Back to Cape Town - 27 March 2011

Our time in the US ended on a high note - the two day conference on our book, 'Transform your work Life' and our Unashamedly Ethical campaign went off extremely well. Both Graham and I were well received by the 180 people in attendance, we ended the weekend with the establishment of a UE community in Palos Verdes and another in Hollywood. We also had close to 90 persons commit themselves to the Unashamedly Ethics commitment to ethics in personal and business life.

LA was wonderful! It is such beautiful place, and our hosts, Dave and Kristen Wendorff were just wonderful. I feel that I have made friends in them that will last me a lifetime!

I am truly grateful for your prayers, the Lord blessed us in so many ways. I look forward to being back in the USA in June. But for now I cannot wait to get home! Our flight goes from LA to Washington (5 hours), then Washington to Johannesburg (via Dakar, which is 16.5 hours) and then Johannesburg to Cape Town (which is another 2 hours). Together with the airport lay overs it is almost 2 days in transit, but for the joy of being with the wonderful friends in Jacksonville, San Francisco, San Jose and LA, AND for the joy of getting home it is worth it! I cannot wait to see Megie, Courtney and Liam! They will collect me at just before 10pm.

The official press release for the Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town

Here is the official press release for the Third Lausanne Congress in World Evangelization that began this evening.

THE THIRD LAUSANNE CONGRESS OPENS

The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization opens in Cape Town this weekend, Sunday 17 October 2010. It draws together 4,000 invited participants from 197 nations, and extends through GlobaLink sites to 90 countries. The Congress theme is 'God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself' (2 Corinthians 5:19) and how to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching in every region of the world and every sphere of society.

The Lausanne Movement, founded by Billy Graham, is uniquely placed to gather evangelicals for a common purpose. The Congress will reaffirm the primary truths of biblical Christianity, and engage with critical issues set to face the Church over the next decade. These issues have been identified through consultations around the world. Doug Birdsall, Chairman of The Lausanne Movement, said: ‘We have worked to engage evangelical leaders on all continents. This is the first Congress of its kind in the digital age, and we’re praying it will herald a new moment for the Church.’

In this information age, traffic on the eight-language Congress website is expected to be high, and radio networks will relay programmes across Africa and Latin America, on the themes of the Congress.

The 1974 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization produced The Lausanne Covenant, widely regarded as one of the most significant documents in recent church history. Reflecting on this, Archbishop Henry Orombi, Chair of the Africa Host Committee, declared: ‘Under God, the legacy of The Third Congress is up to us!’ The Cape Town Commitment: a statement of belief and a call to action, will be published out of the Congress. Dr Chris Wright, Director of Langham Partnership International, is the chief architect of the new statement, working in partnership with senior theologians from all continents.

Each of the six days of the Congress will begin with a study in Ephesians, led by pastor-theologians from around the world. ‘We will be studying Ephesians as a global community,’ said Blair Carson, Congress Director. ‘We want it to be a grounding for a whole new movement of communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ.’

John Stott and Billy Graham have sent personal greetings, assuring the Congress of their daily prayer. Both are now becoming frailer, but have lost none of their passion for Christ and his gospel. Billy Graham, reflecting on the huge scale of changes in the world, wrote from his home in North Carolina,   ‘One of your tasks during Cape Town 2010 will be to analyze those changes, and to assess their impact on the mission to which God has called us in this generation.’

John Stott expressed his particular pleasure that the Congress is being hosted in Africa: ‘I pray that you will be able to share richly in the blessing God has poured out on the Church in that continent, as well as sharing in the pain and suffering of his people there.’

Participants in the Congress truly stand on the shoulders of giants.

END

The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization starts in Cape Town

I have just taken up my seat in the main hall of the Cape Town International Convention Centre - what a glorious moment! There are more than 5700 persons at this Congress, 4500 of them are participants from over 200 cow tries. The remainder are volunteers and there is a small contingent of staff. The major of the participants are from the majority world!

It is going to be an awesome time together! Please follow the congress on our Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/capetown2010

I'll also be posting updates here as often as I can find the time!

Please also interact with other persons from across the world at http://www.lausanne.org/conversation

We are called to share the Gospel with all!

Welcoming address to the Lausanne Congress Leadership 11 October 2010

Yesterday morning (11 October 2010) the Churches of Cape Town welcomed the leadership of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization to the City.

The Rev Peter Langerman, who is the chairmain of the Consultation of Christian Churches in Cape Town - an eccumenical body of Christian Churches for the City - welcomed Doug Birdsall, Blair Carlson, and Jomo Mchunu at the gaterhing which was held in Brackenfell, Cape Town.

Rev Langerman's superb welcoming address (see below) set the scene for the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization that is set to start on Sunday the 17th of October 2010 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.  Rev Doug Birdsall responded to the welcome by sharing his excitement for the Congress and telling the story of how the Third Lausanne Congress came to be held in Cape Town.

At this particular gathering I was one of the representative leaders of the Churches of Cape Town.  Although I serve on the volunteer staff of the Lausanne Movement and will also be one of the 50 South African participants at next week's Congress.  It is set to be an incredible time of interaction, strategy, theological discourse and most importantly worship and prayer as just over 5000 persons from more than 200 countries across the globe gather in Cape Town.

If you would like to follow the events of the Congress we shall have a team of 'social networking' volunteers who will post updates on the @CapeTown2010 twitter feed and the Lausanne Momement Facebook page.  I would encourage you to join the Global Conversation to make your voice heard!  You don't need to be in attendance at the congress to have an input into the discussions!  This photograph shows some of my social networking team (Stephen Murray in green and Aaron Marshall with the white T-Shirt... If you look REALY carefully you'll see me behind the camera ;-), meeting with the head of Digital Communications (Naomi Frizzel) and her team (Andrew Brumme and Casey Newmeyer).

Here is Peter's wonderful address - it scetches a wonderful picture of the relationship between South Africa (Africa), the City of Cape Town and the misisons movement.

Lausanne Church Leaders' Lunch - Monday 11th October 2010

Doug, Blair, Jomo, Cape Town Church Leaders, Friends

On the 14th February 2007, the Consultation of Christian Churches, on behalf of the broader Christian community in Cape Town, extended a formal invitation to Blair and the International Lausanne Committee for the 3rd Lausanne Congress to be hosted in Cape Town. This 3rd Congress follows the 1st held in Lausanne in 1974 and the 2nd held in Manila in 1989. Fortunately, history records that the invitation was accepted and now we stand just days away from the official opening of that Congress.

By hosting the Congress in South Africa in 2010, we will be righting wrongs, correcting errors, and redressing injustices that occurred 100 years ago.

In 1910, there was a very famous and significant mission's conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The organisers of that conference understood the need to hear other voices and they understood that the locus of Christian activity was not confined to the Continental USA or Europe. Consequently, the organisers invited participants from other parts of the world, significantly, Asia and South America to take part. But, they didn't invite a single African. This is the first injustice that shall be addressed as in 2010 Africa will welcome the world.

The year 1910 was also a significant year in that the four semi-autonomous South African republics formed the Union of South Africa, a further step in the disenfranchisement and subjugation of people of colour in South Africa. This was yet another step towards the marginalisation of the majority of South Africa's people which culminated in the scourge of Apartheid and the suffering of millions of people. This is the second injustice that shall be addressed by our hosting of the Congress in the Western Cape in 2010 on behalf of all the peoples of South Africa.

The formation of the Union of South Africa entrenched the seclusion of South Africa from the rest of the African continent that lead to a sense of arrogance and superiority that marked our relationship with our brothers and sisters from other African nations. This is the third injustice that shall be addressed by hosting the Conference in South Africa in 2010 as we will have an opportunity to serve our sisters and brothers from Africa.

Yet, not only will we be privileged to serve our African family. We are conscious that for many years Africa was the recipient of missionaries from many different countries and we can testify that the gospel has borne fruit in this continent. African Christianity is vibrant and strong today partly because of the obedience and sacrifice of missionaries over many years from many different nations. Africa is now in the process of becoming a missionary-sending continent, eager for the opportunity to minister to the nations of the world. This Congress, and the partnerships that will flow from it, are our opportunity to respond by taking the good news of the gospel to many nations, including the nations who served us in the past by bringing the gospel to our shores.

The introduction to the Lausanne Covenant says, "We ... praise God for his great salvation and rejoice in the fellowship he has given us with himself and with each other. We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the Gospel is God's good news for the whole world, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christ's commission to proclaim it to all mankind and to make disciples of every nation." 

The same document, talking about the role of the church says, "... World evangelization requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. The Church is at the very centre of God's cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading the gospel. ... [The church] becomes a stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the gospel or lacks a living faith in God, a genuine love for people, or scrupulous honesty in all things ..."

As representatives of the church in Cape Town we must confess that these words continue to challenge us. We are deeply stirred by God's work in these days as we see living evidence of God's kingdom extended to the ends of the earth in the Lausanne Congress participants who will arrive in a few short days in or city from every nation on the earth. We are moved to confess our sins in the light of our failures and inaction, especially in our inward-looking, maintenance-driven focus that characterises much of modern church life. We are challenged by the task that lies ahead for us, even in our own country where there are many thousands who have yet to hear the good news of the gospel. We want to be part of the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole earth. Hosting the Congress is a reminder and a challenge to us. A reminder of the part we are called to play in Godís cosmic purpose and a challenge to our structures and that sometimes become stumbling blocks to evangelism. We trust that we will not forget our responsibility, that we will rise to the challenge. History will judge whether we have been successful or not.

As a token of our appreciation, we would like to present you, Doug, with a small gift and a letter signed by all those who have shared in this event today. This Congress marks another step in a process that began on a mountaintop in Galilee when the resurrected Christ gave his disciples a commission and will be completed when the glorified and ascended Christ returns to stand on the Mount of Olives. This Congress will hopefully stand out as a landmark between those two epochal moments.

Rev Peter Langerman (Chairman of the CCC).

There is great excitement in the air!

God's beauty in nature! What a sunrise!

This beautiful sunrise scene was what greeted me this morning as I left for a cycle. So beautiful! The Cape has incredible sunrise and sunset scenes at this time of the year!

Lord, I love your work!

Some more photographs of Cape Town for Jesus! Incredible!

A friend of Graham (Power), Leon Pheiffer, took some incredible photographs of the Cape Town for Jesus event on Monday!  It was such an amazing event.  take a look at these incredible pictures.

A picture of the the stadium at the foot of table mountain.

Each time that I see this photo I am amazed at how full the stadium was!  Because I was in charge of getting the speakers and participants from the VIP suite on the 4th floor down onto the stage on the sub basement I didn't get to see too much for the programme or people, these pictures give some idea of how many people attended Cape Town for Jesus on 22 March 2010! Incredible.

Thanks for the photos Leon!

Well, it is 2.30AM in South Africa, 8.30AM in Malaysia.  I had a great night's sleep.  Yesterday was a full day of meetings and speaking engagements.  I am always amazed at how excited people are to hear Graham and I tell the story of the birth of the Global Day of Prayer and what God is doing through our simple ministry in the marketplace.  Among those we met was Larry Lee - Larry thanks for your friendship!  I look forward to staying connected in the months to come!  In this photo Larry is 4th from the left (next to Pastor Andy who is wearing the purple shirt and Prof Tan in the blue shirt).

Graham's book - Not by Might, nor by Power (the story of the Global Day of Prayer) is a wonderful chronicle of how this prayer movement spread from the first stadium event at Newlands Rugby stadium (Cape Town) in 2001 to ever country across the world (all 220 countries), with more than 350 million participants, in 2009!  We met with the Global Day of Prayer in Malaysia central committee, then spoke at a Full Gospel Business Fellowship dinner in the evening.  At 11pm we came back to the Hotel and met Pastor Daniel Ho, the minister of Damansara Utama Methodist Church a Methodist 'mega-Church' in Malaysia.  He was such an encouragement.  A humble man with such a strong commitment to engaging all levels of society to see tangible transformation for the sake of justice, ethics, and the establishment of Christ's Kingdom.

Today we have a meeting with the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship central committee (NECF), then I will be meeting my friend Sivin Kit - the minister of Bangsar Lutheran Church.  I am so looking forward to that!  Then in the evening we shall be speaking to about 600 people at one of the large local Churches which Professor Malcom Tan (who I first met here in Malaysia in 2007) is an elder in.

I would appreciate your prayers for our visit here!  We still have two days before heading to Singapore and then Hong Kong.

Cape Town for Jesus - the final countdown!

With just 19 hours to go to the start of the Cape Town for Jesus event at the new Cape Town stadium in Greenpoint, my excitement is growing.

I spent the day here with our wonderful Global Day of Prayer team running through the rehearsal and final arrangements for the day. Etienne Piek, the head of GDOP has done an incredible job on putting together a diverse group of participants - with a wide range in age, gender, race and theological background. Among the participants will be Graham Power, Angus Buchan, Nicky Cruz, Barry Isaacs, Zoleka Majola, AyJay Jaantjies and many others.

In the one picture in this post you'll see my friend John van de Laar who runs a ministry called Sacredise.  John is a gifted musician who has his own CD's and has even written books on worship.  His particular specialty is bringing together diverse styles of worship (contemporary and liturgical, as well as African and more western styles - see http://www.sacredise.com for more on his ministry.  Some of the other musicians who will be leading worship include Retief Burger, Trevor Sampson and Usher Bell.

The stadium itself is something to behold! It is incredible!  There is a high priority on security - could I please warn you not to bring bags of any kind with you (women may bring a small handbag, but that's about it).

Remember that the gates open at 11am and you must have sourced your ticket from Computicket beforehand at http://www.computicket.com - I have had a few people contact me regarding the parking arrangments for the event.  Please see this PDF document for details of parking around the City of Cape Town for Cape Town for Jesus.

If you're attending look out for me and say hi! I'll be running behind the stage in a bright orange golf shirt with a GDOP logo on it. Also please leave a comment below to let me know what your experience of the day was.

When last I heard 50 000 of the avialable 55 000 seats had been allocated. So we're looking forward to an awesome time!

Cape Town for Jesus! iKapa lelika Yesu!

I attended the program committee meeting for the Cape Town for Jesus prayer gathering that will be taking place at the new Cape Town (Greenpoint) Soccer stadium on the 22nd of March.

The incredible variety of participants in the program is so exciting!  It is going to be an awesome time of diverse worship, many opportunities to focus upon and pray for important issues (among them are the City of Cape Town, the Soccer World cup - there will be 32 soccer teams in attendance!, issues such as human trafficking, racial reconciliation, crime, poverty, HIV/AIDS, ethics and values and a whole host of other important issues).

I had the joy of speaking with uncle Angus Buchan at the Turn2God event in Pretoria on Saturday - he is so excited about speaking at the Cape Town for Jesus prayer event.  I also had a chance to speak with Helen Zille and Kenneth Meshoe (who have both indicated that they will be in attendance at the event).

Please could I ask that you publicize this event as widely as you possibly can?  Please put it in your Church's notices, get your youth groups, women's and men's groups, your friends, cell groups and family to get their tickets as soon as possible.

Tickets can be purchased from Computicket (either online, or from any Checkers store).

There are only 2 Sundays left before the event, so please don't miss the opportunity to give it some exposure in your notices this Sunday.  Gates open at 11am, the worship will start soon after that, and the official program will run from 13.00-16.00.

For more information you can see the Global Day of Prayer, South Africa, website at http://www.gdop-sa.com

Lastly, if you use twitter you can follow the events for Cape Town for Jesus at http://www.twitter.com/CapeTown4Jesus

Below are a few images from Saturday's Turn2God event at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.  

Some of the volunteers

A few of the Christian sports personalities in attendance

Angus Buchan and Helen Zille

Some of the leaders in prayer

Final tips, advice, and preparation for the Cape Argus cycle tour

If, like me, you're a cyclist with more passion than fitness, then every tip for the Cape Argus 110km cycle tour will be welcome.  I found these great tips on the 'Wanna-B-Team' blog.

I'll do about 2 hours of cycling this week (it's a busy week unfortunately with not much time to ride).

 I've been eating carefully - lots of carbs, very little fat, and lots of liquids.  After riding the Mountain Bike Argus this Sunday I am feeling fantastic!  My legs were not sore today (perhaps that's because I had trained for the 55km but only got to finish 36km before the race was cut short due to heat).

Anyway, I would love to hear any tips and advice you follow, or would like to share, for this weekend's road race!

Don’t train like crazy in the last few days leading up to the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour. A total of four hours of easy cycling during the final week, with a last light training session the day before and a light, carbo-loaded breakfast two hours before starting time, is the best thing to do.

Here is a list of last-minute do's and don’ts for cyclists ahead of the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour:

Don’t train like crazy in the last few days leading up to the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour. A total of four hours of easy cycling during the final week, with a last light training session the day before and a light, carbo-loaded breakfast two hours before starting time, is the best thing to do.
 

Here is a list of last-minute do's and don’ts for cyclists ahead of the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour:
 

What you shouldn't do 

• Leave it to the last minute to do anything major on your bike - cycle shops are simply not going to have capacity for anything tricky. If you've trained with it, you're going to have to ride with it.
• Try and fix the back/knee/ankle problem that had been troubling you - it's too late to make any significant improvement.
• Train like crazy. Too many extra kilometres and hours will have the opposite effect of what you're hoping for: you may be fitter, but you'll also be depleted on race day.
• Climb Chapman's Peak for the first time, at speed - if you're going to climb it for the first time this week, do it very slowly - or in a car. In fact, if you haven't climbed it before, rather wait until the day unless you are a very strong cyclist.
• Eat nothing but carbohydrates between now and the ride.
• Get drunk the night before the tour.
• Leave picking up your race number to the last minute - particularly if you live in Cape Town.
• Buy new equipment/clothing this week and use it on the ride - only ride in tried-and-tested clothes on a tried-and-tested bike.

What you should do in final preparation  

• Ride for about four hours this week – all easy rides, with just a small amount of sprinting.
• Do your last ride on Saturday - an easy ride (no more than one hour) - using the same kit you will ride with on Sunday.
• Prepare yourself mentally for the ride - know that you will relax and enjoy it.
• Check your splits on the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour website - it will give you a good idea of where you have to be and when, in order to achieve your target time. Be realistic.
• Pick your race number up in good time.
• Try and have an early night on Friday - you will sleep better than you will on Saturday.

The night before: the checklist 

• Make sure you have adequate amounts of your favourite carbohydrate drink - put it in the fridge or the freezer the night before.
• Decide what you will take to eat on the ride, and pack it into easy-to-access bags.
• Include suncream sachets
• Pin your race number on and lay out your cycling clothes for easy access in the early morning.
• Make sure that your start and finish cards and your transponder are with your clothes.
• Put your helmet, gloves and sunglasses out at the same time.
• Check your bike - including pumps, spare tubes and puncture repair kits.
• Don't go to bed too early - you won't sleep.
• Make sure you know your starting time and when you need to be in your shute.
• If you are starting late, make sure you know which roads are going to be closed and when, so that you can get to the start on time.
• Programme the medical emergency number into your cellphone: 021 434 1199.

On the morning 

• Eat breakfast about two hours before your start. Eat mainly carbohydrates, and keep it light.
• Apply sunblock just before you leave.
• Take something to eat and drink while waiting to start - again, carbohydrates in both the food and the drink.
• Stretch while you wait to start and try to sit down until you have to go into the main starting shute.

On the ride 

• Keep to the left if you are nervous
• Look in front of you at all times
• Drink enough water, but don't overhydrate
• Enjoy the ride!
• If you need to bail out, move to the side of the road and wait for the sweep vehicle, or stop at any of the official bail-out points. They are the Old Boyes Drive link to Main Road, Dido Valley Road in Simon's Town, immediately before the Naval Gunnery School, refreshment station #9 at the foot of Red Hill, refreshment station #12 at the foot of Chapman's Peak, and the first traffic circle in Hout Bay.
• At the finish, don't come to a dead stop. You'll cause a pile-up.

Update on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 9:16AM by Dr Dion Forster

What race time are you aiming for this year?  Last year in the Cape of Storms Argus tour I rode a 4h58min!  It was a HECTIC ride in the wind.  I hope to do a sub 4 hour this year - it will be a great celebration if it does happen!

I was sent this link to the Garmin site that allows you to see the splits and activity for a sub 4 hour Argus ride.

I joked with my friends and said I would follow the route but just double the times - I'm heading for a sub 8 hour Argus! Don't joke, my wonderful wife once rode 7h30mins!  She hasn't ridden the Argus since...

Be blessed as you prepare for the ride.  It's going to be a fun one - at least the weather has cooled down a bit in Cape Town today.

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

The MCSA's resolution on same sex unions.

It was a tough and taxing day at Conference today. I don't have a great deal of energy to offer critique on the adopted resolution. So, here's the resolution - I'll post more later.

--- The Resolution (excluding the text in bold):

This Conference of 2007, in considering the ongoing same-sex discussion, declares its determination not to permit different viewpoints among us to further divide our church. In the face of our differences we recall and reaffirm the 1958 Conference resolution declaring that "it is the will of God for the Methodist Church that it should be one and undivided."

In the light of that declaration, and informed by the 2001 Conference commitment to being "a community of love rather than rejection," and the 2005 Conference resolution inviting Methodists embracing "many different and even opposing views on the issue” to “journey together," this Conference seeks a way forward that both respects and holds in tension differing views among our ministers and people.
Conference therefore resolves:
i) That the grace, affirmation of diversity, and commitment to the unity of the church central to the same-sex resolutions of the 2001 and 2005 Conferences be re-affirmed;
ii) That our ministers and people continue to engage this issue in Christian conversation and respectful listening, so that all of us may more fully understand and articulate the variety of viewpoints held within our church;
iii) That we will seek to be a Christ-honouring community:
Celebrating the rich diversity of those called to follow Jesus, honouring the sacred worth of all people and practicing our Wesleyan heritage of warmth, welcome and hospitality;
Recognising the authority of Scripture, and noting that in our quest for understanding, there is no one, monolithic and incontrovertible interpretation of it;
Acknowledging that there are therefore some issues upon which there may never be total unanimity within the church and upon which we must "agree to differ" without reducing our respect for, and trust of, one another;

The following piece was removed from the original resolution we sent through (you can see the original word document in an earlier post on this blog). Here's what was removed:

Affirming Methodism's long-held practice of trusting our ministers to decide who they will or will not marry, and trusting them to exercise their pastoral judgment with integrity in deciding which relationships they will bless, governed by their understanding of Scripture, reason, tradition and experience;
Covenanting to gracefully and equally protect the consciences and actions of those ministers who do not wish to conduct same-sex unions as well as those who wish to do so.
iv) That, in consequence of all the above, the Presiding Bishop and Secretariat of our church be requested to take whatever appropriate legal or other measures necessary to fully implement this resolution.

The removed section above was replaced with the following text (below):

Conference approves the publication of Bible Study material which will assist members of the Church to reflect on the issue of Christians and homosexuality and same-sex relationships;

Conference directs that a meeting be convened to consider the wide spectrum of viewpoints on the civil unions of same-sec souples in order to listen to each other, identify points of agreement and differences and seek a way forward that will enhance the unity of the church. DEWCOM is mandated to convene this engagement;

Conference recognizes that any decision and subsequent action on the issue of civil unions between same-sex partners must await the outcome of the ongoing process of engagement as specified by Conference 2005 (Yearbook 2006, 8.3, p.75) and, in the interim, expects Methodist ministers to continue to offer pastoral care to homosexual individuals as to all others.

What was of great interest to me is that the original resolution that our commission sent forward to the main group ended with the words "to offer pastoral care to homosexual couples as to all others." However, the Conference changed it to "homosexual individuals" since there was a feeling that the use of the word 'couples' would send a message that the Church accepted and affirmed gay persons.

There are both things to celebrate, and things to mourn, in the final resolution.

Firstly, I mourn the fact that even though the first part of this resolution, that I worked very hard to word with care and respect, that was tempered by the wisdom of Prof Peter Storey, and that made great concessions to those who hold a different view from me, was accepted - the spirit of it was negated by making the radical distinction between 'the right to think differently', yet denying many of us 'the right to act differently'. So, it would seem that the fraility of the Church ensured that once again we were willing to SAY what we should be, did not have the courage to DO what it would take to become what we should be... Secondly, the exclusion of the word 'couples' is simply a ' head in the sand' decision... It shows that our Church does not yet accept that there ALREADY are gay and lesbian members and clergy! While one is dealing with the concept of homosexual Christians you can objectify them as individuals. However, I don't know very many gay and lesbian Christians who are not in some relationship, and so are seen as more than just individuals. Here in Africa the denial of community is a denial of belonging and of course a denial of true identity. Sadly we were party to that today.

However, it is not all bad news! The great news is that we ensured that the Church remained united! Secondly, we also reaffirmed that at least our desire is to be a Church of affirmation and acceptance, and not a Church of rejection. Thirdly, when we voted on this resolution I noted the hands of a few Bishops, some ministers, and some laity - persons of different genders, races, and ages, voting in favour of the acceptance and blessing of same sex couples. That is a significant stride! Lastly, the right to offer 'pastoral care' to homosexual persons is now enshrined in our Church's policy. I cannot think of anything more pastoral than seeking God's gracious acceptance and blessing of persons of any gender or sexual orientation who lovingly commit themselves, and all that they are and do (including their relationships) to live under God's blessing. So, I shall continue to offer Pastoral prayers of blessing for gay individuals, and if they should happen to be together, it will be the individuals that make up the couple that will be engaged and cared for.

As a final thought - have any of my colleagues ever thought how ludicrous it is to think that we can exclude our gay and lesbian Christian members from being blessed in our services? Every time that I conclude a service with the Benediction I am asking for God's blessing on the whole of the congregation before me - I know for a fact that in my congregation at Bryanston there are a number of gay persons. If I were to apply the letter of the resolution above without interpretation I would have to ask all gay persons either to leave the Church before I pronounced the blessing, or ask them to sit on opposite sides of the sanctuary, so that it is clear that I am asking for God's blessing on the individuals, and not the couples.... Not very likely.

Well, this is the news today. We have won a small space that we can inhabit in humble love. We have chosen to live in the small space where people who are rejected by society can find at least some blessing, love, and pastoral care - that is significant. There is much work ahead before SYNOD next year.

Please could you take a look at my good friend Dr Wessel Bentley's blog? His reflection is better than mine, AND he has pictures!!! You can read his blog here http://www.wesselsplace.blogspot.com. In the picture on the right (thanks Wes), you'll see (from Right to Left) Dianne Moodie (Edenvale), Ken Carr (East London), Barry Marshall (Port Elizabeth), me (from wherever I happen to be), Wessel Bentley (Pretoria), Alan Storey (Midrand, Johannesburg), and my good friend Kevin Needham (Cape Town)! What a great evening!

Tomorrow we celebrate the future of our Church as we ordain 29 Presbyters and 4 Deacons - a third of them are women. We celebrate with joy that God still calls persons to the ministry, we give thanks that these people are gifted, that they could have chosen to do, and be, many other things, but that they have chosen to respond faithfully to God's call to give their best, and be their best, for God. We will pray that God's Holy Spirit will fill them with power and the conviction to live out the Gospel values of Jesus Christ, and that through their faithful and loving ministry the world will be changed and recreated to God's glory.

Then, I fly home! I can't wait!!!