Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged: October 2012

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Flashback 1960's

The photo on the right was taken by Peter Carmichael -- published in 1968 in A World of Islands. It shows an outrigger canoe in the (then) Gilbert Islands in the Pacific. Note the man crawling out onto the outrigger, to stabilise the canoe. These canoes reach a speed of about 10 knots -- half the top speed of a modern cruise ship. As a boy, in the mission, this was one of my greatest joys -- to crawl out onto the outrigger to stabilise the canoe as it travelled at speed.

Monday, October 29, 2012

11 Church Plants

A minister in our area said to me last week: "Did you know that there were eleven Church plants on our Main Road in 2010? All of them failed. They think it is easy to make a Church work here." OBSERVATION: I previously estimated (on this blog) an 80% failure rate among Church plants in our area. I think that was way too low. See also Church Plants.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Better Than Atomic

There are some big problems with time. For one thing, as we all know, even quartz clocks don't track it correctly. Even atomic clocks are problematic -- for the reason that the earth is a "living organism", and will not keep in sync with atomic clocks. Most recently, this caused big problems for computers on the 30th of June this year. The photo shows a prototype of a clock that I once designed, which would (if perfected) have outperformed atomic clocks since their first use (that is, over time) -- not to speak of thousands of years to come. This clock determined solar noon, and went from there. However, the project was clearly going to be a labour of love, and I never got past an early prototype (pictured) which proved the idea. I'm putting this on my blog, partly because I'd love to see someone "run with the idea".

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Betty's Bay Sunset

I took this photo recently of a sunset near Cape Town, with my Leica. It is taken from (about) De Bos Dam above Vermont. Betty's Bay is in the background. From Betty's Bay, one is able to see Cape Town across False Bay. The photo is untouched, except for a modest crop.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Holy Redeemer Anglican

Here's a nearby Church that I haven't featured yet on this blog, albeit taken from an unusual angle across a development site called The Orchards. It is Holy Redeemer Anglican Church in Sea Point. I have attended there many times, as it is two blocks from my home. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 80k.

About This Blog

I have spent ten years in suburban ministry, twenty-two years (total) in urban ministry, and seven years in country ministry. My involvements in ministry continue, now reduced.

There are a few reasons for this blog: 1. To help people form a picture of what ministry is about -- in particular urban ministry -- not least seminary students who may be destined for urban ministry. I have found that the image and the reality may be far apart in academia. 2. My experience in ministry may be (and, in fact, often has been) an encouragement to other ministers -- alternatively, a cautionary tale, as the case may be! Many notes of thanks have been recorded on this blog. And 3. Friends have simply told me how interesting reports of ministry are.

This is not a "parochial" blog. Only a tenth or so of readers are local (in South Africa). Outside of my home country, this blog is most read in Europe and North America. Russia is no. 4 on the list, and there is some interest in Muslim nations. At one point, this was the most authoritative Religion blog in Southern Africa (I now do not know how it is ranked).

With all of the above in mind, the purpose of this blog is simply to record urban ministry "live and unplugged", in the form of accounts. This blog is not a "church blog", but a "ministry blog". For the most part, I don't intend to share my views. The emphasis is the experience of ministry and the various events that surround it.

A definition of “live” is “actually being performed at the time of viewing”. A definition of “unplugged” is “without amplification or modification”. However, see my Posting Policy below.

Posting Policy

This blog may be unique with regard to its degree of transparency about urban ministry. Many people have written to me to say how they cherish the help they have received through this. However, this means that special attention needs to be given to confidentiality in particular. I use the following guidelines for posting on this blog:

I apply the following questions to posts: Are they posted in good faith? Are they balanced? Are they compassionate? Are they informative about ministry? Do they help one better understand a problem or issue?

I consider a post to be unproblematic if a person's identity is unknowable in the post, if the facts are public knowledge, or if a change of particulars (name, place, date, and so on) will truly protect privacy. If I consider that anyone who was not involved in an incident would recognise those who were, then I do not post. If a post could compromise the safety of those I blog about, then I make a post safe, or I do not post.

I believe that these measures should enable me to continue to be "open" about urban ministry while not compromising privacy.

In 2013, ninety percent of the posts on this blog were removed. I then put the question of the freedom of the blog to the South African Human Rights Commission. The position is this: if a post is legal, it is legal. Essentially, all of my posts were OK. There is freedom of expression in South Africa.

Having said this, if any post should even cause discomfort, it will be removed from this blog immediately. This has always been the position. One does need to contact me for that, best through an e-mail or a blog comment, and I prefer to see a name on it. The post will be put back up only if there would seem to be compelling reason for it. It is hoped that there will be the assumption that I wish to address any discomfort satisfactorily, compassionately, and efficiently.