Sail on the land and walk on the sea...

"Antiochus carried off eighteen hundred talents from the temple, and
hurried away to Antioch, thinking in his arrogance that he could sail
on the land and walk on the sea, because his mind was elated."

The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (2 Mac 5:21).
Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

I Kick Ass for the Lord

Email from my Cousin:

Have you ever seen Braindead? It's one of Peter Jackson's (Lord of the Rings director) early movie about zombies in Wellington. Very crazy. Not scary, just totally over the top. You'd enjoy it.

Some Thoughts, Rants and Raves

Not much time for blogging...

I need to get these out; each point would normally be about 500 words; but today I'm laying them down for another day's writing.

1. Christian Zionists scare the heck out of me.  Lot of blood on those ideas; need to learn a bit more about what makes them tick (like a time bomb).
2. Enjoyed Brian McLaren's words in the Emergent Village Podcast about how we look to scripture to find the kind of data we are used to working with; scripture yields the kind of data people in scripture's time liked to work with:  Story / Narrative data.
3. Us Methodist / Anglican etc churches have got to get our backbone back; tired of those who accuse us of not taking the Bible seriously; we read, study and preach the Bible like crazy... every week; Old Testament, Psalm, Gospel and Epistle.  I like Jim Wallis' idea about confronting conservatives and fundamentalists; the challenge to 'Out Bible Them'.  (Something to be said for having spent all that time at seminary.)  We need to be less apologetic about the way we read and understand - we might just know something.
4. I wish people would see church as an opportunity and not as a responsibility.
5. www.pray-as-you-go.org; THANK YOU!!!! for catering to my ADD devotional needs.
6. Love my friend Pete's story of grace and mercy - story of community - of Baptism at Plumstead Methodist Read more… (From Pete)
7. Christianity is good for your salvation not your self-realization; Stanley Hauerwas's words.  I am stunned by how quickly people receive whatever the pastor / the Bible / the pastor says about the Bible as true.   When the proposition is that you take up your cross and follow - surely a little more critical thought should be applied.
8. The Bible appeals to EXPERIENCE as an authority - point to the Methodists.
9. Making my own household cleaning stuff - like vinegar and lemon juice variety; works like a bomb (Vinegar and Bicarb) and really cheap.  Also learnt to make Ice Cream - Condensed Milk, Cream and Cocoa Powder.... YUM.  Friend asked: "But how do you know what's in it?"  (Trusting shop bought frozen desert more?)  Love it; we really are suckers for consumerism.
   

Thought Provoke...

Q: So does the church need a service of repentance?

A: The church has lost its ability to be a disciplined community because we’re now, religiously, in a buyer’s market. Christianity has to bill itself as very good for your self-realization, and that’s killing us because we’re not very good for your self-realization. We’re good for your salvation, which is not the same thing. Hopefully God is making sure that we’re not going to survive in the position we’re currently in.

- Stanley Hauerwas 

Find a Methodist Church

View Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Cape of Good Hope District in a larger map

Desmond Tutu

Children learn about the nature of the world from their family.  They learn about power and about justice, about peace and about compassion within the family.  Whether we oppress or liberate our children in our relationships with them will determine whether they grow up to oppress and be oppressed or to liberate and be liberated.

 - Desmond Tutu

From Believe, a book Heather gave me on my ordination.

Christian Discipleship

Christian discipleship requires being held in love and being held
accountable. We simply cannot follow Christ apart from a community
that holds us in compassion and calls us to accountability. Solitary
discipleship is a misnomer. We cannot be Christian alone. - Kenneth
Carder, Duke Divinity School professor and retired United Methodist
bishop
- Thanks Dion (http://tinyurl.com/yglwmok)

Suffering and Miracles

Often when I meet people who are suffering something horrible / facing
death, they tell me how they are holding out for a miracle.
Determinedly so.

I guess I would feel the same.

But I long to point out that the miracle might be there in the moment
of suffering.

The miracle of a community that cares, a family whose love is exposed.

Perhaps that is the miracle that everybody misses.

Charity

"We give our charities but we do not give ourselves. We build our
charitable institutions but we do not build ourselves into other's
lives."
- Albert Edward Day

Just how much of ourselves should we give?

In the text for this week Jesus encourages a rich man to go sell
everything, give to the poor and come follow him... I don't think he
was so willing to give so much of himself. Am I?

Lord help us to give what you ask - trusting that you supply all our
needs. And then we will see your Kingdom here in this place.

Communion

Had communion with the Anglicans this morning.

Grateful for the opportunity to receive but a little worried about my
own 'restlessness' - unwilling to sit in silence and be served;
thinking about what I should do next and wondering if I should be
doing this when I should be working.

Even though I know I should.

Strange.

Living it up with the larnies at ille de pain in Knysna #fb

Zack is 1 today! #fb

First Haircut

Small Fish in a Big, busy Bowl

At Mountain Zebra National Park last night the stars were absolutely amazing... the milky way was milky.

As I prepared dinner I overhead all the little 'domestics' that couples have while camping - arguments with kids about bed times and personal hygiene.

And then, once everyone was in bed - snoring. Being a little bit of a late nighter in the camping fraternity who think 8pm is bed time; I stayed up with my camera to take some pics in the dark. The above picture is looking straight up - a thirty second exposure with ISO800 setting on my Canon.

The sounds of community, the sight of the stars reminded me how isolated we make our 'city life' - living in Pretoria I forgot there were stars, living in Paarl I locate my Orion's Belt & Southern Cross from the garden; but out in the Eastern Cape - they were lost in the crowds.

I was reminded of my need for community - we were created for community, not sheltered isolation where our only 'outward' appearances are designed to impress and coerce. In our little village of camping strangers there was a very real sense of community.

PS. I am now convinced that the human snore is an evolved mechanism for frightening away predators - campers snoring in unison - FRIGHTENING!

Preparing for Ordination

My friend, Cedric Poole sent us ordinands this prayer from Martin Luther.  I particularly like the last few words:  "for if I am left to myself, I will certainly bring it all to destruction.

Martin Luther's Ordination Prayer

Oh, Lord God, 
   Thou hast made me a pastor and teacher in the Church. 
   Thou seest how unfit I am to administer rightly this great and responsible Office;
      and had I been without Thy aid and counsel I would surely have ruined it all long ago. 
   Therefore, do I invoke Thee. 
   How gladly do I desire to yield and consecrate my heart and mouth to this ministry! 
      I desire to teach the congregation. 
      I, too, desire ever to learn and keep Thy Word my constant companion, and to meditate thereupon earnestly. 
   Use me as Thy instrument in Thy service, 
      Only do not Thou forsake me, for if I am left to myself, I will certainly bring it all to destruction.
AMEN.