The power of nature! A wave of clouds in a wind-storm!

Take a look at this incredible image of the clouds coming over the mountains this morning.

They look just like a massive wave rolling over the mountain.  I took this picture with my trusty iPhone.

At this time of year the wind in the Western Cape can be strong. When the SouthEaster starts blowing the clouds often peek over the mountains just like this.  The wind is strong enough to rip the roof off a house or blow over a buss!  People have to be careful when they walk that the gusts don't sweep them off their feet.  It is incredible how beautiful, and powerful, the wind and clouds are!

Today is the first time that I've seen the clouds quite like this. It is called a black southeaster - it normally brings strong wind and some rain.

Days like these remind me of God's power!

Does anybody have a southeaster story to share?  My most significant story was last year's Cape Argus cycle tour - this was the year that Matt Damon road the race.  The winds were so strong that numerous riders got blown off their bikes in the gusts.  It was a tough ride in the wind!

A little piece of heaven on earth. The single track on the Helderberg mountain

This is one of my favourite places on earth - the start of the single track on the top of the Helderberg mountain. It is about 12km's from my home, of which the last 8 km is a 1000m climb to the top. The ride down is awesome! Lots of switchbacks, lots of technical stuff - I'm convinced that it is some of the nicest singletrack in South Africa.

I meet God here on my bike very often! My head clears, my thoughts become focussed and I find myself drawing nearer to God as I ride.

Sadly I heard that the access to this part of the mountain will soon be restricted. We normally enter about half way up Silverboomkloof road (on the right), then there's a little bit of single track, a short climb and then onto the contour paths on the way up. If there is anyone who has any contacts with someone on this farm PLEASE drop me a line! I would love to be able to keep the access open!

I recently read about a guy who started a 'braai church' (a 'cookout' Church, where people gather once a week to try out new recipes, cook different kinds of meat, but of course also to share their lives with one another, have some prayer and learn a few things about their faith).  I often think of this as the Church of Cycling, or my Cycling Church!  I have a lot of time to share with the guys and ladies that we ride with.  I often pray with people, offer a listening ear and some encouragement.

How do you connect with God? 

Ash Wednesday

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments." -1 John 5:2

Today is the start of Lent - this is a season in the Church calendar that encourages Christians to become conscious of the cost that Christ paid for our lives, and also to recognize that our own lives are finite and precious gifts.  This not only means that my life is a precious gift to me, it means that your life is a precious gift to me.  I cannot be fully human without you.  

The discipline of lent reminds me that I have the capacity to choose (even if my choices seem limited, or insignificant) how I will serve God and others with what remains of my life.  I pray that this period of time will have some significance for you too.

I was saddened today by the dismissal of a colleague and friend of mine, Rev Ecclesia de Lange.  I have known Ecclesia for years - if I am not mistaken I interviewed her where she candidated for our ministry in the Methodist Church, I celebrated her growth through her studies and was present at the service where she was ordained.  I am reminded that the Church, just like me, is not always correct in what it does.  I shall continue to work and pray and do my little bit to see that God's Kingdom of love and grace is established wherever I can - even in the Church.

Isn't this image of the ashen cross lovely?  It comes from my friend and pastor Steven Lottering.

A few quotes left an impression upon me this week.  I thought I would share them with you on Ash Wednesday.

Teach us to sit still ... And let my cry come unto Thee.

- T.S. Eliot, from his poem, "Ash Wednesday"

And this one from a friend I met through the internet - a Methodist minister in the USA.  I thought this quote was both humorous and so true!  There must be more to being a Christ follower than giving up chocolate!

UthGuyChaz What if, for Lent, we gave up thinking that Jesus died so that we could go to church, hear a good sermon, and give up chocolate?

Then there was this one - it has a littl more 'bite' to it.

"It is terrible to die of thirst in the ocean. Do you have to salt your truth so heavily that it does not quench thirst any more?" -Nietzche

I live my life in public.  It is often costly to do so - I cannot hide who I am.  I find this quote comforting.

"Change occurs when deeply felt private experiences are given public legitimacy." -Gandhi

And lastly, from my good friend Pete's blog:

Silence frees us from the need to control others ... A frantic stream of words flows from us in an attempt to straighten others out. We want so desperately for them to agree with us, to see things our way. We evaluate people, judge people, condemn people. We devour people with our words. Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit simply because it puts the stopper on that.- Richard Foster, from his book Freedom of Simplicity

Cape Town for Jesus tickets available! 22 March 2010

UPDATE:  Here is the direct link to book your tickets for this great event.

I had the joy of attending the Turn2God event in Pretoria this week and it was so special!  Cape Town for Jesus will be just as great!

Original post:

I received the following email from our Global Day of Prayer offices this morning. See http://www.gdop-sa.com for more.

This is going to be a special event where people of all ages, races and denominations will gather to pray for the city of Cape Town and for the World Cup soccer events that will be taking place in the city (and the nation). I would encourage you to be part of this special event! I would love to see all my friends in Cape Town joining together to pray for our city.

Let's not allow theological differences to keep us from celebrating our love for Christ, our commitment to our city, and modeling our Christian unity in diversity!

I remember the first Transformation Africa event at Newlands Rugby Stadium in 2001 - it was such an awesome time to see young and old, poor and wealthy, white and black worshiping and praying together for the city!

Mayor of Cape Town (Da Plato) and our Provincial Premier (Helen Zille) will be in attendance, as will a number of Christian sports persons, soccer world cup ministry leaders, and of course many Christian leaders from across the country and the world! I hope you'll be among them!

Good News!!

Tickets for “Cape Town for Jesus” prayer gathering are NOW OPEN FOR SALE at Computicket.

'A great prayer gathering will be held on Monday 22 March (public holiday) this year at the new Cape Town stadium'

This special occasion will be the first opportunity in which this beautiful new stadium will be fully utilized prior to the handover to FIFA for the Soccer World Cup tournament.

The program for the day will have as its focus prayer and blessing for the stadium; our city; provincial and national leaders; the Soccer World Cup Tournament; our children and youth and the emergency services operating in and around the stadium. Uncle Angus Buchan will be the main speaker on the day. Let’s join together with 68 000 others to commit our city, our nation, and the 2010 soccer stadiums to the Lord!

Tickets can be booked at Computicket http://www.computicket.com/web/event/cape_town_for_jesus/110515079

Entrance: R40pp (all persons (including babies) are required to be in posession of a ticket)

Gates open from 11:00 Prayer program from 13:00 to 16:00

There is no limit to the number of tickets you are allowed to purchase, so BOOK NOW to avoid disappointment!

Visit http://www.gdop2010.com for more information.

Finally, there are 10 000 tickets that are made available at R10 per ticket (this covers the cost of the train and / or bus into the city) for persons who cannot afford to travel to the city, or cannot afford to pay the regular ticket price. These tickets can be booked via the GDOP offices at 021 856 3130. The regular tickets, at R40 per person, cover the cost of some of the city amenities that we're using (safety officials, permits etc), plus the cost of hiring the stage and equipment for the day.

Please consider advertising this event in your Church bulletin, or letting friends and family in the Cape Town area know about it.

Thanks!

Dion

Update on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 10:59PM by Dr Dion Forster

A reader of the blog sent me an email expressing some concern about needing to 'pay to pray'.  I understand his concern and so sent him an email in response.  I am not sharing his email here since I have not asked his permission.  The gist of it, if I understood him correctly, was that it is not a good witness to persons who are not Christian that the event organisers are asking Christians to pay to come to the Cape Town stadium for a day of prayer.  He suggested that we should make it free and 'trust God to provide' for the costs incurred.

Here's my response to him.  I'd love to hear your perspective!

Hi Mr X,

Thanks so much for your email.  I appreciate it a great deal.  It is always great to connect.

Mr X, the event itself was at the invitation of the City of Cape Town (in fact it was Mrs Zille who invited Graham to take it up).  They needed to test the stadium's systems, but since it is getting close to the world cup they wanted something that could test the systems without putting much load on the pitch.  A concert or other such event was the perfect choice!  She thought of us since we pray with her fairly regularly and that's how it all started.

Of course there are costs involved in setting up such an event.  First, we have to pay for the all of the permits and city officials that are necessary for the event (emergency services, traffic officials, security, stadium staff, cleaning staff etc.)  This is a test event and so they have to use their staff and systems.  Then there is the additional cost of setting up the stage and sound for the event.  This is a soccer stadium and so all of this equipment has to be brought in.  Computicket is the world cup ticketing system.  We did want to do our own tickets but could not do so, they takes a fee (in the region of R15) per ticket.

Then of course there is the cost of providing trains and busses for 14 000 persons to get to the stadium from the various areas that cannot afford to travel here.  That costs hundreds of thousands of rands.

At the end of the day it is costly to do set up such an event for our city.  In better times some individuals, or groups, may have been able to fund the event entirely.  This is not currently the case.  While we have a number of very large donors the shortfall had to be made up out of ticket sales.  Surely you would not expect the tax payer to pay for an event such as this?

Mr X, my suggestion is that you pray for our city without feeling the need to be at the stadium.  Those persons who wish to gather will be there (both those who could afford to purchase a ticket, and those to whom tickets were supplied without charge).

I disagree that it is a poor witness.  If someone stood to make money from the event then that would be one thing, however the event will cover its own costs and at most a person would have to pay R40 for an incredible day with other believers, praying for the city and nation.  What a joy!  I think it will be a wonderful testimony!

Thanks for your email.

Together with you in Christ,

Dion

Just to mention that while I have participated in the arrangement of the event I am not an official spokesperson, this is merely my personal opinion and perspective on this wonderful event.

A calendar for Church Activities in the City of Cape Town

The South African Council of Churches (SACC), Consultation of Christian Churches (CCC), Transformation Africa (GDOP Cape Town) and The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa (TEASA) agreed at their last meeting to try and set up a single calendar for the Church’s events in Cape Town.

Please see http://bit.ly/CTchurch  If you would like to add anything that your ministry is doing please contact Willem at the CCC to get it added.  

Here are Willem’s details:

Rev Willem Malherbe
Administrator: CCC

CCC Kantoor/CCC Office
Phn:  021 914 0441
Fax:  086 605 7114
Email:     ccc@genesis.org.za

Office hours:  Mon-Fri 09:00-13:00

Please feel free to share this link with anyone who may be interested!

Rich blessing,

Dion

Laying down your life (a daily choice)

I found the quote below extremely challenging:

When we think about laying down a life for another we usually think in terms of a singular event. But it is possible for us to lay down our lives over the course of a lifetime, minute by minute and day by day. And it is the work of the Spirit to empower us as we seek to lose ourselves in acts of lovingkindness and sacrificial living.

- Elaine Puckett, professor at Candler School of Theology

The promise of a better future!

I love this picture.  I took it in Beufort West some weeks ago. This region seldom sees any rain. This rainbow and the coming rain was a great reminder of God's faithfulness.  Somehow the cycles of nature seem to fill me with a sense of calm in the realisation that God has created everything to benefit from God's providence and grace.  

I have come to appreciate the discipline of discovering God's power and love working in and through God's creation.  Like the Psalmist I thank God for the times and seasons of life.

Is there any element of nature that reminds you of God's love and power?

Prayer, what is it? And, how does it work?

Prayer!  It is such an incredible gift! Yet, I think so few Christians understand the real power, blessing, and potential that came come from a life of prayer. 

This week is the first Sunday in Lent.  Now many of us have come to think that lent is a time in the Christian calendar when we are called to take some time to grow in our understanding of what it cost God to be in relationship with us.  Traditionally Christians have given something up for Lent, and of course the reason for that was to help the believer to share in some small way in the cost of Christ’s suffering, and to be reminded of what it cost Christ to set us free.  For example some of us have taken up fasting, every time that we are hungry we are reminded that we have become much more dependent on food than on God, that in fact we have a greater hunger for food than we have a hunger for God!  It also reminds us that what we can choose to do, that is remain without a meal, is not a choice for so many.  My temporary hunger is a daily reality for millions of people all around us.  Lent helps us to reconnect with the God who did not count the cost of loving us.

Now, I am not sure what you’re giving up for lent (if anything).  However, this year I want to encourage you not just to give something up, but to TAKE SOMETHING UP. 

In this podcast (which is an episode of my radio program from Radio Pulpit) I discuss prayer by considering an aspect of the prayer life of Jesus.  24/7 prayers as a lifestyle of intimacy with God.

You can download the episode here (6.2mb, MP3).

I'd love to hear your feedback, comments and input!

Connecting 'offline' people to 'online' conversations. Help needed!

One of the tasks that I help with in preparing for the next Lausanne Congress on world evangelization, that is taking place in Cape Town in October 2010, is the social media strategy.

I have a small team with which I work to try and connect people and issues - in particular I try to give a platform to people who are doing stuff, or developing theology, around the concerns of Lausanne.  I also try to make sure that some of the great content that is produced by top notch Christian leaders and theologians becomes accessible to as many people as possible.

In order to do this we make use of some of the traditional 'social media' tools.  Basically, there is only one tool - create relationships with people!  But we use a few platforms to do this.

We have a twitter feed, a facebook page, blogs (here and here), and a fantastic website.

This is all great, and we get quite a lot of interaction around the issues and the content.  At the end of the day I know that we would rather connect people with passion around the stuff they're already doing, than trying to create a passion for some of the stuff we want to do (that they're already doing in their own ministries).  Connection is key!

However, ministry and theology (particularly global ministry and global theology) requires a much more significant level of awareness and connection!  Some of the great mistakes of ministry organisations and theologians come from not understanding contexts other than their own.  In some contexts proclaiming truths about God's love may work, but in other contexts people will not accept such propositions of truth until they have an experience of love.  For example it is difficult to say that God is just when you encounter people who have only every experienced injustice - working for justice may be one of the most powerful 'sermons' you could preach without using a single word.

So, here's my problem, as with most of the theology and strategy in the global Church, those who have 'voices' and 'access' are heard most clearly and loudly.  How do we connect people from the offline world to people from the online world?

I have an idea that the pervasive nature of cell phones may be a key (see this post from Tony Whittaker, and see this great mobile website platform for ministry and evangelism from Crux). 

I know that email is more accessible in some parts of the world than internet access, so that may be another key (i.e., creating a to and fro engagement between the West and the South via email - when I was the Dean of John Wesley College in Pretoria we had quite a bit of success with this when we connected our students in South Africa with students at Duke Divinity school).

Then of course there is real world connection (sending visitors and receiving visitors from various parts of the world).  But, this is costly!

Have you got any ideas how one could connect people across the 'digital divide'?  It's for the sake of the whole Gospel to the whole World!

Please leave a comment or some insight below!

My 3 year old iPad! Still going strong!

The Apple iPad is attracting a lot of attention. I know that there are a few VERY exclusive people who have iPad's to try. However, the ordinary consumer will have to wait 60 days before being able to get their hands on one of them. Let alone those of us who live in places like South Africa where it will probably take another year before Apple releases the iPad with 3G! Still, I love my iPhone 3G and would LOVE an iPad 3G!

If I had the money I would pre-order one! However, there are a few more pressing priorities at the moment. So, I have come to appreciate what I already own - I have a 3 year old iPad (in South Africa.... Sort of!)! And, what I own is Sony Vaio UX 180 P.

This photo was taken when I was attending the Oxford Institute at Christ Church, Oxford University in August 2007.

My little portable computer is a Sony Vaio UX 180 P. It is a Windows XP device with a touch screen, a 30 gigabyte hard drive, 512MB or ram, wifi, bluetooth and a 3 hour battery life. It is the perfect travelers computer! It is smaller than a DVD case, in fact small enough to put into a big pocket on one's 'cargo pants'!

It runs a 'normal' operating system and 'normal' versions of MS Word, MS Outlook and the google Chrome browser. This means that I can simply plug in my backup USB flash disk that has copies of all of my documents and files on it and work away! Moreover, since it has a USB port I can connect to the internet using my 3G modem wherever I am and get my email, browse the web, and even use MS Outlook to connect to corporate server.

In this picture you'll see the iPod I owned in 2007, my old Nokia phone (a great big brick!), the UX 180 is docked in its docking station (that adds a VGA port, firewire, ethernet, and 4 USB 2.0 ports). You will also see my batterygeek external battery (this battery gives me an amazing 20 hours of battery life for the UX 180! On my Macbook Pro it gives me an additional 5-6 hours). I also have a cheap foldable Bluetooth keyboard that I can use with the UX 180 P.

So, until the iPad arrives, (and of course until I get some royalties for my books and don't have a washing machine to fix, kids school activities to pay for, a car to service and a few other pressing things to pay for), I shall be using my UX 180 P as a 'road warrior' computer!

Just as a final note - if you have not yet used dropbox it is a MUST HAVE for a person who uses more than one computer. Dropbox is a free service (for 2 Gigabytes of backup, after which you can choose to upgrade your space for a fee). You install a small application (which I have on my Macbook, my iPhone and my UX 180 P), then it creates a folder in your documents folder. Any file that you drag into that folder gets updated on Dropbox (you can even log into dropbox if you don't have your computer with you, and download the file you want to work on and then update it!)

While I was working on my most recent book 'Transform your work life: Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling' (Struik Christian Media, 2010 - the book is due out in May), I used this little tool (in conjunction with my Macbook and my UX 180)! If I found that I was waiting to go into a meeting and the person I was meeting was running late I simply connected did some editing and knew that when I got back to my office the most up to date version of the file would ALWAYS be on my computer! Moreover, if my computers got stolen, or my house burnt down at least I would have backups of these (and other) critical documents 'in the cloud'.

I would suggest you consider using dropbox - it is free! OK, back to work for me! And then when I've done editing the article I'm working on I'm going to hop into bed with the Amazon Kindle application for Windows on my UX 180 P and continue reading Malcom Gladwell's new book 'What the dog saw'!

Ancient laws, contemporary controversies

My friend Prof Cheryl Anderson, who I first met at Garrett Evangelical Seminary in beautiful Evanston Illinois - right on the Northwestern University Campus, in 2005, has just published a fantastic book entitled 'Ancient laws, contemporary controversies:  The need for inclusive Biblical interpretation.' (Oxford University Press, 2009).

Cheryl is a Professor of Old Testament who has done some wonderful work on contextual hermeneutics.  Her approach to reading the Bible responsibly is well worth studying!

Cheryl, thanks for sending me a copy of the book!  It looks fantastic!  I can't wait to read it!  It will help me to gain a better understanding on how we treat the text with integrity when there are so many elements of it that we no longer accept as morally or theologically binding (e.g., slavery, incest, polygamy etc., are no longer deemed acceptable because of shifts in culture.  We can't simply dismiss them without having some clear reasoning for passing over these elements while holding on to others)!  Anyone who is serious about the Bible, as I am, should read this book!

Here's the link to the book if anyone reading this blog would like to buy a copy.

Here's a description of Cheryl's project:

The Ten Commandments condone slavery, and Deuteronomy 22 deems the rape of an unmarried woman to injure her father rather than the woman herself. While many Christians ignore most Old Testament laws as obsolete or irrelevant-with others picking and choosing among them in support of specific political and social agendas-it remains a basic tenet of Christian doctrine that the faith is contained in both the Old and the New Testament. If the law is ignored, an important aspect of the faith tradition is denied.

In Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies, Cheryl B. Anderson tackles this problem head on, attempting to answer the question whether the laws of the Old Testament are authoritative for Christians today. The issue is crucial: some Christians actually believe that the New Testament abolishes the law, or that the Protestant reformers Luther, Calvin, and Wesley rejected the law. Acknowledging the deeply problematic nature of some Old Testament law (especially as it applies to women, the poor, and homosexuals), Anderson finds that contemporary controversies are the result of such groups now expressing their own realities and faith perspectives.

Anderson suggests that we approach biblical law in much the same way that we approach the U.S. Constitution. While the nation's founding fathers-all privileged white men-did not have the poor, women, or people of color in mind when they referred in its preamble to "We the people." Subsequently, the Constitution has evolved through amendment and interpretation to include those who were initially excluded. Although it is impossible to amend the biblical texts themselves, the way in which they are interpreted can-and should-change. With previous scholarship grounded in the Old Testament as well as critical, legal, and feminist theory, Anderson is uniquely qualified to apply insights from contemporary law to the interpretive history of biblical law, and to draw out their implications for issues of gender, class, and race/ethnicity. In so doing, she lays the groundwork for an inclusive mode of biblical interpretation.

A brief history of the Lausanne movement.

This is a very special year to be in Cape Town!  Not only is South Africa hosting the Soccer World Cup, but we are also hosting the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangeliziation.

If you've never heard of Lausanne, or only have a vague understanding of what Lausanne does then please watch the short history video below.  It is a remarkable movement with a great deal of practical and theological diversity, centered around one aim - to bring the whole Gospel to the whole world.

I have been so encouraged by the young, passionate, creative people that I have been engaging with around Lausanne.  Yesterday I had the joy of spending some time on a conference call with Charles Lee (see his website here), the founder of the ideacamp and ideation Conference- This guy is revolutionising TED style gatherings in the US, and he is giving some of his time and expertise to drive the social media strategy for Lausanne.

In in his 'personal' capacity he formed the 'Just One' campaign - which is a faith based social justice movement in the US.  There are so many like him who have understood the core of the Gospel, and they're engaging in making it real in creative and engaging ways!  I can't wait to have them all here in October this year!

You can participate in the Global Conversation!  Your voice and input counts and it will shape the strategy and the theology of the Lausanne movement going ahead. 

• Please follow the CapeTown2010 Lausanne Twitter feed.  
• Then please also join the Lausanne Movement fan page.  
• Lastly, please visit the Global Conversation website - this month's article is on postmodernism, secularism and the Christian faith.

Steve, do you have any thoughts on Lausanne? Wes, what are your thoughts? You two are the most astute Missiologist I know (personally)!

If anyone has any ideas about Lausanne please leave a comment below!  Could I also please ask you to encourage your friends, family and Christian Networks to follow the twitter feed, facebook page and engage in the conversation?