Sivin Kit’s Garden

This version of 1 Corinthians 13 really puts things in perspective and priority.
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I was just checking out for a Vinoth Ramachandra article which I found a pretty good one here, The honor of listening: indispensable for mission.

and then I went nuts browsing through and then printing a load of stuff to read in the near future form the Evangelical Missions Quarterly Archives, I’ll just pick out some that struck my attention (of course there are others too *grin*)

A love affair that must be cultivated three ways
how can genuine partnership between local churches, missionaries, and their mission agencies.work? I’m pretty excited to an invite to have lunch with George Verwer a coupld of weeks time
The missionary’s role in developing indigenous Christian Theology
My German friend might be interested in this. He’s been very encouraging!

Postmodernism, the Western Church and Missions
wow! This article was written in 1999 - 6 years ago!

Postmodernism: An evangelical blind spot?
Ah .. that pomo word again.

Postmodernism: Ripe for a Global Harvest—But is the Church Ready?
with a sentence like this, “Postmodernity may be one of the greatest blessings to the Western church, …” this is sure to be a fascinating read.
Post Missionary Asia: One Size Doesn’t Fit All, India reveals the challenges and the opportunities.
I haven’t been to India yet …

What Can Missionaries Learn From Postwar Shifts in Anthropology?
what a closing paragraph … phew …

“We do not go as owners of the truth. We go as those who live the only truth that belongs to all humanity—that God has made us and longs for us to live in harmony with him and with each other. We do not go as technical experts, but as incarnations of God’s love, living witnesses to the unity of the human family. We go, and live, and work not because we have something they do not have, but because it is the way of Christ to establish bonds of love across whatever divides there may be. Thus, our presence among those with whom we differ can become a living witness to the truth that transcends the divisions that anthropology sees so clearly and so hopelessly.”

Andrew Jones updates us by saying here at Are We A Threat to the Gospel? (Restored) “This is getting a little unwieldy. Can we keep in mind that this is not a matter of baptist church VS emerging church but rather Mohler VS McLaren. And remember that Mohler does not speak for all Baptists, just as McLaren does not speak for all in the emerging church.”

Now, I hope we don’t import any “battles” here to Malaysia. I see Brian as a friend (long before he was a big deal) and a voice worth listening to and engaging from a worldwide point of view - kind of a in between scholar and lay person way. To be honest I never heard of Mohler until this year (opps!), I suppose I’m more familiar with Lutheran giants then Baptist giants. Or maybe I’ve just been hanging out with Lutheran and Baptist misfits I have heard Don Carson in a Bible Exposition context in Malaysia, and from the response there is an obvious hunger for what he shared during that time. I’m also more aware of a growing interest and alignment with more “reformed”-”calvinist” theology in my personal contacts. More than one I’ve met probably might be called post-pentecostals or post-charismatics (for lack of better terminology). So, i read it as a kind of pendulum swing for some. I suppose I was swinging there as well but had a more Arminian-Methodist theology lecturer who was also frustrated with the “captivity of ecumenical and evangelical Asian theology to enlightenment and modern categories” and a wonderful Christian Spirituality lecturer that introduced “the best of Roman Catholic contemplative traditions”. And maybe in my subconscious hidden Lutheran mind somewhere, I’ve always been biased when it comes to Calvin and his decendants. But then again, I love to quote Calvin’s “The human mind is an Idol Factory”.

Of course, my deeper hope is that we in Malaysia (and Asia) will enourage more of our own to speak up and allow our voices to be heard and in the process mutually learn from the best that the east and west, north and south have to offer - we may be post-western in the words of prof. Lammen Sanneh but we are not anti-western. I know this sounds idealistic … but there’s a whole lot of realism that goes with that hope.

Whatever it’s worth, Thanks TallskinnyKiwi for another alternative voice … I was pretty fascinated also by how emerging southen baptist church leaders wrestle with this here. I find myself eavesdropping in the discussion but cautiously refraining from getting sucked into any “battles”. Need the energy to “construct.”

here’s from the point of a first time new comer to our conversation last Saturday,

These OREO cookies are pretty good. I’m going for another packet!

It’s good to get back to rhythm a little … especially as I felt a little “off rhythm” since the arrival of Elysia. Her eyes seemed to be wide open for a couple of nights.

some one asked me to put more personal stuff on the blog. let’s see what I can juggle … I don’t mind sharing … but there’s also a big part of me that want to point people to other people rather than to me (thus the random links)

Gareth has “matured” a bit more the past weeks since Elysia came. There have been hard times too … I love it when he get’s into his “Bono-mode” and want to put on some shades (photo below)

Suddenly, I’ve been in the mood of reading some books I’ve read before of haven’t finish reading. And as usual, there’s another new one waiting. So much to process …

It’s also a good week to get ready for the next season of what’s going to happen in my personal and family life as well as church and ministry life. It’s been quite an interesting development thus far. Oh yeah, havent’ started much work on the Masters yet .. opps.

Happy to feel more “settled” after knowing what’s next in regards to where we’re staying, so, that’s good.

I was a little suprised with a “resignation” I heard lately. I think it’s for the better.

May Chin and I watched a DVD sent to us before dinner yesterday … we were kind of “entertained” by what we saw and yet … felt uncomfortable if this is the kind of diet fed to our churches here (or at least seen as the ideal) Lord have mercy.

I’m pretty excited to read and connect with some fellow Lutherans in the USA who seem to be moving forward rather than just being stuck! I cheer them on!

I’m going for another OREO this is my third small packet. Yummy …

Finished a questionaire a while ago. Strange questions … just try to answer lah.

Oh yeah .. I got another invitation to speak in a family camp. And through the phone conversations it’s facinating how I felt “some how a bit more prepared” for this … and what’s going on.

There’s a few appointments that didn’t materialize but hope to get going soon. But there’s similar themes revolving around the faith quest of youth and young adults, church, world and leadership. I’m still trying to piece the puzzle together.

Hope to have a series on “confessional style” blogs soon … or at least something more organized.

Well … I think I’ve got some pretty random thoughts posted now … it’s just freewheeling … and now the OREO.

Emerging Leaders Network
so this is what fellow Lutheran Karen Ward is up to with her friends! We’re pretty aware of the spirit of Luther, “here we stand!” then “Now it’s time to walk ahead together” Here’s what they are up to:

“ELN seeks to be a community of friendship, discernment and theological conversation among emerging Lutheran leaders.

ELN connects leaders who are currious about and committed to sharing principles, practices and imagination for mission and ministry in the emerging cultures.

We seek to explore faith and life in our times, not within the familiar strictures of a modernist “organization,” but within an organic and networked community of missional friendship and spiritual discernment, rooted in the lutheran theological tradition.

This site itself will be a ‘living active and breathing thing…’ a breeding ground which will follow, explore, and possibly lead the church into the emerging future.”

Lutheran - Emergent: What can one say to the other?
I must say there’s a lot worth checking out inside that cowboy hat! My “intuitive” feel is that there maybe some untapped perspectives that can be gained from how the Early German Pietist sought to bring renewal within the post-Luther-Melancthon heavily Scholastic Lutheranism …

Here’s some things I could relate to … even though we’re miles apart,

“Lutherans also have a hard time in how congregations relate to one another. We tend to be either lone rangers (as churches and as pastors) or part of/ reacting against a hierarchical, top-down driven model of denominationalism (that is thoroughly modern and business-llike, even if the model is one that is “baptized” by liturgical theology). Emergents could teach us a lot about mutual accountability, non-hierarchical networks, and “organizing from below” in ways that maintain responsibility and authority but are also extremely responsive to local conditions and promote leadership that is servant-like and committed to resourcing and supporting mission more than preserving a denominational organization (which is precisely where the ELCA is right now).”

I found Eric’s comments in an earlier post, simply “captivating” …

“One of the things that fascinates me about the “emerging church conversation” is that it shares with Lutheranism an attempt to articulate the Gospel of Jesus Christ and call people to faith in him, in ways that explode the prevailing intellectual/ theological frameworks of church life in their respective days. For Luther, it was the medieval scholatic/ Aristotelian world. For Emergent, it’s modernism. In both cases, the power of the Bible’s witness is seen as blunted and even twisted by the background assumptions made as it is read by the dominant expression of the church. Luther would get enraged at how his opponents would use biblical words and concepts, but in a philosophical framework that had nothing to do with the biblical narrative. Medieval philosophy had hijacked the conversation. Luther saw the eschatalogical, relational, and dialectical (law-gospel, diagnosis-prognosis, or threat-promise) aspects of the Bible’s witness that were ignored by theologians of his day. Emergent folks see the consumerist, individualist, “faith as right doctrine not as right relationships vertically and horizontally” (as opposed to “right doctrine as guide to right relationship”), and the serious constraints put on the meaning of “truth” (what I like to call “truth is only what you can see on a National Geographic documentary or prove on a math class blackboard”) in modernity as problematic.”

Long before reading Brian McLaren’s A Generous OrthodoxyI found this little book at the STM library in Seremban (SPCK books are hard to find here) and Dr. Nigel G. Wright rocked me pretty hard (for which I’m grateful). I thought of borrowing the book again to see how I’d react to it now after 4 years.

Here’s what it’s about:
“The gospel we profess is the most radical power on earth, reaching to the depths of our personal, social and political existence. It needs a radical people to embody and proclaim it. This book examines the nature of evangelical theology, dealing with areas of persistent disagreement and controversy, such as the status of the Bible, the nature of Christ’s achievement on the cross, the meaning of ‘hell’, and offers a new way forward which remains committed to the fundamentals of faith, while retaining a flexible response to the challenges of the future.”

My friend AL has a way with words(and we always have fun how we use terms and phrases) and I appreciate how he captures our Emergent Malaysia gathering last Saturday in his own words. I fully agree with him that “Christianity is not just good for dying” … it’s good for living! Timely during this Easter Season!
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Read on in Learning in Story
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I really enjoyed the Tipping Point. That’s the main reason I just went ahead and picked up Blink yesterday.

I read this interesting exchange between two authors here, “Blink and The Wisdom of Crowds: How to improve the decision-making environment.”, first. so I might get the other book. Apart from more theological, pastoral, and spirituality related stuff. I enjoy books on leadership, learning and thinking - in short stuff about our humanity!

So far the Intro is pretty captivating, such as the following:

“We believe that we are always better off gathering as much information as possible and spending as much time as possible in deliberation. We really only trust conscious decision making. But there are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgements and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world.”(p.14)

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Lutheran - Emergent? Shared Realities
I’m reading this because I’m connected to both.

Church in a multicultural society
– Emerging church in multicultural society 2
– Emerging church and multicultural society 3
I need some stretching … and listening to one who’s on the groundmakes a whole lot of difference.

Twist of Faith: Emergent churches attract worshippers with alternative religious experiences
wow! more press coverage with what’s happening in the west. It’s interesting to see the variety especially when it comes to forms and yet an underlying ned to connect the past, future and present in a meaningful way.