Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Academic Supervisor

Here's a photo with a difference. It is son M.'s academic supervisor in Cape Town, examining some critter from a safe distance in time. She is a palaeobiologist, among other things. There is a write-up on her at Fossilized Clues. OBSERVATION: I have never met her. I have only heard about her. Apparently she is a great ball of energy, personable, and very competent in her field. She says that M. can complete his doctorate this year. Not quite, says M. His other supervisor is in Rome.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Facial Expression And Culture

I have found that a major contrast between the (African) culture of my wife and my own culture lies in facial expression. But it is only in experiencing it that I have realised it at all. In my own (European) culture, we have a very common tendency to use facial expression for effect, or to play-act. We wince, we smile, we frown, we are bald faced, we put on a brave face, and so on -- but often this is one step removed from genuineness. In my wife's culture, this is far less the case. Facial expression tends to be tied to immediate emotional reality, and not to go beyond it. OBSERVATION: Something related, which took a lot of learning: in my wife's culture, facial expression often substitutes for words.

Crime And Spinning Wheels

A Member of Parliament today (controversially) claimed that our most recent crime statistics are what one would expect from a country at war. In fact just the day before yesterday wife E. and I saw two men, one with a gun, force another man to his knees -- in public. OBSERVATION: Personally, through ministry, I have been impressed by our police, but they seem to be spinning their wheels where they wouldn't have to. I have reasons for saying that, but enough for one post.

Electronics Again

Last week, out of the blue, a major electronics publisher got in touch with me, asking me whether they could publish some of my copyrighted designs. They published two designs in the past -- but I said they had published the boring stuff -- they should publish some more interesting designs now. We shall see. I gave them the choice. (A major copyright holder very kindly released some of my copyrights for this).  OBSERVATION: Designs enter my head all the time, but I no longer write them down, let alone test them. My priorities are elsewhere. However, last month I got as far as sketching the "brains" of a PIR alarm system -- I couldn't find what I wanted on the Internet.

Monday, September 28, 2015

The Foundations Of Spirituality

Philosophical Investigations this morning published a piece which I facilitated: The Foundations of Spirituality. It is a vision for the Roman Catholic Church. The essay seems quite forthright, coming from within the Church. It basically argues: We need to rehabilitate our spirituality. But how? Spirituality is a "ramshackle" field without foundations. Therefore three "foundational" principles for spirituality are proposed. OBSERVATION: I am not a Roman Catholic myself, as someone suggested upon reading this. Rather, it was my privilege to bring this work to the public attention. It will be interesting to see how this is received. It could be important.

Faith Or Heroism

From time to time, I have described ministry intuitions on this blog -- which is my vaguer perceptions of the dynamics of ministry. Often, in the Church, one has do do with people who have suffered a major evil or injustice. They might have experienced genocide, say, or might have a disabled child. What does one do with that? The Church is a good place to go -- however, for those who do turn to the Church, there seem to be two kinds: • There is the genuine faith response, or • You can be a hero in the Church with stories like that, yet deep down (perhaps deeper even than conscious awareness) you hate God, and you hate the Church. If the latter, this may reveal itself in strange ways, over time.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Dead Preaching

There is something which very much weaves into faithfulness in Church attendance (see this morning's post). If one doesn't have the desire to be faithful -- particularly if this is because the ministry of the Word seems dead to one -- the reason may well be that one is dead in one's heart. One sees it from the pulpit often. Some people give rapt attention. Others gaze at the ceiling. OBSERVATION: And what of poor preachers? The question is: what is a poor preacher? For the reason that God uses human weakness for His glory. Paul himself may have been a poor preacher (1 Corinthians 2:4).

Breathtaking View

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

About Faithfulness

Particularly in my later ministry, I have emphasised the need for faithfulness in Church attendance. I refer to the doctrine of the means of grace, which was once famously summed up as follows: “The Holy Spirit can, but does not ordinarily, work without the Word” -- where the Word usually refers to the Word of God preached. Berkhof’s Systematic Theology has a useful section on this. That is, it is not so much about whether I feel like attending Church today, or about the feelings I carry away with me, or whether the service was good today or not. It is about what I know and believe about how God works. Neglect the means of grace, and you have probably stalled your spiritual progress. OBSERVATION: As an encouragement to others, I refer to my own faithfulness when I am off duty.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Gifted Lecturer

I graduated with this minister in the very same class of '82. He went on to become the rector of one of the largest Churches in Cape Town, then a gifted seminary lecturer. I attended a number of presentations by the Rev. Ross Anderson this weekend. OBSERVATION: He was in the pulpit when gunmen burst into the Church on both sides of him (called the St. James Church Massacre).

Friday, September 25, 2015

Atlantic Area

The photo shows Cape Town's suburbs of Sea Point, Fresnaye, and Bantry Bay at sunset. Lion's Head, in the background, is said to be one of the world's most spectacular climbs -- and not nearly as difficult as it looks. The skyscraper on the right took a hit in a 1969 earthquake, and the foundations needed to be reinforced. The granite outcrop on the mountain was apparently visited by Bartholomew Dias in (I think) 1488. His attempt, with his men, to carve a giant cross in the outcrop is still visible today. Son M. and I may have found one of his chisels while metal detecting.

Filling The Gap

I recently blogged about the "young adults gap", which worries many Churches. During my two major ministries, we succeeded in filling this gap to about two-thirds -- although not completely. How would I do it again? Firstly, we need to observe that it is God's work, beyond anything we do. But then, assuming a raft of sound policies, I would get ministry by members going -- which is original spiritual input from all ages, even children. I think that this was the biggest factor (among others), which little by little brought about the change. OBSERVATION: To do this is, however, time intensive.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Rev. Xabra

Someone sent me an interesting letter yesterday, addressed to my late father (he was forty-two at the time), from the Secretary of the Fund Raising Committee of the Bethel United Congregational Church in Paarl. It is a delightful letter. But note the spelling of our family name: Xabra. It is the first time I have seen this spelling, which is Xhosa -- X being a 'lateral click' in Xhosa. This reduces our surname from eleven letters to five, and it still comes pretty close in pronunciation.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Karoo Palace

This house is typical of small "palaces" which are found in the Little Karoo semi-desert, where I have ministered. This one is in Ladismith. Note the veranda, to cool the house in the summer -- also the characteristic "broekie lace" (Victorian cast iron fretwork). Inside, one typically finds a lot of wood, and high ceilings. As magnificent as they are, these houses are comparatively cheap. A more modern house of the same size, in the middle of the Little Karoo, might cost R500 000 ($36 000).

Young Adults Gap

Churches often worry about a “young adults gap” in their midst. It’s easy to work out (roughly) if there is one. Take the ages 18-35, say, as the test group (call the spread of ages a=17 years). Then take a realistic total spread of ages in one's area, say 0-80 (call it b=80). Then take the number of people in Church on a Sunday, say 100 (call it c=100). Then calculate (a / b) * c = and in this case one should have 21 people in the 18-35 age group. Admittedly it's a very crude calculation, especially as one assumes a flat age gradient from 0-80. OBSERVATION: I ran a similar test on the beginning and the end of my ministry on the Atlantic. In 1994, the ages 0-35 were 13% represented. In 2013, they were 67% represented. There are reasons for this (while my own age went up rather than down), which I may put in a future post.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Confining Corruption

A local artist committed suicide, not long after singing that our society had become "emmers vol gate" (buckets full of holes). Our society is, unfortunately, deeply corrupt -- and as with many things which one comes to know intimately, it is not what you think! However corruption, I said to someone earlier this week, rests on knowledge: which is the knowledge as to how it is done. Knowledge is power, and most people don't have this power. The most basic techniques of corruption can be written up on a single page. So can the most basic preventative or defensive measures. If corruption is such a disaster, it would make sense to educate a population as to what it is and what to do. OBSERVATION: Not to speak of addressing the sin. Last year, South Africa scored 44/100 on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

Quarternary International

Congratulations to son M. (here fielding questions at Iziko Museum). He had his first major paper accepted last week, by Quarternary International. He is the principal author, supported by his supervisors in Cape Town and Rome. The paper is about "insular adaptations in the astragalus-calcaneus of Sicilian and Maltese dwarf elephants". Which means that the poor elephants got trapped on islands as the waters rose, and this is about what happened next (over a long period of time). Fans may click on the image to enlarge.

Monday, September 21, 2015

School Call-Out

One of my more challenging call-outs as a minister involved a school teacher who went beserk. The school sent someone to fetch me to help get him under control. When I walked in, the teacher was seeking to set a classroom alight. I talked to him, and talked -- and put out flames, and put out more flames -- while everybody else looked in through the windows. His wife tried to talk to him, but she got thumped. She sat down and cried. He calmed down a great deal, but he kept trying to make a dash for vehicles on a nearby road. A doctor turned up to inject him with a sedative. I said doctor wait, he's calm now -- if we can only keep him from the road. He was hospitalised the same evening, and he wrote me a note, to thank me. He said that I been getting through to him. OBSERVATION: It really was the school's fault -- he had been under intolerable pressure.

Reason And Contradiction

I have an article published this morning titled Reason and Contradiction. It will have pride of place in Philosophical Investigations for a week. The article explores the function of reason. I propose that this has much to do with contradiction, as the title suggests. The article further proposes a reconciliation of reason and passion. If the argument holds up (it has so far), it could be an important essay. OBSERVATION: In its draft form, the essay became quite popular, so it was "closed" again until this morning. It is a sequel to two short articles I wrote: Mind and Matter and Consciousness and Attention.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Locating A Lamp Post

In a few weeks' time, I am to have a photo published. It is a photo of this very lamp (called high mast lighting, on the right) -- however it will not be the same photo. An artist in Morocco is to do a write-up. Today she shot me a note: but where was the photo taken? Actually, this little township has no discoverable name, but it is within the limits of Kareedouw. Maybe Uitkyk? Amazingly, with Google Maps I could pinpoint the mast: 33°57'12.3"S 24°18'04.2"E (see the shadow on the satellite image). And I could pinpoint the spot from which I took the photo: 33°57'20.7"S 24°18'25.3"E

Friday, September 18, 2015

The Beat Goes On

Earlier this week, I had (another) conference with attorneys, in a penthouse in Cape Town. It was (again) in connection with events which have followed my ministry on the Atlantic. As recently as last month, I received threats and intimidation, and as recently as the month before, there were raids on my private papers. And so on. But this time, many months after our last meeting, it was different. We had smiling attorneys -- bemused at people who, in the meantime, have artlessly sunk their own cause. OBSERVATION: It's good to see people smile about it, but it's been a burden to me nonetheless. That's enough for one post I think.

Water Wheel

I took this photo this morning. It is a water wheel, in Cape Town's Green Point Urban Park. It is powered by water from springs which lie a few kilometres distant at the foot of Table Mountain.

Halting A Vendetta

A man called me, saying that a city minister, Rev. Y., had ruined his reputation. Therefore he was going to ruin his. He said the whole city was going to know what a lowlife he was, and I was no. 24 on his list. I said: “How long is your list?” He said: “Fifty. The media are at the top.” I said: “What would it take for me to be the last person on your list?” He said: “An unqualified apology from Rev. Y.” I said: “Let me see what I can do. I’ll get back to you today.” I called Rev. Y. I said: “What’s the story?” He said: “The man is an alcoholic. He beat his wife, and she sought refuge at the Church. I took her in, temporarily. Then she filed for divorce.” Rev. Y. contacted the man, and apologised unreservedly for any distress he might have caused him. The man accepted, and the vendetta ended. OBSERVATION: (But read the apology carefully). Unfortunately, Rev. Y. didn’t have the heart to go on in ministry. He quit.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Serving With Secretaries

I have had warm relationships with the office secretaries who were appointed under my ministr(ies), and these relationships have continued to be warm to this day. This has been one of the good things of ministry. OBSERVATION: To what do I attribute the warm relationships? I think this was the result of entrusting them with their job, making room for their limits, also having a larger transparency with them than with others. (And I have tried to obey them).

Great Karoo

I took this photo of the Great Karoo semi-desert, about 400km north of Cape Town. The lone tree in the foreground is a kokerboom or quiver tree. These trees first flower (as this one does here) at 20-30 years of age, and only in the cold mid-winter. East of Cape Town, one finds the Little Karoo semi-desert. Cape Town, however, enjoys a Mediterranean climate. OBSERVATION: Here a Pentax camera shows vignetting in the corners -- not a sign of a great camera.

Congregationalism And Pentecostalism

Congregational Churches today will often bear most of the marks of Pentecostalism. But one needs to bear in mind that one is speaking of a whole raft of features which characterise Pentecostalism, rather than popular notions of Pentecostalism today. There are a few notable differences in Congregationalism -- for example, a de-emphasis (not necessarily exclusion) of tongues, healing, and the dramatic. Congregational commonalities with Pentecostalism include: • beliefs regarding justification, sanctification, and the Last Days, • policy regarding the autonomy of the local Church, the priority of the Body, and the priesthood of believers, and • the importance of the Divine presence, an emphasis on lived experience, a flexible liturgy, maximum participation, and indigenous principles. Paradoxically, Pentecostalism may promote the priesthood of believers while at the same time being far more hierarchical. OBSERVATION: One thing about Pentecostalism is: it works -- growing from zero to a quarter of the Church worldwide in a century. Congregationalism, too, has seen a major resurgence in certain parts of the world. The commonalties will explain an often warm relationship between modern Congregationalists and Pentecostals.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Five Congregational Principles

Dr. Robert William Dale (1829-1895) famously formulated five basic Congregational Church principles. A summary of principles which have in fact been revered in the Church since the late 1500's:
• It is the will of Christ that all those who believe in Him should be organised into Churches.
• In every Christian Church the will of Christ is the supreme authority.
• It is the will of Christ that all the members of a Christian Church should be believers.
• By the will of Christ all the members of a Christian Church are directly responsible to Him for maintaining His authority in the Church.
• By the will of Christ every society of Christians organised for Christian worship, instruction, and fellowship is a Christian Church, and is independent of external control.

Sunny Smile

Here's one of the prettiest pictures I have on offer. It is my wife's sunny smile. In front of her is our youngest niece, who I would think has had a most interesting brief life, shuttling frequently between township and farm, and being swept along everywhere the adults go (and sometimes, toddling through the township streets to where she herself wants to go). She is a particularly bright button.

Forgery

Last week I received a forged letter from an official. It is nothing new. I have seen forgeries before, and much more serious ones. But I was so upset, there's no explaining. I threw my toys out of the cot. OBSERVATION: People tell me, display it on your blog. However, by and large (there are exceptions), I want this blog to describe situations, and reflect on situations, not be part of them, if that makes any sense. Also, the very fact that blogs have authority indexes doesn't speak well for their general credibility (although the authority of mine is high). Feel free to comment.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Taking A Chance

I took a chance this month, and recruited an article on reform of the Roman Catholic Church, from within the Roman Catholic Church. I received about 700 pages of material, and reduced it to ... one. I sought to keep as much that is religious as I could, without overstepping the bounds of a philosophical publication. The initial reaction of both writer and editors is, by and large, good. Now we need to negotiate some finer editing. If it sees the light of day, I'll let it be known on my blog. OBSERVATION: Here's my method: First I (sort of) memorised a synopsis, which took me days, then I rewrote a bare-bones version from memory, then I checked this against the original text and augmented it.

The Wife's Studies

I took this photo this morning of wife E.'s computer, with her study notes -- as she left them last night. Midnight was the deadline for a three-thousand word BTh assignment. She has the extraordinary ability to seem to accomplish (next to) nothing for weeks -- gazing at it all sleepily -- then to blitz it in the shortest of time. And she surely has "aced" this assignment, as she has most of the rest. OBSERVATION: It is a course on Pastoral Ministry, second year BTh.

Sin And Sickness

It seems curious to me that, on the one hand, we have a modern tendency to put (what was called) sin down to sickness. We describe alcoholism or depression as sickness, for instance, where once we did not. Yet at the same time, we are loath to call, for example, the liar or the thief "sick". Unless they should go to extremes, that is -- say, like Idi Amin. Then we say: "He is sick." And so we continue to make that old distinction between sin on the one hand (lies, say), and sickness on the other (depression, say) -- only we have now shifted the boundaries. Interestingly, the Bible talks of all sin as sickness: "Christ bore our sicknesses." OBSERVATION: And the man who steals a Porsche is a (sane) thief, while the man who steals twenty-three teddy-bears in a row is a kleptomaniac.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Snack Tarantula Spiders

This one's not for the faint-hearted. Being at a loss as to what to post this evening, here is a photo I took in Cambodia, on the road to Kampong Cham (which is on the Mekong River). It is a young woman selling roast tarantula spiders -- a delicacy (so they say). You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.

Naïve vs. Deep Faith

I have continually come across what I would call naïve vs. deep faith in ministry. Here's an example from counselling. A man came to see me, in unbelievable debt. He said: “I have faith that God will turn this situation around.” I said: “From a human point of view, there would seem to be some doubt about that.” He was quiet. He said: “Others have said that, too.” I said: “God can turn it around, or why would we put any faith in Him at all? But He doesn’t have to. He is sovereign, and He doesn’t have to obey our wishes. But whatever He does do, you can be sure that it will be the better way.” OBSERVATION: I was seeking to introduce the counselee to deep faith vs. naïve faith. Deep faith, when God blesses us with it, is the unshakeable kind of faith.

Red Malva

Recently I have highlighted on this blog a few of the edible plants we find locally in the wilds. This one (pictured) is called Red Malva. The fresh spring leaves may serve as a snack. I have not tried them, but they are said to taste "slightly sour and astringent". OBSERVATION: The chemist John Dalton, when observing a related species, noticed his colour blindness, and wrote the first paper on the subject in 1798.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Policy Towards The Poor

Attending Church this morning, a vagrant in the Church hall greeted me enthusiastically. I said: "How do you know who I am?" I didn't know it until I left urban ministry on the Atlantic, how warmly our policy towards vagrants had been received. It was tough, because vagrants were often unthankful, aggressive, drunk, disruptive, even violent. But here are some of the things I think we did right: While we were modest in our giving, I set aside time to give them personal counselling and advice and prayer. The goal was not to let them leave without being enriched or helped in some kind of way. Also, we warmly welcomed them in Church, and gave them all kinds of advocacy and ministry free and with love (for example, referrals, or funerals). OBSERVATION: It was loving care, but it had to be no nonsense, and sometimes we were very tough.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Starting An Article

Graham Ward says: "The system is a self-contained whole within which everything is made meaningful." And this is one of the problems which presents itself to an author. You don't have a foundation from which to begin -- you have a self-contained system, posited. So in a sense you can start anywhere, yet nowhere. OBSERVATION: Many authors choose then to begin with an authoritative statement. Many choose to begin with a general statement. Here, as an example, are Francis Schaeffer's opening words in his most famous book: "The present chasm between the generations ..." And who will forget Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..."

Illegal Antiquity

This is what one calls an illegal antiquity, displayed courtesy of son M. The photo was taken in Long Street, several years ago. It illustrates the kinds of deals that one (still) can do in Cape Town. M., an archaeology student at the time, got into more and more animated conversation with a Long Street antiques dealer -- until the dealer excitedly vanished to the back of his shop, and produced this ancient Phoenician mask (pictured). His back turned for a moment, I sneaked a photo. The dealer is since gone.

The "Wealth" Of Ministry

The social thinker John Ruskin made an interesting observation. Without people, you have no wealth. Take a farmer as an example. Take away his labourers, and his builder, his driver, his cook, and so on, and what have you got? A man who can hardly keep his own vegetable patch going. Now think of ministry. The money isn't there, but the people are. It is the complete reverse. OBSERVATION: Perhaps this might explain a common phenomenon: jealousy of the ministry.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Near Death Experiences

Early in ministry, I became aware that people sometimes had near death experiences (NDE's). Since then, I have heard many such stories first hand -- although some ministers have heard none. As an example, one old man described to me what was happening in his hospital ward when he was unconscious. But always there has been the question whether such experiences are real. In this case, for instance, did someone tell him what was happening in his hospital ward? Now for the first time, there is research which suggests that such experiences may be real: What It's Really Like To Die (the BBC).

Unusual Ministry

After ministry on the Atlantic, apart from ministering in the semi-desert (the Karoo) I found myself ministering to a situation -- this is how I view it. As recently as June (three months ago), I experienced raids of my personal information, and as recently as August (last month) I received threats -- and this is just a part of it. That is, there are no signs at this point that the extraordinary events of my life are abating. I try to keep before me therefore that I am not merely dealing with a series of events, but I am ministering -- however, not in any usual way.

Refreshed From Fatigue

I wrote this post several years ago. It describes the reality of fatigue in ministry: "I had last week off. I had my first new counselling session this Tuesday. The session was tense, with a lot at stake -- but I felt alert, relaxed, clear-sighted, and fully capable of taking the strain. Compare that to the last session before my break. I felt aversion to the strain, I kept losing the thread completely, I felt that the big picture was clouded. OBSERVATION: Fatigue in ministry is very real. These two counselling sessions certainly show the contrast. But even the 'weary' session was not lost. The counselee came back a few days later, took my hand with both hands, and said: 'You were a very great encouragement to me.' As I see it, God works despite the minister in such things."

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Rendezvous With Redemption

In my counselling, I seek always to establish what a person's "root" position is in spiritual terms. Without this, spiritual counsel is likely to go amiss. It is also an opportunity for a minister to witness -- the most natural moment to get to spiritual basics. Here's one example among many: I met with a woman who was struggling against poverty. On the face of it, her problem was depression. I asked her: “Why is this happening to you?” She said, “God is punishing me.” At sixteen, she said, she had left her home to come to the city, and she had become wayward. Our conversation led to her committing her life to Christ -- with eagerness. OBSERVATION: I think that, with prayer, one receives God's gracious help with questions such the above. This was, after all, the "breakthrough question".

My Sister's Art

Being at a loss as to what to post today (or rather, having too many things to post), here is a new painting of my sister's, in oils. She has a rich experience in art, and was mentored in her youth by the famous Arthur O'Mant (one sees O'Mant's influence in this painting). I think that this particular painting is still waiting to be snapped up. You may click on it to enlarge to 330k. OBSERVATION: A curious feature of her paintings (for me) is that she paints Africa, but little details of the mission in the Pacific (her childhood) get into the paintings.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Access Road

For want of something better to post tonight, I took the photo this morning on Clifton's upper thoroughfare. I have claimed that it has been reduced to a mere access road to miscellaneous building sites. I rest my case. OBSERVATION: This part of the city has become extremely restless. I can't see that residents would enjoy such a life. This is what one has for affluence.

Rules For Wrongs

I have some rules today for anyone who knows they have genuinely done wrong. In fact I am merely passing on routine procedure -- nothing new. The first is: keep silent, come what may. And the second is like it: persuade everyone else to keep silent. The police know this principle well. The first thing they say when they arrest you is: "You have the right to remain silent." And this, I think, is one reason why Jesus said: do the very opposite -- and do it now. While you are at the altar. While you are in the way. Go, and talk. And pray that God will be with you.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

It's A Boy!

My sister-in-law N. (pictured) gave birth this morning to a boy, by caesarean. In that part of the world, "boy" or "girl" still is big news. OBSERVATION: However, she was in a serious way before the birth. The hospital was "furious" that the clinic had missed it, and gave her two pints of blood. But ... all's well that ends well. After a surplus of girls, the whole family is overjoyed at a boy. (The little girl at bottom right is the youngest niece).
.
POSTSCRIPT: The boy weighed 3.8kg at birth.

Balancing Act

In editorial work this month, I recruited one high quality submission (it needs yet to be reworked for style), shifted the tone of another (now published), and decided to put two others on hold (the author gently withdrew them, and provided substitutes). OBSERVATION: The reason for putting the two on hold was that they covered extreme issues without sufficient counter-balance. A philosopher would see this, but I was concerned that impressionable minds might not. With counter-balance, they might still appear.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Avoiding Harm

Ministers will often think on what will be good for the Church. Sometimes it may be profitable to think on what will be harmful for the Church. In my own ministr(ies), when I have spoken about harm, I have most often spoken about the harm which may be caused by foregrounding the minister too much (in spiritual ministry). This is of course a Congregational attitude. But it is not only the minister who may be foregrounded. One may foreground the young, the elderly, preachers on rosters, White people, Black people, leaders of groups, minister's visitation, and so on, all at the expense of a balanced "ministry by members" (the priesthood of believers) which is said to be the sine qua non (without which not) of the Congregational Church.

Biodiversity Display

Our Green Point Urban Park has developed a magnificent biodiversity display over just a few years -- all the more magnificent now in spring. I took these photos this morning. The plant on the left is Khoikhoi tea. The plant on the right is edible Katballetjies. I forget what the flower in the centre is. You may click on the photos to enlarge.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Without Respect Of Persons

In an important sense, a nation can only be healthy where it is governed without personal considerations -- which is, "without respect of persons" (a Biblical principle). The same, however, is true of the Church. Where personalities and personal loyalties come to the fore, or a focus on persons, the Church is in an unhealthy space. This is so from various points of view. Pastoral ministry should not get mixed with respect of persons. The amounts which people give should not get mixed with respect of persons. Leadership decisions should not get mixed with respect of persons. The Church's mission should not get mixed with respect of persons. The call of a minister should not get mixed with respect of persons. What God is doing should not get mixed with respect of persons. And so on. OBSERVATION: Another way of putting it is that love inevitably follows everything else, but it is not the focus of a Church. Love, too, flourishes where other priorities are first in place. A commonly quoted passage is 1 John 1:1-4.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Returning A Favour

I have a brother-in-law who played some bold pranks on me as I was still getting to know the Xhosa culture -- particularly as he coached me for lobola negotiations. By now, I am more familiar with the Xhosa humour, so that he is unlikely to catch me out again soon. Recently, I returned the favour by doctoring a photo of him and his wife, dressing him as a political radical and adding a mean touch to his otherwise beatific face. I am told that the photo was received with much merriment. You may click on it to enlarge. (In real life he is a churchman).

More Metaphysic

Speaking of writing, I passed a significant milestone earlier this week. I completed a Second Edition draft of my Metaphysical Notes. It is, needless to say, a metaphysic (an all-encompassing philosophy) -- and it fundamentally parts ways with previous metaphysics. I have a reputable publisher, too -- however I am looking for something else in a publisher at the moment. It is good to know anyway that my Second Edition will in all likelihood become available to the public, come what may (if you might be a potential publisher, do get in touch). OBSERVATION: I completed the (draft) work to the day, as scheduled. This challenged me more than any of my postgraduate studies. I had to “pull out all the stops”.

Popular Writing

It's good to see that my writing continues to be popular (the charts on the right are from Philosophical Investigations, the last time I checked). I co-authored the piece at the top of Top of the Pops. The other two on that list are mine. And the top two Classics are mine. I mentioned Reason and Contradiction in July on this blog. It is due to to be published officially Monday in a fortnight, but is already accessible. I would consider it to be one of my more substantial pieces. Among other things it promises to reconcile reason and passion -- a classic philosophical problem.

Friday, September 4, 2015

Constitutions And Solutions

Yesterday I blogged about some of the things that can go wrong with Church constitutions (or perhaps rather, meetings which are held under Church constitutions). Here are some things I have observed with regard to overcoming apparent impasses. Assuming that ordinary "people skills" don't get a meeting back on a good track, there are various options: It may be possible to put a crisis-busting vote to the members. For instance: "I propose that we shut this down." Another possible move is to exercise spiritual authority -- which is hard to define. If one switches from technical talk and speaks instead "in the Holy Spirit", this may be a powerful means of getting through an impasse. In less obstructive situations, one may hold a vote over to another meeting. And something I have seen in meetings of other cultures: strike up a hymn!

Cottage Lights

This is our small cottage in the country, at night. All the lights which one sees here are solar powered. I so designed the system that, when people are there and when they are not, these lights switch on and off. This is a trick which electronics editor Alan Winstanley taught me.

Non-Diagnoses

At the time that I parted with my urban Church on the Atlantic, various rumours went around as to what injuries I suffered (or not), or what illnesses I suffered (or not). People even made up statements, I am told. My doctor, however, made a statement too, in writing, and this would seem to be the last word: Through MacRobert Attorneys, he stated that such information is strictly confidential, he has not repeated such to anyone, nor does he have any intention of doing so. OBSERVATION: Anyone who does or has gone around saying things has quite simply made it up. If you know otherwise, drop me a comment on this blog. I shall put it up -- so long as you are not anonymous.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Notes On Church Constitutions

Most Churches have a constitution: one speaks then of a constituted Church. But constitutions can fail. The first and perhaps the most common way in which a Church constitution fails is through legalism. If the atmosphere in which one wants to put the constitution to work is not peaceful, it is easily possible to have cock-fights over details and definitions. A second way in which a Church constitution fails is through unforeseen circumstances. Typically, a Church constitution is a lean document, and it can't predict everything. Situations easily arise which the constitution never contemplated -- then one finds oneself in a blind alley, relying on the grace of the whole Church. A third way in which a Church constitution may fail is where people simply withdraw their commitment from it: "I'm through, I don't care," or "It's just a guide, it's not a covenant." This is likely to happen precisely at the moment of crisis. Then one has a crisis on top of a crisis.

Record Slope

I received a very interesting comment on my blog this morning, from someone who modestly remains anonymous. My annual hobby of 2011 was to find the steepest street (the steepest sustained slope) in Cape Town. The steepest I found was upper Longmarket Street (pictured), at 17°. Anonymous claims "about" 70 metres' rise over 200 metres for Capri Street in St. James. That is (would be), if my calculations are correct and if the information is correct, 19.5° and a new world record. The current world record is held by Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand, which has a 70 metre sustained slope of 19°. A new world record is not (yet) confirmed for Capri Street, but this deserves to be explored. Photos of vertical walls and the street level would help. And if it is confirmed, we hope to know the discoverer!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

A Travel Con

Recently somebody took a journey long distance, then informed the travel company that a certain woman would pay the bill on his behalf. Apparently this wasn't true. Next thing, the woman found herself being intimidated daily by a man in a suit. Our traveller said to her, here take this number (mine), it's a minister, he'll cover it. Then I received frantic calls from the woman concerned. I said this is fraud, go and report it. OBSERVATION: This kind of thing has happened to me several times as a minister. On one occasion, someone claimed to employ an (ex) gangster on my behalf. The gangster cornered me and demanded his pay. I knew nothing of it. I sensed that that was a dangerous situation.

Making A Landing

I found this photo on the Internet -- I don't think it is one that I have myself. I am the boy at the back of the boat on the left, next to my sister and mother. It would have been taken around 1966, in the central Pacific. In those days, atolls didn't have passages. A launch would pull this boat, then set us loose to surf the reef and make a landing. One's timing had to be very good. I was still on the mission ship one day when my mother and sister crashed on the reef, and many of our possessions were lost. OBSERVATION: The photo looks over-saturated. However, the central Pacific is, too, a deep blue beyond imagining.

Inculpation

Last month a curious thing happened. The head of a major organisation aggressively denied, in writing, that she had any knowledge of a (serious) matter. At the same time, an unknown (to me) official sent me a sheet of paper which contradicted this: the head, in fact, knew everything. OBSERVATION: I asked a few people: "What do you think? Should the official have done it?" The answer was yes, definitely. Personally, I think so. What would you do?

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Leadership Portfolios

Recently I referred to leadership portfolios in the Church. On commencing my ministries, I have made it a priority to put such portfolios in place -- recently I blogged how portfolios were in the mix in one Church recovery. A minister asked me whether I could list the portfolios. Here are portfolios we have had at various times in my ministr(ies):
Accounts Clerk 
Church Discipline 
Church Door / Bouncer
Church Elders 
Church Staff
Church Youth
Crèche
Encouragement
Fund-Raising 
Honorary Church Secretary
Honorary Church Treasurer
Minister's Warden
Missions / Evangelism
Property Steward
Small Groups / Sunday School
Worship 
OBSERVATION: There have been shifting portfolios in my ministr(ies), according to need, also the list has not always been ideal. I have always emphasised calling to a portfolio above function -- and sometimes leaders have felt called to portfolios that we didn't even have. We then created the portfolios.