October 31, 2006
Rejoice in the Lord, and ....
HAPPY Reformation Day!
This post was originally posted here
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It's wonderful to catch a glimpse of the more celebrative side of BLC. Thanks Daniel for facilitating that through last week's Reformation Sunday Worship Gathering! I will miss all of you during the coming 28days. And I know some of us are still going through times where the word "rejoice" may be furtherest from our minds. But, for whatever we have now whether it's big or small ... let's allow God's joy to be birthed in us his way!
Let's start with the first video [BLC Rejoices I]
and take it further in the second video [BLC Rejoices II]
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Emergent Currents
Asian American Emergents skypecast this Sunday
For me it was monday morning and I REALLY enjoyed this chat. Glad there are 25minutes of Mp3 for others to eavesdrop in.
Reformation 1: Scot McKnight at Westminster (updated)
I like the picture used with the words "The Reformation will be blogged."
The 5 Books on Emerging Church You Need to Buy
I got 4 out of 5 .. yeah!
The Skinny on the Emerging Church Forum at WTS
Andrew Jones is appreciative and provides great links: "They let the emerging church speak with its own voice. They allowed both sides of the debate. And they showed why their particular angle on the gospel and church history was, in their minds, superior. And thats cool. Every denomination or stream of the church should know how their own history has equipped them to function and succeed in today's cultural environment, as well as the eye-planks that could cause blindspots.
It was a brave attempt and judging by the professors who chose NOT to attend, it may have been a stretch. But they pulled it off made a benchmark for other Seminaries."
What is the Emerging Church? Full Text.
Andrew is really on the roll this week! Thanks ...
Westminster Paper on Emerging
Nice to hear from Scot himself. Looking forward to read more.
What is the Emerging Church? and Misnomers Surrounding the Emerging Church. By Scott McKnight (WMA file)
This is for those who don't mind a "softer" volumn version. Thanks Gideon! And thanks to Bob for changing it to Mp3. using headphones would work best.
The Emerging Church Talk Down Under with Don Carson
Thumbs up for the Aussies!
emergent village & full communion
Keep on blogging Dwight!
Your emerging view(s) of Jesus, please?
interesting from UK.
October 30, 2006
Big Bro & Little Sis Post-Taiping Prequel
[Big Bro & Little Sis Post-Taiping Prequel Video]
I can't help but post up videos of family and especially the kids. I'm already in a "missing them" mode. This one was recorded ...
"While we were waiting for Mummy May Chin getting some fruits at the R & R on the way back from Taiping. The Kids used their time wisely while waiting.
There's a nice "surprise" ending :-) "
Big Bro & Little Sis
It's wonderful when both of them are not fighting, and having fun together. In this case, enjoying the video where I captured Elysia laughing for 46 seconds (the other person laughing in the background is from the video). There was some surprising reactions I got here :-) I will REALLY miss both of them for 28days soon. Of course, I will miss my wife May Chin too! *grin*
October 29, 2006
Let them call themselves Christians ...
"In the first place, I ask that men make no reference to my name; let them call themselves Christians, not Lutherans. What is Luther? After all the teaching is not mine [John 7:16]. Neither was I crucified for anyone. St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3[:22], would not allow the Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine, but Christian. How then should I -- poor stinking maggot -- fodder that I am -- come to have men call the children of Christ by my wretched name? Not so, my dear friends; let us abolish all party names and call ourselves Christians, after him whose teaching we hold." - Martin Luther, " A Sincere Admonition to All Christians" (1522)
Reformation Day is on 31st October. I'm finalizing some thoughts for tomorrow morning's Reformation Sunday worship. We just had our KL district Reformation Service at 5pm on Saturday. so, all this Reformation stuff is very much floating in my mind.
October 28, 2006
Talking with Elysia
It's nice when we can manage to get Elysia to sleep (because she's one who wakes up easily and seems to be able to take "power naps" in amazingly short spans of time) Watching her earlier tonight and especially this older video reminded me how I also enjoying talking with her.
October 27, 2006
Going to School
It's harder these days to be away from home. Watching some of these older videos (last year to be precise) brings back some fun memories. This one reminds me of Gareth's initiation to "school" when he was still three years old. He already had the idea of "no school". :-)
October 26, 2006
Randoms Links 121
‘The Bluffer’s guide to heresy’
I love what they did for 'The Bluffer’s Guide to Christian Doctrine'.
BETTER BIBLE TEACHING!
"I hear many people looking for churches with ‘good teaching’, but I am yet to hear anyone seeking a church that is committed to ‘doing the Bible stuff’." wow!
Clayton, Philip: "The Emergence of Spirit," Volume 20, No. 4 (Fall 2000): 3-20 (pdf)
a little bit of "science" wouldn't hurt :-)
Jim Wallis: If It's Not Good News, It's Not Evangelical
I hope Jim Wallis comes to visit Malaysia soon for some interaction :-)
Interview with Gregory Macdonald - The Evangelical Universalist, part 1
Looks like this is going to stretch me ... I've just finished coffee. Must do some lectio divina before plunging into "active" thinking and doing!
Conversations with Conrad Gempf
I'll be eavesdropping on the interviews. "...one of the problems: many contemporary Christian leaders are still fighting the battles of the 1960s -- a disconnected buried-in-their-bibles Christianity -- instead of confronting today's Christianity -- connected, but with underdeveloped roots."
The Tension between the “Pastoral Context” and the “Missional Context”
I can relate to this.
Welcome Webcam
I recall my friend from China talking with his son during the Summer School in Germany a couple of years back. I hope this round I won't have to depend on long distance phone calls. With the help of 2 webcams and the latest technology ... in this case Skype
I'm looking forward to keep in touch better (as long as broadband and the location permits *smile*). If you'd like to meet up through Skype either via text, voice or video .. my Skype name is sivinkit.
October 25, 2006
Random Thoughts After Taiping Trip
[The picture above was taken in April 8, 2005] exactly one month after Elysia was born ... celebrating her "full moon"]
How time flies ... it's been quite a while since we managed to have a family holiday trip away. The last time we wanted to go to Taiping ... it didn't work out because Gareth was not well and perhaps we were also over exhausted.
We made it this time. :-)
Great to manage to finally set up the wireless for the desktop after a long wait.
Found the photo above - in 2005. How young we were as a young family with the arrival of Elysia the second one! Gareth still has that cheeky smile. Elysia didn't sleep through the journey back today. She was busy "debriefing" with Mummy who was driving the second half of the highway while the boys snoozed at the back :-)
[the whole blog post paused for the whole night when I tried to put Elysia to sleep ... Mummy came to the rescue later ... then it was putting Gareth to sleep which was easier .. and Mummy went for her favorite TV series ...]
it's a good morning ... hoping to sort out desktop Windows updates :-(
Time is short ... there's stuff to finalize before I head of to Germany next week .. which is exciting and yet I will miss my family a lot. There BLC work which needs to be sorted out , planned and delegated. There's denominational work which will need to be completed as much as possible. Reports to be written, phonecalls to be made, some important visits, and a few appointments all lined up.
And yet I'm still in "holiday mood" for this "Hari Raya" season.
Great to see the kids happily eating breakfast right now. :-)
October 24, 2006
How Much Is My Blog Worth? (Update)
My blog is worth $51,937.68.
How much is your blog worth?
I think my value dropped :-P
October 19, 2006
Reasons to criticize the Church?
"There are plenty of reasons to criticize the Church. Too often the Church has been the reason people have turned their backs on God, thinking that the Christian faith has nothing to offer them. This state of affairs is sadly true. It's also true, however, that when the Church opens its doors to the poor and the marginalized, God surprises us by turning the Church into the Good Samaritan who responds to the needs of the other with all the resources of God's Kingdom: faith, hope, and love."
- René Padilla, "Viñetas de una Iglesia Sierva." Misión Magazine #62 (via Amahoro Africa)
October 18, 2006
Laughing out Loud ... and Long
Gareth and Elysia always makes coming home a joy! In this case it made our whole journey to the clinic in the car lots of fun too. Originally, I wanted to put this post first. But then, I was upset by reading something I felt was "unedifying". Now, before I sleep I thought I should end with what was a "Hi" for me rather than a "Low" :-)
October 17, 2006
My vote is for Stott
Evangelism Plus: John Stott reflects on where we've been and where we're going
If this is the face of Evangelicalism then I rejoice ... here are some parts I felt were necessary for us to hear:
"An evangelical is a plain, ordinary Christian. We stand in the mainstream of historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity. So we can recite the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed without crossing our fingers. We believe in God the Father and in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit.
... Christ and the biblical witness to Christ. But the really distinctive emphasis is on Christ. I want to shift conviction from a book, if you like, to a person. As Jesus himself said, the Scriptures bear witness to me. Their main function is to witness to Christ.
... Pride is the ever-present danger that faces all of us. In many ways, it is good for us to be despised and rejected. I think of Jesus' words, "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you."
... "growth without depth." None of us wants to dispute the extraordinary growth of the church. But it has been largely numerical and statistical growth. And there has not been sufficient growth in discipleship that is comparable to the growth in numbers.
... True mission that is based on the example of Jesus involves entering another world, the world of another culture. Incarnational cross-cultural mission is and can be very costly. I want to say, please realize that if God calls you to be a cross-cultural missionary, it will take you 10 years to learn the language and to learn the culture in such a way that you are accepted more or less as a national.
... I believe that evangelism is specially through the local church, through the community, rather than through the individual. That the church should be an alternative society, a visible sign of the kingdom. And the tragedy is that our local churches often don't seem to manifest community.
... we need to go beyond evangelism. Evangelism is supposed to be evangelicals' specialty. Now, I am totally committed to world evangelization. But we must look beyond evangelism to the transforming power of the gospel, both in individuals and in society.
... My hope is that in the future, evangelical leaders will ensure that their social agenda includes such vital but controversial topics as halting climate change, eradicating poverty, abolishing armories of mass destruction, responding adequately to the AIDS pandemic, and asserting the human rights of women and children in all cultures. I hope our agenda does not remain too narrow."
John Stott on Christ and the Bible
If this is the face of of Evangelicalism, then I ... (no comment). I'm allergic to scholastic bone-picking and especially on the statements of one well-respected Evangelical statesman whom I believe is known for his carefully chosen words and deep thought. Reading Stott's interview showed me an evangelicalism that I'm happy to engage with (and participate in) but the comment on "very dangerous ground" in Dr. Mohler's piece was simply uncalled for and to me plain disrespectful. My prayer is this kind of narrow evangelicalism will not get rooted in Malaysia and Asia (as well as globally).
October 16, 2006
Friendly Visitor
It was great to witness the excitement that was generated by this "friendly visitor".
Mouth Ping Pong
I've got nothing much to say except please enjoy watching this as much as I enjoyed capturing it.
Brother John in Action
[Brother John in Action Video]
My brother John Kit Hsiao Liang is a great guy. He's 9 years younger than me. Much fitter and I think pretty good looking as well *smile* A great talent, and wonderful entertainer. But one thing I appreciate him most - he's a man of compassion which springs from his sincere love for Jesus. The above video (at our recent church retreat) was a delight for me to capture how much fun and joy ... and astonishment he brings to those around him.
October 15, 2006
Emergent Raindrops
NCC
Interesting to see the guys from Emergent Village enter the learning curve of engaging a wider theological conversation. I appreciated this comment: "In some respects, we Emergent Village guys, questioned our involvement in such a endeavor, since we are neither a church or a denomination, nor do we have an established theology, when most or all of the other people there came from backgrounds rooted in hundreds of years of history and theology. We did agree (and it was affirmed by others) that it was good for us to participate in this discussion and to process theology with others since Emergent Village brings an outside perspective that, if nothing else, raises questions and challenges (somewhat) other perspectives."
The Heart of the Missional Church Podcasts (and more) (HT: Blind Begger)
I'm listening to the first one by Doug Pagitt now.
Why I am still an Evangelical
Nice ... "I became engaged in Emerging Church conversations because I needed hope. I needed to find other Christians who had a vision for a better church. I needed to find others who wanted to recapture a 2000 year old perspective on worship. I needed to find others who in their freedom asked the same questions I asked. And so I did, and my life has been transformed by it. But, this transformation has brought me not disdain or disease with the evangelical community, but instead a deep hope that a movement of God’s Spirit is at work among it."
The Church in Emerging Culture
I liked the book and felt it was helpful to stretch one's thinking.
What’s Right/Wrong with the emerging church
Jason's piece is worth looking again even if it's 2 years old. He's been a wonderful friend.
myths about the emerging church
This is pretty good. Here's a sample: "myth: "emergents" don't believe in "absolute truth"
reality: A lot of us involved in the emerging conversation believe that the term "absolute" in front of truth is a product of the Enlightenment's quest for certainty in regards to knowledge. We believe there is truth, and we can know it, but to know it is to be involved in a relationship with the Author of all reality, and even our best attempts at knowing are chastened by our fallen nature, the limitations of language, etc. We can know, and continue to know, as we grow in our relationship with God and His people (past and present community of faith)."
The Converging Church
Good conclusion: "While some people might see all this convergence as an irresponsible and narcissistic "picking and choosing" of only the things we like from each tradtion while being naively blind to the rest of the baggage that often goes along with them; personally, I see it simply as a healthy way to appreciate the fact that there are good and valuable things in every part of the body of Christ, and that we all have something to learn from each other. In this sense the emerging church could just as well be called the converging church."
Suggestions for Critics of the Emerging Church
Well said: "Many of the criticisms brought to the table and leveled at the emerging church are valid. There is a myriad of flaws with the emerging church movement, and much that must be corrected. There is also a myriad of flaws and concerns with the traditional conservative church. Some emerging critics of the traditional church have been too strident, and their tone has been arrogant and unkind. This probably makes criticism of the emerging church easier.
Perhaps both sides should look closer, listen better, pray more and speak with more awareness of what the other party is seeing, feeling and saying. I pray that a time of constructive guidance and partnership will come soon, and that emerging churches will be mentored and encouraged, rather than only being portrayed in exaggerated terms as betraying the heart of the Gospel."
Emerging Church Stuff
Good links including critics too .. Andrew Jones is always worth linking!
Steve Hollinghurst Interview Part 1 & Part 2
Interesting UK perspective.
umerging: the voice of brian mclaren
wow the United Methodist enters the conversation ... fascinating.
Emerging Church Update and events
Lots of good links.
What is Emerging church, does it matter?
Funny Lutheran contribution.
enough with disagreements already
I liked the way DJ Chuang created space for Tim Keller and Tony Jones and a few others to chip in.
Some Faces and voices of "Emergent Malaysia"...
[Friends of Emergent in Malaysia Video]
Whenever I think about the name we've used for the past few years - i.e. "Emergent Malaysia", in order to gather like minded people or interested individuals, I giggle a little bit. There was nothing grandiose about it in anyway (and that was long before much of the present publicity and even notoriety the words "emerging" and "emergent" generates).
On one hand it has created some curiosity and thus new contacts, on the other hands we always need to pause and explain or clarify ourselves. Which is ok because it does generate conversations. We're stuck with this name for a little while until the next step for us (which will be interesting indeed).
One thing for sure we are grateful for how this whole "emerging church" * "emergent" conversation has directly and indirectly given us some space to deepen our friendship, broaden our horizons and breathed some confidence in our explorations. But in many ways, we seek to move on and definately not get sucked into debates which we were never part of (or desire to be part of). I REALLY do miss it when many of us were engaged in interesting dialogue very much under the radar. Personally, I'm happy to be called a friend of Emergent (thus the little logo on the right of my blog), I think I'm part of the emerging conversation by choice and initiative, and I found the friendships and conversations thus far healthy as well helpful.
What some of us genuinely hope is not to get distracted and unfairly attributed positions we do not hold and directions we are not heading to. It's better to invest our energies in the creative, contextual and constructive work that is necessary. As the year is coming to an end, we'll be relooking at where we are and let's see what is possible for the future. I strongly do believe the faces and voices of those of us in Malaysia and in Asia need space to express our concerns and constructive efforts. This is a healthy "postcolonial" response ... :-) I think it's simply being faithful to God whereever we are located in time and space.
On a more personal end, what I liked about the "emergent"/"emerging church" conversation was that open-endedness, generosity, relational, wholistic, ancient-future, missional, explorative, unfinished, etc. tone and posture which is refreshing. And I've found myself learning a lot in terms of reflection, action, and leadership through engagement in the conversations thus far. I think many of the critics perhaps using more "preconceived" paradigms have missed the whole point of the value of giving people such space and how this space is needed for the overall health of the Church in general.
The reality is in our "Emergent Malaysia" conversations thus far, the main agenda has been more of the contextual concerns relating to Christian faith in today's world, the Church in all her expressions, and our role in Malaysian society which has dominated our time. All this in a wonderful context of friendships which are generative. And on this we have been consistent. The amusing thing is, perhaps due to some of the ambiguity and fluidity of the way we are organized and the conversations thus far, I noticed the alleged criticism or warnings of danger reveals more about those putting energy in this effort than those of us engaged in the conversation. That's not very nice. But then we live with this anyway. And we try our best to keep the communication lines open. If not silence is a good spiritual discipline.
Perhaps what's more important is energy is not overspent in trying to "defend" ourselves (which there's nothing to defend) or "define" ourselves (which has always been an ongoing process consciously), for me energy needs to be given to encourage those who are working through serious issues that affects their hearts and minds honestly to be in a community where growth into maturity is encouraged and modeled. For some of us, it's been a wonderful journey thus far and we are very aware there is a long way to go. But, before we move further we had to confront ourselves more than any issue before us. And very often, in the midst of trying to engage the issues that bug us - we land up confronting ourselves - and in some "grace-filled" moments - we meet Christ in the process -- meet him afresh - which is extremely refreshing.
Random Thoughts as I'm Centering
There's no way to "hurry" centering ... slowing down needs time. The right kind of music helps. I like the solitude right now. I need it.
There will still be a little gap before another round of ministry. I need to improve on my manage my calender. But for now, I will honor my appointment and see what happens.
"The more demands you make on yourself. The more sleep you need." is something I needed to hear.
Elysia's welcome for me tonight was a little highlight for me. Thinking through the highs, the lows and the level ground experiences today was good. There's at least one each that I write down in my journal.
There's still "stuff" to finish later ... but the "delay" now is necessary to "tune" the heart ... and "settle" the mind. So often, the heart is restless, the mind is scattered.
Saw an older 2004 picture of Gareth and I just now. Oh! how he has grown :-) so have I!
Some priorities need immediate attention. So, help me God!
I'm feeling a little hungry.
Happy to back up some files from the notebook to the home computer. Need to free up space. This is so analogous to my life. Transfer files and free up some space?
Time is ticking so so fast. Changes are coming too ... sometimes I wonder whether much of our energy is simply coping with the changes coming our way - the expected ones as well as the unexpected ones.
Thus, I'm centering a little now. Need some food to help too :-)
40 Days
[40 days Video] (HT: The Blind Begger)
Slide 13 and 14 drew me in deeper tonight. I've always liked this presentation it connects with humor and humanity. After an extremely tiring weekend thus far with so much of travel (i.e. to Ipoh and back last night), and facilitating the children and youth Christian education symposium today, I'm slowly recovering back to needed energy levels.
October 14, 2006
Random Links 120
PowerPoint Is Evil
I love th subtitle :-) "Power Corrupts.PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely."
The Rhetoric of PowerPoint
Makes me think about the impact and influence of the medium we use has upon us as the presenters.
Project 365: How to Take a Photo a Day and See Your Life in a Whole New Way
I think I've been unconsciously doing this since I've got my Canon A70. Not in the same way but definately "Seeing my life in a whole new way."
Guy Kawasaki Interview
"1. Why do you believe everyone is an evangelist?
Who said that I do? I believe that everyone could be an evangelist but not that they all are--not yet, anyway.
2. What characteristics make someone an evangelist?
90% is being found or finding a great cause. God, for example, is a great cause. Then the "good news" turns you into an evangelist. So everyone could be an evangelist for something." Interesting ...
Leaving Church
timely ... "Taylor puts her finger on the tension between living out what you believe you were called for, and living within the expectations that others have of a priest (almost invariably not the same thing!) To be a priest with any authenticity you have to be fully human, and yet very often it is the Church community that works against that necessity. Sometimes people will not accept ministry if you are not a priest, and yet they won't accept your humanity if you are. Taylor also relates beautifully and tenderly the tension of living with a sense of calling, and the way in which that can so easily spill over into sheer workaholism and the inability to say "no"."
October 13, 2006
Random Links 119
Globalization and the Rise of Religion (October 12, 2006) - mp3 from APM: Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett
"Experts once predicted that as the world grew more modern, religion would decline. Precisely the opposite has proven true. Two leading thinkers, Boston University sociologist Peter Berger and Harvard Business School's Rosabeth Moss Kanter, discuss why religion of all kinds is increasingly shaping discussions of world politics and the global economy and political order." I think I'll be listening to this on my way to Broga on Monday :-)
hear the voice
This is SO SO REALLY FANTASTICALLY exciting ... and good. Hope we get it here faster to Malaysia. We could also do a "contextualized" version, that's another story.
Station of the Cross - swf
one resource I could use next year.
WHAT'S EMERGING OUT OF THE "EMERGING CHURCH"? The Secret Message of Jesus
I was supposed to do a separate list of links for all things "emergent" or "emerging church". But this was too good to wait. Makes me want to return back to reading the book. I love the phrase “The Original Revolution.”
Diana Butler Bass: 'What if the Amish were in charge of the war on terror?'
convicted.
A Conversation with Dick Staub (HT: Len)
The following is enough to make you want to read and reflect more : "As film becomes our common language and Christian communicators desire to connect with today's audience, it is understandable that the use of film clips is on the rise. Unfortunately there is a cloud in this silver lining.
1) If the Church was creative instead of imitative, we would be "creating" contemporary media instead of piggybacking on and exploiting media created by others.
2) Because so much of contemporary media is mindless, we see superficial movies being used in churches to communicate truths that are deep and timeless; this can have a trivializing effect on faith.
3) Too often having demonstrated our inability to exegete the Bible, resorting to proof texts, we've now expanded our incompetence to incompetent interpretation and applications of filmic texts. The majority of evangelicals are driven by the redemptive mandate not the mandate of creation, so they see film as an evangelistic tool more than an artistic expression. I am encouraged that a remnant of mostly younger Christians are seeing film for the art first … may their numbers multiply."
imagination and God’s future..
Love the Einsten opening quote.
Emotional Life of Jesus
I had an interesting exhange with a local Malaysian OT scholar on the subject of reason, emotions and rationality, etc. That's why this caught my attention. An "emo" Jesus (with necessary qualifiers of course!)? :-)
A Different Set of Values
"The Desert Fathers and Mothers proclaimed a different set of values, where change occurs through silence and not war; where inaction may be the most powerful source of action; and where productivity may be measured by obscurity, even invisibility." - John Chryssavgis, In the Heart of the Desert (HT: Chris Erdman)
Timely words for me ... in the midst of much activity and noise and lots of temptation to overload myself.
October 12, 2006
Crouching Neo Hidden Darth
[Crouching Neo Hidden Darth Video]
Yes these are the members of the church I'm pastoring. I took this during our recent BLC Retreat in Cameron Highlands.
We are trying to learn what true "Shalom" and "peacemaking" is supposed to mean. Let's sing together now: "Lord, Make us instruments of your piece..."
:-)
Random Thoughts before next video upload
I've been having loads of fun uploading some videos on YouTube.
When I heard about a very intelligent person was on the way to visit a little young "Orang Asli" (Indigenous) boy who's in hospital, my heart was greatly encouraged because then I knew she's someone who's not only has her head sorted out pretty ok but has a heart to go with it. Well done!
Interesting how many a times we land up making decisions and then later scratching our head to work out more new decisions to patch up on the ones made earlier :-P
Ok time to post up the video ...
I'm still laughing at the video I'm going to upload .. I think there's some delays here and there.
Good meeting this morning with other pastors involved in education ... agreements there, some good directions ahead ... and lots of work in the area of implementation.
Elysia and I had some nice Father and Daughter time tonight which was nice ... She kept wanting to eat my chicken rice. Sure, I did give her "some".
Feeling pretty overloaded at times ... there's 101 things to be done. These random thoughts posts are therapeutic ... for a while.
Glad to have caught up with some reading ... I was suprised to relate to a lot of what Paul Ricoeur had to say (for more details check here. Hope to explore further leisurely.
My "experimental" attempt to immerse myself in the book of Galatians and then later try to do a "targum"-kind of presentation last saturday did me a lot of good. Do some degree there was an attempt towards "embodiment" in terms of presentation, but now it seems it's also surfacing in my consciousness pretty regularly and my prayer it is that this process will impact the way I live - perform my faith in daily minutes and seconds!
It was wonderful to have some extended silence today .. I was reminded how often my life is so "noisy" and so is my faith and practice. The extended silence I think gave me some needed "catching up" to do internally.
October 11, 2006
Lead us to Dance ...
This is one of my favorite videos of the children of BLC freely dancing as others were practising a song for a wedding earlier this year. One of the joys our family had this week is to watch a number of the videos I've taken with my little Canon A70. I'll be posting some of my favorites whenever I feel it's easy to get bogged down my "overloaded" brainy stuff or "entangled" concerns. These videos connect me to what's human (as well as some humor). I find God connects with me through these simple moments :-)
October 10, 2006
Random Links 118
Duane Shank on the Amish School Shootings: The power of faith, the strength of community
A sister shared during our prayer breakfast last Sunday how reading the response of the Amish community on this tragedy moved her and as she shared I "repented" how often I've used "Amish" stereotyped ways. They know the way of Christ in ways I don't.
Faces of innovation: the Storyteller
"... now stories are making a comeback. And that's a very good thing." I agree. I would also agree with the take communion often bit!
Letters to Christians in the U.S.A.
Three cheers for Reuben our rep :-)
the church and postmodern culture: conversation
This is the place to go for those who seriously want to find out how Christians are engaging all things "postmodern".
The Postmodern Postmortem (An Asian Construction of a Generous Orthodoxy)
was reminded of this older post my friend Sherman wrote which is a sample of how one Asian is thinking about these matters :-)
A Letter from the Heart
"... look at Jesus over and over. For the time being, you may have to drop debates about women and about Calvinism, and you may have to drop the OT laws as well for awhile until a more suitable time. But, whatever you do, sit down with the Gospel of Mark or John and just watch Jesus move and talk and relate and go about his business and you will see why it is that Kris and I keep going back. He’s inestimable. That’s what you find when you open yourself up to him as he makes himself known through the Gospels". I find this to be so TRUE for me as well ...
Pews, Pulpits, Pastors, Preaching and other things that can get in the way of the church "being" the church
"What "fruit" do our churches produce?" good question! This is a good post from the perspective of the "leaders", I'd want to include "people" when we reflect on these matters together on "level" ground.
October 09, 2006
A Dictionary of Asian Christianity
After spending some extended conversationsat the Lausanne YLG-06 with Brad Smith (Thanks Brad for the stimulating conversations and questions posed) on Asian theologies, and all that's related to that. My consciousness about Christianity in Asia is heightened :-) So, I decided to spend some time checking out some of the articles in the Dictionary of Asian Christianity. Here's some excerpts of what leaped out for me this afternoon.
"One of Ricci's first efforts at this accomodation was to publish a tract on friendship, a subject of extreme importance and interest to the Chinese, for whom friendship and human relationships rank above other virtues. Of equal importance to this small booklet was Ricci's own modeling of friendship. he was more than a scholar -- he was a remarkable human being whose life of friendship, humility, and love demonstrated the faith of which he wrote." - entry on "Ricci, Matteo" (Sherman I thought of you when I was reading this!)
"To show he was no longer a Sikh, he cut off his long hair, distributed all his possessions to the poor, and began the life of a Christian sadhu. Clad in a saffron robe and a turban, he went on evangelistic tours throughout India. His greateste joy was to serve and suffer for Jesus, whose love he felt so deeply. For years he walked on the slopes of the Himalayas in his incessant ministry of preaching the Gospel, encountering many hardships from the climate, robbers, steep narrow roads, and persecution. He visited many parts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and then preceeded father to Baluchistan and Afghanistan. He soon came to be known as the "apostle of the bleeding feet." Meanwhile he spent eight months in St. John's Divinity School at Lahore, but he found this too confining. He did not want to limit his ministry to any particular denomination. As a wandering sadhu, he could carry the message of Jesus Christ to all churches and to all people of other faiths." - entry on "Sunder Singh""De Nobili was the first missionary to study philosophical Hinduism deeply. He adopted a Hindu lifestyle, including a strict vegetarian diet, and encouraged his converts to remian Hindu in every possible way. A few dozen baptisms demomstrated the potential of his approach before controversy led to a ban on further baptism. The issues are still controversial today despite belated official church approval for de Nobili's methods." - entry on "De Nobili, Roberto"
"De Silva believed that the acknowledgement of spiritual truths in other religions would not weaken one's commitment to the Christian faith; rather, he was convinced that one's own faith could be deepened and broadened by a sympathetic and intelligent understanding of faiths of others. His thesis was that the truths in Buddhism could be absorbed or adpated into Christianity and could fertilize and enrich a Christian's own faith. In his publications and lectures, he tried to facilitate Buddhist-Christian dialogue and help people of these two faiths overcome prejudices and past misunderstandings of each other." - entry on "De Silva, Lynn"
"According to inscriptions, the Nestorian monk Alopen, from Syria (Da Jin), arrived in the capital city of Changan om 635. He was escorted by Duke Fang Xuen-ling, with a guard of honor, to an audience with Tang emperor Tai Zong (626-49), who invited him into the imperial library and asked him to translate the Bible into Chinese. The emporer allowed a monastry housing 21 monks to be built in the capital and, as a gesture of honor, permitted his portrait to be placed in it. Emporer Gao Zong (649-83), son of Tai Zong, bestowed upon Alopen the title of "great patron and spiritual lord of the empire." It is uncertian whether the title was only honorific or whether Alopen had been appointed an archbishop by the Nestorian patriach in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, Persia." - entry on "Nestorian Church, China"
There's more ... I haven't finished the entry on "Ancestor Worship" and "contextualization" which looks interesting.
Gareth's 1st Video
It's so wonderful to share in Holly & Ryan Sharps joy at the arrival of their new born. Indeed the little ones looks change very fast in the early days. This month has so far been a month of celebration as far as birthdays is concerned :-) I'm sure Ryan & Holly will be taking videos of Paxton as he grows up. Above was my first attempt for Gareth.
Random Links 118
Missionary/Missional Table and Missional Jargon
Great stuff in progress ... I like this (while recognizing as one who's in an urban or more globalized context I can't ignore western influences) and yet the following is good stuff to ponder: "Post-Colonial refers to the socio-political emotions and realities that countries are encountering as the world moves from a western, Christendom-dominated entity to a new identity that may be a very uncomfortable. What happens when Christianity is presented as a truly indigenous way of life disconnected from the western culture with which it came? And what happens when one does NOT have to leave one's culture-of-origin and accept western culture and/or a western Jesus? What are the implications for Christendom when the majority of the world who identify themselves as Christian are now non-white and non-western? And yet westerners still "hold the keys" to theology, ethics, and normative living..."
The simplest way to learn to converse
Nice simple ideas to keep it simple.
dot-font: Ten Tips for Top Type
My education in fonts first came from my graphic desiging Dad who was always complaining about bill boards and signs whttp://sivinkit.net/mt/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=3hile driving in Malaysia!
Bible Study and Scripture Reading (HT: Prodigal Kiwi(s))
"The bible is not a book to be studied. ... The bible is a dangerous, world-changing, life-altering text that is out to transform the reader." Now that our attention is caught, let's read on!
Characterising a Journey toward Christ...?
I've been learning more about this day by day!
Doing Well . . . or Living Well?
This is so true ..."We may revere Mother Theresa or Gandhi as examples of people who created lives of outstanding goodness while rejecting the allure of wealth, but few people hasten to emulate them."
fantastic summary of the design process
The best humor is when it makes you think as well.
October 08, 2006
Overwhelmed by Joy
It's been a wonderful week for Gareth .. the build up began when we was packing the small presents to give away to his kindergarten mates on Friday. I noticed how he was "overwhelmed" when all his school mates sang the birthday song. Gareth is a tender boy ...
Then on Saturday night, we went out for dinner at Nando's Chicken - which was a simple affair .. but the climax was this morning ... The "Thomas the Train" Cake by Amazing Aunty Adeline was really awesome (She's been such a gift to our community - more than just her wonderful cakes of course!). It was great since both of our birthdays fell on sunday this year .. so it's been a double blessing for the Kit family.
Growing up to be 4 years is a big step for a little boy. It's a pity that his Grandma and Grandpa Long aren't around because they are in UK for a visit. And I know Gareth misses Grandpa Long a lot (May Chin's Dad). I remember having very memorable birthday celebrations as a child. That was one gift I received from my parents ... it's one gift we want to share with our kids. I'm overwhelmed by this joy too ... the joy of sharing in Gareth's joy ...
Happy Birthday ... Gareth!
Happy Birthday Gareth ... you are REALLY four years old today!! Isn't it great to have so many little parties to celebrate your birthday ... one at school, one on Saturday night and then another one on Sunday?
Papa loves you ...
October 06, 2006
Random Links 117
Something About Rowan Williams
Ah ... maybe I should restart my "second thoughts" series or website.
A Christian Manifesto for People Who Aren’t Great Theologians
Interesting to read this after I started a yahoogroup for younger theologians :-)
SMALL, CLUSTERED, MULTIPLYING CHURCHES
I like what I read here.
toward a praxis of theologial disagreement part one & part two (HT: DJ Chuang)
This surely has relevance across the world.
Elysia ... Wow!
Elysia is a lot of fun ... especially as her vocab expands and her song repertoire increases :-)
October 04, 2006
Random Links 116
Ideas for Being Formative
Good stuff for small groups ... Will try one each this weekend!
A Wind that Swirls Everywhere
I haven't managed to finish Amos Yong's books yet ... but he's one cutting-edge Pentecostal scholar to pay attention to. And he's from Malaysia :-)
Religious Pluralism : A Turn to the Holy Spirit
"Is it possible that God works graciously outside the boundaries of Christianity through the universal presence and activity of the Holy Spirit?" this questions came up in some conversations I had with people last week.
blogging as spiritual formation
"the blog moves the journal past the merely personal and inward pursuit and invites others into the journey, becoming a communal process. Theological reflection is necessarily a communal process, and an intimate component of community life for apprentices of Jesus."
Insight Into the Next Generation
Good starting point to ask questions into our own context.
Journal of Scriptural Reasoning Forum
A feast of "stuff" ready to overload the curious mind.
Ten propositions on hell
"What is hell? Hell cannot be known in and of itself. As a negative to a positive, hell can only be known as the antithesis of heaven. Heaven is life with God, hell is existence without God." That was the first proposition ... ready for the rest?
The Lausanne Covenant: An Exposition and Commentary by John Stott
Read through this tonight ... while May Chin was watching a TV series :-) Lots to digest here.
The Manila Manifesto
Followed up with another reading ... while May Chin was finishing the TV series.
Milestones in Protestant Ecumenical Missionary Thinking from the 1970s to the 1990s
accidently bumped into this ... good background reading.
I'm going to be 4 Years Old!
We've spend quite a lot of time together the last two days (good naps too!). Nowadays it's harder to be away from family for ministry assignments or even conferences. I know he really missed me last week when I was at the YLG 06. I felt it when he ran to hug me once I stepped into our apartment. He wanted to come home with me after lunch at my Mom's place. I couldn't say no - so both of us said "bye!" to Elysia (as Mom takes care of her).
This Sunday October 8th he will turn 4 years old! He's growing very fast :-) I love this 2nd video I recorded of Gareth - it's when he was going to turn two and just learned how to say "No more!"
YLG 06: Daily News Brief
I sat down to slowly read through again all the daily news briefs we got at the YLG 06. I appreciate the hard work that went into getting them out. It's also interesting to read what the editors chose to highlight. As one who was happily quietly interacting here and there with participants, organizers, speakers and mentors, I was blessed by on the ground insights too. For now, I thought I'd highlight what I feel was significant for me (which was captured in the Daily News Briefs) and thus hope to see these thoughts deepened and fleshed out more in the future of Lausanne.
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"The Lausanne Covenant is also distinct among confessional statements in the liberty it allows for those who subscribe to it. Even as it affirms one Savior and one gospel, the document welcomes a “wide diversity of evangelistic methods” (III). Likewise it celebrates a freedom for cultural expressions of Christian faith—churches should be “deeply rooted in Christ and closely related to their culture” (X).Liberty is also allowed given on matters of theological contention among biblicist evangelicals. For example, the Covenant avoids the hot-button term “inerrancy,” choosing instead to claim the Bible is “without error in all that it affirms” (II). The phrase “eternal separation from God” is used rather then an explicit statement on the nature of hell (III).
Throughout the Covenant, the reader encounters a tremendous sense of charity. Christ’s command to “love thy neighbor” is understood to compel a zeal for reaching the un-evangelized and a special concern for the marginalized and the oppressed. The document rejects the bifurcation of evangelism and social engagement by asserting that both are “part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbor, and our obedience to Jesus Christ” (V)." - The Lausanne Covenant
"Ramez Atallah, program chair for the forthcoming Lausanne III World Congress, took the stage after Birdsall and also highlighted the spirit of humility that he believes pervades the Lausanne Movement. Since 1974 Atallah has been impressed by Lausanne leaders who embody “leadership, Jesus-style.” As was the case with the former Archbishop of Kenya, they do not use their impressive titles to puff themselves up.
Atallah shared what he believes are three distinctives of Lausanne: integrity, vision and cooperation. “Integrity,” said Atallah, “is threatened by worldly pragmatism.” To counteract this threat, Lausanne “takes Christian theology seriously.” Atallah called for “theologically-based strategy and strategic theological reflection.”
Lausanne has always helped Christians develop a world vision. Atallah questioned whether the Lausanne Committee, as a primarily evangelical Protestant network, can actually say it engages the “whole Church.” But he unquestioningly affirmed the vision of taking the whole gospel to the whole world. Atallah said the Lausanne Covenant’s emphasis on a holistic gospel that recognizes the necessity of social responsibility was a major breakthrough, one that made many “proud to be evangelicals.”
“Cooperation is threatened by selfish individualism,” Atallah said. He asked rhetorically whether anyone had ever heard of an evangelical ministry merger. Because ministry duplication is such a rampant problem in the Church and genuine cooperation in such scarce supply, Atallah believes “we need Lausanne more than ever.”"- Lausanne: An Orientation
"After nearly twenty-five years of either teaching or working in administrative roles in the Indian school system, Mathew’s passion to follow the Lord’s leading in world missions drew him and his wife to Uganda. In 2004 he started his current post at Uganda Christian University. Today, he teaches nearly one thousand students each week about the worldviews of various cultures and peoples. And although he has only lived in Uganda for a short period of time, he considers it his home.
“I have a pilgrimage theology,” he says. “We are all on a pilgrimage and where we are is our home. Hebrews 11 tells us that we are strangers and aliens passing by; however, as we do that, we want to bless the world.”
Mathew’s hope for the participants at this Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering is threefold: (1) that they would become stronger in their commitment to Jesus Christ, (2) that they would be placed on a road that would make them true world Christians and (3) that they would have a deeper commitment to missions.
“Whatever area we are in, we need to be world Christians,” he said. “We need to be concerned about the Church worldwide and have a heart as big as the world.”" - C.V. Mathew: Becoming A World Christian
"Butler opened his presentation by speaking of the importance of Jesus’ high priestly prayer found in John 17 and explained that although unity has always been the goal of God, from the Fall onward human relationships have been marred.
“If we want to understand why we are not seeing hundreds of millions coming into the kingdom, it isn’t because of a lack of wealth [or]….a lack of prayer,” Butler said. “It is not a question of holiness or adequate leadership. Jesus’ personal credibility has been destroyed by divisions in the body of Christ.”" - Partnership and Passion
"“It was at Lausanne that I learned that theology must serve the Kingdom of God…or else it is a selfish academic enterprise,” said Kuzmic. The conference impressed upon him the need for a holistic gospel and the marriage of mission and theology. “All theology must be missiologically focused,” he emhasized, “and all missions must be theologically grounded.”
... In a land searching for and even fighting for a sense of identity, Kuzmic and his students preached a message of reconciliation grounded in the gospel. “Our primary identity is in Christ…and that’s why we have a message of reconciliation.”
Kuzmic lamented the prevalence of “half-gospels” that do not take seriously the cross or human pain. These half-gospels, he said, lead to self-sufficiency, competition, duplication, and an “emotionally-driven Christianity that has no transformative effect.” Addressing the world’s complex problems requires a whole gospel.
... To comprehend the whole gospel we must first understand, according to Kuzmic, that “the Great Commission begins with the Great Foundation.” This foundation is expressed in the verses preceding what is typically thought to be the Great Commission. Christ’s commandment to disciple the nations does not begin with “go.” Rather it is anchored in Christ’s astonishing declaration of cosmological sovereignty. “All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me,” Jesus said, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.
When the Great Foundation and the Great Commission are held together, Christians are emboldened to preach biblical truth in all spheres of life. “Let’s be holistic gospelers,” concluded Kuzmic." - Ich bin ein Lausanner
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October 03, 2006
A CALL TO AN ANCIENT EVANGELICAL FUTURE
[click on the image to go to the call]
I've been thinking a lot about contextual theology especially the past 6 years. However, I do appreciate the call for continuity with the past moving towards the future as found in "A CALL TO AN ANCIENT EVANGELICAL FUTURE".
I recognize that the call is written from a North American Evangelical Context. But overall the whole document serves as a wonderful piece to spur us to think through our faith, practices and mission here in Malaysia. My friend Sherman talks about the "debris of modernity" washed on our shores. In many ways, we in Asia gets the best as well as the worst of Evangelicalism "imported" to our land. The fact remains while many of us desire to put energy into encouraging and developing contextual theology .. we will still need to deal with western expressions of Christianity. This call to me one of the better statements in recent times which I heartily recommend.
Here are some excerpts which stood out for me (which is almost the whole document *smile*):
"... we call Evangelicals to strengthen their witness through a recovery of the faith articulated by the consensus of the ancient Church and its guardians in the traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation and the Evangelical awakenings... Today, we call Evangelicals to turn away from modern theological methods that reduce the gospel to mere propositions, and from contemporary pastoral ministries so compatible with culture that they camouflage God's story or empty it of its cosmic and redemptive meaning. In a world of competing stories, we call Evangelicals to recover the truth of God's word as the story of the world, and to make it the centerpiece of Evangelical life.
... Individualistic Evangelicalism has contributed to the current problems of churchless Christianity, redefinitions of the Church according to business models, separatist ecclesiologies and judgmental attitudes toward the Church. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to recover their place in the community of the Church catholic.
... we call Evangelicals to turn away from methods that separate theological reflection from the common traditions of the Church. These modern methods compartmentalize God's story by analyzing its separate parts, while ignoring God's entire redemptive work as recapitulated in Christ. Anti-historical attitudes also disregard the common biblical and theological legacy of the ancient Church. Such disregard ignores the hermeneutical value of the Church's ecumenical creeds. This reduces God's story of the world to one of many competing theologies and impairs the unified witness of the Church to God's plan for the history of the world.
... we call Evangelicals to turn away from forms of worship that focus on God as a mere object of the intellect or that assert the self as the source of worship. Such worship has resulted in lecture-oriented, music-driven, performance-centered and program-controlled models that do not adequately proclaim God's cosmic redemption. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to recover the historic substance of worship of Word and Table and to attend to the Christian year, which marks time according to God's saving acts.
... Spirituality, made independent from God's story, is often characterized by legalism, mere intellectual knowledge, an overly therapeutic culture, New Age Gnosticism, a dualistic rejection of this world and a narcissistic preoccupation with one's own experience. These false spiritualities are inadequate for the challenges we face in today's world.
... we call Evangelicals to intensify their prophetic voice against forms of indifference to God's gift of life, economic and political injustice, ecological insensitivity and the failure to champion the poor and marginalized. Too often we have failed to stand prophetically against the culture's captivity to racism, consumerism, political correctness, civil religion, sexism, ethical relativism, violence and the culture of death. These failures have muted the voice of Christ to the world through his Church and detract from God's story of the world, which the Church is collectively to embody.
... We set forth this Call as an ongoing, open-ended conversation. We are aware that we have our blind spots and weaknesses.
... In line with Scripture, creed and tradition, it is our deepest desire to embody God's purposes in the mission of the Church through our theological reflection, our worship, our spirituality and our life in the world, all the while proclaiming that Jesus is Lord over all creation.
... This Call is issued in the spirit of sic et non; therefore those who affix their names to this Call need not agree with all its content. Rather, its consensus is that these are issues to be discussed in the tradition of semper reformanda as the church faces the new challenges of our time."
Random Thoughts on the first day of my 34th year
[the above picture was taken during our YLG06 small group farewell supper with Sate and nice drinks Thanks to our Mentor John Bond]
I'm still recovering physically and to some degree emotionally from last week's intense series of events, opportunities, ups as well as downs. Overall, a lot of decent surprises. There's a lot of "raw" material that still needs time to digest and settle in.
Had a wonderful and satisfiying nap this afternoon ... Gareth had one too. I was concerned this morning when I noticed he was "wheezing" quite a bit. He's sleeping now and looks better.
I enjoyed our father and son lunch time today, especially when he chose his own food to eat and then we had some conversations over the table. He's going to turn 4 this coming Sunday October 8. It's a big step for him. We've been preparing him for quite some time :-) no pressure! Just some preparation ...
Last night both the kids were too exhausted to go for the orginally planned birthday bash for me .. which is ok. We had it tonight at "Madam Kwan's" in Bangsar. As usual May Chin chose something more Malaysian, and I went for my default Lamb Chop and chips ... hehe ... We had a Chinese dimpling soup in the middle. All of us had a great time. It's been a while since we've had dinner outside as a family.
Bought a Chinese book today while taking Gareth for a walk in MPH Midvalley ... It's on the cultural history of China (with some nice pictures). Perhaps as I've stepped into near mid thirties *smile* I'm drawn back to my roots. I think the last Chinese book I bought was entitled "The Ugly Chinese" :-)
It's raining right now ... and soon in November I need to be ready for winter in Germany. I've been travelling more than usual as the the year is coming to an end. I hope to wrap this season well.
Looking forward to get back to a normal rhythm tomorrow.
There's so much I wish I could blog about .. slowly. I'm pretty excited by being able to post up some of the videos I've captured with my little Canon A70. More will be coming ... words, images, and videos ...
Need to dwell in Galatians this week ... Saturday will be an interesting time when I hope to share it in first person perspective to some degree ...
I'd like to create some space for my scattered thoughts to settle this week and even bring them into focus.
I also hope to spend some time to allow for centering prayer and prayer journaling since last week rushed past too fast. Slowing the time down in my imagination is going to do some good.
Do I feel older? A little :-) and that's ok ...
October 02, 2006
YLG 06: African Worship
This is a glimpse of one moment that really helped me connect with God during the time of corporate worship at the YLG 06. It was unique, authentic, earthy, moving, heartfelt, contextual and God honoring .... perhaps I'm growing older :-) so, following trends especially popular trends is no longer appealing to me ... but when I heard our African brothers and sisters leading us through their songs, my heart was genuinely open which was what I needed.
I bumped into the Zambian brother who led the songs at the straircase in the resort. We shook hands and I expressed my gratitude for the chance to participate in their expression of worship. He looked a little startled by my words of appreciation ... but seriously, being in that kind of atmosphere wasn't just about fun (which i surely was for many), it connected to a deep sense of humanity and how God redeems our cultures for his good. That glimpse was what I needed. I'm sure it's not just for me ...
October 01, 2006
Happy Birthday to Me ...
I'm 34 today. It's been quite a ride! It's funny during a wedding dinner last night, and as a family we were meeting many old friends. Many whom knew May Chin and me when we were still teenagers. And the common remark was how May Chin hasn't changed :-) and looks so young. They didn't say much about how I looked. It's just funny. Then again, much has changed through the years. And I'm thankful to be where I am today.