Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday.
It is the first day of Lent, which marks the beginning of an intentional Christian journey towards Easter.

Lent is intended as 40 days of reflection and spiritual growth. Just like Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, so the ‘desert experience” of Lent invites us to fast/abstain from something. This absence in our lives then acts as a reminder to self examination and prayer.

Why am I telling you all of this? I think that this ancient tradition offers us a spiritual tool to take apart our lustful culture. We live in an acquisitive culture that seeks to persuade us that we deserve all those things that we think bring us pleasure: food, possessions, toys, comfort and flattery. Lent is the spiritual opportunity to say “NO” to this cultural seduction. It is the moment to be reminded that true contentment is not found in serving the demands of our lusts. As we choose to do without something, we are offered an opportunity to discover the richness of simplicity. We are also offered an opportunity to share (in a very small way) in the struggle of those who do not have all the opportunities that we do.

So allow me to encourage you to use Lent 2009. You won’t be less of a person for not participating in Lent. It’s really not about Lent - it’s about resisting the cultural invasion of our souls. Whether you feel you need to give something up for Lent or not, take a moment to do some of your own soul-searching and repentance.

Pray:
* That the greedy rulers of Zimbabwe become compassionate.
* That the greedy leaders of South Africa become generous.
* That the greedy thoughts of our hearts become kinder.

Spreading her Wings

She is the other side of the world.
Lisa, my oldest daughter, graduated from UCT at the end of 2008. She has now 'taken the gap' and finds herself in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This required initiative in getting herself there, finding accomodation and work, and negotiating her way through all the red tape of passports and visas and banks. I believe that it is the task of parents to help our children develop their own independence. But I am finding it hard to imagine 'my little girl' driving in a foreign land, organising her own finances, and sorting out her own values and norms. Lisa has growed up!

And I am proud of her.

celebrating 300

So this is my 300th Blog posting. What began as a place for my thoughts to be stored has morphed into a place to express frustration, share joy, offer opinions, and generally get stuff out of my system. I am also amazed at how many people have popped in for a visit. And I am blessed with the many friendships that have come via the blogosphere.

I am grateful to people like Denise for her wonderfully rich writing; to Wessel and Dion for their inquiring minds; to two student ministers: Jenny H and Jen T for their enthusiams for the Gospel of Jesus; and to David and Steve for their skill in asking the difficult questions of life.

There are many more wonderful places out there. I found the following comment on the greed embedded in our market driven economy at asbojesus. This site is worth a visit:

I believe in Greed, the Market Almighty,
the creator of Money,
and in the Profiteer,
His only Son our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Capitalist,
born of the free market economy,
suffered under His own pompous piracy,
crucified himself, died and was buried.

We descended into Recession.

The third day he rose again from the dead.

He ascended into profit
and sits at the right hand of Greed the Market Almighty,
whence he shall come to fleece the living and the dead.
I believe in the holy catholic bank, the communion
of bankers, the covering of their sins, the resurrection
of the economy, and riches everlasting.

found at asbojesus.

...taking only what you need....

In the light of this week's budget speech of South Africa's Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel.
And of the stimulous plan of American President Obama:


"If one had taken what is necessary to cover one's needs and had left the rest to those who are in need, no one would be rich, no one would be poor, no one would be in need."

- Saint Basil,
fourth century theologian and monastic

Thank you

I had a great weekend:
Saturday morning was spent with the extended family: we had a late breakfast for 12 of us. This included my sister and her children, and my parents. It was great to have time to talk, without the pressure of time. Plenty of laughter and joy in being a family.

Saturday afternoon I met up with congregation members from a previous church. They came to tea, and I enjoyed catching up on the friendship. It did not matter that 8 years have passed, or that they are much older than us – it was great to see them.

The two Sunday morning Church services were a joy. I worshipped with kind, generous people who laughed at my jokes, welcomed strangers amongst us, and were able to share one another’s joys and struggles. They were patient with Audrey, while she spoke about struggling to understand banking (she was supposed to encourage people to place a stop order on their accounts in favour of the church). They loved dear cerebral-palsied Jenny through her spasms. They were kind to someone who recently faced a family suicide. And they were accepting of our Zimbabwean guests.

I shared Sunday lunch with my colleagues in this circuit. They and their families came together over lunch and we laughed and relaxed in our mutual respect and friendship. And I treasure their care and support.

I led worship at the church of a colleague in the next door circuit. I am helping Kevin to rebuild the evening worship team (who were destroyed when the previous leader threw a tantrum and walked out along with the team members). It was a very hot evening – but “cool worship”. And I count myself privileged to be welcomed into their church.

Then the family got together to play 60 seconds and eat pudding. Lisa leaves for the USA tomorrow for 6 months. So we decided to spend the evening together. Mainly laughed at each other’s attempts to describe things unknown, and enjoyed to moment of being a family.

The photograph is of my wife Jenny and me.

I count myself greatly privileged.... immensely wealthy ..... deeply joyful.

The Ship is Sinking

The Church is falling apart.
There are factions that each try to get their own way. Different groups think that they are right and say that others are wrong. Each side has strong leaders who use our faith as a weapon. And the different groups sing, pray and claim Jesus’ blessing for their cause.

Oh – do you think I am describing your church? No, I am referring the Christians of Acts Chapter 15.
Act 15:1 Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." ........Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them.....
Act 15:39 The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.
Here is the “body of Christ” divided by dogma, and culture, and history, and ideology. Factions strive for control, and use church rules to retain power. And there is very little trust in one another.

Which feels a lot like the Christian Church I experience today. We Christians are completely divided over issues like homosexuality, women Bishops, interpreting the Bible and methods of sharing human wealth. We hold synods and conferences as platforms to advance our agendas. And we convene pressure groups and garner votes. And we all claim to follow Jesus. The ship is sinking under the weight of our politics and desires. And it seems to me that the church has always been sinking – ever since the beginning.

I want to abandon this ship before it sinks. I do not trust the captains of this ship – Bishops and National Christian Leaders are the bane of my life. They have ulterior motives to their platitudes, and little interest in my struggles as a church pastor. It is as if the process of moving from local church leadership to regional leadership transforms decent Jesus-followers into followers of their own darker selves. I also have no faith in the direction of Church Conferences/Synods/Conventions/Gatherings. The stirring statements and the carefully corrected doctrinal positions of the national and inter-national church are the product of pressure groups and caucuses. A strategic use of meeting protocol will get an astute person almost any desired outcome.

There are some who say “The church is not great – but it is the best option there is”. Well I disagree. There are better organisations that the church – organisations that offer unconditional comfort, love and care to broken people in ways that the church has yet to learn. The church is floundering on the rocks with very little to offer our world.

This said, I am committed to this ecclesiastical ship. This has nothing to do with its ability to float. I know that this ship will not save me. I do not stay because I have faith in the organisation. I stay because I have faith in God. It is the call of God that keeps me here. I experience this as a deep, abiding knowledge that this is where I should be. I experience this in the accountability to friends and colleagues who I trust. I experience this in serving the people given to me by God.

In staying, I have discovered a deep joy in serving a local congregation.
I have experienced awe and wonder in the faith of anonymous people who follow Jesus with honesty and integrity. I have been encouraged by people who turn up week by week to share a faith expressed in the symbols of bread and wine, to share communal worship, and even to listen to my reflections on faith and scripture. I am humbled by their willingness to love me in all my imperfections. I am encouraged by their stories of struggle and joy. I am all too aware that my own faltering faith is kept alive by the wonderful people who choose to meet me each week.
And I am grateful that God has called me.

This is a calling that holds me on the crumbling deck.
This is a calling that will not allow me to jump ship.
So I stay.
And I fight fires.
And I trim the sails.
And I plug leaking holes.
And I encourage fellow sailors.
And I will do this until God tells me to stop.


Postscript:
1. You can see that I write from within a large denominational church. I have no clue what it feels like to be in an independent/congregational model of church.
2. You will also understand that I am not planning to leave this church.

Road Trip

I am on a road trip with my daughter Lisa. We loaded up my trusty GS11.50 and headed for Rooi Els, via Gordon's Bay. The menu at the pub said 'bikers breakfast' and we took it. The photograph is of Lisa looking back at the route we have taken from Cape Town. We continued along the coast through Hermanus, turning inland at Stanford. Tonight we sleep at Swellendam. It is a joy to be able to share such amazingly beautiful country with Lisa. It is also a privilege to have time together to talk, remember the past, dream of the future, and fix the world. I treasure our friendship.

A Bike Day

There was a baker, a builder, a bass guitar player and four more of us.


We all come from different backgrounds, different histories, and a variety of perspectives on life. But the one thing we have in common is a love of motorcycles. So we mounted our bikes at 10 this morning for a ride.

Other people play golf on a Wednesday. We ride bikes. In fact we ride bikes on the other days too – but today we rode together......
And headed up the West Coast Road, turning off to Darling for coffee at Evita se Perron. Then on through Malmesbury to Riebeeck Kasteel for a long leisurely lunch. Followed by a quick-ish trip through Wellington, Stellenbosh and back to Cape Town.


A great ride through fantastically beautiful country. And a wonderful opportunity to meet new strangers who very quickly became familiar friends.
All it takes is two wheels and an engine.

Blessings

If the world were a village of only 100 people:
• 80 would live in substandard housing.
• 67 adults live in the village; and half of them would be illiterate.
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition.
• 33 would not have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• 24 people would not have any electricity.
• Of the 76 that do have electricity, most would use it only for light at night.
• In the village would be 42 radios, 24 televisions, 14 telephones, and 7 computers (some villagers own more than one of each).
• 7 people would own an automobile (some of them more than one).
• 5 people would possess 32% of the entire village’s wealth, and these would all be from the USA.
• The poorest one-third of the people would receive only 3% of the income of the village.
Therefore:
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If
you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish,
you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the
world who has that opportunity.

http://www.miniature-earth.com/

The “State of the Village Report,” originally published by Dartmouth professor Donella Meadows in 1990, was used to calculate the statistics which many of us have seen in the form of an email titled "Village of 100." If the world’s population were reduced to 100 people, what would our global village look like? Since 1990, Ms. Meadows’ research has been circulated through millions of email inboxes and shared in thousands of classrooms, mine included. The updated version published by the Miniature Earth Project includes recent population statistics from the UN and the Population Reference Bureau.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama has my prayers – and sympathy.

President Obama has been elected by voters who anticipate change.... and lots of it. He also has support from people around the world who long for a different experience of Americans. But the reality is that any change he brings will only be as effective as the myriads of civil servants who have to put it into practice. All governing systems have people within it who benefit from the status quo. These are the people who found ways to profit from the governance of George Bush. And these are the people who will resist President Obama.

Let us pray for President Obama: that he has the wisdom to know how best to move the levers of power. And let us pray for God to soften the hardened hearts of those who have no wish to change. And let us pray for the United States of America – that this nation will choose to be less arrogant and become more sensitive to those who struggle in life.

Are You Going to Finish Strong?

I have seen too much bullshit.
And so I am often a cynical, life-hardened, grizzled old bugger. But I have just seen a video clip that blows me away:

Nick Vujicic has no arms or legs but has come to terms with his life. And he delivers an inspirational speech to school kids that they will probably never forget. Go to http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html



I refuse to complain about my life ever, ever, again.

Marriage in Africa

I am at a wonderful wedding at Spier called Moyo. This is a venue that seeks to bring an African theme to the evening. The afternoon began with drumming and ululating women who escorted the bride to the guests. After the vows we were danced out by the drummers. And later a praise singer opened the feast while our faces were painted in traditional style. I am privileged to live in such a wonderful part of the world.

Gaza

For those who have been following the terrible pain of the Gaza Strip:
This past week Israel dropped one hundred tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip. They demolished government buildings, mosques, a university, a United Nations School, hundreds of homes. In the process they extinguished many lives — most of them ordinary men, women and children who are penned up inside this ghetto .

Alex Awad, dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College, notes that “There is no doubt that the Qassam rockets launched against the western Negev and Ashkelon by Islamic militants linked to Hamas cause great pain and anxiety for many Israelis. Most people agree that Israel, like any other country, has the right to defend itself from outside attacks. However, when it comes to dealing with its enemies, Israel has a pattern of being extreme. “An eye for an eye” does not satisfy. It has to be more like one hundred eyes for one eye and one hundred teeth for one tooth”.

Mahatma Gandhi once said that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. This cycle of violence has blinded everyone. And somewhere, someone needs to soften their hearts. I came across Sarit Hadad singing Shema’ Israel — the title recalls the ancient words of the daily foundational prayer, the Shema’ (Dt 6:4) — When the heart shuts up, every breath cries out, make it stop...

When the heart is crying, time stops moving
in an inkling a man sees his whole life pass
to the unknown he does not want to go
to his God he calls, on the edge of the abyss

Hear Israel, my God, you can do all
you gave me my life, you gave me all
in my eyes a tear, silently the heart cries
when the heart shuts up, one’s breath cries out

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort,
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger,
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears,
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their
pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness,
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor

Amen.

This poem is a Franciscan Benediction found in Phillip Yancey's book "Prayer".

O Come...

O come, all ye faithless, beat up, and defeated
Come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold him, born the Friend of Sinners
O come, let us adore him
O come, let us adore him
O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord

Sing, choirs of vagrants, sing for inspiration
Sing, all ye citizens on earth below,
Glory to God, giving us new courage
O come, let us adore him O come, let us adore him
O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord

Yea Lord, we greet Thee
born to bring us joy
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given
Hope for the Hopeless, now in flesh appearing
O come, let us adore him
O come, let us adore him O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord

- adapted by J. Barrett Lee, and readapted by P. Grassow

No Sex Please – It’s Christmas

Virginity was not always a Christian virtue.
And neither was Mary always a virgin.

The concept of virginity is older than Christianity. People believed in female virgin gods who protected wildlife, the harvest and natural woodlands. The virginity of the Vestal Virgins was thought to bring luck to the Roman populace. Occasionally, virgins were sacrificed as especially potent offerings (seven male and seven female virgins to the Cretan Minotaur, Iphigenia). Somehow human beings linked the absence of sexual activity with spiritual purity.

And then came Christianity. And idea of purity was indelibly linked to spiritual purity through the ultimate Virgin - Mary the mother of Jesus. The argument went something like this: the Lord and Saviour of all could not have come from an ordinary mother. She needed to be spiritually pure. And so Christianity borrowed from the Graeco/Roman concepts of virginal purity and suggested that Mary remained a virgin. This was a virginity before becoming mother to Jesus, and forever afterwards. (And some would add even during giving birth to Jesus.)

Why would a lack of sexual experience render anyone pure? One can be a glutton, or a covetous egotist, or an emotionally manipulative schemer, but your virginity guarantees your spiritual purity. Or does it mean that if you are a virgin then these sins will never enter your life?

And so Christmas rolls around – and people venerate Mary for remaining a “Virgin most pure” and fuck themselves silly at office parties and New Year binges. Like the ancient Romans, we want virgins for good luck – just as long as that virgin is not me!

(The photograph is taken by Margolove and is posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/margolove/2072512680/)

Nakedpastor

For those who asked me about the drawing of Jesus with two weeks to go - it is done by David Hayward, who describes himself as "an artist trapped inside a pastor’s body". Go and check him out here.

Defending a Woman's Integrity

She was an unmarried pregnant girl. Probably fifteen or sixteen years old. To complicate matters she was engaged to be married, but her fiancée was not the father of her baby. To make matters worse she lived in a rural village that was bound by years of religious tradition that expected girls like her to be stoned to death.

Read more about this in Matthew 1: 18-25.

This is a common story that still ranges across the communities of our world.
• 4 May 2007: Du’a Khalil Aswad was beaten, kicked and stoned for 30 minutes at the hands of a lynch mob before one of her attackers launched a carefully aimed fatal blow. The murder was carried out in public, watched by hundreds of men cheering and yelling. Du’a’s crime? To fall in love with a Sunni boy. Her family practised the Yezidi religion
• Tehran, 5 Feb 08: Two sisters have been sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for allegedly committing adultery. Lawyer for the sisters, Jabbar Solati, said they faced the death penalty after a previous sentence of 99 lashes had been carried out. The two sisters, Azar and Zohreh Kabiri, 27 and 28 years-old respectively come from the suburb of Shahriar, north of Tehran. Both are accused of an extra-marital affair and each has one child.
• Tehran, 18 Feb. 08: A man known as Sharif has reportedly stoned his fourteen-year-old daughter to death in southeastern Iran because for allegedly having a relationship with a man.
• On 28 October 2008 Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, 13, was killed by 50 Somali men who stoned her in a stadium in Kismayu in front of about 1,000 spectators.

Each of these situations is about men who are more powerful than women. And each required a man to stand up and defend the woman. This week in our church life we remember such a man: he was Joseph of Nazareth. He took the pregnant woman as his wife and defended her honour (Matt 1:24). And Mary gave birth to Jesus – and the rest is history! If more men were willing to defend women against men, we would have the possibility of a better society. Let us all learn from the example of Joseph.

Plenty of Potential

This week we hosted 150 children and 34 leaders.

My church runs a holiday club in the first week of the December school holidays. This is a free public service to our community, which is intended to assist parents who do not know what to do with their children while they go to work. The children are with us from 8:30 – 1:00 every day and are kept occupied with songs, crafts, games and a teaching component (2008 theme was accepting one another – in the light of the Xenophobia of this year).

It is an awesome privilege to work with both the children, and the holiday club leaders. I see this as an opportunity to show love to children, many of whom come from homes where parents are stressed, or absent. It is also an opportunity to develop leadership skills. The leaders are mostly in High School, with the senior leaders being University Students.

We have done this for 31 consecutive years – and now we are getting the children of parents who themselves were in holiday club. These parents have gone on to live full and interesting lives – often in other parts of the world. And I want to believe that we have had a part in uncovering the gifts God has given them, and encouraging them to trust God’s love for themselves.

I am extremely proud of the dedication of the leaders, who run the week with no thought of their own comfort or needs. They are the heroes of this week.

The Second Advent

The depletion of a contemporary recognition of the radically political character of Advent is in large measure occasioned by the illiteracy of church folk about the Second Advent and, in the mainline churches, the persistent quietism of pastors, preachers, and teachers about the Second Coming. That topic has been allowed to be preempted and usurped by astrologers, sectarian quacks, and multifarious hucksters. Yet it is impossible to apprehend either Advent except through the relationship of both Advents.

-William Stringfellow

Proud Dad

There are moments to brag - and today is one of them.
Because my daughter Lisa graduated today, with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cape Town.

Over the past few years she has struggled with a hormonal disorder that drained all her energy. She often struggled to concentrate, and even more often needed to sleep when she got back from her lectures. But she persevered. And I am proud of her persistence.

A Cup of Tea

Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our hearts,
our world, our universe.
Peace, peace, peace.
- Satish Kumar



Satish Kumar is an Indian, currently living in England, who has been a Jain monk and a nuclear disarmament advocate. In 1962 Satish Kumar and a companion undertook a peace walk from India to the four corners of the nuclear world: Moscow, Paris, London and the U.S. They decided to carry no money on their trip, which they called it a 'Pilgrimage for peace'.

While on their way to Moscow they met two women outside a tea factory. After explaining what they were doing one of the women gave them four tea bags, one to be delivered to each of the leaders of the four nuclear powers and to also deliver a message, “when you think you need to press the button, stop for a minute and have a fresh cup of tea”. This further inspired their journey and became in part the reason for it. They eventually delivered the 'peace tea' to the leaders of 4 of the nuclear powers.

He is the guiding spirit behind a number of ecological, spiritual and educational ventures in Britain. Satish teaches, lectures and runs workshops internationally on reverential ecology, holistic education and voluntary simplicity.

remember

Toy Run 08

They came in their thousands
• 8 000 motorbikes
• 24 000 toys
• And countless thousands of spectators lining the route and filling Maynardville showgrounds.

Today was Cape Town’s annual Charity Toy Run (the Teddy Bear Run). I proudly stuck my blond little cutie doll on the front of the bike; my brunette little cutie climbed on the back of the bike and we joined thousands of bikes on the M5 highway.

It was a spectacle of biking: everyone who owned two wheels was there: along with the thundering Harleys and the engine popping Yammies and Suzies, were chemist delivery bikes, schoolboys on 125’s; ancient scooters put-putting at 60kph; a one armed rider, and chrome and rubber and noise. Everyone was a hero for the day. Everyone carried a toy, which was delivered at Maynardville for Christmas presents. And Everyone shared in a happy moment that was community life in Cape Town.

And I loved every moment of it.

Sharing Our Blessings

United States President-elect Barack Obama was asked in an interview with Barbara Walters of ABC News if U.S. banking executives should forgo large bonuses. He replied:
“I think they should. That's an example of taking responsibility. I think that if you are already worth tens of millions of dollars, and you are having to lay off workers, the least you can do is say, 'I'm willing to make some sacrifice as well, because I recognize that there are people who are a lot less well off, who are going through some pretty tough times.’"

Perhaps we all can decide that Christmas is not the moment for getting, but instead an opportunity for giving. There are many people in desperate conditions this Christmas: For example an outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe has killed 300 people. Thousands of people are fleeing across the border with sick relatives to South Africa for treatment. Health workers in Zimbabwe and South Africa see this situation as a national disaster.

Perhaps you and I can find ways of finding someone who is not experiencing Christmas-time as a blessing. And we can make some sacrifice to help someone else so that they can find joy in this season.

Will You Go.....?

“Will you go where you are sent?”

This question is asked of every Methodist Minister when we candidate for the ministry of this church. And we all say “yes” – because if we do not then we will not be accepted! Of course we do not admit this at the time, saying instead that we really want to serve Jesus and will trust that “God knows best for my life”. But as the years pass this question is not as simple to answer as it might have been at candidature.

This is because we have other obligations that demand responsible choices of us. For example: Is my promise to go where the church sends me greater than my marriage promise to honour my wife in her choices of career, or housing preferences? I also have discoved that there are dark and devious places in this church to which I have given my life: the kind of dark places that will move me to solve other people’s political agendas, or to fill a gap caused by someone else’s mistakes. And so I am drawn into taking responsibility for my assent to the places the church wants to move me. “Will you go” continues to be a question that haunts each of us who work for this church.

After 30 years working for this church, I was again asked this question. My church leadership wanted someone to move immediately to Pretoria to take up a training post. I knew that I would go alone because my wife has a deeply fulfilling job here in Cape Town, and my children are committed to studies at the University of Cape Town. I knew too that I am not free to immediately abandon the congregation that I am serving. I tried suggesting that the job could be done from Cape Town, but the leadership disagreed.

So I did not get the job... mainly because I was given the privilege of being free to choose. And I realise that the tension between freedom of choice and the consequences of my choices will always be with me. And I continue to trust that my life has significance in the dreams of God.

Bikers

There were five bikes in a row ... an even split between Dakars and GS 650’s and right at the end a classic thumper: an XT 500. And on the stoep of the restaurant were their owners tucking in to a traditional breakfast of sausage, eggs and bacon.

I left Port Elizabeth at 6am, scampering through a drizzle all the way down the Garden Route. It only stopped raining at Plettenberg Bay, where I stopped to refuel, before pushing on to Albertinia. Which is where I found this posse of bikers. They were returning from a bike rally in Heidelberg, 80 km down the road. They were a group of older guys (yes... I know “Like me”) who had thinning hair and age-lined faces. They were not trying to be “heavy bikers” – in fact one of them was wearing a floppy gardening hat, while another wore a flimsy jacket from Macro. And their conversation went something like this:
“Thanks for waiting for me guys”
“Well that’s what we do”
“When I go over 100kph the front wheel begins to drift”
“That’s because your thumper can’t go any faster”
“Well I didn’t know what to do – so I just moered on”
“No broer – you just throttle back and the compression will pull you right”

And I treasured this moment: this was not about bragging who had the best wheels, or who could do the best wheelie. These men were respectful of their friendship; they hung together; they were brother bikers – and when they pulled off they surrounded the XT 500 and ensured that he was part of the group.

Going up a Hill

The ride from Port Elizabeth to Grahamstown took me from the sea crashing alongside the road up into mist shrouded hills that dripped tiny water droplets down my neck. The road has some wonderful sweeping corners, and more than enough undulating hills that invite a biker to twist the right wrist wide open This monastery is just outside Grajamstown, where I will spend the next 4 days in silence. Well not totally silent, because I will join the monks in their regular cycle of prayer through the day. .

Chrismas requests

Today I managed to sort out my Christmas wish list. Father Christmas was visiting the local Port Elizabeth mall and we agreed on the important items: I really need some stuff - like wisdom in knowing when to offer my daughters advice and when to trust their judgement and keep my mouth shut; and stuff like big ears to listen more carefully to my wife before forming an opinion; and stuff like many hours of patience with the WP rugby team and the Stormers Tri-nations team - oh yes, also a few stocking fillers like a laptop, and a Garmin GPS, and a new pickup for my 12 string guitar..... nothing complicated really. And I thanked His Red Whiskership for his help and wished him well over the next month of listening to lust and desire. Who knows - perhaps somewhere we might look past our acquisative impulses and ask for an encounter with the Christ who inspired the season.

Waiting

Today I flew from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg and back. And i seemed to spend so much time just waiting. I was summonsed by head office to interview for a job, which exposes the tension between being pastor to a local church and being at the disposal of my Bishop. I am committed to my local congregation for three more years, but the Bishops of the church can give me other work too. But today the work was in the waiting. I waited an hour to board the aircraft. I flew for 90 minutes. I waited 90 minutes to be collected in Johannesburg. I waited an hour after the interview for a lift back to the airport. And now that my flight has been delayed I will have waited 3 hours to catch the 90 minute flight bck to PE. Today I have learned two things: the vast majority of my fellow citizens wait patiently every day for transport, while I am amongst the fortunate few who does not wait because I own private transport. Secondly, if I get given this new responsibility I will get a laptop to cope with airports.

Downhill all the Way

Uniondale was the result of two villages (each centred around a Dutch Reformed Church) combining into one town. Sadly there are still two Dutch Reformed Churches, divided racially. The coloured Dominee was recently invited to preach in the 'other' church and members walked out to begin their own racially pure church. The trip from Uniondale was an easy 3 hour run. I encountered mist and rain, but the riding was an easy downhill run. One of the joys of being on a motorcycle is the immediacy of the environment to the senses. The wet earth leaves a rich loamy air. At Kareedouw I noted the pungent smell of tarred log poles. And passing Jeffries Bay brought the tangy salt air of this world renowned surfing heaven. I am now in Port Elizabeth ... This photograph is of my bike ioutside the Westering Methodist Church where my friend (and colleague) Charmaine is the minister.

Wet and Wild

I am in Uniondale. And this guesthouse, run by Sue, is exactly what I need so that I can recover from a day of gusting winds and continuous rain. Riding over DuToits Kloof Pass was made interesting by the tree branches littering the road (on principle no biker goes through the tunnle because we get charged the same as a car and trailer). I crossed the bridge at the entrance to Montagu with water just easing over the edge onto the road. The traffic authorities closed the road soon after this. Lunch at the Country Pumpkin in Barrydale is obligatory because the owner personally welcomes bikers, offering a tot of Old Brown and ensuring that each biker leaves with a Route 62 metal badge.

Road Trip

Tomorrow I get on my BMW 11:50 GS and head west out of Cape Town.
It will be raining so I will be wearing rain gear over my bike jacket, leather pants and bike boots.
And I will feel great.
Because I will be on leave for two weeks.

From Cape Town through Robertson and up Route 62 to Port Elizabeth. And to Grahamstown. And home along the Garden Route.

I will spend some time with my friend and colleague Charmaine. And I will spend some time praying in a Benedictine Monastery. And in between I will be riding my motorcycle.

I will keep you posted.

Breakfast with Jacob Zuma

I am eating breakfast with Jacob Zuma.... and anorher hundred or so people. The Cape Town Press Club has invited the ANC President to speak. And I am curious. I do not agree with Jacob Zuma and dislike his personal moraliry. But he is a powerful politician who profoundly affects our country. He is a charming man with a sense of humour and a lovely chuckle. He is good at responding warmly to hostile questions. And like any good politician he avoids answering difficult questions by offering pleasantaries and a smile. I still do not agree with Jacob Zuma, but I will admit that he is wonderfully warm and friendly.

Later:
I am back home, and on reflection I am deeply uncomfortable with Jacob Zuma: He is good at reading his audience and keeping them happy. But he would not answer the questions that really matterted:
* Should he not reploy Thabo Mbeki away from mediating in Zimbabwe? he said that it was up to SADEC to deal with Zimbabwe, and that the ANC could not take a position on this matter.
* Should he not stop singing Umshini wam? He agreed that we must oppose any political violence and teach the young people to live peacefully - while ignoring the question
* Should he not silence Julius Malema? Zuma said that Malema is like any other hot headed young man who will mature with time. "Even Nelson Mandela was hot headed as a young man". But he did not say that he opposed Malema's utterances.
* Would is not be good to keep the current President of South Africa in office for a five year term for the sake of stasbility? Zuma replied that he had no opinion on this because he was the servant of the ANC.

Personally, I do not want someone who keeps us warm and fuzzy - I want a leader who is willing to stand up and give an opinion. And Jacob Zuma did not do this.

Running

I used to be a runner.

In fact I have run lots (and lots) of very long road races, many more 21km races, and countless 10km races as training runs. But I have stopped running. As I wonder why, I realise that it is because I have achieved all the goals I set for myself: I built a clock out of the 12 medals from the 90km Comrades Marathon; I got my double blue number for the 56km Two Oceans (more than 20 races); I ran a sub three hour marathon, a 94 minute 21km, and a 40 minute 10km race. And so I ran out of motivation to run.

Now my legs are tired, my knees are sore, I am 15kg heavier, and I am grumpy.
So I have decided to run the Two Oceans Half marathon (21km). This asks me to begin from scratch. I have not run since the middle of March. And I am asking you to help me:

For those who believe that God is the great Rule Giver: please send me messages from time to time reminding me that my salvation depends on me reading running books every day, and running regularly, and donating 10% of my time to the road, and confessing each moment when I failed to meet my training targets. You can add a rebuke such as: “You need to reform your life”, or “You are backrunning (aka ‘backsliding’), or “You will not be part of the crowd on the Great day of Reckoning.

For those who believe God to be Grace and Love and Peace: please send me messages that encourage me to see benefit in my suffering, and to discover that I am accepted on the road ‘just as I am’, and that all are welcome to run – even someone who has lost the faith as badly as me – and that I must run with determination because that great cloud of witnesses is waiting for me.

For those who look instead to the power of books, please send me messages that ask me to pursue “the Road Less Travelled”, and discover the “Long Road to Freedom”, and take “the Long Way Round”.

Just do not tell me that I am fat, and old, and lazy.

...Thy Kindom Come...

You are a Christian only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in ... so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep saying that a new world is yet to come.
- Henri Nouwen

Never Again

I will not travel this road again. For the past seven yearsI have driven the road from my home to the school every school day - twice. Today is my youngest daughter's Valedictory. Amy has completed her formal schooling, except for her final examinations. I am watching her with pride as she is awarded a music prize and honours for academic achievement. And my mind remembers her desperation not to be late for school [she never was], her quiet glare when I was late fetching her [I often was], her group of five good friends who hung together through the high school years, her outrage when she saw injustice... Oh the memories are sweet. I am proud of this little girl who has grown into a dignified young woman. And I know that I will never travel this road again.

Diversity seeking Unity

I have spent the last three days at a meeting of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. We are trying to define a response for the MCSA to the Civil Unions of Gay\Lesbian Christians. This has identified two deeply held convictions that asks for mutual respect and understanding. It is hard to eat\talk\pray\sing with someone who believes something diametrically opposed to my own views. But I am convinced that following Jesus will always ask us to travel together with people who are 'not like me'. And it is in this encounter that we find opportunity for growth. Brian Jennings puts it this way: 'When we stand at the foot of the Cross we leave our differences up to Jesus'.

Discipleship

Discipleship is not limited to what you can understand – it must transcend all comprehension. Plunge into the deep waters beyond your own understanding, and I will help you to comprehend.

Bewilderment is the true comprehension. Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. In this way Abraham went forth from his father, not knowing where he was going. That is the way of the cross. You cannot find it in yourself, so you must let me lead you as though you were a blind man.

Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is contrary to all that you choose or contrive or desire – that is the road you must take. It is to this path that I call you, and in this sense that you must be my disciple.


Martin Luther (1483-1546), quoted in Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "The Cost of Discipleship."

A New Jerusalem

Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished. 2 And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband

We all have moments when we struggle with the way things are – and long for things to change: for example we have prayed for a renewed Zimbabwe; we long for better political leadership in our country; we seek new ways of managing international finance; and many of us want better physical and emotional health. As with the words of Revelation 21 vs 1 & 2: we wish to the first heaven and earth to disappear and for the New Jerusalem to become a reality.

But this is often a longing for that looks backwards – to the days when we imagine that things were simpler, and presumably better. We want a “Garden of Eden” that is less complicated than our present lives. But the image offered by Revelation looks forward and not back. It looks forward to a City, and not back to a Garden. It suggests an image of God being with us in the complexity, messiness and confusion of the city.

The Good News of our faith is that God is not “somewhere else” where life is tranquil and uncluttered. God is with us in the complications, the pressures and the disorganisation that is our life here on earth. And God “comes down out of heaven” to be with us. And God works alongside us like a husband with a bride in renewing the earth. God works in partnership with human beings as we struggle to find a just and equitable financial system for our world; God assists us as we work for a new South Africa; And God is in our homes as we build relationships with family and friends. Let us celebrate the unfolding new Jerusalem/ the new Earth with us in 2008.

Morality and the World's Resources

Feeling that morality has nothing to do with the way you use the resources of the world is an idea that can’t persist much longer. If it does, then we won’t.
- Barbara Kingsolver (Backtalk)

Roy

Roy died a week ago. And I find it hard to accept. He has been a friend for the past 21 years. He baptised my daughter Amy, and 16 years later he laid hands on her and confirmed her faith in Jesus. He helped me understand ministry in a Coloured culture. He told wonderfully crafted stories of his experiences in Namaqualand and Namibia. And he loved nothing better than bragging about his grandchildren. Roy - Thank you for enriching my life.

You Inspire Me

This is Jenny. She is very, very bright. But she has cerebral palsy, which means that she finds herself trapped in a body that does not listen to the instructions of her brain. She has muscle spasms and spends her day in a wheelchair. Jenny lives with her parents: her Mom is being crushed by emphysema and her Dad is slowly fading away from Alzheimer's disease. So the roles have reversed and Jenny now cares for her parents. Yet she gets up each morning and gets on with her day. She has a wicked sense of humour and a delightfulyl subversive desire to undermine stereotypes about people who are differently abled. So when I have moments when I am tempted to feel sorry for myself I am inspired by Jenny. She prevents my self pity. Thank you Jenny.

The Hotel

This is the oldest colonial hotel in South Africa. Built in 1862. it is in the main road of Riebeek Kasteel, and unsurprisingly is called the Royal Hotel. Royalty is long gone and today the farmers are in the pub and their bakkies are parked outside.

The Fireman's home

Tulbach is typical of many South African villages - it boasts a Church Street. The thing that sets this town apart is that its Church Street consists entirely of restored houses from the Cape Dutch period. This is a picture of the home of the fire chief of two hundred and fifty years ago. This was the era of water furrows alongside the roads and thatched roofed homes. The task of the firechief was to ensure that water always flowed in the furrows, that the chimneys of the homes were clean, and that nobody smoked a pipe in the street. I suspect that it is far more complicated today.

Riebeek K

On 3 February 1661 a party of Dutch explorers discovered a fertile valley that they named Riebeek Valley, in honour of their commanding officer. Here they established an outpost for the Dutch East India Company's needs. In time this became Riebeek Kasteel, a Swartland town that produced two South African Prime Ministers: Jan Smuts and DF Malan. I am here for the weekend, along with Jenny and her mom. We are staying in the Kasteelberg Country inn to celebrate Granny's 84th birthday.

What a Week!

Whew! So much has happened in South Africa in the past 10 days: The financial markets are like a rollercoaster; South Africa has a new President; and we have lost many of our national political leaders.

I believe it is important that we must not just accept the world as it happens around us: we need to question, and probe, and wonder what God’s opinion might be. So let me offer some of my own thoughts. I believe that much of what we have seen is fuelled by un-Godly motives:

1. South Africa has lost political leaders. No one ever thought that they were perfect, because they all had both strengths and weaknesses. What disturbs me is the way in which they left us. There is a spirit of vengeance in our country’s dominant political party. The determination to remove President Mbeki in a way that humiliated him can only be viewed as revenge by those who support Jacob Zuma. And no doubt many cabinet ministers felt the cold chill of this retribution too. This is not the way of God! Godly people do not put the knife into the back of a political comrade. Godly people can differ in opinion, but would always seek to respect the dignity of another person. “Vengeance in mine... says the Lord” (Romans 12:19) reminds us not to play God in another person’s life by exacting revenge.

2. We have seen lots of money change hands on the markets – banks have closed, building societies and banks have been bought out by the US Government, and many people have lost their work. This because of a combination of factors: people have taken loans that they cannot afford; the bonuses of many business leaders depend on companies profiting off people spending more than they have; and still to come is the crash of the credit card industry. We in South Africa are not immune to this. We want stuff that we cannot afford, and so buy on credit, and from house bonds, and from micro-lenders. We want immediate satisfaction and will not wait to get it. There is a name for this in the Bible: it is called “Greed”. Greed is not God’s way for our lives. We are to “put to death... greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5) Let us learn to live with less, and trust God for our needs.

Pray for our land – and our world - to learn and practice God’s values.

Today, the same Christ is in people who are unwanted, unemployed, uncared for, hungry, naked, and homeless. They seem useless to the state and to society; nobody has time for them. It is you and I as Christians, worthy of the love of Christ if our love is true, who must find them, and help them; they are there for the finding.

- Mother Teresa

Ironic

The most powerful nation on earth discovers that it is powerless:

Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Ike has humbled America's high-flying energy capital and the lives of millions of people across southeast Texas have been dismantled indefinitely by the loss of everything from power and water, to property and even people’s lives.

Wall Street crisis. In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street history, Lehman Brothers said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, while Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for about $50 billion.

Afghanistan. One of the most experienced Western envoys in Afghanistan said that conditions there had become the worst since 2001.

Pray for the United States of America:
- For strength to those who suffer loss.... that they have courage to put their lives together again.
- For humility for the President, Senators, Generals and business moguls who think that they rule the world.... to discover that their fragile power is not theirs to own, but rather theirs to benefit all of humanity, including the Muslims, and the Mexicans, and the socialists, and the gays, and all others crushed by “the American way of life”.
- For wisdom for the American people .... that they will choose a leader who seeks to serve the world rather than dominate it.

Dragons and Beasts

The Book of Revelation is a series of graphic images: some deeply disturbing, and some wonderfully comforting. All the images are intended to expose the things that frighten us – and offer the comfort of a God who conquers evil:
Today I shared the images of Dragons and Beasts with my congregation: Revelation 12 & 13.

This is the stuff of nightmares:
• A huge red dragon with 7 heads, ten horns, and a long tail.
• A beast that emerged from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. This beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth.
• And another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon
Clearly symbolic language.... written for an audience who would understand the symbolism. There has been much speculation since then:
- Some say the Dragon with 7 heads – represents the seven hills of Rome...
others say no it is the seven hills of Jerusalem.
- Some argue that the 10 horns represent the ten emperors of Rome,
and other say that they are the 10 rulers of Israel.

There are 500 000 articles about this on the internet...
I am not going to try to link this to historical events of the past or future: I would rather invite us to discover the spiritual truth that has kept this book alive. This is the truth that has transcended every generation.

What do we have?
A dragon that tried to kill the son of the woman, “whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head” (Rev 12). But her son escaped death and now rules over all nations from the throne of God.
Not too difficult: this is the conflict between evil, which tried to kill Jesus; and the power of God, which raised Jesus to life.

Then we have a frustrated Dragon: That then tries to kill the work of the Son of God.And does this by means of two beasts.
1. A beast from the sea
2. A beast from the earth.

What do we know about the beast from the sea?
Rev 13:3 The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.
Rev 13:4 They worshiped the beast also, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?"
Rev 13:5 The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God
Rev 13:7 It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race.

Here is a beast that invites people to follow it
A beast that claims authority over every tribe, nation, language and race
Here is a beast that makes proud claims that insult the authority of God.
This is the beast of politicians and political systems.
Of course we need politicians, and political systems.
– but we need them to remember that they are accountable to God.

But there is a second beast:
Rev 13:11 Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon.
Rev 13:12 It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast.
This beast seems to be like the Lamb (“Two horns like lambs horns”) but it is not the lamb because it speaks like a dragon:
This is the beast of religious distortion:
This is the beast that uses its vast authority to serve the first beast:
Where religious values are placed at the service of political values:
This is the moment when politicians claim that their political plans are the will of God.

So where does all this leave us?
With the affirmation that all power, in heaven and on earth belongs to God.
Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King!God delegates authority to human beings –
- Political power is used in ordering towns and countries
- Religious power is practiced in church communities
But beware: they can become beasts that use their power to frighten people
They can become beasts that misuse their power to undermine the dream of God.

So when Jacob Zuma tells an ANC rally in Khayelitsha that it was the will of God that the ANC ruled the country, or that “the ANC will rule until Jesus returns” – the beast is loose in the land. But, like all political systems and leaders, this beast too will pass, and God’s rule will continue.

Chile's 9/11 terror.

Thirty-five years ago today Chile faced its own 9/11 act of terror: the army of Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected government of Socialist President Salvador Allende.

President Allende’s socialist views collided with the uncompromising stand of a formerly pragmatic political center and with the ferocious defense of the status quo by the right. At the same time the global standoff between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics led to Allende's Chile being judged a threat by President Nixon and his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger. The White House declared a silent war to destabilize the Allende administration: slashing aid, denying export credits, refusing to renegotiate the Chilean debt, discouraging investment by American businesses and covertly funding strikes and terrorist actions against the government.

Many of those who backed the 1973 coup had wanted the armed forces to simply restore order and then call for elections. Pinochet did initially bring about order after a period of instability and chaos. But having seized power he decided to keep it. He ordered the murder of union leaders, the exile of thousands of dissidents, the torture and disappearance of political prisoners, and the terrorist bombing of exiled leaders.

But during that time, he also changed Chile’s economic system. Pinochet introduced major free-market reforms inspired by University of Chicago Nobel laureate Milton Friedman. Inflation was drastically reduced, state-owned businesses and social security were privatized, the financial system was deregulated, external tariffs were lowered and non-traditional exports fostered. There was a social cost though: Income distribution deteriorated, and Chileans living under the poverty line climbed from 20% in 1970 to almost 40% by 1988.

In 1998, a judge in Spain issued an arrest/extradition warrant for Pinochet in connection with the slayings of political prisoners, and the former dictator was arrested in London. He was returned to Chile, where he was hounded by those seeking justice up until his death in 2006, although he was never sentenced for his crimes.

Pinochet's memory still conjures up different meanings for different people. Some still view him as the leader who transformed Chile into a prosperous economy -- despite the human and social costs. But as Chile continues to prosper under democratic rule, Pinochet more likely will be remembered as a notorious symbol of repression, one that casts a shadow on the history of U.S. foreign policy.

Pray for the families of all those who disappeared.
And for wisdom for those who have authority and influence in Chile.
And that the USA will stop interfering in the lives of countries that disagree with US interests.

(with appreciation to the Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-munoz11-2008sep11,0,2739862.story)

God used Joe Slovo, an athiest communist, to add impetus to South Africa's transformation. So says one of the chief negotiators of the transition, Roelf Meyer. He bluntly reminded us that God uses anyone to achieve God's will. I am participating in a conference in George. It seeks to move the church out of the building into the community. And last night we were reminded that God is already at work in South Africa - the challenge is for Christian people to join God. Roelf is positive about our land and our metamorphasis. I speak this morning and will be asking people where they need to be transformed, in order to bring transformation to South Africa.

Dave

Dave wants me to buy a painting.

He was with me in the South African Airforce in 1976. I did not know him then, be we have worked out that we were both at Technical Services base at the same time. I was a Physical Training Instructor, and he was one of the apprentice Aircraft Technicians that I chased around the parade ground.

We laugh about it today. But the circumstances are greatly changed. I left the SAAF and went to become a pastor in the Methodist Church, while he remained, and eventually became a Sergeant Major. Dave reminisces nostalgically about the evenings in the pub with all his SAAF mates. These are the same mates who persuaded him to resign - tempted by the prospect of a pension payout. These are the mates who then helped him spend his money. And now he lives on the streets.

Dave survives by painting aircraft on hardboard offcuts.
And he wants me to buy a painting, so that he can get some money for materials. The Ysterplaat airshow is around the corner, and he wants to sell his paintings there.

So I paid a deposit on a painting of a Cheetah in a hanger in Hoetspruit. It is still in his mind, and perhaps it might arrive in my office one day.