Supping With The Devil

For the first time in my life, this year, I sued someone. I am very wary of such action -- one reason being that it may bring dangerous and unpredictable forces into play, which distract from ministry. I also find myself rethinking the faith perspective again and again. Today I sent my (Christian) attorney a note. Should I make another attempt at an amicable settlement? The subject line in her reply said it all: "Re: SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL." And the message: "Is it possible to negotiate with a liar, fraudster and thief? ... We have obtained judgement already. We are now in the process of executing that judgement. ... Blessings."

Theft Of Rump Steak

I confess to the theft of a rump steak. I walked into a large function late, and there were just two kebabs left, and two … what looked to me to be chops. I plunged my fork into one of the chops, and took it. I did think it was the finest chop I had ever had. Not long after, one of the guests said, “What happened to my other rump steak?”

Miracle Of Survival

A minister friend wrote to me this morning: "How is your church going? You seem to be the only ones to survive well in that down town situation ... this is a miracle and we rejoice with you." This is the second time in a week that I have received such a comment. I think I know reasons why our Church thrives here. I think I know reasons why others do not. I am disturbed, too, by seminary courses which teach students (so I think) the recipe for failure (which is part of the reason for this blog). At the same time, it is "with fear and trembling" that I make such comments as the above, as I may be overstepping my God-ordained bounds by claiming to know anything at all. My minister friend speaks of "a miracle", which in turns speaks of the activity of God. OBSERVATION: There are in fact a few other Churches which thrive in this situation. And even among the Churches which do not, I know their ministers to be precious people, and crucial work is being done. The photo shows our suburb's main road.

Carols By Candlelight

Several years ago, we had the idea of inviting the Salvation Army to lead our annual Carols by Candlelight service. Since then, they have become something of a tradition in our Church. Tonight's Carols by Candlelight was very nicely attended (see the photo -- a wide-angle shot from the back of the Church). OBSERVATION: There is the sense that the Salvation Army shares our "heart" as a Church. Also, although they know us only through annual visits, they lead the service as though they were old friends. It is simply "great to have them", and each year we send them on their way with a donation to their work. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.

Congregationalism

In my early years as Congregational minister, I was continually frustrated by Congregational Church government (which is "direct democracy under Christ"). Either one could not achieve what one wanted, or it was a very tedious process. However, I don't feel that way any more. If a goal is not a spiritual one, then it is not worth pursuing -- one can discard it. And if it is spiritual, then it comes to be through the movement of the Holy Spirit on the whole congregation -- or it is not spiritual. The challenge of Congregationalism, therefore, is to encourage spiritual growth throughout the Church through the Holy Spirit. This is a never-ending process, and also a joy to see. OBSERVATION: I understand that this requires a definition of "spiritual".

Signs Of Grace

In general, I do not think that God panders to quirky requests for personal answers. He has other ways of working. But sometimes, just sometimes, I think He gives people special signs of grace at critical times. This morning a refugee, a husband and a family man, shared with me how, in the midst of his family's great hardships and struggle to survive, his boss had launched into an irrational tirade at him. He prayed, "Lord, if you are still with my family, please give me a sign. May my boss call me before 9 p.m. tonight, and apologise." A boss -- in this case a very wealthy boss -- calling a refugee to apologise? However, just before 9 p.m., the boss called and apologised.

Youth Control

In this photo, I captured our Youth leader P. exercising her uncanny ability to keep Xhosa youngsters under control. It has to be seen to be appreciated. OBSERVATION: P. has just left us for a while for Kwazulu-Natal, for coming-of-age ceremonies. We look forward to her stories when she returns.

amatomu.com Lives

South African bloggers in particular might be interested to note that amatomu.com ("the South African blogosphere, sorted") has come back to life after a long absence. The statistics, on its second day, are way off kilter, but will presumably settle down soon. Foreign readers would surely find AMATOMU :: Religion an interesting page to follow.

Justice Delayed

One should have a durable sense of humour in South Africa. Having said this, a case which lies at the Mowbray police station, case no. 15/9/2009, documents how a company forged my signature on three separate forms for financial gain. Since the case was opened more than three months ago, it has twice been transferred, and two investigators in succession have been taken off the case. Today, wife M. chased up the case on my behalf -- or tried to -- after many previous attempts to obtain a status report. When finally the official investigator, Det. Kleinhans, was tracked down, he had no knowledge of the case. Then he said, as did his predecessor Det. Hanse, that their superior, Capt. Westrat, was not issuing instruction in this case. OBSERVATION: In the meantime, the City of Cape Town (this week) annulled all the forms on the grounds of fraud -- yet the police have got about nowhere. This isn't the only criminal charge which is languishing, against the company concerned, while presumably it continues to use its criminal methods.

CD Release

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It's out! At least, it very nearly is. A batch of 20 copies of our Youth Choir CD have been delivered. The photo on the left shows the final cover that a professional turned out. The photo on the right shows my own mock-up of a cover. You may click on these to enlarge (together, they're about 90k size). OBSERVATION: Both covers, I think, still have errors on them. Anyway, our ambition is as good as fulfilled: we are at the point of releasing a very nice CD. Incidentally, I originally commissioned the beads for an electronics project, from a street artist. I thought he did very nicely.

Great Karoo In 3-D

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This one's just a pretty picture. However, it's a pretty picture with a difference. It's in 3D. It also shows a kokerboom (quiver tree) in full bloom, which is quite rare. And it proves that a Bajaj pickup is capable of a grand safari, here being found in the Great Karroo. OBSERVATION: Here’s how to “see” the 3D. Lazily squint your eyes so that the two images overlap and finally snap together. Most people are able to do this. You may enlarge the image by clicking on it, which will enhance the 3-D effect (it's about 100k).

Sexuality And Office

A woman was nominated for office in our Church -- however, a few people expressed concerns surrounding her sexuality. It was necessary for me as minister to tackle this directly -- which I did, together with a Church elder. I said that we were thankful for her good heart and willingness to serve, yet needed to discuss her faith, conduct, and past service in the Church. I pressed a little, as I sensed that we were missing something. She then said that she was seriously contemplating a lesbian relationship. I said that any single person needs to be chaste in order to accept office in the Church. I touched on a few reasons for this, and our past experience in the Church. Our elder was more forthright than I was, and told her firmly yet kindly to renounce her lusts and to trust God's power to rescue her from Satan. OBSERVATION: This is a very abbreviated account. The nominee came to me afterwards, privately, and thanked me for having dealt with the matter "sensitively".

How My Day Began

I've rewritten this post. In the midst of a busy start to the day, I simply posted about my busy start to the day, as I was too busy to give any thought to a post. The intention today was to apply myself to my Sunday sermon, which all came to naught as myriad unplanned things popped up on my schedule -- including calls re someone overdosing and a critical illness. But it all didn't seem worthy of a post. So finally, I am writing a post about why my original post was not worthy of a post.

Viral Thesis

My MTh thesis, since it received the (very) final OK last month, would appear to have gone viral -- if one defines viral as many more copies in circulation than the author has put out. A friend, who is in Christian leadership development, wrote to me: "The vice president of a Christian university was very favorable. He feels that you may have identified what is wrong with leadership development in the US evangelical church." OBSERVATION: In fact my thesis has found its way to several (vice) presidents and deans, to my knowledge. See Distress In Ministry for a little on the thesis. Feel free to request a copy from me at scarboro@iafrica.com.

Emotional Outburst

Wife M. and I went out for a final cup of coffee with intern P. (see photo). A hotel hostess asked him, "Are you American, Sir?" He said, "Canadian." There was an emotional outburst: "I'm terribly sorry, Sir! I didn't mean to insult you!" She wrung her hands and curtseyed. OBSERVATION: We spoke generally about the call, and urban ministry, people P. had got to know, and returning home. Also the "incident of the week" (I'll have to keep you guessing).