5Smiles.org

#hellinafrica stuck at a stopgo on way to Bible Study in Franschhoek :)

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000+02:00

Prayer - George Herbert

2011-11-09T13:29:00.001+02:00

Prayer, the Church's banquet, Angels' age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth;
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tower,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days'-world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
The land of spices, something understood.

Why I haven't blogged much lately :)

2011-11-06T12:27:00.000+02:00

Selectively Deaf

2011-05-25T12:38:00.001+02:00

Today I received an email another 'take back Israel' movement.

I pressed - 'Send to Junk Mail.'

Next time they email me I won't know about it.

Or maybe I'll click 'report as spam'. Seeing as it was unsolicited.

Funny how I often choose to listen only to those with whom I agree.

Customer Disservice

2011-05-24T18:47:00.000+02:00

I got phoned by 'Synovate' who wanted to 'ask me a few questions about my experience' when servicing my car.

I said I'd tell them what I think, as long as they tell Toyota:

Don't outsource customer service; get the manager of the place where I serviced my car to phone me and take notice of his customers rather. And fire Sinovate.

PS - don't phone me again - its a waste of oxygen.

I wonder if they'll tell the good people at Toyota.

iPod Touch - Best Gadget Ever

2011-04-26T22:40:00.000+02:00

I love my gadgets - at the moment; my favourite is the iPod Touch I got for Christmas; I have never used a gadget so much in my life.

Kindle, iPhone, iPad or iPod?

So I wanted a Kindle for Christmas, but then it would have taken a few months to get here; not in time for the Christmas Tree. So Incredible Connection was throwing in a little logitech speaker dock with the iPod... my logic, subtract the value of the freebie from the value of the item purchased - and voila; it cost the same as a Kindle.

But I think that it is MUCH BETTER!

Would I buy an iPad? I would love one - but it wouldn't be as useful as an iPod; my iPod is always in my pocket and it can pretty much do anything an iPad can.

Would I buy an iPhone? I would love one - but they're expensive; and I quite like separating my phone from my music, podcast, book reader, voice memo, video camera gadget.

And a Kindle? All you can do with it is read books. And then only Amazon's books. They should pay you to buy one of those. And as much as they rave about their e-ink; I'm not that impressed (but I still want one).

iPod Touch

So, about the last thing on my list of things to do with my iPod Touch is listen to music. What I do mostly with it is read Kindle Books. With the Kindle App on my iPod and Macbook I read - make notes, and highlight books, which cost about 50% of the paper price, and take about 2 minutes to get here.

Better than a Paperback

1 - I never lose my page.
2 - I can carry a bag full of books in my pocket.
3 - Its backlit - I can read in the dark; you can set the text to white on black, or black / sepia on white.
4 - I can highlight, make notes, fold corners (and they sync to my laptop) Great for sermon prep!
5 - Bookstore follows me wherever I go - couldn't sleep one night, so I bought all of the Sherlock Holmes books for $0.89c - in about 1 minute.

Worse than a Paperback...

I can't lend books to my friends. (A subtle plus - 'cos they never bring them back anyways.)

Better than a Handycam

The iPod doesn't have as good a camera as the iPhone; but its better than my handycam; OK it doesn't have a 400x zoom or whatever - but it works, and its in my pocket. The sound is pretty good too.

Better than Radio...

I do listen to music on my iPod - but mostly I listen to or watch Podcasts; TED talks are my favourite; but various talk shows (BBC) and Lectures (iTunes U) are also synced from my macbook. I only have an 8G iPod - but I have WiFi at home and a 1TB hard drive for iTunes. You can access the iTunes library via homesharing and watch videoa / listen to audio stored on your hard drive.

On top of that... I bought an AV connector. Right now I'm watching a video on my biggish screen TV via my iPod. (Apple connectors are expensive; but I bought a knock off from a cell phone / gadget shop at Cape Gate Mall.)

Toddler Tool

My 2 year old knows how to use it. He watches his DVDs (converted by Handbrake) on it in the car... the battery hardly suffers. He also takes photos with it and watches himself in videos.

TV Guide...

Without walking out to the computer - I can check whats on TV without getting up - Safari is a great browser.

South African Seder...

2011-04-07T09:38:00.001+02:00

Its quite popular for Christians to re-enact a Seder Meal / the
Passover meal; with a Christian emphasis.

At Paarl Methodist this Easter I want us to try and have a South
African Seder meal; with a nod to escape from slavery in Egypt; but
also celebrating escape from the Old South Africa - acknowledging
God's part in all that; and of course - celebrating freedom from sin
through Jesus victory on the cross...

I want it to be a meal with tastes that remind us of the past and of
our future.

Any ideas?

Please comment below...

Wolf in Shepherd's Clothing :)

2011-04-07T08:24:00.002+02:00

On Wednesday I got dressed up to share in the service at Holy Trinity in Paarl...

Shelves...

2011-04-04T13:38:00.000+02:00

There's a baby on the way; so my dad and I made shelves for her last
Friday.

2009 Toyota Corolla - 42 days for parts and counting.

2011-03-23T15:39:00.000+02:00

I'm enjoying my Toyota Corolla.

Its a 2009, 1.3 Professional. A pretty simple car - for some, but to me its really smart. It's comfortable, fuel efficient - and solid enough to make me feel safe with my family on board.

I traded in my Diesel powered Peugeot to buy the Corolla; I was frustrated at having to wait 2 weeks for a pully wheel from France - and afraid of the rising costs of maintaining it. So I bought a Made in South Africa Toyota Corolla (second hand from McCarthy Toyota in Paarl.)

So far I've discovered a couple of things:

1 - Automark Certified Used Vehicles are obviously not inspected before being sold.

- After a few months I took my car in because the aircon wasn't working. McCarthy Toyota in Paarl said that there was a leak in the coolant pipe but they couldn't replace it under warranty because someone had worked on it already. They agreed to have it replaced, but not with a Toyota original part.

- While I was waiting for the aircon to be fixed McCarthy lent me a Demo vehicle for the day; I managed to set the Alarm off - and noticed that the alarm on my car wasn't working. Toyota has since fixed the alarm - but surely they should have picked that up BEFORE I took delivery?

2 - Toyota Parts take a while to get anywhere

- I took my car in on 9 February, today is 23 March; that's 42 days; the tabs on the aircon vents broke off. They agreed to replace them under Warranty. I spoke to my neighbour who maintains a fleet of Toyota bakkies on a local farm - he nodded when I showed him; 'they always break on Toyotas'. Its not a serious problem; but 42 days, and I took the car in long before the Tsunami.

When I went in to enquire a month after I was told the part would take two to three weeks the service advisor told me to be patient; he pointed to a radio on the floor and said he was still waiting for a new one.

Bfraaiday

2011-03-11T18:54:00.000+02:00

Lenten Flame

2011-03-10T08:27:00.000+02:00

Last night I connected with my inner Caveman as we made a fire in our
little church. We wrote our Lent confessions, protests and
commitments on pieces of paper and burnt them in a bowl. We used the
ash from the bowl to mark our foreheads; as a sign of mourning and
repentance.

An image that has stuck with me is the idea of our Lenten fast as a
small flame.

The tiniest flame sets the whole heart ablaze.

So our fast might be something so small as the resolution to change
our attitude. To pray a certain prayer daily. To have half a spoon
less sugar in our first cup of coffee of the day.

This small flame, as insignificant as it may seem - with God's help -
ignites a larger fire...

Worship Leader Tip

2011-03-03T08:17:00.001+02:00

As a guide - I give each of the songs in my repertoire / songbook a
number from 1 to 4.

1 = Call to worship / Opening Songs
2 = Confession / Absolution Songs - celebrating the grace God has
offered us.
3 = Ministry / Preparation Songs - Songs that open us / respond to
hearing the Word or prepare us for healing.
4 = Closing / Sending Out Songs - Songs that motivate us to live the
Kingdom in the World.

Its not a rule - but it helps me to find the right songs for the right
part of the worship conversation that takes place from Sunday to Sunday.

How do you organise your songs?

Meetings and Thinking too Much

2011-02-21T09:04:00.000+02:00

At my church we had our Society Meeting yesterday after the service.

At the Society Meeting we elect leaders and collect ideas for the
mission of our small church. Ideas which the leaders are tasked with
implementing.

I find this sort of meeting quite stressful.

I want everyone's voice to be heard; I want everyone to go away happy
- with a sense that the right decisions have been made; that we are
being obedient to God.

I don't want anyone's feelings hurt; one has to be careful with words
- people love their church, they love their ministries, they love each
other, they love God; these things are close to the heart... And as
chairperson I have to facilitate a public conversation where these
things are discussed.

It went well (I think). I hope that all the voices were heard. And
as our leaders prepare for the years ahead I pray that they will have
wisdom and support.

Wow!

2011-02-18T21:52:00.000+02:00

Methodist Covenant Service

2011-02-15T12:25:00.001+02:00

I prepared a guide to help my congregation prepare for their covenant service.

The first time I did this was in 2007; I reissued the guide in 2009, here it is:

Preparing for Covenant.doc

Feel free to use it, adapt it edit it. Just make sure – that if you put in new words; you don't attribute them to me.

And I've prepared one for this year; 2011:

2011-02-20 Preparing for Covenant – Booklet – Inside Pages.pdf

2011-02-20 Preparing for Covenant – Booklet – Outside Pages.pdf

2011-02-20 Preparing for Covenant.doc

Covenant Prayer Bookmark.pdf

Preparing for Covenant 2011 – A4.pdf

There is a Word document, which you are welcome to edit and use on the same condition as above – or the .pdf versions, in A4 format; and booklet form – print the outside pages, put them back in the printer and then print the outside.

I've been greatly encouraged by those who have used my preparation guides and found them useful. Please let me know if you use them; especially if they are helpful to you – then I'll know to create and share more in the future.

In the 2011 guide I've quoted prayers from Richard Foster's book: Prayers from the Heart, a collection of prayers which I highly recommend.

Say Prayers

2011-02-14T10:20:00.001+02:00

Taking Z to school the other day he was quiet most of the trip.

Then he issued a command:

"Daddy, say prayers."

I obliged; giving thanks for the trees and mountains and asking God to
help us each with the tasks of the day ahead (playschool for Zack and
Bible Study for me.)

The prayers helped, praying out loud in the car is fun. Thanks Z.

Church Membership...

2011-02-04T09:49:00.000+02:00

Being a church 'member' is not so in fashion in Christian circles. Many serious Christians I know refer to themselves as non-denominational / Christian, and don't commit to membership of any particular church.

Its a pity that Church membership has become more to do with doctrine and division than it has to do with being a part of a community.

I believe that God wants people to commit to each other in Christian communities; to mutual support, prayer and growth. In being committed to each other - our commitment to God is expressed.

love your neighbour, and love God.

Church membership is not between 'you and God'; it is between you and a community that God loves.

Just thinking out loud.

What do you think?

Something Profound

2011-01-13T13:46:00.001+02:00

Just thought I'd say it.

Zachari loves his new Giraffe

2011-01-11T12:51:00.000+02:00

I Love my Congregation(s)

2011-01-10T10:54:00.001+02:00

Paarl Methodist is a 'Small Strong Congregation'
They sing beautifully.
So I managed to record them singing 'Be Thou My Vision' on Sunday - a
little bit too fast maybe (better than too slow); but I enjoyed it:
http://tinyurl.com/2echymr

Weekend...

2010-12-13T18:58:00.000+02:00

Had an awesome weekend - with some sitting on the Stoep while Z swam in his clam.

It's been supremely hot; the heat calls for Watermelon Smoothies:

Some Watermelon (frozen or not)
Frozen apple juice ice blocks
3 or 4 Strawberries
4 mint leaves
A teaspoon of lemon juice
Anything else that takes your fancy...

My good cousins brought us some good from the Olympia Cafe in Kalk Bay - beautiful bread - I like the way the folks at Olympia Cafe make their shopping bags (on the right...)

We made them Delicious Ice Cream: (Costs about the same as 'Frozen Desert' but it actually has cream in it)

Beat 500ml cream till quite stiff
Add flavouring to a can of condensed milk (this case 1tsp Vanilla, & some Cinamon)
Mix the condensed milk into the cream and freeze.

(It helps to keep the condensed milk cool - refrigerate it perhaps so that the cream stays stiff when you mix it in. It takes about a day to freeze and there is no need to stir it or anything during the process. I sometimes add lots of Cocoa and 2 or 3 lightly scrunched up Flakes to make chocolate ice cream.)

The Irish Bailout

2010-12-06T09:40:00.001+02:00

Someone forwarded me this email:
> It is a slow day in a damp little Irish town. The rain is beating
> down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in
> debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich
> German tourist is driving through the town, stops at the local hotel
> and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants
> to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the
> night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has
> walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door
> to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and
> runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig
> farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the
> supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the
> €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the pub. The publican
> slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar,
> who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him
> "services" on credit. The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays
> off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel
> proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich
> traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller
> comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms
> are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one
> produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town
> is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more
> optimism. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package
> works.
>

Now I feel I understand economics.

Poor MacBook

2010-12-03T15:34:00.000+02:00

I am not the kind of person you should lend gadgets too.

If the 'lifestyle' of my gadgets is anything to go by.

The end of a 3.5mm headphone jack has been haunting my macbook for
some time. I finally bought some superglue, put it on a toothpick,
stuck the toothpick in the headphone socket; let it set; and then
pulled out the intruder.

The other day I dropped the same macbook (strap came loose on my
laptop bag); the superdrive now only reads CDs; good thing I have an
external DVD leftover from when laptops didn't write DVDs.

Should I buy an iPod touch...

2010-12-02T14:24:00.001+02:00

I've wanted an iPod since my cousin Patrick bought himself one; so
long ago it must have been at the very beginning of this century.
But in those days they could only play music.
My cousin and I both like music, but he likes weird music - so the
iPod is his own personal weird music radio station.
I can think of a few reasons why I want an iPod touch:

1 - The Kindle App (Kindle is so not into multi tasking at all)
2 - Logos Bible App (I have a library on my computer - many of whose
books I can read on an iPod)
3 - Gadget factor (This should be at the top)
4 - Podcast recording (the new iPod has a mic - easy enough to record
talks and sermons)
5 - Handy web browser 'round the house (built in WiFi)
6 - Listening to music (and my audio Bible)
7 - Taking pictures and making videos (its good to have a gadget at
hand when you have a 2yo)
8 - I want to know if my next cell phone will be an iPhone without
locking into the contract.
9 - It'll be an iPad mini

So, should I buy one?

Apocalyptic Stuff

2010-11-25T09:16:00.000+02:00

I am one of those Christians who find themselves in tension when it
comes to reconciling mystery and science. So - some jetison science /
experience in a Hare Krishna like denial of physical reality - with an
attitude like: the body is evil, people are evil and therefore
deceived, matter and experience are an illusion - what is real is
spiritual.

On the other hand, I really enjoy science and astro-physics, I love
history; and I'm OK with contradictions between Bible, History and
Science. A phrase that helps me to understand myths is:

'I don't know if it really happened this way; but I know its true.'

Stories / myths are true on a deeper level than scientific
factuality. I'm OK with myths and stuff; I find myself a little more
on the conservative side than some. I do believe in Jesus'
resurrection; I accept Jesus' miracles as things that happened. I
accept these things as mystery.

But what I'm getting to really is something that helped me understand
eschatology (the study of the end times) something that has helped me
get to grips with Biblical cosmology (the universe and stuff).

My helpful phrase 'I don't know if it really happened this way; but I
know its true.'

Becomes:

'I don't know if it will really happen this way, but I know its true.'

And so I'm able to distill the concepts of justice and God's ultimate
reign out of confusing stories about spirits riding horses around the
world.

plans...

2010-11-11T08:50:00.000+02:00

Visited a friend's church last night. They have pictures of all their
stewards / leaders up in the foyer.

If they all came to our church one Sunday the church would be full.

Small churches are different.

I often make plans - but I figure out that we work best when we take
things as they come; we can only really run one program at a time - be
it a Bible Study, or a course, or even a confirmation class.

So I suppose we should set goals, rather than make plans, and revisit
them from month to month as needs and surplus arise.

I'm not sure I buy in to that whole 'a failure to plan is a plan to
fail' thing.

We're in an interesting transition time - our little church is
growing; as we grow - we might need to figure out more concrete plans.

z pointed out the window and said 'birdy ride bike'

2010-11-08T15:41:00.000+02:00

It took me a while to realise he was talking about the loops in the phone line.

Keeping Tully Calm

2010-11-05T21:23:00.001+02:00

I am dogfather to two Irish Terriers; Tullamore and Doogle. They hate
Guy Fawkes night and New Years Eve - the fireworks freak them out.

The only way to keep Tullamore from barking is to sit her on my lap
while my 2yo goes to sleep.

When I was a kid I never realised how much dogs hate fireworks.

Choir at my coleague Anele's farewell function...

2010-10-31T15:20:00.000+02:00

I was there for about 4 hours, it was all in language I didn't understand; but it was great to be with my friend; celebrating the work he's done in ministry over the past 3 years in Mbekweni. Despite the language barrier the love of the congregation was obvious.

I am a VIP, I get snacks.

2010-10-31T12:58:00.000+02:00

Praying

2010-10-25T20:21:00.000+02:00

And slowing down.

I tend to be in a rush; I clutter my life; I get distracted by many
things. I say Yes to too many people.

Including the internet and emails.

Long ago when cell phones could only play snake and sms the world was
much simpler.

On Mondays I go to Franschhoek; to work in the chapel there in order
to be a bit more accessible to my congregants on the other side of the
mountain. The best part is I usually get to spend about an hour
praying / meditating while I'm there.

It has reminded me to slow down - and rediscover / reremember the
source of all I do. Leading Taize prayers once a month has also
helped a bit.

I'm slowing down; taking on less; and listening more.

My work has improved in small ways. Little things, responding to
spiritual nudges that land one up in the right place at the right time
asking the right questions.

Small questions and moments that lead to major break throughs in
people's lives.

All because I decided to do a little less, get out the way a bit and
pray a little more.

Hopefully when I read this some time in the future I'll remember to
pray more.

Woolies and the Mags

2010-10-24T21:52:00.001+02:00

To tell you the truth I cringe every time I see the magazines that
have caused an uproar in Woolies queues.

I hope they only order a few and keep them in the back for people who
request them specifically. I'm sure there must be 'other' magazines
similarly available.

I don't like them because they are to Christianity what You magazine
is to political journalism. They are filled with the sort of hog wash
I wouldn't wash my hog in.

Last time I looked at one the article was about whether Desmond Tutu
was going to hell - I think one of the catch phrases was: 'good people
don't go to heaven, saved people do.'

Another thing that irritates me about them is 'evandelists' (the type
of people who write Jesus is Lord on toilet doors); they arrange the
Joy (etc.) magazines on counters in front of the other magazines in an
attempt to convince people to buy some 'Joy' off the shelf.

Honestly I don't think magazines like Joy, and Pastor Naidoo etcs
response to their not being stocked by Woolies are at all helpful to
the Christian cause; rather, I think they are the sort of stumbling
block Jesus warns us against.

That's just my opinion.

Arb Sermon Writing Info...

2010-10-20T14:25:00.000+02:00

The ways in which I write sermons...

Usually I use the lectionary; I trust the gospel lesson to be my
primary reference and speak about that - often with concluding
thoughts from the Epistle.

But the other day while I was praying I felt that I should speak about
The Church; I had three Sundays to fill so I looked around the web and
found three interesting titles from the UMC:

What if church were a verb?
What if the church had open doors?
What if the church were a community?

And so a bit of topical preaching.

I find it a bit difficult; but to structure my sermon this Sunday I've
started with a powerpoint presentation; its helping me to get my
thoughts organised; I'll write them down and then shift the powerpoint
around to suit. Usually I start with blank document with the words

'...and then we will begin to see the Kingdom of God here in this
place.'

So its upside down.

Being Yo'self...

2010-10-19T13:56:00.000+02:00

It is as the persons they are that preachers are called to this task, as these specific people with their own characteristics and histories. It is as the persons they are that they have been selected and called. This is what is meant by originality. Pastors are not to adopt a role. They are not to slip into the clothing of biblical characters. That would be the worst kind of comedy. They are not to be Luthers, churchmen, prophets, visionaries, or the like. They are simply to be themselves, and to expound the text as such. Preaching is the responsible word of a person of our own time. Having heard myself, I am called upon to pass on what I have heard. Even as ministers, it matters that these persons be what they are. They must not put on a character or a robe. They do not have to play a role. It is you who have been commissioned, you, just as you are, not as minister, as pastor or theologian, not under any concealment or cover, but you yourself have simply to discharge this commission.

- Karl Barth, Homiletics (thanks www.nakedpastor.com)

Camping at Bontebok with my new Corolla...

2010-10-03T20:54:00.000+02:00

We got back from a quick camping trip to Bontebok National Park the other day; what a great little park - a little over 2 hours from Paarl. On the way there we stopped at 'Bird of Paradise' just the other side of Robertson (next door to the prison). They have chickens, goats, sheep, ice cream and crocodiles; Z was happy.

The Corolla did a great job of towing the trailer; fuel consumption went up from 6.5l/100km to 8.3 but seeing as I do about 12000km a year without a trailer and less than 1000km with - overall the consumption is great.

MCSA Ordination Service - 2010

2010-09-26T09:25:00.000+02:00

This morning I had the honour of acting as Presbyter for my Coleague Rev Anele Bonoyi; Anele and I have worked together for the last 3 years, and studied together for a year before that. This is a 10 second clip sent from my cell phone of the congregation gathered at the Methodist Multi Purpose Center in East London. Was great to be there!

Wild Baboons

2010-08-24T12:59:00.001+02:00

Having a great time finding insurance prices for car / house / etc.

So I got a quote from Santam:

See the excesses:

Apparently my stuff is not covered for damage by wild baboons or wild
monkeys - I love South Africa!

Why I might buy a 2009 1.3 Corolla:

2010-08-20T23:13:00.000+02:00

Four years ago I bought a Peugeot Partner Grand Raid, beautiful car - competitively priced on the second hand market. She was a great car - 2.0l HDi engine was powerful and efficient; but with a long term view - its time to move on and so I see car payments in my near future.

So I've been car shopping. Which is fun - and stressful.

I've settled - I think on a second hand Toyota Corolla 1300 (2009 model).

I want a car that is safe, efficient and reliable, I don't believe in the trade in philosophy of drive it for 3 years and then trade it in - I want to drive it 'till its finished at least 10 years.

I took one for a drive today, around Paarl - and along the freeway.

Power

The 1.3 is a little engine - as tweaked as it is; I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be up to the job.

First - to the mountainside - I wondered if the little engine would get up the hills. It pulled off easily in first gear - the hills on Paarl's mountainside can be quite steep. Around the suburbs the car was fine - easy power steering; very light clutch accelerator etc. (much lighter than my wife's little Renault Clio).

On the freeway I got distracted by the 'instant consumption' computer. I think I would normally have to turn that off and focus on driving; but its nice to keep an eye on the number to know if you're driving at optimum efficiency - I get a kick out of stretching a tank of petrol. I'm also looking forward to sending pictures of the 'Outside Temperature' read out to facebook when Paarl hits 48 degrees next summer.

At 120km/h 6th gear's legs seemed a little too long - the consumption computer returned a figure between 4.2 and 5.5 l/km, but at every little hill it was back to 5th. 6th gear is for the Karoo and long downhill freeways; fifth still had oomph - but 4th gear (even at 120km/h) and 3rd from 80km/h would get you past those big trucks (you'll need a lot of freeway though). The 1.3 doesn't mind being revved a bit (its so quiet though you might have to watch the rev counter - maximum torque is delivered at 4000 revs and power at 6000 see http://www.carmag.co.za/article/toyota-corolla-13-professional-2009-07-23.

At 120km/h I might keep the car in 5th; 6th will be switching back and forth like a one armed bandit.I'm not a speed freak and I'll only be driving long Karoo roads on holiday when we usually do less than 400km a day - no rush.

And don't laugh now - but I will be fitting a tow bar (Speedy is R1000 cheaper than the agents) to tow my 5ft Jurgens trailer on camping trips - and furniture redistribution efforts; and no - I won't be in a hurry.

Space

This was a family test drive, wife and my nearly 2 year old came along. Putting the baby seat in, as painful as it always is, and strapping the wiggly toddler was helped by the length of the door. No heads were bumped. I'll miss the Peugeot's sliding doors in Mall parking lots; but it was easier than the Clio. There's lots of room in the back - even behind me and I'm 6'2"; that should mean it'll be possible to go on road trip holidays when my kids are bigger.

The driver's seat can be adjusted up and down, forward and back - the same for the steering wheel - everybody should be able to find a comfy spot.

The boot is actually about the same size as my little trailer (I'm exaggerating); but there is a lot of room in there - the back seats also fold down - just in case you want to transport long things. I like that the car has a full size spare in there - but I hate that you'll have to unpack everything if you get a flat tyre and need to get the spare out the bottom of the boot.

Gadgets

The consumption computer and various trip measuring functions still need to be explored. Its a pitty there's no steering wheel control for the sound system. But the RDS Radio / MP3 / WMA player is nice to have - you can just put MP3s on a CD and there's your music sorted for the trip. (It's a pitty the 2009 model doesn't have the USB / 3.5mm stereo jack that the 2010 ones promise to have.)

This is the 'Proffessional' spec model - I also like the electrically adjustable side mirrors and for gadget value you can't beat the little lights that iluminate when you open the vanity mirrors on the sun visors... overkill!

Stewardship

I'm a minister of religion; I get paid a decent travel allowance; my congregations pay this so that I am able to visit them and tend to the church's business - often this involves quite a bit of traveling. I like that this car won't use too much gas in the process - good stewardship of the environment. It should also be reliable.

A big plus for me is the fact that this car is manufactured in Durban, South Africa. The money spent on it creates jobs in SA - parts and that sort of thing will not be a problem.

And finally - but this is a late model and this remains to be proved - Toyota has a reputation for quality and longevity - hopefully this car should still serve me happily 15 years from now when it should have anything from 250 000 to 300 000 on the clock and petrol costs say R30? a litre... lets see what happens.

Competition

I'm stuck on Toyota I'm afraid - I did consider the Avanza - but its used as a taxi in the Eastern Cape and that doesn't bode well for midnight spares cc. I would probably buy a Yaris if it wasn't for the fact that you can't fit a tow bar (yup) and if you can it should only be for bicycles. I've also thought of buying an older car - but seeing as I plan for this to be a long term relationship; I don't want a car that's been around the block too many times yet.

Thoughts and comments most appreciated.

From 'The Kneeler': A five day week..?

2010-08-04T13:39:00.000+02:00

Angela Shier-Jones writes:

Good morning God,

I was reminded this week amidst all the comments about Clergy Burn-Out of my first Superintendent (You never forget your first!) In the first three months of my ministry, he took the trouble to go through my diary with me, and make sure that I took things out as well as put things in. He would point out, for example, that I had a ladies fellowship meeting arranged for Tuesday afternoon, but had set aside no time to prepare for it - were these women not worth the effort - or did I think I would prepare in my sleep? Similarly for Church meetings - when had I set aside time to re-read the minutes of the last meeting, to pray about the work to be done, to seek God's guidance - or was that supposed to happen sometime in between the opening devotions and the apologies for absence?
His gentle but insistent reordering of my diary, helped me to shape not only my time but also my theology of Church order - invaluable!
Read more…

Adam Hamilton - When Christians Get it Wrong...

2010-08-03T19:40:00.000+02:00

some music recorded at the end of the 20th Century

2010-07-28T15:49:00.000+02:00

This stuff started playing on my iTunes and then I remembered recording it towards the end of the last century.

Real blast from the past stuff.

Before digital cameras and when cell phones couldn't play music (and were almost too big to fit in your pocket).

Recorded on a VS880 hard disk recorder; with a Roland XP10 keyboard, also my acoustic guitar, plonky tonk piano, classical guitar - a borrowed cymbal; and my cousin Patrick's violin.

01Spirit.mp3                                       28-Jul-2010 12:58             1603206
02GhostMonks.mp3                                   28-Jul-2010 12:56             1221766
03Goblins.mp3                                      28-Jul-2010 12:54             1839458
04TheSonOfGod.mp3                                  28-Jul-2010 12:52             3139572
05TheMoonBowedDown-studio.mp3                      28-Jul-2010 12:46             2614772
06Blues.mp3                                        28-Jul-2010 12:48              931389
06Blues.ogg                                        28-Jul-2010 13:38              668167
07TheMoonBowedDown-live.mp3                        28-Jul-2010 12:43             1517629
07TheMoonBowedDown-live.ogg

Preparing to Preach

2010-07-27T12:32:00.000+02:00

This is the desktop on my mac as I begin processing the texts for this
Sunday's service.

Microsoft Word for Mac on the Left Hand Side; Freemind in the middle
and Logos Scholar's Library on the Right.

I jot ideas in freemind as I read the scriptures from Logos. Then I
shuffle them around into a coherent sermon narrative, then I type out
word for word what I think I should say on Sunday.

I preach from the lectionary.

Adam Hamilton (www.cor.org) challenged us to preach topical sermons;
ie a series dealing with money / forgiveness etc.

I struggle to preach that way - although I have no problem with it.
There is something about the lectionary that feeds me. I wonder
though if it is feeding Jesus' other sheep as well as it feeds me.

Pondering.

Mayor of London speaks about South Africa...

2010-07-21T08:44:00.001+02:00

Let's blow our vuvuzelas for a bright South African Future
by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London. 20 June 2010

I wish you could have come with me yesterday as I ran through the delightful district of Westcliff, one of the richest square miles in Africa. The sun was taking the chill off the winter morning. The sky was blue. The urban forest of Johannesburg was a winter symphony of brown and green and gold.

Among the trees, on either side of the well-kept street, I passed the kinds of homes you normally associate with Beverly Hills. Here was the honey-stoned palazzo of a diamond executive. There was the schloss of the most successful boob-job exponent in the neighbourhood.

Each villa was the size of a country club, and through every set of gates you could see the carob-shaded tennis court or the ultramarine ping of the sunlight on the pool. Every property overtly proclaimed the determination of the haves to resist the depredations of the have-nots. Great brown Rhodesian ridgebacks snuffled behind the electric fences. Chubb security vans cruised quietly up and down. Fixed to the wall beside virtually every nine-foot impregnable gate was a sign announcing that any intruder would be met with an "Armed Response".

I wish you could have been there, to soak up the splendour of the lives of the affluent Johannesburg professionals. Then I wish you could have come with me to another neighbourhood, a township called Cape Flats, nor far from Cape Town. Then you would have understood the vast economic disparity of South Africa – the wealth gap that helps to prompt the security fences of Westcliff.

Here there was no tarmac on the streets. No one had cleared up the piles of rubbish. No one had painted the battered grey breeze blocks of the flats or mended the panes in the washing-hung windows. Of the hordes of unwashed kids who came out to compete for our presents – badges and trinkets – hardly any seemed fluent in English.

A nice one-eyed woman called Mary took us in to see her flat, and though she was immensely proud of her two chipped-eared china dogs, and though her lino floor shone with mopping, she had almost none of the amenities that are taken for granted by the poorest families in modernBritain.

She had no hot water. She had no cooker except for a couple of electric rings. She had no system of heating or air conditioning, and though Mary and her family were avidly following the World Cup, they were listening to the commentary on a crackling old radio. They had no television, and nor did any of the neighbours.

Above all, she had no job, and neither did her husband. It was years since he had last worked as an upholsterer for motor cars, and the same applied to all the hundreds of other men and women who swarmed out of their flats to welcome the delegation from London.

They had no job, and no hope of a job – and yet these people, Mary and her neighbours, were lucky by the standards of many in South Africa. Mary lives in breeze-block luxury compared with the inhabitants of the "informal settlements" – shantytowns to you and me – of which there are 230 in the vicinity of Cape Town alone, providing homes to about 500,000 people in a population of 3.5 million.

It is when you have such inequality, and such grinding poverty, you cannot be surprised that some pessimists have asked whether it was sensible for South Africa to take on the difficulty and expense of hosting the World Cup. That is why I have spent the past few days posing the legacy question to just about everyone I have met.

What happens on July 12, after the captain of the winning team has waved the Jules Rimet trophy in his sweaty palm? What will people say when the last fan has traipsed home and the last journalist has composed his last philippic against his defeated national team and when the last vuvuzela has parped its last melancholy parp? What will this World Cup leave for South Africa?

I have asked barmen and journalists and politicians such as the remarkable Helen Zille, premier of the Western Cape province. I have ended up feeling like those Monty Python characters who were so foolish as to question the benefits of the Roman Empire. The World Cup not only gave jobs and skills and hope to thousands of local people.

The tournament gave an absolute deadline to South Africa for the introduction and improvement of all kinds of infrastructure – not just sports grounds, but roads and bridges and airports and bus lanes that would otherwise not have been built and which will benefit the country for decades to come. Above all, the World Cup has given this country something intangible but priceless: a deep sense of pride that it has taken on something difficult and done it well.

When they look at themselves in the approving mirror of world opinion, South Africans of every race agree that the first African World Cup is a joyous success, and that success breeds confidence. The rand is rising. South Africans who left for Australia or Canada are starting to return to a country whose banking system largely escaped the recent crisis.

The sheer number of visitors – about half a million – will help to open the eyes of the world to South Africa and its potential for trade and investment; and get this – crime, the crime that has been supposed to be one of the drawbacks of living here, is down 90 per cent in central Cape Town, and there has not been a single serious incident of crime or violence in any of the fan parks.

Of course there will be disappointments, and no one could pretend that the World Cup will solve the economic or political problems of the country. But it offers a sense of unity and confidence to a place with a tragic past. It should help to build the taxpayer base that is so essential to narrowing the wealth gap.

It gives potential wealth creators at least some of the infrastructure they need. Fifa took an inspired decision to give the World Cup to South Africa, and South Africa has responded brilliantly.

Discipleship is not impossible, it is inevitable

2010-07-16T15:50:00.001+02:00

Last night we began the second half of our Disciple course with a reading of Matthew's gospel. We spoke about what it might mean for us to be true disciples of Jesus / radical discipleship.

Although Jesus does demand everything of us - his burden, as he says is light - because he bears it with us. Many people hold back on committing themselves to discipleship because they are afraid of what may be asked of them.

But God, being gracious, and loving us with all his power and love often asks of us more than we expect - but never more than we can handle. Sometimes, when we offer all we have and all we are to him; we are surprised by how much he gives back to us.

Discipleship is not impossible. It is inevitable.

Colossians 1:15-17

2010-07-14T15:11:00.000+02:00

Prayer based on Colossians 1:15-22 (NRSV) - Proper 11C

2010-07-14T08:16:00.001+02:00

Again, feel free to use this prayer, improve it etc.

Let me know if its helpful,

Gus.

Jesus you are the image
of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
   in you all things
   in heaven and on earth
   were created, things visible
   and invisible, whether thrones
   or dominions or rulers or powers
   All things have been created
   through you and for you.

   (Silence)

You yourself are before all things,
and in you all things hold together.
   You are the head of the body,
   the church;
   you are the beginning,
   the firstborn from the dead,
   you have the first place in everything.

   (Silence)

For in you all the fullness of God
was pleased to dwell,
   and through you,
   we and all creation
   are reconciled to God
   whether on earth or in heaven,
   by making peace through
   your blood shed on the cross.

   (Silence)

And we who once were estranged
and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
   you have now reconciled
   in your body through death,
   so as to present us holy
   and blameless and irreproachable
   before the Father.

You have revealed yourself to us,
You have reconciled us to God,
   And set us free to be the people
   we were created to be.
   AMEN

More Xenophobia

2010-07-14T08:05:00.001+02:00

So there have been some Xenophobic threats, and attacks here in the
Paarl area - our municipality has quickly set up shelter at a local
caravan / camping park called Antoniesvlei.

Listening to Cape Talk this morning people struggled to give clear
answers as to why the Xenophobic attacks were happening. Foreigners
walking the streets of Khayelitsha often receive threats as they walk
along, mostly from young people 18-25.

The cause of this?

I think it has to do with disempowerment and the need - when you're
down in the dumps to have someone to stomp on. An evil need - but so
many of us do it; a kind of kick the dog phenomenon. Young locals
have power over foreigners; the power to breed fear - the power to
intimidate.

Frightening.

I think it ends in a new kind of Naziism in a country / continent
obsessed with NAtionalism (the A is intentional).

Little do people realise that NAtionalism is just another tool of
oppression.

xenophobia

2010-07-12T21:04:00.001+02:00

This Xenophobia thing is strange - why 'at the end of the world cup'?

There seem to be a few things going on - some (dis)organised crime
orchestrated against Somali shop owners. Apparently youths from
somewhere other than Mbekweni were causing trouble there.

Then just some old fashioned KKK style withc hunting; my congregant
Katujwa was hidden by his landlord for the night.

This stuff is awful - but its mostly us 'middle classers' moaning. To
me it looks like people fighting over scraps down on the poverty line.

The people I've spoken to candidly (in Mbekweni) acknowledge that
violence and intimidation is wrong - but at the same time, they say to
me "they must go home! We don't want them here."

Why? Because a lot of people are battling over a few resources - and
folks from the north settle for lower wages and higher rentals; a
shack in SA is better than wherever they came from.

So I reckon us middle class types need to watch ourselves, we're good
at moaning about SA's hospitality - but we're not the ones showing any
hospitality to foreigners. They're not in our neighbourhood or our job
market.

SO - what do we do?

We can offer safety and refuge when needed - but that only treats
symptoms; we have a messed up continent.

For most of us (myself included) lessons in Geography, History, then
Economics would probably help.

Also some real engagement with the poverty problem in our country.

As much as my church (Methodist) claims to care about people in
poverty - I think we tend to avoid the poorest of the poor.

This issue needs loads of prayer and carefuly considered response.

Hup

2010-07-11T17:48:00.000+02:00

Prayer Based on Colossians 1:9-14 [Proper 10C]

2010-07-10T09:30:00.001+02:00

A prayer I've adapted for this Sunday's service, feel free to use it - let me know if its helpful.

Loving God we pray with your
apostle Paul:

That we would be filled
with the knowledge of your
will in all spiritual wisdom
and understanding,
   so that we may lead lives
   worthy of you,
   fully pleasing to you,
   as we bear fruit in every good work
   and as we grow in the knowledge of you.

May we be made strong
with all the strength
that comes from your glorious power,
   may we be prepared to endure
   everything with patience,
   while joyfully giving thanks
   to the Father, who has enabled
   us to share in the inheritance
   of the saints in light.

You have rescued us from
the power of darkness
and transferred us into
the kingdom of your beloved Son,
   in him we have redemption,
   the forgiveness of sins.

   Our Father, who art in heaven,
   Hallowed be thy Name.
   Thy kingdom come.
   Thy will be done,
   On earth as it is in heaven.
   Give us this day our daily bread.
   And forgive us our trespasses,
   As we forgive those who trespass against us.
   And lead us not into temptation,
   But deliver us from evil.
   For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
   and the glory, for ever and ever.
   Amen.

My dogs are not morning people.

2010-07-08T06:48:00.000+02:00

Loving Google Street View in South Africa

2010-06-25T20:22:00.000+02:00

Noddy's Monster Truck

2010-06-18T13:07:00.000+02:00

Craftily repaired with cable ties

Birthday!

2010-06-18T10:30:00.000+02:00

My groovy Cousin Patrick Latimer gave me this signed print for my birthday.

Speaking of Irish Terriers, my son saw a guy with a beard on TV yesterday - my dogs have beards, so he pointed and went 'woof!' - Love it.

I got some cool presents, including a scarf and a beanie - exactly right with all the snow on the mountains, and some warm pyjamas. My in laws gave me a Bubble Machine; weird but I've wanted one for a while, it blows soap bubbles, you can buy them at Game.

Also - in the spirit of warmness, an Aeropress Coffee Press - its a little manual espresso press that also makes amazing filter coffee (if you want to). And a milk frother - the pumping up and down bodum type. (you can get one here: www.coffeeco.co.za)

So I'm warm, caffeinated and enjoying my new picture.

Let me also add: Super Ms (Chocolate), Strawberry Pops, a Toblerone, Toffees ...some of my favourite things; and best of all - opening presents with paper ripping help from my son; and a card made by him and his mom (who happens to be my wife).

And I am 34. But I still feel like a kid.

Gulf Oil Spill

2010-06-05T14:20:00.001+02:00

A Little bigger than Lesotho.

Check out www.ifitwasmyhome.com

'Ndimbone - recorded with Garageband

2010-05-31T23:26:00.000+02:00

Finally dug up my midi stuff and hooked my keyboard up to the macbook. Played around with a worship song which I used at Synod - not sure of its origins. But I thought it would be good fun and practice with Garageband...

So I played in a piano, a double bass and added a brass section.

Then I recorded the parts and applied some effects to make it sound like more of me.

Then I looped the bits that I recorded into some sort of arrangement.

Didn't add an end 'cos its bed time.

Amazing what you can do these days with music in 3 hours between bathing the baby and going to bed.

Here is the result.

Here are the words and chords - use Capo 3 to play in C:

My church family...

2010-05-28T08:48:00.001+02:00

I actually do love the church; I love the local church, I love the
larger church.

Where else would you find such a wonderful, diverse expression of
God's infinite and embracing love?

It's not always easy finding our 'way together' (synod); but its worth
the trouble.

Rev James Gribble leading our synod devotions #fb

2010-05-27T09:40:00.001+02:00

Pentecost this Sunday...

2010-05-21T10:54:00.000+02:00

The Festival of Weeks

^{Deuteronomy 16:9}You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. ¹⁰Then you shall keep the festival of weeks to the Lord your God, contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have received from the Lord your God. ¹¹Rejoice before the Lord your God—you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you—at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. ¹²Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and diligently observe these statutes.

44/44 - All done.

2010-05-19T15:41:00.000+02:00

Last year I set myself the project of podcasting the 44 sermons. Today I finished my little project:

Harvest and Pentecost

2010-05-19T13:26:00.001+02:00

Last year at Paarl Methodist we combined our Harvest Festival with Pentecost. We did this because the Pentecost festival at which the disciples were present when the Spirit poured out was a harvest festival.

When we decided to combine the two I hadn't really worked out what it would mean; I just thought it would be an interesting experiment.

It added a new dimension to Pentecost, linking it up with our working / creative lives. It wasn't just about speaking many different languages and announcing the Kingdom to all the world.

It was about hearing that announcement in our daily lives. The Kingdom of God is in pushing broomsticks, auditing accounts, serving customers, pruning fig trees, mapping ocean floors, making beds and wiping snotty noses. The Spirit moves with all of us into all of that.

Now - to articulate this idea into a digestible sermon.

Random Thoughts...

2010-05-18T09:06:00.001+02:00

1 - Everything is too cheap.

I don't think we pay the full cost of electricity, petrol, water etc. The cost to us should incorporate the cost of cleaning up after ourselves. (Oil spills, droughts, damage to eco-systems etc.) Mass production of beef / grain / rice will come back to bite us.

I'm afraid that my grandchildren will be picking up the tab.

2 - Enjoying Hannah's Child: A Theologians Memoir - Stanley Hauerwas

Hauerwas has a way with words; and with thoughts, I think its because he tries to dig down to the original, and not be original. Someone who is trying to be true.

Loving it.

It might seem a little odd - or obvious - but Hauerwas has inspired me to be more 'truthful', raising the stakes on preaching a bit.

3 - Colossians

If I remember how to spell Colossians I might preach a series on the book after Pentecost. I guess it would be wrong for me to skip Trinity Sunday - hoping I don't have to go explain the Trinity in some strange unknown congregation. (Still haven't received a Synod Sunday preaching assignment (or a blue book)).

Waar is ek?

2010-05-17T16:18:00.000+02:00

A Prayer for the Church

2010-05-15T20:18:00.001+02:00

A while ago we read Colossians 3:12-17 in a Leader's meeting as our devotion. Tomorrow at church we will use an adaptation of it in our liturgy:

This is my adaptation, feel free to use it and improve it:

Lord you have chosen us,

as your Holy and beloved:

Clothe us with compassion,

kindness, humility, meekness,

and patience.

We thank you for calling

a group of people like us;

all so different - yet equal

in your sight.

Help us to bear with one another,

and if we have a complaint against

another, to forgive each other.

Just as you forgave us,

so must we forgive.

Above all, clothe us with love,

which binds everything together

in perfect harmony.

Let Your peace reign in our hearts;

You have called us into

the one body.

Fill us with gratitude;

Let the good news of Jesus

live in us and flow through us

to the world in which we live.

Fill our hearts with Psalms,

hymns and spiritual songs:

Whatever we do, in word or deed

Let us do it in your name,

giving praise and thanks

to you at all times.

AMEN

Myth:

2010-05-08T10:59:00.000+02:00

A story in which the conditions of the story teller's own time were established once and for all.

Speaking about the creation myths in:
The Old Testament World (2nd)
Philip R Davies, John Rogerson
Paperback, 250 pages, 2006
Loot price: R279.00 R221.00 - save 21%

Thinking about the Universe...

2010-04-28T13:24:00.000+02:00

An antidote to my scepticism and sometimes flaky faith is to think
about the universe - cosmology.
Looking at Hubblesite.org and learning about what can be seen.
Most interesting is that what we see is 'light-years' away.
So the Sun is about 5/6 light minutes from us and the moon about 2
light seconds.
The further away we see - the further back in time we see... what we
are looking at is not what is there / merely a representation of what
was there - up to 13 Billion years ago.
Interesting though, is that in this picture we are the centre of our
universe - and the further away we see in any direction is always
further back in time. To the point of 13.7 Billion years ago - when
something, smaller than an atom became a rapidly expanding universe.
Eventually - then - if we look as far back as possible we will find
nothing, but we won't find anything because nothing will be there.
And by nothing I mean nothing.
Non - existence. Something which we have never experienced and so can
not describe.
(Just thought I'd write that down for my own reference).
So I guess the universe has an edge.

Another Book to Covet...

2010-04-27T17:09:00.000+02:00

So, I want more books than I have time to read (or sometimes, money to buy)... but I just added this one to my list of books to read - I really enjoy Stanley Hauerwas - lots of people do.

The blurb bellow is from www.loot.co.za

Hannah's Child - A Theologian's Memoir

Stanley Hauerwas
Paperback, 304 pages, 30 April 2010
Published by Scm Press

Loot price:

R273.00 (Postal delivery is free)

Show more details for this product

To be released on April 30, 2010. We are not yet accepting orders for this product. If you add it to your wishlist we will let you know when it becomes available.

Synopsis

In 2001 Stanley Hauerwas was voted 'America's best theologian' by "Time Magazine". Here are Hauerwas' long-awaited memoirs. A loving, hard-working, godly couple has long been denied a family of their own. Finally, the wife makes a deal with God: if he blesses her with a child, she will dedicate that child to God's service. The result of that prayer was the birth of an influential - some say prophetic - voice. Surprisingly, this is not the biblical story of Samuel but the account of Stanley Hauerwas, one of today's leading theologians in the church and the academy. The story of Hauerwas' journey into Christian discipleship is captivating and inspiring. With genuine humility, he describes his intellectual struggles with faith, how he has dealt with the reality of marriage to a mentally ill partner, and the gift of friendships that have influenced his character. Throughout the narrative shines Hauerwas' conviction that the tale of his life is worth telling only because of the greater Christian story providing foundation and direction for his own.

Hubble 20

2010-04-24T10:08:00.001+02:00

Hubble is 20 years old today and able to see about 13 Billion years
back into the universe.

That's OLD.
and OLD.

Its not the stuff in space - as beautiful as it may be that MYSTIFIES
me so much - rather the space itself.

Where did that come from?

Mind blowing.

Psalm 131

2010-04-23T11:38:00.000+02:00

CERN Supercollider...

2010-04-21T12:16:00.000+02:00

If you've got lots of bandwidth and time - get addicted to www.ted.com

Cousin's art

2010-04-16T11:45:00.000+02:00

I have very groovy cousins who make cool and pretty things.

One of them is Patrick,
the other is Alex

Like this shirt:

Chocolate Cake

2010-04-12T20:09:00.001+02:00

The realy simple easy choc cake my mom always baked:

2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup milk
3/4 Cup sugar
1 1/4 Cup flour
1/2 Cup Sunflower Oil
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp inst. coffee
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon of salt

mix together and bake at 180 Celcius for 25 minutes

Blogger's new draft...

2010-04-09T12:07:00.000+02:00

At Paarl Methodist we use Blogger to host our church's website.
For me its an easy way to have an updateable and free website. I'm
quite chuffed that when you Google 'Church in Paarl' Paarl Methodist
is one of the first churches that comes up - and we're such a little
church.
Blogger's new Draft features lend themselves to this sort of use; so
now we have several pages on our blog: About Us, Find Us, Sermons,
Minister etc.
I think the Blog looks pretty cool - and it is quite functional. Most
of all - it is FREE - and it didn't take me very long to set up.

Its at www.paarlmethodist.blogspot.com

Look what I found...

2010-04-08T20:20:00.000+02:00

Execupastor

2010-04-08T14:15:00.001+02:00

I had to write a Testimonial for one of my best friends in the ministry today. For a fairly large church.

I worry that they may be looking for an 'Execupastor'. Someone flashy and bossy with a silver tongue and a quick step.

The other day - at a meeting of Methodist Ministers I was proud to look around and notice that very few of us were 'that sort of minister'. Just regular - not very handsome looking - not very slick and swish - regular people.

That's one of the reasons I love my church.

Not too many 'Execupastors'.

Profile for my church's website...

2010-04-08T11:33:00.001+02:00

I'm Angus Kelly, the minister at Paarl Methodist, on the left is the
most handsome picture I could find of myself (with my son on my
shoulders at Oribi Gorge in Natal). I'm 33 years old, married and my
wife and I have one child (18 months old).
I'm quite new to being a minister, this (2010) is my fourth year as
Minister of Word and Sacrament to the Paarl Valley Circuit (the four
churches of which Paarl Methodist is one). I was ordained in 2009.
Rev Anele Bonoyi and I are the only permanent (or should I say paid)
staff at the Paarl, Mbekweni, Wellington and Franschhoek Churches.
I began training for the ministry in 2005 under the Rev Paul Verryn in
the Central District, I was stationed in Potchefstroom, we then moved
to Pretoria where I completed an Honours Degree in New Testament and
then on to the Paarl Valley where I received charge of my first
congregations.
In my ministry I am most passionate about doing what I was called and
trained to do: Preach and Pastor. In terms of preaching I want to
help people to realise what Jesus has in mind for them. I believe
that Jesus is the Word of God and my job is make him and his message
(word) known. In terms of pastoring I want to help people to make
connections, between themselves and God (first) and with each other
(second), I want those connections to be the foundation for a Kingdom
Bringing and Kingdom Manifesting community.
I am passionate about The Kingdom of God, about which Jesus'
preached. As Marcus J Borg says: "The Kingdom of God is where Jesus
is King and the powers and principalities of this world are not." I
want to help us as a church to understand what our role is as Kingdom
Citizens.
On another level I want to help people to understand Jesus, God and
the Holy Spirit in realistic terms. I am not a religious
fundamentalist; I take the Bible more seriously than that; I believe
that in order to do justice to the scriptures I also need to be
serious about history, science and human experience. You won't find
me saying: "The Bible, God said it, I believe it, that settles it." I
want to help people to read the Bible for themselves, and make sense
of it in their own modern context.
I hope that in some way God will let me do my part in bringing about
his Kingdom.

Acts of the Apostles

2010-04-07T21:34:00.001+02:00

I've preached through the Lectionary and I do love it - it challenges
and grows me; but the last 6 weeks (during lent) I preached a series
on the last days of Jesus life. The congregation responded well, so I
thought I'd investigate another series type set of sermons.

At the moment I'm thinking about a reflection on the Acts of the
Apostles - appropriate for the Resurrection Season.

My friend John (www.sacredise.com) suggested a series on the
characters of Acts - series title may be 'The Apostles of Acts' - I
thought that was a catchy idea. But Acts is dominated by Peter and
Paul with cameos by Luke, Timothy, Barnabas and Stephen. Interesting
people - but all of them are overshadowed by Peter and Paul.

My next thought is along the lines of 'Five Lessons the first Church
Learnt' as I read through Acts I see the Church learning and
establishing itself; maybe the lessons of the first church will be
relevant (edifying) to my congregation.

If you have any profound (or not so profound ideas) post them below...

I might just start the series without a plan - most times I do that
the plan reveals itself in the end.

Powerpoint Background for Good Friday

2010-04-01T11:47:00.001+02:00

Feel free to use this in your Good Friday services... (Click it for a larger version)

Road Hogs, Vaccinations, and 10 Items or Less...

2010-03-11T15:20:00.000+02:00

Rant Rant Rant.

The other day I was cut off in traffic in one of those situations where two lanes merge... I believe in the one for one system, so the lanes merge smoothly. I slowed down to let the guy on the right in, and the guy behind him (and me), in a big Branded 4x4 accelerated in in front of me.

I had an attack of Road Rage.

Then I got upset about the world I live in.

Courtesy, respect, that sort of thing.

We have funny ways of treating each other and very little sense of community.

I am grumpy that way - I count the beeps in the ten items or less cue; and then look judgmentally at the basket of the person in front of me.

Another thing that irks me:

Vaccinations!

It seems its the hippy thing to do not to get your child vaccinated (Oprah has something to do with this); especially among the affluent. Idiots. Their kids don't get sick because everybody else went and got their kids vaccinated.

Rant rant rant

South Africans are lousy citizens... and so am I.

Google Street View

2010-03-10T10:04:00.000+02:00

View Street View in a larger map

I saw a Prius approaching with a big thing sticking out the roof... (Teardrop marker) hope I'll be famous one day - if they add this road to street view. The Prius was moving quite quickly - hope the accelerator wasn't stuck.

Disconnected

2010-02-28T22:18:00.000+02:00

Today at church I felt a little disconnected.

It bothered me all day... what was wrong? For some reason I felt like I was just going through the motions - doing my bit. Preaching, singing, praying, breaking bread; like it was a job.

I don't often feel like that - so I'm glad it bothered me that I felt that way today.

I thought about it all day... what was bothering me?

Then I realised; I was busy with stuff before the service and didn't get a chance to connect to people when they arrived. I've grown used to serving a small church, a church where everybody knows everybody, I expect to connect with the congregation quite intimately.

This is the first time I've been a part of such a small church, and I am the minister. I really love it; and I'm glad that on most Sundays I get to experience our connectedness when we worship together.

I think my disconnectedness was rooted in that I was showing the congregation the way this morning, but not leading with them - a subtle difference I suppose.

Anyways - my words and my experience don't totally match up here. But some of you will know what I mean.

Herod's Temple - Slideshow (re post)

2010-02-25T08:28:00.002+02:00

Herod's Temple Complex

I'm using this slide in my sermon on Sunday about Jesus' cleansing of the temple. If Google Docs is co-operating, you can download it here.

Homosexuality, The Bible and Ethics - 4: Kinky or Sincere

2010-02-18T09:04:00.000+02:00

Sorry for taking so long on this topic... I blog in the moments between seconds; and in the time between seconds I do admin. The rest of the time I be a husband, dad, minister and student.

My friend Ecclesia (a Methodist Minister) was 'discontinued' for entering a civil union with her life partner; she is no longer allowed to be a Methodist Minister because she is gay and OK with it.

In the last post I spoke about the difference between trusting and knowing; seeing the Bible as a list of rules about what we should think and do versus seeing the Bible as an unfolding story that helps us to see the heart of God. For some - the two interweave easily, for others, it is more complex.

In the second post I spoke briefly about homosexuality - some say it is a 'lifestyle choice' others argue that it is 'the way they were created.' On the science side - I believe that some people are just born gay. On the morality side - I think some people (gay and straight) - have very (perverted) unhealthy and harmful (to themselves and others) ideas and practices around sex and sexuality.

So - how do we tell who is kinky/perverted and who is sincere?

Well then you would have to have special insight into their 'thoughts and their works' (Is 66:18); or be able to 'judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart' (Heb 4:12); things that only God (Jesus) does.

Although I am quite convinced by the scientific evidence for some people being 'naturally gay' rather than straight; being a people person I put more weight on the testimony (experience) aspect. So many gay people just 'know' that they are gay, they 'know' that they are loved by God, my discipline (as a Methodist) says I should:

'Believe evil of no one unless fully proved; take heed how you credit it. Put the best construction you can on everything. You know the judge is always supposed to be on the prisoner’s side.'

- 5th rule of a helper

So my approach is to trust; and leave the judging up to God.

I do say the 'Apostle's Creed' with my fingers uncrossed and I do believe in the coming justice of God - or the day of judgment. I believe with Paul (Romans 14:10-12) that each of us will stand before God and have to account for our actions and perhaps our convictions; I believe that God will judge us thoroughly - knowing our hearts; I'm not sure exactly how that will take place - what it will look or feel like...

I'm not sure how 'But the Bible says..." will stand as an excuse for the way we have treated people on that final day. I think God might say: Bible Shmible; I gave you science, I gave you compassion, I broke open my love for you and all people on the cross, I poured out my Spirit, and you justify your behaviour with the letter of the law! God might point us to the suicides, the depression, the horror our legalism has resulted in and we might just have to defend it.

These are my opinions, not my church's, and maybe they shouldn't be yours, because hey - I won't stand before God on your behalf.

Methodism is Not for Sale - Link

2010-02-13T09:07:00.001+02:00

I like this:

http://methodistpreacher.blogspot.com/2010/02/methodism-is-not-for-sale.html

The problem with Theologians...

2010-02-12T13:48:00.001+02:00

Imagine a dull grey room with a window that looks out into a beautiful garden. The room is filled with religious people.

The religious people spend their days studying this beautiful window.

They marvel at it and all its colours, shapes, and movements. The characters that the window reveals playing in what looks to them like a garden.

They become disciples of the window.

They never notice, or maybe they don't want to notice that next to the window is a closed, but unlocked door.

Only 31 years?

2010-02-09T08:06:00.001+02:00

Saw this add on the M&G, I had to enter my date of birth and have it
worked out for me; 1636 weeks is a lot of sermons, even if you take
away annual leave and the odd rerun...

Oh well - I hope the 1636th one is perfect at last ;)

Books I'm going to read in the next 4-6 months...

2010-02-05T20:51:00.000+02:00

Busy with an Old Testament Block in my MTh; these are the books my prof. chose; I'm going to go to the library and get one of them on Monday; which one should I start with?

An Introduction to the Old Testament - The Canon and Christian Imagination
	Walter Brueggemann Paperback, 434 pages, 2004 Loot price: R297.00 R237.00 - save 20% Free postal delivery on this item

Understanding Old Testament Ethics - Approaches and Explorations
	John Barton Paperback, 240 pages, May 2003 Loot price: R312.00 Free postal delivery on this item

The Old Testament World
	Philip R Davies, John Rogerson Paperback, 250 pages, 2006 Loot price: R290.00 R229.00 - save 21% Free postal delivery on this item

God and World in the Old Testament - A Relational Theology of Creation
	Terence E. Fretheim Paperback, 398 pages, September 2005 Loot price: R301.00 R254.00 - save 16% Free postal delivery on this item

Theologies in the Old Testament
	Erhard S. Gerstenberger Paperback, 358 pages, 2002 Loot price: R345.00 Free postal delivery on this item

Prelude to Israel's Past
	Lemche Paperback, 246 pages, March 1999 Loot price: R248.00 R227.00 - save 8% Free postal delivery on this item

The Ethics of Biblical Interpretation - A Reevaluation
	Daniel Patte Paperback - Trade, 145 pages, June 1995 Loot price: R253.00 Free postal delivery on this item

Interpretation...

2010-02-04T14:43:00.000+02:00

"Interpretation is a hostile act in which interpreter victimizes text" - Mark C Taylor in Deconstruction in Theology

Disciple Course reading material...

2010-02-03T13:10:00.000+02:00

Some of the resources I recommend for those doing the Disciple Course.

Any you think I should add?

Available at www.loot.co.za

Message Bible MP3/E 4D
	Eugene H. Peterson CD - Standard format, September 2008 Loot price: R142.00 R104.00 - save 27% Eligible for free postal delivery on orders over R200

Zondervan NIV Study Bible - Personal Size
	Zondervan Bibles Paperback, 2340 pages, September 2008 Loot price: R270.00 R218.00 - save 19% Free postal delivery on this item

TNIV Study Bible - Personal Size
	Kenneth L. Barker, John H. Stek, Ronald F Youngblood Hardcover, 2469 pages, September 2006 Loot price: R374.00 R296.00 - save 21% Free postal delivery on this item

The Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible
	Charles M. Laymon Hardcover, 1412 pages, October 1983 Loot price: R460.00 R370.00 - save 20% Free postal delivery on this item

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha - Standard Version
	Oxford University Press Hardcover, 2462 pages, April 2007 Loot price: R473.00 R370.00 - save 22% Free postal delivery on this item

New Bible Dictionary
	I. Howard Marshall, et al Hardcover, 1298 pages, October 1996 Loot price: R472.00 R391.00 - save 17% Free postal delivery on this item

Inspired by the Bible Experience: The Complete Bible - Now Including the Complete TNIV Bible Text to Read Along
	Zondervan Bibles CD, November 2008 Loot price: R649.00 R477.00 - save 27% Free postal delivery on this item

The New Interpreter's Study Bible - New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha
	Walter Harrelson Hardcover, 2350 pages, 2003 Loot price: R506.00 R395.00 - save 22% Free postal delivery on this item

New Interpreter's Study Bible - NRSV with Apocrypha
	Walter Harrelson Leather / fine binding, 2600 pages, August 2003 Buy now: R926.00 R705.00 - save 24% Free postal delivery on this item
For all students of the Bible - now in paperback! More than 60 scholars provide background and insight on the text of this valuable study Bible. This study includes: Extensive historical and theological annotation on the biblical text...

The peasants are revolting...

2010-02-03T09:30:00.000+02:00

I'm watching a revolution from my desktop computer.

It's a subtle revolution. An email here, an 'inbox' there (facebook messages). A connection and a link from there to there. A tweet, a retweet, and a message is taken from Paarl, South Africa to New York USA, to London UK - and of course Bombay India.

Slowly rendering the peasants ungovernable / irrepressible.

Those in power have to be absolutely legitimate and transparent - because within five minutes we won't only hear the rumor; we'll see the evidence; expose the rationality; and condemn the 'sinner'. And yes, we will also be swept away by the winds of (the demon) gossip.

So how should the 'powers that be' respond... Well, they better get their act straight, and prove themselves worth following - not just term by term, year by year, but minute by minute and second by second. They also better get connected; legitimately - and learn to use the media that will take them on.

Us revolting peasants are now connected.

And PS... its not just for the rich anymore; the 'poor' are also on facebook - in fact facebooking is cheaper than sending SMSes.

Burning...

2010-01-29T08:56:00.000+02:00

Thanks to Thomas for reflecting on your burnout! Honest and terrifying; I don't want to go there.

But there are times when my body and my mind tell me to stop; slow down; take it easy. Ministry is deceitfully exhausting. Deceitfully; because it seems like the things I do are so exciting I should be energised; but in reality - I get tired. And I don't think I listen to my body and my mind - Thomas reminded me too.

Then I read Luke 6:17-38, it begins with Jesus healing people; what struck me was verse 19:

And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

We often read about 'power coming out of Jesus'; but it struck me that Jesus probably started to feel empty. In the context of that emptiness Jesus pronounces his 'Blessings and Woes':

Blessed are you who are poor...
...who are hungry
...who weep
...when people hate you; exclude you; revile you; defame you...

- Luke 6:20-22 (Greatly abridged)

Us Christian types discover a whole lot of reasons to burn ourselves out and call it Christianity; Jesus seems to give us a mandate to do it. Yet, on the other side he reminds the overburdened to come and rest with him (Matthew 11:28). A much needed reminder to overcome our Messiah complexes and let Jesus share the load.

But I often don't; I often want to do it by myself; I resist asking other people to help; and eventually I will end up empty.

Hopefully I'll manage to find the balance between Luke 6:20-22 and Matthew 11:28; pace myself; another 32 years before I reach mandatory retirement age for Methodist Ministers.

Thanks Thomas for reminding me.

From: 'A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants'

2010-01-27T09:19:00.001+02:00

Suspended for Defying his Boss...

2010-01-26T12:05:00.001+02:00

"Paul Verryn suspended for defying his boss!"

Exactly which boss are you talking about ;) ?

I find the dynamic interesting in Church circles; who is the boss:
Congregation, Minister, God, the Bible, the richest most active member
of the congregation? The Bishop (or Chair Person)

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=30841

Psalm 36:6

2010-01-26T09:45:00.001+02:00

"...you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. " - Psalm 36:6

Just took my Irish Terrier to the vet for a broken claw; but while we
were there an elderly lady with an elderly cat came in and the cat had
to be euthanised. It was really sad to see; her and her husband quite
tearful; I think the husband more for his wife than for the cat.

I wondered if they would speak to their minister about their loss;
share it in their church community - or would it be a pain they bear
on their own.

How should we as a church minister to people when they lose their
pets? Do animals go to 'heaven'?

Any ideas?

More Labels...

2010-01-26T08:18:00.000+02:00

Ken Schenk, Dean of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and Professor of New Testament and Christian Ministry; posted this fun and interesting set of labels...

I follow his blog: http://kenschenck.blogspot.com because he sometimes writes interesting stuff about the New Testament; and about good books about it - the New Testament.

http://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2010/01/comparing-christian-traditions.html

Labelled...

2010-01-25T21:26:00.000+02:00

On the right hand side - in the column, you can see that I struggle to label myself...

Liberalish, Evangelicish Methodist (I wrote a post on what I think of 'Evangelical' here.

I prefer to call myself a Jesus freak or something :)

In any case, Mark Penrith has a matrix on his blog... and on it; I am in a box; along with a lot of other little boxes that others are in. We're in a Methodist box which is pretty big... is that thanks to Dion Forster? How did all of us Methodist's get blogging? Were we inspired by Mr Wesley's constant Journalling, Tract Writing etc... or are Methodists just exhibitionists?

Anyways - there's a smile next to liberalism next to me; and I'm pretty far from dispensationalism; and being Methodist I am an Arminianist. Below the watch list are some definitions of the various labels.

So there I am :)

A watch list sounds a bit like something the CIA or the or Security Police might have and seeing as Mr Penrith wrote a series of posts entitled: The Blogosphere as a Battle Ground for the Truth... You are being watched.

In any case, I like it - a handy set of links to other bloggers in South African blogland; and some idea of where they are coming from (theologically)!

Thanks Mark.

Its funny how the circles we move in redefine things like 'liberalism'. At university I think I'm a conservative; believing in crazy things like God, the Resurrection etc (I'm not the only one - actually the Dominees at Stellenbosch are quite 'conservative'). At church; a flaming liberal (pun intended); and sometimes a bit radical because of my 'Historical Approach' to things like the Bible. (See Mark Goodacre's podcast.) Uggh...

I'm somewhere in the middle; and I'm not that into labels... And I better go to bed.

Homosexuality, The Bible and Ethics - 3: Trusting and Knowing

2010-01-23T12:21:00.000+02:00

Part of this discussion: Homosexuality, the Bible and Ethics

I ended my last post on this topic with this question:

"Does this put me in conflict with Scripture and Christian Ethics? That's the next struggle - how can I reconcile my convictions with my 'beliefs'?"

It looks like this is going to be a longer discussion than I'd first planned... (Have fun thinking aloud with me.)

I feel I didn't phrase the question as well as I should; but I think you should understand the gist of what I am saying. I was also a bit slow to put up the next post because I got so many responses - I realised a lot of people were reading what I'm saying... Thinking out loud is dangerous - so I invite you to 'discern' your own response to what I am thinking out loud.

I think a lot of Christians find themselves in the position I was in over the 'gay' question. Reconciling 'convictions' with 'beliefs'. Perhaps those weren't the right words. By convictions I (sort of) mean - the things we know in our hearts and experience to be true; and by beliefs I (sort of) mean dogma; the things we feel we are expected to believe.

I think lots of Christians live with an unnecessary tension between the reality they live in (convictions) and the faith (beliefs) they think they should have. I think this tension comes from a sort of misunderstanding that centers around the notion of 'salvation by faith'. The perceived threat that if you 'believe' the wrong things you go to hell; and 'believe' the right things; you go to heaven.

We think very differently about things like belief in the twentieth century to the way people thought even two-hundred years ago; how different are we in our understanding to people who lived two-thousand years ago? I think that today we equate 'believing' with 'knowing'. Our category for believing in God slips into the same category as our belief in teapots, cell phones and motor cars.

There is something softer, deeper and more mysterious about belief in God; something more interactional; it is relationship - trusting rather than knowing. It is more about the character of God - than the rules about God.

I like the way Scot McKnight put it at a lecture I attended a while ago, he said that when we reduce the Bible into a set of rules and point form arguments, its as if we're saying to God: "You've given us the wrong sort of book." God gives us stories; but we want facts and rules.

Trusting, comes through grasping the story, rather than knowing - which comes through a list of facts.

This way of seeing is quite foundational to my more liberal stance on some matters of faith. I hope it makes some sense.

Feel free to share your ideas in the comments section - either on the blog or on facebook. You can comment anonymously if you need to.

Poem appropriate to this Sunday's readings... (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

2010-01-22T14:47:00.000+02:00

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

- Teresa of Avilla

Interesting article about reading the Bible...

2010-01-21T16:06:00.000+02:00

How the Early Church Read the Bible | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Interesting article about reading the Bible... check it out

The Old Testament World (2nd)
	Philip R Davies, John Rogerson Paperback, 250 pages, 2006 Loot price: R279.00 R221.00 - save 21%