Duke Divinity students... Update on John Wesley College!

Here is a copy of an email that I sent to the Methodist Ministers' email list to share some news about students from Duke Divinity School who visited John Wesley College in South Africa, and to update them on some developments at the seminary.

Dear friends,

In the midst of celebrations over our victory at the Cricket and the Oscars, I thought we may wish to celebrate some more good news about our nation and Church.

Each year John Wesley College receives lecturers and students from our sister seminary, Duke Divinity school, in the United States. Last year we had 4 MDiv students who spent some time at John Wesley College, and two months of the year working Churches in South Africa.

All four of them have spoken of the transformative impact that this trip has had on their lives and ministry. It is truly a joy to know that we have such a rich asset to offer to the world! We are a wonderful nation and a wonderful Church! It was wonderful to see the interest from world class scholars when I visited Duke in 2005. This year we look forward to hosting Dr Willie Jennings (the Academic Dean, an incredible African-America scholar and theologian). Next year we hope to host, Dr Stanley Hauerwas, who was chosen as the world's leading theologian in 2004!

To read the full story of the Duke students' visit to South Africa please follow the link below (if the link is cut over two lines by your email client, please copy the whole link into your browser).
www.divinity.duke.edu/publications/2006.01/features/story/story-print.htm

Then also just to offer you a brief update on the Church's seminary, John Wesley College.

We are very pleased to have a wonderful group of students studying at John Wesley College! Yes, I do tell each year's group that they are the best... Because they are!

This is the first year that we have enrolled students for the Bachelor of Theology and Ministry Degree (the majority of our students have upgraded to this qualification), we still have a few students doing Diploma's in Theology. Among the probationers studying at John Wesley College this year we also have 4 students doing Honours degrees, and one student doing a Masters degree.

It was a wonderful joy to welcome the Revd. Dr Neville Richardson as the new Director of the Education for Ministry and Mission Unit. Dr Richardson is a highly regarded scholar who has brought a great deal of depth to our academic programs, and wonderful leadership to the general working of EMMU. We were also pleased to welcome the Revd Ruth Jonas on staff, since the Revd Matsepe returned to circuit at the end of 2005. Ruth is teaching Pastoral Theology at the College, and spends a great deal of her time working as the co-ordinator for training for lay ministries (Local Preachers, Evangelists, Bible Women and a host of other groups of Methodist laity). Ruth is currently working on a Doctorate in Pastoral Theology which she hopes to complete next year. The Revd Madika Sibeko is still the life of the Unit! She has taken over her new portfolio as the co-ordinator for training for Ordained ministries (looking after the 260 or so probationers in circuits). It is incredible to think that one person can manage to do so much! She is a real asset to us. As you can tell from this email, I am still on staff as Dean of the college, teaching Systematic Theology, Ethics, some Greek and few other odds and ends. I am also pleased to be completing my Doctorate in the next month or so! Please pray for me as I pen the last few pages.

As always we do still have some needs among our students at the Seminary. In particular we are always keen to hear from circuits and societies that may wish to sponsor or support a student family, or single student, whilst they are at College. This is truly a wonderful way to share in developing ministry and mission from you Church! Our families at College get about R500 per month, whereas the single students get approximately R300. Of course we are also always pleased to get donations of books for our library. So if there is anyone who is moving, retiring, or just wanting to get rid of some books, please do make contact with me! We would love to receive these into our Library.

Thank you so much for all the care and support you offer us in the training of ministers and laity for ministry and mission! Please continue to keep our work in your prayers.

Best regards,

Dion

What incredible power... A God who rules the world from the cross...

Tonight I sat reading Stanley Hauerwas' book "With the grain of the Universe" (2001, Grand Rapids. Brazos Press). The book is the result of Hauerwas' Gifford lectures of 2000 - 2001. It was a gift (which always makes a book so much nicer to read) from my mentor and friend Dr Neville Richardson.

I was struck by one particular phrase in the book "... the God who would rule all creation from Christ's cross" (2001:17). Isn't that an amazing thought? The very nature of the Universe is radically changed in the events of the cross of Christ. What the world would consider an act of ultimate defeat, what evil would consider as its ultimate brutal victory, becomes God's greatest triumph. It is a victory of love. Of course, if one thinks about it, it all makes so much sense!

The most powerful force that could ever operate in the world is not violence, it is not hatred, or abuse, or loneliness, not even death, it is love! What could ever challenge the love of God that would show itself, even if the price is death?

The God of the cross is not healthy, he's dying. This God is not free, he is enslaved by others. This God is not white, he is from Africa. This God is the saviour, the creator, the sustainer, the ruler of the whole Universe! This God is God... Well, at least the kind of God I can identity with!

Truly God rules all of creation from the loving, life giving, self sacrificing cross of Christ. Through that act the world is redeemed, it is brought back to its true identity - a loving relationship with God, not based on power, not based on authority, or even respect, but a relationship based on self giving love.

I am not sure what cross you are facing in your life? I hope that in love you will be able to bring it before God, so that God may show God's love by ruling from the cross. God can rule, in fact God can triumph, in the crosses of this world.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

The image above comes for a Kenyan set of stations of the cross found here.

The best advice on the Intraweb! (on the lighter side of life... well darker side... well you know what I mean!?)

Have you ever wanted to know how you can get your dog to walk through walls (so that you don't have to let it out on cold mornings?) Ever felt like there are hoards of black cloaked killers following you, just waiting for you to slip up (I know I have! In fact I have discovered, it is just ONE individual.... His name is 'Roger' and he's a Ninja!)

Take a look at this this http://askaninja.com.

The Videos are HILARIOUS!!!! Dowload one and you'll be hooked.

Laughter truly is the best medicine!

Has popular Christianity forgotten Jesus along the way?

Just last week I was teaching my first year Systematic Theology class one of the fundamentals of Christian Doctrine, namely, that 'doctrine' and 'faith' are not the same thing.

Anselm spoke of Theology as "Fides Quaerens Intellectum" (Faith Seeking Understanding).

Doctrine is something that we construct through a process of reflecting upon our faith (what we believe). Neither of these are without their faults. Why? Well, because we rely on our own interpretation of what God reveals to us (both through creation - often associated with epistemology, and through our inner experiences - often thought of as phenomenology). And, once we have formulated our 'belief' we have to communicate it using the symbols of human language. So we end up saying things like "God is my rock". Does this realy mean that God is brownish, heavy and cannot be moved? No! We all believe that the symbolism is expressive of things that we believe which are difficult to describe without refering to what we already know. Sometimes we even use symbols such as "God the Father...". Of course, many people have begun to adopt such symbols as absolute truth, thinking that God truly is male, or old, or some such nonsense! Anyway, enough of the first year lesson...

You can well imagine that I read a fair amount. In particular I read a fair amount of Christian theology. I have been struck by one problem with much modern theology I have been reading in recent times... It is all so anthropocentric. What does that mean? It means that so much of what we believe about God centres around ourselves! how much God loves us, how God wants to deal with us etc.

Last year I had a paper published in the Journal of Catholic Reflection - Grace and Truth. The issue focused on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the Catholic Priest and paleontologist. The title of the article was: Post-human Consciousness
and the Evolutionary Cosmology of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. (I have in fact linked to this article in a previous post).

The article argued a point that Teilhard's evolutionary cosmology presents, namely, that God's purpose for the whole of the created order (what is commonly referred to as the cosmos) is NOT the fulfillment of humankind. In fact, God's purpose for the cosmos is the fulfillment of Christ! Jesus is the point of all creation (just read Col 1:16-17 for a clear Biblical example of such a theology). Jesus is God's point for everything. That is what makes the miracle of the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus such an incredible miracle.

I think that many Christians have forgotten this reality. In much of what I read, and in fact much of what I think, I see that we have placed ourselves at the centre of God's Universe! Somehow, we have come to believe that we are more important than Christ himself.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that humanity is not important to God. In fact the opposite is true! We are VERY important to God. However, there is no way that we are more important than Jesus!

In a strange way that makes me feel kind of special (not important, just special)... To think that even though Jesus is so much more important than any of us, God still chooses to have Jesus die for us! What a miracle of grace!

Anyway, this is just a thought. Perhaps the next time we think about the world, about how we make decisions, about what we think is really important, we should stop and look away from ourselves and look towards Christ.... Christ is the point of the cosmos!

Here's the article again if anyone would like to read it:

Teilhard article.doc

Is your hair falling out? Are your joints getting loose? Don't despair! There's someone who loves you!

Have you ever felt unloved, not worthy, just not good enough?

Well, then maybe today's podcast is for you! It is based on God's view of you as it can be found from scripture. The Bible is full of wonderful affirmations of who God has created us to be!

The link for this message comes from that wonderful story, "The Velveteen Rabbit". Here is a short excerpt:

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." ?Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." ? from The velveteen rabbit by Margery Williams

You can download the sermon notes here (in MS Word format):

Sermon notes.doc

You can download the MP3 audio rile here (about 9MB's):

scast9.mp3

And, of course, I always value your comments and feedback. Simply click on the comments link below to leave a comment. Or, you can send an email to digitaldion@gmail.com

God sanctioned vandalism!

Doing things that are out of the ordinary seem to appeal to my non-confirmist sensibilities!

One of my favourite passages in the Gospels is the account of the four friends who decide to smash a hole in someone else's roof so that their friend can be brought to Jesus for healing. John Maxwell's, in his book "Think on these things", asks the question "What kind of person would be brave enough to bust a hole in someone else's roof?" (this is my rough paraphrase).

This sermon was inspired by that question. I hope it will encourage you to be more than just ordinary. I hope that you will find in it something of value to help you in finding your true created purpose and reason for being.

Click here to download the sermon notes in MS-Word format:

Sermon notes.doc

Click here to download the MP3 file: (about 8MB's)

scast8.mp3

As always, would value feedback! Simply click on the link below or send an email to digitaldion@gmail.com

I believe in 47. Do you?

I once had a student who wrote an essay about Fibonacci's principle and the effects of harmonics in religious music. It was done as part of an interesting first year course I tutored called "An Introduction to the Study of Religion" at Rhodes University.

I found the essay (written by a Doctoral student in Music, who was doing the ISR course for non degree purposes) extremely interesting. Fibonacci was a mathematician who discovered that the ratio between sets of numbers was often repeated in nature. The Fibonacci numbers are: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89.... etc. Interestingly enough this ratio can be observed in most aspects of nature including things such as the proportions of flowers, shells, human limbs, and even the cycles of modern stock markets! Of course this student showed how the ratio between octave scales revealed this natural design element in creation, and as such had the capacity for a 'holy' or 'spiritual' effect.

So, what about 47!?

I came across an interesting article the other day about a strange group of persons who believe that the number 47 (not just the number 42 - check the link if it doesn't make sense) has some special, mystical, meaning.

I read the wiki entry about it. It seems to make sense! I'm a 47-ian now! I believe! It is a special number!!! Well sort of! You can read all about it here:

47

Amont other things. Here are a few points of interest about the religous number, peace be upon it.

Forty-seven is also:

* the number of miracles performed by Jesus listed in the New Testament
* the code for international direct dial phone calls to Norway.
* the model number of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt WWII fighter bomber
* the number of the French département Lot-et-Garonne.
* the number of mountains in "the 47" High Peaks of the Adirondacks.
* the number of samurai involved in the famous historical Ako vendetta; sometimes referred to as the 47 Ronin.
* the number of bullets that killed Pancho Villa in 1923.
* the model number of the AK-47 assault rifle.
* the year AD 47, 47 BC, and 1947.

And here are a few more interesting facts (follow this link to the wiki):

According to a joke by Rick Berman (the co-creator and executive producer of several Star Trek series), "47 is 42, corrected for inflation". This explanation is referenced in a Sev Trek cartoon.

Eventually it spread outside of Star Trek; 47s have been spotted in The Simpsons, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Threshold, Alias, Lost, Scrubs, and The West Wing.

47 also has been placed in video games in the same deliberate way for almost 20 years. Examples include Earl Weaver Baseball (the batter's uniform number is 47), Hitman (the name of the main character is 47), and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (HK-47).

In 1998, Japanese electronic musician Takako Minekawa released the album Cloudy Cloud Calculator, which featured a song about the number 47 entitled Kangaroo Pocket Calculator. The song repeatedly states that "47 is a magical number. 47 plus 2 equals 49. 47 times 2 equals 94. 49 and 94. 94 and 49. Relationship between 47 and 2, is magic" and eventually concludes "Isn't it a coincidence?"

No, it's not deep, it's just silly! Love and blessing for 2006!

non c'e' vita senza liberta

I came upon this lovely little picture... I have an old 1978 Vespa PX 200E. I feel free on it.

The graffiti reads

Without freedom there is no life!

The picture is from a Vespa set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighrowan/63183529/)

A blessed Christmas to all!

I pray that the miracle of the birth of our Saviour will present each of us with joy and blessing for the year ahead!

Below is an Advent sermon that I preached at Bryanston Methodist Church some weeks ago. It is an exegetical approach to John 1, seeking to highlight some lesser focussed upon implications of the miracle surruonding the Christ event.

It states that the coming of Christ shows us:

1. Christ, the first and powerful Word of God, is the source of all that is.

2. That the Christ event helps us to face what we choose to deny.

3. That truly engaging life requires some re-definition, sacrifice and courage.

The following quote from the sermon inspired me a great deal:

The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world. -- Stuart Briscoe in Meet Him at the Manger. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 14.

Click here to download the full text of the Sermon in MS Word format:

Sermon.doc

Are you a frustrated democrat?

I am on leave! What a glorious state to be in. Being on leave means that I have some time to think. That may sound like a strange statement for a person who is employed in an academic post. My time seems to be occupied with far more menial and functional tasks than real thought. I write things, I organise things, I work with people. These are all functions that require quite a bit of time and energy, and sadly, not that much thought.

Anyhow, I am on leave and I have taken to thinking. As Megan's grandfather used to say "sometimes I sits and thinks, sometimes I just sits".

Over the last year I have had the good fortune to be privy to many meetings and encounters with varying arrays of the spectrum that is the people called Methodists. I have sat in meetings with Bishops, trained Circuit Superintendents, attended Conferences and SYNODS, preached in local congregations, visited with ordinary members, and listened to the stories and complaints of a wide variety of people, powerful and the supposedly disempowered. One of the most common complaints, among those who have power, and those who believe they have none, has to do with the governance of the Church. Many bemoan the disfunction of our 'democratic' system of making decisions. Debates such as those on the equalisation of stipends and Church's response to persons of a same-sex orientation exemplified and showcased the will and methods of those who make and enforce these decisions.

Most Methodists are under the false impression that these processes are democratic. I think that in large part this misunderstanding of our system of governance is a significant cause of much of the frustration among both the members and elected officials of the Church. Here is a common definition of democracy. Democracy is,

"government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives"
(http://www.opb.org/education/coldwar/berlincrisis/glossary/)

The key here is governance by the people.

I am not aware of many active democracies in the world today. Certainly the self proclaimed evangelists of democracy, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, are very far from allowing the voice of the people to dictate the laws and policies of their respective governments! In fact quite the opposite is true. These two powerful nations have a very dictatorial and authoritarian system of rule.

Noam Chomsky (http://www.chomsky.info/), famed MIT professor, suggests that the form of governance most common in the USA and UK is what is commonly known as a polyarchy. This term, which describes a particular political theory, was espoused and articulated by Robert Dahl. A polyarchy

"has seven attributes: 1) elected officials; 2) free and fair elections; 3) inclusive suffrage; 4) the right to run for office; 5) freedom of expression; 6) alternative information; and 7) associational autonomy. Essentially this means politicians making decisions, with ratification by the public." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyarchy)

The key here is the phrase "politicians making decisions, with the ratification by the public".

It would seem to me that a true democracy breeds servant leaders, persons who's desire is to find creative and efficient ways of enacting the will of the people. Whereas polyarchies breed masters, persons who try to find ways to have their will enacted in creative ways by the people.

I could be wrong. However, if I am right it is no surprise that there are many unhappy servants, and unhappy masters, in what should be a servant organisation... Perhaps we should strive to elect more servants and expose more masters - that is, if we do truly want democracy?

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Tillich, Anselm or God forbid, Karl Barth! Have you ever wondered!?

A good friend of mine, Wessel, sent me a link to the following fun website. It is a quick quiz that tells you what Theologian your own theology most resembles. He is one of the best theologians I know. His score was pretty accurate. Follow this link to do the quiz. I would love to hear some results, so if you do the quiz send me an email and let me know!

http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=44116

Here are my results (Good Lord, Charles Finney and Jonathan Edwards!):

You scored as Paul Tillich.

Paul Tillich sought to express Christian truth in an existentialist way. Our primary problem is alienation from the ground of our being, so that our life is meaningless. Great for psychotherapy, but no longer very influential.

Paul Tillich 80%
Jurgen Moltmann 73%
Anselm 73%
Friedrich Schleiermacher 67%
Augustine 60%
John Calvin 53%
Charles Finney 40%
Martin Luther 33%
Jonathan Edwards 27%
Karl Barth 20%

See, I told you I was sick...

The comedian Spike Milligan is rumoured to have the following inscription on his tombstone, "See, I told I was sick..."

Since reading the blog of a friend in ministry earlier this week I have been thinking about, and praying for, ministers who are under extreme pressure, even facing burnout. I have felt this way in the past. Praise God I am not there now.

Being in ministry can be complex, since one's 'work' is so closely linked to one's faith. One of the common feelings among ministers is that one's work is never done. Long before I was born, and long after I die, there will be people with needs, struggles, and concerns. God's love for people, and longing to be in relationship with people, is always the same. So, there is never a time when one could sign off on ministry, believing that the 'work' is complete.

For those in Churches, please watch for the signs of burnout and exhaustion in the persons who are called to serve you. Love them, listen to their cries for help and assistance, help where you can, and of course pray for them.