A New Life

I interviewed one of our members in Church. She had lived a "dubious" life before she was a Christian. I asked her if she could explain the change. She said: “Well Reverend, when I met Christ, I received a new life. I did not just receive a new belief. I received a new life.”

Steepest Street: Low-Down

OK, my new hobby (namely, discovering Cape Town's steepest street) is fast running out of steam. I don't know if I have any more streets to explore. I've put paid to a few myths anyway: the myth-makers have had Bellevue Street, Gallows Hill, Head Road, and Longmarket Street down as the steepest in the city. The first two of these are easily ruled out (a mere 10½° and 11½° steep). Head Road has a section that is 17° steep, while Longmarket Street has a "sustained slope" of 17° (thus matching the steepest of San Francisco). The only other "sustained slopes" that come close to Longmarket Street are Fontaine Bleu Street (16½°) and Upper Deane Road (16°). However, Top Road has a section that is 17½° steep, and Clifford Road has a section that is 19° steep. OBSERVATION: Yet what is a "sustained slope"? Even the official world record holder, Baldwin Street, Dunedin, is 19° steep only "at its maximum". The photo shows my three-wheeler parked in Longmarket Street (click on it for VGA).

Our Organist

I conducted a memorial service today -- and snapped our organist, in the "organ pit" with a friend. One doesn't find nicer organists -- cheerful and helpful -- apart from her being a good organ player. OBSERVATION: Our organ is said to be one of the better organs in the city -- though not the finest.

Checkered Academic Career

My checkered academic career stumbles on. Recently, I had a paper provisionally accepted, finally rejected by Philosophical Writings. While it was thought to be of "wide relevance", it failed to "link to debate" -- meaning the latest buzz. Today I had a paper conditionally accepted by Conspectus (that is, I get to have another go). While it was thought to be a "very important topic", it was short on the "content of Scripture". OBSERVATION: I consider that this Conspectus paper is my first "important" paper that comes within shot of success.

Central Methodist Mission [2]

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For good measure, here's another photo of the Central Methodist Mission in Cape Town -- again in 3D. This is taken from the balcony with a Leica 28mm wide-angle lens. OBSERVATION: Click on the image to enlarge to 260k for enhanced 3D. To see the 3D, lazily squint your eyes until the images overlap and snap together. Your eyes need to be in line horizontally.

Moral Issues

In debate about moral issues -- such as abortion, suicide, single parenthood -- I often find myself coming from a pastoral point of view, while I seldom find that the other person is thinking in those terms. For many people, it's the issue, the issue. However, the issues do include all those things which surround them, which seem to me to be rolled into the issues themselves. OBSERVATION: For instance, with regard to the three issues above -- I see what went on before, and I see what goes on after. Many people seem to strip that away. Mine may be a perspective that is more typical of ministry, where one often deals with "the real world".

Winter Break

As of today, I am on four weeks' winter break. However, I am to conduct a memorial service this week, because it is important to me. A few years ago, the Church and I reached a compromise which I think suits both of us well. I traded my five-yearly furloughs for shorter, annual winter breaks. OBSERVATION: I may not be blogging systematically through this time. I'll post as I feel inclined.

The Search Goes On

My search for Cape Town's steepest street goes on. I thought that Imizamo Yethu (pictured) might have something in store for me. However, while it is a steep suburb, it does not have very steep streets.

Change Of Plan

In my previous Church, I had an impressive "score-card" -- we built a Church, we bought a manse, the staff tripled, attendance quadrupled -- but in the end I was not at all satisfied with my spiritual legacy. In this Church, I was determined to throw out the score-card, and to focus on spiritual priorities. Discussing this with a deacon yesterday, I realised that I have done what I set out to do. I am satisfied that I changed course, and believe it has borne much fruit.

How Many Children?

I asked a young husband this week how many children he had. He said: "Two or three, or one." This was not a joke -- it was a serious attempt to answer the question. And it wasn't as simple as consecutive relationships, as one might expect from such an answer. He had fathered one of his wife's three children.

Tampering

Several times a year, our Church's amplifier system gets disabled. It is human tampering every time, and usually it's not merely "childish mischief" (see Petty Sabotage). My electronics expertise is high, so I mostly get it up and running. This morning, however, I couldn't do it in the time that I had available. Somewhere along the line, the power had been cut, and I couldn't find where. Previous tampering has included severed wires, plugs swapped and removed, and power and controls reversed. OBSERVATION: We have a backup amplifier -- which was pressed into service this morning.

Subsidised Bibles

Our office secretary took this photo of me on my recent birthday (you may click on it to enlarge to VGA). However, the subject of this post is the Bibles that lie on the shelves behind me. The largest part of our missions budget goes to subsidising Bibles. We sell these at half price -- and the demand is constant -- we are repeatedly sold out. As minister, I am authorised to give away copies free. We give away a copy of The Four Spiritual Laws with each Bible -- also seen in the photo.

Poorest Performance

Yesterday I received my final marks / grade for my second-last term at Fuller Theological Seminary (on the theology of the Global South). At 88%, it was my poorest performance to date. I could have avoided much of my fault. I think I was too creative. I did not produce "safe" work. But also, I felt that I was continually fighting simplistic questions. If I had just given simplistic answers, I would have done better. OBSERVATION: I was heard to say that I didn't like that term, and just wanted to get it out of the way.

Replacing People

If you wondered where your next new office-bearer is coming from, here's my own story to encourage you. When I first started at this Church, we had 24 staff and office-bearers. During my first year of ministry, 19 of them resigned -- leaving a grand total of 5. That is, 80% resigned. However, God had already prepared the replacements. It was not a great challenge. OBSERVATION: I saw the resignations as a natural "changing of the guard". No resignation was attached to a significant problem.

Pleading Protest

I'm doing the final course of an MA. I finished the first three weeks in the first three days -- with ease. Then, on Day 4, I received a pleading protest from my professor: he couldn't keep up with me, and my approach worried him. OBSERVATION: What is one to do with the seminary of today? As soon as they have a conscientious student, they complain! (There are ten weeks in the course).

Conviction Of Sin

A young woman asked to see me, earlier this week. She was continually tearful -- yet through all of our conversation, I knew that I hadn't identified the cause. I stopped her and asked her what was really up. She was speechless, and she cried. She said that she was under conviction of sin, and the stupid waste of life that it represented. OBSERVATION: There could hardly be a better reason for tears, or a more sure sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in her life.

Visiting Card

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I received a call yesterday from a Christian director. He said: "On your birthday [a year ago], I stood your visiting card on my desk. It encourages me every day, the words of Nehemiah 8:10, The joy of the Lord is your strength." Here's the card (above) -- done on photo paper which gets folded in the middle and stood up.

Bible Exam

I did a Bible exam this week, as part of my MA -- a "300-page inventory of personal Bible comprehension". I flunked 11 of the 66 books of the Bible. However, I passed 55 (I was quite pleased with that), and obtained perfect scores for 11. A few surprises: I flunked the Psalms, while I obtained perfect scores for 2 Kings, Song of Solomon, and 3 John!

Levers And Pedals

A manual car / automobile typically has a lever (the hand-brake), a gear-stick, and three pedals. My Mahindra three-wheeler has five levers, two twist-grips, and a pedal. I joke that it is thief-proof, because no thief would know how to drive it away. OBSERVATION: It feels to me like operating a machine, rather than driving a car. That's part of the fun. The photo is taken at Lambert's Bay.

Newfound Peace

A young wife and mother came to me in tears and confusion last month -- with no small reason for her discombobulation. Yesterday I saw her again. Her situation had not significantly changed, yet a great sense of peace had come over her -- it was obvious. She had found this through devoting herself to the reading of Scripture and renewing her relationship with the Lord. It was a simple testimony that was a joy to hear.

Name Change

This must have had a few people puzzling. Last week, our Church had an involuntary name change after a power failure. But the new name seemed ambiguous: did this signify a cool Church, or not so hot? OBSERVATION: We estimate that tens of thousands of people see this sign each day. We paid extra to enable it to display temperature (though not like this).

Glencoe Quarry [2]

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It was an interesting exercise, on my day off yesterday, to try to photograph Glencoe Quarry in central Cape Town. In spite of using a wide-angle lens, it was a tall order to try to capture the sight. Here is another attempt, which I think succeeds in capturing something of the giddy heights. OBSERVATION: Click on the image to enlarge to 260k for enhanced 3D. To see the 3D, lazily squint your eyes until the images overlap and snap together. Your eyes need to be in line horizontally.

"Live" Sermons

Following Mirjam's passing, I went on "auto-pilot", using past creative output to see me through. This brought home to me a comment that a Bible college principal made many years ago, which I believe is correct: that one cannot simply re-use old sermons as is, or borrow the sermons of others. I sometimes joke that one needs to harangue people with sermons. But not really. What I mean is that sermons do need to be "live" -- a word for the moment, sought through prayer and through "inspiration" in a modest sense of that word.

Glencoe Quarry [1]

Glencoe Quarry in central Cape Town is a difficult subject to photograph, because of the stark light contrasts, and the vastness of the view. This approach reduces the contrasts (the foreground is in the shade, the reflection in the sun), while managing to combine both foreground and background. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.

Long Tenures

The ministers in our Church are known for their extraordinarily long tenures -- a fact which seems hard to explain. During the past 100 years, the average tenure has been 14½ years. Take two short-lived ministries off the list, and that becomes 17½ years (the length of my own tenure so far). OBSERVATION: The photo shows our Church's longest-serving minister -- my father (25 years).

Froggy Season

It's froggy season in Cape Town. So as not to deny the world the handsomeness of our local frogs, here's a photo. If one knows where to go -- for instance, at dusk, Green Point Urban Park, Glencoe Quarry, or the river above Homeleigh Street -- one is surrounded by chirruping frogs.

(Mis) Timing

Under Pre-Service Seclusion, I noted that it may be the time before a Sunday service when a minister comes under most serious spiritual assault. Here's an experience I had earlier this year. I pulled up outside the Church in my red three-wheeler, before a service. A man was waiting for me. In his hand, he had an envelope threatening High Court action. I didn't stop to receive it. He pursued me in the street, shouting: "Arrogant man! Arrogant man!" Members stood aghast. OBSERVATION: The High Court action didn't materialise. But notice the timing.

Value-Based Leadership

The final course of my MA at Fuller Theological Seminary effectively began today. It is titled: Value-Based Leadership in the New Testament. A major focus of the course is sustainable ministry. OBSERVATION: Dr. Bobby Clinton's presence broods over the course (one of the best known professors in the field of Christian leadership). In my last published paper, I suggested that Dr. Clinton is one who represents unsustainable ministry. This could be interesting ... !

Geography

My new professor in the USA has been setting up a conference call. I informed him that I live in Cape Town. He responded that Nigeria is eight hours ahead of Colorado (but it's not). Perhaps somebody out there would be able to interpret. OBSERVATION: It seems to me that this will be a thought-provoking professor.

Rainbow Housing

Two years ago, we calculated that our Church's "social contribution" lay at 18% of annual budget (see Social Contribution). Part of that contribution was and is the donation of our premises. This week our community newspaper highlighted one of the projects we donate our premises to: Rainbow Housing, which seeks to obtain "social housing" for domestic workers and labourers.

Common Denominator

One of our Church leadership, at a meeting this week, made a perceptive comment which is worth remembering. If you have trouble between one person and another in the Church, it might be either one's fault. But if you have trouble between one person and three others, you have a common denominator. No matter who claims what, the situation speaks for itself. OBSERVATION: The same may be true in various situations: for example, if a member is repeatedly dissatisfied with things, or if a missionary can't get on with any local Church. There's that common denominator.

300-Page Exam

I registered tonight for my final course at Fuller Theological Seminary in LA. I was browsing through my Learning Contract when I came across the following -- and I just laughed ... and laughed ... : "The student will take a 300-page inventory of personal Bible comprehension." 300 pages -- and that represents only 10% of my marks / grade for the final term! OBSERVATION: Thankfully only 10%. I didn't know I had more than ten pages of inventory in my head.

Touching And Powerful Testimonies

Through my counselling in particular, I not seldom receive touching and powerful testimonies. The trouble is, the situations are usually ones which must remain confidential. I wish I could take these testimonies and broadcast them in the Church, so that people could see what the Spirit is doing. Instead, this wonderful lustre is withheld from the Church. OBSERVATION: But actually, if believers are alert and active in their Christian walk, they will surely see the same.

Contributing Editor

As of today, I have my first academic title: Contributing Editor of the theological journal Conspectus. My task is to recruit African writers. I shall seek to elicit articles from all over the continent, especially those which relate to African theology. I wrote to Conspectus: "African Theology is 'where it is at' in our generation ... It is a fascinating world, full of spiritual vitality and thriving Churches." If anyone has leads for me, I would be most grateful.

Love Without A Lover

I have been reading a prescribed book which is trendy in academia: Metaphors of Ministry. While it is of a high academic standard, it would seem to illustrate all that ails ministry in North America. The book describes dozens of Biblical "images of leadership" -- through which it focuses almost exclusively on the characteristics of the Christian leader. However, this would seem to be much like trying to imitate love without a Lover. That is the problem.

Clandestine Visit

Earlier this year, I visited another Church -- in fact I stayed on the premises as a guest. It was a Church of vastly different tradition and practice to my own. However, before I entered the premises, I gave the "chief" a guarantee of silence. I sought permission to post a photo of a service on this blog, with a brief description, but this was not granted. It was one of the most interesting and informative experiences I have had in my life. Everything was opened up to me.

Vernacular Theology [1]

Churches are said to have a vernacular theology. That is the theology that actually exists in the congregation -- not necessarily what is on the books. I know of one local Church that will not admit members if their vernacular theology differs from the Church's official theology (which is quite extensive). Our own Church admits members if they "affirm their faith in Jesus Christ as contained in Holy Scripture, and the sufficiency of Holy Scripture for the spiritual guidance of man" (that's quoting our Constitution). That is all. We do, however, have a Statement of Faith. OBSERVATION: So what do we do with all the vernacular loose cannons out there? I hope to give that a go in a forthcoming post.

Day Off: Lighthouse

Mondays are my day off. I don't take that too seriously, but I generally devote the whole day to things that have nothing to do with the Church. This evening I walked through our local urban park (surrounded by chirruping frogs), then I did a Leica "photo shoot" of our local lighthouse. I added a "filmstrip" effect.

New Jacket

I bought a new winter jacket (pictured). A shop assistant took this photo, so that I could ask my friends first. Son M. commented: "Yeeeeees!" and a friend wisely commented: "You need to feel comfortable with it. Does not help if you buy it and do not really wear it." OBSERVATION: It's amazing how a jacket can make one look either like a sportsman or an ageing statesman, depending.

A Message

There was an interesting incident in our Church yesterday. A member had a dream, in which Mirjam sent me a message. If I seek to view it from a detached point of view, the message seemed timely, and on target. It was a positive message (it required no action). It rattled me, though, and I needed to calm myself in the Church garden. I think there is no question that our member had this dream. But how to interpret this theologically? Some took it to be a message from Mirjam, no question. Others thought not. There were various opinions besides.

Pre-Service Seclusion

The time shortly before a Sunday service may be the time that a minister gets most deeply rattled by something. Some ministers preclude this by isolating themselves before the service, perhaps through prayer. Others will permit nothing to encroach on this time that deviates from the routine (although something eventually will). In some Churches, the minister only steps to the fore after taking part in a long run-up of worship. I've taken the other route, and bullet-proofed myself, so you can throw (almost) anything at me, it won't rattle me. I'm freely accessible before services, no holds barred. OBSERVATION: Occasionally, people will choose the pre-service period for a malicious attack.

Door Welcome [3]

Every Sunday morning, we have two people to welcome people at the Church door. This morning it was T. and her daughter A. With such a lovely welcome, who wouldn't want to come to our Church? You may click on the photo for VGA. See also Door Welcome and Door Welcome [2]. OBSERVATION: T. also led the prayers in Church this morning.

Posted And Deleted

Earlier today, I posted and almost immediately deleted a post about slander. After it had been deleted, it shot to the top of the South African Religion "Hot Right Now" chart (what was left of it). I have called this a "living" blog, where I change, delete, and create posts as the spirit takes me. I didn't feel comfortable about that post. OBSERVATION: As a consolation prize, the most serious slander against me was that I murdered a man (the rumour included the dark details). To most this was laughable -- yet in a suburb like ours, I think it could have been dangerous. (It was a false rumour ... honest!)

Term Paper

In Roman Catholic theology, there is a very old distinction between the ecclesia docens (the teachers) and the ecclesia audiens (the taught). To this day, this concept is strong even in Protestantism. For my term paper this (past) term, I studied the notion that the teachers-and-taught distinction separates the Church -- typically downgrading or even denigrating the faithful. If anything needs to be taught -- so it is said -- it is not systems of ideas, but a response to the Cross. As one theologian put it, it is the difference between christs and Christ.

Split Personality

Yesterday a man stopped me in the street. He said: "Father, please pray for me. I need your prayers." I said: "Who shall I pray for? What's your name?" He said: "My name is Mary. And John. Tonight I'm Mary. Once, it was only John. It's the two of us, Father. Please pray for the two of us." I said: "I'll pray for both of you."

Potholes

This is the story of the South African road ... potholes ("slaggate" in Afrikaans). These aren't much of a problem to my three-wheeler (pictured) as it doesn't reach sufficient speed for me to worry too much about potholes. OBSERVATION: People often ask me what that "funnel" is on the vehicle. It funnels air for the air filter -- from a higher (dust-free) elevation.

Wart Removal

One of my more "notable" electronic designs placed wart removal in the hands of the public for the first time (previously done with liquid nitrogen or electro-desiccation). Last time I checked, my (copyrighted) concept was in production in several countries. However, I have repeatedly stated that destroying tissue is not without risk. On this blog there is a reminder: "There are certain cautions ..." A comment on this blog today (see Wart Zapper) makes the point from experience -- there are some risks. OBSERVATION: However, it needs to be noted that the person who left the comment altered the original design -- and may have overlooked the caveats. Also, looking over that (detailed) comment, I would think that their wart is gone forever.

Pollyanna Pastor

Our office secretary said to me recently: "You're a real Pollyanna! You don't see the negative! Always the positive!" I needed to look up "Pollyanna" -- that was a 1913 fictional character who "found something to be glad about in every situation". I explained it something like this: the Church is about what the Lord is doing, and the Lord never makes mistakes, never does anything that disappoints.

Memory Wipe-Outs

For two or three months after Mirjam's (the wife's) death in January, I experienced total memory wipe-outs. Apparently this is quite common after the loss of a spouse. Here's an example. I went for the reading of Mirjam's will -- just me and the executor. While I was still in the car on the way home, I had a complete memory wipe-out. I couldn't remember where I had been -- no matter how hard I tried. (By now, much of that particular memory has come back to me).

Mali South

There are some marvellous shops / stores in Cape Town. One of them that fascinates me more than others is Mali South in Long Street. I took this photo of the proprietress. She looks somewhat bemused here, and I suspect it has something to do with the photographer. They custom-design African clothing -- as well as selling the fabric. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.

Sustainable Ministry

This week I came across a history of my previous Church -- of which about a third was dedicated to me. I hadn't read this before. I was a dynamo! Under my ministry -- so says the history -- we built a Church, we bought a manse, the register doubled, the staff tripled, attendance quadrupled ... and so on ... and on. Spot the problem. The minister burnt out! According to the history, he "reached a point of mental and physical exhaustion". OBSERVATION: There would seem to be a point to sustainable ministry ...

Central Methodist Mission 3D

This is the interior of the Central Methodist Mission in Cape Town, in 3-D. The Church traces its origins to 1806. This sanctuary was built under the supervision of architect Charles Freeman, and opened on the 12th November 1879. OBSERVATION: Click on the image to enlarge to 280k for enhanced 3D. To see the 3D, lazily squint your eyes until the images overlap and snap together. Your eyes need to be in line horizontally.

Strident

Once a month, we go "back to basics" in our Sunday service. Such input is always given by someone in the congregation. This Sunday, it was a girl in our Sunday School, E. (pictured). E. worked diligently at her piece, and wouldn't let her mother help her. She told us: "Smile!" She was challenging, strident -- and she linked her words faithfully with Bible verses. I said to someone that if an adult had tried that (her stridency), I wonder if they would have got away with it. E. carried it off well.

Subjective Leadership?

A conservative academic learnt that our Church Meeting (our highest executive) mostly reaches decisions by consensus. He complained that this was not objective, but "very subjective", as we relied on consensus, not (so overtly) on Scripture. OBSERVATION: I thought about this carefully. Our view is that the living God leads us to decisions which will magnify His Name. The academic, I suspect, considered that God does not guarantee this, therefore one needs chapter and verse. Our constitution states that the Church Meeting's decisions are "those which He [Christ] imparts".

Rain And Sunshine

The weather forecast this past weekend was rain and sunshine. Such a forecast didn't seem to make much sense -- until I saw it before the Sunday service, through our Church door. You may click on the image to enlarge to 300k. This will give a clearer impression of the "sunshiny rain". (Notice how they are offering "happiness" at the other side of the road ...)

Course Complete

Tonight I completed the second-last course of my MA (which follows my MTh). One of my fellow-students messaged me today from the USA: "You have a powerful on-line presence and I've learned so much from you through your well thought out and articulated interactions with me and the class. I thank you. You have been a blessing to me." OBSERVATION: This was a course that I quit in the first half. The seminary rescued it for me. The on-line system wasn't working from Africa.

A Family Story

I had an appointment with a young congregant for lunch, a cheerful young man with braided hair. He wanted me to critique the story of his life, which he had committed to paper. It was well written, yet I felt that it needed some setting (it was what one calls a "narrow" narrative). I worked through it with him. Essentially, it was the story of a contented African family, which step by step was devastated by disease, until it was left in tatters with the remnants fighting for survival.

Breathtaking Photo

Mirjam took this photo of me shortly after we were married. I can't believe she allowed me to pose for this. In fact, where was she standing? Ah, the bravado of youth. You may click on this for VGA. This is taken down-river from the Aughrabies falls. South Africa is filled with stunning scenery like this.

Street Fight

It seems an awfully long time since I've witnessed a street fight (our conscientious police have been killing the character of our suburb). Anyway, yesterday I witnessed this one. It started at our Church gate, and for a while moved behind this fence. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 120k.

Killing Grampa

I conducted an old man's funeral. The day he died, his two grandchildren came to visit him. One of them said: "Aren't you glad we came, Grampa?" The other said: "You can die happy now, Grampa." No sooner had they said this when Grampa closed his eyes and died! Now the family jokes: "You killed Grampa!"

Transient Congregation

Someone was late for an appointment yesterday -- so I picked up an old Church address list in my vestry. I was amazed to see that, since 1997, only 34 out of 220 surnames remain on the list (15%). That is rather stunning -- although really quite normal for an urban congregation. Most of these people left us -- those where I remember the history -- through the "natural causes" of death and moving away. Many were removed when we tightened our membership requirements in the late 90's. OBSERVATION: Looking on the bright side, I did an incredible job of replacing those who left! Actually, the way I see it is that God Himself sustains His Church through chaos. The above is a testimony to, an assurance of, His power and His care.

Visit Denied

In South Africa, ministers generally have access to patients at all times. It is very seldom that I am denied access. But yesterday I was denied -- and unthinkingly scribbled a note for the patient: "I was denied access to your esteemed self." This didn't matter to me, but the patient was (so said a member of staff) "extremely upset". OBSERVATION: I'll try again, but I'll go by the book next time.

Managing Craziness

I e-mailed someone this morning: "I spent time at the office yesterday writing up my latest to-do list. I said to [the office] that it looks so crazy I should play dead. When my list gets like that, I sometimes don't even look at it any more. I put my head in the sand. I must just focus on priorities -- that is, what I decide to be priorities (hopefully what the Lord decides). It's not just about the list, it's also about the heart, and managing the list in a peaceful way, a sustainable way."

As Steep As Bleep

In my quest for the ultimate slope, I discovered that Clifford Road in Cape Town is 19° steep near the top. This equals -- at least, a section of this road equals -- the official world record. One encounters this section of Clifford Road immediately on turning up off Ocean View Drive.

Pinelands Methodist 3D

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Continuing my gallery of local Churches, here is the old Pinelands Methodist Church in 3-D. The new Pinelands Methodist Church stands just to its left. OBSERVATION: Click on the image to enlarge to 260k for enhanced 3D. To see the 3D, lazily squint your eyes until the images overlap and snap together. Your eyes need to be in line horizontally (and for any Methodists out there, one might point out that one's computer screen, too, needs to be horizontal).

Ministry Disjoint

Sunday services seem to me to be the most effective investment of my energies as minister, and then the work that I do with those who attend them. However, much of what I do seems to have little relation to this. Recent examples are a wedding out of town, lunch with a foreign visitor, or a deathbed visit in a far-away suburb. OBSERVATION: Apart from doing such things "out of goodness", I take the view that they are God's opportunity, God's gift, which we may not understand. Also, such experiences may feed into a more vital spiritual life for the minister ... and therefore into a more "punchy" ministry.

1½° Off The World Record

My new hobby gathers pace. Someone suggested to me that Head Road was the steepest street in the city. I checked it out yesterday. It was 17° steep at its base -- impressive, yet a mere tie with Longmarket Street. However, just below Head Road is Top Road. This yielded 17½° at its base -- now the new Cape Town champion. OBSERVATION: The official world record is held by Baldwin Street, Dunedin, New Zealand, at 19°.