We cannot divorce service of God from the service of humanity - some changes ahead

Last month I read Eric Metaxas' great biography of Dietric Bonhoeffer 'Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy'.

It has served as a wonderful reminder to me that my calling is to be a servant of God first and foremost.  And, that my service of God is to find expression in service to humanity.  Bonhoeffer was carefuly to understand what he could do, and then to do his best to apply himself to those tasks faithfully and with courage.  There is a lesson for all of us in his life - try to spend your life doing the things that God has created and called you to do.  Life is too short to waste on other things!

The quote below expresses Bonhoeffer's understanding of this notion so succintly:

The Incarnation is the ultimate reason why the service of God cannot be divorced from the service of man.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

To be human is to be 'incarnate' in the world where God has placed you.  There is work to be done in the community where you live, among the people that you see each day, and with the skills, ability and gifts that God has given you.

I will admit that I have been a little quiet on my blog for the last month or so.  

In part that is because I have been busy (every blogger's excuse!) However, that does not mean that I have not been posting! If you look to the left of this blog (at least the form it is in now, in September 2011, you will see my Tumblr feed listed in the first colum of your browser window).  I have simply found it much easier to post in the short and medium format that Tumblr allows and so I have shared brief thoughts, quotes, photographs and ideas there. So, look in on http://digitaldion.tumblr.com from time to time.

Yet, in part I have also been a little slower in posting to my blog since I have been taking time to pray and discern the way forward in my ministry and life.

I have had three fairly 'distinct' phases to my ministry.

• I was a minister who pastored various Methodist Churches for almost 15 years.
• I was an academic who held posts at both Seminaries and Universities for some years.
• Most recently I have held a corporate chaplaincy and spent a great deal of my time working among business people in the world of work.  Of course while doing this I have remained a minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and continued to hold a post at two South African Universities.

I am about to move into another phase of my ministry.  Not everything is in place, but I have permission from my Bishop, the blessing of my friends that I am currently serving, and some opportunities taking shape.

The last (almost) 4 years have been absolutely amazing! I have discovered a side to ministry that has been such a blessing to me, while I hope it has brought some joy to those among whom I have ministered. I have had the opportunity to travel the world, meet many wonderful people and experience so many new things as I have sought to faithfully serve Christ 'in the marketplace'.

This will not end.  I will continue to serve as the Chaplain to the Power Group of Companies, the Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical campaigns.  Although I shall give about 50% of my time to this wonderful work.

From January 2012 I shall be returning to a greater measure of Academic work.  

I have been invited to take up a post at the University of Stellenbosch in Ekklesia, a Unit of the Faculty of Theology at the University.  I cannot tell you how blessed I am to be able to transition into this new role of service and responsibility! To start with I will have responsibility for the Master of Theology courses that are run within the Unit, as well as some research output.

Together with this wonderful opportunity I was offered a scholarship to do a second PhD.  I have been working on a Doctorate in New Testament at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Holland, for part of this year.  Radboud is a distinguished research University - Edward Schillebeeckx was a Professor there, and Henri Nouwen did some of his studies there as well. From January I will devote a little more time and attention to this great opportunity.  It truly is a gift of a lifetime!  I am working under Professor Jan van der Watt, reading in the area of narratology in John's Gospel.  I shall apply some of the insights I developed in my first PhD in approaching the text - bringing an interdisciplinary perspective to reading the text of John (from integrative studies, neuroscience and African relational ontology).

Lastly, I shall do some consulting work - over the last few years I have found that I am approached more and more frequently to speak at conferences and gatherings on various subjects (most recently it has been on my book 'Transform your work life' (Amazon copy and Kindle Edition) which deals with developing spirituality, ministry and faith in the world of work).  

But I have also developed quite a strong base of friends and clients with whom I do spiritual guidance, counselling, life coaching and strategic development.  So I will continue to help individuals and teams (companies, churches, communities) to navigate complex challenges by drawing on my experience in ministry, spiritual direction and of course my studies in cognitive neuroscience and integrative theory.

So, I would appreciate your prayers as I move towards this change.  Please offer thanks with me that this space has been created by Graham Power and my friends in the Power Group.  They have been generous and gracious in allowing me to structure my time in this way. I am also grateful that my Bishop has so kindly supported this shift in ministry.  Also give thanks for these new opportunities that are arising at the Universities and with various friends and clients.  Please could I also ask that you pray for the practical matters that we shall need to manage, such as generating sufficient income and managing my time and resources wisely?

Indeed, these are exciting times ahead! My greatest desire is to serve God through service to humanity!

Do remember that if you are looking for someone to come and do something creative with a group at work or Church just drop me a line. Or if you are looking for someone to journey with you to solve a particular challenge you're facing, or simply for support, guidance and encouragement, please consider making use of my time.

The Bible and Christian Ethics - lectures at the University of Stellenbosch

This week I had the privelage of teaching at the University of Stellenbosch on two days.  The topic of the lectures was Scripture and Ethics.

The Bible is a critical source that informs our moral and ethical decision making processes, and helps us to justify why we have taken a particular course of action.  My lectures were based on two chapters that I have written.

“Reading the same Bible and reaching different ethical conclusions:  The Bible and Christian ethics" by Forster, D (2009:131-156) in What is a good life? An introduction to Christian Ethics in 21st century Africa. Kretzschmar, L; Bentley, W; van Niekerk, A (eds). Kempton Park, AcadSA Publishers.

And,

"Why you can't simply trust everything you read" by Forster, D (2008:25-46) in What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society from Southern African Methodists. Forster, D; Bentley, W (eds). Cape Town.  Methodist Publishing House.

When we need the Bible most... Complex ethical dilemmas and Christian scripture

Sadly, the Bible is often abused in moral and ethical decision-making processes.  I often hear people quoting a single verse to justify a stance on something (whether it be politics, sexual choices, wealth etc.)  An overly simplistic approach to ethics and an ignorant application of the scriptures can be extremely hurtful and damaging in complex ethical decisions.

In this set of lectures we began by examining the complexity of ethical decision-making.  We used a story that a student shared with me when I was still a lecturer in Ethics and Systematic Theology at the University of South Africa (UNISA) some years ago:

Moral problems tend to have straigthfoward answers (right or wrong), whereas ethical dilemmas seem to have a mix of both good and bad.  No matter what choice you make it will not be entirely good or entirely bad.  The complexity is to work out what decision is best under the circumstances.  This process of deciding is often complicated when one asks the question 'What would God want me to do in this situation?', or 'What does the Bible say I can and cannot do in this situation?'

The example used in class came from a student that I taught at UNISA.

Example:  Is it ever right for a son to have sexual intercourse with his mother?  What does the Bible say?  The answer is, no, it is not acceptable for a son to have sexual intercourse with his mother.  The Bible will not allow that.  This is a clear moral problem.  It is easy to resolve since the choices are either right or wrong, good or bad.

However, in this instances the young man was at home with his mother.  A gang of thugs burst into their home, stole various items and then held a gun to the young man’s mother’s head.  The told him that if he did not have sex with his mother they would kill her.  What should he do?  Does the Bible make some allowance for him to break a law on sexual purity because the value of his mother’s life is more important in Biblical terms?

This last point is an ethical dilemma.  There is a conflict of values – the value of sexual purity in conflict with the value for life.  Which is more important in Christian ethics?  How does one use the Bible to inform such an ethical decision making process and choice?

Well, here are the slides from the lectures.  You can download the original Microsoft Powerpoint slides from this link (5MB).  These slides have notes and references in them. 

However, if you simply want to click through the slides then please use the slideshare window below.

The bible and ethics st143

View more presentations from Dion Forster.

In order to illustrate the complexity of using the Bible in Christian ethics we used a very contentious subject, the Christian (Biblical) perspective on persons with a same sex orientation, and in particular persons in an active homosexual relationship, to consider an approach to ethical decision-making.

I would highly recomend that you read the chapters referenced above.  They give a detailed technical outline of both the content of the lecture, but also the Analyse, Ask, Evaluate and Act model that is presented here.

All the gory details!

Yesterday my friends Greg (@gregbeliever) and Ruan (not on twitter!) and I (@digitaldion) did an EPIC mountainbike ride from Somerset West to Stellebosch (on the mountains), and back.

Ruan had to turn back a bit early (I think at about 30km's), but Greg and I did 60km's in total, mostly on the mountains above Somerset West and Stellenbosch.  It was great fun!  There were many parts where we had no roads or tracks to ride - we simply road through the bushes, and at times pushed our bikes, and even had to 'hike' them over our shoulders.  Yes, there were one or two spots where we had to jump a boundary fence!

We left at 13.30 and eventually got back home in Somerset West at 19.30 - 60km's in 6 hours!  Not exactly a world record for speed, but definitely a ride of a lifetime.

It was great to share the experience with Greg - he and I are both deeply committed Christians.  So, we had lots of time to talk, pray and give thanks, and just celebrate being healthy, alive, and riding in one of the most beautiful settings in the world.

It is a great varied ride; some tar, some good jeep track (with lots of climbing), some technical single track, some VERY technical single track (in Eden and Paradyskloof - hectic, steep, rocky downhill!), and some bush with no road in sight!  So cool!

Well, if you're interested in following the route in Google earth you can download the file here (right click and save it if you're on windows, control click it if you're on a mac).  Firefox seems think it is a text file and open it in the browser instead of saving it to open in Google Earth.  Not sure why.

There was some spectacular scenery along the way! My goodness!  At one point we ended up on this farm (I'm still not entirely sure where it is - somewhere behind Avontuur farm).  Isn't this view amazing?

If you're interested in the 'inner workings' of my heart this image below shows my heartrate throughout the ride - I snapped this one at my highest point (166bpm - not too bad for such a long ride!)

A friend asked 'Why would you do this!?' - well, first it is GREAT fun! But, we're also training for the wines2whales race later this year that will be between 80-100km a day for three days.

Have you got any 'fun' activities for which you'll endure strain and discomfort!?

They are worthy! The 2007 Ordination service of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa

Forgive me for not posting this sooner [Link to photos below]. I have had a few days of re-creation, Megan, Courtney, Liam and I took 4 days of rest and relaxation with her parents in Waterfall just outside Durban in South Africa. It was wonderful! However, it is about time I posted a few thoughts and some photographs from the Ordination service in Stellenbosch last week Sunday.

Within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa the annual Ordination service has become the crowning celebration of the Connexional executive meetings (in the period of the triennial conference), or Conference. This service celebrates that women and men still choose to respond to God's call to ministry - even when they are gifted, capable, and able to do many other things. The service took place in the picturesque town of Stellenbosch, just outside of Cape Town, this year. Our Presiding Bishop, the Rev Ivan Abrahams, presided over the service (shared with the Presiding Bishop of Ghana). In total 29 persons were ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament (called Presbyters in South Africa, Elders elsewhere in the world), and a 4 persons to the ministry of word and service (Deacons, from the Greek word diakonos which means to serve).

The liturgy for the Ordination service contains all of the necessary elements of Christian worship, praise and adoration of God, thanksgiving for God's good gifts, confession of our sin, and a charge to serve God more faithfully and obediently. Apart from the Ordination and communion there are also very pointed reminders that ministry is not reserved for those who are Ordained. In fact it is the 'Lay President' of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa who asks some of most pertinent questions of those to be Ordained, and the Presiding Bishop who charges the congregation of laity and clergy to respond obediently in discipleship to our Lord - all participating together in realizing God's mission in the world.

I have been to more than 10 Ordination services since my own - I have had the privilege of serving as a Presbyter at most of these (a Presbyter is an Ordained minister nominated by an Ordinand to lay hands on his or her head, together with the other Ordained ministers and Bishops when the Ordination prayer is said. Theologically it symbolizes the apostolic succession from one generation of ministers to the next). A special moment in the Ordination service is when all of the Ordained persons who are present (from all Churches and orders of ministry) are asked to stand and renew their promise to faithful service.

I had the incredible joy of serving as a Presbyter for two of my past students, both good friends, at this Ordination service - the Rev Juan Smith (with whom I am pictured above) and the Rev Dorah Ngcakani. Juan and I are good friends. We go a long way back - he was a Phase 1 minister in Cape Town when I was a young minister there. He and I are very alike (just take a look at our hairstyles!) in personality, passion, and love for Christ. This young man is a great gift to Christ's Church! I am thankful that a person who is a graduate, bright, committed, energetic, and capable, has chosen to give his life in service of Christ. It is what the Lord deserves, and it will bring great blessing and fulfillment in his life. Dorah, is a mother to me. She is an extremely accomplished woman. She holds a string of degrees and qualifications, having served as a school principal, Educational inspector, and senior member of the South Africa department of Education. She helped me with advice, guidance, and a patient ear when I was a very 'green' Dean at the Seminary. She is far more capable to do my work than I am, yet she was humble, restrained, wise and gracious as I tried to find my feet. Thank you Juan and Dorah for the blessing of sharing in this incredible day with you!

I do want to encourage others who are hearing God whisper the call to the Ordained ministry (either as a Presbyter, or Deacon) to test that call! There can be no greater way to spend your life than doing the thing that God wants you to do! If you are the best, you're the person that God wants! I am currently working on a little book, that I hope to publish in the next few months. It is intended to help persons discern their call to ministry (whether it be ministry in the pulpit, home, and Church, or ministry in the marketplace, workplace, or wider world). In the meantime however, please read this document if you want to know what steps to take to test your call.

Lastly, I have compiled a little page with photographs of the Ordination (taken with my snap and shoot camera). Please follow the link for photographs of the MCSA Ordination service in 2007.