Use your imagination...

It is wonderful to be a child. Grown-ups somehow forget how to dream.

My boys found this tree-stump in my in-law's back garden. They are busy building and needed to remove this tree. Next thing I knew, I had to accompany my hunter-sons who "discovered" a dead elephant in the backyard. They proudly showed me its trunk and its amazingly long hair. I had to touch its skin, feeling how rough it is. This elephant apparently had been dead for a while, but we had to be careful as it might just be pretending that it is dead. It might get a fright, jump up and bite you with its loooooong teeth.

It took all of 5 minutes. But dreaming helped me out of a hard day's work and into a place where I could enjoy life with my sons.

Take some time to dream.

Are you judgemental?

I was. Watch this:


Click here to watch the Susan Boyle clip.

Palm Sunday - How to keep the Messiah out! (A meditation)

What a wonderful day. Jesus entered through the gates shown in the picture here. It is called the Mercy gate, or the Golden gate to Christians. It was the gate through which the Messiah was going to enter according to Jewish belief. It was to be this gate, because it led straight to the Temple. Jesus was treated like royalty, connected to the great king David in people’s songs. He entered the correct gate. And we know the story. The crowds turned and within a week, this same Jesus was crucified. They did not see him as the Messiah anymore, and neither would their children or children’s children.

In 1540, the Ottoman empire (under Suleiman the Magnificent) captured Jerusalem. He heard about this Messiah (Anointed One) who would come from the line of David and retake the throne. How do you keep the Messiah out? Well, block the gates. And so he used the heaviest stones and plaster to seal this entrance. He had to make sure that these gates would not be opened – ever again! In 1541 Suleiman the Magnificent blocked the gates. Let’s not be too pious in thinking that we do not do the same. Blocking the gates of our hearts to the love of God is a common thing. Holding on to things that we know are wrong, yet cannot quite convince ourselves that Jesus needs to enter here, is a remedy to keeping him from overturning some holy tables – the untouchables. But you know what Suleiman? You know what friend? This Messiah entered through these gates long before we even thought we could block his passage. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.

Suleiman wanted to be double sure that no uprising was going to take place. He knew that no Jew could walk through a cemetery, so he started burying people right in front of the gate, creating very visible gravestones, to let anybody know that this place is a no-go area for any upright Jew.These a visible to this day. As if blocking our hearts to God’s presence is not enough, we try to convince ourselves and God that this is no place for God to enter. The tombstones declaring to God that I am way down the line in my sinfulness for God to even consider stepping foot on this soil. My habits are too entrenched for God to consider me a viable person to be redeemed, my falleness too severe for God to even come close. But Suleiman, dear friend, Jesus entered through these gates long before you could ever bury the skeletons of your past in front of these gates.

Look at this picture today and imagine that this is a picture of your soul. Ask yourself: What have I used to block the gates to my heart? What material did I use to make sure the love of God does not enter through to the center of my being?

What have I planted in front of the gate, the excuses, the behavioural patterns, the habits, to make sure the Messiah will not enter here?

Here is the Good news: He is already inside. He is the one who does not only walk through cemeteries, He is the one who is risen from the grave. He is not held out by doors and locks, for He is the one who meets his disciples, his followers while they hid behind locked doors.

Happy Palm Sunday.

Sounds like the start of Apartheid in space...

'Toilet row' lowers space morale

The International Space Station, once a place where astronauts would share food and facilities, is said to be embroiled in a Cold War-like stand-off.

A Russian cosmonaut has complained he is no longer allowed to use a US toilet as well as a US exercise bike.

Gennady Padalka, 50, told Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper the lack of sharing was lowering the crew's morale.

The veteran cosmonaut said the problem was due to the ISS becoming a more commercial operation.

For several years after his first space mission in 1998, Mr Padalka and his American colleagues worked in total harmony, he told the newspaper.

But space missions became more commercial in 2003 and Moscow started billing Washington for sending its astronauts into space, he said. Other nations responded in kind, he added.

Space issues

"What is going on has an adverse effect on our work," said Mr Padalka, 50, a veteran of two space missions who is to be the station's next commander.

Before he lifted off to join the ISS crew on Thursday, Mr Padalka had asked whether he could use a US gym to stay fit.

"They told me: 'Yes, you can.' Then they said no," Novaya Gazeta quoted him as saying.

"Then they hold consultations and they approve it again. And now, right before the flight, it turns out again that the answer is negative."

Worse still, the regulations now required US and Russian cosmonauts to eat their own rations, he added.

"They also recommend us to only use national toilets," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

"Cosmonauts are above the ongoing squabble, no matter what officials decide," he told the newspaper. "It's politicians and bureaucrats who can't reach agreement, not us."

The situation may be exacerbated by an increase in the number of astronauts living on the ISS.

Until now only three astronauts lived on the International Space Station at any one time.

But last week, a Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan to ferry Mr Padalka and two other crew-members to the ISS. It docked safely on Saturday.

While doubling the number of crew will allow more scientific research to be carried out, it will also mean there will be less room for visitors.

Among the new crew was US billionaire Charles Simonyi, 60, a software tycoon who paid $35m (£24m) for his 13-day trip, during which he will help with research projects and take part in live broadcasts with schools.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/in_depth/7973747.stm

Published: 2009/03/31 10:14:06 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Why do children have to be so honest?

I didn't know where to hide my face...

On Wednesdays Nathan and I take Matthew to his gymnastics class. We usually sit in the "viewing-deck" which has a single row of chairs, packed to capacity with parents proudly watching their little ones. A slightly overweight lady moved passed us and took the seat next to us. Nathan looked at me and asked "Pappa, whozat?" to which I replied "This is a lady". He then walked up to her, pointed to her tummy and asked "There a baby in there?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

It doesn't even help to apologize. "Um ah pha... Nathan, look! Matthew is on the rings!"

It reminds me of when Matt was about Nathan's age. After a Sunday service he stood at the door with me greeting the people. A couple of ladies from the W.A. came to greet. Matt said "Hello ladies", turned to me making a gesture with his arms suggesting upper thighs inflating and said "BIIIIIIIG ladies". "Um ah pha... Good bye, God bless, see you on Wednesday."

Vocational holiness.

I am busy reading Eugene Peterson's "Under the unpredictable plant", and what a breath of fresh air!

Ministers struggle. We struggle with our congregations, with keeping our diaries in check, but most of all we struggle with a sense of wanting to be godlike. This is different from being righteous or striving to be a Christ-follower.

For some time now I have wondered about studying the psychological profiles of ministers, believing that there is a common need for power and affirmation among clergy. Peterson endorses this hypothesis with this book and affords ministers an opportunity to travel alongside Jonah, to connect with a divine sense of "Call" and identifying the places and temptations of attempting to replace God.

Here are two quotes that struck me deeply:

Why do pastors have such a difficult time being pastors? Because we are awash in idolatry. Where two or three are gathered together and the Name of God comes up, a committee is formed for making an idol. We want gods that are not gods so we can 'be as gods' - p.4

...pastors are provided a substantial constituency in which to act godlike. Unlike many other temptations that are associated with elements of morality and so have visible social and physical penalties, this temptation is almost purely spiritual and commonly receives social reinforcement. If we speak the word of God long enough and often enough, it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to take up the pose of the God who is speaking the word. If the pose is reinforced by the admiring credulity of the people around me, and benefits of power and adulation begin to accrue, I will most certainly continue to flee the presence of the Lord, for that is the one place where I am sure to be exposed as a pretender. - p.13

BUY THE BOOK - CLICK ON THE LINK UNDER "BOOKS I'M BUSY READING"

What keeps me going?

My boys.

I have heard too many people complain that they did not spend enough time with their children. I will not make that mistake.

Last night I had the privilege of my 5-year old son, Matthew, falling asleep in my arms. It scares me to think that the time will soon arrive when he won't want to sit on my lap or listen to the bedtime stories that I make up as I tell them.

All I can do is treasure the moment. When they grow up, we will have other sorts of fun, but for now, I am a rich man.

A sensory experience

Cape Town is a sensory experience. I fly back this afternoon to Gauteng and will miss the incredible sights, sounds and smells I experienced during the last few days. Here are a few experiences I would like to share:

Smells: Fresh air, smell of the ocean, freshly caught fish at Kalk Bay, Fynbos at Kirstenbosch

Sights: Mountains, sea, brightly coloured fishing boats, Table mountain ablaze.

Touch: Cold ocean wind, light rain against my face, bumpy ride in a Landy

Sounds: Kaapse Afrikaans, the voices of friends, SILENCE, singing of a Cape Robin, breaking waves, helicopters extinguishing fires on Table mountain.

I can name many more, but these touched my soul.

Gutted Rhema leader not allowed to wrestle Jacob Zuma

This is from Hayibo.com

JOHANNESBURG. Church leader Ray McCauley says he is devastated at not being allowed to wrestle ANC President Jacob Zuma during a campaign speech at his church on the weekend. According to McCauley's aides, he had thought Zuma had come to create a Biblical tableau in which Jacob wrestles an angel. "He assumed he was the angel," said an aide. "He's gutted."

McCauley, a former bodybuilder, had reportedly been working on a series of Biblically inspired wrestling grips in the mistaken belief that Zuma was coming to the Rhema church to wrestle rather than address his congregation.

"Pastor Ray just assumed there would be hand-to-hand combat," explained Rhema spokesman Herod Nyamende.

"Nobody thought Mr Zuma would be stupid enough to come here and campaign. I mean, can you say 'godless communists'?

"We can. In fact, we do. Very often."

He said that the "only logical conclusion left" had been that Zuma had come for a decisive showdown with McCauley to "re-enact Jacob's fight with the angel in Genesis 32, to prove which of them is a bigger stud".

"Pastor Ray was really psyched," said Nyamende. "He's been working on a killer series of moves.

"First he was going to go with And I Shall Smite Thee, which is a forceful laying of hands on the back of the neck, kind of in a chopping motion.

"Then he follows it up with Samson's Ass, where you grab your opponent's jawbone and try to pull it off. If that doesn't work then he slips into Way Down In Egypt Land, where you reach into his underpants with righteous vengeance, grab and twist.

"It was going to be awesome, and obviously Pastor Ray is gutted."

Meanwhile the ANC has apologized for the confusion, but added that McCauley's dreams of wrestling Zuma were "naïve".

"Pastor Ray is a fine man, mainly because he can bench-press more than any other religious leader in the world, including the Pope who can bench about 250 kilograms," said ANC spokesman Kickbax Tswete.

"But he is dreaming if he thinks he can wrestle Comrade Zuma successfully.

"There is no human being alive today who can pin down Comrade Zuma. Whatever you throw at him, he will wriggle free."

Is God trying to teach me something?

Option 3 it is.

Then this... I submitted an article for publication on the topic of the church's responsibility towards refugees and asylum seekers. Yesterday I received two reviews. The first was a tremendously affirming and helpful critique of my article. The second was a scathing massacre of my work. Here is an excerpt of the critic's comments:

A 12 page anecdotal hypothesis largely undocumented and unproven. The fact that I might agree with some of the sentiment within the article does not lesson the fact that it consists of sweeping generalizations which may or may not be true. It reads rather like a sermon delivered by a preacher who is passionate about his subject, but has not taken the time to research his sweeping claims. As a result the conclusions carry no weight. This kind of discourse may be acceptable in some pulpits but is not suitable for a theological journal.The use of footnotes is not helpful, they are largely explanations.

Funny thing is that I read this paper at the Theological Society of South Africa conference last year and it was received very well. Ag well, I'll try to make it more empirical. Thing is, I don't believe that everything should be discussed in an empirical fashion. Of course I can discuss the issue in a very clinical and scientific manner, with graphs and numbers and statistics. But such an article will get lost. I don't want people to read it, say "oh, that was interesting" and then move on. I hope that even my journal articles will generate some stirring of the spirit.

Criticism I can take, malicious massacres of hard work I do not appreciate.

There's a first time for everything...

I passed 2 out of the 3 Psych honours exams which I wrote in January. It's the first time I've failed an exam and don't quite know what to do with these feelings.

Option 1: The group U2 have a philosophy: If they record two bad records in a row they vowed to hang up their musical boots. Is this time for me to do the same and focus on what I have achieved so far?

Option 2: Register again and nail this SOB of a subject?

Option 3: I don't have to have this subject, perhaps register for other courses?

All I know is now I feel a bit sick.

Cricket SA vs. Aus

Matt and me at the cricket. Pity we lost, but a wonderful time together as father and son.

28 days of prayer during financial crisis.

Athletes usually stretch after a good workout. I blog. I have just finished the manuscript for my book "28 days of prayer during financial crisis"

It is divided into 4 sections:

You are not alone;
Planning better;
Living with discipline; and
Living as a steward.

It does not suggest that the wealthy are healed or the poor condemned. It aims to assure people of God's faithfulness and presence with us all during all times, even when we experience financial crisis. In the light of the global economic crisis, I don't think that anyone is exempted.

So, I draw on Wesley's teaching on the use of money, Biblical interpretations of resources and a suggestion to break the shackles of a world which teaches us that in order to be happy, you need to be well-off.

I am excited about this book. It is not an academic book, but I hope it can be instrumental in helping people realize that God is near, loving and compassionate - and calls us to be the same.

Ministers' retreat

This is the view from my room. I am on ministers' retreat nearby the Hartebeespoort dam.

I don't do retreats well. Let me say this... I don't retreat well with other people. Father Pete is always on my case about this, and I know that there is value, but... there is actually no "but".

Where do I hear God speak? When I am alone. Not just alone in my study, but when I physically remove myself from my context, with respect, my family, and lovingly, from the church. I hear God speak while sitting alone in an airport terminal, waiting for a flight. I hear God speak in a guesthouse while I wait for the time when I have to deliver a paper. I hear God while I am sitting here in my room, supposed to be praying and asking how the church has hurt me, but choosing to write a booklet on prayer during times of financial crisis. I overlook the dam. It is starting to rain. I smell the fresh air, I jump at the sound of a loud thunderclap only meters away... and I hear God speaking. I think I am retreating after all. I just can't take the group work.

Consumerist reading of the Bible.

I came upon this striking quote from Eugene Peterson's Earth and Altar and thought to share it with you:

We come to the Bible as consumers, rummaging through texts to find something at a bargain. We come to worship as gourmets of the emotional, thinking that the numinous might provide a nice supplement to sunsets and symphonies. We read "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want," and our hearts flutter. We read "You shall not fear the terror of the night," and we are tranquilized. We read "He does not deal with us according to our sins" and we decide we have probably been too hard on ourselves. But when we read "The Lord says...The Lord has sworn," our interest flags and we reach for the newspaper to find out how the stock market is doing".

Matt's first rugby game... and the Bulls won 59-26

The only thing he didn't like was that... "Pappa shouts too loud!"

Which Bible do you read?

Matt: Pappa, when you're good then Jesus loves you. But if you're disobedient, then Jesus doesn't love you.

Me: Oh, Matt, you know, Jesus is soooo good, that he even loves us when we are disobedient.

Matt: No, when we are naughty, he doesn't love us.

Me: Matt, the whole story of the Bible tells us that when people are naughty, God still loves us.

Matt: No, the Bible says that Jesus doesn't love naughty people.

Me: Oh, my Bible says God always loves us. Which Bible says that God doesn't love naughty people?

Matt: The Bible of South Africa.

Scriptural interpretation

A friend, Gus Kelly, posted this on our ministers' discussion forum. It puts in a nutshell what I believe to be true about the debate surrounding the interpretation of Scripture:

If scripture is understood as a repository of divinely revealed true propositions and moral absolutes, then normativity will appear as an application of those propositions and absolutes, literally understood, to matters theological, missionary, and personal.  If scripture is understood as the sacrament of divine revelation, of God’s historical self-disclosure, then normativity will be understood as the ever-developing guiding influence on our thought and action of an ever-deepening familiarity with God in Jesus.  For those seeking absolute norms for knowledge and behaviour, the latter position will appear incoherent, unstable and finally inadequate.  For those who realize that the only God worth knowing is a personal God, and that all personal relationships are dialogical and relative, the “uncontrollability” of God’s self-revelation is a source of joyful astonishment and an invitation to the unwavering confidence that only a God of endlessly original love can justify.

- Sandra M Schneiders, 1999, The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture, The Liturgical Press.

"Thank you" will do...

We try to teach our children to say the following words:

"Hello"
"Please"
"Thank you"
"I love you"
"Excuse me"
"sir" or "ma'am" (oom or tannie)
"I'm sorry"
"I forgive you"

I'm proud to say that they have already made these words part of their vocabulary. Nathan has caught on particularly well.

At the beginning of the year I did some planning and decided that I seriously needed to revisit my commitment to certain committees and groups, and so I started to step down from several of these.

Today I have seen once again how I have been used. I served on a particular committee for the past 6 years (a quick calculation will tell you it is about a fifth of my life). I spoke to the chairman and indicated that I do not occupy any portfolio, except taking the minutes of this meeting, and so would like to step down. When it came to the matter on the agenda, the issue was raised and it was asked if there were any objections. Just a few nods. Then we moved on to the next point, only to be asked if I would serve on another committee. No "Thank you" or "We appreciate that we received minutes of meetings immediately after each meeting"... Just "Now we need to replace Wessel".

That may not have been the intention, but I feel a bit used. When I indicated that I was not willing to serve on the "other" committee, it was almost as if I was not pulling my weight.

Well, excuse me. I am paid to run a church, not volunteer to sit on committees that do little or nothing for my community. If I volunteer, please say "thank you". If you don't want to, then pay me. Make it worth my while so that I can spoil my family for the time that I have to sit and pretend as if my contribution is appreciated.

I appreciate the few people who make a point after a Bible study or sermon say "Thank you". I know it may just roll of the tongue, but I choose to invest value in those words. To you I say: "It is a pleasure, and I'll work my fingers to the bone for you".

Thanks for reading my blog.

Zapiro does it again! Brilliant!