The not so mighty US dollar - a few 'Ben Franklins', what do you use?

Yesterday I changed some South African Rand (our local currency) for US$. I leave for a trip to Israel this week. The SA Rand is not a strong currency (we pay about R8 for US$1), but there is little doubt that the US$ is weakening. Regardless, it hurts to pay R8 for $1! When I last visited Israel it cost $1 to use a public toilet, that's R8 to 'spend a penny'! Yikes!

Let's not talk about Pounds, when I was in the UK last year it was R16 to £1!

One day I'll post pictures of my 'money collection'. So far I have currency from:

- Israel
- Turkey
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Tunisia
- Egypt
- Kenya
- Zambia
- Mozambique
- South Africa (of course)
- Zimbabwe (I have a $1 note! How rare is that!?)
- Italy
- Spain (before the Euro)
- Australia
- Russia
- South Korea
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- United Arab Emirates
- USA
- Argentina
- Greece

I'd be interested to know what currency you use (if you're outside of SA)?

NIRSA final declaration.

The NIRSA (National Initiative for the Reformation of South Africa) met in Boksburg last week (22-23 April 2008). It was quite a remarkable gathering. There were participants from many spheres of South African life (politicians, business people, educators, and clergy from a wide range of denominations and independent ministries).

The purpose of the event was to pray together, to listen for God's guidance, and to seek workable strategies to address the most pressing issues that we are facing as a nation.

Here is the Final Draft (NIRSA.doc) of the declaration (in MS Word format). I would be interested to hear your comments and thoughts. I doubt that we will all agree on all of the points, but I am pleased that Christians are working together to hold our government accountable.

While I was there Bp Brian Jennings and I also put together a statement on Zimbabwe on behalf of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (Bishop Jennings is currently the Presiding Bishop while Bishop Abrahams is on long leave). I would be interested to see if the statement makes it into the press - it has to go through a bureaucratic process before it can be released....

Well, here's the introduction from the NIRSA statement, there are a number of resolutions that follow the preamble.

We, the 450 participants in the National Initiative for the Reformation of South Africa, meeting on April 22-23, 2008 at the Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, representing different areas of leadership in all domains of South African national life, hereby declare afresh our commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord, Saviour and Coming King. We reaffirm our confidence in the Bible as the inspired Word of God and as our supreme authority in all matters of life and faith. (cf. 2 Timothy 3: 16 -17).

We have come together with great urgency at a mere few weeks' notice, and sometimes a few days, out of deep concern for the grave state of South African society to seek God’s way forward for us as both church and nation. We acknowledged and felt constrained as we met in the spirit of Jehoshaphat to pray: "We are powerless…we don’t know what to do…but our eyes are upon Thee." (2 Chronicles 20:12). We sought to submit ourselves to Almighty God and to the rule of God’s ways and Kingdom.

We have celebrated the power and sovereignty of our God in both creation and history. We have sought to see His face afresh and to turn our eyes upon Jesus. We have come afresh to the foot of the Cross and this has humbled us and brought us to a new place of repentance for our sins, whether personal, church or national. It has also led us to see in new ways that our sins, failures and disunities as Christians have diminished our authority to speak prophetically with one voice to either the nation or the government. We have sought to repent of this. We seek in the light of God’s mercy and forgiveness to move forward positively both as a NIRSA fellowship, a network of committed believers, and as an informal Christian coalition committed to reformation of South Africa. We thank God for a rebirth of hope, faith and confidence and renewed vision of what our nation can be under God.

Acknowledging the foundations laid by past and present Christian initiatives, building on those foundations and committed to strengthening existing initiatives without compromise for God’s standards and Word, we issue a prophetic and urgent call to Church, Government and society at large,
• to apply themselves with all diligence to the reformation and renewal of South African society
• to commit themselves to finding effective solutions to community and national problems
• to apply themselves with intentionality to more effective nation building.

Technorati tags: NIRSA, Michael Cassidy, Moss Nhla, Church and state

From hostility to hospitality.... From callousness to care.

I used this very meaningful prayer in my devotions today.

'Ever-loving God, who having loved us loves us still, help us to hear again your word, "by this shall they know you are my disciples' that you love one another." Turn our hostility into hospitality and our callousness into to care. Through Christ we pray. Amen'

(From the Upper Room devotional guide)

Perhaps it will be of some encouragement to you.

Back to NIRSA today, incredible response to the 'Mighty Men of God' conference.

It is just before 8am here in Johannesburg and I am on my way back to the NIRSA (National Innitiative for the Reformation of South Africa) conference near the OR Tambo airport. This is the second day of the conference. Yesterday was an interesting, and encouraging, day. The tone of the day was listending, praying, and strategising for change in South Africa (and Southern Africa). The speakers and presenters came from a variety of theological backgrounds and denominations, ranging from the Catholic Arch Bishop, to evangelical leaders, there were members of government (such as Chief Mangasotho Buthelezi), and leaders of industry.

The points that came through most clearly by the end of the day were:

1. The Church has a great responsibility to 'disciple the nation' for responsible living in accordance with Kingdom values. This is NOT to be confused with nationalism. Rather, it means that we should be helping our members to understand that their faith is NOT just about that 1 hour of worship on a Sunday. Rather, their faith influence their economic, social, political and moral choices. This point was particularly strongly made when we considered that such a large percentage of our population profess the Christian faith, yet crime is high, there is rampant hopelessness, we have adbidcated our responsibilities to government etc.

2. There is a need to move from a shallow 'personal salvation' paradigm to an understanding that Christians must unite forces, across denominational and theological lines, to bring about healing and transformation in society. The issue here, is that the function of the Church in society is NOT Church growth (for the sake of building empires for denomonations and individuals), rather the emphasis is upon working together to bring about God's will and desire in our country. For example, what is the Church doing about hungry children, what is the Church in your area doing about HIV / AIDS, what is the Church doing about issues of moral decay? In short, we were challenged to understand that the Church has done a fairly good job of presenting the message of the Gospel, now it was time to establish the Kingdom of the Gospel.

3. Two innitiatives were validated as central to this process: a. The need to be praying together much more ardently for the needs of our nation(both listening for God's guidance, but also presenting our needs, concerns and desires to God), b. to support the 'unashamedly ethical' campaing (see www.transformationafrica.com where we personally take responsibility for our own Christian ethical conduct (to deal with negative issues such as sin, but also to encourage positive responses to problems, such as generosity, inclusivity, etc.).

Well, I hope to post a few more thoughts and pictures throughout the day. Please continue to pray for all who are participating in this seminal event in our nation's history.

PS. for the Methodists among us, there is a wonderful representation of Methodists (including our own Khoza Mgogo and Vido Nyobole) here! I am greatly encouraged by the diversity of persons (Anglicans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, independents, Evangelicals, Charismatics.... etc., etc.)

PPS. With regards to the 'Mighty men of God' conference, the response has been overwhelming both here on this blog, and among the participants of the NIRSA conference. It would seem that this event has touched so many lives! I have never had the ammount of traffic to my blog as I do now (I am getting close to 1200 hits a day on the Mighty Men of God posts and photographs). While many persons from different perspectives at the conference were present, there seems to be consensus on the matter that such a large, simple, and significant event could have very positive impacts upon our society. Let's pray that it is so!

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing, NIRSA Michael Cassidy, Church and State

NIRSA - an honest reflection on the state of the Church in South Africa.

This picture shows 4 panelists reflecting on the state of the Church (a minister (Rev Trevor Pearce from the Anglican Church, speaking), a lawyer (Mrs Teresa Conradie, seated on the right), a parachurch ministry leader, and a marketplace minister (Mr Graham Power of the Global Day of Prayer and the Power Group of Companies, seated right).

The statistics of the South African National census (between 1911 and 2001) show that there has been steady increase in the number of persons who profess the Christian faith (in 2001, 79% of South Africans). However, what this reflects, in reality, is that 79% of all crimes, all acts of corruption, all aspects of abuse of women and children.... (and the list could go on and one) are perpetrated (79% of them at least) by Christians!

Of course the reality is that 79% of South Africans are not Christians, rather the Church is a much weaker and less influential aspect of society. This is a wakeup call for us! We have a responsibility to bring persons into a real life encounter with Christ our Lord, and then we need to equip such persons will the values of the Gospel of Christ (grace, love, morals, inclusivity etc.) and the tools that each peraon will need in order to bring these values to bear on society at large in order to establish what we pray for each Sunday, namely the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven...

Of course, I ask myself, if there are so many churches, and so many christians, why don't we mobilise ourselves to address our government!? Are we, as Christians, OK with the silence of our government on what is taking place in Zimbabwe? Are we happy that corrupt leaders rule our nation and become the role models our children follow? Have we possibly given over our responsibility for what takes place in society to a government that doesn't care what the majority of our population thinks or wants for South Africa?

I am challenged! One of the speakers noted that we should 'aspire to inspire before we expire'.

The Africa Enterprise 'Fox Fire' team at the NIRSA conference in JHB

It is wonderful to see such a large grouping of concerned Christians gathering to pray, listen, engage, and seek to hear God's voice for the South African nation and Southern African region. Please pray that we will hear God's voice, find God's guidance, and in doing so be a blessing from God to our nation.

NIRSA 2008 - We need a Paul (premodern / postmodernist)

I have been amazed by the strong reaction and response that I have received from some quarters regarding the 'Mighty Men of God' conference that I attended this week. The responses that have come my way (some in the comments of the posts that I have made, and some via email) have ranged from enthusiastic support to complete rejection. I suppose that I should not be surprised by this. Christians do tend to negotiate their faith from their respective corners of conviction. This 'divide' does worry me however, since we do need to find one another in order to be effective agents of God's mission in the world.

By the statement, 'corners of conviction', I mean that I have come to understand that I, and most other Christians, operate from the perspective of our beliefs. This is a perfectly understandable response since it is so strongly related to how we make meaning of our world. My meaning relates to my perspective. If that meaning is pressed upon I am likely to press back in order to hold the point of view that most effectively helps me to understand the world and deal with it.

This morning as I write this I am on a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg (my appologies to Anonymous who chastised me for flying too frequently ;-). I am on my way to the NIRSA (National Initiative to Reform South Africa) conference. I am fairly certain that I will encounter the same 'perspective driven' faith among the participants this week. Each of us approaches the conference with hopes, desires, dreams, and concerns for ourselves and our nation. When you mix our faith perspectives into that pot you are presented with some 'answers' to our situation (some would suggest prayer, others would suggest social action, some will lay a stronger emphasis on economic development, others on morality and ethics). Of course we need each others perspectives in order to bring a balanced overarching solution to the complexity of our situation.

What I pray is that the leaders of this initiative will have the wisdom to understand, validate, and create space for the varying perspectives to engage respectfully and cooperatively with one another towards achieving the greater goal of faith driven transformation.

As we approach one another from our various 'corners of conviction' there are two basic options open to us. First, there is the image of two boxers coming out of their corners, each approaching the other with the intention of overpowering and defeating the other. I am convinced that such an approach is counterproductive to the Gospel, doing more harm to the establishment of God's Kingdom than achieving its good. The second image is that of young blusing teenagers, carefully approaching one another across the floor of the gymnasium at a high school dance. Their approach is brave, scary, and vulnerable. As they approach they understand the possibility of their courage, they look past their lack of understanding and their difference in the hope of engaging in a wonderful dance.

I am in the process of editing a superb academic article for Prof Abrie du Toit form the Unviversity of Pretoria. In it he is considering the religious, sociological, and psychological complexity of the apostle Paul's religious identity. Paul had the capacity to embrace diverse, and even conflicting, social and religious influences so that they became part of the rich tapestry of his cultural and religious identity. Whilst this is not Prof du Toit's understanding, I have been struck by the fact that Paul was a wonderful pre-modern example of a post-modern person. He was able to straddle Tarsus and Jerusalem, Hellenism and Judaism, liberal universalism and conservative legalism. In short, Paul was a pragmatist - he looked for a faith perspective that worked and then carefully crafted a theology around that. Take a look at what Paul writes in 1 Cor 9.19-23. The point is that Paul went out of his way to identify with his audiences in order to engage them in a manner that would render them ready and willing to join him on his journey of persuasion. Naturally the negative corollary of such a position is that one will encounter inter-group prejudice – each group believes that their perspective is correct and superior to the perspectives of others (particularly those who hold opposing points of view). But, regardless of this Paul seemed to be pretty successful at holding things (and people) together for the sake of the mission of the Gospel of Christ by accentuating their common Christian identity.

I hope that I can do the same as I journey along my new path. I want to tie together the strings of diversity in order to weave something effective, creative, and new in my journey as a disciple of Jesus.

Joseph Stalin and Zimbabwean vote counting... Sort of.

'Those who vote count nothing, those who count count everything.' Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)

We need to remain in prayer!

Doing a bit of work on the flight back from the Mighty men of God conference.

We are often pressed for time to meet as a leadership team in GDOP. So, moments such as these are valuable. During the flight we discussed the next few weeks' meetings and conferences, we strategised how we can best utilise our time, insights, and resources to achieve
our objectives.

Here's a picture of me making a few notes as we meet on the flight back from the Mighty Men of God conference (your eyesight is fading bad - I smudged the screen of the laptop). The plane seats 7 people, with 4 us able to sit facing one another with a small 'boardroom
table' between us.

The nice thing about flying on CJ3 is that we are allowed to use our cell phones, laptops, and datacards throughout the flight. So, our work can carry on as it would if we were in the office.

4 of the passengers on the flight are from the GDOP leadership team (we also had two sons of two of the guys with us, and one of our team's son-in-law).

I remarked to some of the guys how incredible it is that I was on this amazing flight! I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have such privilege and such wonderful experiences! Hey, you need to remember that I went to high school in Boksburg! ha ha!
Sure, we work hard, but by any standards these are incredible experiences!! I am humbled and grateful.

A reflection on a great blessing. The Mighty men of God conference.

I arrived home this afternoon from the airport. It was a great weekend at the Mighty men of God conference - I could have done with a few more 'home comforts', but then again, I am a city boy! Seriously though, being on crutches is not very comfortable in the middle of the mealies, and it got a little less comfortable when it started raining last night. But, heck, that's all part of the experience!

The conference was great. I didn't learn anything new, and I guess that the intent of the conference was not to teach new things, but rather to remind us to do things that we should be doing anyway!

I was, however, inspired by the straightforward manner in which Angus Buchan challenged the men who were present to 'get their lives sorted out'. Most of his talks centered around issues of relationship with one's loved ones, the courage to serve God with passion, and finding a purpose for one's life that is about more than just working and selfishly enjoying one's self.

I enjoyed being with the group I went with - there were 7 of us. We spent time chatting, we braai'd (that's a cookout for those outside of South Africa), we camped on a farm, didn't get to shower (there was not enough water for that), and spent a lot of time sharing thoughts and ideas about our dreams, aspirations, our love for our families, our hopes for our lives, our desire for our relationship with God etc. We spent a lot of time just praying with one another and for one another and our wives and children. It has been quite a few years since I have had the joy of just being an ordinary Christian guy among other ordinary Christian guys (not a theologian, or a minister, or a Dean, but just another Christian guy). And I loved it! A number of significant shifts and breakthroughs came from among the group of men that I had the chance to talk to.

I saw many friends there too (quite a few from Bryanston, many, many, many Methodists members and Methodist ministers that I have met, served, and come to know over the years. I even met a few friends that I studied with at University from the Presbyterian, Anglican and independent Churches). Then there were the many new friends I made! I spent a lot of time chatting with a pastor from Margate who is doing remarkable work to bring together the Churches in his area to address the social needs of the community. Through him I met a young doctor, humble, gifted, and kind, who serves his Church and his community with the love of Christ. He inspired me with his faith.

So, it was a good time. On our way out of PMB we had a chance to meet with Dr Michael Cassidy to talk about the NIRSA meetings this coming week. Michael and I haven't always held the same views on certain theological issues. But he has always kindly sent me copies of his books, complimented me on sermons he has heard me preach, and offered me encouragement, advice, and support. I look forward to getting to know him better.

Of course, being a bit of a gadget guy, I CERTAINLY enjoyed the flight to and from the conference in the company jet!

There were a few 'hairy' theological moments. And I am thankful to my good friend who sent me one or two things via email to read and pray about. On the whole however even those who are less liberal than I seemed to sense when things came across too strongly or were overstated. I had many opportunities to engage with the 50 or so guys we camped with in our small area, and amazingly our theology was fairly similar in most respects. We talked about deep and significant things. Of course the one thing we all shared was a love for Jesus.

Well, I am pleased to be home, to have had a long hot bath and a hot cup of coffee. Tomorrow I go to work for a few meetings, and then on Tuesday I go to Johannesburg for the NIRSA (National Initiative to Reform South Africa) conference. I'll post some pictures and reflections from there. So please stay tuned!

Thanks for all the great comments! I am feeling more Wesleyn, and more Christian, than I have in a long while.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

Men on the conference are challenged to deal with issues of pride

The challenge of this morning's session was to for the men to think how pride has injured their relationships with others (particularly their children and wives), and with God. It was a 'straight talk' from one father to many others.

The response was deeply encouraging.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

A picture of the 2 hectare tent at the Mighty Men of God Conference near Greytown

Here's the picture, and you know what the amazing thing is? It seats 30 000 people and there is not enough space for all the guys who have come!

It has been a very blessed experience thus far.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing