Counselling Subterfuge

I have a great deal of experience (and training) in counselling. Which need not mean that I am good at it. However, I am still very much in demand. One learns to recognise, over the years, typical “subterfuges” that people resort to. A seasoned counsellor picks them up in an instant. OBSERVATION: I usually don’t let the counselee know that I have picked them up (unless I think it could lead to a breakthrough). Who would it benefit? Only the counsellor’s ego, perhaps. Typical examples are pleading ignorance, changing the subject, appealing to guilt, majoring on minors -- and so on. Come to think of it, it's rather surprising how so many people have developed the same skills of subterfuge.

"Friends For Life"

There are some people who are “friends for life”. This is W., a refugee from the Congo DRC. It is always a pleasure when I see him. Several years ago, the security situation around our Church was very bad. I was assaulted several times -- mostly “nuisance” assaults, but one of them more serious. Others suffered the same -- and there was abuse, harassment, and squalor besides. I found thoughts of resignation going through my mind. A local businessman hired W., and the Church contributed to his pay -- to serve as “bouncer”. OBSERVATION: He carried out his duty with near religious zeal, and effectively cleaned up our street. No longer did I fear going to the office. I love him to this day.

Dementia

Dementia can be tragic, but here’s a more amusing tale. One of our elderly members -- a wealthy woman -- developed dementia. She was well known for walking to Church with a sun-brolly and lace gloves, and was ever so “decorous”. But when the dementia set in, she began to imagine that our street people were romantic Bohemians. She would sit down with them on the pavement/sidewalk as though she were one of them, and derived great delight from this. OBSERVATION: She is now in an old age home, deriving great delight from other things.

Mouille Point Sunset

Here’s a photo I took earlier this week from Mouille Point, about 2 kilometres/1¼ miles north of our Church. It is unaltered -- this is just as it was taken. You may click on it to blow it up to VGA. OBSERVATION: Behind me, as I take this photo, is a wide coastal road and high-rise buildings.

Black Holes In The Best Of Us

Over many years of ministry, I have developed the sense that every human being has a catastrophic flaw within them. You see that exemplary Church deacon? You see that steadfast Christian wife? You see that honorable doctor? I probably wouldn't have thought, thirty years ago, that they would or could have a large black hole in there somewhere (for example, ruinous temper tantrums, sexual immorality, criminal dishonesty, vicious vendettas, and so on). Now I tend to think it is only because God prevents it that some people live a long life without a catastrophic flaw being made manifest. OBSERVATION: And yet so many Christians seem to think that they're “OK”. They wouldn’t like a suggestion like this.

Jealousy

I went to see a friend who restores motorbikes (that’s him in the photo). I told him of the strange phenomenon of ministers getting slandered with cooked up stories -- pure fabrications. There can’t be many long-serving ministers who haven’t experienced this. He thought for a while. Then he said, “I know about this. I’ve heard about it before. It’s jealousy!” OBSERVATION: And I think he’s right. Although it still seems inexplicable.

Elderlings

Here’s a new word we can add to our vocabulary: elderlings. We recently elected new elders in our Church. In Afrikaans, they are called “ouderlinge”. One of our Afrikaans-speaking deacons (a third of our deacons/elders speak Afrikaans) was heard to pray fervently for our new “elderlings”. In fact, wouldn’t this seem a more poetic word than “elders”? You saw it first on this blog.

Additional Wife

One of our members walked into Church on Sunday with his additional wife. “Second wife” would not be the correct term, since this is usually understood to be a wife who comes after the first wife. The "original" wife is a comely, spirited woman -- the additional wife looks to be more of a homely type. OBSERVATION: This was one of those moments of “etiquette”. How to respond? Our member was recently placed under Church discipline for this, and this was the first time he was back. I decided to welcome him warmly -- as well as his additional wife. We have time to address the issues later.

Sunday Service

To the best of my knowledge, I have only ever seen two photos of our Sunday congregation which were taken while a service was in progress (discounting my own photos, where I'm not “on the floor” to take them). This is one -- taken by a Swiss visitor to our Church last year. OBSERVATION: I think this was on the last Sunday of January 2008.

Pseudo-Purposes

A counsellor called me this morning. He said that a woman, suffering from depression, was “on his case daily”. He wanted to know how often she was approaching me. I said, “About once a week.” This is not all, though. The same woman is “on the case” of many more professionals. OBSERVATION: I am due to have an hour’s session with her next week, and said to the counsellor concerned that I would “read her the riot act” (kindly). All things considered, and without minimising her depression, the problem is, I think, that she has found a substitute purpose in life chasing up other people about her condition. One could imagine her repeating exactly the same kinds of actions for, say, orphans in the townships. But then, let’s think more expansively. I sense that this is not only her problem. It is the problem of a great many people in society that, in various ways, they serve pseudo-purposes.

Where The Brides Are Free

Here’s another one for the young women out there -- our Canadian intern P. at a high-class restaurant where we were invited to lunch yesterday. OBSERVATION: It doesn’t seem that he’ll be finding a bride over here. He claims that it costs too many cows. Apparently in Canada the brides are free. You may click on this photo to enlarge to VGA.

Leadership: Means of Grace

In the Recommendations section of my Master’s thesis, I propose that Christian leadership might be seen as a means of grace (which is a God-appointed channel through which His gracious influence works). It came as a surprise to me, in studying this more closely, that such a view was widespread in the 18th and 19th Centuries (the Internet is littered with references -- if one digs a little). The typical tasks of the minister, including preaching, public prayer, pastoral conversation, and religious education, were all viewed as being means of grace. OBSERVATION: As far as I am aware, this view is non-existent today. But it could be of crucial importance. Either the responsibility is on me to influence my congregation (as many leadership models have it), or God has chosen to use certain of my activities as means of His grace. My findings suggest that the first view is the cause of much distress and burnout.

Shoes

A minister needs a good pair of shoes. On the one hand, they have to look smart, for all those public engagements (people do notice)* -- on the other hand, they have to be tough -- for instance, for gravedigging (required in some cultural contexts). Often, they have to be both on the same day. Here’s a glimpse of my new Caterpillars.

* Someone gave me shoe polish for Christmas.

40.5 wpm

On Friday I conducted a sermon-writing experiment with our intern/trainee. After due preparation, I sat him down for two hours, and asked him to write an entire sermon from his heart -- no halting to let reason intervene. The length of sermons in our Church is about 20 minutes, or 3,000 words. He wrote 4,864 words in two hours, or 40.5 words per minute (wpm). The requirement for graduation from secretarial college is usually 35 wpm. OBSERVATION: Impressive -- although I haven’t had the opportunity to see yet what he wrote. See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/04/teaching-sermon-writing.html.

Tax Shock [Further]

I met this morning with our Church leadership to discuss the first (massive) tax imposed on our Church in its 115-year existence. I said, “This would ruin our Church.” Our accounts clerk said, “Of course.” But she said she wasn’t concerned. She said that God had given her a Bible text this morning. It was Psalm 46, and she read it to us: “We will not fear, though the earth give way ... God is within the city of God, she will not fall ...” OBSERVATION: A neighbouring Church apparently was confronted with a similar shock, and negotiated its way out of this. We resolved (a) to seek the counsel of our neighbouring Church, and (b) to lodge an appeal with the government this week.

NOTE: Our neighbouring Church informs me that it was a rates bill of R1.5 million, which was successfully challenged in the High Court. Their pastor said to me, "It's getting tougher all the time [for the Churches]."

Leadership Jokes [2]

I told our leadership this morning that I had been given the green light to submit my Master's thesis for examination, but that I first wanted to put some finishing touches to it. A senior deaconess said, "You better! We don't take failure in this Church!" There was a round of laughter. That's her in the photo.

A Loveable Church

I had a pleasant, constructive morning with our intern P., doing visitation. Finally we returned to the Church. I said, “There’s the old Church.” He said, “Oh boy. Oh boy.” I said, “But it’s a loveable Church.” He said fondly, “Yes it is.” OBSERVATION: The photo shows the Church from an angle as yet never seen on this blog. All that you see is ours (except for the Main Road and beyond). See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/03/oh-man.html.

Discouraged

Tonight I am discouraged. It doesn’t seem to happen to me often. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?” I have been confronting a legion of things in ministry, which have all been defeated in a positive spirit -- and the Church has been soaring. But with weariness pursuing me, suddenly the state makes a demand that, it would seem, is close to impossible to overcome (see yesterday’s posts). It reminds me of the triumphant Elijah, caught out in his weariness by a threat from Jezebel. But I have had worse than this during my ministry here. When I arrived, I discovered that the Church was just six months away from insolvency, and we plunged deeper into debt than the sum that the government is demanding of us now. Which we can pay -- this year. I have experienced far worse. Why be discouraged now? Our Church leadership, as is fairly typical, seems to be relatively indolent in this situation -- although they are not unconcerned, and they love their Church. Perhaps they simply have a different way of approaching such matters than I do -- and who is to say it is not better? Or is it the typically South African condition of being punch-drunk? I myself don’t have anywhere near the financial, legal, or political expertise as minister to know what to do. And wife M. is away for a conference. OBSERVATION: This should require faith. (Though I have consulted several experts).

The Wrong Colour

I went this morning to check on the progress of a vehicle I am having restored. True to form, they had spray painted it the wrong colour: red instead of navy blue. I had faxed them: “navy blue”. I had e-mailed them: “navy blue”. I had even sent them a sample of navy blue! The manager said, “How could we make such a CAPITAL mistake? CAPITAL!” OBSERVATION: I can guess. This is not too surprising. It’s a ho-hum experience for me. See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/02/capetonian-repairs.html.

Birthday Girl

I attended a poor Church on Sunday (the poor are rich in faith). This little girl had her second birthday. The pastor asked mother and child to stand up. Then he addressed the little girl (which he is doing as I take this photo). OBSERVATION: The notices in this Church went on for about twenty minutes. In our Church, they are usually written on a single page. The congregation was majority under 30, despite it being a "stock standard traditional Church".

Bajaj Bump

Why can’t people go bump somebody else’s vehicle? I am amazed at the number of times my vehicle has been bumped and scratched in a year-and-a-half. Here’s a photo of the latest injury, to the back of its load-bed. OBSERVATION: But I don’t mind too much. It adds to its character. See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2008/12/gathering-history.html. (My vehicle is an Indian Bajaj).

Tax Shock [SACC Response]

There may be readers of this blog who are interested in the response of a South African Council of Churches (SACC) liaison officer to the dilemma touched upon in my last post. This confirms that “the rules have changed”. Quote: “I am somewhat alarmed to see in the latest version of SARS’s [the South African Revenue Service's] tax guide for PBOs [Public Benefit Organisations, in this case Churches] an example (p.11) which talks about the exclusion of gross receipts from trading. ... Unfortunately, we have not yet managed to convince SARS to accept the view that seems to be gathering force in other parts of the world, namely that it is good for PBOs to have diverse funding bases, including unrelated enterprises in some cases, and that the public interest is served by creating conditions in which PBOs and sound PBO financial practices can flourish.” OBSERVATION: To view the SACC Legal Obligations Handbook: TAXATION (before things apparently changed), click here: http://www.sacc-ct.org.za/taxbook3.html.

Tax Shock

Our Church has received a considerable tax shock, which I first became aware of today. The Church has been tax exempt since its founding in 1894. This year, without warning, it has been billed nearly R46,000 ($5,000 / €4,000) by the Receiver of Revenue. This is a sum which, on the surface of it, would render our self-sufficient Church insolvent over two years. Our accounts clerk queried this, and was told that "the rules have changed". We have been taxed nearly 30% on rentals, an amount which needs to be settled immediately. OBSERVATION: The government doesn't exactly win a prize for meetness. Year after year, it has granted us exemption. Suddenly it pounces. We run according to annual budgets, and well thought out, democratic processes, not huge surprise packages from government.

Suicide Threat

C. called me late(ish) last night. She had intended to overdose on psychiatric medication, but her friend had confiscated it all, and she ended up at the local hospital. This is how she told the story. She said, “The doctor took one look at me and said, 'You don’t LOOK suicidal!' I said to the doctor, ‘I AM suicidal. But just don’t lock me up like you did last time.’ The doctor said, ‘Lock you up? That’s impossible. It’s illegal!’” OBSERVATION: See my photo of a guard unlocking her cell the last time I visited her there (two months ago).

The End Is Nigh

My Master’s thesis today received the green light for submission -- for examination -- subject to a few simple changes. However, I sense the need to take more time, to strengthen one or two areas. So I’m close to the end of a crazy odyssey that began in Los Angeles in 2003. It took me across four continents, and frustrated and enriched my life in many ways. Thanks to http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/ for the photo.

Trouble With The Neighbours

Maria Shaparova, the “Queen of Scream”, was recorded as screaming at “an astonishing 86.7 decibels”, which “equalled a diesel train roaring past 100 feet away” (that’s according to the MailOnline). By comparison, the average car horn is about 100 decibels, or more than ten times as loud. In this context, enter our neighbours. A minister’s schedule may be highly erratic, all depending on the day and the circumstance. So I often find opportunities to have a snooze in between, and this is important to me. Our neighbours have chauffeurs for their three children, and pre-arranged hooting to pick them up. Besides the fact that this puts Maria Shaparova in the shade, it is illegal in terms of our local by-laws. So I may be dead tired, but I keep getting woken up, often when I have public engagements ahead of me. This week, I have been woken up three times. OBSERVATION: I have spoken kindly to our neighbours, and they have always responded positively yet quite meaninglessly. I have offered them an electronic solution, too, paid by myself. Now I have had enough. But applying the law in South Africa is something else, and not something I want to try with neighbours anyway -- so I have decided to seek the mediations of their rabbi. Watch this space.

Rape At The Church

A woman squeezed in between appointments this morning. She attends our Church occasionally. She said that she had been raped on Sunday. I said, “Where?” She said, “At the Church, here on the corner. It was six in the evening. It was still light. He raped me until three in the morning. I ran away naked.” She said, “He made me do things I have never done in my life before [graphic detail omitted here]. He forced me. Look.” She showed me a cut in the back of her neck. She had been given an anti-pregnancy pill, and anti-retrovirals. The rapist had been arrested. She said, “I’m afraid now. Next thing, he might be on the street again, and I won’t know about it.” She said, “I’m so glad I could tell you this, Father. So glad. I feel so much better.” Then she cried. She said, “I feel that God has given me a second chance.” I said, “What for?” She said, “To worship Him with gospel songs.”

NOTE: This had a corollary, today. Our caretaker's wife approached me. She said, "Reverend, we are not safe here. Your secretary is not safe. Our security is not tight enough." I promised her that she could address our next leadership meeting. (We have two barriers between the street and the Church -- in some cases three or more. They all require permission from the inside to enter. But there are weaknesses in the system).

Missing Generation

Twice last week in the village of Velddrif, young boys asked me for change on the street. I asked both of them where their parents were. One of them said that he “didn't have” parents, the other said that his parents had moved away for work. Both boys said that they lived with Granny. I asked one of them, “What's life like with Granny?” He said just this (in Afrikaans): “Granny is converted [bekeer].” I said, “That's important.” OBSERVATION: The “middle generation” is so often missing in South Africa. Part of the problem is AIDS. The photo shows the Velddrif harbour.

Sunset In Sea Point

Some of us were born photographers. This is a photo that a Swiss visitor to our Church sent me. She volunteered with our Church for one month, and won many people’s hearts. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA. Those are sedimentary rocks in the foreground, and seaweed in the shallower water.

Teaching Sermon Writing

Someone said I'm being cruel to our intern. I’ve made this week a “sermon intensive” week for him. I asked him to choose a text for a series of sermons. Today is a day of background reading. Tomorrow morning we’ll be working on the concepts he derives from the text. The next day -- to break him out of the “crafted sermon” mode -- I’m asking him to put his mind out of gear, and to write his entire sermon from the heart in two hours flat (that's the cruel part). One might call it “automatic writing”, a well known concept that Wikipedia describes as “sometimes useful for ... getting started on a writing project”. I would call it writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit. OBSERVATION: Will it work? We’ll see. Anyway, this will merely lay the groundwork for more thoughtful revision that comes as a next stage. See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2008/02/sermon-preparation.html.

I Q 2 X

That’s “I queue to vote”. The photo shows an official applying dye to my left thumb, to indicate that I have voted in our national and provincial elections today. OBSERVATION: An African National Congress (ANC) official came up to me in the queue, and shook my hand. I said, “Where’s your beautiful T-shirt, then?” He said, “No, Reverend, we’re not allowed to wear those at a polling station." He said, "You’ll vote for the right party, ne [not so]?” Someone said, “He’s not allowed to canvass at a polling station!” I said, “I know him. He’s being personable” (besides, he didn't say whether the ANC was the right party)!

Thesis: 'n Gedoente

Sooner than I thought, my Master’s thesis is into its AFTER-post-final draft. On Monday, with much relief, I completed hundreds and hundreds of (mostly small) revisions, and submitted a POST-final draft to my supervisor. On Tuesday, two readers checked in (other supervisors who get in on the act right at the end, which in this case included the head of the postgraduate school). The head of the school commented: “the thesis should pass ... some brilliance ... it struggled a little on coherence ...” In short, I need to go over it again. OBSERVATION: No jokes about my (in)coherence, please! The Afrikaners have a word for this: ‘n gedoente. A dance, one might say. And the various academics, on some points of advice, flat contradict one another. I’ll just need to make some judgement calls. The photo shows me at work on the farm last week.

Leadership Fallacy [2]

For the past four years, I have been studying Christian leadership theory. Here's another fallacy (misconception) that is common in Christian leadership theory. Take a real example from the literature. Successful ministers have mentors. There are thousands of cases which prove this. Therefore mentoring guarantees successful ministry. Right? But what if thousands of ministers who dropped out had mentors, too? Then you have proved nothing. OBSERVATION: There are many variations of this fallacy. One may say that there are thousands of ministers who applied X philosophy to their Church, or thousands who got switched on to technology, and so on. But this may all prove nothing. Whole books get written without noticing this fallacy. (Some related terms to explore would be “confirmation bias” and “affirming the consequent”).

The Southern Cross

I wonder whether Northern visitors to this blog have seen the Southern Cross? One thing's for sure -- you won't see it in the Northern Hemisphere, except from the tropics. Here’s a photo I took last week. I included a chimney to give an idea of its size (it is the smallest of the constellations -- also called Crux). The bottom of the cross points south. OBSERVATION: The Southern Cross appears on various national flags: Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa and Tokelau (the last two being close to Kiribati, where I grew up). You can enlarge this a little by clicking on it.

What's Wrong With Paying A Bribe?

In Africa, and no doubt in many parts of the world, Christians are likely to be faced with the problem of bribery. Often, a bribe will be demanded just at that point where you are in pressing need, so it is tempting just to pay it. Here are some reasons not to: 1. No matter which country you are in, it is a criminal offence. 2. There is the possibility that you, and not the briber, will be criminally charged. The briber might well have his or her “ducks in a row” to ensure this if caught out. 3. Even corrupt governments have measures in place against bribery, which means that your bribe will have to pass through a number of checks. If an official stamp is out of place, or if a signature looks strange, it could well catch you out. 4. Your payment of a bribe makes the next bribe more possible. And of course, 5. the Bible says that we should avoid even the appearance of evil. OBSERVATION: I don't wish to minimise the severe pressure that there may be in a situation of bribery (e.g. you may lose precious income because officials waste days or even weeks of your time, or you might be repatriated to a war-torn area). At the same time, I think that these are deep tests of faith. And there are places to go for help. In Cape Town, as an example, there's the UCT Law Clinic. See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2008/01/in-strait.html.

Bribery

I counsel refugees on an (almost) weekly basis. Four refugees have told me this year alone that officials in Nyanga have demanded a bribe. Last week, one of our Church deacons reported that they had demanded a R2,000 bribe from him. Of course, I can't vouch for the truth of all I hear. OBSERVATION: From my personal counselling experience, I know that people who demand bribes wreak havoc in people's lives. Our deacon said it made him feel sick. But after three days of queuing, he made it through.

En Route

I stopped off at a small roadside restaurant for breakfast. That's my vehicle in the photo, with its load-bed packed in part with a whole lot of books. I worked to complete the final draft of my Master's thesis. OBSERVATION: As things go, this was actually the POST-final draft. I trust it won't go to an AFTER-post-final draft. See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/04/thesis-going-places.html.

The Last Hurdle

I had a smooth journey to the farm -- all but the final hill, that is, where my three-wheeler ploughed into the ground (see photo -- that's where the front wheel came to rest). The farmer laughed, and said, “You should buy a Four by Four!” OBSERVATION: Now why didn't I think of that? But two days later, the farmer couldn't get his Four by Four started. I joked: “Mine starts every time!”

"Gone Fishing"

Well, not really. I’ve gone studying. You may click on the photo to enlarge it. This is the view from a window of the cottage where I probably will be staying by the time you read this post. I’ll be back in eight days’ time. For a map of where I’m going, see http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/04/come-monday.html. Thank you for looking in to my blog.

Cell-Phone Snap

I was just about to get started with our Tenebrae Service last week when someone stepped up with a cell-phone and snapped this picture. OBSERVATION: With this, I hope to popularise a style I shall name “retro-emergent” -- the re-emergence of retrogressive forms to re-invigorate the Church in our day.

Easter Gift

During our Easter service today, a young girl (see the photo, taken earlier this year) came up the steps to the pulpit, and said to me in a whispery voice: "Jesus is alive" (a version of the old “Christ is risen”). Then she handed me a basket with a big transparent Easter egg filled with gold-wrapped chocolates.

Easter Service

Here’s an impression of our Easter service today -- a section of the congregation (I’m saying the Offertory Prayer here). The service began with an elder reading traditional sentences (he's just at my left in the photo). The service included a “punchy” explanation of what Easter is, the handing out of chocolate Easter eggs by the Sunday School, and an "indigenous" (Paul Simon-style) piece by our youth choir. OBSERVATION: We had a good attendance today, as will be seen. Last Sunday, we hit a record for attendance. We know this because we ran out of hymn books (we don’t count our attendance).

“The Church Is Too Small”

I met with our associate pastor last week, Pastor G. (see photo). He said, “The Church is too small.” I thought at first that he was referring to his congregation. This didn’t seem to make sense. He said, “No, I mean the walls are too small. We have grown so big that we are into overflow.” OBSERVATION: This means that we need to look at rearranging how we do things on our premises. G. will put a proposal to our leadership at the beginning of May. At present, I lead services in the sanctuary, and he in our largest hall (of which we have three). See also http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/04/leadership-favour-and-grace.html.

Foghorn

The photo shows our local foghorn. It used to be mounted on the lighthouse in the background, but was redesigned and moved forward to reduce its deafening blast. Locals claimed that it took a year to learn to sleep through the foghorn. OBSERVATION: That’s two cameras on top -- perhaps to prevent people from stealing it. Who might steal it? Well, people like me, who might wish to use it on their neighbours.

Advice For Refugees

For years, I have been advising/counselling refugees almost on a weekly basis. For a developing country where, by some accounts, 20% of the population may be refugees, being a refugee may be the ultimate challenge. In my experience, there are certain things which would seem to improve a refugee’s chances a great deal: 1. Trust God. 2. Commit absolutely to a Church family. 3. Get your legal papers in order, and keep them safe. 4. Obtain introductions, and use them. 5. Keep one set of neat, clean clothes for appointments. 6. Set a priority on obtaining a cell-phone, so that people can contact you. 7. Find a training course for specific employment, then a sponsor (even if you are already trained). 8. Endure hardship and injustice at work, don’t duck and dive. 9. Avoid degrading behaviour, you have a life ahead of you. 10. Don’t underestimate the ruthlessness and heartlessness of criminals. 11. Learn the language (bilingualism is a great advantage anyway). And 12. Divide up the challenges, if you can, with a close friend or family member. OBSERVATION: If anyone can add to this list, I’d welcome further input. It may help anyone looking in.

NOTE: About bribery, see http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/04/whats-wrong-with-paying-bribe.html.

Mangled Language

I asked a cashier this morning for a bag. She said, “What’s a bag?” I thought that either she or I hadn’t heard, so I said, “A bag.” She laughed and said, “You say bag! You mean beg! It’s a beg!” OBSERVATION: Well, so much for “received English”. We also have a Chuhts (Church) that has mehmbas (members) -- usually to be distinguished from mambas. Such pronunciations are almost universal in our Church, not least because Afrikaans is the largest language among us.

Easter Sermon

I completed my Easter sermon tonight. I begin by reading a passage on the death of Christ, and how He was raised again by the power of God. Then I read a “parallel” passage which states that we were dead in transgressions and sins, but were made alive with Christ (and similar texts). I explain the symptoms of death: we find that we do not have the ability to conquer destructive behaviour and thought (personally and socially), we find that we cannot escape the death of meaning or a reason for living, and we find that we cannot cast off guilt and shame. And then I describe the resurrection from death that is offered through Christ. OBSERVATION: This is an “easy” message to preach in our context. We all have personal or close experience of degradation.

Come Monday ...

The satellite map shows where I plan to go on Monday -- which marks the beginning of a week off. The map shows the south-western corner of Africa. I’m in Cape Town, and will be driving north in my three-wheeler, to a farm on the south bank of the Great Berg River (marked with a yellow/red spot). This is on the southern edge of a "succulent karoo" (semi-desert) biome. The river (which is a wetland at its estuary) flows into the picturesque St. Helena Bay. OBSERVATION: It’ll be a study break, hopefully to get my Master’s thesis polished off. For my little three-wheeler, this is an odyssey.

Good Friday Service

Wife M., who is also an ordained minister, led our Good Friday service this morning. This service is usually “modestly full”, despite being an austere service, with only readings and hymns surrounding the theme of Christ's crucifixion. OBSERVATION: One of our members adorned a large wooden cross (see photo), and put out some splendid flowers. She will have done this out of devotion to Christ on this special day. Here is the full service: http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2009/03/good-friday-service.html.

Twinkle, Twinkle ...

Following our service tonight, I saw one of our younger members standing at the Church gate, surrounded by people. She was looking up at the black sky, and saying, “Ooh, look! look! Now you can see it! See? see?” I said, “What do you see? A satellite?” She said, “No, no, look! It’s twinkling! That star is twinkling!” OBSERVATION: Evening has fallen, like the first evening!

Public Speaking

Our intern P. took a turn for the first time tonight at opening a Church event -- our Tenebrae Supper (see photo). We are giving him hands-on experience with every aspect of Church life. He did well tonight. OBSERVATION: When it comes to public engagements, I am doing hands-on training with him, and both he and I can see that it makes a difference. But, I think, there shouldn’t be too much emphasis on getting it “right”. Just on doing it well. There is no place for “fear” when speaking to a congregation.

Mystery Art

Somebody, presumably in the early hours of this morning, left a small work of art on the seat of my three-wheel pickup. It is all stitched with fine thread (the red heart on the right is thread, shown about three times actual size). Some of the stitching is framed in blue, as shown. The photo shows only about 2% of the whole meticulous work. OBSERVATION: But who was it?

Joking Again

A deaconess e-mailed me: “I left a message on your desk about having Christ Arose on [Easter] Sunday ... Last year you forgot!” I replied: “Does this mean that we need to sing Christ Arose twice this year?” She wrote: “THOMAS! We sing Christ Arose ONLY on Easter Sunday so why do you think it will be twice?” I replied: “It will be twice on Easter Sunday, because we forgot last year, and now we need to make up for our omission.” OBSERVATION: I am kidding, of course!

Ships Marking Time

Here’s a common scene off our coast. In fact, on this day, there were several more ships off-photo. OBSERVATION: This may be because such vessels are unable to obtain a berth in Cape Town harbour. I am told that the harbour is overworked. You may click on the photo to enlarge it a little.

A Leadership Fallacy

My Master’s thesis deals in part with leadership fallacies (a fallacy is flawed thinking, e.g. “I won’t have a problem finding my car, because I’m parked right next to a red Beetle”). A common fallacy of Christian leadership theory is: “Here’s proof that old-style Church is failing. Therefore here is the alternative [no proof].” OBSERVATION: I’m placing a link here to a typical example, a paper from our own South African blogosphere.* Most of this paper is statistical in nature: “We shall consider some of the statistics of Church decline...” Once this is done, it continues: “In recent decades there have been many encouraging and wonderful attempts at reinventing Christian community...” In other words, the paper is at first quantitative (a blizzard of statistics when discussing the problem), then qualitative (no statistics at all when discussing the alternative). This is very common reasoning -- but it is hazardous, because it is fallacious (which need not mean it is untrue -- like the example of the Beetle).

*http://www.hindestreet.org.uk/Groups/14858/Hinde_Street_Methodist/Thinking/Hugh_Price_Hughes/Hugh_Price_Hughes.aspx

Christ Exalted

This is the highest piece of stained glass in our Church, and I doubt that many people notice it. It was there before my time, but it might summarise my approach to all aspects of ministry: Christ is exalted, Christ is pre-eminent. He is therefore the primary focus of the Church, everything is referenced to Him, and everything else takes second place. OBSERVATION: This is crucial for praxis, in my view.

The Usual Turmoil

During this past week, our member N. went home to granny to die. Her husband had infected her with AIDS. A., whom I recently married, confessed to bigamy, and his new (non) wife was “beyond angry”. L. informed me that he'd been put out of his home by court order, banished from his wife and children. C. was jailed for being drunk and disorderly. His wife came to tell me, with a shrug and a sigh. J. had a quadruple bypass, and his sons barred everyone from his bed. At close to 80, his life was in danger. Our member C., weak and poorly, told me that she was beginning another course of chemotherapy. She struggled up a small flight of steps with her little girl. L. came to see me about a friend who was losing her husband’s affections, and burst into tears. OBSERVATION: That’s just a summary -- in fact, just a summary of a summary. If I posted on all such moments, too many of my posts would fall in the category “Counselling/Crisis”.

Taking It To The Wire

We needed to find temporary accommodation for our intern over Easter, as from tomorrow. Tonight we finally found a solution -- just half a day from seeing him sitting on the pavement/sidewalk. I said to our intern: “That’s our style. We take it to the wire.” He said with a smile, “I think I noticed that.” OBSERVATION: It’s a faith perspective. We do this all the time, confident that “the Lord will provide”. Not that we don’t put in a little effort from our side!

Solution To Burnout?

I spent nearly an hour with our intern tonight -- running over the past week, and looking ahead to the next. Among other things, we discussed an academic assignment that he handed in today, on ministry burnout. He noted that the problem is seen (in the literature) largely to be a practical one: get more exercise, delegate responsibilities, seek a good balance, and so on. But he noted that “the issue of what is causing that stress should be addressed, rather than learning to better deal with that stress ...” OBSERVATION: I said that this was an excellent observation. He had the good sense to think independently of the “body” of literature. As to what “is causing that stress”, we’ll deal with that in a future assignment.

Easter Sentences

Every Easter Sunday, in our Church, someone will recite the traditional sentences of the liturgy on the right -- usually to open the service. You may click on them to enlarge (the file is about 30k). OBSERVATION: The words may seem a bit old-fashioned, but they can always be modernized. There is a certain majesty about them.

Thesis Going Places

Yesterday I received a detailed response to the Final Draft of my Master’s thesis. At least, it was (past tense) the final draft until yesterday! Now it is the pre-final draft. My supervisor considers that there is a “great improvement in your academic writing”, and “a good possibility that you can finish it by the end of April and submit ...” So far, I've just flipped through the critique, and there's little that needs attention. OBSERVATION: If there is any concern, it is whether the content falls squarely within the domain of “systematic theology”. I may receive input from the head of the Postgraduate School on this. (The title of my thesis is: A Deconstructionist Critique of Christian Transformational Leadership).

Rising Above Stagnation

An ex-professor of mine, Armin Mauerhofer (see phot0), notes that there are three major “strategies and concepts” that are being used by the Church in Switzerland today to rise above stagnation: “the House Church concept, the Youth Churches, and the Emerging Church”. Interestingly, though, he considers none of these to be “decisive” in rising above stagnation. That is, they really don’t make the difference. OBSERVATION: Why should this be significant? It is significant because these strategies/concepts frequently present themselves as the alternative. Perhaps more in another post.

Rankings

My blog is currently no. 3 in the South African Religion rankings, and no. 2 in the South African Christian rankings -- the highest it's ever been (many people who look in don't see the rankings). It's also the no. 1 urban ministry blog in the world. OBSERVATION: At the moment, this is being driven by one small(ish) region of the world, far from here (see the image on the right). Soon, I’ll knock off for a week’s holiday/vacation. And soon, my blog will drop off in the rankings. My prediction: it'll drop ten places in South Africa by the end of April.

Disaffected Member

Where our Church members become inactive, their membership lapses. An inactive member wrote to me recently, shortly before his membership lapsed: “During the past couple of years I have been ‘unhappy’ regarding certain issues pertaining to the Church and the running thereof. As my issues are of a personal nature, I decided to withdraw from the Church.” OBSERVATION: So what changed “during the past couple of years”? This blog covers much of that period. Your guess might be as good as mine.

Get Me To The Church ...

A minister friend, Pastor Z., conducted a Xhosa wedding at our Church on Saturday. Both bride and groom arrived 2½ hours late. This was no small wedding. Guests hung around inside the Church, in the Church garden (see photo), and lining the street. Z. said to me as he waited: "They are not our members. If they were, they would be disciplined!" And Z., poor man, had booked seats to see his aged father play at a jazz festival. He won’t have made it on time. OBSERVATION: I’ve had a few weddings where the bride was an hour late. We then instituted penalty fees, to be paid in advance, for every 15 minutes overtime. But we’ve never asked for them.

Community And Disintegration

For me, linguistics makes fascinating bedtime reading (some people roll their eyes at this). Here’s an interesting observation, and it’s not the first time I’ve come across it. The more one talks about “community”, the greater the chances that such community will suffer shipwreck -- while the less one talks about it, the better are its chances. This quote is by socio-linguist M.M. Lewis: “[A] higher degree of awareness of [community]* does not lead to a higher degree of [communal] integration; but rather to an increase of disintegration and conflict.” OBSERVATION: What does this say about Churches which talk more about community?

* The original quote uses the term “group orexis”, which refers to the affective and conative character of the mental activity of a group. In a word, “community”.

Walking Up And Down

I took this photo about ten minutes before I took to the pulpit today -- during a free moment while greeting people entering at the back of the Church -- which I do now and then as I feel inclined. The Church filled up substantially after this (in our Church, many people are late). I also walked the aisles and greeted people, as I usually do -- I’d already walked up and down this aisle. As usual, there is a team leading pre-service singing.

Teenage Prayer

I asked one of our congregation to lead the Sunday prayers today. She came to me before the service, and said (whispered) that she had lost her voice -- could her teenage daughter do it? (see photo). Well, what a surprise. She was excellent, and with youthful enthusiasm she brought a special emphasis -- the Holy Spirit’s holiness and strength and joy in us. OBSERVATION: Another reminder of how important it is to have input from believers of every “place” in life. This young woman very nearly lost her mother last year -- now restored to health. See Taken Aback.

Leadership Is Grace

This is G., our (kind of) associate pastor, and his wife E. I asked him today about his leadership philosophy. He said (I jotted it down): “As a pastor, you are not leading by knowledge or experience. You are leading by favour and grace. Some are weak in knowledge, or weak in experience, yet they lead so many.” OBSERVATION: His Church is "going like a bomb", too.

Preacher Stand-Off

We invited a guest preacher to our Church while I was away. Some were deeply impressed by him, while others were repulsed. Now we have a pro-lobby who want him back, and an anti-lobby who are strongly opposed. Neither wants to yield. Part of the problem was that he committed to time, then way over-stepped it. Several people walked out. OBSERVATION: I have been instructed to speak to the preacher to reach a solution that is congenial to all (but see “Overload”, yesterday). Personally, I feel that if a guest preacher has the effect of a cat among pigeons, I don't want to see him again. But this Church is not run on personal opinion.

Too Many Women?

According to the 2001 Census, Cape Town’s ratio of women to men is greater than 2:1 (2.9 million to 1.4 million). OBSERVATION: How might this reflect on the complaint of so many Churches in Cape Town that “there are too few men in Church”? Perhaps there are too few women!

Overload

If a thing called “total overload” exists, it must look something like my ministry at present. I am absolutely fully booked, and feel an aversion to every additional thing that comes my way. And it is not “ministry lite”, as these pages will suggest. I doubt that more than a few people know what our Church’s ministry looks like at present. I do not have a minute for anything beyond my present schedule -- and then I’m asked to stop, read this and sign it, contact this government department, can you do a funeral for the poor, you have to defuse this dispute, please squeeze in so-and-so, set up that meeting, and so on -- not to speak of the people banging at my door, grabbing my vehicle in the street, stopping me at the gate, calling me at all times. OBSERVATION: I ended 2008 with 150 pages of things to attend to (see http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2008/12/things-left-undone.html). That pile still stands as shown in that photo. Don’t ask me what’s in it.

Master's Thesis: Movement

It’s been three months. Today I received preliminary feedback on the final draft of my M.Th. thesis. To put it in my own words, one of the major points is that it should be bullet-proofed against the possibility of hostile examiners. OBSERVATION: Will there be a major rewrite? A minor clean-up? Watch this space. One thing that I and many others have learnt through postgraduate work is that the goalposts keep shifting. You may carry out all instructions to the letter -- then new ones come along. Sometimes the new ones contradict the old!

Just A Drop In The Ocean

Our Canadian intern P. has kindly permitted me to quote from his monthly circular letter. I believe he makes a crucial observation which touches on one of the key differences of perspective between the Church North and South. He writes: “Coming here I was very excited to be able to delve into the social ministry opportunities here, but now upon being here, sometimes I feel more like a drop in the ocean than the solution to a problem.” He writes that he has been faced with “stark realities”. OBSERVATION: P. has discerned this very fast. The next question is what he will do with it. Thanks to http://www.abc.net.au/ for the photo.

Guns Drawn In Church

It all started with a Sunday School visiting our Church. Another Church was worshiping in one of our foyers. The Sunday School children went screaming through their worship, then back again in the opposite direction -- wantonly pressing the Church doorbell, too. Our tenants (the Church) were not amused. Our caretaker intervened, and diverted the children into the sanctuary. “Come,” he said, “you can help me clean the sanctuary.” In the sanctuary, one of the youngsters spotted the panic button in my pulpit, and pressed it. That set off our (internal) siren, which will have completely put paid to anything our tenants were doing -- and it sent a signal through to Armed Response. The next thing, armed officers burst into the worship with guns drawn. OBSERVATION: Would anyone like to take over my Church? I can guarantee a very interesting job!

Church Marijuana

We discovered marijuana/dagga growing lush and tall in our Church garden. Our prime suspect was one of our two caretakers, who tends that patch of ground. He responded, “Oh? Really? Dagga? Well how about that!” OBSERVATION: (And it wasn’t me either)!

The Qur'an

Every month, I give our Canadian intern a new reading assignment. This month, I have given him the Qur’an (Koran), with commentary by Yusuf Ali. I have prioritised certain suras, and asked him to read the commentary, too. OBSERVATION: I find that by far the majority of Christian ministers have not read the Qur’an. I think it is important to know it. Thanks to http://www.classes.colgate.edu/ for the image.

Dangers Of Dead Wood

On the surface of it, inactive Church members would seem to be no more and no less than “dead wood”. From the point of view of praxis, however (rather than principle), one needs active members. Here are five reasons why: 1. special quorums may be required for major decisions, and dormant members may make this difficult when it matters most, 2. there tend to be deep differences of spiritual outlook between active and dormant members, and these can lead to conflict at critical moments, 3. the same for differences of knowledge/ experience, if members have been missing from fellowship or meetings, 4. dormant members may quickly be activated by someone with an axe to grind, all the more easily because they are “out of it”, and 5. the requirement of active membership creates an awareness of the need to maintain fellowship. OBSERVATION: I have experienced all of the above. I need to add, though, that I have experienced positive aspects of dormant members. For example, I have seen them mobilised to build a Church. (In our Church, membership means that one has direct representation on all matters affecting the Church).

Point Community Church

Thanks to Stephen Murray of Point Community Church, who directed me to photos of his Church’s “test of venue” in our suburb (Sea Point) on Sunday. The venue was the local Peninsula Hotel, a tall building on our Beach Front. OBSERVATION: The photos reveal mostly younger attendees, perhaps fifty in number, who reflect about the middle of our very wide social spectrum. Click on the photo to enlarge. For a closer idea of what the Church "is about" (or aspires to be about), see http://pointcommunitychurch.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/prayer-corner-march-2009.pdf. This statement is inspired by "neo-Calvinism", which may be described as a more holistic form of old-style Calvinism. Stephen co-pastors with Jacques Erasmus.

Our Distinctives

Once a month, I prepare a Church newsletter. This month I touch on five distinctives of our Church (though some will not be particularly distinctive)! Here they are in summary: 1. We seek to serve the Bible “neat” (as in “neat” whisky)! and to take it as our foundation. 2. We seek to have a genuine priesthood of believers, where congregants are fully entrusted with ministry. 3. We are governed by the members -- a direct democracy under Christ. 4. We seek to be a complete family, holding together all differences, whether of age, culture, status, or even language or denomination. And 5. We are not into branding, targeting, strategising, and so on, but seek an organic development through the Spirit. The rest springs from the above.

Bigamy [Again]?

On Sunday we suspended a member for (illegally) marrying a second wife. On Monday, the Department of Home Affairs informed me that I myself had (it would seem) married a man to a second wife -- see the Department's query on the right (you can click on it to enlarge -- I have blanked out the name of the person concerned). OBSERVATION: When I meet with a couple, I run through a standard form, which includes the question whether either of them is widowed or divorced. Then, during the wedding ceremony itself, I ask them each to declare that there is no lawful impediment to their proposed marriage (this is required by law, and the answer is "I do"). Today, for the first time, the groom informed me: “I was once married in a court of law.” Perhaps, he suggested, this was the sticking point.