Enriching Services

From time to time, I ask someone to lead a responsive psalm in Church. This Sunday, I asked an engineer in our congregation -- and invited him to introduce the psalm with his own words (Psalm 146). True to the engineer, he spoke of the genius of the Burj Dubai Tower -- how one may view a sunrise / sunset twice on the same day by using the lift. But for all that, he said, the psalm reminds us that people's spirits depart, and their plans come to nothing, and God is the Maker of heaven and earth. OBSERVATION: I could never have thought this up. It's the way our services are enriched through varied input. Thanks to core.form-ula for the image -- a collaborative space for architects and engineers.

New Linux Mint

Here's my experience (last night) of trying to convert my netbook computer to the latest Linux Mint (pictured -- you may click on the image to enlarge). The "conversion" (with boot-up from a USB dongle) took me ten minutes -- it would have taken me three if I'd been able to figure out the USB installation utility. Everything worked flawlessly first time, with one exception -- I couldn't work out the wireless connection utility. That took me too long. Also, it wasn't immediately clear to me where Linux Mint had put my old files (it sidelined them). The verdict? The negatives are just niggles: it has a curious Applications menu, and I don't like the need for an additional key-press at shut-down: "Close the tray (if any)". Yet it has impressive bundled software, and at the end of the day would seem to work flawlessly. However, my search for a new operating system is not over ...

What Partners Don't Tell [2]

I counselled a husband and wife of many years. She said: "I discovered that he had a child by another woman." I said: "When did it happen?" She said it had happened before they knew each other. I said: "I don't see that it should be a problem then." She said: "But he didn't tell me about it. And now the child has turned up with demands." OBSERVATION: But there was enough good-will and maturity here to work it out.

Actor Encounter

I ran into a well known actor last week (pictured). He said to me: "You look a lot like your father." Then he said: "I used to play sons. Then I played fathers. Now I'm playing a grandfather."

Suicide By Drink

A woman in our congregation split up with her partner. She decided to do herself in. In this she was rather original, in that the chosen method was whisky. She ended up in a coma, and she woke up paralysed. She only partly overcame her paralysis, and moved with great difficulty after that, with sticks. OBSERVATION: (Dylan Thomas is a famous artist who met his end this way).

Unexpected Laughter

Our congregation surprise me sometimes with the things they find funny -- when I didn't expect them to find it funny at all. This morning, in my sermon, I described General Douglas MacArthur's egotism (quite matter-of-factly), and there was laughter all round. For a related post, see Temperance?

Cliff Richard

This one's just for fun. It's our office secretary G. at the age of 14, with Cliff Richard, then probably still in his teens. The photo is taken about the time that he recorded Living Doll. With a secretary like ours, maybe she launched the song? OBSERVATION: I took this off a slide, which had lost virtually all of its cyan content. Apart from putting that back, I left the photo untouched. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 500 x 700.

Worn Out

Towards the end of this past week, I was depleted to the point of being tearful (almost). There were perhaps three contributing factors. I'd had several hours of tough counselling / mentoring which at the end I might have stamped "Unresolved" or "Result Unknown" (usually it's "Resolved"). I was pushing myself continually to get priority items / issues off my list. Not least, living with serious illness in the home is not to be underestimated. OBSERVATION: Yet despite the minister's "low", Church was full today, it was a good service, and I always feel so encouraged by our congregation.

My Metal Detectors

Here's something about me that may not be known to all: I invented two new genres (that is, families) of metal detectors. See, as an example, Detector Types. Alexander Graham Bell invented IB in 1881, Gerhard Fischar invented BFO in 1925, and Claus Colani invented PI in 1961. In 2004, I invented BB and CCO (well publicised at the time). I also revolutionised IB, by stripping out the analogue electronics. BB detectors are potentially very simple. A three-component design (plus search coils) out-performs most BFO designs -- and CCO detectors match the performance of IB, yet don't require the critical set-up. There are examples of both on this blog. OBSERVATION: While "new" ideas may only be new until someone proves otherwise, my invention of BB and CCO has been very public and has remained unchallenged for six years. Besides, the ideas were too good not to have been known if they had existed before. The image shows one of my metal detector "covers".

Identifying Gifts

A good way to identify one's spiritual gifts is to ask the Body what they are. I did such an exercise with my Minister's Bible Study group. The group sought to identify the gifts of each member of the group. Here is the simple "tool" that I used, with my own result shown (click on it to enlarge to 200k). The group considered that I have the gifts of faith, knowledge, leadership, and pastoring. (I would have had it a bit different).

Tipping My Vehicle

A question I am frequently asked about my three-wheel pickup is: "Doesn't it tip over?" The answer is that it is remarkably stable -- also, I have a good feel for when it's near tipping point. Very occasionally, I go up on two wheels. This morning I did (trying to avoid a speed bump -- those things are hazardous)! OBSERVATION: My worst near-tip was when someone swerved in front of me at an intersection. I swerved to avoid them -- and went up on two wheels. My vehicle was tipping, so I yanked the handle-bars in the other direction, and my third wheel came back down to the ground with a bang. The nose of my vehicle stopped just one metre/yard short of the side of a luxury Merc. Then I looked around me. The whole intersection had come to a stop, with a crowd gazing at me in horror. (For locals, this was the Church Street intersection in Sea Point, where I later crashed my vehicle. That was my first vehicle, because it was a write-off).

102 (And Counting)

Last week I went to visit our oldest Church member, D. She is 102 -- and counting. She says: "No one should have to live this long!" D. has a heart of gold -- you see it in her face -- and she still has a sharp mind. Our office secretary took the photo on her cell-phone.

Theological Paper

I received comment today from the editor of a theological journal, after its review panel assessed a 22-page article I wrote (or with appendices, 46 pages)! My work was not accepted "in its present form", yet it would "not seem to ... require a massive reworking". In other words, my article could well be published, given some work. OBSERVATION: The journal gave me a two-page critique, which I consider to be very valuable. It is top-level critique. It'll be interesting to work through it.

Constitutions! [3]

How to get over constitutional impasses? Assuming that "people skills" don't settle a situation, there are various options. Here are some. In our own Church, it is possible to put a crisis-busting vote to the members: "I propose that we shut this down," or: "I propose a vote of confidence." Another possible move is to exercise spiritual authority -- a scarcely definable thing. If one switches from technical talk and speaks instead "in the Holy Spirit", this may prove to be a powerful blockbusting move. In less obstructive situations, one may hold a vote over to another meeting, and return to it later. By then, there usually is consensus. There are other possibilities -- but enough for one post.

Constitutions! [2]

The first and perhaps most common way in which a Church constitution may fail is through legalism. If the atmosphere in which one wants to put the constitution to work is not peaceful, it is easily possible to have cock-fights over details and definitions. A second way in which a Church constitution may fail is through unforeseen circumstances. Typically, a Church constitution is a lean document, and it can't predict everything. Situations easily arise which the constitution never contemplated -- then one finds oneself in a blind alley. A third way in which a Church constitution may fail is where people simply withdraw their commitment to it: "I'm through. I don't care a stuff about what the constitution says!" This is likely to happen precisely at the moment of crisis. Then one has a crisis on top of the crisis. In the next post: some ways in which one may get over constitutional impasses.

Constitutions! [1]

A Church constitution, in my view, is close to sacred. In a sense, it is the Church. It keeps priorities in place, and it keeps everything well ordered. It is bigger, too, than any individual. Yet in practice, one can't depend on a constitution to save the Church from predicaments. In my view, it ultimately comes down to general ethos and spiritual authority in sync with the constitution. In the next two posts, I shall list some ways in which a Church constitution may fail just when it is needed most, and some blockbusting moves.

Cobalt-60

My hobby is/was electronic design. About five years ago, I wanted to test a p-n junction as a detector of radioactivity. For this, I needed a radioactive source. This was a problem -- but ultimately I got hold of a section of cobalt pencil (cobalt-60). The cobalt was a beautiful blue, encased in a very heavy lead container. As it happens, my experiments didn't work as planned, and I returned the cobalt-60. OBSERVATION: Cobalt-60 is one of the preferred ingredients for a "dirty bomb". My own piece of pencil could have contaminated more than 100 square kilometres, and I obtained it without any clearance. So I would think that, yes, "radiological attacks constitute a credible threat", at least over here.

Influence Of The Humble

Sometimes the humblest of people have a profound influence on the Church. An example in our own Church is our Honorary Church Secretary, who, to use an old term, is a servant. Through her discernment and vision, we have one new Church group (if not two) and two new annual Church events. She also has the gift of encouragement, and does a great deal of good behind the scenes. One ignores the humble at one's peril. OBSERVATION: Perhaps one should rather speak of those who have "natural weakness". Not only humbleness, but timidity, broken health, young years, and so on. See also Unseen Influence.

Flashback 1968

Here's a photo of me in 1968, on Tarawa atoll, in the mission. To keep me, my sister, and other youngsters entertained, my mother would give us tasks (such as: "Build a hut") -- then afterwards she would inspect them and grade them. On this day, my hut was undoubtedly the best -- yet I didn't get the highest grade. I protested. My mother explained that she had to give everyone a chance with the best grades. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.

Dentist Double-Talk

The dentist replaced two fillings this morning -- without anaesthetic. He said to me: "This won't hurt." Then he said: "When I say it won't hurt, I mean it won't hurt me." OBSERVATION: You have been warned! The image is from the horror movie The Dentist 2.

Pastoral Extremes

Looking over my counselling sessions of recent weeks, all of them were "serious", and some of them included extreme language. A continual "tension" of ministry is that I may walk out of such situations, straight into situations of great sensitivity and felicity -- and vice versa. Of course "serious" situations, too, may be sensitive. I am sometimes caught by surprise -- in both directions. Sometimes I walk into a serious situation not being quite ready for the assault. Sometimes I walk into a gentle situation, not having adjusted from the battle that went before.

"I Shall Overcome"

I spotted this last year, on a young member's hand. I asked her for a photo. Since then, she graduated. She looked regal in her graduation photos.

Rhenosterfontein

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This one's just a pretty picture. The road is marked on the map as a so-called tertiary road. That's my vehicle in the foreground. The hamlet in the background is Rhenosterfontein. Actually, Rhenosterfontein is no more than a dairy, a farmstead, and labourers' cottages -- about 200km/120mi east of Cape Town. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 120k.

Church Fête Ideas

This is the year of new ideas for our annual Church Fête (or Bazaar). We are in the curious position that our Fête is as good as sold out every year -- yet it is not the event that it once was, and (judging by similar fêtes) it has far greater potential. So it would seem that the obvious way to go is a) to have more to sell and/or b) to find fresh ideas for our stalls. The handout (pictured) lists some of the new ideas we have for stalls, which may or may not become reality (you may click on it to enlarge).

Son M. In Action

Son M. flew the nest five months ago. He is now, among other things, measuring plant methane emissions in Switzerland. The photo is for friends, fans, and acolytes. In just over a month's time, he travels to Durham to commence Master's studies in archaeology. OBSERVATION: The colour tones suggest that this photo was taken with a Japanese camera.

Ethnic Drift

I hesitate to talk ethnicity, yet ethnic drift has been an occasional subject in our Church. I noted on this blog four months ago that, for the first time in our 116-year history, those of "European stock" had been in a minority in (some) Sunday services. The drift to where we are now (most of it under my ministry) has undoubtedly brought us life and joy and wonderful variety. It is one of the best things that has happened among us. At the same time, I have heard "reflections": Where is this drift going? Has it affected us financially? Does it affect our outreach? And so on. OBSERVATION: As minister, I am putting my faith in three broad spiritual principles: 1. Do not be a respecter of persons, and minister to all alike. 2. Keep drawing on the spiritual treasure that lies in the whole congregation, not just parts of it. And 3. trust God to form His local Body by His Spirit, as He intends it at this time.

New Attitude

In a series of posts during the past week, I described how I had been framed for passing on "explosive" information. This post describes my "new attitude". More recently, a woman asked to see me in her home. She worked for a very well known institution in our city. She said that she had uncovered half a million rands’ fraud -- and she spread out papers before me that, as far as I could see, proved the point. For instance, papers had been falsified -- she showed me the originals and the falsifications. She wanted me to intervene. I said to her: "I will advise you. I will support you. I will pray for you. But you need to do this yourself." OBSERVATION: She approached the auditors. She approached the CEO. But they seemed to be in this together.

Post World Cup

I previously reported on this blog how there were mass arrests in our suburb prior to the Soccer World Cup. But I could see it coming: after the Cup, they would all be released. So, too, it came to pass. However, I didn't expect what happened next. It seems to have been a kind of "trial release": would these people return to bedevil our suburb? When they did, they didn't last a week. OBSERVATION: Personally, I think the World Cup, in this kind of way, may have been a good thing for our country. In our suburb, we had put up with a lot. The photo shows a street about 2.5km/1.5mi from our Church, during the World Cup -- the Cape Town Stadium in the background (click on the photo for VGA).

Sin's Price Tag

I started my day with a counselling session. It was a man -- personable, cultivated -- who had "shacked up" with an old friend. It had looked promising, but things had turned, and now he found himself adrift, alone, without (it seemed like it) much of a future. I said: "You set yourself up for this. Can you see how?" I said: "Sin has a price tag, but it doesn't look like that at the start." OBSERVATION: This was an example of something I often see in counselling. He hadn't been able to see the whole big picture -- both the beginning and the end of it. We discussed how to go forward -- spiritually, practically.

Tranquil 3-D Post

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It's a tranquil morning post. I took this 3D photo on the south bank of the Berg River estuary, at high tide. I applied a Retinex filter. You may click on the photo(s) to enlarge to 150k and enhance the 3D effect. OBSERVATION: Here’s how to “see” the 3-D. Lazily squint your eyes so that the two images overlap and finally snap together. Then focus.

Father's Authority

I attended this Uniting Reformed Church (URC, or VGK) earlier this year. It was Father's Day. A deaconess asked all the fathers to stand (pictured). She told us that we had a divinely ordained authority over our wife and children, and a godly responsibility towards them. OBSERVATION: (I have yet to inform the wife!)

Recruitment Heaven

Our Sunday School (Children's Church) teachers approached me together as a team. Would I approach a young woman, T., on their behalf, to join the team next year? I ran it by our Church leadership, then I e-mailed T. T. responded: "Wow!!! ... I'd love the opportunity to do the teaching and I don't mind filling now and then when the teacher is not available, this year. ... I will take every opportunity that God is giving me. I am glad. Thank You!!!"

Planning Time

Angus Kelly , on gruntleblog, shares how he entered events in his ministerial diary without setting aside the time he would need to prepare for them. His supervisor asked him: "Did I think I would prepare in my sleep?" In other words, one needs to take account both of the event, and of preparation for the event. I would add two more things. One needs to take account of "emotional expenditure", which in ministry may be high. Also, one needs to take account of unplanned events (and erratic pace), which, in my urban ministry anyway, account for a large amount of my time. OBSERVATION: For interest, some Churches "tithe" their minister's diary to other causes. I think that's a good idea. Further, there is the debate whether "preparation" would include e.g. academic studies.

Reign Of Terror [5]

After it had all died down, the man I had counselled at the start asked to see me. I was spooked. I didn't know what to do. Son M. urged me to get over it and see him. The man sat down in my vestry and said: "Do they know my name?" I said: "No." He said: "Are you sure?" I said: "Definitely not." He said he had been victimised (he described to me how), to the extent that his health had suffered. OBSERVATION: As a final note on this saga: I now deal with such matters very differently -- and there have been some. I hope sometime to outline my present policy on this blog.

Reign Of Terror [4]

A criminal attorney offered to represent me pro deo (free). It was a Church consultant who first said to me: "You are framed." This was on the basis of the accusations against me twisting and turning every time I came up with alibis. There were weaknesses in the plot, which I considered to be God-given: I had kept the evidence that showed there was reason to frame me. Basic police procedures had been neglected. There was no valid piece of evidence that could be directly linked to me. It was hard to see what a minister could have to do with the fact that several professionals had changed their reports. And then, when my accusers were asked to explain themselves in person to the prosecution, they vanished forever. The photo shows a window at Caledon Square.

Reign Of Terror [3]

I was set up like this: I had lodged a standard insurance claim, which was supported by professional reports, and handled by attorneys on my behalf. The people who framed me had power, and they had access to the claim. Half of the people whose submissions were in my file, to my knowledge, were then intimidated -- probably all of them. I saw one of them the same day she was threatened. She was white in the face and shaking. Thus several professionals handed in revised reports -- which, together with the originals, gave the lie to each other. This was then creatively put together, and handed to detectives. At least one detective, too, came under heavy pressure. OBSERVATION: I do not have a full picture of what really went on. For instance, I do not know in every case which (irregular) actions were driven by threat or not. Even today, a lot of this is still smoke and mirrors to me.

Reign Of Terror [2]

It started with a counselling session. It was a counselling session in which a man "dropped a bomb". I passed on the information -- and put my name to it. Months later, out of the blue, Cape Town's central investigative unit summoned me for questioning, under threat of immediate arrest. At the same time, wife M. was informed that I had been taken into custody (but I hadn't). The photo shows Cape Town's Caledon Square, where I was interrogated.

Reign Of Terror [1]

Five years ago, I was set up -- framed. It was a professional job. It came to mind again last week, when I stumbled upon a page on which I had sketched out events at that time, trying to piece together what was going on. In a post on this blog two years ago, I was still too jumpy to reveal how it happened. I feel ready now -- although I do not feel ready to say who did it -- and I have changed some details here. The story follows in the next four posts. OBSERVATION: It was a reign of terror, involving many meetings of investigators, attorneys, prosecutors, etc. In fact, there are a few people who look in on this blog who were closely involved.

Bearded

Since my Winter Break, I have a beard. The young women giggled, the young men poked fun, the old men were full of praise, while the old women expressed disapproval. I overheard one old woman say: "I think it's ugly!" Then she said to wife M.: "I think it's very nice."

Earthquake And Sin

In my Bible study group tonight, we were talking about God's use of what we would call "natural disasters" (we were studying the plague of hail in Exodus). In 1969, we had an earthquake in Cape Town, of "middling" intensity. One of the group told us that he went to wake up his father -- telling him that there was an earthquake. His father said: "Gaan vrek! Dis jou sonde wat jou so druk!" -- "Go die [like an animal]! It's your sin that is oppressing you so!"

Counselling's Quiet Centre

Once in a while, a situation arises -- it is not very common -- where a counselee disagrees with me as counsellor. In such a case, there are two possible ways forward. First, double-check: "What have I not understood?" But second, training and experience may tell me that I am right. I have a "quiet centre" in the battle that tells me to stay with my conviction. OBSERVATION: However, I do not see it as my task to persuade people to see my point of view. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is as though I place my counsel in His hands -- to do with it not necessarily what I had in mind. So it should be, too, in informal counselling, e.g. between friends.

Visitation / Administration Week

This week, I have a "visitation and administration" week. This is set aside for ... you guessed it. I said to the congregation on Sunday: "Now is a good time for me to visit. If you'd like to see me -- even if it's for nothing -- just for a cup of coffee -- please let me know." At the end of such weeks we have a guest preacher. Usually, though, I lead that service. This may require just two hours of preparation from me, maybe three. OBSERVATION: I have a "visitation and administration" week four times a year.

Suburb At Dusk

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I took this photo of our suburb (Sea Point) at dusk tonight, looking east. The arrow marks the approximate location of our Church -- in amongst all the "sky scrapers". On the right is Signal Hill, which offers a panoramic view of the city from the top. Click on the photo to enlarge to 100k.

Going Like A Bomb

Wife M. said yesterday: "Our Church is going like a bomb. That's what I say." It would perhaps be easier (and more useful) to say how one would kill that vitality than how one would sustain it. Here's what I think: One would kill it with a lesser view of God. One would kill it by reducing member participation. One would kill it by condoning disruptive behaviour. OBSERVATION: One could add a hundred things. Abolish simple English. Change our view of Scripture. Harbour an anxious spirit. Reduce opportunities for fellowship. Abolish the Believers Church principle. And so on.

Governor

I went to look into some details of the Mahindra three-wheeler today (which I may want to buy). High on my list was the governor -- which governs the top speed of the vehicle at 55km/h (35mph). A sales executive said that one could remove the governor to reach 80km/h (50mph). But another said that the governor could not be circumvented. I asked to see the chief mechanic. He said that the governor could not be removed -- yet it could be adjusted up or down. How much, however, was not predictable. He had managed to increase one vehicle's top speed 10%, another's nearly 50%. OBSERVATION: My present Bajaj three-wheeler has a theoretical top speed of 55km/h -- yet it has no governor, and I can push it to 75km/h. There are situations where one needs a boost, e.g. when slipping into lanes. (That's the Mahindra's engine in the photo, mounted under the undercarriage).

Village Bell-Tower

This is the "bell-tower" of the Uniting Reformed Church (URC, or VGK) in the village of Redelinghuys. I tried to call the Church earlier today, to offer them our organ (see the previous post). But not too surprisingly, they don't have a telephone. So says Telkom. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 200k.

Organ Anyone?

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies ..." Remember the song? The Beatles, 1967. Perhaps you remember the instrument at the start of that song. It was a Lowrey organ. Our Church is effectively giving away such an organ. We ask only that it goes to another Church, and we suggest a donation -- any donation. The organ is a bit cranky due to its age -- however, it is still quite playable. Also, you would need to pick it up from Sea Point (central Cape Town). You may call our office at 021-4341856.

Vespas Anyone?

This is my friend Harry. He says: "Can't you help me get rid of my Vespas?" Last time I checked, he had seventeen of them, including a Vespa Ape and parts of two Bajaj pickups (one in the photo). Some of his Vespas date back to the 1950's. You can contact him at (Port Owen) 022-7831174.

Separated By One

It is said that an average six people separate one from any other person on earth. So, for instance, if you have met the mayor, and the mayor has met the president, that's one person between you and the president. It's interesting who is (or was) separated from me by just one person: Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Orson Welles ... and very many more. OBSERVATION: I kid you not. You might be amazed how many people are separated from you by only one other person.

Tithing Testimony

Last month I preached on tithing. R., one of our Youth leaders (pictured) responded. Last Sunday she gave a testimony in Church. She had decided to tithe "no matter what". However, this left her with only R200 ($25 / €20) for the month. Then, to her surprise, she found a large sum of money in her bank account. She thought it was a mistake. But it wasn't. A pension fund had had a surplus, and paid her out.

"Nobel" Colleague

Son M. is now listed as a "colleague" ("Mitarbeiter" -- albeit at the lowest level) at the ETH Zürich. Many graduates and professors at the ETH have been awarded the Nobel Prize -- among them Einstein, Röntgen, Pauli, Guillaume, Stern, Bloch, Rohrer, Bednorz, Müller, Werner, Willstätter, Haber, Debye, Kuhn, Ruzicka, Staudinger, Prelog, Ernst, Wüthrich, Arber, and Reichstein. (I joke that the ETH's reputation is sunk now for sure!)

Garden Priorities

Wife M. asked me this morning, after looking at the garden: "What's happened to all the nasturtiums?" I said: "The caterpillars ate them." She said: "And you knew?!" I said: "I was watching the caterpillars grow." She said: "I can't believe it!" OBSERVATION: I learnt something new this morning, therefore -- that wives might be more interested in nasturtiums than in caterpillars. That's one of my friends in the photo -- on a nasturtium.

Microphones

Microphones are important to a Church. We once had microphones on stands, but these had disadvantages. They had spread-eagle feet that got in the way, one needed to use thumb-screws to re-position them, and so on. But how to find something better in Africa? Ultimately we bought two floor-standing lamp-stands with small, heavy feet and "twisty parts" that could instantly be adjusted. We replaced the lamps on top with small electret microphones (see photo). It cost us about R400 each ($50 / €40). Thanks to my young model E.!

Mud Bricks

Many old houses in South Africa are built of mud bricks. I took this photo of mud bricks at the Berg River, about 150km/100mi north of Cape Town. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.

Whom To Accept

This week I had an exchange with a minister of another denomination, as to whom to accept into the Church -- from the point of view of views that are held (not least theology). My own view is that we are not clubbish, we are not sectarian. We are defined by the fact that we belong to Christ -- which is bigger than the various views that we hold. Also, through the Spirit, the Body grows together over time. However, one does find people who are fixated with their "distinctives", as though that were all that the faith is about -- and they are selfish about their distinctives. With this in mind, it comes down to a test of discernment: what is the spirit we are dealing with here? Does self have priority over the Church? Then there's a problem. OBSERVATION: Our own Church Constitution states: "The Church shall not require of any person ... subscription to any formal creed, but shall deem it sufficient that they affirm their faith in Jesus Christ ... and the sufficiency of Holy Scripture ..." This is classic Congregationalism, and I think it has been good for our Church.

Tough Writing Papers

Writing papers is tough. The toughest part is how to approach them conceptually. Here's an example. I recently wanted to begin a paper by surveying the field of social ethics in the Church. But how to approach this? Historically? Synchronically? Biblically? Systematically? Only with reference to points of the paper? How would one begin to summarise such vast areas? Had this been done before? By the looks of it, not really. Should one reduce the scope of the survey? Should one ditch the introduction? And replace it with what? And that was just the introduction.

Let People Retire

Something a minister routinely needs to deal with is people who say they want to retire from a position, or want to scale back. I dealt with such situations twice this week. It is my policy not only to accept that, but to help the person concerned to do it. I seldom if ever persuade someone to continue where they have asked to step back. OBSERVATION: Not that I always help a person as well as I would like to.

One-Quarter Linux

Here's a milestone of sorts. I previously noted that the number of readers of this blog who use Linux (as opposed to Windows) was steadily increasing. This has now passed the one-quarter mark (more than one-quarter of readers). You may click on the pie graph to enlarge. OBSERVATION: And the use of Windows Explorer looks set to drop below 50% (down to 52% today).

Academic "Career"

In seeking to forge an academic "career" (being published academically), I have been so blessed with help from "The University of Cape Town" -- from postgraduate level up to professorial level (see photo). Yesterday I received advice from a doctoral student in the Department of Linguistics -- who was so generous and kind.

Social Services

Today I called Social Services about a member in a muddle. I knew this would be a memorable experience, so I had a pencil and paper at the ready to record it. My first attempt -- after I was put on hold eight times -- ended with the announcement: "There's nobody in the building. Please call after ten." I said: "It is after ten [it was a quarter past]." This was met with stony silence (such comments are improper in a government environment -- I didn't catch myself). With a second attempt -- after I was put on hold three more times -- I got a social worker on the line, who was friendly and helpful.

Leadership Without God

In my postgraduate research, I uncovered an interesting thing: Christian leadership authors, as if systematically, stripped out the role of God in Biblical leadership (note: I was studying a particular, popular genre). Some examples: Roxburgh and Romanuk speak of the courage of Moses in delivering his people -- yet no mention of God's involvement in what he did. Engstrom portrays Nehemiah as a great man, but no mention that God had a role in his success. Gibbs notes that the great men and women of Hebrews 11 were characterised by sacrificial service -- yet no mention of faith in God. And so on. My examples fill seven pages. OBSERVATION: It makes one wonder how much the average Christian leader does the same, and to what extent this alters the perception of what Christian leadership is. My analysis was that the absence of God greatly increases the leader's own sense of responsibility -- and burden.

Born Pessimists

People are born pessimists, when it comes to the Church. They don't see that forty people attended a meeting, but that it could have been a hundred. They don't see that one received a huge donation, but that it is undependable income. They don't see that the Church's Youth is thriving, but that the parents don't come to Church. And so on. It seems like Moses in the desert, where "the people murmured". OBSERVATION: It's human nature, and therefore not below one's expectations. However, with this in mind, one needs continually to remind people what the Lord is doing -- it's in people's nature to need reminding -- to look up, look up.

Self-Sustaining

The Atlantic Area is a densely populated area on Cape Town's west coast (on the left of the photo -- Table Bay in the background). In this area, most Churches (to my knowledge) are either not established or not self-sustaining. That is, they are using someone else's premises, they are being subsidised from elsewhere, and so on. In those cases where I can speak with reasonable confidence, I know of three Churches which are established and self-sustaining, and of ten which are not (the rest I don't know). OBSERVATION: Our own Church is among the three. However, it wasn't when I started here, as it was drawing heavily on capital, and had been for a while.

Missing Clothing

Several years ago, one of our members, suffering from dementia, was moved to an old age home. An acquaintance of hers turned up, and asked to take her out. He returned her without her panties/knickers. Then he returned her wearing a different dress. Our member herself was in distress. The home asked her acquaintance to explain, but he wouldn't. Two managers called a meeting with an attorney and me. It was decided to allow the acquaintance to visit our member only under supervision. He was furious, and from then on refused to greet me. He was a well known person.

24 Hours of Prayer

On Saturday and Sunday, we held our Church's annual 24 Hours of Prayer. The event was over-subscribed -- that is, there were well over 24 people taking part with an hour's prayer. We ended with a joint meeting on Sunday morning. I read an introduction to prayer from Don Fleming's Bible Dictionary (click on the image to enlarge to 230k), and opened in prayer. The prayers were of such quality and scope that I felt I could not enhance the event with any further prayers of my own. It does make a difference when "the Church" prays, rather than a "mere" prayer group.

Fugard Theatre

The photo shows the face of central Cape Town's Fugard Theatre, which I visited on Saturday. Built in 1860, this was once the hall of the Congregational Church. But in 1906, the Congregational Church behind it (built in 1830) was demolished. The area had changed from residential to commercial. Judging by the hall, it must have been a beautiful Church. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 250k.

Picturing Pages

I said to wife M. this week: "I'm looking for some text. It's in this book, towards the end, the right hand page, towards the bottom." And so it was. She said: "That's a gift." How common the gift is, though, I have no idea. It's possible that many people have it. I could have added, incidentally, that the page I was looking for had a bleached white tone, smooth paper, a Garamond-like typeface, a chapter heading, and quite a bit more. OBSERVATION: However, my picturing of pages is not entirely trouble-free. I may "see" a page, yet not the book's cover. Mostly, I don't see page numbers -- although I do see a page's position in a book. And memory fades. In the long-term, I retain the pages which were most meaningful to me. If they were deeply meaningful to me, I still "see" them decades later.

What Partners Don't Tell

A woman came to see me today. Her partner of several years had lost his daughter to "double pneumonia". She wanted prayer. I said: "It's another big blow for him." She said: "What do you mean?" I said: "He lost his son." She said: "He what? He never told me that." OBSERVATION: The things that partners don't tell each other.

Serendipitous Prayer

I asked one of our members to lead the prayers in Church today. Out of the blue, her daughter A. (pictured) asked if she could pray, too. So A. read a brief Bible story of her choice, gave a brief explanation, and said a prayer. Her mother followed. Her mother said: "She does it better than me!" OBSERVATION: The curious thing is that A., by her nature, does not speak a word. I said I was delighted that she took part.

Colourful Memorial

We have a tree at our Church entrance which sees rampant growth, and drops its flowers onto the pavement outside (see the photo, taken today). Not many people know the story behind it. It was planted in memory of a girl who was killed at the school bus-stop. She got off the bus, and ran across the road without thinking. Her mother (at home at the time) said she knew she was dead before she received the news -- in fact, the moment she was killed. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA. I don't even know what the tree is called.

Waiting For Godot

Earlier today, I saw Nobel laureate Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot" at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town (see the photo). It may be described as nihilistic, yet not (very) seriously so. "Bleak" is a word that has been applied to it. The cast included Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Rees. McKellen has rightly been described as "marvellous". OBSERVATION: The play reminded me of the nihilism of (some of) my student days. Today, however, I deal with real-life nihilists who need an exit.

Clergy Life Expectancy

My three predecessors in this Church were either killed or nearly killed in large part through the strain of ministry. The last time a minister survived this Church with his health intact was in the 1940's (Rev. Cooke). It would seem that there are very few statistics relating to the life expectancy of clergy -- however, there is strong anecdotal evidence (e.g. the New York Times) that things look "ominous". Things look ominous, too, for Churches which pledge to cover their minister's medical expenses. OBSERVATION: Fifteen years ago, I did a study of my (then) denomination. 57% of ministers' health had been seriously compromised through stress-related illness.

Inattentive Husbands

This is the kind of mistake that inattentive husbands make, then wonder why they barely got away with their lives. It's a screenshot of the website of our local Presbyterian Church. The years which you see are not in fact the age of the minister (pictured), but the age of the Church. The webmaster is the minister's husband.

Crash Gearbox

My True Love and Heart's Desire (pictured) has what is called a crash gearbox. I doubt that any car on the road uses one -- it is a vintage design. It is called a crash gearbox because it is difficult (to an untrained person) to change gears, which may be accompanied by crashing noises. It is easy to destroy the gearbox with a single gear-change. In fact the vehicle has two gearboxes (two times four). The first of these vehicles that I bought was a demo model, where both gearboxes had been destroyed in demonstrating the vehicle. OBSERVATION: In day-to-day driving, crash gearbox means that I must always stop the vehicle in gear, always make "clean" gear changes, and always change down at the right speed.

Sacred Scripture

Where I lived as a child in the mission, they had a word -- the only word which has been adopted from that language (or family of languages) into English: tabu. If someone said: "E a tabu!" this meant that you didn't touch it, you didn't look at it, you didn't speak its name. I have a similar view of Scripture, although I have not always had it: it is tabu -- it is sacred. OBSERVATION: In an important sense, however, I do not consider that Sacred Scripture is my foundation, and for this reason I am not a fundamentalist. It is tabu -- far beyond my un-tabu self -- therefore it destroys my foundation. I do not consider myself its equal, sharing its views, following its pattern. I am searched by Scripture. Wife M. comments that this view has steered our Church (peacefully) through controversy.

Salvation From Sin

I tell our members that the way to judge whether a Church is sound is to ask: "Do I hear them speak about salvation from sin?" ("Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" -- 1 Tim 1:15). Related to this is the question: "Do I hear the words 'repentance' and 'faith' in that Church?" This is often not the case. OBSERVATION: Salvation from sin is not a popular teaching in some circles, partly because it is thought to be too "cerebral", not holistic. In Africa, though -- in my experience, and in my own Church -- one tends to find that it is holistic. It really does mean throroughgoing change.

American Classroom

When studying at/through a major US seminary (I completed half an MA there in 2006), I found the students to be apathetic about issues, dull to indoctrination, hard to engage. I wrote to one of my professors: "Often students have been completely silent on issues, even when speaking face to face. It's been dead. ... I was distressed at first. I didn't know what to make of it." My professor described his own, contrasting experiences outside of the USA -- the enthusiasm of Africa, the deference of Japan, and so on. He commented: "I have no difficulty visualizing what you see as the American way of (avoiding) dialogue. ... In the American classroom, I do encounter what you observed." (That's me in a US classroom in 2005, third from the right).

That Trade

These three consecutive ads in yesterday's morning paper give some indication of a trade that our suburb (Sea Point) is well known for. Several years ago, a police captain told me there were 135 brothels in our suburb, although I don't know what the situation is today. OBSERVATION: From time to time, this world intersects with my ministry. The most unusual incident was a brothel madam who brought one of her girls to the Church, asking if we could "get her head straight".

Maniacal

I e-mailed someone yesterday: "Church life continues to be ... interesting. I would think it borders on the maniacal." All those "maniacal" things, though, have been spinning around in my head. I have found it difficult to find sleep. It reminds me of words of a song by JoJo: "I remember every word that you said / It all just keeps spinning around in my head". OBSERVATION: I have encountered many stories of death, trauma, and chaos which do not appear on my blog.

Aurora DRC

The village of Aurora lies some 200km/125mi north of Cape Town. Here's another photo of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC, or NGK) Aurora -- built in 1908. You may click on it to enlarge to VGA. OBSERVATION: In South Africa, the DRC (as in this case) is often the centrepiece of the village.

Twice Buried (Almost)

A woman called me last week, asking me to conduct a funeral. We agreed to have a planning session -- to be confirmed. The date of the funeral, too, would then be discussed. In the meantime, however, I received an e-mail from a family member: "The funeral is on [date]." But which funeral? Something didn't add up. The woman called me to confirm our meeting. I said: "Are you planning two funerals? Where is the other one?" It happened that the other one was "around the corner", in the Southern Suburbs. She said: "Let me say, then, that we should leave it."

Summoning A Member

Earlier this year, I reported that we had a problem with members begging from members -- rather than taking their needs through Church channels. We addressed it in our Church newsletter -- an elder addressed the congregation -- and I personally spoke to people behind the scenes. Still some persisted. This amounts to defiance. Therefore, after a member complained to me about an incident yesterday, I "changed gear". I asked our secretary G. to ask the offender to meet with the elders. G. said: "If she knows what it's about, she won't come!" I said: "She'd better come! She's being summoned." OBSERVATION: In fact, I'm acting on a resolution of our Church leadership -- that not one more incident should be countenanced.

(Mis) Judgement

Something I encounter again and again in the Church is people's failure to form opinions about others on the basis of the criteria that would seem to matter. This one sows dissension, that one empties his Church, this one opposes her Church's teachings, this one rejects salvation from sin, and so on -- and yet they are measured by their optimism, their mild manners, their public alms, their charisma, and so on -- as if the other side of the story didn't count for anything at all. OBSERVATION: The problem is often, it would seem, that people give preference to the individual rather than the Body in their thinking. It is immature thinking. It doesn't have the breadth.

Ministry Influence

Once in a while, one becomes aware that one's ministry has profoundly influenced someone -- or rather, that God has touched someone through one's ministry. Here is an example -- a letter I received last week. You may click on it to enlarge to 90k.

Teaching In Church

It's difficult to teach an urban congregation. The congregation is too unstable, too scattered, too trammelled to do it systematically. Yet teaching is very important. One of the things we are doing at the moment is to hand out a slip of paper most Sundays with an extract from the AmTract Bible Dictionary on it (available on the Internet). OBSERVATION: Last Sunday the topic was "Adultery" (see the image). I pointed out that this was because we were dealing with "A" in the alphabet -- not because I was targeting anyone!

Church Guesswork

An awful lot depends, in ministry, on correct guesswork -- and it's not of the kind that detectives make, or mechanics, where guesswork yields fairly early results. In the Church, it may be five years -- and what if it was wrong? John Maxwell warns that an incorrect reading of a situation "exacts a high price". OBSERVATION: That's not a reason, for me, to speak of fear, as several leadership authors do (such as Ford, Gangel, Stanley). For one thing, I don't place any emphasis on successful strategy, which looms large in much leadership thinking. But then, isn't that a choice, too: my own guesswork is to decide against strategy. Looking back, most of my guesswork in ministry was of a spiritual or humane nature -- and it led mostly to a thriving Church. One does wonder, however, what else one might have guessed. (I'm not sure that "guesswork" is the right word. In many cases one should say "faith".)

Rural Restaurants

Restaurants can be something else in South Africa -- more or less in proportion to one's distance from the city. My most recent experience was in a "household name" restaurant in the country. There was open hostility between the staff (screaming at each other), all across the restaurant floor -- and the manageress kept saying: "Jesus!" In the strife, they forgot to take my order. I decided to stay and wait, as this was an interesting experience. I read twenty pages of Die Burger before they settled down enough to notice me (that's about 50,000 words). Then a waitress looked at me daggers, and said: "What's wanted, Mister?" ("Wat wil Meneer?").

Palaeontology

I used to write for the popular electronics press (well, I still do). However, some of my electronics ideas, while I thought they were good, would not sell a million magazines. Here's one that I thought could change the face of palaeontology. Son M. had found a job at the South African Museum, where he needed to clean Permean fossils. These are stone, through and through, and one needs to drill away surrounding rock -- without drilling into the fossil. This is painstaking and time-consuming work. So I designed an extremely sensitive Ohmmeter -- and with this I proved that the resistance within a fossil, and the resistance within the surrounding rock, are two different things. On this principle it should be relatively simple, therefore, to speed up the cleaning process -- if not automate it. The photo shows one of the fossils I experimented with.

Postliberalism (Simplified)

Postliberalism is a very big movement in the Church today. Here is a simplified description of what it is (I have a fuller description on Leadership South, with a note on the request that prompted it). What is postliberalism? 1. Postliberalism says that the Christian faith cannot be founded or demonstrated. Instead 2. one discovers its value by being drawn into the narrative of the Christian Church. Therefore postliberalism claims not to be overly destructive like liberalism, nor overly cerebral like conservatism. OBSERVATION: However, because postliberalism = to be drawn into the narrative of the Christian Church, it tends to see conversion as enculturation, rather than miracle. The same for the Christian life. Postiberalism is hard to spot, as it “talks the talk”. (See also Postliberalism By Example).

Missions Prayer

If we do something significant in the area of missions or evangelism, I don't like to let it slip by unnoticed. This morning I invited E. (pictured), a girl in our Sunday School, to say a prayer over a new stock of Bibles that we shall either 50% subsidise or give away. After the service, I asked her for a photo.

Funeral Billboards

You've seen the billboards at soccer/football matches. Some undertakers now do the same at funerals, and very noticeably so -- to advertise their own services. For instance, as the mourners position themselves around the graveside, and the minister takes his/her place at one or the other side of the grave, undertakers scurry around the grave placing advertising billboards. OBSERVATION: Perhaps soon they'll have an option on the standard Last Will and Testament: Please Tick: Billboards or No Billboards? (with discount, or not).