the art of unpacking

to change the world

2012-01-27T12:55:00.003+13:00

It is one of the books of the decade for me (NB: pages 273-275 provide an excellent summary of the argument): James Davison Hunter's To Change the World (Oxford University Press, 2010).

In trying to distill its influence on me, three affirmations come to mind.

1. Our understanding of culture and change can be so wrong
Using words like 'flawed' (18), 'mistaken' (17), 'naive' (47), and 'ludicrous' (45), Hunter gets stuck into the prevailing view of culture and cultural change. It is the view that if we change the ideas, values and worldviews of individuals, the wider culture will be gradually changed. People like Charles Colson ('transformed people transform cultures') and James Dobson are in his sights, for example.

Three factors lie behind this perspective (16): (1) real change must proceed individually; (2) cultural change can be willed into being; (3) change is democratic in that it occurs from the 'bottom up', among ordinary citizens first. And so the anthem goes out, "You too can be a Wilberforce" (16). I've done it myself. But it is more nuanced than this. Hunter writes out of the American context and engages the paradox which has so fascinated me for years. How is it that a culture where 80+% of the population acknowledge a faith commitment to God which they claim impacts their values, ideas and worldviews ... how come the wider culture is increasingly godless, with such believers exerting a 'declining influence, especially in the realm of ideas and imagination' (19)? That is an awful lot of salt and light that it is not making a lot of difference.

Hunter argues that there is far more to cultural change than this and, in passing, he notes how both the Jewish and gay communities have grasped this far better than the Christian community (20). The influence of these minority communities have come by other means than embracing (1), (2), (3) in the preceding paragraph. 'If one is serious about changing the world, the first step is to discard the prevailing view of culture and cultural change and start from scratch' (27). He has a go himself, by offering the Eleven Propositions in his 'alternate view' (32-47). These brilliant pages need to be required reading for numerous courses at theological colleges and the basis for discussion of leadership teams of all churches and mission agencies. 'Culture is as much an infrastructure as it is ideas ... It is better to think of culture as a thing manufactured not by lone individuals but rather by institutions and the elites who lead them.' (34) And so it is more 'top down', than 'bottom up':

The work of world-making and world-changing are, by and large, the work of elites: gatekeepers who provide creative direction and management within spheres of social life. Even where the impetus for change draws from popular agitation, it does not gain traction until it is embraced and propagated by elites. (41)

and later

Cultural change at its most profound level occurs through dense networks of elites operating in common purpose within institutions at the high-prestige centers of cultural production [... and because this is the case] the Christian community is not remotely close to a position where it could actually change the world in any significant way. (274)

Then Hunter takes the reader on a quick trip through history (48-78), demonstrating that where there is cultural change, there is an 'alternative elite' (70, 71) created, embedded in networks and technologies and institutions. Then he comes into land in the contemporary landscape of American Christianity. He is pretty critical. Donors and foundations are generous, but short-sighted, as statistics show that 'very few resources ... go to supporting leadership in developing cultural capital in the centers of cultural production' (84). 'Christians in America today have institutional strength and vitality exactly in the lower and peripheral areas of cultural production' (89, as he notes, rather ironically, that their centers are in Wheaton and Colorado Springs, rather than New York City and San Francisco).

For all the deep belief, the genuine piety, the heroic faith, and the good intention one finds all across American Christianity today, large swaths have been captured by the spirit of the age ... Christianity in America is not only marginalized as a culture but it is is also a very weak culture (92) - even though it is very numerous.

2. Our pursuit of politics and power is so misguided
The thing that is wrong with this view of culture is that it ignores the institutional aspect to culture and disregards 'the way culture is embedded in structures of power' (27). Then, in seeking change, Christians have pursued the wrong kind of power (political) with the wrong kind of motivation, what Hunter calls ressentiment (from Nietzsche) where a mix of anger, envy, hate, rage and revenge becomes the motive for political action. [NB: on the Left we see this in the Occupy movement, and on the Right we see this in Fox TV]. Hunter's view is that 'contemporary Christian understandings of power and politics are a very large part of what has made contemporary Christianity in America appalling, irrelevant and ineffective' (95).

He takes his time in building this conclusion. A brilliant section on 'the Constantinian Error' at the core of this (152-156) is followed by a discussion, as dispassionately as he can, on the Christian Right (conservative, 112-131), the Christian Left (progressive, 132-149), and the neo-Anapbaptist (150-166) positions. He demonstrates how each has succumbed to 'the turn to politics' in their understanding of power - even the neo-Anabaptist, rather surprisingly for me. This is because their language and framework is still political. 'Even though the nature of politics and political action in the church is an inversion of the prevailing powers of the present age, the language of politics still provides the meaning for the public witness of the church' (163).

Where the identity of the Christian Right is forged largely through their opposition to secularism and secularists, where the identity of the Christian Left derives from their opposition to the Right, the collective identity of the neo-Anabaptists comes through their dissent from the State and the larger political economy and culture of late modernity. (164)

So for all three, 'politics is always and everywhere the framework' (168), but the point that impacted me is how Hunter shows all three to be so 'relentlessly negative' (164). It is this ressentiment idea, creating 'a narrative of injury ... a discourse of negation towards all those they perceive to be to blame' (168).

Hunter then proceeds to speak of the illusion, the irony, and the tragedy of all this. The illusion? That mechanism of political power, the state, 'is not nearly as influential as the expectations most people have of it' (171). The irony? There is not a group in all of America that has done more to politicize values then Christians ... even when their own tradition contains so much that can be elevated above politics. The tragedy? 'Rather than being defined by its cultural achievements, its intellectual and artistic vitality, its service to the needs of others, Christianity is defined to the outside world by the rhetoric of resentment and the ambitions of a will in opposition to others' (174).Where are the 'expressions in their public discourse of delight, joy, or pleasure with anything in creation'? (174). All this creates

a dense fog through which it is difficult to recognize each other as fellow human beings and impossible to recognize the good that still is in the world. The tragedy is that in the name of resisting the internal deterioration and the corruption of the world around them, many Christians - and Christian conservatives, most significantly - unwittingly embrace some of the most corrosive aspects of the cultural disintegration they decry. By nurturing its resentments, sustaining them through a discourse of negation toward outsiders, pursuing their will to power, they become functional Nietzscheans, participating in the very cultural breakdown they so ardently strive to resist. (175)

A chapter on 'Rethinking Power: Theological Reflections' (176-193) follows - on his way to building an alternative view of power. Again he is tough on the neo-Anabaptist desire to 'accept powerlessness' - because it assumes a political view of power only, rather than thinking more positively about power - as expressed, for example, in the creation mandate. Hunter is in search of 'a postpolitical witness in the world' identified by (1) the life and identity of the church being 'disentangled' from the life and identity of American society; and (2) Christian believers 'decoupling' the public from the political (185). Maybe even keep politics at 'arm's length' for a season, he suggests, so that 'new ways of thinking and speaking and acting in the public that are not merely political' (186) can emerge.

3. The way forward is so refreshingly familiar, but difficult.
[This is my blog so I guess I can express this. In all my preaching in the NZ context over the past 30 years, no part of the Gospels has received as much attention as Salt and Light (people still talk to me about the little graph I devised on this) and no Epistle has been revisited more often than 1 Peter. I rejoiced as I reached his conclusions as these same notes were struck with such strength, both directly and indirectly. No wonder I like the book so much :)].

Hunter describes the three prevailing approaches to cultural engagement. (1) 'defensive against' (the response of conservatives, often the Right), causing the construction of 'a complex empire of institutions that function as a parallel universe to the secular world' (214). I would argue that it is too much light, at the expense of salt; (2) 'relevance to' (the response of progressives, often the Left), and expressed in seeker-sensitive, mega-church, and emerging church approaches. Hunter's response? 'This is cause for great alarm ... in the end, these initiatives, while well-intended and rooted in a deep longing, take their cue from the culture around them, and offer little clarity for the confusion of the times' (217). I would argue that it is too much salt, at the expense of light. (3) 'purity from' (I think he places the neo-Anabaptist here, but not fully convinced myself) - and again, too much light at the expense of salt. Actually I am not always convinced that (3) is different enough from (1) to warrant its own mention.

For Hunter there is a fourth way, a 'quietly radical' (272) alternative: a 'faithful presence within' (salt and light in balance and in tension!). Here it is incarnation that is the crucial strategy. But it also gains its direction from God's faithful presence among his people as he pursues us, identifies with us, and offers life to us through sacrificial love. In return we must be 'faithfully present to him in return' (243) - in similar ways. Our faithful presence is played out in three directions: (1) '...to each other' within the community and to the stranger, 'attending to the people and places that we experience directly, (giving priority) to what is in front of us' (253); (2) '...to our tasks' marked by a 'fidelity to the highest practices of vocation before God (which) is consecrated and itself transformational in its effects' (254); (3) '...within our spheres of influence', as we are 'obligated to do what we are able to shape the patterns of life and work and relationship ... toward a shalom that seeks the welfare not only of those in the household of God but of all' (254).

This all gets back to the 'burden of leadership' from which the 'brush and debris' (255) needs to be cleared away. All Christians bear this burden to some degree. It must be carried without the arrogance of superiority or the emptiness of celebrity, for such leadership is 'artificial, unbiblical, organizationally unhealthy, inherently corrupting, and all too common in the Christian world' (261).

The practice of faithful presence generates relationships and institutions that are fundamentally covenantal in character, the ends of which are the fostering of meaning, purpose, truth, beauty, belonging, and fairness - not just for Christians but for everyone. (263)

A few specific stories, or 'vignettes', follow on (266-269), movingly expressed... It is about 'Christians using the space they live in toward the flourishing of others. They are less a blueprint to be applied than a catalyst for thinking about other imaginative possibilities for the transformation of culture in business, the arts, medicine, housing etc ... (it is about) living and working toward the well-being of others' (269). A final flourish comes with a discussion of Jeremiah 29 and how in exile, God neither asked for 'defensive against', 'relevance to', nor 'purity from' - but 'faithful presence within' (so impacted am I that I plan to preach on the passage for the first time next Sunday!).

Two concluding comments. (1) One of the careful areas of conversation will be about discerning where the argument is specific to the American context and where it has a more generic relevance. While there may be less for the rest of us to 'disentangle' and 'decouple' in our own lands, there is still much of it to be done because so much flows to our lands from the US. Quite apart from that issue of context, there is so much here (on power, leadership, culture, salt/light etc) that is of universal significance. (2) Hunter decries the way so few Christian leaders understand these dynamics. I concur. Here in NZ 'relevance to' has pretty much won the hearts and minds of Christian leaders. And yet it is deeply flawed. And so a book like this must infiltrate the places where leaders are shaped, particularly theological colleges, in order to thicken and deepen the discussion about 'changing the world'. If it were up to me, I can see curriculum, learning outcomes, and assessment all changing to some degree in light of the thesis which Hunter advances here.

nice chatting - and congrats indeed for getting to the end :)

Paul

words working well

2012-01-23T17:49:00.000+13:00

Don't ever tell me that the power of words has diminished.

Don't ever tell me that the age in which monologue is effective has ceased.

Don't ever tell me that words which sound nice together cannot be compelling.

Don't ever tell me that phrase-crafting and word-smithing and picture-painting is not worth the effort.

Have a look and listen to this (16 million views in one week):

And maybe even more compelling is this one on 'sexual healing':

And if you want to create an assignment on pluralism, or have a great inter-faith conversation, how about the response to the first clip from a Muslim?

nice chatting (thanks, Martin)

Paul

fear and fear

2012-01-21T08:04:00.001+13:00

I am a timid chap. Always have been. Always will be.

If I was to look at the sum of all my fears, dogs and flying figure regularly in the top ten. Not without good reason, I might add. As a little newspaper-delivery boy I had an awful experience of being bitten - and I've had more than my share of bumpy flights (closing my eyes and imagining that I am in a bus on a pot-holed road in India seems to help - although most argue that the bus is more dangerous than the plane).

Last week I was in India, confronting my fears yet again, with flights and that array of rabid and rabied dogs. It seems that my fears are getting better. And I know why.

It has to do with theology.
Some years ago I stumbled across Exodus 20.20.

"Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

This verse suggests there to be two types of fear. Having watched for it as I've read, I am now convinced that the rest of the Bible agrees. We grew up on George Beverley Shea singing hymns. One LP (the great, great grandparent of iTunes) in the house was titled Sacred Songs, although I was convinced that it said Scared Songs. My Dad had me on about this for years. Those words work well here in Exodus 20.20. There is a scared fear and there is a sacred fear.

But more than naming two types of fear, this verse suggest that one fear (sacred) helps banish the other fear (scared). We could rework that supreme quote of Thomas Chalmers - 'the expulsive power of a new affection' - to read 'the expulsive power of a new fear'.

This is exactly what I do. When a fear rises up within me, I meditate on the fear of God. I practice fearing God consciously and deliberately. What do I mean? Well, I am still content with Charles Swindoll's definition of fearing God: 'taking God seriously'. So... I take God more seriously than my fear, allowing the former to expel the latter. His promises. His sovereignty. His care. His love. His justice. His mercy. His purposes. His call. I let my mind fill with all that I know about these realities. I ask God to have them take control of my life in those moments of my fear.

So when the bumps on a flight make me feel I am in a washing machine, I fear God. When I walk the plank of dogs in India, I fear God. When I drive my car to the dentist, I fear God. When I stand up to speak in an unfamiliar setting, I fear God. When I say goodbye to my son (last night!) intent as he is on being there for the people of eastern Congo, one of the toughest places on God's earth, I fear God.

It is about letting my fears get lost in the fear of God. Sadly, the converse is true. The Bible teaches that if you do not fear (sacred), there is plenty to fear (scared). That truth cannot be avoided or side-stepped.

All of this helps me with far more than my fears. It has a way of keeping God at the core of my life - and keeping my spirituality far more accurate. Afterall a fear-less spirituality, so popular today, is simply sub-biblical and therefore unChristian. As for all those fearless people out there, they miss out on some great learning opportunities, don't they?

nice chatting

Paul

crisis in the congo

2012-01-18T14:48:00.001+13:00

Last night was a night to remember.

Our son Stephen organised a knowledge-acquiring, fund-raising event focused on the DR of Congo. He has been in and out of the homes of about seven Congolese families in Auckland over recent months and they were well-represented at the event. Then there were church friends, members of the extended family etc. About 130 people in total. We ate Congolese food. Six different stations with displays were set up and different Congolese people shared first-hand accounts of aspects of the 'crisis' in their homeland ...

Twenty-six minutes were given to this remarkable video, 'Crisis in the Congo'. Please take the time to watch it. It is disturbing. It records a holocaust that the global community continues to ignore. The people who speak on it are so articulate. [NB: it is on youtube and can be shared on facebook etc].

Stephen spent 16 months in Kampala working with 'unaccompanied minors', or orphaned refugee children, from eastern DRC. As a volunteer Child Protection Officer, he befriended them, lived with them - and recorded their stories as part of advocating for their welfare.

On Friday Stephen returns to Kampala to learn Swahili on the way to exploring ways to express this commitment to the peoples of eastern DRC. If you are a praying person, please do pray for him .. and nurture a commitment to this troubled country and its precious people.

nice chatting

Paul

PS: One response to make is to find ways for the global community (and the global church, in particular) to express itself more effectively as a single community, as this little video expresses so beautifully.

generous justice

2012-01-02T14:41:00.000+13:00

Of all the Timothy Keller books which I have read, Generous Justice may well be his finest and most important.

Keller's very last sentence captures his purpose with the book: 'A life poured out in doing justice for the poor is the inevitable sign of any real, true gospel faith.' (189). There is something ever so significant here. Over the past 10-15 years I have watched, with admiration, a generation arise which 'pours out in doing justice' far better than my generation ever seemed to do. And yet mingled with the admiration has lingered a tiny little reservation. It can appear that embracing justice is about being edgy - edgy in theology, edgy in style, edgy in communication. An iconoclasm can take hold of people. They can become known for being 'agin' things. The people travelling in their wake can become burdened with guilt because they cannot maintain the same pace or priority. Now while some of this is necessary, at times I have wondered what has happened to 'real, true gospel faith'. Keller's approach is different. Embracing justice is not about drifting to the edge as much as it is about deepening at the core.

If a person has grasped the meaning of God's grace in his heart, he will do justice. If he doesn't live justly, then he may say with his lips that he is grateful for God's grace, but in his heart he is far from him (93-94) ... Grace should make you just. If you are not just, you've not truly been justified by faith (99) ... My experience as a pastor has been that those who are middle-class in spirit tend to be indifferent to the poor, but people who come to grasp the gospel of grace and become spiritually poor find their hearts gravitate toward the materially poor (102) ... the gospel changes the identity of the well-off, so that they have a new respect and love for the poor (104) ... I would like to to believe that a heart for the poor 'sleeps' down in a Christian's soul until it is awakened (107) ... (and it isn't awakened because) we tend to try to develop a social conscience in Christians the same way the world does - through guilt (107).

I think the argument he makes is a profound one. A number of specific features impact me...

1. Lovers of Isaiah 58 will be arrested by the way Keller highlights the less familiar, but equally powerful, passages from Job: Job 29.12-17 and Job 31.13-28.

2. The 'quartet of the vulnerable': the widow, the orphan, the immigrant/refugee, and the poor (4). It is inconceivable that we can bring pleasure to God's heart and glory to his name, if we overlook this quartet in our midst.

3. Keller's case for Jonathan Edwards (in 1733, 'The Duty of Charity to the Poor' sermon) providing his favourite exposition of the Good Samaritan makes for compelling reading (see pages 68-75).

4. I loved the way he described the Creator God as an artist, involved in the 'weaving of a garment' (172) which inherently conveys the importance of relationship: 'God created all things to be in a beautiful, harmonious, interdependent, knitted, webbed relationship to one another' (173), creating shalom. But then sin and evil destroys the fabric. 'The only way to re-weave and strengthen the fabric is by weaving yourself into it ... re-weaving shalom means to sacrifically thread, lace, and press your time, goods, power, and resources into the lives and needs of others' (177). Brilliant image! Then Keller illustrates this with the story of the disproportionately large deaf community on Martha's Vineyard and how people 'changed their culture in order to include an otherwise disadvantaged minority, but in the process made themselves and their society richer' (180). Great story! Have they made the movie yet?!

5. In virtually every chapter Keller makes a comment, almost in passing, about the difference in the way the Left and the Right - 'conservatism' and 'liberalism' - approach matters of justice. I recently posted something on how hard I find voting in national elections (and how bemused I am by Christians who find it so easy!) because I like bits of both. Keller reassured me. He comments how the various perspectives are each 'partly right' (158), but not fully right. His conclusion is that 'no current political framework can fully convey the comprehensive Biblical vision of justice, and Christians should never identify too closely with a particular political party or philosophy' (163). I concur!

6. Chapter Five ('Why Should We Do Justice?') and Chapter Six ('How Should We Do Justice?) were highlights for me. In answering the 'why?' question, Keller reaches for two basic motivations: (a) cultivating 'a joyful awe before the goodness of God's creation' (82), punctuated by 'honoring the image' (82-88, via Aristotle, ML King, and CS Lewis) and 'recognizing God's ownership' (88-92); and (b) responding to 'God's grace in redemption' (92-100). It is creation and redemption, yet again, that does it. It is core stuff, not edgy stuff. In answering the 'how?' question, Keller reminded me of someone I had forgotten (and who had a huge impact on New Zealand back in the 1980s), John Perkins. 'When Perkins tied social reform, economic development, and vigorous evangelism all together into a seamless whole, he confounded both the secularized liberal civil rights establishment and the conservative churches.' (116, emphasis mine).

7. Chapter Seven is about 'Doing Justice in the Public Square': 'I propose that Christians' work for justice should be characterized by both humble cooperation and respectful provocation.' (158).

When all is said and done, this book will be valued by the edgy justice-doer who is open to further instruction on the way to 'real true gospel faith'. The big worry lies with those who claim to be Christ's, but who are not authentic justice-doers. What Bible are they reading? What gospel are they engaging? What grace are they embracing? What Jesus are they following?

nice chatting

Paul

john graham

2011-12-31T16:24:00.001+13:00

I owe a lot to John Graham.

So when I went to Whitcoulls intent on finding the Steve Jobs' biography for some light Christmas reading, I was easily distracted by Bill Francis' Sir John Graham: Sportsman, Master, Mentor - and devoured it in a couple of days.

It was 1977. In their wisdom, my parents decided that after an entire schooling based around Woodstock School, a co-ed American boarding school in the Himalayas, I should return home to NZ six months before graduation for a full year at Auckland Grammar School (AGS), a uniformed elitist boy's school in Auckland. I was one lost puppy for awhile. However a month or two into the first term a prefect left the school and, very surprisingly, John Graham appointed me to fill the gap. Coupled with my background in basketball, this trust placed in me gave me the confidence I needed. At AGS it was the season of Crowes and Whettons, Graham Henrys and Ken Rapsons (my form-room teacher who took such an interest in me, later to become my children's principal) ... and the hardest year in my life became the year that cemented my identity as a Kiwi.

It was 1980. I had just finished my degree with plans to go to the USA for theological training late in 1981. I needed a job. 'Why don't you go and ask John Graham if he has a job for you?' I made an appointment, trembled my way into his office without any teacher training and barely 21 years of age, explained my situation and he responded with, 'OK - can you start on Monday?' That was another tough, but strategic, few months of employment in the 'real world' and it was John Graham who made it happen. One Tuesday afternoon with the 4G class stands out in my memory. One of my physical features is that I have an upturned nose. I walked into the classroom and every single boy had their index finger pressed against their nose in an effort to look like me. However for an entire term I was relieved from the trauma of relief teaching and given Ramesh Patel's Maths' classes while he was away with the NZ Hockey team. It was my first taste of class preparation and classroom management.

'OK, OK, Paul - but what about the book?'

In its pages I met again the awe-inspiring John Graham who commanded both the daily Assembly (in 1977) and the staff-room (in 1980). I also met again the man in his office (in 1977 and 1980) who treated me with such compassion and kindness. But what new things did I learn about him?

When we returned to live in Auckland in 1989 I chuckled away because I counted 8 secondary school principals in Auckland who were in that AGS staff room eight years earlier. In fact there are 23 of John Graham's staff who went on to become principals, with some special words for a couple of today's fine Christian principals, Larne Edmeades and Roger Moses ('He's now the outstanding principal in the country in my view' (134)). This is mentoring at its very finest. Sometimes this meant making some tough calls, like giving broadcaster Murray Deaker his marching orders from the staff when his inability to control his drinking impacted his performance.

'He says he caned no more than 20 boys in 21 years.' (103) - but each time, a few days later, he would personally seek the boy out. 'I didn't send for him. I wanted to meet him and just say, 'Well, Jackson, are you okay with me son, because I'm okay with you'. (103). This is a feature of his life: he does not seem to hold grudges.

John Graham has been a controversial figure in education, always fighting 'the constant belittling of academic achievement' (111) which distinguished the 1970s and 1980s. He invited enormous problems when he referred to Maori as 'lazy' and yet it is a descriptor he'd use of anyone who did not achieve at school. After retirement from AGS he was involved for eight years with Nga Tapuwae College in South Auckland, initially as a Commissioner appointed by the government to turn the school around. 'The underlying venom in the welcoming words' at the powhiri' (173) took him by surprise, but he succeeded in his task of turning the school around, developing a deep affection for the those in the school community.

Back in 1960 he was muzzled by the NZ Rugby Union for outspoken comments about apartheid. On a tour of South Africa, John Graham and a young University student (Tony Davies) visited places like Sharpeville. Bill Francis adds, 'it seems astounding that they were the only All Blacks, on a four month tour of South Africa, to make a concerted effort to check out the situation that existed for blacks' (89).

Naturally, I loved the chapter on his stint as manager of the NZ cricket team. Coming in after a disastrous period of ill-discipline and poor performance to work with a young captain (Fleming) and to bring the best out of a bunch of difficult personalities like Cairns, Parore and Astle ... masterful stuff. One philosophy he instilled was 'life can be great when you give' (164). A lot of focus on getting the players to read books when on tour and to feed their minds. They even did crosswords together as a team, with a 'word for the day' which had to be utilised in the media interview later in the day. For John Graham, managing the NZ cricket team was more satisfying than being the All Black captain (172). 'In all the pleasures I had in sport nothing surpassed this.' (172).

His approach to speech-making and communication was simple. 'Forget the silly jokes, be well prepared and give them something they didn't already know' (87), and the value of 'simply explained messages of meaningful content' (229).

John Graham has 'a hardness of mind' (63), 'a special steadfastness' (65). There are comments about 'a religious faith' (217). 'Having a religious compass has made our lives richer ... my renewed faith drives me to help those in need without making a fuss of it' (217). I enjoyed the way his wife, Sheila, was such an active partner in his life and so involved in all the big decisions along the way.

nice chatting

Paul

[PS. I see this is my 300th post, as I head into my 7th year of blogging. It has proven to be one of the more energising things I do. I love chatting away - and it has become my filing cabinet of ideas and illustrations. Now that my DMin is done, I am thinking of celebrating by publishing a little book of my favourite posts over the years: The Art of Unpacking: Exegesis as a Way of Life...but we'll see].

evil at christmas

2011-12-25T09:03:00.000+13:00

I've struggled to be happy this Christmas.
It was the Friday before Christmas that did it to me.

In the morning I try to absorb the news that an enduring and close friend has a brain tumour. Cancer is sinister, evil. At midday I attend a funeral for the father of my brother-in-law. A simple, small, short - and moving service. Hovering over the event is the reality of the way World War II so damaged a life. War is sinister, evil. The texts and conversation which flow through the afternoon cover just the one topic - more earthquakes in Christchurch. It is hard to fathom. Earthquakes are sinister, evil. In the evening it is news time and a leisurely read of the newspaper. Two horrendous stories of child abuse nudge into the headlines alongside the earthquakes. Violence and abuse, particularly towards children, is sinister, evil.

'Happy' is such a silly, superficial word. My Dad taught me to avoid the 'happy' in 'happy christmas' for this reason. He also taught me to avoid the 'merry' in 'merry christmas' as it carries overtones of the drunken excesses, another sinister evil, which so easily inhabit Christmas. He turned and tuned me towards joy at Christmas, that quality so deep and so secure that it moves up through life and transforms everything it touches. This Christmas I even struggle with joy - thanks to Friday.

The darkness feels more gloomy this year. My little mind has always been drawn to the verses about Napthali and Zebulun (reminding me of New and Zealand) in Isaiah 9. 'There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress' (9.1) ... 'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned.' (9.2)

Oh God, please, please have mercy.
Make those words real this Christmas.

May the son who has been given truly be a 'Wonderful Counsellor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father, and a Prince of Peace' (9.6) to those who need him most in the midst of the sinister evil in this world in which we live.

Paul

the postmodern and the parable

2011-12-24T10:25:00.001+13:00

The greatest and hardest achievement in writing a 64,000-word thesis is that I managed to do it without using a single superlative (although, it must be said, the thesis is not an alliteration-free zone). In breaking free from such restraint I thought I might nominate the two best books I encountered in my study.

Peter Leithart's Solomon Among the Postmoderns works away at the interface of postmodernism and the book of Ecclesiastes. At times it is just electric. The guy can write, oh yes he can. He knows his postmodern theory and he is besotted with Ecclesiastes. He is at his best describing the characteristic vocabulary of Ecclesiastes, hebel (vanity, meaningless) - 'vapour'. Modernity aspires 'to control the vapour, to sculpt the mist' (33) ... and 'postmodernity is vapour's revenge' (39). WARNING: you do need to be able to cope with some of the heavier postmodern theory and if this makes you cautious, start with pages 55-58. The highest recommendation I can give is that I would not dream of teaching about postmodernism, or preaching from Ecclesiastes, without this book open beside me.

Then a little book on the parables: Paul Simpson Duke's, The Parables. Just 111 pages and yet in his introduction ('Into the World of Parables', pages 1-15) and conclusion ('On Preaching Parables', pages 97-111), there is a most uncommon appreciation of the twist and turns in the history of parable interpretation. In between he expounds eight parables from the Gospels which provides some illustration and anchorage. Having absorbed so much of this literature myself over the past twenty years, and collecting a library of 70+ books on parables along the way - what Duke achieves is remarkable. In provoking a discussion on preaching from the genre of parable this will continue to be my required reading for more advanced students. As a preacher this book is not enough on its own - and I am not sure how evangelical Duke is with his convictions about scripture (which is an issue with preaching the parables) - and so I would have a book like Klyne Snodgrass' tomic Stories With Intent open beside me as well (along with the best in commentaries!).

nice to be chatting again, after a five week hiatus.

Paul

election reflection

2011-11-21T16:31:00.001+13:00

The Rugby World Cup Final and now the National Election. Two sporting occasions in one month. I love it. I can't wait to pull my chair a little closer to the screen on Saturday and watch the contest unravel.

Some things have not surprised me.
The surge in support for the Greens. The humbling of John Key (Kiwis would never let that smug cockiness get that far ahead in the polls without bringing the poppy down to size - it had to happen).

Some things have surprised me.
I never, ever picked the resurgence of Winston Peters - nor can I believe that Peter Dunne is entering this election with the same haircut as last time.

As a Christian and as a citizen, I always struggle to know which way to vote. People who find it easy or go the same way every time really surprise me. It doesn't look that easy to me. There are so many tensions and continuums filling my field of vision. Very generally speaking and written by an amateur with partial understanding, here are some of them:

Personal ethics (those leaning to the right) vs social ethics (those leaning to the left). I want to lean both ways at the same time. Both abortion and poverty trouble me deeply, even equally.

More punitive justice (lots of fairness to the letter of the law; lean to the right) vs more restorative justice (a little grace within the spirit of the law; lean to the left). I think I lean more to the left. Locking them up just cannot be the answer all the time.

Wealth creation (those leaning to the right) vs wealth distribution (those leaning to the left). I think I lean more to the left. But I sure see the importance of creating the stuff in the first place.

Individual initiative (those leaning to the right) vs communal responsibility (those leaning to the left). I think I lean more to the right. A close call - but some aspects of the welfare state just cannot be good for us.

Appealing to self-interest vs appealing to national and global interest. I think I can rise above merely voting for what is in my best interests. There is a lot to like about the Greens on this one.

The personality of a political leader vs the policy of a political party. I want to lean both ways at the same time. Leadership is critical, character is important and it is not just about policy. This one could make me vote for Tariana, Pita and the Maori Party.

MMP vs the others. I have to look more closely at this through the course of this final week. It has not been a hot issue for me. All I know is that I won't vote for returning to FPP. Another personal 'beef' for me in parliamentary politics (which impacts my voting) is that I watch those in opposition to see whether they can ever say anything positive about the people and policies of those in power. If they can, their integrity builds a little in my eyes. Sadly, Phil Goff has been one of the poorest at doing this in recent times. And isn't it good to see the demise of so-called Christian parties? The whole idea is wrong-headed as a means of influencing society.

So, as you can see, I am far from decided.
"The televised debate tonight will sort me out. Yeah Right"

nice chatting

Paul

intriguing cricket intrigue

2011-11-11T15:28:00.001+13:00

So I've been working on my DMin thesis most of the week. It is on The Role of Intrigue in Communicating with Contemporary Skeptics ... which reminds me - for those of you skeptical about the wonders of cricket (particularly the Test match variety), here are a few intriguing happenings in recent days.

Can you believe it?! The most embarassing moment in all of New Zealand sport was almost trumped by our trans-Tasman buddies last night. They were 21-9 chasing our all-time low score of 26 - until their last batsmen top-scored and they made their way to 47. The story is made all the more intriguing when it can be stated with confidence that there is no suggestion of match-fixing...

[Added later] Can you believe it? One of the finest writers of all time on cricket, with his columns mastering the language as much as the subject, Peter Roebuck, is dead at 55. Having read some of his autobiographical material I just knew from the very early moment when I read the news that the circumstances would carry a story of deep tragedy. A piece in Melbourne's Age expresses it so well that for a moment I thought it must be Roebuck writing. But it isn't and it never will be again.

Can you believe it?! M.D. Crowe, my all-time favourite batsman, continues for the Cornwall reserve team against Papatoetoe tomorrow in his comeback match - at 49 years of age. He is 15* overnight. I wonder if I could sneak down tomorrow and watch a bit... [NB: He was out on his overnight score of 15].

Can you believe it? Chris Martin brought up 200 Test wickets last week. Unfortunately of the 59 bowlers in the history of the game to have reached that mark, the ones with the highest averages (therefore, arguably, the least impressive of all) are: 1. Chris Martin (34.94); 2. Danesh Kaneria (34.79); 3. Gary Sobers (34.03); 4. Daniel Vettori (33.61). I hate to spoil the party but our two leading current Test match bowlers are average performers - something I have addressed here, in the case of Daniel Vettori. If you'd like to drool, consider the top three performers from the West Indies with three remarkably similar records - can you believe it?! - Malcolm Marshall (20.94); Joel Garner (20.97); and Curtley Ambrose (20.99).
[NB: Kiwi's Shane Bond (22.09) and Richard Hadlee (22.29) are not far behind and remarkably similar as well. Of all the bowlers from all the countries in the history of Test cricket (let's say, since 1900 and the subsequent era of covered pitches) who have bowled at least 3000 balls - that is a reasonable career - Shane Bond has the best strike rate of them all. Every 38.7 balls he got someone out...]

Can you believe it?! Well, Martin Crowe can't - and nor can I. Over this upcoming summer there is an 80 day period where there is no first class cricket. What's more, I have the solution :) The window for Twenty20 cricket is far too big. Six weeks?! Ridiculous. Twenty20 is not that different from baseball in terms of time and energy expended. In professional baseball in the USA they often play six days out of seven, with a lot of excitement generated by the occasional back-to-back games, or doubleheaders. Cricket can learn from this without going quite to this extreme. Six teams - home and away - 10 games + finals' weekend. I reckon the window could be three weeks (and four weekends - the last one being finals' weekend). On each weekend three teams could gather in one location (for example, Queenstown) and the other three in another location (say, Napier) - with each team playing twice and there being one double-header in each location. So that would be 6 of the 10 preliminary games played on the weekends. The other 4 games to be played are then fitted in as one-off games on the weekdays. Slightly larger squads. One game every two days... Run it roughly from 26 December - 15 January. Even a Twenty20 skeptic like me would find this intriguing. Go on - elect me to the Board of New Zealand Cricket :) It is a great idea...

Can you believe it?! The ICC has recently released rankings - team and individual - for Twenty20 cricket. New Zealand is ranked third. WOW - third is pretty high for us these days. But here is the bit that is hard to believe: the top six bowlers in the rankings are all spinners - the ones that are supposedly so much easier to hit.

Can you believe it?! In 12-18 months, the New Zealand test team will be world-beaters ("ah, Paul, always the optimist with NZ cricket, aren't you?!"). If a lawn-bowler (ie an underarm bowler) from Australia can lead our selection panel, why can't I have a crack at selection as well (unless, of course, I am on the Board)? Here it is:

1. Martin Guptill

2. Brendon McCullum

3. Daniel Flynn

4. Ross Taylor

5. Jesse Ryder

6. Kane Williamson

7. Reece Young

8. Daniel Vettori

9. Tim Southee

10. Hamish Bennett

11. Neil Wagner

with Dean Brownlie, Doug Bracewell and James Franklin on the bench.

I find that this kind of intrigue really energises me for the other intrigue to which, rather sadly, I must now return.

nice chatting

Paul

ted steve paul

2011-11-09T09:50:00.002+13:00

Those of you familiar with the biographies of John Stott will remember that he once had a Kiwi curate at All Souls' named Ted. Ted had the gall one day to criticise Stott about his preaching being beautifully biblical, but unconnected with the wider world. As the story goes, it was this interchange that became the seed for Stott developing his "double listening" metaphor (and the "bridge-building" one) whereby a preacher must listen to both Word and World on the journey to the sermon.

At more than one point in the various biographies, Ted is described as a "brash Kiwi". Maybe it was just Ted, in that unevenly sanctified state which can mark a curacy ... or is there more to this? Is there something inherently brash about Kiwis? That would be a big call to make...

But this week Steve Williams and Paul Henry haven't exactly helped to dilute that impression.

Four days after the words were spoken, Stevie's comments about Tiger Woods were still the top two most-viewed sports stories on The Guardian website in the UK. That included a weekend of football action - incredible. The story redefined "going viral". Given the global popularity of golf, Stevie is almost certainly more famous than Richie - and maybe even the most recognisable Kiwi name/person in the world today. Sadly, he has a track record of headline-grabbing ugly brashness. This cartoon, entitled 'the most appalling hole in golf', captures it well.

Less widely known beyond NZ is the media personality, Paul Henry. He had to leave his broadcasting job after a series of gaffes which included naming one woman as retarded and another as having a moustache - before setting his brand of humour on two respected leaders of Indian heritage, as he made fun of names and disrespected ethnicity. In the end he had to be sacked - but then he reappeared on our screens with indecent haste and now he has just landed a huge job in Oz. [NB: I am not dignifying his gaffes by providing links for you].

A few reflections:

1. Both Williams' language and Henry's humour are silly, juvenile and over-the-top. It is reminiscent of what one might find on the playground at a primary school. I found both to be ugly and brash, leaving me feeling embarassed to be a Kiwi.

2. At this point many reach for 'political correctness' and ask why we have to be so precious about certain things. 'Where is your sense of humour, Paul?' Although political correctness can squeeze us into thinking more narrowly about the issues, my interest is more with theological correctness. Whichever way you look at it, abusing or mocking people in ways that relate to their ethnicity and/or gender that causes offense is theologically incorrect. For this reason I have been surprised how many fans of Paul Henry I have encountered within the Christian community. I don't get it.

3. All my life I have watched Kiwis engage with Aussies, Brits and Americans - and vice versa. It reminds me of a family. Kiwis are kinda like the little kid brother, by virtue of size and location. I think if we let them, we might become a favourite little brother - but instead, at the first hint of being ignored or forgotten, we break out into all kinds of attention-seeking behaviours. We can become noisy and ill-mannered - as the brash and the ugly surfaces. We see it in the sporting world. We see it in the media. More sadly, it can be discovered within inter-cultural mission teams at work around the world where poor relationships between mission partners is reputed to be the biggest reason for people returning home.

Is Ted a bit like Steve and Paul?!
It couldn't be so...that is why we met him only on a first name basis.

Are Kiwis inherently brash?!
Probably not (although I've seen enough to make me wince) - but we should still take care.

Thankfully, oh so thankfully, the All Blacks won the World Cup - with the brashness and ugliness saved only for the build-up to the game against Australia(!) and only among the supporters, not the team.

nice chatting

Paul

pastor and scholar

2011-11-06T17:06:00.000+13:00

Such is my life now that I can describe a book by how many boarding passes accumulate within its pages as I work my way through it. So, for example, that book on Pakistan in July was a "thirteen (international) boarding pass" book. It was long and slow and intense.

Last week I read a "three (domestic) boarding pass" book. It was short and quick and fun...

John Piper & DA Carson's The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor. It was originally delivered on a single occasion in 2009 to which the crowds flooded as one might expect, given the Christian celebrity status of the authors. In the first half we hear from John Piper, a pastor whose "mind never fully left the academy" (108), while the second half is devoted to DA Carson, a scholar whose "heart never left the church" (108).

The purpose of the book comes in its final paragraph: "So in charging pastors to be more serious about the life of the mind, and in challenging scholars to be more engaged with the life of the church, (our prayer) is that all our thoughtful shepherding and all our pastoral scholarship may be to the great end of having the gospel message about Jesus dwell richly (Col 3.16) both in us and in our people...(111)."

My response to the book?! Quite polarised ... sorry!

Try as I might I am rarely able to find Piper's wavelength in his sermons and books. Something must be wrong with me. The temptation is there to say that "he just does not do it for me" - but that would sound hyper-consumerist of me, so I won't say it :). His section is too focused on his own story for my appetite, interesting though it is at various points (for example, his early 'disabilities' surrounding a "paralysis before people and painfully slow reading" (29)). And I guess, if I'm honest, I was stunned to read that his church is in the process of starting its own seminary. "Why, oh why, can that possibly be necessary?! Who on earth came up with that idea? What can a seminary of this ilk possibly contribute to the global church which is not already represented elsewhere? I just don't get it."

Enough. Let's move on. Because in his half of the book Carson is at his brilliant best. Every faculty of every evangelical theological college should make these 35 pages the focus of a daylong retreat. I kinda miss that I am not in a position to make this happen anymore myself! A briefer(!) personal narrative gives way to 'twelve lessons for the scholar as pastor'. Here they are with a great quotation thrown in for free::

1. Take steps to avoid becoming a mere quartermaster
"It is possible to write learned tomes on apologetics without actually defending the gospel in the current world; it is possible to write commentaries without constantly remembering that God makes himself present, he discloses himself afresh, to his people, through his Word ... Unless you are actively involved in pastoral ministry in some sense or other, you will become distant from the frontlines and therefore far less useful than you might be." (82, 84)

2. Beware the seduction of applause
"(it) means that for you it becomes more important to be thought learned than to be learned. The respect of peers who write erudite journal articles becomes more immediately pressing than the Lord's approval (84-85) ... (then after a potentially corrosive discussion with his doctoral supervisor) In a flash I knew that I would rather have the gospel, knowledge of forgiveness of sins, and a reverence for God's Word than all the academic applause in the world" (88).

3. Fight a common disjunction
(the 'critical' vs the the devotional reading of Scripture)
"My response, forcefully put, is to resist this disjunction, to eschew it, to do everything in your power to destroy it ... when you read 'devotionally', keep your mind engaged; when you read 'critically' (ie with more diligent and focused study, deploying a panoply of 'tools'), never, ever forget whose Word it is. The aim is never to become a master of the Word, but to be mastered by it." (91)

4. Never forget people
"We don't have mere students, organic sponges whose primary function is to soak up data and then squeeze it back out again on demand. Rather, in our classrooms are blood-bought children of the living God ... because of the content we teach, because of the Lord we serve, we who teach in such institutions must also be eager for relationships with students." (92, 93-94)

5. Recognise different gifts
"Through their books, get to know some epochal thinkers reasonably well. Slow down; read, take notes, think, evaluate ...What is virtually never justified is never reading anything slowly, seriously, analytically, and evaluatively, for such reading of good material not only fills our minds with many good things, but teaches us how to think." (97, 98)

6. Recognise what students learn
"If I happily presuppose the gospel but rarely articulate it and am never excited about it, while effervescing frequently about, say, ecclesiology or textual criticism, my students may conclude that the most important thing to me is ecclesiology or textual criticism ... I dare never forget that students do not learn everything I try to teach them but primarily what I am excited about." (98-99, 99)

7. Make the main thing the main thing
(on the danger of being teachers who love to focus on "the weaknesses, aberrations, and assorted blindspots of contemporary evangelicalism") ... "This may work its way out in students who become more and more critical of confessional evangelicalism, and pretty soon even of the evangel itself. They are in danger of becoming smart-mouths. Their superciliousness guarantees that they cannot minister effectively anywhere. Instead of becoming believers whose lives fruitfully foster change within the church, these students become condescending critics ... In all our legitimate concern for the innovative, what is of greater importance is the changeless." (101, 102)

8. Pray and work for vision
"If you are a pastor-scholar, you ought to be asking yourself what might be especially helpful at the present moment, what work of scholarship is crying out to be tackled, what popularization would benefit the Lord's people ... If you write only what others ask you to write, I fear you may be displaying a want of scholarly imagination, and, still worse, a lack of pastoral care." (102, 103)

9. Love the church
"If we are training a preponderance of pastors and others who will serve in the local church, it is essential that the faculty members truly love the church that Christ loved and for which he gave himself. Many students will learn to love what their professors truly love. So love the church." (103)

10. Avoid lone-ranger scholarship
"Some projects are better undertaken with collaboration ... if you are beginning to press into arenas of thought that are not your first area of competence, you are wise to run your work by others in the field, to solicit criticisms and suggestions." (104)

Carson ran out of gas (or was it time?) with the last two...
11. Be interested in the work of others
"Be at least as interested in the work of others as you are in your own." (105)

12. Take your work seriously but not yourself
"Make sure you have some people around you who feel free to laugh at you ... Walk humbly - you have far more to be humble about than you realise. Take your work seriously, but not yourself." (105)

And then a delightful concluding word from the editors:
"To Jesus, the great pastor-scholar, be all the glory."

nice chatting

Paul

rugby emotion

2011-11-01T14:57:00.000+13:00

Exactly one week ago the parade was making its way through Christchurch, with thousands turning out to celebrate the All Blacks' victory in the Rugby World Cup.

I've been thinking a lot about emotion in the intervening days.

What an array of feelings surfaced during the tournament. From the opening ceremony when that lad came out to meet Jonah Lomu wearing a Canterbury jersey (the single most enduring memory of the tournament for me) to the final twenty minutes of the final when a pervasive anxiety took over a nation. The land of the long dark cloud beckoned yet again. And then not for the first time in the latter stages of this tournament did the best team on the day lose. What drama it caused...

Then at a personal level there was so much happening. Surely the world's best player could not be cruelly injured out of the tournament for the third straight time? Yes, he was! What about that Stephen Donald, villified and crucified by all sections of the media and talkback radio a few months ago - but there he is sitting way down on the pecking order at fourth and yet he steps up to kick the winning goal? What about the French team advancing forward to the haka? And what a fine line it became between hero and zero, knighthood and exile, for Graham Henry?! And then how about Jock Hobbs? Saviour of the All Black brand in one decade; securer of the World Cup in the second; and then in the third decade he shows up, so seriously ill with cancer, to give Richie his 100th cap and to receive a special award from the IRB for services to rugby.

We could go on and on, couldn't we?! We haven't even mentioned the fans - whose emotion is so well-captured in this little piece:

I am well-wired to my emotions. It is a topic of great interest to me.

The post-resurrection narratives are my favourite resting places with emotion. In Luke 24 there is the despair of the two on the road to Emmaus. In John 20 there is the grief of Mary, the fear of the disciples, and the doubt of Thomas. Despair, grief, fear and doubt. Very human. Very basic. Very elemental - almost like the carbon:hydrogen:oxygen:nitrogen in the Periodic Table of Elements. So much that is damaging at the emotional level is some combo of these four. Full though each person is with one of them, each one drains away in the encounter with Jesus. Doubt becomes faith with a touch. Fear becomes courage with a presence. Grief becomes joy with a word. And those despairing hearts become burning hearts under the influence of an expository sermon from Jesus! It makes me love and worship Jesus so much more when I see such attention to individual human emotion at the very time when he could be showing-off his divinity and victory over death to a packed stadium somewhere.

Another resting place are the writings of Matthew Elliot. There is his more serious book: Faithful Feelings: Emotion in the New Testament.
"Emotions are a faithful reflection of what we believe and value. The Bible does not treat them as forces to be controlled or channelled towards the right things, but as an integral part of who we are as people created in God's image. Christian emotions should be the most intense, the most vibrant, and the most pervasive things we feel as they are based on the most important things in life ... Our emotions will show the reality of our faith.You will find believers living from their hearts at the core of the great moves of God in the New Testament and church history ... Emotion is not the opposite of reason and rationality; it is part of reason's very substance ...When Christian emotions are not present, or when harmful emotions are pervasive, it is a warning that the belief system which the New Testament presents has not been grasped, or valued" (264-268).

Elliot has also written a more popular, storied and interactive book: Feel: the power of listening to your heart. It is supported by a website with all sorts of resources and ideas. His quest has been to find the true role of feelings in the spiritual life. His conclusions?
"Our emotions were given by God to drive us to our best ... emotions are among the most logical and dependable things in our lives ... emotions give us a window to see truth like nothing else ... the true health of our spiritual lives is measured by how we feel. That is the great power in listening to your heart" (4-5).

nice chatting

Paul

grand prix, grand narrative

2011-10-30T07:18:00.001+13:00

I am always on the look-out for changes happening in the world around us...

With a F1 Grand Prix in India today (who would have thought it possible?!), my mind started buzzing overtime. How has the list of countries hosting F1 races changed over the years? How might this reflect the shifts in power - particularly, economic power - in the grand narrative which is the global story?

So I decided to compare 1981 with 2011 - a neat thirty year gap.

The countries which hosted a grand prix in 1981 and 2011 are:

Brazil, Belgium, Monaco, Spain, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Canada.

The countries which hosted a grand prix in 1981, but not 2011 are:

USA (twice), Argentina, San Marino, France, Austria, and the Netherlands. [NB: I think the USA comes back in 2012 - but interesting that it was twice in 1981].

The countries which hosted a grand prix in 2011, but not in 1981 are:

Australia, Malaysia, China, Turkey, 'Europe', Bahrain (although cancelled through political unrest), Hungary, Singapore, Japan, Korea, India, and Abu Dhabi.

Is that fascinating, or is that fascinating?!
The centre of gravity for the grand prix has moved decisively eastwards and southwards, away from Europe and towards Asia - following the grand narrative of the global economy ... and the global church!

nice chatting

Paul

bartholomew - again

2011-10-26T08:51:00.001+13:00

I don't tend to buy books according to topic - but by author. And then each year I try to expand my list of favourite authors.

2011 has been the year of Craig Bartholomew. Earlier this year I reviewed his remarkable commentary on Ecclesiastes. On a recent trip to Cambodia I read Living at the Crossroads: an introduction to Christian worldview - a book co-authored with Michael Goheen.

Goheen & Bartholomew had already co-authored The Drama of Scripture: finding our place in the Biblical story. These two books form a superb combo on biblical story and christian worldview. One follows the other so naturally. My mind drifts across to theological colleges around the world and the possibilities of a course with these books as the basis - a course made easier because the authors have constructed websites to go with each book, adding resources of all kinds. What an act of refreshing servant-hearted generosity! For the biblical story book, look here - and for the christian worldview book, look here. Clicking through the ppt slides provides a quick tour of the books - and check out all the articles they have collected ...

Anyhow - back to Living at the Crossroads. The idea behind the title is that "the people of God live at the intersection of two stories, both of which claim to be true and comprehensive" (8) - the 'western story' and the 'biblical story'. Drawing frequently on Lesslie Newbigin's analysis, they argue that the church tends to compromise, "allowing the biblical story to be subsumed within the modern scientific story" (9).

First up there is a chapter explaining 'worldview' with a focus on the history of the concept and the five objections to it from within the Christian community which then draws forth a better description: "worldview is an articulation of the basic beliefs embedded in a shared grand story that are rooted in a faith commitment and that give shape and direction to the whole of our individual and corporate lives" (23). Here there is a move away from the overly rationalistic definitions of yesteryear and on towards a more 'storied' and all-of-life understanding.

Then the two stories at the crossroads are engaged. The biblical worldview - rehearsed as creation, sin, restoration, consummation (31-66): "to look at the world through Scripture is to look at the world through three lenses at the same time: as something created by God, twisted by sin, and being redeemed by the work of Christ. Remove any one of these lenses and the biblical worldview is distorted. This is like an LCD projector that requires three glass panels - red, yellow, green - through which the video signal passes. All are needed to give proper colour..." (63).

After this attention shifts to the Western story - traced as it is through all kinds of stages: Greco-Roman Paganism; some input from the Gospel; Medieval Synthesis between the Gospel and a 'Platonized' Christianity; Renaissance when humanism is 'born again'; Reformation; Scientific Revolution; Enlightenment and the conversion of the West to a new faith - "faith in progress, faith in reason, faith in technology, faith in a rationally ordered social world" (92-96); Age of Revolution when society is brought into conformity with Enlightement faith; a Romantic reaction; and then Late Modernity with the gains and decline of Liberal Humanism of our current times. All in all, a quick story from the 6th century BC to the 21st century AD in 39 pages!

After this analysis the book takes off in three closing chapters.

In Chapter 7 the authors ask "what time is it?" as they discern four currents in our current time which just must be discerned clearly by those wanting to live at the crossroads: (a) the rise of postmodernity; (b) consumerism and globalisation; (c) the renascence of Christianity in the southern hemisphere; (d) the resurgence of Islam. The West needs to wake-up in a hurry to recognise that "postmodernity is not the only game in town" (108).

In Chapter 8 they explore what "faithful, relevant witness" at the crossroads looks like as they go in search of 'a comprehensive vision of cultural engagement'. Basically it is salt and light re-envisioned and invigorated as they call for a "critical participation" (132). But the helpful feature is that they turn to a businesswoman, a PhD student, a social worker, a teacher, an athlete, and a politician to provide illustrations of the points they are making. And what must be avoided is withdrawal (a bit like the error of the Essenes), accommodation (like the error of the Sadducees) and dualism (akin to the error of the Pharisees) - and there is certainly no room for the approach of the Zealots either: "using every possible means, including violence, to usher in the kingdom in their own strength" (145).

In Chapter 9 the principles are applied to SIX areas of public life: Business (146-150), Politics (150-153), Sports and Competition (153-156), Creativity and Art (156-161), Scholarship (161-165), and Education (165-173). The application and earthing of the principles of Christian worldview in these everyday areas of life is superb. The Business section touches down in free trade and fair trade; Politics tackles Romans 13 and reminds readers that "the church is a theocracy, but the nations in which Christians live are not " (150) ... and then the way "Scholars should work to uproot theories from their idolatrous soil and replant them in the soil of the gospel, where they can bloom more fruitfully (164)" - before concluding the chapter with a sustained discussion on public schooling, Christian schooling and home schooling (worth the price of admission, let me tell you!).

The book concludes with a 'Pastoral Postscript' in which the plea to remember the priority of being in community, of being sustained by a vigorous spirituality, of joining with the Spirit in what is his work in the world, and finally, of the need "to engage the powers in the public square in hope" (176).

nice chatting

Paul

wisdom at funerals

2011-10-08T11:31:00.001+13:00

There is plenty of wisdom in Ecclesiastes, nowhere more than in ch7.2: "you'll learn more at a funeral than at a party" (paraphrase mine). I've been going to a few funerals recently and learning lots as I do so.

Last week it was Dr John Allen, remembered from my teenage days at Mt Albert Baptist where I hung out with his kids. His son David gave me my first opportunity to preach. His son Philip gave me my copy of JI Packer's Knowing God. And Priscilla - well, years later I remember getting up to preach at Windsor Park Baptist Church and being so surprised to see her curly mane of red hair in the congregation that I found myself starting my sermon with an exclamatory "Hi, Priscilla".

It was the tribute from Paul, Priscilla's husband, that so impacted me. I asked for a copy and permission to quote it here. Paul spoke about his father-in-law's "moral consistency - a consistency between his beliefs and his actions and between the private and public man ... there was no shadow of hypocrisy in him." Then out tumbled these profound statements:

"He was an accomplished person who had status in the world, but was not vain or self-important;
He was wise, but not remote;
He was learned, but not the least pompous;
He loved all his children and grandchildren individually in a special way, but never played favourites;
He was good-humoured, but never mocking or sarcastic;
He had theological depth, but also had a simple and child-like faith throughout his life;
He was knowledgeable about current affairs, but was never opinionated or bigoted;
He was a devoted and highly successful professional man, but was never dismissive or neglectful of his family;
He had pleasure in the whole realm of creation, equally in the cosmos of the night sky, or a bucket of wormy compost;
He enjoyed his own company, but was also full of social graces and was a uniter of people."

I did not know 'Uncle John' well enough to write all this, but I did know him well enough to see how all that is written here could be true. It carries a ring of authenticity - oh yes it does.

The influence of a good person has a way of growing and extending even further after they have died. When I read these words from his son-in-law that is most certainly the case for 'Uncle John' with me. And maybe by posting them on this blog, it can be the case for another - maybe others who did not even know him - because here is an example worth following.

nice chatting

Paul

a smorgasbord of provocation

2011-10-03T13:40:00.027+13:00

October has come and with it an event that has been months in the planning. The kiwi-made preaching forums are just around the corner.

75 Questions will be asked by 49 Question-askers in 3 venues around the country (Auckland - October 25; Waikanae - October 27; Christchurch - October 29).

It is designed to be 'kiwi-made', with every single Question-asker being someone wrestling with preaching in this Kiwi context. It is conceived not so much as a seminar filled with answers from the experts, but as a forum filled with questions from a few thinkers. And it addresses what we know as 'the sermon', a feature of the gathered Christian community which is often maligned even as it continues to persist.

We aim to provoke, spurring minds into thinking new thoughts, by providing a smorgasbord of options from which those minds can be fed. And the 'but wait there's more' feature of the forum?
Chris Wright - in demand all over the world as an author, Old Testament scholar, leader within the Lausanne movement, and International Director of Langham Partnership International - is coming all the way from the UK just to be our companion for the journey. While we Kiwis are asking the Questions through the day, Chris will open and close each forum with an Exclamation.

The first forum was held in April 2009. It was the highlight of my working life. "That is a big call, Paul." Yes, it is - but I mean it. We were overwhelmed by more than 200 people from all around the country. Someone came up to Auckland from Mosgiel for the day! The people, the questions, the space, the tone, the hospitality, the subject, the community - all of it contributed to an exhilarating day. Whether we can reproduce it all again is probably more in God's hands, but we sure are gonna try with both our planning and our praying.

One outcome of that first forum was the establishing of a website, with various interactive features, as it gathers a virtual community and resources it. Have a browse here.

The forums are brought to you by Langham Partnership New Zealand, in partnership with Tertiary Students' Christian Fellowship (TSCF) and Carey Baptist College. Costs are $75 (waged); $30 (unwaged); $300 (groups of 5 from a single church). Registration is a simple step-by-step process on-line here.

Please register now - for catering purposes (lunch is provided), as well as to secure your first selection of Questions from the smorgasbord. Registration on-the-day will cost $95 to encourage this early response.

nice chatting

Paul Windsor

godzone: nurturing the sprouts

2011-09-29T15:14:00.010+13:00

Earlier this month I had the privilege of preaching the sermon at the John Stott Memorial Service in New Zealand. I closed my message from Jeremiah 23 by speaking of the sadness of Stott's death - but also of a deeper sadness.

The deeper sadness is that John Stott visited our country only three times and the most recent visit was in 1969. If you do the number-crunching this means it is unlikely that there are many Kiwis under 60 who have any memory of his ministry on NZ soil. That is incredibly sad...

"There will be lots of reasons for this - some excusable, some inexcusable."

The thing that impacted me is that when you look at Stott's life and what he stood for and then look at the landscape of NZ church life over the past generation or two, that absence shows up and led me to ask some questions:

"Why do we struggle to save words like ‘evangelical’ and ‘exposition’ from extinction, burdened as they are by stereotype? Where are the evangelistic missions on our campuses? What has been happening at our seminaries – is it a ‘making’ or is it a ‘marring’? Where are the crowds hanging out at Bible teaching conferences? Why does maturity not attract the same attention as mission? Why do we not confront false teaching courageously – yet graciously? Where are the home-grown biblical scholars in that ‘Bible Speaks Today’ mould? What does hearing a leader say “I am no good with names?” – say about their prayer lives?"

Then I went on to suggest that the answers are coming. There are encouragements. "The sprouts are appearing in our land, but they need nurture."

Let me give some examples.

Take 'seminaries', or theological training. There is plenty of 'making' going on - and far less 'marring' than there used to be. When you consider the current state of Carey and Laidlaw, for example, one can only conclude that the state of theological education in NZ has never been better. (NB: I have blogged on this subject recently here). There is now no reason whatsoever for a Kiwi to go overseas for their primary theological education.

Related to this, take the question about the lack of home-grown biblical scholars. New Zealand can point to historians and theologians and sociologists of an evangelical persuasion who have completed doctoral study in New Zealand. But biblical scholars? The sprouts are tender but they are coming along. I think of Martin Williams with a PhD on Salvation in 1 Peter from Otago which is to be published by Cambridge University Press (as I understand it). WOW! And there are a growing numbers of others: Dr Mark Keown comes to mind (Philippians), as does soon-to-be Dr Sarah Harris (Luke) - but I better stop before I start missing people out!

One more example of an answer to one of the questions above. Take this area of evangelistic mission on our campuses. For a generation or two the church in NZ has tended to turn its face away from our universities. There has been an inability to prioritise how "your mind matters" (as Stott put it) and that an engagement with the students and departments of the university is critical to any mission strategy. And so, with the passage of time, the secular and the pagan and the godless in our universities has become more and more intimidating and in the face of it, an evangelistic impulse or strategy has been dulled - if not dried up altogether.

But the sprouts are there! Year-by-year it is so exciting to see the Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship (TSCF) - aligned as it is with the global body (IFES) to which John Stott gave so much energy - build up some momentum. A steady trickle of conversions is now a feature of their work on campuses. Ben Carswell has been set aside as a National Outreach Coordinator. And now there is the boldness and freshness of Godzone, a rugby-themed presentation of the Gospel of Luke, complete with testimonies from leading rugby players and developed in an indigenous Kiwi format. It is so encouraging. My understanding is that something like 8000 of these were distributed in the first week of availability.

You can order your own multiple copies online for friends here - at a cost of $2 plus shipping.

nice chatting

Paul

redeeming short term mission

2011-09-21T16:03:00.021+12:00

I cannot escape the clutches of the question.

Be it Islamabad or Jakarta or Delhi - or Sydney, Wellington, Bluffton (Ohio!) or Auckland. The same issue has been filling my ears and my lips. As I've watched experienced missionaries in action - Robin and Jenny, John and Rosemary, Steve and Ruth - the question has come to mind. Then as I've listened to mission society personnel and attended mission conferences and engaged with mission committees, still the question has come to mind.

What is the place of short term mission trips in the overall mission of God in the world today?

I confess to feelings of increasing skepticism. They are over-rated in terms of their long-term effectiveness. They soak up too much time and energy both for people over here and over there. They drain many a missionary budget in local churches. For those with the courage to name the inconvenient truth at the heart of it, the return on the investment is notoriously poor.

"Aren't you being a little harsh, Paul?"
Yes, most definitely I am. That is the point...

I don't doubt that short term mission trips are transformational for some people. They most certainly are - but for how many people? And what percentage of people are still transformed a decade later? I have my doubts. And while on the subject of percentages, what is the percentage of a local church's mission budget that is going on short term mission, as opposed to longer term commitments. I bet it is creeping up.

Big-time sociologist, Robert Wuthnow, estimates that 1.6 million Americans go on “mission trips” each year, with churches spending at least $2.4 billion per year on such trips. Many of these trips conclude with time in a resort - in fact, one resort in the Bahamas reported that they had 1 “short-term missionary” for every 15 residents...

Here is how I would set the (financial) priorities of a local church, or family, wanting to be committed to the mission of God in the world.

Priority #1
Identify people, partnering with long-standing mission organisations, who are willing to learn the language of those to whom God is sending them. That is what opens up the highway into peoples' hearts. That is what proves that 'your people will become my people'. Learn their language. That is what sets the platform for something strategic.

Those people mentioned above - Robin and Jenny, John and Rosemary, Steve and Ruth - all fit into this category. I wish I could take the time to tell you what I've seen in their lives in recent weeks. In Jakarta I eavesdropped on a kinda reunion evening for all the 'alumni' touched by a missionary couple who gave their lives to the people and the country. People flooded into the huge room. Dozens of them. From all sorts of senior positions in the life of the nation. Oh yes, this is always Priority #1. Every single one of God's people need to be involved in supporting people like this - and it should be uppermost in the minds of mission committee priorities.

Priority #2
The church in the majority world is growing in numbers and maturity. Leaders are emerging. It is no longer cost-effective to wrap up all our money in our own people and send them over there. You can get a better missional bang for your buck by diversifying your investment. Today it is hugely strategic - if nowhere near as 'sexy' as short term mission trips (!) - to be supporting established and proven initiatives in these countries.

For example, accredited theological colleges and credible indigenous mission agencies head the list. The seed for this post was borne when I attended the foundational meeting of the Indian Evangelical Mission (NZ) Trust earlier this month. I don't tend to be on Boards anymore, but when invited to join this one, I jumped at it. IEM is the most respected missionary-sending agency within India, sending hundreds of missionaries cross-culturally - and probably able to send 10 people for what it costs us to send 1 person. As Obama expressed it the other day, "do the math".

Priority #3
Then there is that mission mentality of us going 'over there' to give them what they need and long for. Here mission flows one way in what is a hangover from the colonial era. It is no longer good enough! An investment in two-way partnership is needed somewhere in the mission budget. There is a lot that we need and do not long for enough which our friends in the majority world can prod and provoke in us. We need them. Start with attitudes to wealth and resources, sacrifice and suffering.

The work of Tony in a SE Asian country comes to mind. Plenty of resources have flowed from here to there over the years. It has made a massive difference. But a whole lot of prodding and provoking, among other things, has flowed from there to here as well as leaders have visited and ministered in our churches. It is a partnership.

Priority #4
Again, this is a little different than the norm. With the growth in expertise in many parts of the majority world, there is a contribution to be made at a 'consultant' level. The servant-hearted facilitator. The person with a specialised skill or expertise who can visit for a short period to upskill national leaders. This is short-term and non-residential, but when appropriately organised it can be effective.

I have a brother who is a high-powered surgeon and he does a bit of this. I work with a guy called Paul who is an Old Testament specialist. He is based in a college in Asia for six months of the year and then the balance of the year he is on the loose, free-lancing in all kinds of places around Asia. A staggering potential for influence without taking over the work from national leaders. In the shrinking global village it makes so much sense - and it ain't very costly!

Priority #5
With these four priorities established in the life of a local church - and a family - then I think we can turn our minds and hearts and wallets towards short term mission trips in an effort to redeem them.

But some changes need to be made as we do so. The trips need to be fewer in frequency. The trips need to have less people on them. The trips need to be for longer periods of time. The trips need to be less mobile, more willing to remain in one place. And the objective is simple - it must lead on to lifelong transformation in the way life and family and career and church is viewed.

Participants need to be 'scarred for life'. I confess that my kids have showed the way for me here. One went and remained in Kolkata for seven months. Another did something similar in Kampala, but for fifteen months. Another spent nine months in Liberia...

It is about staying long enough to learn people's names, have people become your friends, and then remain in your heart for forever - as well as sitting on your shoulder, as it were, bothering you with every single decision which you make. Surely, if a short term mission trip does not lead to this outcome then it remains unredeemed and questions need to be asked.

nice chatting

Paul

longings

2011-09-10T10:05:00.006+12:00

An old hymn has been getting under my skin and taking over my heart. I have no knowledge of ever hearing it before, until it was part of a medley of recordings of my Dad singing that was played at the beginning of his funeral service.

[NB: You can hear just three of the four verses (naughty, naughty!) being sung right at the very beginning of the link to the service here - http://vimeo.com/27844875].

But here are the words. I had been searching for them and then my brother just produced them yesterday. The hymn is written by Ada Habershon, an influential figure in the life of DL Moody, and it is simply called 'Longings'.

I long to know Thee better, day by day,
I want to draw much closer when I pray;
To listen more intently for Thy voice,
To let the things Thou choosest, be my choice.

I long to serve Thee better, hour by hour,
Depending more entirely on Thy power;
I want to know more fully all Thy will,
To count upon each promise and be still.

I long to keep more closely at Thy side,
To worship in Thy presence and abide;
I want to rest more calmly in Thy care,
Assured that Thou will keep me safely there.

I long to find new beauties in Thy word,
To follow in the footsteps of my Lord;
And, oh, the dearest longing through Thy grace,
Is that mine eyes may see Thee face to face.

nice chatting

Paul

hebelisation

2011-09-02T13:42:00.014+12:00

The Hebrew word hebel has intrigued me for years. It is the word identified most closely with Ecclesiastes.

I grew up on the KJV's 'vanity' and gradually shifted across to the NIV's 'meaningless'. In between there was time for the GNB's 'useless', the NEB's 'empty', the Living Bible's 'futile', and now the CEV's 'nonsense'.

[Hint from translators: when we cannot agree, you know that you have a fascinating word.]

Once I did some theological training I was able to wade into the scholars a bit more. Like Michael Fox's 'absurd', or Peter Kreeft's 'wild goose chase - and there is no wild goose', or Chris Grantham's 'random', or RBY Scott's 'breath', and then just this year Craig Bartholomew's 'enigmatic'.

[Warning from exegetes: this is no time for 'illegitimate totality transfer' where the entire semantic range of possible meaning is poured into one single reference.]

Is it not the most fascinating word?

At its core hebel is meant to be a metaphor. We are meant to see something, the linguistic osmosis kicks in and what we see pictures what the word means. What is to be seen with this word? Vapour. Breath (on a cold day). Mist. And maybe best of all - drum roll, please, for Eugene Peterson and The Message's 'smoke'.
And what might the essence of this metaphor convey? Maybe two things?: (i) something that is brief and fleeting; (ii) something that is empty and weightless. Like 'breath' and 'smoke' - and even like 'enigmatic', as this refers to that which cannot be grasped.

What shall we do with all this? Well, John Stott is very much on my mind and so why don't we do a little 'double listening' in his honour, reflecting a little on the World and the Word. OK?

For me a striking example of hebelisation in our world is the Reality TV phenomenon. I am no fan at all. Sorry! Right at the start of Ecclesiastes - in chapter 2 - the writer embraces something similar, a host of trivial pursuits on the way to finding significance for his life. Take a close look: laughter, wine, homes, gardens, music, money, sex, celebrity - each one a Reality TV possibility (and we could add sport, food and travel) - and his conclusion on these pursuits?
Hebel. Brief. Empty.

Think about the contemporary equivalents: Extreme Makeover (homes); American Idol (music); The Amazing Race (travel); Next Top Model (beauty); Master Chef (food); Temptation Island (sex); Project Runway (clothing); America's Toughest Jobs (work); The Apprentice (business); Biggest Loser (weight loss); Last Comic Standing (comedy) etc etc. I'll stop short of being too dismissive. But what I will argue is that if a person finds a succession of these shows to be compelling and greatly anticipated each week, then that person is probably being hebelised without realising it. Maybe something dangerously vicarious is going on in their voyeuristic enjoyment of the vacuous. They will be losing touch with the real reality so poignantly described in Ecclesiastes 4, for example, with all its human trauma and sadness.

Once the subject turns to the real reality we are directed back to the Word. I don't know if you subscribe to the view that sees value in reading the Bible 'canonically' (ie that the order of the books/chapters have some significance). Here is one time when I do. Two verses before the start of Ecclesiastes (Prov 31.30) we find beauty being described as hebel - and the response which a woman is to make is given as well: "a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised". In that one verse, two verses before Ecclesiastes, lies the message of Ecclesiastes. The response to Ecclesiastes 1.2, crammed with five references to hebel, comes in Ecclesiastes 12.13 - 'fear God'.

Fearing God is to take God seriously. Why? He is not brief. He is not weightless. He is neither like breath nor smoke. He is eternal and weighty - in fact 'glory' is the word that will do just fine , as that is what 'weighty' means. If Proverbs 31.30 carries something of Ecclesiastes in microcosm, so also does Psalm 62 where multiple references to our hebelised lives comes in the context of a God who is rock and fortress and refuge.

Jesus is also about the permanent and the weighty and the full. For me Ecclesiastes is pre-evangelism on the way to "I have come that you might have life - life in all its fulness".

nice chatting

Paul

english cricket

2011-08-23T06:44:00.012+12:00

This English cricket team is exceptional. Who could have picked that they would beat the #1 side in the world 4-0 in a four Test series? Remarkable! And as was the case against the Aussies last summer, a number of the victories have been substantial.

The rise of English cricket is great for the global game. Not only did they bring the dominant Aussie era to a close, they have humbled the Indians as well. India has far too much power and when they won the World Cup, the Indian lad in me said "oh yes", while the cricket fan in me said "oh no". Things appear more equal now as the great game is reinvigorated (aided also by the new Test Championship). But can the English enjoy an era of dominance like the Aussies and the West Indies before them? I doubt it. Talented and balanced and youngish though they may be, they don't intimidate like the mental toughness of those Aussies and the swagger of those West Indians used to do.

I like my statistics. But one comparison has always made me grumpy. It has to do with batting averages. How can the comparison between English/Kiwis and Aussies/Indians ever be fair when the quality of the pitches and the conditions in which the game is played are so different? Aussies and Indians have slightly inflated averages, while the English and the Kiwis have slightly deflated averages. I'll go to my grave believing that Martin Crowe was far, far better than 45.36!

But this is where the English team is so impressive. While pitches have improved, they do not play on batting paradises like is usually the case in Australia and India. And yet their Top Seven average, 49, 42, 58, 50, 49, 38 and 44. Four of them rank in the best fifteen of all time in terms of English batsmen (5th, 9th, 11th, 13th). WOW!

The playing conditions in New Zealand are similar and the comparable statistics give ample evidence for the weakness in the NZ game. The Top Seven from NZ's most recent series averaged 27, 37, 35, 41, 45, 33, and 30. Sure, there is a big gap in experience - but still that suggests that the English team will average 80+ more runs from their top order in each innings - and 160+ over the course of a Test. You will win a lot of test matches with that kind of advantage. And where do the best four in our top order rank in the history of NZ cricket? It is not that dissimilar (3rd, 7th, 13th, 17th) which provides some evidence for our perennial weakness on the global stage.

[NB: With the Indian Top Seven they average almost exactly the same number of runs as the English and the best five in their top order rank 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th in the history of Indian cricket].

Then there are the pace bowlers in the English cricket team. I do not have the time to check the history - but when was the last time the front-line pace attack averaged just 13, 16, and then 25 when playing against the best team in the world, stacked with batting legends of the game, over at least a four game series? How is that your bowlers are taking such cheap wickets on the very same pitch that your batsmen are making such big runs? Amazing!

The English will need to win well in India and beat the South Africans convincingly to be seen as a great team - but it will not surprise me if they do so. I am not sure who will eventually humble the English - but I suspect it will not be the Kiwis.

But then, of course, there is always the rugby...

nice chatting

Paul

three movies

2011-08-17T09:19:00.012+12:00

Now that I no longer teach a course on movies, my movie-watching has diminished greatly - and often just on planes through sleepy eyes (although I do limit myself to one per flight in order to ensure that I get some reading done!).

But not in the last ten days. There have been three movies to fill my screen.

First up, Of Gods and Men (we were watching this at the cinema when my brother was trying to contact me about my Dad's sudden decline in health). This is one for the ages and just must be seen. A small group of elderly monks keep alive both their own community and their incarnate presence in the wider Muslim society - at a time when the threat of extremism is real. I delighted in the slow pace, the struggle towards consensual decision-making and the joy which flows when this is discovered, and the salt:light tension with which they courageously and winsomely lived. And a true story as well - which I prefer. It took me back to favourites like The Elephant Man and The Lives of Others in terms of impact. A 'must' for a church leaders retreat with space to discuss - or a class on the Church.

Then it was Fire in Babylon. A film about the rise of West Indian cricket with some of my childhood heroes - Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts, Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, Michael Holding et al - to the fore, but also all kinds of musicians, historians, and culture-watchers interviewed as well. Terrific socio-historical insight into the reasons which drove West Indies cricket to the top. To think it is just for cricket fans would be a major mistake. One of my offspring (who shall remain nameless) sat glued to it. The editing and sound-track make it compulsive viewing. If anything, there are not enough clips of cricket action - but no one will ever really mind. I have my own copy - but you'll have to come watch it here, coz' it ain't leaving the house!

Last night my son Stephen brought around a 1963 Peter Sellers' movie, Heavens Above. The story of a mistakenly appointed vicar, taking up a country parish run by the rich and powerful, who believes the New Testament more literally and develops a heart for the poor and needy. The economy of the town crashes when the chief benefactor of the town joins the vicar as charity trumps business. The ending is very odd and reflects the era/issues of that time - but there are some great lines in it and plenty of mischief in the Sellers' character. The willingness to be true to the gospel, regardless of the implications, kinda inspires amidst all the humour. With the emphasis on incarnational ministry today, this film could easily develop a bit of a cult following. [NB - the brains behind the movie is one Malcolm Muggeridge, with 1963 being some years before he was converted!].

nice chatting

Paul

dad 1928-2011

2011-08-11T17:10:00.021+12:00

After a long battle with Parkinson's, Dad died at home yesterday in the company of his family - with the sun streaming through the window as the Hallelujah Chorus filled the room.

If you would like to read the story of Dad's life, people around the world have been appreciating a little book by Mary Tallon - Surprised by Obedience.

The easiest way to purchase it is by using the Book Depository's free postage service at this
link here.

nice chatting

Paul

PS: the full funeral service can be viewed here:

a stottian top ten

2011-08-06T06:36:00.027+12:00

Ah yes, one more post to mark my appreciation for John Stott. Here I countdown the ‘top ten’ books (out of the 50+ he has written) that have shaped my life. No easy task – but here we go...

at number ten
‘The Bible speaks today’ not only names Stott’s deep conviction (“God still speaks through what he has spoken” – one of my favourite sentences), it also titles a commentary series edited by him and into which he contributed seven volumes. These books are the bread and butter of his influence on me. Don Carson would speak to us as students of how Stott could “tap, tap, tap away at a text and it would just break open so clearly”. It’s true. So it could be Ephesians or Thessalonians, Timothy or Romans – but I’ll start where I started as a young pastor: the Sermon on the Mount and Christian Counter-Culture and his desire “to let Christ speak it again” for today. (With one sadness being that so little of his work in the Gospels and the Old Testament has been published...)

at number nine
I have almost given up on the word ‘evangelical’ here in New Zealand – not because I don’t believe in what it represents (far from it), but I have grown weary of the caricatures which the word attracts. For example, the world of media and politics keeps dragging ‘evangelical’ back to the very fundamentalism from which it was separated fifty years ago. UGH! But then just when I am about to give up, I take up and read Evangelical Truth – and don’t miss the subtitle: “a personal plea for unity”. This is not the shallower ‘love-is-all-you-need’ brand of unity, this is the deeper unity which comes with having love and truth in common. As he explains this evangelicalism (and lives it), I really, really like it - goodness me, it even sounds like the fullness of the gospel. And so at times I turn Stott into an adjective and refer to myself as a Stottian evangelical (a phrase of which he’d disapprove, I'm sure).

at number eight
Maybe because conversion happened for me like the dawning of the day, rather than a lightning strike in my adult years, I have not been as impacted by Basic Christianity as the millions of others - although it is still a precious book. Rather it is one that follows on neatly from it, as a manual on discipleship, that influenced me: The Contemporary Christian, with the sub-title once again helpful: “an urgent plea for double listening”. He works his way through the gospel, the disciple, the Bible, the church, the world – and pleads with his readers to listen both to the ancient word and the modern world as this keeps us from unfaithfulness on the one hand, and irrelevance on the other. This is the book I have used to introduce more than one group of young adults to John Stott. They are not always as enamoured as I, it must be said - as the style is older and “he does quote an awful lot of dead Anglicans!”

at number seven
My copy of this next book was a gift from John Stott to my father-in-law (Charles Warren) with a little inscription. 'Charlie' (which suggests they knew each other pretty well) hosted John Stott on a visit to Mussoorie (India) in 1973. That visit is my first memory. I was 13 years of age. He spoke at an Assembly and classes were cancelled as a little revival broke out in the school. Anyhow - back to the book. Three quarters of Understanding the Bible is simple survey material and then he shifts gears to include two chapters that have shaped my own approach to the Bible - and the training we now do within Langham Preaching: 'the Authority of the Bible' and the Interpretation of the Bible'. Interestingly, this material (and much more) is included in a more recent DVD series with an elderly John Stott in full flight - but curiously it never seemed to receive the marketing that was warranted. Be in!

at number six
Having established himself as a teacher of the biblical text, his own 'double listening' with both ears open became so very credible when he delved into the cultural context with a book that has gone through four editions as the world around us grapples with new issues: Issues Facing Christians Today. Here Stott demonstrates just how ‘worldly’ the best in evangelicalism can be. It became the starting point for the discussion of numerous ethical issues for an entire generation. And don’t miss the bookends – oh, please don’t miss the bookends. That marvellous chapter on ‘thinking christianly’, where I first discovered the seed of ‘the good, the bad, the new, and the perfect’ near the beginning, and the equally marvellous ‘call for christian leadership’ at the end.

at number five
This one took some courage. Basically John Stott allows a “liberal” scholar to pull his writings apart, book by book, and then invites Stott to respond. He does so in letter form - each time with, “My dear David ... Yours as ever, John.” Off they went, back and forth, with the Bible, the cross, the miraculous, the moral, and the eschatological. And it was that final exchange which exploded a controversy around him, from all sides, because of a few paragraphs written right at the end about hell and eternity. It is a shame that Evangelical Essentials: a liberal:evangelical dialogue became stuck, in the eyes of so many, in those final paragraphs because for me the book is the model of how wisdom, clarity, depth, humility, respect, courage, and balance combines in the life of a saintly scholar. What he said in terms of content was terrific, but even that was trumped, again and again, by how he said it and the tone he demonstrated. While many regret the book being published (maybe even John Stott himself, I don't know), I am not counted among them. Now there is a great need for “a postmodern:evangelical dialogue” with similar content - and tone.

at number four
It is time for another ‘Bible speaks today’ and to a biblical book I found difficult to preach through as a pastor, paralysed (a bit) by the danger of turning description into prescription inappropriately. Pauline scholar though he may be, it is Stott’s commentary on the Message of Acts that I love the most. And it is not just the ‘tap, tap, tapping’ going on – it is this writing style of his that I have grown to love. He takes a passage. He develops the strands of teaching in the passage. Oh, the clarity of the explanation! And then towards the end something invariably happens. He takes those strands, the imaginative eye goes to work, and he weaves those strands into something fresh that is compelling which captures both the essence of the passage and its relevance for today. The Bible speaks today. Preaching as science and art. Go on - read his chapter on Acts 2 to see what I mean. I have force-fed it to a generation of students, pleading with them to aim at such faithful, and imaginative, clarity.

at number three
So many churches today have mission statements that are variations on the ‘creating lifelong followers of Jesus’ theme. True – but just not true enough. Following ‘after’ Jesus in order to be ‘like’ Jesus says a lot, but it does not say it all. This is where Focus on Christ (or, Understanding Jesus) – “an enquiry into the theology of prepositions” – has left its mark on me. Stott attaches ‘through’ and ‘on’ and ‘in’ and ‘under’ and ‘with’ and ‘unto’ and ‘for’ to Jesus to give a more complete picture of what it means to be a Christ-ian, uniting with Christ in all these diverse ways. I taught Spirituality only once, but this book was looming as required reading as a means of bringing biblical anchorage to a discipline that has a tendency to float a little free. It has even transformed my facebook identity (“horrors, let’s not get too carried away, Paul”) where I describe myself as wanting to be a ‘prepositional Christian’. But all the best in trying to track the book down as it has not seemed to grab a readership and so lingers 'out of print'.

at number two
It just has to reach this high in the list because Line #3 in Chapter #3 so arrested me as a theological student that it became a mantra for my life ever since. It is why I believe so deeply in the priority of both biblical preaching and theological training: "The essential secret is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions ... theology is more important than methodology". Yes, it was while I heard John Stott expound Romans 1-5 at Urbana '79, as a 19 year old, that I experienced God's call to Bible teaching and it was through reading Between Two Worlds (or, I Believe in Preaching) three years later that the call was cemented into place. With it being a little dated now, Langham Preaching Resources has revised and shortened this book as The Challenge of Preaching in the hope of lengthening its life and broadening its appeal still further around the world.

at number one
I once had a student who was not warming to his academic work. One summer, rather than be placed in a church to practise being a pastor, he was placed with the principal (me!) to practise being a student. I developed a reading list and we read a book each week and met to discuss it – all in an effort to jump start a love for study. Never, ever will I forget the conversation that followed his reading of The Cross of Christ - not an easy book for someone struggling to be a student. It was transformative for him - and for me. Years ago it was the chapter on 'Self-understanding' ("what has that got to do with the cross ... everything!") that God used to bring clarity into the muddied discussions on self-esteem - and healing as well. But the feature about the book which I love is how each chapter commences with a serious work-out for the mind (well, for me anyway) - but by chapter's close the heart was soaring in weepy worship of Jesus. I delight in people who keep my mind and heart together - just as it should be and just as John Stott does in this book. I once wrote to John Stott, thanking him for this book and he wrote back (as you do - far out!) and acknowledged that this was his most important book. That does not surprise because he gloried in the cross and urged others to cling to the cross.

Do continue to visit the Memorial Site. Do access his sermons - free of charge - on the All Souls website. Do buy a book from the list above, or from the comprehensive bibliography. If you 'know not John Stott', do browse the messages being left in the Remembrance Book, pushing on towards 1000 in number now - that is such a staggering number.

And do make it a priority to thank and respect the contribution which John Stott has made to the mission of God worldwide by attending a Memorial Service near you (a list is constantly being updated on the Memorial Site). The New Zealand one will be at 5pm on Sunday 4 September at the Cathedral in Parnell (Auckland).

nice chatting

Paul

john stott: a portrait by his friends

2011-08-02T05:59:00.030+12:00

This past weekend has been in the diary for months as a family holiday. This book, John Stott: a portrait by his friends, has been targeted as my weekend reading matter for almost as long. The fact that John Stott died just the day before we left added a poignancy to the time in its pages.

John Stott had an “incredible capacity for friendship” (13). This little book, released to honour his 90th birthday, collects the reflections of 35 friends from the eras and time zones in which his life was lived. While this sounds like a recipe for unadulterated adulation, I did not find this to be the case. With both text and photo this compilation uncovers an honesty, humour, and humanity in Stott's life which maybe the earlier biographies - by Timothy Dudley-Smith by Roger Steer - did not achieve quite as readily.

As a way to nurture the honesty it was Stott’s desire that it be a ‘warts and all’ story which he had no interest in reading before publication (in fact, his initial preference was that it be published posthumously). One only needs to read the chapter by Myra Chave-Jones where the younger Stott is described as an inhibited person, known to become angry, and “not always a good judge of character” (36) - or, how his assistant for 50 years, Frances Whitehead, observes how he has "wonderfully mellowed" (55) over the years - to discover that more than adulation is suggested in these pages.

The book is littered with a mixture of humorous Stottian quips ('Flattery is like cigarette smoke – it does you no harm so long as you don't inhale’) and stories. There are lots of laughs in these pages. My favourite story is of the 'rather large' pastor in Florida ('it had likely been some years since he saw his feet') who introduced Stott with a flourish: 'I would crawl on my knees, 500 miles, just to hear John Stott speak'. But then he sat down in the front row and promptly fell asleep. Stott's conclusion? "I can only assume that the poor man was utterly exhausted from his 500 mile crawl" (140).

And the humanity is evident as well. For many, Stott remains ‘the most Christ-like person they have ever met’ – but his obsession with Christ was mixed with lesser obsessions with birds (if there was an index to the book, this might be the largest entry as they are flying all over these pages about a self-confessed 'ornitheologian'), chocolate (except in Lent), the cold baths every morning, the writer Saki, "digging a hole for his hip" (159) on some random hillside to enable his 'horizontal half hour' – and even a penchant for James Bond movies.

(I was thrilled to find this photo, as it has John Stott sitting in the 'seat' in the cliff near The Hookses from which he wrote books like Basic Christianity).

However what will remain with me is that this book engages with the people who knew him best and these people are themselves trying to capture the essence of their friend in just a few paragraphs. There are so many phrases which add such insight: “the gracious, perceptive leader” (Michael Green); the “compelling seriousness” (Frances Whitehead); that enigmatic “blend of passion and balance, humility and authority, scholarship and simplicity, austerity and warmth” (David Turner); listeners being “held in thoughtful wonder as John Stott illumined the text” (Keith & Gladys Hunt); “the clarity, forcefulness and pastoral wealth of his words” (Samuel Escobar); “a veritable modern-day church father” (Peter Kuzmic); “a drive for clarity, a confidence in rationality, an expectation of competency” (Mark Labberton).

On and on it goes ... pausing here and there for nuggets of wisdom as well. With young Kiwi, Ted Schroeder, developing as a preacher: "guard your flanks" (61). With a young Chris Wright, developing as a scholar: "preserve your independence" (144).

The freshest contributions for me came in the chapters from David Turner (80-86, a judge who I see has written the obituary for the Guardian), Peter Harris (155-161, the founder of A Rocha), and Mark Labberton (187-192, a study-assistant who is now the Preaching lecturer at Fuller Seminary). The most memorable story came from Ajith Fernando where he discovers that his heavily annotated copy of The Cross of Christ has fallen out the window of a Sri Lankan bus. He stops the bus so that he can go in search of his copy of “the most enriching doctrinal book I have ever read” (107). You'll have to read the book to discover how he gets on...

I think the book works well - even better than I expected when I started reading. The 'approximately chronological' flow to the chapters helps. With John Stott's death placing him in the headlines and with a generation that 'know him not' occupying our churches - we need to look for ways to introduce the man and his writings to people. On the Sunday evening before he died, the pastor where I was preaching asked for a show-of-hands from 250+ young adults - "how many of you have heard of John Stott?". A generous estimate is that three people raised their hands. The reasons are there - but it was still a sad sight ... and this ‘portrait by his friends’ could serve well as a place where a new antipodean generation can meet the most influential leader in the worldwide (evangelical) church over the past generation, or three. Now neither Jesus nor John Stott would talk or think like that - but sometimes the facts need to be stated!

As I read the same old question surfaced yet again. Why did the church in New Zealand need to be so inhospitable to John Stott, with his last visit to our shores being more than forty years ago? How many Kiwis had to resort to crossing waters or opening pages to be influenced by this man? His visits to Australia must have out-numbered NZ by 10 to 1. It shows up in the paucity of our traditions of saintly scholarship, of authoritative and relevant biblical exposition, of a 'double listening' to word and world, and the best in a clear, yet spacious, evangelicalism. There may be a generation that 'knows not John Stott' but I hope and pray that it can still be a generation that rests its thoughts on similar convictions, even as it lives its life with similar habits.

Towards the end of the book is recorded Stott’s response to the doctor when asked for an explanation of his wishes should he become incapacitated or unconscious. He does so before concluding with: “... the reason that I do not wish to cling to life is that I have a living hope of a yet more glorious life beyond death, and I do not wish to be unnecessarily hindered from inheriting it” (211). In God’s goodness, he inherited it just last week. As with his sermons, so also in his birth and death there can be found clarity and symmetry - because the year within the decade and the date within the month are the same: John Stott, 27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011.

While John Stott has been my hero and my inspiration throughout my working life, it is also true, as Chris Wright expresses it, that “the key thing is not to try to imitate him, but to imitate the Christ who so demonstrably lived within him” (216). He lived for Christ and his greater glory and our response should be “above all, to cling to the cross” (198).

nice chatting

Paul

[NB - with thanks to Kieran Dodds for the final photo in this post]

tour de leadership

2011-07-23T08:05:00.025+12:00

The Tour de France is entering its final stages.

It makes for such compelling viewing. Not just because of the scenery and the competition, but because there is a 'tour de leadership' going on as well. Is there another sport which interfaces with leadership so fully as cycling - particularly this particular race? I doubt it.

There is the endurance
Day after day - for three weeks - it is up and around, down and through obstacles. For cyclists it is head down, tail up for long periods of time - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the timing
Six hours of cycling in a day can rest totally on the sense of timing over a few seconds. Do you join the break-away or don't you? For cyclists, instinct and experience and courage shape an ability to discern what to do at just the right time - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the teamwork
Oh - the teamwork! The visible team of cyclists, the less visible support team in the car following, the invisible administrative team elsewhere - all working together to see the team succeed and a team member win the race. It is impossible to succeed at any level and in any way in this race without the visible and invisible team - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the sacrifice
Within the team there is the sacrifice that goes on. Watching a cyclist battling into a headwind in order to shelter the team's leading cyclist so that energy can be conserved? And that is your purpose in life?! WOW. It gets me every time. It is about decreasing so that another can increase - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the multiplicity
There are various races within the race. Each of these races focuses on a different capacity - be it sprinting, or hill-climbing, or enduring, or whatever. This means that multiple members in the diverse team have their moment to shine - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the rest
Ah, the cyclists do go flat out for three weeks. But there are days of rest (about every seventh day!) and they know how to rest - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the pressure
I cannot believe the way the public crowd in on the cyclists, full of screaming and oftentimes blocking their way. The pressure exerted by the crowd invading their space is immense - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the isolation
Oh, the relative ease of riding in the pelaton - but the corresponding sadness of watching a cyclist all alone, battling a hill, or a headwind, with no community of which to be a part. Races are not designed for doing it alone - just as it with effective leaders.

There is the casualty
In cycling the crashes are as public as they are sore. Being knocked over by cars, falling down hillsides, taking unwanted detours - and more often than not, they jump back on their bikes, bruised and bleeding, and keep going - just as it is with effective leaders.

There is the integrity - or lack of it (who really knows?)
How ironic that the sport with such resonant allusions to leadership is also the sport that distinguishes itself the most for cheating. We look at that stream of cyclists, snaking itself around corners and roundabouts, and wonder about the extent of the deception that is going on and the longing that we all have for an even greater integrity - just as it is with effective leaders.

Well, that is my list and I only watch it on TV. Imagine what someone who really knows the sport might come up with?!

nice chatting

Paul

spirituality, community - and college

2011-07-22T05:53:00.011+12:00

[NB: My custom with this blog is to avoid using it as a place to re-preach my sermons and re-speak my talks. I figure once is enough for everyone, including me! But every now and then I make an exception, particularly as this blog has evolved into a personal filing system and I don't want to lose things. This is one such exception...]

Recently I was asked to speak at a gathering of theological colleges. They wanted a 'story' around the theme of Nuturing Spirituality and Community in the College. My approach was to consider the scaffolding, or the backdrop, which leadership can build that can nurture, slowly and quietly, spirituality and community. I settled on four affirmations. In the first session it was about reflecting on them biblically and theologically - and then in the second session there were personal and practical applications from my years at Carey Baptist College, in particular.

1. Living under the leadership of God

After dwelling on the significance, word-by-word, of the phrase "the gracious hand of our God was upon us" (Neh 2.8, 18; Ezra 7.10) in these three different contexts, we considered eleven 'leadership imperatives' that help leaders take people to live under that hand - and then 'to get out of the way' a bit so that God can be the leader, the Project Manager among His sub-contractors.

2. Building teams in the image of the trinity

After considering the trinitarian team at work both in creation (Genesis 1) and in redemption (Ephesians 1) we teased out some of the implications of 'team trinity'. Then we looked at how this could be applied in practical ways to the areas of trust (investing in it to build the teamwork with stakeholders, for example), vision (focusing on ways in which staff and student teams can be the venue for vision-creation, rather than vision-casting), and structure (tuning the governance and re-tuning the management teams).

3. Bringing a belonging to everyone

Here the focus is on 1 Corinthians 12 and the sicknesses which afflict the body. Then what flows from the twofold "But God..." (12.18; 12;24) demonstrates how God sees the health of the body being linked directly to making those who might be considered 'dispensable' to be indispensable - and those 'without honour' to be treated with special honour. Who might they be in the college? We suggested specific ways to cherish administrative staff (who can easily feel they are just there for the teaching staff) and to respect students (who can easily get treated as overgrown school kids).

4. Sewing together what has been torn apart

We spoke of the most damaging split in the church being the dualistic one and how the college is ideally placed to be an agent of integration. We considered those nonsenses about head vs heart (through the lens of Luke 24); about public vs private (through the lens of Joseph, Esther, Daniel); about theory vs practice (through the lens of Ephesians, Romans, 1 Peter); and being vs doing (through the lens of a 'first eleven of chapter twos'). We explored the ways in which a college, led by staff with integrated lives themselves, can harness the full range of the formal, the informal, and the nonformal areas of curriculum to build the integration so desperately needed.

With these four quietly developing in the background, a college's deepening experience of spirituality and community progresses more easily in the foreground.

nice chatting

Paul

pakistan: a hard country

2011-07-13T15:11:00.016+12:00

This is not an easy book to read. It is complicated because its subject matter is complicated. But as I worked my way through Anatol Lieven's Pakistan: A Hard Country (Allen Lane: 2011), I found my understanding of Pakistan developing so much.

1. Lieven writes with both empathy and objectivity. He has lived and worked and listened his way around this vast country - primarily as a journalist. "I am deeply attached to Pakistan." (37) He warms to the virtues of "courage, honour, and hospitality" (38) in which Pakistanis excel. After three trips to Pakistan in the past two years, I can only concur with both quotations. I, too, am becoming attached. The only time when Lieven's objectivity might be compromised is when he takes his little digs at India along the way, something which this child of India noticed!

2. Some of this empathy leaks out when he covers the subject of being safe in Pakistan. Lieven asserts that after five trips between 2007-2009 - totaling six months of time - "at no time did I feel under any direct physical threat" (36). This is not to say that there is no threat (of course, there is) - but it is to say that the media in the West has become over-excited about the threat. On my own recent visit I struggled to get any regular travel insurance because "Pakistan is a war zone", I was told. Really?! What rubbish. That is such an over-heated over-statement. The Pakistani church leaders whom I know feel deeply aggrieved by the manner in which their country is being portrayed in the West.

Lieven again: "One reason why Pakistan is so little known and so badly misinterpreted is that so many analysts and commentators are too afraid to go there" (36). And so it seems to me that one of the best ways that I can serve the people in Pakistan is to keep visiting them and to encourage others to do the same.

3. A prime purpose behind this book is to combat the widespread perception that Pakistan is 'a failed state'. It isn't - but saying it is a success stretches the facts just as much. The paradox is captured in Lieven's observations of Lahore as "a mixture of elegance and intelligence which could make it one one of the great cities of the world (if they could only fix the roads, the drains, the public transport, the pollution, the housing of most of the population, the electricity supply, the police...)" (268). But it is hardly "a scene reminiscent of Grozny or Mogadishu" (269).

And yes, it is not what it once was. I remember visiting Pakistan as a child - jumping back and forth across the border-line so that I could say, "I have been to Pakistan one hundred times" - and there were a few 'WOWs' about that trip as we observed how much further advanced Pakistan was in comparison with India. In the early 1960s "it was ahead of South Korea" (64). The story is one of decline since those days. In a startling anecdote, Lieven relates how excavations in the Sindh have uncovered a 3000 year old civilisation with clay bricks "better made and better laid than those of the Sindhi towns and villages of the present, though being made of the same mud" (306).

But this is not tantamount to being a failed state. As the flyleaf describes it, "Lieven's extraordinary new book treats Pakistan as a viable and coherent state that, within limits and standards of its own region rather than the West's, does work."

4. It is not a failed state partly because it is 'a negotiated state'. Various forces are in constant tension, correcting each other's extremes and in doing so halting, on the one hand, the prospect of war and revolution and, on the other hand, the possibility of progress and development. "Pakistan's delicate ethnic balance, and the endless negotiations which it entail, contribute to the sluggish pace of Pakistan's development" (261).

It is patronage and kinship that holds the upper hand in any negotiation. Honour paid to kith and kin is far greater than honour paid to party or state. To understand Pakistan is to understand "the weakness of the state and the power of kinship" (18). From here it becomes tricky. "While the power of kinship is necessary to defend against the predatory state, it is also one of the key factors in making the state predatory, as kinship groups use the state to achieve their goals of power, wealth and triumph over other kinship groups" (18-19). There is no corruption as bad as dishonouring those to whom you belong - and so these many lesser corruptions proliferate.

"Collective entities (whether provincial, ethnic, religious or whatever) are constantly being trumped by personal and family loyalties and ambitions" (281). A number of the political parties are centered around family dynasties from different parts of the country (eg., the Bhuttos from the Sindh). In fact Lieven seems to agree with the view that the failure of cricketer-demigod turned politician, Imran Khan, is attributable to the fact that common people "do not think he will have any favours to distribute" (381) if he were in power. So they will not vote for him.

I am not so sure that this is quite the right time for Western people to get all righteous. I look at some of the ridiculous policies that exist in NZ (like superannuation being stuck at 65 and the giving of interest-free loans to tertiary students), or the nature in which US presidential elections are energised by raising funds from donors to whom you then remain beholden once in power ... and I go hmmmm!

5. In that negotiation various entities play their part, including the many different flavours of Islam that exist within the country. "Most forms of Pakistani Islam are traditional and conservative - far too conservative to support a revolution, and far too diverse to submit themselves to a monolithic version of Islam" (127) - like the ones found in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

On this point, Lieven is unequivocal. There isn't going to be an Islamic revolution in Pakistan that sweeps extremists to power. "The Taleban stand about as much chance of taking over Karachi as I do" (304). "There is no chance at all of the Pakistani military giving nuclear weapons to terrorists" (201)- simply because it is nationalism, not Islamism, which drives them. "The greatest danger may be not Pakistani realities, but US fears" (201).

Lieven reckons that the only possible thing that could start a revolution in Pakistan is the US taking their ultimate action, ironically, to stop a revolution: committing ground troops to the country. "Islamist extremism in Pakistan presents little danger of overthrowing the state unless US pressure has already split and crippled that state" (124-5). And so, as far as Lieven is concerned, "there must be no open intervention of US ground forces in (the northwest), as this risks outright mutiny in the Pakistani army" (479).

It is critical that the outsider understand that the army has been the most respected institution in Pakistan. Their 'cantonments' are the most ordered part of Pakistani society. And yet in recent years the army looks to the general populace as if it is the lapdog of the Americans. Loss of honour is building within the army. "If the US ever put Pakistani soldiers in a position where they felt that honour and patriotism required them to fight America, many would be very glad to do so" (185) ... and that is how a revolution will begin.

6. So the US needs to be careful, very careful. Could their policy-makers just be a bit more willing to listen to how they are perceived, rather than being so brash about what they intend? For example, there is much rhetoric about freedom and preserving a way of life coming from the US. While the intention behind this may be to elevate the virtue of democracy worldwide, is that how it is being perceived? Again and again I hear other things as I travel. What many are perceiving is the vice of self-interest and the freedom to pursue a life of consuming a far greater share of the world's resources than is warranted and a willingness to fight wars and invade countries to protect this freedom for consumption. See, "most of Pakistani society is not Islamist ... what it is, is bitterly anti-American" (414). In the face of this the US needs to be far more humble and self-critical, enquiring why this might be so and then being prepared to change lifestyles in light of what they hear.

What are some of these perceptions? That Afghanistan is every bit an occupied country now as it was in the 1980s - this time occupied by the US, rather than the Soviet Union? That the Afghan Taleban are essentially freedom-fighters against the foreign invader enjoying widespread support from ordinary Pakistanis? That the foreign policy of the Bush Administration looks every bit as fanatical to them as anything emerging in this region? Perceptions may be wrong - but they are real.

7. When I was a kid in India it was all so straightforward. India cuddled up to the Soviet Union and Pakistan cuddled up to the USA. Now things are far more complicated. India's eyes are on China every bit as much as Pakistan's eyes are on India. But it just got worse for Pakistan. Dazzled by the potential of trade with India, there is a perceived 'tilt towards India' by the US. Pakistan feels betrayed. To complicate things further, this 'tilt' - in combination with the US presence in Afghanistan - spreads an anxiety that India might one day 'encircle' Pakistan, "using Afghanistan as a base to support ethnic revolt within Pakistan" (407).

There is an understandable paranoia about India within Pakistan. 'It is exagerated, but not irrational'. Goodness me - aren't there rational reasons for it? "Pakistan is basically a long thin country on either side of the River Indus. Its second largest city, Lahore, is virtually on the Indian frontier and the crucial highway linking Lahore and Karachi is, for long stretches, within 50 miles of Indian territory" (176).

In the concluding paragraphs of the book, Lieven is unequivocal about what needs to happen. "The US needs to continue to limit Indian involvement in Afghanistan if it is to have any hope of a long-term cooperative relationship with Pakistan ... not even the greatest imaginable benefits of US-Indian friendship could compensate for the actual collapse of Pakistan" (480-481). And someone please tell Fox TV to turn down the volume because "only Pakistan can control Pakistan" (481).

And lurking in there is Kashmir as well. It is a far bigger conflict than the West is willing to acknowledge. And here the UK needs to wake-up because as Philip Jenkins, in God's Continent , notes "one third of the 2 million people in Britain who originated in the Indian subcontinent came form just one region - Mirpur in the Pakistani part of Kashmir" (110). Staggering! Or, Lieven again: "Punjabi speakers from Pakistani Kashmir also dominate the Pakistani diaspora in Britain" (278). Given the presence of extremists within Britain, the well-being of Kashmir will continue to be of great relevance to the well-being of Britain.

8. The biggest concern facing Pakistan is associated with climate change - and the challenge of finding water. "The greatest threat to Pakistan's existence is not insurgency, but ecological change" (477).

9. One of the most troubled areas of all relates to shariah law. Whichever way you look at it, its ugly. But maybe there is some value in trying to understand even the indefensible? "A great many people see this as preferable to the appallingly slow, opaque, alien and corrupt Pakistani judicial system" (421). An archaic British legal system in combo with an "unaccountable" local police force overlaid with local chieftans and panchayats and jirgas - makes for a mess that does not move quickly. Amidst this paralysis, shariah come across as 'quick and crude, even if a bit rough'. Furthermore the advocates of shariah would argue that it is less about the content of the law (where western critics rightly focus) and more about "the popular access to the law, the speed of the law, and who gets to enforce the law" (119).

10. A little history helps...
Unlike the birth of India, the birth of Pakistan was "endangered" from the beginning - and made worse by having its founding father (Jinnah) die within the year, while India's founding father (Nehru) ruled for seventeen years. Then there was that crazy idea of dividing Pakistan into East and West. What about the crazy idea of leaving most of the Muslim heartland cities in India?

However nowhere is history more useful than in understanding the north-west, those mountains along the border with Afghanistan that have always been unruly and unconquerable - the "graveyard of armies" (374). Here is the home of the Pathan who have more than a hint of "Braveheart" about them. To understand the Taleban one must understand the Pathan. "The Taleban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are as of 2010 first and foremost a Pathan phenomenon, with deep roots in Pathan history and culture" (377). [NB: 'Afghan' is the Persian word for 'Pathan' - and so it is another of those places where the British created a border which divided a people]. As the saying goes, "The Afghans of the Frontier are never at peace except when they are at war" (377).

It is no wonder that the British basically gave up and just let them be. "The tribes of the frontier were considered to be too heavily armed, too independent-minded, and too inaccessible in their steep and entangled mountains to be placed under regular administration" (382). And so a system of 'indirect rule' emerged which in some ways is still operational - the idea being not so much "to govern, but to manage" (382). And so one wonders just how successful the drones of the US can ever be in this region?

11. While it sounds incredibly colonial of this 'British subject' (it really does!), Lieven often infers that to understand Pakistan - particularly the rural heartland - you may have to transport yourself backwards a bit because "Pakistan has a rather medieval look" (34). There is a bit of a feudal system revolving around wealthy land-owners. Patronage is alive and well. Government is often indirect and local. The allusions to Charles Dickens hover around...

some little facts
Rudyard Kipling lived in Lahore. In the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) literacy among women stands at just 3%. After partition (in 1947) 25% of Pakistani Punjab were refugees.

some little regrets
Where are the maps? I couldn't believe that maps had been left out of this book. Maybe it is because the story is not over yet, but the closing chapter on 'Defeating the Taleban?' was less astute in its analysis.

some little highlights
Lieven is at his very best describing the major cities in each of the provinces - Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Faisalabad, Peshawar etc.

When I visited Pakistan in 2009 an ex-pat told me that in order to survive in Pakistan you have to subscribe either to the 'conspiracy theory' or the 'chaos theory'. The conspiracy theorists are legion [NB: readers would be amazed how many Pakistanis believe that 9/11 was a plot by the Bush Administration "to provide a pretext for the US invasion of Afghanistan as part of the US strategy of dominating the Muslim world" (47)] ... but he felt there was far more sanity to be found in chaos! I understand the chaos far more thanks to Anatol Lieven. I hope and pray that some of my readers might go and read him as well - and become 'attached to Pakistan'.

My last word can be his last words:
"...the West needs to develop a much deeper knowledge of Pakistan, a much deeper stake in Pakistan, and a much more generous attitude to helping Pakistan" (481).

May it be so.

nice chatting

Paul

san francisco shocks

2011-07-06T17:08:00.006+12:00

After a week of family reunion in Ohio/Indiana and then a week of meetings in Wales with Langham Preaching staff (the first time ever that this group has come together), Barby and I headed back 'down-under' with a day together in San Francisco.

Two things shocked me about the time in San Francisco...

The first was that the flight attendant mentioned to us that Robert Redford was on board. I am sure she was not meant to do so. But sure enough we got off the plane and noticed, off to the side, a skinny man with an orange baseball cap and dark glasses. It was him alright. I watched as the person sitting next to me on the plane had the gall to go over and ask for a photo. Robert Redford was not impressed. He began to wander off to recover his anonymity somewhere else. Later he was there hanging around the baggage claim area, waiting just like the rest of us. Shifty and uncertain - and so uncomfortable amongst all these people. You could see 'what if they find out who I am?' characterising his every movement as he stood there imprisoned by his celebrity. It was a staggering sight. {NB - our baggage arrived before his which I thought was a rather nice touch).

I have no photo of Robert Redford to show you.

The next day Barby and I quickly figured out the train system, quaintly called BART - and I couldn't help thinking about Homer all day long (but didn't mention it, as I bet the locals are sick of hearing about it) - and made our way into the city. Beautiful place. The cable car ride was the best $6 I've spent in years as it evoked various movie memories (anyone for Chevy Chase in Foul Play?). We cycled across the Golden Gate bridge. Floated by Alcatraz. Then came shock number two. On the train platform I looked once and twice and even three times (which was two times too much, I know, but I couldn't believe it). I know about San Francisco's reputation - but I was just not ready for what I saw. Two older teenage boys cuddling and making out with each other, in full view of others, as they waited for their train.

I have no photo of this 'couple' either.

nice chatting

Paul

a ray of amish, a pinch of mennonite

2011-06-25T02:50:00.021+12:00

Regular readers of this blog will know that salt and light is of great interest to me - and you could throw in grace and truth as well. These form the start of the periodic table of missional elements. They are the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen of mission. The vast majority of the missional world is some combination of these four elements.

Also of interest to me is that over the past generation or so (for the church in New Zealand), my sense is that the pendulum has swung towards salt (a greater emphasis on incarnation and involvement) and away from light (a diminished emphasis on separation and distinction). When I was a kid, with my upbringing, the pendulum was clearly swinging out towards light.

So imagination my intrigue when I stepped into this museum (in Indiana), explaining the Amish and the Mennonites, and discovered this image to the right. In the salt:light tension between getting involved (salt) and staying separate (light), the Amish have leaned towards being light and the Mennonites have added a little salt.

The 13min audiovisual, which I found to be so powerful, was titled like this... [Really?!]
... and in the museum I found this statement (just click on it to make it larger): This idea of fences has been anathema in our churches. An image that gained traction a decade ago is that we need to build wells, rather than fences. 'Build the place of nurture and nourishment and people will be drawn to it in a way that makes the fence obselete'. I understand - but have never been completely convinced. It is hard to imagine Paul writing to Timothy in that vein, advising him that fences are no longer necessary. The thrust of the Amish seems to be to focus on being a 'contrast community', living distinctive with such distinction that this community within the fenceline becomes a solid foundation for mission and service.

While the sentiment is sound I am not sure that there are many observers who find this Amish strategy convincing. But while it is too much light - and not enough salt - it is a ray of light we need to see and reflect upon.

Maybe the Mennonites are onto something? Did you see the fence with the open gate in the image above? Maybe they are making a better fist of keeping alive the tension between salt and light? It is no tablespoon of salt - but maybe it is just the pinch that we require?

nice chatting

Paul

stories from shipshewana

2011-06-23T23:37:00.009+12:00

Barby and I are in the USA for a week celebrating her father's 90th birthday with family members. It is just the third time in thirty years that we have gathered like this. The family's Christian roots lie with the Mennonites...

A highlight for me has been the visit to the Menno-Hof (kinda like a museum) in Shipshewana (Indiana). A stirring apologetic for the Amish-Mennonite story.

Here is a little story (click on it to make it bigger):

On opening the latch, the story continues like this:

[It reminds me so much of the story about the five men martyred by the Auca tribe in South America going on for fifty years ago now. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and Co. The ones doing the killing eventually became Christians (with their leader later working closely with one of the martyred men's sons - Steve Saint). A key element in their conversion, as it emerged later, was the intrigue caused by the fact that the missionaries had guns, but chose not to use them. Why?!]

Then this display caught my eye (click on it to make it bigger):

And for good measure, a photo of Dad with his five kids that ranks already among my favourites. It says so much...

nice chatting

Paul

hurting hope

2011-06-19T05:23:00.011+12:00

Denver and Dayton will never again be the same for me.

Yesterday - on the two hour flight from one to the other - I read (with Barby doing the same, over my shoulder!) through Charles & Joanne Hewlett's Hurting Hope: what parents feel when their children suffer.. Here and there we shed a tear. Here and there we parked in a rest area so that we could absorb the view. It is a precious book. It just is.

It will sit boldly on my shelf between Lewis' A Grief Observed and Wolterstorff's Lament for a Son (and eventually the other new Piquant publication, Goldingay's Remembering Ann).

In my jet-lagged state, I've been trying to summon the reasons why I valued the book so much. Here are a few:

The title is as intriguing as the sub-title is clear. Full marks to whoever came up with them. The idea of hope being hurt badly, but not lost or forgotten, captures me. And 'what parents feel when their children suffer' explains exactly what the book is about, just as it should be. I am not going to try and define for whom the book is written - everyone should read it. A morning? An evening? A flight? Even a pointless T20 cricket game? That is all it takes.

How often do you find both husband and wife to be such able writers? It is most unusual and yet this is the case here. The structure of the book is episodic as one parent and then the other shares a story or an insight. Back and forth it goes - with no loss of momentum. I like the specificity which they include in their writing. And I like the lean-ness - leaving spaces for the reader to become involved by never saying too much and often stopping abruptly. I like the way that there is no attempt to tell the full story. They leave huge gaps - but the gaps work on my imagination like silence in a sermon, or space in an advertisement. They draw me in. What would I have done? I wonder what happened after that? How can I begin to imagine what that would be like? Wouldn't it cool to be an angel?

The range of emotion encountered in the book is diverse. There is the raw and gritty with the anger and grief, the fear and dread. But there is also a tenderness and love that is just as poignant. It took me back to the emotion of John 20 (and the way Jesus touched and transformed) and to the Psalms of Ascent - borne as they are in the deepest of pain and yet deeper still lie strata of truth about God that cannot be budged. In the Preface Charles & Joanne write that the book is not intended "to be a theological explanation of pain and suffering" (xi). Fair enough - and yet in the section entitled 'Faith' (pp53-56) I find some of the clearest and most helpful theological explanation I have encountered anywhere. I shall return!

Everyone will drawn to different sections of this little book. The opening 'Sometimes' (pp1-2) cuts so deep, partly because it reminds me how my own experience of fatherhood has been so different ... 'Titirangi' (p23) is the one I've heard Charles retell - so brief, so poignant and so unforgettable ... Janelle enjoying bedtime in 'Acceptance' (pp57-59) ... 'Joanne' (pp79-81) ... and all the photos - but especially p115 and p127 ("atta boy, James!") ... 'Perfect' (pp127-130) ... oh, so many (I probably shouldn't have started singling some out!).

And yes, another biggie for me is the fact that I think Charles & Joanne were in our cell group at BCNZ (now Laidlaw College) when they received the news about Janelle's tumour. I've stayed in touch with Charles throughout his time as a pastor in New Lynn and Titiriangi, his MEd study at Auckland - and then recruiting him to the staff at Carey ... and now he has succeeded me as Principal. For two decades Charles - and all his Js - have never been far from my thoughts and prayers and to see this little book published is such a thrill.

A special thank-you to Pieter & Elria Kwant of Piquant Editions - two of the most enabling people in the mission of God that I have met anywhere. It really is no surprise that they are the ones who wanted to run with this project.

nice chatting

Paul

what works (with postscript)

2011-06-05T12:47:00.009+12:00

I've just brought up one week (to the hour) in a new (for me) unnamed country in Asia.

Most of that time has been spent in the company of the unnamed J&R, D, and R - mission workers with a combined total of 120 years working in this country. A staggering figure! It reminds me of the company I kept as a child in India. God is delighting in letting them see plenty of harvest after all their years of seed-sowing.

Why? How? What is it that has worked?

The value of learning a people's mother-tongue
I've listened and I've watched the way fluently speaking a people's language builds a highway into peoples' hearts. Eyes and faces, minds and hearts - they all open up as people hear a foreigner speaking in their mother tongue well. I kinda regret that I've never invested in doing this with any language.

The value of longevity
A long obedience in the same direction is what it is all about. Staying faithful. Standing firm. Enduring all the seasons of life and ministry. These folk, now in their 70s, have been through it all - but just when the West puts you 'on a shelf' (at about 60), the people in this country are beginning to respect you and hang onto everything you say. It is the way it should be.

The value of ministry among students
I kept bumping into people with mind-boggling leadership roles in this society. I daren't start mentioning them, but you'd scarcely believe it were possible for Christians to be doing these things in this country. And they were all fumbling and bumbling undergraduates, or postgraduates, with J&R a generation ago.

[NB: the person who was my translator this week is a woman from this country who is about to start working among graduates with NZ's student work, TSCF - in exactly the sort of role that has been so undervalued by the church in NZ ... and a generation or two later, it is showing up in our public and civic life].

The value of discipling around the Word
This is what J&R have been doing with these students over the years - and not much more than this. Taking an authoritative Word, revealing a Saviour and Lord, and in the power and patience of the Spirit working to shape lives according to that Word & Lord. It is not Duckworth & Lewis - it ain't rocket science. That smart investment in the deep work among a few, rather than being seduced into a more shallow work among the many.

The value of warmth and love
Loving people deeply and then being able to transmit it with warmth sabotages so many potential cross-cultural challenges. These qualities radiated from the '120 year brigade' this week. It was so impressive to watch.

The value of humility and integrity
This was also very evident about them. Most unusually in this work, there is some serious money from within this country meeting the costs of what is being done. After a week I am persuaded that it comes partly because J&R can be trusted - they have a reputation for being people of character and people want to contribute towards making their vision happen.

nice chatting

Paul

POSTSCRIPT (one week later):
I've just brought up a further week in a familiar, unnamed country in Asia. Most of that time has been spent in the company of the unnamed S - a mission worker (together with his wife J and their kids) with a total of only 10 years working in this country. They are not veterans at all - but as I reread this post about the veterans - everything in it is true of this young family as well. These are the very same reasons why their work is proving to be so effective. We need more people like them! I often find myself praying that they will be able to stack up the years in this country...

a light to the nations

2011-06-03T09:11:00.009+12:00

Over the past decade, books on missional church have hardly been known for their deep engagement with the biblical story. They've tended to be testimonial, inspirational, and practical - but this stuff loses its lustre after awhile. Here is a book which corrects that flow by being biblical, first and foremost, and then aspirational on the way to a far more profound 'practical' - and the author covers the terrain with admirable brevity.

Michael W. Goheen, A Light to the Nations (Baker, 2011) looks to describe the way in which 'the missional church' and 'the biblical story' relate to each other. The Table of Contents is a thinly disguised journey through Old Testament, Gospels, Acts and Epistles - before finishing with a useful summary chapter of just 8 pages (191-199).

Here are a few things I like about this book:

1. The final chapter, "What Might This Look Like Today?" (201-226), is superb. Thirteen characteristics of a missional church alive to the biblical story. Required reading both for courses related to missiology/ecclesiology and for local church leadership teams.

2. One of these characteristics is "a church striving to live as a contrast community" (208-211) - which is a little phrase Goheen uses again and again (far more than the Index suggests, I might add - which is a little frustrating). I love it - I am grateful to my friend, Andrew Picard, for drawing my attention to this phrase! In the salt:light tension to keep alive in the local church, this adds weight to being the light, which gets a bit lost today in the rush to be incarnational. I've tended to describe it as 'being distinctive with distinction' - but I think a preference for "contrast community" is building!

3. Almost twenty years ago I was in the thick of preparing and teaching a course on "the gospel in a post-christian society". It was a time when I discovered Lesslie Newbigin - but that era ended with a lingering frustration. Newbigin was great at telling us what was wrong and not always so good at telling us how to put it right. Goheen's PhD was on Newbigin. The Newbigin trail through the footnotes in this book is fascinating. Stuff I'd never heard of. "Four Talks on 1 Peter" at some Aussie WCC event in 1960? Let me at 'em ... I find that Goheen puts some legs on Newbigin's ideas in a helpful way.

4. On pp15-17 he describes some images of church which shape us: mall, community center, corporation, theater, classroom, hospital or spa, motivational seminar, social-service office, campaign headquarters ... and this must be placed alongside his chapter on the Epistles which amounts to a missional discussion of various images of the church: people of God, new creation, body of Christ, temple of the Holy Spirit, and "diaspora imagery".

A few other quotes and bits I liked:

His discussion of the exile (60-66) took me to new places. I had never quite seen the salt:light tension being lived by the people in exile. A contrast community, an alternative community, that remains involved - seeking the best for the city.

Using David Bosch, he discusses the different ways in which discipleship is conceived in the Gospels and in first-century Judaism (86).

The dangerous 'individualisation of the atonement' which means that "the cross is shorn not only of its communal importance but also of its eschatological significance and cosmic scope" (103).

With the Great Commission, Jesus was sending a community out into mission - not so much a bunch of individuals. It wasn't meant to be used directly to motivate cross-cultural witness specifically (114-118).

"The church is the people who have begun to participate in the powers of the coming age (165)" ... "(it is) the blueprint and beachhead of the kingdom of God (167, quoting Winter)." I've always found it annoying when people drive a wedge between church and kingdom. This does the opposite.

Only once does 'temple of the Holy Spirit' refer to the indwelling of an individual person (179 - 1 Cor 6.19) - everywhere else it is communal.

His discussion of the 'diaspora imagery' for the church (180-189) - exiles, aliens, strangers and the like - and the suffering that is assumed. The contrast in the suffering of Job and of Daniel (187).

nice chatting

Paul

and all god's people said ... "ouch"

2011-05-28T07:36:00.006+12:00

As a creative communicator Rob Bell is without peer. What he does with nooma - seeing the spiritually significant in the utterly ordinary - is reminscent of CS Lewis in Mere Christianity. Superb! But I have yet to finish any of his books. Sadly, I get a bit bored as they wander too much for me and the content does not hold me. I guess this is a concession to two things: my age and my context. [NB: I am off to Indonesia and Pakistan later today and those worlds might respond better to 'Justice Wins' (which I realise Bell believes, by the way!)...]

But this post is about exploring biblically - maybe in a sermon series, if you are a pastor - a way to engage the important issues which Rob Bell raises and which are capturing the imagination of so many people. Last week I stumbled back into a chapter from Kevin deYoung & Ted Kluck, Why We're Not Emergent (Moody, 2008) which I have reviewed previously here. While the title is a mistake in my opinion, the epilogue is brilliant.

It is called "Listening to All the Churches of Revelation (239-253)" and suggests that here is a framework in which to engage the 'emerging church' - but also, I am suggesting, the issues raised by Rob Bell in his latest book. These guys assert that "the problems in these seven churches are the root problems in all churches (239)" - and off they go, one by one:

EPHESUS: your loveless, fundamentalist church - orthodox, moral, hardworking - to whom Jesus says, "Love".
SMYRNA: your persecuted church - afflicted, slandered, impoverished, but spiritually rich - to whom Jesus says, "Be faithful".

PERGAMUM: your ungrounded, youth-movement church - faithful, passionate witnesses, but compromised with the world - to whom Jesus says, "Discern".
THYATIRA: your warm-hearted, liberal church - loving, but overtolerant, undervaluing doctrinal fidelity and moral purity - to whom Jesus says, "Think".

SARDIS: your flashy and successful, but shallow, megachurch - a great reputation, but spiritually dead - to whom Jesus says, "Wake Up".
PHILADELPHIA: your small, storefront, weak and unimpressive church - struggling, but strong - to whom Jesus says, "Press on".
LAODECIA: your ritzy, influential church in the rich part of town - filled with affluence and apathy - to whom Jesus says, "Be earnest".

OK - so a little bit of cute preachers' licence going on here - but what is the point they are making?

"We can all see our besetting sins mirrored here, even if we can see the sins of our neighbour church more easily ... we must pay attention to what Jesus says to ALL seven churches (241)."

And while their eyes are trained on the emerging church (NB: this is the reason behind their selection of three churches from the seven on which to focus), I do wonder aloud if there is some relevance here for the discussion around Love Wins: afterall "there are just as many undiscerning, overtolerant Pergamums and Thyatiras as there are loveless Ephesuses (241)."

Maybe the strength - and the weakness - of Love Wins is that its eye remains trained solely on Ephesus?

Here is a bit more:
With Ephesus:
"Jesus commended them for two virtues scarcely mentioned (today): intolerance (of false teaching) and hatred (of immortality). For all the talk about the supremely inclusive kingdom of God, it should not escape our notice that Ephesus was not praised for their inclusion, but for their exclusion (242)... the people cared about being right, but they no longer cared for each other (243) ... We may think right, live right, and do right, but if we do it off in a corner, shining our lights at one another to probe our brother's sins instead of pointing our lights into the world, we will, as a church, grow dim, and eventually our light will be extinguished (244)" - which is literally what happened in the city of Ephesus!

With Pergamum:
"Ephesus was under-engaged with the culture; Pergamum over-identified with the culture ... Undiscerning tolerance was Pergamum's crippling defect. Their indifference to religious and moral deviancy was not a sign of their great relevance to the culture ... it was a blight on their otherwise passionate, faithful witness (245) ... Pergamum reminds us of what can happen to young people who aren't taught well or to youth movements that lack grounding in the Scriptures. People get converted, sometimes dramatically, and they live vibrant, courageous, evangelistic Christian lives, but they are also confused, undiscerning, and antinomian, thinking the gospel and grace make moral law unnecessary (246)."

With Thyatira:
Thyatira possessed the deeds that the Ephesians had and the love that the Ephesians lacked ... Its people loved, served, believed, and endured ... The big problem at Thyatira was tolerance. They tolerated false teaching and immoral behaviour ... I imagine Thyatira as a church with lots of community programs, a concern for social justice issues, a desire to be inclusive. But somewhere along the line warm-heartedness overtook clear-mindedness ... they love what Jesus loves but do not hate what Jesus hates (247)."

And all God's people said, "OUCH?!"

Yep - without a doubt, if I was a pastor I'd be planning a series on the seven churches of Revelation (again!) as a biblical way to engage the issues raised - and not raised - by Love Wins. Without returning to the Bible, there is a danger that the one who raises the problem might prove to be the only one from whom we seek the solution. Maybe Rob Bell rightly has something akin to Ephesus in his sights - but there are six other churches which should concern us equally as much. Let the full agenda of Jesus impact us as we forsake our half-truths.

"We need to catch Jesus' broader vision for the church - His vision for a church that is intolerant of error, maintains moral boundaries, promotes doctrinal integrity, stands strong in times of trial, remains vibrant in times of prosperity, believes in certain judgement and certain reward, even as it engages culture, reaches out, loves and serves. We need a church that reflects the Master's vision - one that is deeply theological, deeply ethical, deeply compassionate, and deeply doxological (248)."

nice chatting

Paul

epuni and stoke

2011-05-20T06:15:00.003+12:00

On Sunday afternoon I spent a few hours with Robyn of Epuni. On Thursday afternoon I spent a few hours with Paul of Stoke. With Robyn I chatted with some young adults over lunch. With Paul I went visiting the elderly in the later afternoon. Robyn was a student in my final years at Carey. Paul was a student in my first years.

Both invited me to visit them. I loved it. Both Epuni and Stoke are small churches. At times in their history both have been vulnerable churches, familiar with strife and questioning their future. Both Robyn and Paul are uncomplicated in their approach. They love and they feed and out of that context they lead. Both Robyn and Paul loved the church in the classroom - now both love the local church in the community. Both have studies, rather than offices. Both are just in their second years with a long way to go. But my hunch is that Stoke and Epuni will find themselves on a trajectory of quiet, slow and healthy growth.

It got me thinking...

I am one who believes that the local church is the hope of the world. It is Plan A and there is no Plan B. But it has to be properly defined as both a gathering community (for worship and maturing) and a scattering community (for work and missioning).

I am one who believes in the community church in the community. I don't really care for the logic about "corner store dairies being replaced by supermarkets and so little churches need to be replaced by large churches". It may make sociological sense, but it is weak theologically and biblically and that is more important to me.

I am one who believes that 100 healthy churches doubling from 50 to 100 is more strategic than 10 healthy churches doubling from 500 to 1000 - even though the mathematics may be the same. The foundation for further growth is better, the number of different communities being touched is greater - and it is more realistic and achievable (although I am happy if both are able to happen).

When I was a student and when I was a principal there was too much hope and aspiration around about the possibility of ending up in a large church. It was unlikely. It is unlikely. It will be unlikely. Far better to correct the hope and measure the aspiration more accurately and settle down for the long obedience in the same direction. Yes, I am one who believes that the training years should be devoted to shaping pastors to be rightly-convicted, effective shepherds within churches that are authentic communities with measured dreams ... but should someone show a propensity for leading the much larger (it will be the exception, rather than the rule) then that capacity is best nurtured through the mentoring and coaching of someone who has walked that walk and draws alongside.

New Zealand needs the Robyns and the Pauls. Hundreds of them.

New Zealand needs the Epunis and the Stokes. Hundreds of them.

nice chatting

Paul

tscf randoms

2011-05-16T07:01:00.010+12:00

Any close reader of this blog will notice that I consider one of the most encouraging signs of progress in the mission of God in New Zealand today is the growing momentum within the Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (TSCF).

I delight in being on the Board and this past weekend was the highlight for me - the annual Board Retreat. Ably chaired by Andrew Becroft (Principal Youth Court Judge), the agenda was weighted towards resourcing and provoking, rather than business and detail - just as it should be. Here is a taste:

On the Friday night, Paul Trebilco, (Vice-President, TSCF) fascinated all of us with a talk on the locus of authority and leadership in the Pastorals, 1 John, and Revelation. Each one different and each one needing to find expression today. It was a classic example of how relevant the best in academics actually is - something the church has been too slow to recognise. Along the way he made the observation that "the church in NZ is more orthodox than it was twenty years ago". Big call. The tide has turned, particularly within the mainline denominations. It struck me afresh how Paul has had no small role in this. Eleven years as Head of Theology & Religious Studies at Otago quietly building something special - 40+ PhD students, mostly Biblical Studies... and still in his early 50s with his next book about to be published by Cambridge University Press and the books in the queue full of relevance to the mission of God today.

On Saturday morning it was the turn of another TSCF Vice-President, Dr Carolyn Kelly - a relatively recent returnee to NZ after completing her doctoral studies on 'theological aesthetics' in Aberdeen. She started with this clip from Sir Ken Robinson. I had not seen it before (although it has 4+ million views on youtube!) and it is so compelling, it almost makes me want to resign all efforts to teach in this contemporary world. Then Carolyn reminded us of the need to hold Truth and Goodness and Beauty together when working with students in the Arts and Social Sciences. The failing of TSCF over the years, and much of the evangelical world, may well be the inability to remain connected to Beauty. She spoke of her own testimony as "God calling to me through things of beauty."

Then, as is his custom, Nigel Pollock (National Director) spread his simple strategic eye over Twelve Opportunities facing TSCF. Because he is not a home-grown Kiwi, he seems to see the New Zealand context with startling clarity. It is the old story: if you want a definition of (Kiwi) water, don't always ask a (Kiwi) fish.

Ben Carswell (Outreach Coordinator, born in the same village in Yorkshire as Samuel Marsden - go figure!) prodded us gently, but strongly, in the area of evangelism - including an update on plans for the Rugby World Cup. Over lunch I had an exchange with Nigel over the phrase which Langham uses in the UK to promote its work - "mission beyond evangelism". We agreed that the challenge here in NZ is to remind the church that there is an "evangelism beyond mission" that must not be forgotten. Again and again, I hear people assume that there can be such a thing as an 'evangelism-less mission'...

Someone spoke about the need to recover hospitality ... and how we need to progress people from coffee table to dining room table to Lord's table. I like it.

Did you know that 25% of NZ passport holders live overseas? Did you know that 38% of the people who live in Auckland were not born in NZ?

I urge anyone reading this post who knows a tertiary student to do what you can to point them towards a TSCF group. If you are a graduate yourself, consider linking with their new Catalyst programme. And if you have a 'donation dollar' and you are wondering where to direct it, my advice is probably rather obvious by now. :)

nice chatting

Paul

one wedding and a funeral

2011-05-04T06:46:00.016+12:00

Will there ever be a long weekend like it again?

On the Friday we had the once-in-a-generation wedding of a royal couple. It was held in an abbey in a city and watched by millions all around the world. Lots of pomp. Lots of celebrities. Lots of photos.

Then on the Monday we had the after-a-decade funeral of a terrorist. It was held on an aircraft carrier on the sea and the same millions only became aware of it after it had all finished. No pomp. No celebrities. No photos.

The juxtaposition of these events puts my imagination in overload. I'll leave it to the eloquent to draw out the parallels and the contrasts. But of this you can be sure - the events of this weekend will still come up in conversation and in textbooks one century from now (should the Lord tarry!).

Speaking of the Lord, the reality which I can't shake off from this weekend is the way one subject that was meant to go away just keeps rearing its head. Religion.

I loved the wedding. I am still reeling from the authenticity of the Christian faith I heard expressed in that service. Did they really write that prayer themselves? Ok - Romans 12 is a suitable passage for a wedding - maybe a little more edgy than its traditional cousin, 1 Corinthians 13 - but still highly suitable. But why choose to include Romans 12.1-2 in the reading? And why have it read with such feeling and conviction. And did they really select Love Divine, All Loves Excelling? Did the whole world really hear "Let us see Thy great salvation, perfectly restored in Thee; changed from glory into glory till in heaven we take our place; till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise" And did the preacher really say all that stuff?
Yes, I know about state-religion but don't you think they crossed a line here? Don't you think they went just a bit too far - away from the formal and the traditional to the real and the authentic? Or am I being duped here? Maybe William was as bored as he looked during the sermon? I am thinking these thoughts and then I hear someone say them so well. Martin Bashir on BBC's Newsnight on 29/4/11 - a 99 second clip that is going viral on facebook at the moment.

And the funeral - the assassination of Osama Bin Laden? I am still thinking about it. While it is ugly, nevertheless I do understand the eruption of joy which took place in various public spaces in the USA as the news broke. While it is even more ugly, I do understand the outbreaks of patriotism. And while I applaud neither the joy nor the patriotism, it is the naivete that surprises me. Do people really think that this is in some sense a victory? Do people really think that the new 'Situation Vacant' will not receive countless applicants? A more restrained triumphalism would be wise - as would a read of this quote, wrongly ascribed to Martin Luther King (although that will make it move more quickly) that is all over facebook as well:

‎"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" (sounds like Romans 12 at the wedding, doesn't it!?)

But let's come back to religion. I like the way President Obama goes about relating to people of other faiths. I like the way he does not demand a home-court advantage for Christianity. I like the way he tries to make space for Islam and Muslims as people of faith quite distinct from the extremists on their edge. He rightly spoke of how Bin Laden was a "mass murderer of Muslims". Watching his speech in Egypt from two years ago was a profound experience for me. And now - even in the wake of the death of the great enemy - an effort is made to respect Islam. He didn't need to do that. He really didn't. But he did. Sure some will quibble over the details - but an effort was made to be respectful as
this BBC report notes.

And so it was a weekend with one wedding and a funeral - but also two religions.

nice chatting

Paul

turning ninety

2011-04-27T07:02:00.013+12:00

I join the multitude of people across the time zones who will this day be thanking God for John Stott on this his 90th birthday.

I cannot be as intimate or as profound as many but his impact on my life nonetheless has been enormous. The Apostle Paul once said "follow me, as I follow Christ." It seems OK to have models and heroes if emulating their lives draws us further into a likeness to Christ. This is how it has been for me. Some people evoke an aspiration that lies more deeply than mere inspiration. I have found John Stott to be one such person. The world has enough inspiration in it. If anything the church is over-inspired. What we need are more people who we can aspire to be like - simply because they carry that whiff of Jesus about them.

John Stott, aspiration and Christlikeness? A handful of qualities immediately drop into my mind (and I mean 'immediately'!):

his humility
It is the sweetest grace of all and John Stott has more of it than anyone else I have ever experienced. Just one little example will suffice. What about all those efforts to answer every single letter that came to him - including my own note to thank him for The Cross of Christ? To attend to these sorts of letters says something ...

his generosity
Imagine giving away all the royalties from your writings to fund PhD scholarships for young leaders from the developing world? As a young man I was so impacted by that discovery. So counter-cultural - and so strategic (as the 300+ recipients all around the world over the past 40 years will tell you).

his simplicity
I am counted among the myriad of people who have enjoyed breakfast with John Stott in his flat in London. I remember almost nothing of the content of the conversation and everything of the starkness of the context. He lived so simply. I guess on that occasion the medium eclipsed the message...

his clarity
From those first compelling moments at Urbana '79 when I heard him preach and through all his writings/sermons since it is his clarity that wins me over again and again. He is not so much clever with the Word as he is clear with it. He takes a biblical passage and goes 'tap, tap, tap' and it just breaks open so easily.

his memory
Oh - that ability to remember names. In my travels this is what is mentioned most. People are so impacted by it. This is why I have said to students over the years "Don't sit there telling me you are no good with names - get good with names. It is that critical." Once when Stott was making this point at a pastors' conference, someone piped up, "But there are hundreds of people in my church - how can I possibly remember all their names?" A little pause. A little peek over the half-rimmed glasses. "You might start by praying for them by name." Those in the know recognise that to be a word of personal testimony.

Interestingly, John Stott's last message (at 87 years of age?) was on Christlikeness - watch a bit of it here. A simple biography has been written recently by Roger Steer. The UK edition is titled Inside Story, while the US title is Basic Christian. The ideal place for the Stottian novice to commence!

If you wish to experience something of the clarity of his teaching travel no further than his commentary on the Book of Acts. Alternatively, you might consider going to the All Souls website and feasting on hundreds of Stott's sermons, downloadable for free.

Of his books The Cross of Christ is tops. I remember my consternation when I had to order it for the Carey library after I commenced there as Principal :).

Rather sadly, John Stott made very few visits to New Zealand, with the last one being maybe as far back as the 1970s. I do find that Kiwis can understate the significance of his influence as a result. And yet in 2005 TIME magazine identified him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world - in the subsection titled "Heroes & Icons". Billy Graham concludes his little piece on Stott by writing, "He represents a touchstone of authentic biblical scholarship that, in my opinion, has scarcely been paralleled since the days of the 16th century European Reformers." That is such a big call - but how could it possibly be challenged? It is true.

nice chatting

Paul Windsor

stott and carson, lausanne and gospel coalition

2011-04-25T05:11:00.032+12:00

When it comes to naming the biggest influences on my life, the task is easy. No human beings are more responsible for the shaping of my convictions than John Stott and DA Carson. It is a dead heat - and I am forever grateful. In my impressionable early twenties these two men helped me build my foundations for life.

I had 6-8 MDiv classes at TEDS with a much younger Don Carson. His ongoing pastoral and prayerful interest in me and my family has been gracious and humbling. As a 20yr old I heard Stott expound Romans ch1-5 and as I sat transfixed by it all, I discovered my own calling for life. I am one of many who has had breakfast with him in his flat (March 1984!) - and years later I find myself working in the organisation which he has founded.

So I am a privileged chap, aren't I?!
It has been interesting to follow these two men over the years.

In recent weeks both men have been honoured by their friends with publications. Chris Wright has edited John Stott: a portrait by his friends - in time for Stott's 90th birthday later this week. See the review by All Souls' staff member, Mark Meynell, here. Don Carson has had a Festschrift handed to him earlier this month. It is called Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century. There is a lovely piece written here by his friend, John Woodbridge, to mark the occasion.

And now - in 2011 - their fingerprints can be seen on two organisations whose reach is increasingly global.

John Stott has been at the heart of the Lausanne movement since it commenced in 1974 and his DNA can still be seen in their latest publication, The Capetown Commitment, available here as a pdf - and here, if you like having a little book in your hand. I read it through on a recent flight from Hong Kong to Auckland. It is impressive, ideal for personal study, or small group discussion, or even the basis of a sermon series in a local church.

The subtitle is "a confession of faith and a call to action" and this provides the structure to the booklet. Part One affirms "the Lord we love" and works its way through various things "we love" in a confessional way: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Word, the world, the gospel etc.
Part Two affirms the "world we serve". John Stott would be so pleased with this! The coverage of topics is remarkable: the arts, emerging technologies, the media, ethnic conflict, the poor, people with disabilities, creation, oral cultures, slavery, children, other religions, leadership, cities, "disordered sexuality", power, success, greed, men and women, prosperity gospel, theological education etc - like I say, it is very impressive in its attempt to capture what God is saying to the global church through the Lausanne movement. If I was still pastoring a local church, I'd make it the focus of a day-long retreat for all staff and ministry leaders - asking "what is the Spirit saying to our church through this statement?"

A random quote?
"All children are at risk. There are two billion children in our world and half of them are at risk from poverty. Millions are at risk from prosperity. Children of the wealthy and secure have everything to live with, but nothing to live for."

A random omission?
I was surprised that there was not a more searching critique of patriotism and the way nationhood is an obstacle to the 'committed internationalism' so advocated by John Stott.

Don Carson is at the heart of the rapidly growing Gospel Coalition movement in the United States - with a breathtaking website that is appreciated all around the world. If you haven't already, do some surfing. It is a-mazing. They just had their gathering earlier this month and so the site is full of new material. If you surf carefully you will come across two documents under "About Us" - a Confessional Statement and a Theological Vision for Ministry - with its focus on epistemological, hermeneutical and contextualisation issues, together with practical implications. These absorbing statements have no little Carsonian DNA in them! So much is just brilliant.
If I was still teaching in a theological college I would rush to include an assignment that compares and contrasts these two statements with the Capetown Commitment. It would be a fascinating study into the streams of evangelicalism today.

A random quote - or three?
"To eliminate the propositional nature of biblical truth seriously weakens our ability to hold, defend, and explain the gospel. But to speak of truth only as propositions weakens our appreciation of the incarnate Son as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the communicative power of narrative and story, and the importance of truth as living truly in correspondence to God."

"Reading “along” the whole Bible. To read along the whole Bible is to discern the single basic plot–line of the Bible as God’s story of redemption (e.g., Luke 24:44) as well as the themes of the Bible (e.g., covenant, kingship, temple) that run through every stage of history and every part of the canon, climaxing in Jesus Christ ... (and) Reading “across” the whole Bible. To read across the whole Bible is to collect its declarations, summons, promises, and truth–claims into categories of thought (e.g., theology, Christology, eschatology) and arrive at a coherent understanding of what it teaches summarily."

"The gospel itself holds the key to appropriate contextualization. If we over–contextualize, it suggests that we want too much the approval of the receiving culture. This betrays a lack of confidence in the gospel. If we under–contextualize, it suggests that we want the trappings of our own sub–culture too much. This betrays a lack of gospel humility and a lack of love for our neighbor."

It is brilliant stuff.

A random omission - or two?
As the logo above suggests, it has a very 'NA' identity - North American, with a little bit of North Atlantic thrown in. That just does not cut it in terms of what God is doing around the world. Is it wise, or just, to pour so much energy and resourcing into a movement so narrowly focused?

And I find the niche which women occupy - or don't occupy, as is the case - to be regrettable. Many people will shut their ears to so much good stuff simply because of this. Again - it is more narrowly defined than is necessary. So not just ethnicity - but also gender. One of the most breathtaking discoveries on the website is to go to "About Us" and click on "Council Members" and scroll through the photos (on and on it goes) of 52 men and no women! For the record the key sentences in the Confessional Statement affirm the following:

"In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. The distinctive leadership role within the church given to qualified men is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption and must not be sidelined by appeals to cultural developments."

nice chatting

Paul Windsor

the glorious south

2011-04-20T19:51:00.009+12:00

It has been fun to spend a few days travelling with Jonathan & Margaret Lamb (Director, Langham Preaching - and so he is my boss!) around the south of the South Island, my ol' stomping ground - and revisiting the places I love...

like the wakatipu basin

and arrowtown

and milford

and st bathan's

and the lindis pass

and the ida valley

and the cookie monster

and seeing that water again (even at the end of a bungy cord - something I was doing thoroughly and completely vicariously)

nice chatting

Paul

ecclesiastes reloaded

2011-04-12T15:42:00.009+12:00

How ironic is this?!

It is in Ecclesiastes that we find the celebrated quotation - "of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body (Ecc 12.12)." And then it is yet another commentary on this very same 2500 year old Ecclesiastes which demonstrates the value of even more wearisome study and the publishing of even more books...

Maybe I am a behind the times and you already know this. But Craig Bartholomew's commentary on Ecclesiastes is breathtaking.

Yes, I know that is a strong word to use for a boring commentary, but it is true. I've been reading commentaries on Ecclesiastes - the first biblical book I took seriously as a Bible teacher - for more than twenty years. The exegesis from Bartholomew is so refreshing. For example, with the allegory in 12.1-7 he suggests that "Qoheleth clearly has something much larger in mind than old age and death (348 - not many evangelicals have gone there in recent times)..." OR take his way of translating hebel/meaningless as "enigmatic" because the word "does not indicate that there is no meaning but that it appears ungraspable or incomprehensible ... (and so) 'enigmatic' leaves open the possibility of meaning (93-94)" - and for this reason 'meaningless' carries the wrong nuance.

In the introductory pages, Bartholomew's discussion of the genre of Ecclesiastes (61-81) is a highlight which I am still absorbing. Then there is "Reading Ecclesiastes within the Context of Proverbs and Job and Its Connection to the Torah" (84-93); the four crucial pages on the "Message" of Ecclesiastes (93-96, arguably the best pages to read first); and "Ecclesiastes and the New Testament" (96-99).

Then what about his Postscript? It is titled "Postmodernism, Psychology, Spiritual Formation, and Preaching" (375-389). Say no more! No - I'll say one more thing ... He closes the commentary with a quotation from a Philip Jenkins' book (the very one I reviewed a few weeks ago). How cool is that?

However the undisputed heavyweight highlight of the commentary is the way he takes off the handbrake in the sections entitled "Theological Implications". In here he wanders and imagines his way all over the place. While some of it is pretty philosophical, given his desire to engage the 'autonomous epistemology' of Qoheleth, the scenery of the places where he roams is spectacular. Let me try to capture this for you by listing some of the names which appear in the footnotes of these sections:

Langdon Gilkey to David Bosch to Jacques Ellul to Anne Lamott to Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Oscar Romero to Paul Ricoeur to Henri Nouwen to Eugene Peterson to Karl Barth to Elie Wiesel to John Paul II to Karl Popper to Hans-Georg Gadamer ... and those are only some of the ones I recognised!

Like I say, it is breathtaking...

nice chatting

Paul

the cup doth not runneth over - yet

2011-04-05T15:44:00.017+12:00

You'd think that this child of India would be ecstatic about India winning the cricket World Cup. [The only other time they won it was the only time I didn't follow it, immersed as I was in theological study in Chicago - a long way from cricket and a long time before the internet...]

No - I can't say that I am ecstatic.

While I wouldn't begrudge the luminous Sachin a World Cup, I do begrudge the way Indian cricket controls world cricket and I fear that this will become worse now. The global game is desperate for an ICC with FIFA-like power in the face of the Indian BCCI. They seem to have a UN Security Council-like veto on all decisions - but they are the only country with that veto! It compromises the integrity of the game when India can rig the quarters and the semis to ensure they have home games. That is just a joke. And why is it that the ICC can't force the BCCI to align with everyone else and use the umpire review system? Maybe now that Sachin had nine lives in the semis, they may rethink their position ... and I am no fan of the IPL either. But don't get me started. It is chewing-gum cricket - tasty and vigorous for awhile, but you spit it before too long AND it is ruining the game in countries with limited cricket wealth. Oops - I just got started.

So I am a bit of a grumpy sod at the moment.
[I guess I could spend more time watching Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls to lift my sporting spirits...] But also things have brightened considerably as I have contemplated the make-up of the NZ team which will win the World Cup in 2015. It goes like this:

1. Martin Guptill
He will be entering his prime, only made riper with John Wright's guidance.

2. Brendon McCullum
While I thought about dropping him down the order, I am confident that Wright will get inside the head of someone who can hit a patient test double century in India AND hit a blistering Twenty20 century against Australia. It is the combo that we need.

3. Daniel Flynn
I am a big fan - and I reckon he has a second coming coming. And a leftie as well.

4. Ross Taylor
He could well be regarded as one of the top three ODI batsmen in the world by 2015.

5. Jesse Ryder
For all his personal problems, he has a stillness about his batting which will be ideal at #5.

6. Kane Williamson
Yep, in four years time he'll be the one able to adapt his game to anything from short singles to hitting over the top - and as a future captain he will demonstrate the mental toughness needed to bat at #6 in ODI cricket.

7. Nathan McCullum
He never lets NZ down and as the older brother he'll want to play for as long as possible and at 34 he'll be ready for a swan song in 2015.

8. Daniel Vettori
Yep - long before the media mentioned it today, I was thinking similar thoughts. I reckon he'll focus on Test cricket for 2-3 years (maybe intent on becoming the first person to take 500 wickets and score 5000 runs?) - but when 2015 rolls around he'll remember that he is a far better ODI bowler than he is a Test bowler and the lure of being on a World Cup winning side at home will be too much for him. He'll be back.

9. Tim Southee
I've always been a believer - and next time around he'll be that much better and two places higher in the batting order, contributing as a batsman as well.

10. Neil Wagner
A leftie - and he is quick, with South African DNA. That'll do me just fine.

11. Adam Milne
I hope he doesn't go the way of so many before him: young quickies bowling too much, too fast, too early and disappearing too quickly. But pushing 150kph at 18 years of age?! Here's hoping...

12. Doug Bracewell
If there is a Bracewell with skill hanging around, you gotta put him in - because you'll get plenty of attitude in the package.

nice chatting - oh, yes it was!

Paul

operation world

2011-03-24T17:15:00.016+13:00

I've been getting acquainted with the seventh edition of this "definitive prayer guide to every nation" which is now available as a book and a DVD. What a labour of love this is. And what a contribution to the task of global mission. It should be hanging out in the living rooms, burdening the coffee tables, and pitching its tent beside the TV of every mission-minded family!

976 pages - with the nations covered, one by one, from Afghanistan on p89 until Zimbabwe on p896. But it is on the other pages which I want to focus my comments: the opening 87 pages and the closing 78 pages.

[By the way here is a site on YouTube where you can get individualised prayers for the nations. Operation World - again. 2-3 minutes each. Ideal for church services. Spoken by people from the country. Start with the one on Pakistan].

Here are thirteen pages which made me WOW:

904: a list of the world's fifty largest cities
[10 from North Atlantic; 10 from South Asia; 10 from China/Japan ... with my old home 'town' of Delhi standing at #2 which surprised me].

976: a list of guidelines on how to pray for world leaders including a website that maintains an accurate listing of those leaders, while also chronicling any changes taking place on a daily basis. Remarkable!

xxiiif: a succinct description of what prayer actually is.

908f: the coolest maps where little blue dots signify where the followers of the world religions live - Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Non-religious, and Christianity. So striking to see both the uniquely global reach of Christianity, but also the overpowering needs of South and East Asia.

967f: a list of (mostly) web-based data bases for finding statistics on things like religion, economics, languages, peoples, denominations etc.

919: a list of the countries with the highest number of unreached peoples.
[... #3 - Pakistan; #4 - Bangladesh; #5 - Nepal ... #36 - Niger; #37 - United Kingdom; #38 - Senegal ...]

301: a list of thirteen quotes on prayer.

27: a few paragraphs on the various Great Commission passages in the New Testament. Made me want to preach a fresh sermon series.

902: a list of countries by population - but choosing to include individual states of India and provinces of China within the list as well. Fascinating!
[so ... Uttar Pradesh is in between Indonesia (#4) and Brazil (#5) ... Maharastra is in between Japan (#10) and Mexico (#11) ... Jiangsu is in between Germany (#16) and Turkey (#17) ... Karnataka is in between United Kingdom (#22) and Italy (#23)]

521: a list of thirteen quotes on mission.

914: a list of the countries with the highest percentage of evangelicals (NB - this word is carefully defined on 958-959).
[#1 - Kenya; #2 - Vanuatu ...]

951f: a list of websites for the thirteen crucial mission-related periodicals and journals.

4-23: a synopsis of the world today complete with 'answers to prayer', 'global hot spots', and 'global trends to watch' ... and then the same categories are opened up for each and every continent as well. Amazing!

However, I must confess that I am not convinced by everything. Particularly puzzling is the understanding of 'pentecostals' and 'charismatics' in relation to 'evangelicals'. They suggest that "All Pentecostals are, by definition, both charismatic and evangelical and therefore a subset of both ... Pentecostals are both evangelical and charismatic by definition (xxxi)". That is news to me. I have never understood those words in that sense. It is not a small issue in the book because the statistics keep coming back to these words. And so when I turn to New Zealand and discover "18.2% Evangelicals", I am dumbfounded. I know of no survey - until this book - that puts the figure anywhere near that high. Then it makes me wonder how many details in other countries leave their people dumb-founded!

Nevertheless, despite my dumb-founded-ness - this is a fantastic book. Please buy one - or the DVD - and make a habit of using it.

nice chatting

Paul

holmes at hagley park

2011-03-19T15:07:00.007+13:00

Paul Holmes has grown on me over the years.

I much prefer him in his current role as a weekly correspondent in the NZ Herald over the role from which he gained his fame and fortune - fronting a nightly current events TV show for decades (it seemed).

His columns are powerful. Often laced with compassion and always laden with insight. He has always had an instinct for the views of the common Kiwi - reflecting those views even as he speaks into them, shaping and strengthening them. When it comes to kiwi cultural exegesis, tracking Holmes has always been a favourite past-time. Plus he writes so well, so it is not difficult.

This is why today's column troubles me.

He is writing about yesterday's open-air Memorial Service in Christchurch in the aftermath of the earthquake. I wasn't able to watch it all - but with what I did see, I was surprised by the amount of 'Christian' content in the service.
[Plus it was a thrill to see two former students involved - and then I did my usual moan about how the prominence of How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace - both of which were sung - in NZ public life never seems to extend to singing their respective final verses. I would have thought the hope of Christ's second coming might be rather relevant - but that is one step too far, I suspect].

I digress.

What comes through in Holmes' piece is his disdain for the religious element, specifically this Christian element, in the service. Here are the extracts:

"The speeches, if one were being a bit picky, could all have been a bit briefer, particularly the religious ones."

"There was plenty of religion, it has to be said. And what the bloke was saying at the start about the tree of life was beyond most of us."

"The various religions each made a contribution, Muslims, Jews, Hindu, Buddhist and Baha'i. They too were brief. It was the Christians who banged on a bit."

Gee - he is taking a big risk writing like that after an event like that. But I think he knows what he is doing. He usually does. I suspect there are many New Zealanders muttering the same things under their breath. The headline might just as easily have read - "Never mind the heat and the Christians, this was truly a special day".

This is a tough cultural context for the church and for Christians - tougher than places like Australia, the US and the UK. As I travel I am convinced of this. This is why one of the deepest and most enduring motivations in my life has been to encourage our pastors. I admire them so much - particularly those shaping authentic biblical ministries.

The way forward is to allow the gospel to transform us so much that it causes us to live distinctive lives laden with good deeds at the heart of our local communities ... and then let this intrigue people, with the Spirit well able to take it where he wants from there. While there is a very real sadness that Paul Holmes does not see this happening in this nation, it should not surprise us either. The New Testament helps us see that a blindedness is to be expected.

In the meantime I'll keep doing what I've been doing for years - praying for his salvation.

nice chatting

Paul

the new faces of christianity

2011-03-13T18:37:00.010+13:00

A Jenkins-Junkie, that is what I am...

[NB - This one took a bit longer because I left my first copy (almost finished) in the seat pocket when disembarking on a plane in Singapore last year. UGH!?]

The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South (Oxford University Press, 2006). This is a book which lives at the interface between biblical interpretation and global Christianity and should be required reading for those interested in either topic - with chapter 8 heading for the reader/anthology in a formal course on both subjects. He opens this final chapter with these words:

"The impact of the Bible in the global South must raise questions for European and American Christians, questions that are at once exhilarating and disturbing ... We can reasonably ask whether the emerging Christian traditions of the Two-Thirds World have recaptured themes and trends in Christianity that the older churches have forgotten(178)."

Exhilarating. Disturbing.
That about sums it up.

Jenkins makes his way through a series of polarities - Old (Testament) and New (Testament), Poor and Rich, Good and Evil, Persecution and Vindication, Women and Men, North and South - and demonstrates the different ways in which people in the global South read the Bible on these subjects. A quick scan of the index reveals that he touches down in 52(!) different books of the Bible as he zooms around Africa and Asia, in particular. The letter of James (and Psalm 91 - "in Christian Africa and Asia, this psalm is everywhere (108)") receives attention enough in the book to warrant including the full text of both in an Appendix.

Three sections grabbed my attention.

(a) One is in the discussion on 'good and evil' where Jenkins tackles the common perception that people in the global South are a bit wacky with their attitudes to healing, spiritual warfare, and the supernatural. "Viewed more closely, global South versions of Christianity and Bible interpretation are much less archaic than they might appear, while global North assertions of rationality are more fragile (122)." In a section entitled 'The Triumph of Reason', where Jenkins engages the wacky stuff that happened in the wake of 9/11 and things like "witchcraft panic" in the USA, the conclusion is clear: "Western society possesses an ineradicable substratum of irrationality and ritualistic behavior (127)." Western countries need to be far slower to point the finger...

(b) Another is entitled 'The Great Disappointment' and explores the failure of liberation theology in the global South. "As Marxism crumbled globally - and the apartheid crisis was resolved in southern Africa - the more utopian forms of liberation theology seemed increasingly obselete (140)" ... "states fail; churches flourish (142)."

(c) A final one touches down in Islam [Be warned - WOW coming up!]: "...the lived Christianity of Africa and Asia shares many assumptions with Islam, and in some matters, can be closer to Islam than to the Christianity of the advanced West ... (even the fasting season of Ramadan derives from the strict Lenten discipline of the Syrian churches) ... So many of the apparent differences between the two faiths arise from making a false comparison between the privatised Christianity of a largely prosperous post-Enlightenment West, and the collective and tradition-minded Islam of overwhelmingly poor nations in Africa and Asia ... If we compare rich Christians with poor Muslims, of course they seem to inhabit different universes, and the differences are still more acute if we compare older Western Christians with young Afro-Asian Muslims. As Euro-American Christians struggle to understand the Islam that represents such a vital political force, they could do worse than to try first to appreciate global South Christianity, with which so many share a common history and language (182)."

Maybe a few further seminal quotations will suffice?!

(quoting John Updike) "I don't think God plays well in Sweden ... God sticks pretty close to the equator (10)."

"A translated Bible defies conventional images of missionary imperialism. Once the Bible is in a vernacular, it becomes the property of the people. It becomes a Yoruba Bible, a Chinese Bible, a Zulu Bible; and the people in question have as much claim to it as does the nation that first brought it. It is no longer English or French (24)."

On Old and New: "Global South Christians retain much greater veneration for the Old Testament as a living source of authority than do Euro-American churches (53) ... James may be the single book that best encapsulates the issues facing global South churches today (60)."

On Poor and Rich: "Perhaps only hungry eyes can appreciate just how thoroughly images of food snd feasting, eating and starving, pervade both Testaments (78) ... For a Northern world that enjoys health and wealth to a degree scarcely imagined by any previous society, it is perilously easy to despise believers who associate divine favour with full stomachs or access to the most meager forms of schooling or health care; who seek miracles in order to flourish, or even survive. The Prosperity Gospel is an inevitable by-product of a church containing so many of the very poorest (97)."

On Persecution and Vindication: "For a global North Christian, the word "martyrdom" implies a cinematic lion (as with the gladiators); for an African, it suggests a jet fighter in the service of a strictly contemporary regime (130-131)."

On Women and Men: "Widowhood ranks among the most pressing women's rights concerns in many parts of Africa and Asia ... Respect for widows is a survival issue, and scripture passages that North American eyes flit over become burningly relevant (174)." [NB - it is amazing how often literalist Bible readers in the global North select the women-keep-silent passage in 1 Timothy 2, but sidestep the widow passage in 1 Timothy 5!].

On North and South: "we see things not as they are but as we are (179)." "God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away hungry(186 - go the Magnificat!)."

Two earlier reviews of Jenkins' books can be found here and here.

nice chatting

Paul

the mission of god's people

2011-03-04T05:52:00.013+13:00

There is a lot to like about this new book from Chris Wright: The Mission of God's People (Zondervan, 2010).

The writing style and the format of the book makes it so accessible to home groups, for example. The 'sermonic atmosphere' hovering around the chapters is suggestive to preachers looking for ideas. It is the start of a new, and overdue, series on 'biblical theology for life'. It makes accessible many of the themes introduced in the author's earlier and larger magnum opus, The Mission of God ... and it answers the practical question "What are we here for?"

The answer comes by affirming that "mission has to do with the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world - and that means using the whole Bible (266)." And so, as the subtitle expresses it, this is a "biblical theology of the church's mission" - with care taken to avoid the two dangers of "theology proceeding without missional input or output (and) mission proceeding without theological guidance or evaluation (19)."

To give you a taste of the book, here is a countdown of the five chapters which impacted me the most...

NUMBER FIVE
Chapter 2: People Who Know the Story They Are Part Of
Here we find Chris' summary of the biblical story in four parts as creation, fall, 'redemption in history', new creation (with a useful diagram on p40). That phrase 'redemption in history' has advanced my understanding in that he resists identifying redemption with the arrival of Jesus, arguing that it goes back at least as far as the call of Abraham. There is an insightful page on Luke 24 (p38) - and a terrific extended quotation from Philip Greenslade on the need to 'indwell' this story as "we stop trying to make the Bible relevant to our lives and instead begin to find ourselves being made relevant to the Bible. We give up the clumsy attempt to wrench the ancient text into our contemporary world and instead bring our world back into collision with, and cleansing by, the strange new world of the Bible (Philip Greenslade, quoted on p45)."

NUMBER FOUR
Chapter 6: People Who Are Redeemed for Redemptive Living
Here Chris engages the Exodus event with a simple thesis: 'exodus-shaped redemption demands exodus-shaped mission'. The redemption is holistic - political, economic, social, spiritual - and so must be the mission as well. He slides across to the cross of Christ as "the fulfillment of the exodus, including within its total redemptive accomplishment final liberation from all that enslaves and oppresses humanity and creation (p111)." Quoting from the earlier book, "we need a holistic gospel because the world is in a holistic mess (quoted on p110).

NUMBER THREE
Chapter 11: People Who Proclaim the Gospel of Christ
The preacher in me is drawn into this chapter by the sheer simplicity of what he discovers in Isaiah 52.7-10: God Reigns, God Returns, God Redeems ... and the "gospel is on its way (186)." First he demonstrates how 'Jesus was and is God reigning' and then how 'Jesus was and is God returning' and how 'Jesus was and is God redeeming' ... before touching down in Paul and asking "how then did Paul think and speak of the gospel? (190)." And from a study of every use of the word 'gospel' by Paul, Chris comes up with six features of Paul's gospel and explains them. He then concludes by arguing that Paul's gospel is historical and ecclesial, faith and obedience, heard and seen, personal and cosmic... In the way it spans the scriptures, there is something so satisfying (that seems to be the best word!) about this chapter.

NUMBER TWO
Chapter 13: People Who Live and Work in the Public Square
How refreshing is this? More to the point, how affirming is this? "For God, the corruption of the public square is not a reason to vaporise it, but to purge it and redeem it (p227)." He embraces Is 65.17-25 and its vision of the hope which we have when "the whole of life - personal life, family life, public life, animal life - will be redeemed and restored to God-glorifying productiveness and human-fulfilling enjoyment (p227)." I loved the pages on three of my favourites - Joseph, Daniel, Esther - and then the chapter closes with a nice touch: "A personal message to Christians in the public square (pp241-243)" by someone who "feels that he speaks as a coward, for my own working life is not spent in the secular marketplace (p242)." Those called to the public square will cherish these two pages ... and Chris returns to this theme later in the book: "People don't go to church on Sundays to support their pastors in their ministry. The pastor goes to church on Sunday to support the people in their ministry (p272)."

NUMBER ONE
Chapter 8: People Who Attract Others to God
My spirit soared as I made my way through this chapter. And yes, I realise that this is largely because I am in such deep agreement with what is written. It is a theme I have been banging on about in this NZ context for years - being 'distinctive with distinction' is the way I like to express it ... but having someone of Chris Wright's stature draw the themes from scriptures (from five different places!) with such a chatty and practical eloquence is just thrilling. Churches and leaders are pigging-out on the need to be incarnational, at the expense of being attractional. It is a big mistake. We mix in, but if we lose our difference as we do so, where does this leave us? Salt - but also Light, I think someone once said. Or, as Chris puts it repeatedly in this book, "there is no biblical mission without biblical ethics (p94)." The downgrading of the struggle to be holy (when did you last hear a sermon on it?) is just one expression of this concern. "God's people are to live in such a way that they become attractors - not to themselves, but to the God they worship (p129)." Or, as Chris wryly observes, "We often sing, "Shine, Jesus, Shine". I sometimes hear a voice from heaven muttering, "Shine yourself, why don't you?" (p143).

Well, there are five of the chapters! There are eight others carrying the freight in this book, before a final chapter on "The Journey So Far and the Journey Ahead". In articulating five "scandals" in the church on p283, Chris gives us an agenda on where to start being distinctive with distinction. It will not be easy.

[NB (1): Chris Wright is visiting New Zealand from Sunday October 23 - Sunday October 30. He will be in Auckland, Waikanae, Wellington and Christchurch (DV!), primarily to participate in the kiwi-made preaching forums - but also to speak and preach in different settings. Contact the Langham office for further details (admin@ldl.org.nz +64 6 376 5190)
NB (2): If you are in New Zealand, the Langham office has copies of this book available - with further details here on the offer being extended to you.]

nice chatting

Paul

christchurch comfort

2011-02-24T13:06:00.009+13:00

Who could ever have nightmared that in the very month of the 80th anniversary of the Napier earthquake, that nation-defining event, there could be the possibility of it being eclipsed by another quake further down the faultline?

I find myself with God's people in Sri Lanka - tsunami-land - and I have been touched by their compassion. I also find myself reading and re-reading Isaiah 40-60, something I had committed to do before the quake struck. The people of God are in a hideous exile and yet God speaks through Isaiah with words of tender comfort, surprising hope - and poignant relevance ... right down to talk of shaking mountains and hope for people of the islands.

If you are looking for words of comfort, may I suggest that here is a good place to commence the journey? I invite you to look over my shoulder at what is helping me:

"See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power and his arm rules for him ... He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the (canterbury) lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those who have young." (Isaiah 40.10-11)

“The (north and south!) islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward; they help each other and say to their companions, “Be strong!” ... So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you.” (Isaiah 41.5-6, 10)

“A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isaiah 42.3)

“Do not tremble, do not be afraid ... Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (Isaiah 44.8)

“Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and rescue you.” (Isaiah 46.4)

“Listen to me, you islands (north and south!); hear this, you distant nations (aotearoa-new zealand) ... Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands (and your photo is on my fridge!).” (Isaiah 49.1,15-16)

“Let those who walk in the dark, who have no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.” (Isaiah 50.10)

“The (north and south) islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm ... I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand. I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth and who say ... ‘you are my people’.” (Isaiah 51.5,16)

“Though the mountains be shaken and the (port) hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54.10)

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55.6)

“Surely the islands look to me ... No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.” (Isaiah 60.9,18-20)

“In all their distress he too was distressed.” (Isaiah 63.9)

...and there is more, much more, where this comes from.
It has been good to chat.

Paul

r & d from capetown

2011-02-16T09:28:00.014+13:00

The Capetown Commitment is now available here.

My initial impression is positive. I like the effort made to bring 'unchanging gospel' and 'changing world' together for this time in which we live. Neither text nor context seems compromised. The initial reading causes heart and mind to come alive to both word and world. I am looking forward to the opportunity to savour it a bit.

The conclusion of the Commitment caught my eye.
The words go like this:

"We sought to listen to the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in his mercy, through his Holy Spirit, Christ spoke to his listening people. Through the many voices of Bible exposition, plenary addresses, and group discussion, two repeated themes were heard:

The need for radical obedient discipleship, leading to maturity, to growth in depth as well as growth in numbers;
The need for radical cross-centred reconciliation, leading to unity, to growth in love as well as growth in faith and hope.

Discipleship and reconciliation are indispensable to our mission. We lament the scandal of our shallowness and lack of discipleship, and the scandal of our disunity and lack of love. For both seriously damage our witness to the gospel."

So, when all is said and done, these two remain:
Reconciliation & Discipleship

Just as companies and countries talk about investing in Research & Development to open up their futures, it would seem - from Capetown, anyway - that the global church needs to be doing the same with this other R & D.

But where is the first step and how do you take it?
Two wonderings:

(a) I wonder about placing this R & D in a series of concentric circles. Not too many circles - say, (a) personal/family; (b) local church/community; (c) regional/national; and (d) global.
What if every follower of Jesus, every single person who is in Christ, became committed to a single Reconciliation initiative and a single Discipleship initiative in each of those concentric circles?
What if, in the language of Stephen Covey, this R & D become the 'rocks in their jar' which receive first priority and best energy?
What if church leadership freed people to make this the priority of their peoples' lives?
What if there were praying and sharing times where these initiatives were the sole focus - as one means of keeping people accountable?

(b) I also wonder if we acknowledge enough the attractional missional possibilities of communities living like this. This R & D is very attractive. Today we hear so much about incarnation and not enough about attraction. Being incarnational is pretty much a waste of time, if there is not an attractional dimension going on as well. Heavily contextualised models of ministry where there is an obsession with being relevant and fitting-in often miss this dimension. It is possible to fit in so well that we fall in - and miss the power of living distinctively with distinction.

nice chatting

Paul

the halberg knot

2011-02-13T05:24:00.015+13:00

Every year the controversy swirling around the Halberg Sports awards seems to be increasingly cyclonic. Goodness me, we've even had a judge spit the dummy and resign because the 'supreme' award went to the wrong person/team...

I am numbered among those sports fans who are disaffected by it all. So, here is the approach I would take.

There must be a way to acknowledge the subjectivity involved in the selection - but in a manner which places it all within a more objective frame. For inspiration I'd return to my days as an employer and the hours I'd spend setting criteria and interviewing applicants against that carefully-weighted criteria.

I'd have six criteria, each with its own mark, to give a total score out of 100.

1. The global stature of the sport (out of 30)
This is the most important one. Where does the sport fit within the global pantheon? This could be done in a pretty objective way by measuring global participation in the sport, or global viewership of the sport. What fills newspapers as I travel in different countries also comes to mind. Examples might look something like this (I haven't done the objective analysis!):
Football (30); basketball/golf/tennis (24-28); cricket/rugby/swimming (20-24); rowing/cycling (16-20); rugby league/netball (12-16). Track & Field is trickier. I suspect the 100m scores close to 30, while shot put would be closer to 16.

2. The local pulse of the sport (out of 20)
It is not good enough to just focus on the global stature. An award given in NZ should have the opportunity to reflect Kiwi passions. Here is the opportunity to do so - and again some objective criteria is closer at hand than we realise. Participation numbers in the sport? Viewership? Something like popularity on talkshows on the radio? A pretty objective assessment could be made. Examples might look something like this:
Rugby (20); netball (18-20); football/cricket (16-18); rugby league/cycling/rowing/swimming (14-16)... Again, track & field is trickier. The 1500m needs to be pushing up towards 20, while boxing or shooting hangs around 10.

3. The level of achievement in the sport (out of 20)
This is the place to acknowledge winners with a mark of 20. However I disagree with the view that you must be a winner to qualify for a Halberg award. The focus needs to be on achievement and excellence, rather than just winning. But I'd try to keep this one simple:
Winner (20); second/silver (16); third/bronze (12) ...
Then when it comes to global tournaments an eye needs to be kept not so much on how many competitors there are at the tournament, but how many competitors attempted to qualify for the tournament. So, this would enter the picture for a basketball team finishing fourth at a World Championship or a football team making it to a World Cup. I'd be inclined to give a score of 10-12 in that situation (because the significance of this achievement is picked up under criteria - like #1)

4. The status of the tournament for the sport (out of 10)
Here an attempt is made to separate the global, from the regional, or even the national. For example, a distinction needs to be made between a world championship for countries and an australasian championship for clubs - and between an Olympic Games and a Commonwealth Games. Recognition is given here to the 'majors' in golf and tennis, for example. I struggle to see Breakers' basketball or Warriors' league ever winning the 'supreme' award for this reason. It might look something like this:
Olympics/World Cup (10); world championship/majors (8); Commonwealth Games (6); australasian (4-6); national (2-4).

5. The frequency of the tournament (out of 10)
Here we recognise one of the anomalies that irritates me about the Halbergs - namely, that you are at a distinct advantage if your sport has an annual world championship of some kind, as opposed to a four yearly one. While I am a big fan, I think the likes of rowing and Valerie Adams have won more awards than is justified simply because of this reality. So, something like this:
Four+ years (10); three years (6-8); two years (4-6); annual (2-4).

6. The subjective response (out of 10)
If the right judges are in place, then allocate some marks for them to affirm their own personal response to a sportsperson, for whatever reason. Subjectivity is unavoidable - so acknowledge it and constrain it within this criteria. This is a strategy I always used with applicants for jobs. It helps.

Where does this leave us?

It is not as complicated as it sounds. Brighter minds than mine will want to tweak it - but I reckon it provides a tighter objective frame, without becoming too mechanistic. Implications? It gives some justification to football beating rugby in 2010 (my score is 86:79). It suggests rugby league and netball will always struggle to win the 'supreme' award - but it is not impossible.

In terms of untying this Halberg knot, a few other reflections:
More focus needs to go on the criteria for selecting judges. In any given year a lot depends on who else is nominated. Being nominated should attract more recognition (like with the Oscars). Finding a way to give an award to an individual within a team sport remains difficult. I'd consider adding another award for this purpose. I'd also think about adding an award for a captain, as a means of affirming the place of leadership which would be a good thing to do in tall-poppy land. Minority sports get a rough deal with what I am suggesting here - but maybe there is another way of handling this dilemma?

nice chatting
(oh, one more thing - I am still looking forward to the day when our sportsmen shed their staunch, unsmiling, inarticulate ways and learn from the consistently relaxed, warm, and eloquent manner of our sportswomen!)

Paul

advertisements and parables

2011-02-10T06:08:00.011+13:00

I've been spending some time reflecting on the similarities between the contemporary advertisement and the ancient parable as part of my DMin thesis.

[Some reflections on the similarity of the political cartoon and the parable can be found here.]

May I introduce you to one of my companions?

It is Mario Pricken. While he has a website, it his book Creative Advertising in which I have soaked for a few months. In this book Pricken provides a systematic analysis of 10,000 award-winning advertising campaigns. The idea is “to provide an insight into the alchemy of creative thinking ... to shed light on the strategies of top creatives and increase the understanding of the patterns that underlie great ideas.(8)”

The genius of the book is that he makes these 'patterns' appear accessible to amateurs and hacks like me. That is quite an achievement for a field so intimidating to the outsider. Pricken accomplishes this, primarily, through two concepts:

1. The Kickstart Catalogue: finding ideas that communicate

He lists 30 'creative strategies' utilised by advertisers and accompanies them with 200 'kickstart questions' which take people into each strategy in a methodical way. Far from being the intuitive and mysterious discipline that we assume it to be, advertising is methodical, like learning to ride a bike - according to Pricken. Each strategy is then illustrated from these award-winning advertising campaigns. It makes for a fascinating book to flick through - even if only to enjoy the pictures!

2. The DreamTeam: a framework for great creative performance

Here Pricken trumpets the brilliance which can gather in a team of brainstormers who trust each other. He believes that “anyone can have ideas; it’s only the implementation that needs to be done by pros."(20) He reckons beginners are a boon to creativity: “naivety can be a great way to open up new fields of ideas.” (20) This entire section is a superb resource for promoting creative thinking in groups.

Pricken contends that a DreamTeam utilising the Kickstart Catalogue, with its questions, can accomplish a lot. As one person noted, the book acts partly as a guide for creative thinking and partly as an inspiration for new ideas.

What has this to do with the parable?

For years I've been trying to describe the 'creative strategy' (to use Pricken's term) in the parabolic form. I have about ten with which I play. Remarkably, along comes these 30 which Pricken exegetes, and I reckon I can overhear the strategies of the parabolic in all but three or four of them. The alignment is startling. There is a similarity between the advertisement and the parable - just as there is with the political cartoon. In just his third paragraph, he writes this:

"Some creatives’ strength lies in analogy, while others always try to induce a change of perspective, and others develop ideas by turning everyday situations on their heads."

He could be describing the parable - with its comparative, occasional, paradoxical and subversive strategies.

nice chatting

Paul

turning eighty

2011-02-02T17:36:00.026+13:00

It is eighty years today since the Napier earthquake - so that means my mum must be turning eighty today too.

And that she is...

I've always loved being introduced by reference to my relationships. Joseph's Dad. Diane's brother. Barby's husband. Someone's teacher. Rachel's boss. Martin's friend. Someone's principal. You get the idea. Well - nothing in all the world beats being introduced as "Gwennie's boy" - and here are some of the reasons why:

There is a devotion about my mum
From a distance our family heritage looks a bit patriarchal. I used to think that myself. But it isn't. It is filled with strong women - mostly mothers - who have known the power and privilege associated with being devoted to their (many!) children and chosen to influence the world for good and for God through that devotion. Across the generations, I reckon my mum is the shining example at the center of our family. A stable, loving home marked by deep convictions and clear boundaries. What more could a child need and want? She is the embodiment of a Deuteronomy 6.5-7 spirituality.

There is a purity about my mum
I was going to stick with 'without guile', but earlier today my sister used this word 'pure'. It is so true. When we were younger we laughed mercilessly at one side of this coin - the naivete and the gullibility of my mum. As we've got older we have admired the other side - the see-through-ness feature of mum, the can't-think-ill-of-anyone quality about mum, the its-a-wicked-world-hatred-of-evil lifestyle of mum. With my mum, what you see and hear is really what you get. She is the embodiment of a James 1.27 spirituality.

There is a goodness about my mum
It was interesting to hear her talk today of her own mum. "She didn't push us to achieve at school academically, or excel in other areas - she just wanted us to be good." That was quite a revelation. It is true of mum herself and it is true of what she has tried to pass on. Every day we'd go off to school with the following words ringing in our ears: "be good, be kind, be true - and look after the lonely ones". Actually, it is not a bad way to live. She is the embodiment of a Philippians 4.8 spirituality. There is a selflessness about my mum
It is not just the servant-heartedness, it is the quiet and unassuming manner in which she continues to serve, particularly my father in these latter years. She is the ultimate in open-home hospitality - and I should know as my teenage home in Delhi was the transit house for the mission. Whether it was attending to me as a bed-wetter until an embarassing age, or attending to my Barby during a horrendous miscarriage - or simply weeding the neighbour's garden, her life has always been turned to the other. She is the embodiment of a Romans 12.3 spirituality.There is a simplicity about my mum
There is a simplicity in the lifestyle she embraces. There are no adornments. Nothing lavish in the home. There is also a simplicity about her faith. I was nurtured on 'trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus'. I heard it said and I saw it lived. And she loves Jesus. We heard today how as a little girl she would swing on the gate singing, "Everybody ought to know, Everybody ought to know, Everybody ought to know who Jesus is". Every year everyone in the family receives a card with a Bible verse in it where the number of years (in age) are matched precisely with the number of words in the verse. That says so much at so many levels. She is the embodiment of a Proverbs 3.5-6 spirituality.
There is an enthusiasm about my mum
When I asked my boys what comes to mind when they think of grandma, Martin immediately responded with "zeal - she just keeps going and going". It's true. Oh, the energy. She's robust. She's spunky. The photos of her as a girl reveal so much fun. The courtship and marriage photos reveal a joy. In more recent years there has been the pairing-up of grandchildren for weekends away ... and now that bless-ed camera of hers. She is the embodiment of an Isaiah 40.30-31 (the very verses her mum gave me for every birthday!) spirituality.

Yep - when I grow up, I want to be like my mum.
(NB - this photo with my mum taken on the day)

nice chatting

Paul

PS - A little tribute to my Dad when he turned eighty can be found here.

wheaton meanderings

2011-01-28T08:01:00.007+13:00

I've been reading it three times a year for more than thirty years.

It is the magazine that goes to alumni of Wheaton College, among whom Barby (to whom I am married) is counted. It is just called Wheaton.

It always sparks a mixture of reactions as I read. One is admiration for the professionalism of the presentation and the sheer quality of the content. It makes me drool. The postage envelope is always ripped open immediately. Another response - borne out of my twenty years in theological education in NZ and now the almost monthly exposure to colleges in Asia - is one of jealousy. They have SO much money! For 150+ years they have stewarded their resources and established their foundations to the point where they talk in terms of millions of dollars as project after project flows. Sometimes I wonder what God thinks as he looks down from his heaven at his total mission in the world with all its need for resources ... is this concentration of resources in a single college the best and fairest way to get the job done? I confess that I remain unconvinced - but that is not why I am writing!

The latest issue of Winter 2011 issue of Wheaton has arrived (pdf available here). In it there is a full manuscript (listen and watch it here) of the Inauguration Address given by their new President (Philip Ryken) - just the eighth person to serve in this position. Do the maths for yourself because it is impressive.

A few comments in response to Ryken's fine address which was entitled "A World Servant in Christian Liberal Arts Education"...

1. The quote he uses right at the end has so impacted me, I have added it to my electronic signature in my email. Another little classic from Frederick Buechner: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet".

2. We don't have 'Christian Liberal Arts Colleges' in New Zealand. The Wheaton College Foundation would love to receive a dollar from me for every time Barby and I have expressed "I wish NZ had a Christian Liberal Arts College for our kids" over the years!
Never be put off by the word 'liberal' in this context. As Ryken expresses it, "Here I use the word 'liberal' in its oldest and truest sense, as that which brings freedom. The liberal arts are the liberating arts: they give us the freedom to become everything God has gifted us to become".

3. In a bold paragraph, Ryken critiques the Wheaton heritage (well - that is how it reads to me - see for yourself) as he calls for a future marked by global engagement:

"We have not articulated a philosophy of liberal education that incorporates global engagement as an essential part of a Wheaton education, so that our students learn how to live, work, worship, and serve in a globalised society - not just preparing students for global engagement, but preparing them through global engagement. We have not developed long-term strategic alliances with colleges and universities overseas that enable us to learn and to teach collaboratively, strengthening both institutions through mutual influence."

WOW?! Did he really say that?
[Although his very next sentence seems to unpick the laudable idea of this 'mutual' influence by inferring that Wheaton will be giving more than it is receiving in such a venture: "We have not fully learned how to take everything that is exceptional about Wheaton as an institution of higher education and then multiply its global impact"]

I hope Ryken is successful. Having been someone who has immersed himself in the US as a student (and I cherish that heritage in my life), I worry about the US and the church there. While their generosity is unrivalled, so few conservative American Christians seem to have genuinely globalised worldviews. They run the risk of living in an un-globalised bubble. As I have expressed elsewhere this is something that troubles me about FoxTV with its deep support in the conservative Christian community.
[NB - earlier this week I watched 30 min of TV in which the host was a Baptist minister and the guests were Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, before Casting Crowns - the top Christian band in the USA - sang a song to close the programme. You would have thought it was some paid-for-TV Christian programming from a private church ... but, no, it was FoxTV! One day I am going to watch FoxTV for 24hrs straight and then write a blog about the dimensions of this bubble...].

Anyway I hope Ryken's courageous words will prove to be prophetic because from my limited and tiny vantage point it seems to be exactly what needs to happen.

4. Ryken speaks of the integration of faith and learning as something which characterised the Garden and so what is needed today is more the reintegration of faith and learning: "It was only when Adam and Eve pursued knowledge apart from trust in God that sin came into the world and learning was sundered from faith ... In the best and oldest traditions of American higher education, faith and learning belong together - not merely juxtaposed, but integrated."

nice chatting

Paul

images that stick

2011-01-23T06:03:00.016+13:00

Before I move on from my eleven week sojourn in India, here are some of the memories which will linger:

As foreign missionary numbers have declined the growth in the number of Indians moving cross-culturally within India is staggering. We kept bumping into some of the 50,000 Indians who have heard this call of God - nowhere more so than when we, a couple of foreign MKs from a previous generation, visited a school for Indian MKs. At one point we found ourselves walking behind Dad, hand-in-hand with son (Geoffrey) and daughter (Fanny), in the midst of a fleeting visit to see the kids. He handed the mobile phone to little Geoffrey so that he could speak to his mummy. We met Mum as well. Let me assure you - the technology may have changed, but the emotions have not.

Five years ago Barby and I did a Dumb-Dumb thing. We allowed our Lovely Lys, aged 18, to fly into Dum-Dum airport (Kolkata) on her own at midnight to begin a six month season working with women in the slums. She helped them with their sewing. She grew to love them as her friends as they got inside her heart and stayed there. The experience left her 'scarred for life' - just what a short term mission trip should achieve - and the scarring spread to us as a family. Their names and their faces became so real to us. [NB Madhobi, on the left, was still there from Lys' time]. Under God's good hand it turned into a Wise-Wise decision. And so as this family holiday loomed, the beeline to Kolkata took over and to watch Lys reunited was one of the deep joys.

I loved watching Indians love their India. Crowds of people at the tourist sites - and the zoos. I don't remember this from my childhood. But I do remember the boldness of the monkeys and how the ones outside the cages are far more entertaining than the ones inside the cages - particularly their penchant for stealing ice creams from children.

My Dad received an OBE from the Queen "for his services to the people of India" and nowhere is his legacy greater than in the Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) which he was instrumental in establishing. One year he spent 100 nights on the hard slats of India's trains to make it happen. I wanted to take my kids to an EHA hospital so they could experience this legacy. Dr Raju and his wife Catherine graciously welcomed us to Kachhwa. From a central hospital-base all kinds of things are developing to create a holistic work: schools, businesses, community health projects, skills training, churches etc A very dark part of India is being transformed. In this photo the medics (!) in a mobile health clinic are taking time out to listen to some children sing an indigenous song about Zacchaeus.

I still find great joy in the chaotic messiness and drab dirtiness of India. I do - I just do. I feel comfortable and at home walking (and walking some more!) through it all. And nowhere is this more noticeable than in the local bazaar. And yet in every local bazaar you will also find the polar opposite: that island, that oasis of ordered tidyness and colourful cleanliness discovered in the fruit and vegetable stall.

For newcomers to India the first definitive experience needs to be a ride in a putt-putt (auto-rickshaw) as a means of freeing all the senses to savour India at one time. In our teenage Delhi days new missionaries would get all that boring orientation stuff from the oldies and then my brother and I would give them the fun orientation - by putt-putt. Some of them still testify to its value for them! And its even more fun with multiple putt-putts so that they can race each other. We hired three for the whole day and here the kids line up with the drivers at the end of the day. [NB - these drivers were befriended by Martin a year earlier and so we had quite the community developing].

Visiting Savitri in her village was so cool. She is now so tiny and so old - but her love for Jesus and for our family just shone in her gleaming face and her toothless smile. Savitri was our aiyah (home-helper) when we were kids. Barby's mother used to have bible studies with her and when she needed a job, Barby's mother suggested our family ... and the rest is history. Savitri became a part of our family and her people became our people and our people became her people. Whenever any of us return to India we make the pilgrimage...

And the mountains - the beautiful Himalayas. Not just the snow-capped stuff, but the rolling foothills.

nice chatting

Paul

the path of blessing

2011-01-15T13:00:00.013+13:00

Years ago I remember my father-in-law expressing a reluctance to offer seminars on parenting. I think I am beginning to understand his reasons...
There is just something about parenting. You never feel like an expert. There is no clear pattern of 'cause and effect' because nothing seems to guarantee anything. Great parents can have such troubled children. That seems to be the way it is. And the parental emotion associated with watching children grow up always seems so extreme - either very high or very low and not much in between. Success is held lightly (because we all know the story is never over) while failure seems to hold on tightly.

Nothwithstanding the truth of all that I have just written, I've decided to risk a few comments about parenting. Among the many priorities that come with parenting, I find it helpful to place Christian parenting within a disciple-making framework. Our goal is to see our children become disciples of Jesus who take their place within the mission of God in the world. This intention must not be frozen or trumped by what I know you are all thinking - "what if they don't head that way?" I still think we keep praying and planning towards this end, particularly while they are young.
One principle that Barby and I have followed is to look for ways to place our children in the path of blessing. Things can be done, decisions can be made, time can be taken, books can be read, movies can be watched, conferences can be attended, trips can be taken ... and money can be spent to place our children in an environment where they are more likely to hear God and be nudged forward by him.

The money one is a huge one. Just as you check the budget of the church, or the business, to see where the priorities lie, you can do the same with a family. Where we spend our money betrays where our hearts are - as parents. With Christian parents, the question needs to be asked: what percentage of the expenditure/budget goes on enhancing the possibility of our children joining the mission of God in the world?
Another biggie is the local church. Famous for its failures and frustrations, the local church still has a lengthy track-record as a place where people hear God speaking to them. For this reason, apart from the occasional holiday-time, we always go to church on a Sunday. It is a crucial section of the 'path of blessing' onto which we place our children. And when the problems surface we urge them to work away on the solution-side, rather than contributing to the problem-side. It provides a fabulous training ground for life.

Yes, these things are on my mind because today I return home to NZ after 11 weeks in India - half of them on holiday with Barby and the children. As I scan the photos with the memories they contain, it has dawned on me just how much the path of blessing controlled the itinerary.
We took pilgrimages to Amy Carmichael's Dohnavur, to Ida Scudder's Vellore and to Paul Brand's Karagiri. Over time these people have become my childrens' heroes. We went to Kolkata's slums and met women with whom our Alyssa worked five years ago. She came home "scarred for life" and shared the scarring with us all. We lingered at the graveside of Mother Theresa, visited the museum on the site of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination - as well as tidied-up the gravesite of Barby's grandfather who went to India almost 100 years ago. We visited Kachhwa Christian Hospital and savoured the holistic ministry flowing from an EHA (Emmanuel Hospital Association) hospital - an organisation founded by my father forty years ago. We visited our aiyah (a home-helper) from my childhood, Savitiri, in her village. We had meals in the homes of Indian missionaries, living simply and sacrifically as they move cross-culturally within the borders of their own country. And Barby and Joseph were able to join me for their first taste of a full Langham Preaching seminar in Guwahati (Assam), mingling for a week with 60+ leaders in the North-East.

It is not too late.
Under the gracious hand of God what is it that you can do in 2011 to place your children on the path of blessing and enhance the possibility of the living God speaking to them in a transformative way?

nice chatting

Paul

indian trains made easy

2011-01-07T13:11:00.025+13:00

Indian Railways is one of the wonders of the world.

Not only is it the largest employer in the world, I am now convinced that riding on their trains is the best way to see India. After a few weeks of travelling on trains, here is my advice to others who want to enjoy the fun.

1. Start with absorbing the UK-based website, A Beginner's Guide to Train Travel in India. I see that it was updated again just last week - so it becomes an accurate and helpful starting point.

2. Having done this I found myself with questions in two areas:

(a) One is related to making decisions about the 'class' in which to travel. There are eight different classes and I didn't find the pictures on this website helpful until after I had done some train travel. If you are new-ish to India and you draw a salary in some foreign currency - like dollars or pounds - then my strong recommendation is to select 'AC2' as the 'class' in which to travel. Just that little bit of comfort without being cocooned - and still reasonably priced.

(b) The other is related to the names of train stations. I found two issues confusing. One is that blessed-India keeps changing the names of towns and cities ... and then with some of the major centres, the name of the train station is not the name of the city and there are often multiple train stations in a city. So, for example, there is no Kolkata train station - there is Howrah and there is Sealdah. There is no Cochin/Kochi train station - there is Ernakulam. This becomes very tricky when you are planning an itinerary! To help sort this out I would encourage you to buy Samit Roychoudhury's The Great Indian Railway Atlas - ISBN 81-901457-1-1. A second edition has come out in 2010. Every single train station is mentioned - and don't miss the glossary on all those blessed name changes!The author also has a website here.

3. Then I'd encourage you to explore the Indian Railways website. The crucial thing which you learn quickly is that every train has a unique number which identifies it. It is the key thing to remember. [NB - about three weeks ago all the old four digit numbers have had a '1' added to them!]. The helpful information I needed was contained by clicking 'Train Between Stations' and selecting a train with its unique number - but then I found entering that number into 'Train Schedule' to be useful as it gave me all the details of the train trip. Under 'Train Type Information' always select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains whenever possible.

4. The difficulty with the Indian Railways site is that you need an Indian credit card to purchase train tickets. I found the service from an Indian-based travel agent to be very poor and quickly learned that I could make bookings and payments for myself. The cleartrip website was superb. So easy to use. Just enter the train stations, select the train you want (with its number) and the class in which you want to travel - and make your payment.

5. Train tickets can be purchased up to three months in advance. Again my strong advice is to get on these websites at that three-month mark and make the decisions and the payments and things should be straightforward. If you leave it until later - as our travel agent did - it becomes complicated and nasty acronyms like RAC, W/L and PNR will become a big part of your life - and a hassle that you don't need.

6. With tickets in hand, the fun begins. Arrive at your train station in good time because not only does the platform for your train need to be identified, the carriage on the train in which your seats/berths can be found (clearly stated on your ticket) also needs to be located. This can take time.

Bring it on! I can't wait for my next train trip in India...

nice chatting

Paul

india now and then

2010-12-19T13:43:00.009+13:00

Returning to the land of my childhood always brings a resonance within me. There is this 'joy 'n peace' combo working away inside. I just enjoy being back in India.

I like noting the things that stay the same and the things that change.

About 90% of men still seem to have moustaches - but not quite as many (thankfully) still relieve themselves pretty much anywhere. As one long-time observer noted, 'Indian men must have the smallest bladders in the world'.

You still need a dictionary of acronyms in order to interpret the newspaper. Headline after headline, article after article is dependent on clusters of capital letters. And 'CPI' is not the 'consumer price index', but the Communist Party of India - while CSI is still barely hanging-on as the Church of South India!

When I was taught to drive it was about looking one way and then the other - and then doing it all again - before venturing out onto the road. Here there is still that sense that the one who does not look at all has the right-of-way. Whether pedestrian or vehicle there is a lot of no-look venturing out onto the road as others give way to you. Establish eye contact and you will be waiting for hours.

I do not know where all the small notes of change are hiding in India, but shopkeepers still seem to have none of it when you purchase an item. And I smile when Indian shopkeepers in New Zealand seem to have the very same difficulty.

Travelling on the trains of India - tomorrow we take the 38hr trip from Bangalore to Kolkata - is still one of life's great joys. Sitting or standing at the open door of a carriage watching India go by...

What about plunging the thumb into the base of an orange? And I mean a real big orange - none of this ping-pong manadarin stuff we get in New Zealand. It is still one of the simple pleasures of India.

But there are things that change as well.

I'ved enjoyed watching Indians love their India and take pride in it. I don't remember it being like this. That Mysore zoo was stuffed with people - with Bethany and I the only foreigners.

I've been staggered by the status that India now has in the world. In the six weeks that I have been here, the leaders of the USA, France, and China have all visited in order to broker trade deals worth $10 billion, $6 billion, and $16 billion respectively. I hope some of that money reaches where it needs to go.

I've been humbled by the extent of the missionary force moving cross-culturally within India. I keep bumping into missionaries, Indian missionaries moving elsewhere in India. Consecrated people living sacrifically for the sake of the gospel. Some estimates put the number at 50,000 people. We even visited a school for missionary-kids - entirely Indian students. It wasn't like that in my day! Remember all that gnashing of teeth over foreign missionaries being sent home? God knew what he was doing.

I've been concerned at the lack of indigenous songs in the churches which I have attended. With just a few exceptions, they are singing what everyone seems to be singing. Very sad. It didn't used to be like that as the downside of globalisation begins to kick in.

nice chatting

Paul

dirt, chaos - and beauty

2010-12-01T14:15:00.005+13:00

One of the definitive Indian experiences is to travel through the dirty and chaotic city of Agra, turn a corner, and be stunned so suddenly by the marble magnificence of the Taj Mahal.

This juxtaposition of rubbish and beauty captures so much of India.

You see it on any visit to any bazaar. Noise and filth and chaos may afflict every single sense - but then you see it: the brightness and beauty of onions and cucumbers, oranges and bananas, stacked with care and order.

I have been teaching at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) - here in Bangalore - for the month of November. The beauty of the campus is breathtaking. Every morning I marvel as I walk. But take a few paces outside the campus and the trash piles up everywhere. That juxtaposition - yet again.

I see it every morning as I read my Times of India. The front page - every single day - has been obsessed with corruption among the powerful. More rubbish. Then on page 2 they have run a month-long series entitled 'Bangalore Patrol' with the results of a study into 'civic services' in the city: measuring mobility, water, sanitation, public anemities, environment, and crime. It is not a pretty sight. Lots of rubbish going down (and lying around). At times I sense embarassment and shame with the reporters. But then turn to the back pages of the paper and the collection of photos and stories to do with beauty on a daily basis defies belief. Never have I been in a society so fascinated by beauty and the beautiful. That juxtaposition - yet again.

None of this should be too surprising. Any reader of the New Testament and student of human nature knows that the juxtaposition of rubbish and beauty fills its pages while capturing so much of who we are in whatever country we find ourselves. The wonder of the gospel is that God created us and our world as things of beauty - but sin and evil have rubbished this. And now, through the gospel, our own rubbish can be transformed and we can participate with God in his mission in the world to see that rubbish restored as well.

What a life! Here's to beauty for ashes...

I look forward to returning to Agra next month and revelling in the gospel once again - and renewing my commitment to participating in the restoration of beauty in the world wherever that may be.

nice chatting

Paul

history in a minor key

2010-11-24T17:00:00.008+13:00

10 June 1886
Tarawera (eruption)

25 April 1915
Gallipoli (war)

2 February 1931
Napier (earthquake)

24 December 1953
Tangiwai (lahar)

10 April 1968
Wahine (cyclone)

28 November 1979
Erebus (plane crash)

19 November 2010
Pike River (mine explosion)

Every decade or two New Zealand is hit with a deep sadness that adds to our self-understanding as a people. Our story can be retold in a minor key - and another sad stanza has just been added. There are more - but this is more than enough just for now...

Paul

cartoons and parables

2010-11-19T00:46:00.012+13:00

I've been spending my early mornings in Bangalore reflecting on the similarities between the political cartoon and the parable (and have even produced 6000 words for my supervisor to show for it!)

May I introduce you to two of my companions?

1. The first is Herbert Block - known simply as 'Herblock'. Triple Pulitzer Prize winner, Herblock's career spanned six decades and thirteen Presidents, with cartoons appearing in The Washington Post from the heart of the Great Depression until his final piece two weeks before 9/11. He loved to 'skewer demagogues' and 'puncture pomposity'. He hounded Senator Joseph McCarthy for five years - being credited with coining the word 'McCarthyism' - and bedeviled Richard Nixon for twenty five, convinced from the beginning that he was a bad egg.

I wish I could include some of my favourite cartoons here - but the whole area is heavily copyrighted and I want to respect that reality. The book pictured above is fabulous, as is 'Puncturing Pomposity', a collection of cartoons dealing with the Presidents during Herblock's era. Here is a small on-line collection - but it contains two of my favourites: "Shall We Say Grace?" and "Mugging" (make sure you see the 'RN' on the cufflinks!). Another good site is here here and the Library of Congress has stored hundreds of his cartoons here and cartoons can be searched by caption/title.

I keep wondering where Herblock would have gone in this decade since his death. How would he puncture Obama's pomposity? How would he compare and contrast the fear of Muslims with the fear of Communists - separated by fifty years - and McCarthyism with FoxTVism? How would he have waded into the Health Care debate and the greedy deregulation of the banking sector that has led to the global financial crisis?

2. The second is a scholarly account of the Danish cartoon crisis when twelve cartoonists were asked to draw Mohammed 'as you see him'. What was meant to be a prod for a few 'mad mullahs' living locally became an international incident that killed more than 200 people. The story is retold by Jytte Klausen in The Cartoons that Shook the World (Yale, 2009).
The decisive observation which Klausen makes is the way the protests didn't begin until six months after publication. She concludes that this was not some colossal cultural-religious misunderstanding that led to a spontaneous outburst of rage among Muslims. Rather it was an orchestrated political conflict carried out by powerful people in places like Denmark and Egypt which was six months in the birthing. Many, many Muslims considered it all to be “the insignificant abuse of an irresponsible provincial paper in a small country”(170). But once the political forces found an outlet in the 'new media' of satellite TV, blogs, online chat rooms and the like - it spread like wildfire and the damage done to East:West relations is still being felt.

For the record, my research interest lies with demonstrating how the cartoon and parable (not just the parable of Jesus) have various features in common. They are both narrative, comparative, occasional, paradoxical, polemical, political, artistic, subversive - and brief (!) texts.

nice chatting

Paul

the curious case of daniel vettori

2010-11-10T23:15:00.006+13:00

In God's grace and sovereignty I find myself on an extended visit to India at just the same time as the New Zealand cricket team is in India. Like I say, it is all God's sovereignty and none of my responsibility...

Captaining the New Zealand team here in India is one Daniel Vettori. Now I am a big fan of Dan the Man. I love watching youngsters excel and progress through to representing their country at an early age - like Vettori and now, Kane Williamson. I like my sportspeople being self-effacing, but intelligent and articulate - like Vettori. Then in more recent years Vettori has become captain, leading batsmen, leading bowler, selector - and maybe even coach, for all we know. While I consider being a selector and the coach to be unwise, it does say something about the respect in which he is held.

Daniel Vettori seems to be an exceptional cricketer and person, universally admired.

But for anyone interested in listening to my 'minority view', I do have questions about his performance as a spin bowler in Test cricket, even as our media can trumpet him as the best spin bowler in the world. Really?!

What is the chief role of the frontline spinner in a Test team? If you know your cricket, one thing ranks above all else. A spinner needs to take advantage of an aging pitch and bowl out the opposition in the third and fourth innings of the match. Simple as that. My question is this. When did Vettori last bowl us to victory in the fourth innings - or, it must be said, even bowl well in the fourth innings?

Having listened to my theories for a few years now, my son Stephen played with 'statsguru' on the cricinfo site to produce some stats for me.

Are you ready for this?

The first table lists the bowling averages of spin bowlers, in the third and fourth innings of a match, during the 2000s against Test teams other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. It lists all players who have taken at least 20 wickets in that situation. Cast your eye down the list and you know its reliable with the names that appear in the following order: Muralidharan (ave 21), Warne (ave 23), Saqlain (ave 24), Harbhajan (ave 24)... with Dan the Man (ave 48) appearing in 18th position after such luminaries in the spin-bowling art as Chris Gayle, Ashley Giles, and Nicky Boje. WOW!

Now I know what you cricket experts are thinking - and so does Stephen. "But poor old Vettori has to bowl in New Zealand most of the time where conditions do not help the spinner?" OK - so with no prompting from me Stephen is off checking on the stats when all matches in New Zealand are excluded and the qualification becomes just 15 wickets. What happens now? The leaders in this table have not changed much, but what has happened to Vettori? He has dropped to 24th with an average of 59.

While I agree with those who consider Vettori to be among the finest one-day bowlers in the world with his strength being his guile and containment, I remain unconvinced about his credentials as a great Test match bowler because in the area of greatest importance as a spinner, he has been mysteriously and woefully inadequate. Vettori is a great student of the game and he must be aware of this record. I wonder what he thinks about it?

There is more to this argument - but I think I'll keep my powder dry in the meantime.

Here's to Dan the Man spinning us to victory in the 2011 World Cup in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. Oh, by the way, in God's grace and sovereignty I will be in Sri Lanka during some of that time.

nice chatting

Paul

transforming theological education

2010-11-03T06:41:00.013+13:00

It was deja-vu all over again...

Earlier this week I taught a class at Laidlaw College for the first time in years. [At reception I was asked to go to Lecture Room 3. "Are you serious? - that is the very spot where I started all those years ago.” I was wearing a baggy sky-blue short-sleeved shirt and at the first break I was so bathed in nervous sweat that I had to go for a walk around the block with uplifted arms (not in praise to God!) just to dry off...]

Later this week I leave to teach a course at SAIACS in Bangalore (India). So, I've been thinking a lot about theological education in the last few days. I find myself wondering whether New Zealanders realise just how much the landscape of theological training has been transformed in recent years. [NB - I am restricting myself to degree-level training, not because certificate/diploma options aren't important (they are!), but because I find it takes degree-level work to shift the worldviews that are inherent to transformation].

In 1979 I was looking for a degree-level option that was clearly and spaciously Stottian-evangelical in ethos and local-church-facing in orientation. My conclusion at the time was that there was nothing available in NZ. None of the denominational college options in NZ have had this heritage. Is there another English-speaking country quite like it? I cannot think of one. In fact, rightly or wrongly, my grandfather actually forbade me from going to our own Baptist Theological College ... So I felt that I needed to look off-shore for training.

In 1989, as my time as a pastor in Invercargill was coming to a close, the scene in theological education had not shifted much at all. The suspicion of theological education was rife. Again and again at the grassroots, those with ears to hear could hear it being perceived to be a time when you lose your passion (at best), or you lose your faith (at worst). “We sent away our best and they came back ruined.” WOW! It was disturbing how many Kiwi theological educators dismissed this grassroots perception. Unwise, very unwise. Also unsettling was the fact that for someone choosing to stay-at-home in a place like Invercargill, there was still no degree-level ‘extension’ option for study and training.

Then the transformations began ...

Different people come to mind. The historic work of John Hitchen and Edward Sands at the Bible College of New Zealand (now Laidlaw College), securing the very first non-university degree in the land (BMin) for theology. What about the vision of Brian Smith, birthed at a similar time at Carey Baptist College, for theological training to be reoriented towards mission outcomes? And I still remember the day when the University of Otago's Gerald Pillay strolled into a BCNZ/Laidlaw staff meeting and charmed us all with ideas that had us buzzing. Sadly, he did not last the distance - but what about the steady development at Otago under Paul Trebilco's leadership in the years since? What about the breadth of scholarship now available through the Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School? More recently, there has been the bold and sweeping and necessary change at Laidlaw College under the leadership of Mark Strom. I’ve mentioned just a handful of names – but peel back their contribution and other names emerge more quietly ... people like Derek Christensen and Martin Sutherland whose vision has also assisted this transformation.

And what about today? In 2010?
How does this ongoing transformation look now?

Here is one hopelessly opinionated, impossibly brief, and inevitably inaccurate perspective on this story – with my eye fixed solely on the uniqueness of the niche which each college provides (please don't forget this!). At their best, what do they do that others do not do as well?

Laidlaw College
Who thought it could ever be possible? Studying disciplines like Education and Counselling from within a Christian framework – and in the company of a serious engagement with Bible and Theology? Remarkable! Yes, I know that 'christian liberal arts colleges' are a dime-a-dozen in the USA (my wife, Barby, is a graduate of one of the best examples – Wheaton College), but not here in NZ. But this is what Laidlaw has achieved ... The public world, with its philosophies and worldviews, are firmly on the agenda as is shaping a generation of articulate and faith-full believers to live in it. Sure, the change in recent years has been seismic and quick – but a period of consolidation and growth beckons under Rod Thompson’s fresh leadership. Throw in a full complement of distance learning options, a teaching site in Christchurch, and the established Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School and the influence for good and for God from this school is sure to continue.
Check it out here.

Carey Baptist College
Here is a college which has learned to celebrate its denominational identity from within an evangelical ethos. Over a period of time the governance, the staffing, and the curriculum has turned to face the local church - becoming first a servant and then also a prophet in its midst. Carey recognises the church – when accurately defined – to be at the core of God’s mission in the world. Any person being called into a church-based leadership role, from any church group or denomination, should be considering Carey as an option for training. The college is demonstrating just how rigorous theological education can include leadership development and character formation, rather than jettison it. A gifted and increasingly kiwimade teaching team under the creative and relational leadership of Charles Hewlett is a feature – as are the distance education and Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School options. For such a local-church-facing college, the irony is that its research and publication achievements are rated as second-to-none outside the universities.
Check it out here.

University of Otago
The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at this secularised university has numerous people of articulate faith and gospel-commitment in it. Amazing! For a person for whom a University context and degree is important and for someone wanting a more classical curriculum – leaning towards the ‘pure’, more than the ‘applied’ courses – this can be a good option. Being based in Dunedin adds something unique – particularly when they have a well-oiled distance education programme as well. I have close friends who have thrived in this environment. Otago has also been generous in providing PhD scholarships for a trickle of younger evangelical scholars - no small contribution to the transformation.
Check it out here.

East-West College of Intercultural Studies (Waikato)
Here I am jumping out of the ‘degree-level’ option...simply because this is the college to consider for training to prepare as a cross-cultural worker/missionary. This was the exclusive domain of BCNZ/Laidlaw for decades – with Carey also making a contribution more recently. However, as mentioned above, both Laidlaw and Carey have been establishing niches elsewhere and so East-West has been occupying a crucial spot on the landscape.
Check it out here.

There are other recent initiatives worthy of note. (a) The Nelson Diocese has commenced the Bishopdale Theological College (Nelson), primarily to train people for ministry positions in the Anglican Church. (b) Even (!) the University of Victoria has made progress with Chris Marshall on board - a fine scholar teaching to full classrooms. (c) Then there is the plethora of colleges offering certificates and diplomas within their own communities: AlphaCrucis, Pathways Bible and Mission College, The Shepherd’s Bible College, Ministry Training College etc...

My hopelessly opinionated, impossibly brief, and inevitably inaccurate perspective is that the transformation in theological education in New Zealand is remarkable. It has never been in better heart - not even close. Senior church and mission leaders are beginning to wake-up to the fact that things have changed – and that the old stereotypes and perceptions which shaped them just do not fit anymore. Thirty years ago I had to go overseas to get an evangelical theological training. I wouldn't dream of doing so now. Twenty years ago I longed to be able to offer my church family in Invercargill some serious theological study options because every local church should be its own local college. If I was there today I'd have multiple and varied options from which to choose. We'd be having a blast studying together...

I hope and pray that these colleges can fill their niche and hold their nerve over the coming years. I hope and pray that they relate to each other with the right mix of the c-words: complementing, complimenting, cooperating ... and some gentle competing just to keep everyone honest!

nice chatting

Paul

savitri

2010-10-27T17:32:00.007+13:00

This week I received a photo from India of my brother, Mark, with Savitri.

When we were children in India, Savitri used to help my mother around the home. In Hindi we called her our "aiyah". She was part of the family. We loved her and she loved us. Over the intervening forty years we have remained in touch. On any visit any of us make to North India, we make our way to Savitri in her little village. My memories are of my Mum and Dad being terrific with her over all these years - praying and giving and writing and visiting...

She is the mother of a great nation now. 72 years of age. Six children, sixteen grandchildren, four great grandchildren. Mark writes that "Savitri enjoyed sitting there, holding our hands and relating all the family news to me. She was tearful at several times when she was expressing her love for our family. I think she said that every night she goes to bed and prays for each of us, kissing our photos."

How do you like that? The ironing and the cooking have become the praying and the kissing. Hang on a second?! I seem to remember plenty of kisses back when I was a kid :)

nice chatting

Paul

POSTSCRIPT - a few months later I was able to visit Savitri

message & medium

2010-10-23T10:33:00.017+13:00

In my work as a trainer with Langham Preaching I am trying to ensure that the medium is as accessible as the message. We want to teach simple skills that are transferable, leaving participants thinking "I want to pass this onto others" because both the content and the methodology builds their aspiration to have a go themselves.

1. This is why I love whiteboards (or even blackboards) - particularly big ones. During this past week in Cambodia, we had a "truths that hold us" session on the first morning. [I also love small table group discussions!] Each table had a different truth to engage from the perspective of the preacher. "What is one key truth we need to affirm about God? about Jesus? the Spirit? the Bible?..." They bring back their single best insight for the whiteboard (gathered in the left hand column) - I add some of my ideas (in the right hand column). We have some discussion. And in 60mins we are articulating the theological foundations for preaching in a collegial - and comprehensive - manner.
2. This is why I love newsprint - particularly big sheets of the stuff. My favourite part of the training is when the small groups return from an afternoon of wrestling with a fresh passage through to the stage of producing a sermon outline. Not a lot of time - but they do such a good job. They write their outlines on this newsprint and we stick them all around the walls to create a "sermon (art) gallery" ambience. Then we work through these 'works of art' one by one, commentating on the good things ("I would love to preach this sermon myself next Sunday") and the not-so-good things ("If you had a bit more time to work with this outline, here is what I suggest you do"). The progress in their work through the week needs to be seen to be believed.
3. There is another newsprint exercise which I enjoy. Having people see the importance of engaging with their context is critical - but I am no expert on their context. What do you do? Put them to work... In their groups they come up with lists of the biggest issues being faced in (a) personal/family life; (b) local church life; (c) country life. Then we station three people at three newsprint 'stations' around the room. When I say "go", a representative from each group takes their best idea to each station and has it written up. However if it is already on the list by the time they get there, they must return to their group and get another 'issue'. It turns into a madhouse with people running everywhere (unless you are in the laidback Pacific islands!). Great fun ... and in less than an hour you have the most remarkable lists of the contextual issues which must be engaged by the preacher.

But the good people of Cambodia... [and they are so exuberant - like when we reached the end of the session on the single story of the Bible with talk of the Second Coming and the room just broke out into spontaneous applause and raucous cheering. It was incredible. And yes, I was thinking about 'killing fields' at that moment, but I am still not convinced that they were as they seem to have this capacity to move on - maybe they are not afflicted with the same guilty conscience which we have on this matter.]

I digress - sorry! Where was I?! Oh yes...
But the good people of Cambodia taught me a couple of new tricks this week :)

1. What about two translators, instead of just one?! This was so cool! In the photo below I have one translator (Somnang) focused on translating what I am saying, while the other one (Sothea) is focused on translating what I am writing on the board.
2. What about taking photos of the whiteboard?! [I have never seen so many digital cameras in one room before - and don't get me started on all the microphones!] Again and again we'd reach the end of a session and as I head off to get a drink, this group of people would rush forward with all the zeal of 'Just as I Am' at a Billy Graham Crusade - with cameras in hand.
At one point, one man said to me in faltering English, "I have waited a long time for this training". It don't get much better than that...

nice chatting

Paul

kingdom without borders

2010-10-14T06:15:00.010+13:00

While in Vanuatu last week I read Miriam Adeney's, Kingdom Without Borders: the untold story of global Christianity (IVP, 2009).

If you love potted and inspiring stories, then this book is for you. [I can actually lose interest with stories and wander off as they are told - but not these ones!]

If you want to 'click refresh' in your understanding of what God is doing around the world and haven't been invited to Lausanne in Capetown(!), then this book is for you.

If you are a preacher wanting to infuse your sermons with stories from around the world, but the call of God on your life is not to go around the world yourself, then this book is for you. I can hear a lot of preachers using the following line, "In her book, Kingdom without Borders, Miriam Adeney tells the story of..."

If you are a woman (or, a man for that matter!) wanting to read more about how God has used and is using women around the world, then this book is for you.

If you are a skeptic who believes all that stuff at university about how missionaries have destroyed culture blah, blah, blah - then this book is for you (start with pp30-31).

If you share my enthusiasm for the books of Philip Jenkins - particularly The Next Christendom - with all their clarity and sanity, then here is your companion volume, full of pulse and staccato. While I find there to be just a tiny gap between my mind and my heart, many people talk like there is a chasm and for such people I commend Jenkins to your mind, as much as I commend Adeney to your heart.

Let me quit the "ifs" and "thens" and make a few other comments about the book.

1. Take the structure of the book. Story-filled chapters on what is happening in China (41-64), in Latin America (88-114), in the Muslim World - mainly Iran (139-164), in the Hindu world - mainly India (186-207), and in Africa (231-252) alternate with chapters on Word (65-87), Spirit (115-138), Catastrophe (165-185), Song (208-230) and the Way of the Cross (253-268).

2. Take the style of the book. Adeney flits from one dialogue-filled story to the next with virtually no transitions and the reader is drawn along. Country after country is covered. It almost makes you dizzy, needing time to recover from a paginated jetlag at the end. She is such a good writer - and her knowledge of what is happening is broad and deep.

3. Take the purpose of the book: "think of this as a continuation of Hebrews 11" (8), as she tells the stories of mainly "indigenous believers" (34) with very few foreign missionaries making the final cut. "It is a humble celebration of the kingdom that glows from generation to generation and will never be destroyed" (40). One might well add that it is not just 'glowing from generation to generation', it is growing in time zone after time zone.

4. Take the instruction that drifts into the book. Every now and then she stops to linger with a topic or someone's insights. Be it interpreting the Bible contextually (72-76); exploring community, suffering, and power as themes in Africa (76-83); reflecting on the nourishment of the Spirit (135-137); being "called to witness, not to convert" (156-159); helping the poor and oppressed (167-170); noting Ajith Fernando's 8-fold response to the tsunami (180-185), or K. Rajendran's five suggestions for indigenous mission (203-207 - India has 50,000 cross-cultural missionaries serving within India!); depicting the three streams of Indian Christianity as "dharma, dalit, dot.com" (187-201); exploring the function of songs (214-218); training godly leaders (244-248); or, embracing best practises to limit suffering (265-267) ... it is all ever so wise and practical.

One searing weakness of the book is the lack of an Index. Another caution is that every now and then the sources being quoted are quite dated. But this is a book I will treasure and to which I shall return.

nice chatting

Paul

four families

2010-10-12T06:38:00.014+13:00

During a recent 'tour of service' with Langham Preaching in Vanuatu I was impacted by families - four families, to be precise.

from england and germany to new zealand
The Shudall family. I like to think of them as missionaries to New Zealand where Andy works as Head of Training for TSCF (the IFES-affiliate) - but is also involved as a trainer with Langham Preaching in Vanuatu. Whether it is the warmth and directness in the parents or the intriguing diversity among the children, I enjoy coming back for more with this family. Parenting is tough today. Rarely have I seen the full love combining with the clear boundaries, so integral to good parenting, as I saw demonstrated by Andy and Ines this past week.

from australia and the usa to vanuatu
The Gibb family. Steve, Jane, (Matt? - at uni), Tiffany, Jennifer, Emily, Ethan, Rose. Despite all the flack which missionaries attract in the public world from the media and in university departments, in this job I encounter, again and again, such fine missionary families doing superb work. The Gibbs have only been in Vanuatu less than three years. Steve is already preaching in Bislama, giving himself to pastoring a church as well as strengthening the student work at the local university ... and is pretty much the polar opposite of the stereotype. When he preached from 1 Peter 5 (which I was preparing to do, but I am so glad I passed it on), it brought tears to the eyes. He visited all four corners (for those of you who are former students of mine!), exegeting both text and context so well. The church in Vanuatu is blessed to have such a model in their midst...

from korea and new zealand to vanuatu
The Won family. Chun Hee, Nan Joo, Justin, Christopher. One day during the seminar Chun Hee just walked on into morning tea unannounced. My memory bank went into overdrive. His name was on the tip of the tongue but I didn't have the confidence to speak it out! He and Nan Joo had been students of mine at BCNZ/Laidlaw almost 15 years ago. We ended up spending a whole day together. Chun Hee is dedicated to 'bush mission', spending almost half his time in the dispersed villages of Santo - building water tanks and kindergartens and churches, not to mention baptizing people and training leaders and starting businesses. 80% of Vanuatu's GDP is controlled by 500 Chinese businessmen and the 2000 white people who control the tourist industry. Virtually nothing trickles down to 'ni-vans' (indigenous people). It is shameful. The Won family are determined to break this monopoly and build God's church as they do so. It was inspiring...

from everywhere to everywhere
The family of God. Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Ni-vans...it goes on and on and on. Experiencing this so regularly is one of the great privileges of my life (this time next week I am in Cambodia!). To hear God's word read and preached in another language ... to sing songs together like "I am your brother; you are my sister" with Ni-vans ... to hear them burst out in song with "never failed me yet, Jesus has never failed me yet" (when the foreigner might conclude that he has failed them. But if anyone has failed them, it is not God, but members of God's global family) ... to have one of those intercession times where everyone prays at the same time in a grand chorus pounding at the gates of heaven ... and to enter it all with my own son from my own family, Joseph (who entered fully into the training), was so special for me.

nice chatting

Paul

PS - Joseph did have time for some fun as well. Check out this photo as he jumps into a pool (I jumped as well, but ended up with a big bruise on my but-bone):

a leadership resolution

2010-10-12T05:55:00.004+13:00

[Apologies - I can use this blog as a personal filing system for things I do not want to lose. This is one such time...]

It looks like an ancient manuscript now. For 11+ years it was pinned above my desk as a prayer-full and personal resolution crafted to frame my time as Principal at Carey Baptist College. It has almost faded into invisibility now - but before it does so, I want to capture it ... because it was such a big deal for me at the time.

"As I begin as principal of Carey, I resolve, in dependence upon God, to develop as a servant leader who is committed to a life of integrity and balance and who spreads encouragement and builds trust among those whom I lead - as we patiently move into a future marked by excellence which we envision together."

The italics were italics because they were my focus on a daily basis. Looking back from 'the inside-out' - 18 months later - I do consider that the grace of God helped me stay true to this resolution.

However one of the challenges for me in moving on from this leadership role has been processing the gap between what I may have intended (from the inside-out) and how I may have been perceived (from the outside-in) by those I led and those with whom I worked. For all sorts of reasons this gap can grow wide for those in senior leadership roles. Sometimes I struggled with the way intention could become skewed by perception in a way that felt unfair.

But as the months go by (and consistent with previous chapters of my working life), I am finding a more contented equilibrium in which the inside-out is trumping the outside-in and intention is interpreting that era of leadership, rather than perception ... and this is a work of the grace of God as well.

nice chatting

Paul

killing fields, living fields

2010-10-02T04:46:00.013+13:00

I am a bit slow. The book was published fourteen years ago. I have heard so many people speak so enthusiastically about it. Finally, on a return trip to the UK (and with my first training visit to Cambodia with Langham Preaching later this month), I worked my way through Don Cormack's Killing Fields, Living Fields (Monarch, 1997). I see here that there is a 2009 edition published by Christian Focus. Kinda wish I knew that before I started. Learn from my mistake!

While my first visit to the departure area at Phnom Penh airport in October 2009 alerted me to just how much has been written on recent Cambodian history, I am glad I started my journey with Cormack's book. This is one book that every comfortable Christian should read.

Why?

It is a contemporary example of ancient principles easily forgotten. Persecution is real. Believers who live distinctively with distinction in any society should expect this persecution. And persecution is the means by which God spreads the gospel. It happened in the first century in the Mediterranean. It happened in the twentieth century in the Mekong. As the subtitle expresses it, the Cambodian church is "the church that would not die". Never very numerous under extreme persecution it just would not give up. When a man called Sophiep is locked up, the writer acknowledges "But as many other Christians have discovered in such circumstances, he was profoundly aware of God's presence with him ... He was filled not with fear but courage and joy" (375).

The facts and figures are extreme. While Pol Pot's regime lasted five years (when the entire country became something of a concentration camp), the time of intense suffering for the church numbered at least twenty years. "30% of the people and 90% of the church" (182) perished during the Pol Pot years of 1975-1979. In the five years immediately prior to those years - at the start of the 'twenty' - the "three leading churches in Phnom Penh exploded into thirty major centres of worship (126) ... with people turning to Christ at the rate of almost one hundred per week by the end of 1974" (144) - and this in a country where the total number of believers was always measured in dozens and hundreds, not thousands and millions.

A pair of features in the life of the Cambodian church as it became established caught my eye. While often put in opposition with each other, here they worked in unison. One is the prevalence of the miraculous. God demonstrates a penchant for using the miraculous as a means of helping establish the gospel in a new setting. People can long for more and more of this - to the point where life takes on a 'not by faith, but by sight' quality as demonstrations of God's power need to be seen in order to sustain their faith. It might be more advisable to pour energy into the second feature: the priority given to establishing a Bible School where young leaders could go and be taught in the Word and enabled to live by faith and in obedience to God.

My favourite story is on pp214-216 when, during the Pol Pot years, young Radha is forced to marry someone. As a believer he was alarmed at the possibility of being 'yoked to an unbeliever' - but he had no choice. After the ceremony and on their own, Radha mumbles, by habit, a grace before a meal and his new bride cries out "you are a Christian" - as she was. At a time when believers numbered hundreds (at best) out of millions, God had arranged the marriage and what was intended to harm, God used for good in a Genesis 50.20 kind of way.

There is an agricultural image which pervades the book. Fields. Fallow Ground. Seed. Late Rains. Thinning. Wheat and Tares... Each time the author makes comparisons between what is happening in the earth in Cambodia and what is happening in the church in Cambodia. It is nicely done. [I have a sermon series on Nehemiah using the same metaphor and it made me want to preach a series where there is a sustained and dual opening of the text of Nehemiah and the context of Cambodia...]

While Cormack is a skilled writer ("Knotted veins coursed down his bare sinewy legs to muddied feet from which hung a pair of worn-out rubber thongs" - 401), I did find that the book lacked a little of the page-turner quality associated with compelling story-telling. He jumps a bit out of the single, linear plot-line approach which may have made the story more suspense-full. But that is just a personal opinion. I loved the "we passages" (as found in the Book of Acts!) where he enters the story himself (for example, p267f) to create a sense of immediacy and personal testimony.

He helps us understand the complexities of the political-religious context in Cambodia. Those readers enamoured with Buddhism will come away with a more sane and sober perspective. It was intriguing to discover that Pol Pot and his mates studied together in Paris under French philosophers at a seminal time in their lives - probably the same philosophers so instrumental in shaping this postmodernism which has so gripped people's worldviews in the West. Now there is an observation to ponder further!

The age of reading is not over. I read the final page as my plane touched down in Auckland yesterday and found myself wondering what the impact on the people of God would be if each person read one biography of a person, or a country, of this ilk in each year. I know the answer. It would lift our eyes, break our hearts, deepen our faith, and renew our hope. It would be transformative. So what is stopping us?!

PS: If you are a pray-er, I invite you to pray. As the global church's gaze descends on Cape Town and Lausanne III, spare a prayer for us as we start the Langham Preaching training over the same days with 50 pastors from 8 church groups in Cambodia. I am hopeful that God can be at work in two places at the same time.

nice chatting

Paul

two sadnesses

2010-09-21T08:37:00.008+12:00

Sometimes my heart is so cold and hard.

For example, last month when the TV News gave the first ten minutes to the story about the stranded whales in Northland, it barely moved me. In fact I was aghast that the story hogged so much headline time. I could argue that my heart was more inclined towards Pakistan (and it was) - but sometimes I would like to be able to summon more compassion for animals in distress (just as I wish some people would summon less compassion for them!).

However there are two related areas which stir my compassion.

One was brought to mind by a headline in the online BBC news service this morning. They are making an inventory of all known plants in the world. While the radical reduction in numbers of species is due more to the fact that many plants are currently named more than once, the story caused me to reflect on how I feel about species of plants becoming extinct. I feel sad about it. It is more than a failure in conservation - it is a failure to fulfill the divine mandate, given to us at the beginning, to steward the earth.

The other one is ever before me. In my first eighteen months in this job with Langham Preaching, I will be making five visits to Melanesia. China may well be home to 1/5 of the world's people, but Melanesia is home to 1/5 of the world's languages. That is a staggering statistic. God's commitment to peoples and to languages and to words is central to His purposes in the world. There is nothing He wants to say to a people that cannot be said in their own mother-tongue language - and He wants to be able to say it so desperately! And when the story of a language dying-out surfaces, something in me dies as well. "You mean there will be one less language heard in the chorus around the throne?" Yes - it is very sad. It also will be seen to be a failure, at the end. A failure to fulfill the divine mandate to reach the peoples of the world.

nice chatting

Paul