Saturday, January 31, 2015

My Old Church

By chance I discovered today that my old Church in Port Elizabeth has its own website: St. David's Congregational Church. I ministered there for ten years. I took this photo off the website. The Church building (right) was built during my ministry. The Church was full then, and it is now. My predecessor Rev. Aston had a fantastic gift of recruiting members. My own ministry then was marked by "landmarks": we built the Church, bought a manse, wiped out our debt, and augmented our staff. Under my ministry, attendance multiplied. An old minister friend, Dr. Woolard, heads the ministry now.

Wittewater Road

This is my three-wheeler on a public road. An unusual one. Ordinarily, public roads don't look like this.  This road is at the old mission station Wittewater, perhaps 160km north of Cape Town.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Believing The Counselee

I have found that one of the best things one may do in counselling, in a crisis situation, is simply to believe the counselee. Not seldom, he or she has been talking for some time, yet no one has really believed him or her: “It's not so bad,” or: “You can cope,” or: “No, really?” and so on. OBSERVATION: Of course there are counselees who have ulterior motives, and may not be telling the truth. Yet this does not detract from the great need for someone to believe it.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

The "Rarity Of Grace"

I was discussing today the fact that very few people understand grace. Even in the Church, it tends to be very few. I myself only came to understand grace half way through my theological studies, and was annoyed that no one had made it clear to me sooner. Yet perhaps it could not have been sooner. Whether or not the Calvinist doctrine is true, I see something like it at work in the world around me: in God's time, people's eyes are opened to grace, and not before.

Stealing Light Bulbs

I took this photo in one of our Churches in South Africa. It is an empty bayonet light socket, mounted on the ceiling. Yet can you guess its significance? If you guessed that the bulb has been stolen, close, but "no cigar". Our Churches are one step ahead of that. At the end of each service (those services where light bulbs are needed), the officers of this Church remove the bulbs for safe keeping. And so crime is kept in check, and criminals are kept from crime, and the lights continue to shine in the Church.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Why Be A Member?

Once in a while, people have asked me in ministry: why become a Church member? I think there are several reasons why people should commit.   It is the will of Christ that Christians should find their place and role in the Body (1 Peter 2:5). It is good to be counted as a Christian by publicly committing to a Church.  Through membership (in the "low" Church), one obtains voting rights, which is crucial to the spiritual dynamic of the Church. Through membership, one becomes eligible for office and therefore usefulness.  In a world where there is ever quickening change, members form an important, stable core of the work.  Membership really does help Christians to become one of the family, and to find a place to serve and to grow. Usually, Churches will be thinking this as well: through membership, you become accountable to the Church.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Eastern Cape Girl

I don't remember putting this photo on my blog before. The girl is a (kind of) daughter of mine. I typically see her a few times a year, in the Eastern Cape. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 150k. OBSERVATION: I say "kind of" because in English terms, she is my wife's cousin's daughter. I used to think that the local kinship terms were "having us on", but they are truly different to English terms. Her grandfather calls me "son".

Total Sunday Prep

When one speaks of a minister's Sunday preparation, it is often the sermon which comes to mind. However, it is a lot more than that.  Here follows a glimpse of typical Sunday preparations in total.  It will of course vary a lot from minister to minister: mid-week, peruse the sermon subject, and do background reading. Later in the week, write a draft, revise it, then rehearse and add various marks to the notes. Peruse (for spiritual balance) various prayers and select, and on Sunday morning revise throughout by hand. Prepare a sermon outline, as well as something educational or informative to go on the back of it.  Ensure that it is copied for worshippers. Towards the end of the week, select hymns and a reading, and pass to the office secretary. Fill in / out an order of service, and write up an introduction to the service, as well as a customary Sunday joke. Run through the order of service a few times, to be well acquainted with it. Plan one or two special items for each service: sometimes organising personally, often delegating, sometimes putting people through their paces in Church before hand. If required, compile the monthly newsletter, with devotional input and news, and hand to the office secretary for duplication. Peruse the Church bulletin and Church rosters for clues as to what might be relevant on a given Sunday.  Finally, check the sound and video systems for the service. OBSERVATION: I have omitted some things here, but it should give a fair impression.  I would think that these are all things which weave into a viable or sustainable Church, not just perfunctory tasks.  All of the above involves, I would guess, 100-200 pages of reading, and 20-30 pages of writing each week.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Model Hovercraft

I was reminded today that I tried once to develop a remote controlled hovercraft for a magazine. Before starting with the electronics, I needed to design something that would fly at all. I ordered two fast, lightweight motors from the UK for counter rotating propellers. I designed a hard skirt. I was very pleased when the hovercraft flew on water, but even with the counter rotating propellers it gyrated. Also, there was interference between the air-flows of the two propellers. While trying to solve the latter problem, the hovercraft suddenly took a dive and sank. And that was that. OBSERVATION: On the Internet there seem to be few remote controlled hovercraft which really work.

Inexplicable

I have come across various things in ministry which would be very hard to explain. Here is an example, just as it happened. J., a young man in our congregation, suddenly struggled to breathe. The hospital wouldn't attend to him. He waited there for five hours. He snoozed a while in a chair, then he opened his eyes, and said to his brother: "I want you to settle my affairs. I want you to take instructions." His brother said: "No, don't talk like this! You're talking crazy! You'll be OK!" J. said to him in English -- which was a language foreign to them both: "Listen carefully. God told me this! God!" So his brother took instructions in English. Then J. went into convulsions and died. In the three months before his death, J. contacted any number of people to settle his affairs and say goodbye.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Stricken Text

I did hard work today revising a chapter of philosophy I wrote. It was a short chapter of 1 300 words, yet I ripped out more than a thousand words, and inserted more than a thousand again. Only then did it occur to me to check the editor's comments on my original work. He wrote: "This is very professional stuff!" Well so much for that.

Dung Beetle

Yesterday I spotted this beetle on a branch overhanging an inner city street. It is a white spotted fruit chafer (Mausoleopsis amabilis). Strangely, it is a dung beetle. One would not expect to find a dung beetle on an inner city street. I took it with my now restored Leica. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 300k.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Marks Of Empire

South Africa is filled with marks of empire -- which is, the old British empire. This is a house in the suburb Oranjezicht, in Cape Town. One reads on a nearby electricity pole (at bottom right) the origin of the pole: LONDON. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Audi Test Drive

I test drove an Audi today, as a favour for a friend. I don't even know what kind of an Audi it was. However it was going second-hand for nearly a quarter million. I said it was boring -- by which I meant no doubt that it was solid. And powerful. And comfortable. And quiet. Something that had me confused was a little thing called a finger-brake. I've never come across one before. Apparently it's a thriller if one pulls it at speed. The car will be engulfed in a ball of smoke. Make sure there's no one behind you.

The Power Of We

I have been married for two years to a fine woman who calls herself "a Xhosa child". With this in mind, I continually enter her culture(s). My own greatest struggle in this has been what I have called "the power of we". It is not the same as "the power of we" in European culture: family honour, for instance, or an influential family head. Rather, to put it too simply, the self is gone. If the self is gone, then (to a greater or lesser extent) so too are doors and walls, personal conversations, discreet space, own possessions, private bedrooms, recovery time -- around the clock. On the other hand, if one has a need or a problem, one won't find oneself alone with it. It is "our" problem then, and we are there for you. No, with you.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Visitation Vexation

This is about a pair of painful experiences I had re visitation. In my first (major) ministry, a woman stood up in a Church Meeting and said: "The minister never visits!" In fact she was the most-visited (and a much visited) member of the Church! I was caught off guard and didn't respond (I just fumed). In my second (major) ministry, we put checks and balances in place: I regularly ran my visitation programme past the Church Meeting, I set aside special weeks for visitation, I announced them, and put out regular invitations for members to indicate whether they would like me to include them. Then I gave the Church feedback. But again, the visitation accusation came up. Someone asked the Church for a show of hands as to who the minister had visited over the past six months. Of those who were there, it was few.  Yet I had visited as planned, as announced, more days than not. My focus had been special visitation, in crucial areas. Again I was caught off guard and didn't respond (I just fumed)! OBSERVATION: What should one do? It is difficult. Greater spiritual preparedness on the part of the minister would have helped, so as to have a kind and ready answer. Also, critics were not acting in good faith. They should have thought twice. As a matter of interest, traditionally visitation is not basic to Congregational ministry. However, I myself regard it as essential. Visitation is regarded as being the domain of all office-bearers and members, as well as the minister. (I snapped the kitten on visitation).

A Thirty-Year Project

The project I completed today in draft (see the previous post) was under development for more than thirty years. I made several attempts at writing it: the first of which more than thirty years ago. Yet they all seemed to stall, from the point of view that they encountered what I considered major conceptual blocks. Two of my attempts were made for professors in the USA, and on a rank-based grading system I scored a C (a middle student) and an A (a top student). What is different with the current attempt is that I could see about a third of the way through that the concepts were now working. OBSERVATION: The next step is to do a sweep of the whole project to see that, in keeping with the Society's aims, it is all "clear to the interested reader".

Finished (For Now)

Today I completed a draft of my New Metaphysics, a project for the "sister site" of the journal of the Philosophical Society of England. I finished one day ahead of schedule. The project today reached 25 000 words, or about the size of a novella. Thanks to editors Martin Cohen and Pierre-Alain Gouanvic for creating the on-line space to develop it. Thanks to Martin Cohen for giving me the special impetus and encouragement to get started. Now come the refinements.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Special Person

Still awaiting the restoration of my Leica, someone happened to give me a seven-year-old Chinese camera. The difference between it and the Leica is not subtle. However, it takes photos. Also, it runs off batteries -- very useful where one cannot use a charger. I took this photo last week of a certain special person with a friend. You may click on it to enlarge. OBSERVATION: The friend (in the background) is an experienced company accountant who has just qualified as a para-legal -- still available before somebody snaps her up. The cap was a Christmas present from me.

Smooth Operator

Not seldom in ministry, I have been in situations where people have needed to respond to very awkward questions (in Afrikaans, to a tameletjie, or sticky toffee). From my experience, the finest answer is always the straight one, even if it is the most difficult one. I would think it is worth a person's risk of being straightforward. Anything else comes across, at best, as revealing a smooth operator -- and as they say, first impressions last. That's my sense, from the outside looking in. OBSERVATION: And the straight answer, in the long run, tends to pour oil on troubled waters, too.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Cicada Season

News in Cape Town is that the cicadas are suddenly out. Thousands and thousands of them. One hears their shrill chorus all over mountainside roads, such as the Glen. They are like giant (really giant) fruit-flies. They suck sap from trees, and are eaten by birds and squirrels. In some countries (not ours) they are a delicacy. The photo is not mine -- I don't know which species of cicada is pictured here. OBSERVATION: Not being very clever creatures, they may mistake a human arm for a tree branch, and leave a painful (but harmless) bite.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Images And Iffiness

I took this photo several years ago. It pictures, for me, the ambivalence in South Africa towards photographers. It's a free country, yet photos may often be forbidden -- or both accepted and forbidden in similar situations. One photographer might get a great shot in the heart of a prison, another might not be allowed to photograph a public place. Or, at one hospital I visited (Groote Schuur), camera phones were allowed in, but cameras were impounded. This is the Cape Town Highlanders regiment.

Seminary and Ministry

Today I discussed with a theology graduate the well known problem of theological education vs. ministry practice. My own first great shock was when I was called upon to visit an attractive, young(ish) mother dying of cancer. The cancer had metastasised. I didn't know what to do, or what to say. I was so deeply shocked that I didn't (wouldn't) go back -- but I conducted her funeral service. I remember what she said to me on that one visit. She requested the hymn: "When morning gilds the skies." Twelve times, the hymn repeats: "May Jesus Christ be praised!" OBSERVATION: From my experience, the best kind of practical training is observation, or apprenticeship. (In later ministry, I was able to deal with such situations comfortably).

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Sunday Distractions

I once wrote the following about the hour before I stepped into the pulpit one Sunday. This is what may lie behind the apparently calm exterior of one's minister: "I was badgered at the gate for alms, so that I was prevented from entering the Church grounds. Then I saw that the entire video system had been disconnected. Next I discovered that the amplifier had been tampered with, and a vital microphone was missing. Then key handouts for the service were nowhere to be found. Then the City Council arrived with heavy digging equipment and started tearing up the road. Then the police descended on the street to intervene. All wanted my attention. Then someone pressed me for counselling, which they absolutely had to have immediately. Then a second person insisted on the same. Then a musical item for the service dropped out, and I quickly arranged a substitute. Apart from a few major distractions besides. And I stepped into the pulpit (I hope) with serenity and poise."

Budget Solar

I have designed and built several cost-cutting solar power systems (I would estimate that my designs halve the usual, total cost). These light up several houses at the moment (one is pictured on the right). They have proved to be very popular. That is, those who see these systems in use really want to have the same. OBSERVATION: But the trouble is, in every case, people cannot come up with the money, so in special cases, I give away systems as gifts. I would estimate the wholesale cost of lighting up a four-room house for five years, with the ability to power small devices, at R600 ($50). But nearly 50% of our population live in poverty, so R600 is steep.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Hospital For Cameras

Alas, my Leica camera was admitted to "hospital for cameras" today, plagued by dust. It was infiltrated by dust in short-term missions in the Orange Free State, then again in the building of our cottage. It survived some nasty things. Once, it hit the ground and bounced seven times, with not a hint of harm. And if it weren't for the leather case (pictured), I think it would have been dead long ago. Most of the photos on this blog are taken with my Leica.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Fantasy, Certainty, Symbol ...

My comment on the latest Part XVII of my New Metaphysics is that one has to start somewhere with something. Part XVII is on History. I was surprised, in my preparations, by Reinhold Niebuhr. I had not understood how unique and prescient his approach to revelation and history was. For Niebuhr, Biblical history is not fantasy, nor is it certainty, nor does it stand for something else (which, I would think, are the three basic ideas today). Rather, as I interpret him, he seeks to validate revelation on the basis of truth value. In his generation, this notion would surely not have made the grade. Today, with new ways of seeing things, it might well. At the same time, there are major issues.

Little Mushroom

My camera might easily have overlooked this little mushroom. One sees that it is hardly any taller than the grass. I pressed my camera into the ground to snap this shot. I took the photo in the Suurveld, after Christmas rains. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 200k.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Headless Chicken

This is a photo of me and my guardian Temeeti in the mission. We are feeding chickens. Some incidents stay with one more than others. One day, Temeeti and I slaughtered a chicken for dinner. He told me to hold the chicken, while he cut off its head. I held it with both hands. But in the moment that he cut off its head, I let go of the chicken. It took off, without a head, and flew over the tops of the coconut palms -- which were tall. We searched for it everywhere, but never found it. He told me it was a mistake. You don't let go of a chicken when it is slaughtered.
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NOTE: Thanks to the reader who noted that, indeed, headless chickens may still function. YouTube has a few videos.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Learning Hebrew

A bar mitzvah this weekend reminded me that I also had to learn Hebrew, for my theological studies. The final exam required that one should be able to open the Old Testament at any chapter, and read and translate. However, there are some very difficult chapters in the Old Testament. In practice, our professor, Heinrich von Siebenthal, would open the Bible at some standard passage. I think that mine was Deuteronomy 30: "I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil." OBSERVATION: Now a generation later, Hebrew is usually no longer required, as a part of theological studies.  Incidentally I find that the next best thing in English is Green's Literal Translation.

The Ultimate Party

Yesterday I attended the party to end all parties (pictured) -- the after-party of a Jewish bar mitzvah which took place on Saturday. The young man who came of age was a first-born son, the first of a new generation to celebrate his bar mitzvah (meaning "Son of the Commandment"). I said to the family that it was a special gift and privilege for me to attend. OBSERVATION: However it is not just a ceremony.  It involves long and diligent preparation for the boy, and then he needs to prove his learning in the synagogue.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Blister Beetle

I took this photo of a blister beetle, of which there is a large variety. I think this is the Cape Mounted Rifles (CMR) beetle. A single such beetle in the pot may mean death, and they may cause blisters if they land on one's skin. For what reason I don't know, they tend to buzz around one in the veld. OBSERVATION: There was a blister beetle in the mission in the Pacific, which assassins found quite handy: the kareve beetle. There was a failed assassination attempt on High Commissioner Arthur Grimble with such a beetle. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 160k.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Synagogue Service

Today I attended a service of the largest synagogue in the Southern Hemisphere. If I were commenting on it as a Church, I would say that there was peace, sincerity, and a lot of warmth. It was well attended, with a diverse congregation (however, largely mono-cultural). Participation was good, and the content of the liturgy impressive, yet the sermon exegesis (an interesting sermon) was unusually tight. The service lasted three hours, mostly in Hebrew. Men and women were seated separately, which one sees in the fewest Churches today. The weekday programme was both balanced and ample. Again, if I were commenting on it as a Church, I would be puzzled by references in the liturgy to our "worthiness". OBSERVATION: The occasion was the bar mitzvah of one of my wife's charges (she is an au pair) whom she met the day he was born. Congratulations, Aaron.

Friday, January 9, 2015

R1 Twill Shirt

I bought a classy white twill shirt at Woolworths today at Cape Town's Waterfront -- a perfect fit -- for a mere one Rand (US9¢). See a close-up of the weave on the right. The reason for the wonderful price was that the shirt had expired on the system. Whatever has expired on the system gets sold for a mere R1. I would estimate the original price at R500.

Part XVI: Religion

Earlier this week, I completed Part XVI of my New Metaphysics project, a chapter on (click here) Religion. The subject is vast, and so the present chapter, having been a mere week in preparation, may be regarded as no more than a sketch. However, I consider that the core concepts are there. Of necessity, it needed to start out from a secular position. OBSERVATION: The massacre in Paris brought a significant revision to the chapter.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Sellotape Mischief

Put a young boy together with a candle and a roll of Sellotape, and see what happens. On the left one sees young J. contemplating the possibilities. On the right, one sees young J. about to get into big trouble with his dad. I, on the other hand, was playing with my camera at the time. You may click on the images to enlarge.

South African Soapies

South African "soapies" (soap operas) are very different to American ones. They are surprisingly direct and open about religion, politics, culture, and race. American soapies tend to steer clear of these areas. But South African soapies have too much intrigue for me -- much more than American soapies. It all seems like ministry to me -- that is, the kind of situations that one ministers to. While some might flock to this, ministers surely need a break from it. OBSERVATION: I once walked out of Fatal Attraction. "Just like ministry," I thought.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Slash It

A recent statistic reveals that 45% of ministers have at some time in their career been booked off for "serious burnout" -- not to speak of less serious episodes. That's nearly one in two.  I did a denominational survey myself once, where that figure stood at 57%. One of my own foremost strategies has been: slash any item from your schedule, any item whatsoever, if you are going beyond what you think is normal strain. Some examples: slash the minister's Bible study group, slash a pre-funeral interview, or slash a Sunday handout. OBSERVATION: In short, there is no excuse on earth for inviting burnout.  I might further add the rather obvious point that burnout dogs ministers not because they are emotionally weak, but because the demands of ministry truly are extraordinary, even if it might not look that way.

3D Lichen

I took this photo in the Eastern Cape of a tiny lichen, which is a fruticose lichen. The photo is in 3-D.  To see the 3D, lazily squint your eyes until the images overlap and snap together. Your eyes need to be in line horizontally for this. Click on the photo(s) to enlarge for enhanced 3D. OBSERVATION: Typically 3D photos are taken several centimetres apart. These may have been taken a mere millimetre apart, since the subject was so small.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

New Year Service

I had the privilege of attending a traditional farm labourers' New Year service. These services take place all over South Africa, until midnight on New Year's Eve.  I took this photo of a younger woman (my sister-in-law, in African terms) reading Scripture to an older woman by candlelight. The service was led by a Church elder, and included much input from the congregation, and rousing singing. Married women covered their heads.  Children attended, too.  OBSERVATION: I would characterise the message(s) as Calvinistic: the proof of your election will be in your living in 2015.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Religion And History

My project for the journal Philosophical Investigations continues on time, every time (one chapter a week). My forthcoming chapter, Chapter 16, is to be on Religion. Since history is a big part of religion, I have decided to add a chapter on History: first to consider history more generally, then to apply it to religion. OBSERVATION: My posts on project chapters receive more targeted hits than most other posts on my blog.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Open Season Is Over

Recently a SAPS station commander asked me to meet with senior police.  So far so good.  Next thing, a churchman angrily accused me of having made a false statement to the police, about his minister, and copied it to his minister -- a relationship which I consider to be important.  However, I had not mentioned his minister to the police, ever.  I referred the matter to my attorney for action.  OBSERVATION: This is fairly typical of false rumours about me since I left urban ministry.  I have said to my attorney that "open season" is now over.  As to what justification there might be for action in general, this is too much for one post.

Suurveld Girl

A family member wrote to me recently: "Your rural images and local children, etc. are really lovely." So with thanks, here is a photo I took a few days ago of a girl in an isolated valley of the Suurveld. She was picking and eating wild figs (vygies). It is a telephoto shot. You may click on it to enlarge to 160k.

No Acknowledgement Please?

You know the syndrome. Some people don't want to receive attention, acknowledgement, or praise. Others don't want to receive charity, generosity, or support. In fact, some reject it. Yet one needs, I think, to broaden one's view. It's not all about what you want. It's also about the people who derive great pleasure from honouring you, or are glad to be able to show you some generosity. Perhaps it's their moment where they feel that they can give something back. OBSERVATION: For instance, I attended a birthday celebration recently. The "birthday child" might rather have died than receive all that attention. But it wasn't only about the birthday child. It was about everyone in that room. This particular birthday child, I think, understood that.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

The Accomplishments Of 2014

Looking back over last year 2014, a few accomplishments stand out for me. We helped set a Church in the Karoo on track for a stable future, after its sale was forestalled in 2012. We joined a major mission to children in the Orange Free State. I completed a non-fiction book (I am yet looking for a publisher). We built a small, old-time cottage in a village east of Cape Town. I was appointed to the board of the journal The Philosopher.  I embarked on a major project (a metaphysic) for the sister journal Philosophical Investigations. And we were received into partnership (not membership) of the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church. With regard to the intangibles of life, I felt that I grew much in personal strength. Wife E. made significant progress with a Bachelor of Theology degree, with a focus on child counselling. Thanks to God.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Functioning House

One of my final endeavours of the old year was to get lights and water to work in our cottage -- off sun and stream. This meant charging a battery by the sun, depositing an electric pump by a stream, unrolling a long hosepipe through the woods, and working various water valves and crocodile clips -- while the builder chased a few water leaks. It was a chore before I found some kind of a balance for the system, but it seemed in the end that the house had lights and water, and we had (provisionally) a functioning whole. See also Lighting With Joists.