Monday, August 31, 2015

The Power Of Man

Earlier this month, I co-wrote an essay with a US composer and doctor of musicology, which was published today: The Power of Man. I am, however, ever mindful that the power of man is easily broken: "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall." That aside, the essay argues for free will through the theory of language -- with some brief Biblical thoughts (rare in a world of philosophy). OBSERVATION: Dr. Gregory Klug contributed core concepts and material. I contributed style and further content.

Powerful Method

Yesterday I briefly mentioned my MTh method. It is a powerful method when studying texts. First one identifies the major concepts in the text. Then one looks for various types of "opposition" there (antonyms, heteronyms, and directional opposites). This may blow a text to pieces. Take the example "vision" which I mentioned yesterday. Some oppositions of vision are: fact, blindness, discouragement -- and so on. Once these oppositions are identified, one searches for them in the text. In the case of "vision", I uncovered serious problems in the Christian leadership texts. The same with influence, strategy, character, and other key concepts.

Youngest Niece

The photo (yesterday) of one of my nieces is popular. So here is a photo of my very youngest niece, taken on Saturday. It should hardly come as a surprise that her first name is Princess. OBSERVATION: She is for now the youngest, since another niece or nephew is due from tomorrow (gender is not something one predicts in that part of the world). You may click on the photo to enlarge to 85k.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Transformational Leadership

What is the difference between secular transformational leadership and Christian transformational leadership? The answer is vision or vision-casting, which is the one big feature Christian transformational leadership has which is generally not present in secular transformational leadership. The Christian transformational leader, it is said, needs to develop a vision, then needs to see the vision through. The image is taken from Peter Senge. For me it illustrates not only the tension which the vision creates, but the tension which the vision places on the Christian leader. My MTh research showed that this tension may be all but unbearable for the leader (I developed a method for searching for contrary evidence in Christian leadership texts). It is a big problem of the Christian transformational leadership model.

Thembalethu Tumult

I briefly noted on Friday that there had been riots in Thembalethu, about 440km / 275mi east of Cape Town. The newspapers reported that costs ran into (as I remember) more than twenty million rands -- not that cost is all that it's about. But it makes a difference to see the aftermath up close, as I did this weekend. The main intersection of this major township (population 32 000) is plunged into darkness, its lights apparently shot out. Dead traffic lights stand at an angle, and debris from some twenty fires marks the road. There is a much increased police presence in the township (patrol cars winding their way through playing children).

Having Braids Out

I have six nieces. This is one of them on my wife's side, having her braids taken out on Friday, by her mother. It is a patient process -- just as it is to put braids in. But mother and daughter were both of them completely "rested" about it. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 135k.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Roosterkoek

The photo shows a woman preparing roosterkoek or roosterbrood (roasted bread) in Albertinia yesterday, about 340km / 210mi east of Cape Town. It is a very popular South African food: bread baked on an open fire and served hot, sometimes with a filling. OBSERVATION: Wife E., as a "connoisseur", considers the Albertinia roosterkoek to be superior. (Being a chef of "ample" proportions would seem to go with this job).

Odd Dynamics

Earlier this week, the police again summoned me (that is, authoritatively called on me) to meet with them at police HQ (the meeting is yet to take place). This represents, for me, the fifth formal invitation by police which is in some way related to my past urban ministry. OBSERVATION: My departure from that ministry has ever since been surrounded by odd dynamics.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Deputy Editor

Thanks to God, I was appointed Deputy Editor of The Philosopher this week, the world's oldest general philosophy journal. This was done in what I imagine would be a typically English way. The first I knew about it, I received an e-mail about a scheduled article, Cc'd to the Deputy Editor (myself).

Thembalethu Tub

I am travelling today to Thembalethu, about 440km / 275mi east of Cape Town. The photo shows wife E. preparing a bath -- not in Thembalethu, but in the more remote Suuranys. In Thembalethu, however, baths are done like this. On one of our local TV soap operas, even the chief does a bath like this. OBSERVATION: There were riots in Thembalethu last weekend, when police tried to set up a road block. Apparently all is calm now.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Poor Man's Mac

My Linux Xubuntu operating system recently came to the end of its Long Term Support period. It turned into a fossil. I needed a new Linux. So I installed Linux Ubuntu, intending to convert it to Xubuntu. But this was no longer a snap as it used to be. However there's another way to do it, more or less. I installed the Cairo dock (pictured, at bottom). And that pretty much turns my computer into a Mac.

Naked Seeking Bible

A few years ago an old man was admitted to our local hospital -- a bit shaken after being attacked and robbed of everything -- including his clothes! The hospital opened their “Samaritan Cupboard”, and presented him with new clothes. He said: “Clothes? I don’t want clothes! They stole my Bible!” Fortunately the hospital had a small stock of Bibles -- supplied by our Church.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Tokolosh Loose


A recent rumour I heard concerning my wife and me (there are many) is that she set her tokolosh loose in my old Church. A tokolosh is an evil spirit which is manifested in a terrifying small creature. Evil people can give tokoloshes orders to wreak havoc. OBSERVATION: Many people in South Africa put their beds up on bricks in order to sleep safely from the tokolosh. I know one person who claims, in a desperate fight, to have beaten a tokolosh back with a broom. But my wife -- everybody knows it -- is a woman of deep faith, a very lovely person, and for me, one of the most impressive people I know.

Metaphysic

In March, the Philosophical Society of England, in association with the journal The Philosopher, published my Metaphysical Notes in twenty parts. Today I completed Part 21 of twenty-eight parts of the Second Edition (which now stands at 45 000 words over the First Edition's 27 000). Of the remaining seven parts, only one now requires serious work. OBSERVATION: I am seeking to have every part published in some form before it enters the Second Edition (not that these parts will look the same when transferred to the Second Edition). Five parts still need to meet this goal. In the meantime, the First Edition begins to look (to me) increasingly unfinished.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Wedding Prankster

I married this couple in 2011. There is a point in every wedding where I am required to ask, by law: "If anyone can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married ..." On this occasion, a man in the congregation put up his hand, and brought the wedding to a halt. But he was a prankster. The reaction of the bride and groom was caught on camera (here pictured -- when we discovered it was a joke).

Monday, August 24, 2015

Nothing Left To Hyde

There is, in ministry, every now and then, the moment when a minister comes to know people's sin -- apart from confession, that is. This reveals the heart. And it is a moment where, not seldom, a gracious Jekyll turns into a vicious Hyde. When it is clear to someone that there is nothing left to gain through a facade, they may become permanently nasty, although not (typically) in public. However, there are other reactions -- good reactions -- to exposure. This post is simply about this phenomenon of complete turning for the worse -- in some cases. OBSERVATION: Not that ministry is about revealing people's sin. I would think that any minister is "unwilling" for that to happen.

Urban Springs

Our Urban Park in Green Point is fed by springs from the slopes of Table Mountain -- in fact, springs which lie in the suburb of Oranjezicht, where I live. OBSERVATION: These springs originally fed the grachts (the waterways) of Cape Town, which today no longer exist, except as street names. There has been talk of restoring the grachts. I don't know how close that might be to realisation.

Joyful Expression

Some Churches are as staid as they come. All of my ministries were staid when I started, yet not when I finished. I think that applause or laughter or expressions of worship or (appropriate) interjections in the Church do various good things: they reveal to the whole Body what a congregation values, they lighten the atmosphere, they reveal that the whole Body is glad about something, they show that the Church especially appreciates someone, they add to the “participative” nature of things -- and so on. OBSERVATION: This does not imply, however, that a Church has become charismatic.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Holy Trinity Church

This is a historical photo of Holy Trinity Church of England, Cape Town (now a Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church). This old Church was demolished. A new Church now stands in Vriende Street, Cape Town. My father's last pastorate, of three years, was at Holy Trinity Church. OBSERVATION: This is an uncommon picture from the point of view of depicting some of the detail of residents of Cape Town, perhaps in the late 1800's. I think this is the only historical picture of this Church on the Internet (you may click on it to enlarge).

Urban Beginnings

When I first began in urban ministry, the Church was in perpetual crisis. Surveying the minutes, here are some of the critical steps we took, and some of the turning points. I started in April 1994. That same month, we introduced leadership portfolios. June 1994: Our bank balance stood at R2 000 (about $150). We introduced planned giving, and abolished "mix-it" finances. July 1994: We introduced Congregational participation on Sundays. August 1994: We took a mass inventory. September 1994: Our bank balance stood at R18 000 (about $1,400). We introduced deacons’ visitation. November 1994: Our planned giving exceeded target for the first time. We introduced a Church newsletter. June 1995: Our Church income was up 50%. We introduced audits, and appointed assistant leaders of all groups. July 1995: The minutes note an “improved atmosphere” in the Church. August 1995: We introduced elders. September 1995: The Church committed to missions. December 1995: The minutes noted a 40% increase in Church attendance, and an 18% increase in membership. Four new groups had been established. OBSERVATION: However, while things had been moving and were looking up, influential members were disaffected. It took two more years before we got past that.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Ordination Luncheon

I took this photo in April, of a pastor celebrating his ordination in the city of George. He is a cripple, but insisted on getting down on his knees for the anointing. OBSERVATION: Wife E. and I selected the clerical shirt, at African Praise in Cape Town. The segregation of men and women (who are not seen here) is typical.

Transcendence

This is a re-post, five years old: "Visitors to our Church continually express surprise that an urban Church like ours should be viable -- or thriving, depending on the week. On this blog, I have sought to give some of the reasons why. A crucial ingredient is, I think, a strong emphasis on transcendence. This seems hard to describe, but it means 'outside the range of'. When you meet God, and walk with God, you continually experience, and reckon with, things that are outside the range of ordinary experience. OBSERVATION: Some theologians reject this. One (Lesslie Newbigin) said that nothing comes 'through the skylight, as we might say'. We say that it does."

Friday, August 21, 2015

Dealing with Fictions

From time to time, in any Church, fictitious stories will arise -- sometimes deliberately circulated. One minister said that the worst he had experienced was a rumour that his leg had been amputated. If only we all had it so easy. A less serious example in my own ministr(ies) was a dismal rumour that only one person had responded to a request for special donations. I knew, however, that many people had donated -- in fact more than I had anticipated. OBSERVATION: What to do with fictitious stories? Where negative fictions would seem to have a wider circulation, I often tackle them directly, in an appropriate meeting, or in our Church newsletter -- where possible in a good-spirited and conversational way. I find that this is highly effective in restoring a sense of peace in the Church, and in preventing the same from happening again very soon.

Katballetjies

South Africa is littered with edible plants which few people know about. But the San once knew them well. These are edible katballetjies (pictured). They are fairly tasteless, a little dry -- perhaps suggestive of gooseberries. They grow like creepers on the ground. OBSERVATION: I wasn't much aware of such things until I married E., who is chiefly of Xhosa descent. Rural Xhosas have a fairly good knowledge of such things. See also Edible Succulent.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Pretty Picture

This one's "just a pretty picture" -- it's one of my nieces at a recent art exhibition of my sister. She recently won Gold at the New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards, as one of a team.

Quitting Influence

There was keen interest in my post yesterday on Christian leadership. In my MTh thesis, I further proposed that quitting the notion of "influence" in Christian leadership could have major implications for the allocation of a leader’s time. I noted that, since strategic issues place “enormous pressure” on leaders (Blackaby and Blackaby 2001:65), and since “most leaders [may] spend the majority of their time and energy dealing with conflict” which is connected with “people influenc[ing] people” (Clinton 1988:162,106), the renunciation of a leader’s influence on followers may have a liberating effect upon the leader’s time and energy. OBSERVATION: In my own experience this is true. Rather than spending "the majority" of my time on conflict in the Church, I have estimated it as less than 5% over the duration.

Smoke And Mirrors

Yesterday I received an e-mail from a certain office in a matter of corruption: they suggested that I had "lost your own documents" in the matter. I checked. No, I had not. But having lost masses of documents in a number of raids, the mere mention of lost documents put me (justifiably or not) on alert. I went through my files. On 8 June 2015, I informed that same office of the existence of "full audio" recorded in their board room. Then, on 11 June 2015, I reported a heist of my audio tapes to the police, in a slick raid. Too much of a coincidence? Whatever the case, I immediately updated the police (and, as always, others). OBSERVATION: All my information (that which is left) is now "elsewhere".

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Cape Honeybee

I took this photo of a Cape Honeybee alighting on a nasturtium flower. The Cape Honeybee is unique. Every other bee in the world requires a queen-bee to lay female eggs. In the case of the Cape Honeybee, the female (the worker bee) can clone itself, to produce more females. Just north of here, one finds the African Honeybee, which is more of a brute. You may click on the photo to enlarge.

Single-Minded Ministry

In one of my Master's theses (I was awarded cum laude), the following observation was among the closing Conclusions and Recommendations: "The leader should carry out the responsibilities which God places upon him or her without seeking to exercise (human) influence on followers, and perhaps renouncing influence on followers, since it is the divine influence which can be depended on to do this. In other words, Christian Transformational Leadership would be far more single-minded, with far less consideration given to moving others." OBSERVATION: Rather than being a theological observation, this was a conclusion which followed from the research: The alternative, namely seeking to influence others, was destructive. Of course, one needs then to ask how one should lead if there is no deliberate influence.

Burial On The Plateau

I took this photo in June, of a country burial in the Eastern Cape. The hearse is on the left. What one sees here is the plateau which lies above the Langkloof. This is a 'wyk' in Afrikaans (perhaps called a 'district' in English) of the Kruisfontein Congregational Church. OBSERVATION: In front of the mourners, one sees some large sheets of corrugated iron. These were placed over the coffin before the grave was filled. I asked the mourners afterwards what purpose these served, but no one knew. I was standing with the mourners. Then it occurred to me to walk up the hill, and take a photo from there.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Lecture Circuit

This is a photo of son M. (far left) on the lecture circuit. He is here presenting a talk on How to Shrink an Elephant. Elephants on islands, in the past, apparently shrunk in size. I was talking to an organiser about the young man, and what she called his "quite esoteric subject" -- but she too quickly caught on that I was his dad ...

Precarious Ministry

Don't worry if a ministry in your Church is "thriving but precarious". Don't worry if people tell you it should work properly or not at all. Under my more recent ministry, there was a thriving youth. On a good evening, we had thirty to forty youngsters there -- more typically about twenty. In our area that was one of the most successful Church ministries to youth. But often it was on the brink of not working, and often it was criticised for that. But it was a ministry, and it was important, and some people had the vision to do what they could, with God's help. OBSERVATION: And as it goes with Churches, so with their various ministries. I have commented on this blog that it is God's way to keep things precarious, so that we look to Him. If things are no longer precarious, one should perhaps be worried. See also Keep Going. The photo was taken several years ago.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Flashback 1968

This is another flashback to 1968. The place is Antebuka, Tarawa, about 1° north of the equator in the Central Pacific. I am on the far right. Behind me are my mother and my sister. On the left are the wife and two daughters of the colonial police chief. We are doing school work. OBSERVATION: By now, I had lived a few years without chairs, on the outer islands. People joked about the fact that, when I sat on a chair, I continued to sit cross-legged, as the locals did. You may click on the image to enlarge to 670k.

Preacher Problems

This one is about visiting preachers as problems (but most of them aren't). In my experience, the biggest problem by far is the visiting preacher who goes way over time. Tell them how much time they have, ask them whether they need help to keep time, and still they go over time, not seldom announcing: "I know my time is up, but ..." In my view, that is not a good sign of character first of all. They are off my list. Seldom does one experience a problem with the quality of preaching. And rarely -- but it does happen -- visiting preachers see their moment as a Trojan Horse opportunity. For instance (this happened), one preacher used the pulpit for a full broadside against Congregationalism (in a Congregational Church)! OBSERVATION: It depends, however, what one defines as a problem: Next on my list would be those preachers who appeal chiefly to people's goodness, or tend to portray God's only attitude as grace.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

What The Meeting Was About

What was contained in my final call for a Church Meeting? (see the previous post). I called the Church Meeting for the following purposes:
1. To reaffirm our Congregational tenets, so strengthening our foundations.
2. To approve a consultant's proposals (DNA Consulting) for the Church, among other things clarifying roles and processes for a truly Congregational body.
3. To open up the contents of a consultant's report (the Ecumenical Pastoral Institute) to both minister and members. Or failing this, to rule the report out of order.
4. To consider what to do regarding physical assault and injury to the minister (myself).
5. To hand over suspensions of members to the decision of the Church Meeting. And
6. To finalise Non-Profit Organisation compliance, so making the Church accountable to its constitution, among other things protecting its considerable assets.

Last Act Of A Ministry

In my last major act of urban ministry on Cape Town's Atlantic coast, in my twentieth year, I called a Church Meeting. This is the highest executive in a Congregational Church. Here, then, is what happened -- or was scheduled to happen:
27 May 2013: I called a Church Meeting.
2 June 2013: The Meeting was publicly announced.
6 June 2013: An announcement by mail was scheduled for this day.
9 June 2013: A second public announcement was scheduled for this day.
16 June 2013: The Church Meeting was to have taken place on this day.
5 June 2013: But on this day, I was summoned to a board room, and presented with severe (criminal) threats. The major demand was that I should not enter the pulpit on 9 June or 16 June. The process was stopped on this day.

Worst Case Dover Stove

This is surely a worst-case scenario with a Dover stove (or Desert Fire, as this one is called) -- experienced by myself this weekend. It would seem to have been a combination of damp wood, a down-draft, and a loss of convection. OBSERVATION: Dover stoves: when they are good they are very very good, but when they are bad they are horrid.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Abusing Treatment

Last month, someone approached me for help. He had an AIDS-related cancer, and a government hospital had prescribed morphine for the pain. But he had abused the morphine, so they cut it off. OBSERVATION: Yes, but what about the pain? I did not have an answer for this one.

Morning Blossom

This one's just a pretty picture -- an indigenous blossom covered with morning dew. Cape Town is situated in the midst of the smallest and richest of the world's six floral kingdoms. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 200k.

Friday, August 14, 2015

A Jackal's Praise

I may not have the opportunity to boast of it again: today my writing occupies all three places in Philosophical Investigations' Top of the Pops chart, and the top two places in Philosophical Investigations' Classics chart. The wife's comment: " 'n Jakkals prys sy eie stert." (A jackal praises its own tail). OBSERVATION: Philosophical Investigations is the "sister publication" of the Philosophical Society of England. Two of my pieces still have a "hidden" status -- they are not yet approved. An editor jokes that we should try hiding the entire publication.

Bullet-Proof Ministry

Today I read some seminary coursework on ministry. The minister, it said, needs so to behave that he or she will be bullet-proof against criticism. I have a simple answer to that. It didn't help the Lord Jesus, and he was without sin. One's good behaviour does not necessarily serve as a protection in ministry. On the contrary sometimes. One of my Master's degrees, too, turned this up in the literature. I may post an alternative view in the near future.

Suicide Sense

Suicide is a big problem in South Africa. This week a schoolgirl, said to be a "ray of sunshine", took her life. As a minister, I have been involved in counselling many people who were "talking suicide". I think that it comes down to two things: global stress (in every area of life) and mental implosion (thoughts turning inward). These are more important symptoms than surface impressions. The first is relatively easy to cure, with support. The second is an ongoing struggle. But both can be overcome. Apart from this, faith in God makes all the difference. And medication can help a great deal. See also Wheel of Faith.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Editorial Mathematics

I am a sub-editor and a co-editor. The first is simple. I do my work, and the editor calls the shots. The second, if one merely considers the mathematics of it, is a complex dynamic. Supposing that three editors (as there are) may decide concerning an essay: "Yes," "No," or "Needs more work." This makes, I think, nearly thirty possible combinations -- with only three Yes-es or three No-s finishing the process. Consider then that, in reality, there are far greater subtleties than that ... OBSERVATION: And they tried to rule Rome with a triumvirate.

After Hope, God

It would seem that God delights in answering prayers after the last human hope is gone. I come across this fairly often in ministry. An example: a student failed to obtain a bursary when she needed it -- it was turned down in stages until the final meeting said a final no. Then the bursary came through, and she was able to embark on an important training course. Yet this is what the Bible teaches us to expect, bearing in mind that whatever God does is a grace, and in this sense not to be expected: "How you have helped him who has no power" (Job 26:2).

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Karoo Conversation

I called up a congregant in the Karoo this morning. It is a place so far removed from the city. One hears immediately the freshness and directness of a country voice, such as one would be unlikely to hear in the city. OBSERVATION: The Bible (Ecclesiastes 10:3, depending on translation) notes that one may recognise the kind of person someone is merely by watching them walk in the way. Or, for that matter, merely by hearing them speak on the telephone. To a point, of course. The photo is one of my Karoo favourites: the approach to Ladismith.

Crimes Against Society

There is an interesting tide in South Africa at the moment. Damage to infrastructure and the destruction of wildlife (two examples which made headlines this month) are beginning to be treated as crimes against society, if not crimes against the world. The alternative would be to regard the same, for example, as issues of replacement cost or theft. I made this distinction in my Metaphysical Notes which were published in March. OBSERVATION: This distinction needs to be observed in the life of the Church, too. Especially where individual behaviour affects the well-being of the whole Body, one needs decisive action. And one needs to have an eye to recognise it.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

A Liberation Economics

This week I had an article published, titled (click here) A Liberation Economics. In fact it is a secular adaptation of Congregational Church tenets. In the Congregational Church, one pays ministers (and support staff) a stipend, to release them from secular employment, into their calling. OBSERVATION: I originally wrote some 10 000 words of notes, reduced to a first draft of about 2 500 words. The final essay has been reduced to well under 1 000 words.

Postponing Suicide

I dealt with two threatened suicides in a week. However, there’s only so much that a minister can deal with under pressure. I told one of the persons concerned that I’d see her in three days’ time. She said: “I won’t be here in three days’ time.” I said: “I don’t have the power to stop you, but the Lord does. I’ll pray for you.” The next morning, the undertakers called. I thought it was about my counselee, but it turned out that the African National Congress (ANC) wanted me to conduct a memorial service for them. When I finally met with the woman concerned, she said: “You did pray for me, didn’t you. God removed the intention of suicide from me the moment we had spoken.”

Monday, August 10, 2015

Singer Of Note

In my first major pastorate, we came up with a bold plan to raise some funds. We would fly in the well known tenor Manuel Escorcio (pictured), and put on a concert at the City Hall. And so we did, and nobody was disappointed with a first rate performance. We needed, however, some opening acts, so we invited a number of well known local singers. Not being too familiar with human nature at that time, I was taken aback when one Christian singer -- who, until then, I knew only through smiling photographs -- called us up in anger, saying that he, too, was a singer of note, and demanded to be included in the programme. He had our organiser in a stew. So we included him. OBSERVATION: We met our fund-raising target, thanks to excellent organisation and the pulling power of Manuel Escorcio.

Grannies Nursing Grandchildren

I counselled a young woman, who came to tell me that she had AIDS, through her husband. She was losing her hair now, she said. I didn't see her again. Then I received a long distance telephone call: "I'm with Granny." OBSERVATION: There are many heroic grannies in South Africa, women of faith and prayer, who nurse their grandchildren to death. I have the young woman’s photo, but it would be inappropriate to put it on my blog -- a beautiful young African woman, smiling, dressed in green and gold. I said on the telephone: “We are praying for you.” She said (sounding cheerful): “I am very glad. I need it very much.”

Rape Before Marriage

I married a couple in Church. Some time after the wedding, she came to see me and said: “Did you know how it started?” I said: “No.” She said: “He invited me over to his mother’s house. The moment I was inside the front door, he locked it. The house was empty. He threw me against the wall, and raped me. He said, Now you are mine.” OBSERVATION: She said nothing more. She was saying, I think, that it had all been a mistake.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Doublethink Cartoon

As one of three editors of Philosophical Investigations, I have been tasked with preparing a series of cartoons for publication, called Doublethink, by Youngjin Kang. There are sixteen frames for each instalment, and seven instalments published so far. The cartoons are a talented mix of science and philosophy, "just for fun". Here is a sample frame.

Sovereignty And Ministry

A statistic of Lifeways Ministries in the USA is that there is a 95% drop-off rate in ministry -- which is, 95% of ministers don't finish. The lowest figure I have seen myself is 80% (in the USA). How then may ministers survive? Someone said it is those ministers who believe in the sovereignty of God who survive. In my experience, there is much truth in this. Charles Spurgeon wrote: “There is no attribute more comforting to His children than God’s Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that Sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.” OBSERVATION: Yet the same would be true for every Christian who faces adversity.

Childhood Home

The first thing I wanted to see, when I entered my (future) wife's world, was her childhood home. Here it is. She didn't want to go there with me. "There are snakes!" she said. She says: "We were rich! But I didn't know it." It was only when she travelled to the city that she saw how much they charged here for things she had had in abundance: the flowers in the heather (the veld), the venison, the vegetables and herbs, the wide open spaces, the quality of life, and so much more.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Clifton Promontory

I took this photo this morning of the first rays of the sun touching a misty Clifton promontory, with the famous Fourth Beach Clifton on the right. The photo is taken from Clifton's upper Kloof Road. The map co-ordinates are -33.94, 18.37. Most days, I pass the Clifton promontory. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 100k. OBSERVATION: Sadly, I conducted the funeral once of a woman who was murdered at Fourth Beach Clifton. She hit a panic button, but it was in vain.

Ministry Breakthrough

In ministry, one needs stamina. One needs to have the attitude that if it takes five years or ten, I will be tireless and persistent, come what may, God being my Helper (that last being the most important). In my first major pastorate, we saw major breakthrough after 2-3 years. In my second major pastorate, we saw major breakthrough after 6-7 years. OBSERVATION: The attitude of some denominations in the West, namely: "We shall hire this man (or woman) to achieve a turnaround" is surely misdirected. Look at my own experience: an average 4 years to major breakthrough. And during those years which precede breakthrough, one needs to maintain the small things of ministry, yet spiritually discern a few big policy directions.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Assegaaibos

The photo shows the moon rising over Assegaaibos, which lies at the foot of the Suuranys Pass in the Eastern Cape. The travel writer Thomas Bulpin described the pass as "spectacular". My parents-in-law live on a plateau at the top of the pass. If the road is good, it may take twenty minutes to get to the top. Assegaaibos lies just east of Kareedouw. Kareedouw lies 140km / 90mi west of Port Elizabeth. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 250k.

Discrimination

This graph (pictured) is the result of an assignment I completed for Fuller Theological Seminary some ten years ago.  I happened on it this morning.  It comes with the qualification that this was a very small sample: to discern whether churchgoers experienced racial discrimination. What does one see in this graph? Older Coloured churchgoers experienced fairly serious discrimination. A surprise was older Blacks, who reported the least discrimination. One White churchgoer experienced extreme discrimination. OBSERVATION: Take such statistics seriously! These are powerful feelings which ordinarily simmer, and are not obvious in ministry.

Question Found

I have charted a strange story on this blog, of raids and sabotage and threat, among other things. Someone asked me: "How do you keep so calm about it all?" It was very much a mystery, until we sought to frame one question which would explain it all. The following question comes close: "Would these incidents serve to cover up (X)?" However, I don't wish to put a bomb on my blog today -- which is (X). What is at stake? I am told on authority, very much. I just happen to be the man in the middle. OBSERVATION: This is merely to say that the question works, not that it has to be true. (I have blogged before about diagnostic questions in ministry. This question, vaguely related, is very useful: "Who benefits?" It can open up a whole new perspective. See also Diagnostic Question).

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Not About Problems

I preached once on the meeting of Moses with Jethro in the desert. Moses, at that stage, has just been through troubles of, dare we say, Biblical proportions. Yet in the conversation between Moses and Jethro, there are only two straight references to any hardships. There are five or six references to the goodness of God. This is extraordinary. In keeping with this, as a minister, I continually remind people that the story of His people is about the goodness of God. Too often people get fixated with problems in Churches, and that is not what it is about.

The Idea We Didn't Have

I did something which is causing some bemusement. I posted what we call a Picture Post on Philosophical Investigations, and put a "hidden" tag on it (which is, it is still pending publication). But I didn't finish it. It is missing half a page of text. Now look at its current popularity (the top line on the right), compared with everything else which the publication has to offer. So my post is a completely unintended and unanticipated success, and it raises the question: Have we stumbled on a new idea which, actually, we didn't have in the first place?

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

War of People vs. Principle

There is war in South Africa today, and the forces seem equally ranged on both sides. It is a war undecided, as yet. Should we give people priority, or principles? I was reminded of this today, when a Black Police Commissioner told me (one of the more important Commissioners in town): We have to act on principle, without respect of persons. We shouldn't even allow for a conflict to arise. OBSERVATION: In Africa, I think this is a fairly new war. In Europe, principles incrementally gained precedence over people, possibly as a solution to the terrible wars of the Middle Ages and thereafter. It is a strange way of thinking really, because it abstracts everything real. This war is found here in the Churches, too.

Sign Of Spring

I saw these lonesome blossoms hanging from a tree today: an early sign of spring after the rains of the past few days. You may click on the photo to enlarge to a large 500k.

No Foul Play

I met a police officer today, who was delighted to see me -- ministers and police officers tend to cross paths in the line of duty. The last time we met, we were both at the scene where someone (literally) dropped dead. But when they examined the body, they found fresh bruises. The possibility of "foul play" had to be investigated -- however the police concluded that the deceased had hit something while dropping to the ground. All things considered, I think so. The autopsy as much as confirmed it.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Address List

When I started in urban ministry, one of my biggest challenges was a Church address list which was mostly wrong -- not merely incomplete, but wrong. It was a continual stumbling block. However I soon discovered that the real address list resided in toto in the head of the secretary Mrs. Nora Sulston. In this regard she was legendary. Without fail, she could tell me (or anyone) a telephone number or address or even family background. This memory-system worked flawlessly -- until sadly, the day she suffered a stroke.

Theological Articles

I had two articles published this morning by John Mark Ministries in Australia. This is a well known Christian website which recently exceeded one-million hits a month. The articles are Theonomy, Autonomy, and Pneumonomy (featured on the front page, pictured), and Linguistics and Theology. Both articles are aimed at "an educated public". The first seeks a theological / philosophical understanding of the law vs. the Spirit, while the second seeks a way to advance beyond the linguistics of present day theology. Thanks to God. NOTE: Being published on this "mature" site is not a general endorsement of the site.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Ministry Code-Switching

There is a thing called code-switching -- which means changing the variety of language one uses. Among churchgoers, I have come across many who switch from received English to African urban English, like flicking a switch (the African urban English, apart from being different, has a combative sound to it). Also, I have come across many Afrikaans-speaking churchgoers who switch from high Afrikaans to colloquial Afrikaans, also like flicking a switch -- the colloquial Afrikaans being hard to understand for many who are trained only in high Afrikaans. Then the point of this post: I myself switch from received English to a kind of basic English or trade English, for the purposes of ministry. In fact, I would think that this is fairly much essential to successful ministry, especially in urban ministry, especially in a multicultural setting. Know how to speak what the people speak. OBSERVATION: When people read my academic papers, therefore, or even this blog, this is far from how I speak in other contexts. Incidentally, some ministers do continual code-switching from the pulpit. That is another way.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Promoting People

It has been my deliberate policy to promote people, not on what the eyes can see, but the mind's eye -- which is, to promote people on potential, not proof. I was reminded this week that wife E. was once one of those I promoted. Due to political protests and riots, her final school year was for the most part disrupted. She failed four out of six final subjects. In the face of that, I recommended her to a major seminary. Today she has obtained, so far, four distinctions as an undergraduate. See also Taking a Chance

Marrying People

I met a man with his daughter today, perhaps seven years old. The man said: "Look, Honey, this is the man who married us." She said: "Married who?" He said: "Me and Mom." She said: "But how can he marry you?" I said: "I'm the minister who conducted the wedding." Then it made sense to her. OBSERVATION: There is a riddle: Who can stay single yet marry many times?

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Ann Moore Art

Wife E. and I attended an art exhibition today -- by my sister. Being her brother, I wouldn't really know much about it, except that the artist was continually in demand, and she had some lovely pictures on display. Several art works were on loan -- which is, she borrowed them back from people for the exhibition. OBSERVATION: She said that she saw herself whiling away the minutes at an empty exhibition -- however it was all abuzz, and not a moment's quiet. Here is a photo of the artist in her element.
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POSTSCRIPT: She sold many many works of art, and her crafts were completely sold out.

Congregational Leadership

I regularly receive news of the Evangelical Congregational Church in the UK. Their latest news magazine discusses leadership in Congregational Churches. On the one hand: "Leaders must provide leadership" and this is "Biblical and right". On the other hand: "The Church Meeting is the forum where the key and major decisions of the church must be made." OBSERVATION: They add some notes: Prepare the Church for Church Meetings (what to think and pray about). Promote full discussion in Church Meetings, this is "not time wasted". However prepare for such discussion, so as not to be mired in detail. And in some matters, the Church Meeting does not have "real options", such as matters of Church discipline. The Scriptures have already made it clear.

You're Next

I snapped this photo recently at a country burial. It's a blurry photo, but it captures a memorable moment. Standing behind the coffin, a Congregational Church elder gave an oration. This captures his final, impassioned words: "And you're next!" OBSERVATION: I don't know who he was pointing at, but it wasn't me. I can imagine the reaction in our White Churches. I shall leave that to the imagination of the reader.