excellent paper on Ecclesiology .. which I'm very tempted to have him share a summary of his paper (rumor said *grin* it was very well done!)
It may be good to use his thoughts as a center and then others chip in ..

I know Kia Meng has been reading Jamie Smith's book on Who's afraid of postmodernism?
Yew Khuen on Volf's Free of Charge
Jade owe's us her thoughts on Wright's Simply Christian

(Or cant we meet simply Because we miss each other?)

Of course, it's more than just wanting to meet up ... it's a chance to enrich and sharpen each other ...

Humor and Faith

"Humor, is in fact, the prelude to faith;
and laughter is the beginning of prayer."
- Reinhold Niebuhr, Humor and Faith, 111

Random Thoughts after Ikea Meeting

I enjoyed the meatballs and chips at Ikea tonight. A bunch of us formerly know as "crazies" now "sinners anonymous" or "sinonymous" transformed the table for food into a table of fellowship and faith.

It's wonderful when someone introduces you as "my pastor" - something "good" happens for me when those words are uttered. I'm thankful.

Glad I got a phonecall which became an opportunity for someone to "persevere" and join us tonight. I get the feeling she's happy she did :-)

We had a full attendance tonight... ok minus one who's somewhere in USA and another still awaiting her first visit - and anyone else who may come our way.

It was funny to hear the reminders for us to get our last re-fill for our coffee/tea or soft drinks. We giggled when we were informed how the shuttle buses have been upgraded. We were also more conscious of our time. 10pm was time to go gome. For some they went for the "afterglow" round two!

"it was refreshing, and closest to experiencing a church again after many months" ... it's words like this that energize me further ... I know it doesn't happen all the time ... but when it does ... it's worth a mini-celebration.

we started with our stories, then we entered the story in Mark's gospel chapter 7 verse 24 onwards. We first acknowledge each other and the stories we carry with us, and then together we meet the syro-phonesian woman and witnessing her encounter with Jesus can shake us up a little ... Jesus words: "I'm impressed!" These words stuck in my mind. The Message does help open new horizons when it comes to meditation.

The small Bible with small words caught my attention today.

This world is getting smaller and smaller these days.

The last 7 years have been a journey of enlarging my horizons indeed.

Had to make a decision today. Made me think about my inadequacies. Forced to check on what "moves" me more.

Surprised by actions taken by people - perhaps the intentions were "noble" but then good intentions are not what's the only quality needed when it comes to helping people. Wisdom is crucial too. Having a more "together" mindset (and not individualistic) will REALLY help.

Got a fresher perspective of Martin Luther today ... it ranges from "farting" to "freedom" :-) More in another post ...

An Eternal Conversation

"Truth is an eternal conversation about things that matter, conducted with passion and discipline" - Parker Palmer

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Signs

"signs" point us to something or someone greater or more than the sign can signify ... here are some signs I could "capture" - human created as well as God created. At times they are side by side.

Random Links 113

Voice of Asia (Prologue) ((1) (2)
Looking forward to see how Sherman develops this series. He's surely one of the voices I'm listening to these days :-)

The Centre of Theology and Philosophy (Online Papers)
Voices from the west worth paying some attention?

Radical Orthopraxy
My good friend beating this drum again to get our attention :-) perhaps it will be interesting to note the context that spurs such reflections.

Church Planters Reading List
Got some and will take a look at some I missed.

FreeDerekWebb.com
I was happy to download the whole album and recommend it to others.

Redeeming church meetings
As one who still goes for meetings, and even facilitate quite a few, I found this imaginary paraphrase of Jesus words insightful : ""When you attend meetings, don't think that it's the end-all, be-all of discipleship. Don't think of it as 'paying your dues'. Instead, put meetings in their proper place, as opportunities to celebrate the goodness of God, rehearse the story of redemption, and encourage one another in following me.""

Four Kinds of Temperament in Prayer (via Stephen Said)
Catholic spirituality applied ... good stuff. Read this years ago. Good reminder.

A Divine Conspirator & Dr. Willard's Diagnosis
I appreciate stuff like this: "A consequence of Willard's academic honesty is his unwillingness to state who's in and who's out spiritually, which bothers critics who worry that he is a universalist. He says he doesn't believe anyone will be saved except by Jesus, but he adds, "How that works out, probably no one knows."" and the following re-occuring theme is needed again and again, can we hear it? "Dr. Willard's diagnosis: A lot of us are doing Christianity at a putt-putt level. We want to be forgiven without following Jesus."

How to Have Better Conversations
Nice to reminded of nothing that revolutionary.

Myers Briggs Prayer

Thanks Stephed Said for this prayer guide That ENFP prayer suits me accurately. For more on Myers Briggs personality types go here

ISTJ: Lord help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 am e.s.t.

ISTP: God help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.

ESTP: God help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they're usually NOT my fault.

ESTJ: God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.

ISFJ: Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.

ISFP: Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don't mind my asking).

ESFP: God help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.

ESFJ: God give me patience, and I mean right NOW.

INFJ: Lord help me not be a perfectionist. (did I spell that correctly?)

INFP: God, help me to finish everything I sta

ENFP: God,help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.

ENFJ: God help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?

INTJ: Lord keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be.

INTP: Lord help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.

ENTP: Lord help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I'll settle for a few minutes.

ENTJ: Lord, help me slow downandnotrushthroughwatIdo.

Amen.

Random Thoughts on a Sunday Night

Elysia surprises me daily with a new antics ... Gareth makes me smile with his growing maturity. May Chin has been cooking some yummy dishes lately. Potato dishes :-)

Writing devotions based on the Psalms 51-72 has been rewarding but extremely challenging with I get into the more angry, no holds-barred laments. I need to wrestle with the tone and feel of the content.

It's interesting to listen to my own sermons after a while - so that's how I sound. Listening to the Mp3s of the recent church retreat transported me back for a little while.

Once in a while we get special gifts: A heartfelt e-commentary from a dear friend was one special gift last week.

I got as phonecall early in the morning today asking what time is our worship gathering - that was a pleasant surprise.

Hoping to transition into a different rhythm starting tomorrow. One more camp. One more conference. One extended trip overseas. One more wedding. All lining up. Time seems excelerated as the year is closing its chapters. Lots of lessons learnt and lots to give thanks.

Lately, Augustine of Hippo's prayer on finding our rest in God has been ringing true and repeatedly for me ... and I believe for my generation.

There's some unfinished projects I hope to finish off tomorrow.

Last Friday's 10am - 6.30pm meeting was fruitful but extremely tiring for my whole being. The Ghost Stories night opened up a little learning curve for me - and "brightened up" the evening.

I've slowed down in terms of reading ... and deeper "meditation" on subjects that concern me. I hope to get back on track this coming week.

As energy levels are no longer optimum all the time, I realize I need to center more in order to focus more. And yes, the swimming pool is calling me again :-)

someone just asked me to kick some "butt" but I told him I don't have energy to do so. hahahhaha

Slowing down and relooking at photos. and some videos I've taken with my little Canon A70 camera has been good.

Thanks Jess for the picture above sent to me ... it's nice to be on the other side of the Camera.

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Our Children

I think it's good to resume the "Grace at Cameron" series - starting with "our children". I purposely put "our" because as I compiled the pictures of the children during the retreat - I felt the urge to include under "our" children the Orang Asli kids. The whole point is to remind me not to think in a "us/them" category.

My time with the kids at the retreat especially keeping an eye on them during the sessions were fun overall (with mini-frustrations). Keeping them occupied is one thing, handling mini-crisises is a no. 1 challenge. Parents were very understanding and supportive at the camp or which I'm most grateful. Listening to their conversations (I mean the kids) have been most humorous and enriching. Sorting out conflicts is no easy task. The rereshment times with grape juice and biscuits made everyone happy. We drew loads of pictures, read some books, watched a DVD (thanks to Moh Foong's notebook), observed together the intrusion o a small "leech" making it's way at the living room we were in (with lots o excitement!) ... all in all it was Fun. I got to know them a little better too.

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Keeping an Appointment

I received an e-commentary from Soo-Inn our recent retreat speaker. In many ways his opening paragraphs describes my own feelings before a lot of speaking engagements (not all the time) - and very often before an agreed upon appointment for a retreat, a meeting, a worship service, a LiFE Group meeting, a "whatever" - you name it - only later to go through and come out the other side somehow blessed in some way I didn't imagine would happen.

But this email encouraged me deeply because there are times I wonder what is God doing in our midst. It's easy to become over critical and cynical if we are not careful ... Someone asked me how come I sound so "elated" after the retreat. I think Soo-Inn captures it well in these words
"when you have been in ministry for awhile, you tend to
see only the negatives.
So when something good happens you just want to celebrate."

Thanks for celebrating with us through your writings Soo-Inn :-)

__________________________________________________________________

I had to take a church retreat. I was reluctant to go.
I had just come back from ministry gigs in Singapore. And
before that I had made a trip to Penang on family matters.
I was tired.
And I hate the long winding drive up to Cameron Highlands
where the retreat was to be held.

But I had given my word. And this was a church community
that was very dear to me. And the pastor and his wife are
very dear friends.
And we are people who keep our word.
At least we struggle to do so.
So I kept my appointment.

The retreat was four days and three nights.
It was the best camp experience of my life to date.
And I have had my share of church retreats/camps.
Here was a rare church that took community with God and
community with man seriously.

There was a lot of laughter throughout the camp. It was a
fun time. And why shouldn't God's people be characterized by
laughter? I mean, if the God of the universe really is our
Father?

The times of worship, teaching, group time and personal
conversations, however, revealed a people also serious about
life and serious about God.

Many of them were top notch musicians. But when they led in
worship one sensed that they were not aiming for technical
perfection. They didn't take themselves that seriously.
But they took their God seriously.
They were serious about their awe.
And their joy and celebration.

The fellowship was inclusive.
There were a number of non-Christian friends.
There were folks from all sorts of places in their personal
pilgrimages.

And there were the children.
All were welcomed. All were made to feel at home.
Hey, they even accepted me.

You can't have a programme to promote inclusiveness.
But inclusiveness happens if the Waiting Father of Luke 15
is allowed to have His way (Luke 15:11-32).

One way we demonstrate inclusiveness is when everyone is
given a chance to tell their stories and everyone's story is
taken seriously.
And there was a lot of that happening formally and
informally.

There was also a healthy inclusiveness on the matters
discussed. Topics ranged from stories about grace, to
biblical views on sexuality and work, to the Christian
implications of the Lord of the Rings, to the inner workings
of magic shows, to the best ways to kill mosquitoes and
flies, to politics, to…. well you get the idea.

We talked about life.

The pastor emailed me some of the feedback from the campers.
More magic.
So many were touched by the Lord at the retreat, many in
ways that we couldn't have predicted.
Is this God or is this God?
My heart overflows with joy.

But I feel physically and emotionally drained. I was
sustained by the Spirit, and adrenaline, during the camp.
It's down time.
Everything has a cost.
But I wouldn't have missed this retreat for the world.

The best things in life are win-win.
Yes it was a significant time of ministry for me. But I also
caught a fresh glimpse of what church can and should be.
Somehow I feel that this is very significant for me at this
juncture of my life.

The retreat confirmed my conviction that the church is first
and foremost family. And grace is the DNA of healthy families.
Healthy families also understand the destructive power of sin.
Which is why we leave the porch light on so that prodigals
can find their way home.

But when prodigals do come home we party like its 1999.
Because deep down we know we are all prodigals. Even the
ones who never went away. But the crazy love of God welcomes
us with open arms.
When we come home to Him.

Am I exhibiting post camp euphoria?
Maybe.
But when you have been in ministry for awhile, you tend to
see only the negatives.
So when something good happens you just want to celebrate.

So thanks guys.
I may have been preaching about grace during the retreat.
But you guys were doing grace.

I am glad I kept my appointment.

Your brother,
Soo-Inn Tan

Malaysia's Future under Our Care

"I want to tell our children there are bright futures for all"

I posted this picture I took at our chalet in Cameron on our National Day at the Star Online Blog. Feel free to comment there or here :-)

What Kind of Food Are You?

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary. People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

I'm returning the favor to DB - the spicy chef.

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Sacred Space & Conversations

The time carved out for corporate worship together through songs, music, movement and prayer was precious. Nothing fancy. I loved the volume of voices filling the atmosphere as we united our hearts and minds on God. Soo-Inn led us in bringing our lives to converse with God's word - through the Scriptures on the theme of "Grace". This naturally created vocabulary or us to talk with each other about "stuff".

The morning devotions and small group discussions were good. My group facilitator Ken Beng did well. I noticed that the dynamics of the groups are enhanced when everyone participates and shares. I was tremendously blessed to hear from other people's stories.

The openness towards the "wholly other" overflowed rightly towards being open in conversations and prayer with the "human others" which made which integrates the loving God and loving neighbor bit better. "Space" & "Conversations" - we need them both.

Be Where You Are ...

Thanks Stephen Shield for this great quote.

"Here is what I think God is saying to each of us, 'Abandon your plans of escape. And Be where you are. '"- Kyle Lake (1972 - 2005)

Kyle was electrocuted while conducting a baptism last year.

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Food!

Surely a retreat is more than about food ... but a lot happens around the table where we eat together :-)

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Family & Friends

There's always something special about leaving the environment of the busy city and have some concentrated community life (in this case) in the highlands. The freedom from the stress of routine 21st century Malaysian living points us to that which is better ... the best part is when we can do it together with the wider family and friends whom are called by Christ or are still hearing his call.

"Free yourself from a world
that seeks only pleasures and possessions
and bring others to share your freedom.
Set yourself against everything
that makes us slaves
politically, economically, socially.
You have nothing to lose.
…
Through your radical surrender to God
you will be freed
and become a deliverer of others,
a breath of fresh air for those you meet,
a servant of all,
a source of life, expectation and hope."
- Radical Surrender

Which of the X-Men Are You?

You Are Cyclops

Dedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause. You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them. Power: force beams from your eyes

It's all Sherman's fault, I couldn't resist. I always liked Cyclops!

Grace at Cameron 2006 - Let the Games begin!

It's was an unexpected "great" beginning ... from decoding to dropping eggs - there was a lot of laughter, running around, and trying to win the grandprize - Ken Beng and gang did a wonderful job. The pre-games ping pong was great too! The pictures are still in Day 1.

Grace at Cameron 2006 - From Bangsar to Habu

It's wonderful to return again to the moments decorating a meaningful 4 days and 3 nights ... starting with the journey to our destination. I'll put up some of my favorites with more commentary later. For now, the FilmLoops gives some quick-view of our time last week. Bob has some here with a great title on Why Some Things Are Worth It?. DB has some beautiful artsy shots here and a thought provoking one here.

The Ghosts That Are Always Hungry

This is a first time cooperation between Art4Soul and BLC (we are mainly providing the venue *grin*). For me, this would be an opportunity to hear the stories of others and have a chance to share our stories. Our good friend Soo-Inn will be doing a wrap up at the end *wink*.