Thursday, November 28, 2013
Urban Park
This one's just a pretty picture. It's our local urban park, which was created a few years ago. One sees (from left) the suburbs of Green Point, Three Anchor Bay, Sea Point, and Mouille Point -- and Fresnaye in the distance. I am posting this post from my home behind the hill on the left.
Cultural Differences
These days, when you marry the girl next door, you may effectively be marrying a girl of a completely different culture -- although she may look much the same. I have the sense -- having married a woman of mostly Xhosa descent -- that my situation may in fact make the cultural differences easier -- because they are explicit -- because one is aware of them. With the girl next door, the challenges may be hidden.
Arranged Marriage
It is said that arranged marriages in many cases warm up over time, while love marriages in many cases grow cooler over time (see Arranged Marriage). This is my experience with wife E. (an arranged marriage). When you think it is warm, it gets warmer.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Free Braai Wood
Holy Trinity Church
"Your hinterland is theeeeere!" (said Cecil John Rhodes). This is the minister of Holy Trinity Church, Gardens (centre), more modestly pointing the way to boerewors rolls. Fellowship events, he said, are a big challenge in an urban Church. From my own experience, yes. This turned out to be a good idea -- a "hit and run" meal after Sunday Church -- with a bouncy castle for kids. OBSERVATION: Myself, I might have made more active, public use of the opportunity to introduce people. I used a Retinex filter for the photo, due to dappled light. You may click on the image to enlarge.
Featured Article
I recently blogged that "I may be enjoying a small publishing success". This was confirmed this week when an essay that I wrote for the sister publication of The Philosopher (under the auspices of the Philosophical Society of England) was elevated to "Featured" status with a vote by their Canadian editor: "I have read with attention this article as it is November 25 and I endorse wholeheartedly its promotion to the Featured article status." OBSERVATION: It's an interesting system of public review, and I like it. If an essay merely holds promise, it may be displayed as a "Stub". That is, it's not a case of "almost but no" as it is with many journals. Then, the essay may work its way up to "Article" status, even "Featured Article" status -- or be jettisoned.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Advantages Of Counselling
Despite its high emotional demands, counselling holds many advantages for the minister. 1. It continually takes one back to spiritual basics. 2. Often, one really can see where people have got stuck, while they cannot -- and one is able to be a real help. 3. One so often sees God at work in counselling -- and that is heartening. This includes stunning, life-changing insights, divine interventions that seemed impossible, and a counsellor's critical words that can be seen to be God's grace at work. Not least: 4. One should not underestimate how much counselling fuels an effective preaching ministry -- although, of course, one will not preach about particular people.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Missionary To Children
Wife E. and I, this morning, were talking to a missionary to children in KwaZulu-Natal (Zululand). Generally speaking, she said, they have no children's ministries, not even Sunday School on a Sunday: "We don't even have that. They sleep, they cry, and that's it." OBSERVATION: That's my experience of other parts of the world. I took this photo in the Pacific, where children played quiet pranks through the service.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Obervations On A Disaster
Wife E. and I visited our ravaged plot together today. She stared at it in silence, then said: "Water is not to be played with." We discovered more about the cause of the disaster today. According to one resident, a dam had been breached, then one-two dams below it had burst. OBSERVATION: In an earlier post, I blogged about the role of road-building in this -- and this reminds me of human predicaments: One's immediate impression may be that the problem lies here (the road), then one discovers that it more-so lies here (the dams). In this disaster, a few human influences seem to have come together to make it so much worse than it would have been without them. The photo shows where the wall of water and debris hit our fence on the south side of our plot. Here, the fence withstood the water -- most of our fence was flattened. The river seen here is a seasonal river -- the perennial river on our plot changed course through this.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Bridge No More
I previously blogged about the Bishop's Bridge. The bishop, to my disbelief, had begun to build a bridge onto my property and to drive a road through it. But eventually he complied (more or less) with earthly norms (municipal boundaries, and so on). With the recent floods, the bridge was totally destroyed. That's not funny -- it was a big bridge that he was already moving traffic over. Standing where his bridge once stood, I gave him a call: "Did you see your bridge?" (not that there was one to speak of). He laughed heartily. He said: "You can come and swim in my pool!"
Rose Hedgerow
Photographing local hedgerows is a sometime hobby of mine. South African hedgerows may be quite unique. I took this photo on the N2 somewhere near Grabouw. It looked as though the farmer might still be experimenting here. A pink rose seemed to hold the greatest promise. For a nearby hedgerow, see Hedgerow.
Ministry Preparation
This morning I prepared for my next visit to the Karoo semi-desert. I generally run it all by the Chairman of the Board. It's about arrangements for the service, the details of our stay, pastoral visits, the theme of the Bible study, and just to confirm the social programme, which seems to have a life of its own. I always try to draw parishioners into ministry. I intend to call the Chairman for a personal hello as well -- and then will come more thorough preparations.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tesselaarsdal Flood
This is my next door neighbour but one, in Tesselaarsdal: Wilkie (WPC) Stewart -- his name is used here with permission. He is standing on his plot Erf 201, in front of a house that he was building. It's a tranquil scene in a way, but it reveals an incredible flood. He said it was the way that the main road had been built over the river -- which acted as a "dam wall". This was plain to see, although no one may know whether his house could have been saved without it. They were repairing the road as we spoke -- a massive undertaking -- although it surely needs a redesign.
Expert Search
One of my vehicles, this week, was literally taken apart and fit together again -- but whoever did it couldn't quite get all the parts to fit again perfectly. Then it was cleaned fantastically with solvent. The local security patrol said it wasn't them: not protocol. The local police said it wasn't them: not protocol. It was an independent search, expertly done. OBSERVATION: I can't begin to think what this was about. Thanks, guys, for the clean. (But the incident made me nervous).
Cataclysm
I visited Tesselaarsdal today, after the recent floods. Our plot was hit by a nine-foot-high torrent. That's me amidst the devastation. Great trees were uprooted, bark ripped off, the ground stripped of everything. Much of our perimeter fence was destroyed, also our water system. So great was the upheaval that about 100 square metres were added to our land through a change in the landscape. It reminded me of photos of Mount St. Helens. Amazingly (one needs to see it), our one cabin survived intact -- the other was damaged but standing. I felt a bit emotional when I saw the destruction. More photos in time. The village was severely affected.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Whole Story
E. and I last night received a visit from the minister who married us (pictured). I mentioned that I had begun to write up our story: from my point of view, a White man who by ancient Church custom enters an arranged marriage with a Black woman. Our minister said: "You must be sure to leave nothing out!" I said: "That will be a sure way to get the book banned, in short order" -- and I related an incident that should secure this all on its own. OBSERVATION: My own original copy will have it all. That's the bridesmaid (left) and best man (right).
One Person
One person can make a crucial difference in a Church. If one person stands up and repents -- or if one person takes a stand -- it can change everything. It can break powerful spiritual bondages in an instant. OBSERVATION: Edmund Burke famously said: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." And I would say: then they are not good men. Definitely not.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Full Moon Climb
Secret Search
An interesting statistic caught my eye on my (private) blog stats this week. A website, on someone's instruction, twelve times secretly searched my blog -- alternatively, made that many attempts. But when I myself put in a request that it be secretly searched, I was informed that I was the first to make such a request. Well of course -- or searches wouldn't be secret. Not that they really are -- or I would know nothing at all.
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Death Of The Butcher
When I negotiated for my bride in the hills, I promised her father that I would not remove her from her soil, her people, or her food -- unless she herself should feel called by God to move away. We have joked that her soil, her people, and her food describe a 10km radius around the village of Kareedouw -- especially the food. But now all this seems to have come up against an awful complication. The best butcher in Kareedouw died. Where will "her food" now be found? OBSERVATION: Kareedouw means "path by the Karee trees" in Khoi. I consider that her soil, her people, and her food have much to do with her joy and with her whole person.
A Great Page
I may be enjoying a small publishing success at the moment. It is an article which, on first appearances, may seem very controversial -- however it is not all that it seems. It may represent a new argument which (to put it too simply) favours the existence of God. Philosopher, writer, and Society editor Martin Cohen comments: "This is really a great page." It's at Philosophical Investigations.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Predecessor
Bible Study Statistic
I learnt in ministry that the average participation of members in Bible study is about 10%. During much of my own ministry, it was around 30%. An astonishing statistic of my new Church is that it is around 70%, perhaps 80%. The reasons for this are unclear, yet there is certainly a keen spiritual desire.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
More On Writing
Some more on my recent writing. It is my habit, once in a while, to do retrospectives on my blog.
While much else has happened in my life, here is what lies behind with writing -- for the 2½ months since E. and I first really found rest in our new home. I wrote three papers in the area Philosophy
of ... one of them now published, two under public review. I drafted about ten sections for future book projects -- and this gave me a good feel for the task. I
completed a substantial book of electronic projects -- an expanded, combined
issue of previous books. I wrote a magazine article an electronic design -- yet to be assessed. And one might easily overlook about 80 pages which I wrote for the pulpit. OBSERVATION: While day-to-day life may be tangled, it may be surprising what a longer period of time reveals.
Words As Energeia
There are various skills one needs for writing. One of the most crucial skills for me is: In the act of writing, don't look for the words, look to the heart. I think -- with some serious thought behind this (see my paper Bridging Inferences) -- that the English language, since about Johnson, has come to be viewed increasingly as a logical structure, to be used to fit words together. In reality, it is surges of inferences, relational complexes emerging and receding, all on a vast scale and with great rapidity. Some would make English out to be a pile of bricks, where it is a tangled city. There may be some who can construct things with words -- which is good -- and one always needs to finish one's writing by looking over the construction -- yet what I describe here is, I think, what took my own public writing to a new level. Humboldt said that language is not ergon, but energeia.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Vengeance
The Bible says: "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." Some people seem to have an awful lot of energy for vengeance -- sometimes till the day they die. It is rather astonishing. I pray that if the Lord wants any vengeance, would He kindly leave me out of it? That would be a grace that I would appreciate.
Pincushion Proteas
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Somali Shopkeeper
I have blogged a few times about "no cameras". Recently I entered a small Somali shop in a township. It was beautiful -- with colourful groceries at the centre, old-fashioned shop shelves around the sides, and a few posts supporting the roof. I asked the shopkeeper: "Mind if I take a photo?" and I showed him my Leica. He was perplexed. He ran from behind the counter, and fled from the shop! The shop was abandoned. I went after him. I said: "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable!" He said, motioning to the houses around us: "I am endangered! I am a Muslim!" OBSERVATION: Somali shopkeepers are "under siege" in South Africa.
Electronics: Really Do Something
My electronics book is complete, so to speak. It is out under the imprint Tom Bomb Books, and may be ordered by credit card from the printer: 6 or Less: How to Really Do Something with Six Components. This is a very reliable service. Bulk discounts are available for 15 copies or more. I have learnt, however, that the author does need to check the print copy, so a proof is in the post for me, and I shall emblazon the book on the sky only once I have seen it and adjusted it (if need be). The book is nearly 200 pages in an expansive Crown Quarto format. OBSERVATION: I won several prizes for my small designs, as well as the Gold Medal Award from Wimborne Publishing for innovative design. This may be the world's biggest single-volume book of little circuits that really do something. Really do what? Click on the link above and see ...
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Blue Dress
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Avoidance Coping
In my view, sin is often avoidance coping. But by avoidance coping, one is of course ... avoiding the reality. If one avoids the reality, one may not even get to know or to feel what the problem is, let alone have the opportunity to return to spiritual health. This is one good reason to leave off sin.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Cover Design
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Innocence At A Disadvantage
Through many years of experience with the justice system, it seems to me to work something like this: It is a system which trawls for crime. Many criminals slip the net -- many do get caught -- however some are caught who are innocent. The trouble is, once the innocent are in the net, they have a double disadvantage. If they have been falsely accused, then the accusers -- whether inside the system or out -- cannot easily back out -- they face charges of negligence, perjury, and so on. They may feel that they have to go on. And if it has come as far as a false arrest or imprisonment, it is very difficult for the system to back off -- it similarly faces judgements and penalties, and so on. Again, it may feel that it has to go on. There have been a few celebrated cases, but it happens in smaller ways all the time. OBSERVATION: Behind the scenes, there are various "side steps" in such situations.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Maligned
In recent months, I or my wife have been contacted repeatedly, to inform me that I am being maligned. This is sometimes very difficult to deal with -- but then, it is something which is heavily covered by Bible promises, too. Somebody advised me: "Tell people that you are being maligned. Keep it at that. Let them fill in the gaps, if they want to." (At times in my life, I have however been proactive in such matters). OBSERVATION: I am very much aware of false stories hovering over ministers for years. Generally speaking, in my experience of ministry, it may not only be the little stories which are a problem, but the grand stories, or the most public ones, which may seem to be most plausible.
NOTE: Thanks to the reader who sent me quotes -- among them: "Hurl your calumnies boldly; something is sure to stick" (Francis Bacon), and: "Do not repeat slander; you should not hear it" (Ptahhotep).
NOTE: Thanks to the reader who sent me quotes -- among them: "Hurl your calumnies boldly; something is sure to stick" (Francis Bacon), and: "Do not repeat slander; you should not hear it" (Ptahhotep).
Shack On The River
I took this photo earlier in the week on my plot in Tesselaarsdal. Son M. is visible in the background. I asked a builder whether the shack might be replaced with a more permanent structure. He said no. It is right on top of the confluence of two rivers (one of them seasonal), so environmental laws would make it impossible. Also, it is dangerously situated, should there be floods. OBSERVATION: Even as a shack, it is a treasure. I might therefore improve the shack. For a view of the same site in winter (without the poplar leaves) see Flooding.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Extraodinary Turns Ordinary
As a youth, I read the classic The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson, which sold many millions of copies. I was impressed, too, that my father had met Nicky Cruz. Years later, I myself became an urban minister, in what may be (or have been) Southern Africa's toughest urban suburb. But when one is in the midst of it, the "wow" of reading the book becomes ordinary, to the extent that one may forget to talk about it to one's friends. OBSERVATION: As for gangs, though, my ministry was in an area which was a haven for gang members, not (generally speaking) their turf.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Hedgerow
Churched Or Saved
A minister friend recently confirmed nearly twenty young adults. The next Sunday, not one of them was in Church. This is a classic. However, people seldom think further than this: "You confirm them and they are gone -- you should have done believers' baptism." But consider the view from here -- where I am now after more than thirty years of ministry. You have seen a generation pass by. What happens through confirmation is that people are now Churched, but they are not saved -- in many cases, that is. Now you have set yourself up (or somebody else) for potential disaster decades down the line, through Churched people, unsaved.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Scared Of Sickness
There is a saying in Africa: "If you are scared of a sickness, you will catch it." I think that, in a sense, there is a lot of truth in this. Fifteen years ago, I led a team of six missionaries to the Pacific. Five of our missionaries needed medical attention -- either before the mission was over, or soon after. I was the only one (number six) who was "bullet proof". My suspicion is: it was because I lived in those islands as a child. I had been immunised through exposure. To put the African saying another way: "If you are exposed to a sickness, you will be immune to it."
Wood-Fired Stoves
I took this photo today of a woman preparing (and baking) bread at a wood-fired stove in Dassiesfontein, about 100km / 60mi east of Cape Town. There is a wide variety of wood-fired stoves on sale in Dassiesfontein, including "donkies" (which simultaneously heat piped water), "kamerstowe" (cute little wood-fired stoves which heat a room and keep a kettle on the boil), and classic Dover and Aga stoves.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
A Broader Swathe
My present parish centres on a village in the semi-desert. The greatest distinctive of the Church is that it is English speaking: it is the only English Church in a wide area. The village is divided into two districts, and the Church draws its congregation from one of the two districts. It would seem that English is in gradual decline in this district -- yet it may be on the ascendancy in the other. With this in mind, we foresee some exploratory fellowship meetings next month involving a broader swathe of English speakers than the Church has thus far reached. OBSERVATION: This is not so much a plan as an organic development -- as I believe many of the best things are in a Church. What comes of this is over to the Lord.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Karoo Oases
Having ministered in the Karoo this weekend, here is one of the little-known oases west of Van Wyksdorp. One sees the typical Karoo vegetation in the background. You may click on the photo to enlarge.
Despite Sin
The thought of this post is a basic one, yet it lies beyond the grasp of many people. God saves souls despite sin, God builds His Church despite sin, and God blesses ministry despite sin -- and weakness. OBSERVATION: This is not to say that all sin is redeemable. It does say that our proper focus is the gracious activity of God. In fact it is a very big "despite", in all three cases above.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Enamelling Plant
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