7 thinking errors we all tend to make at some point... The power of bias

The brain is a powerful organ. Among its strengths are the ability to focus on certain aspects of the world around us, whilst choosing to block others out.

At times this is a matter of survival or success that activates this function (i.e., we choose to ignore something that could be immediately harmful so that we can choose to achieve some greater goal further along in life) - like the person who rides the remaining 70km's of the Cape Argus cycle tour with cramping legs so that they can say they've done another one... I know someone who has done a few of those ;-) You know what I mean.

Of course, whilst this ability can be very useful, it can also be harmful and destructive. How many of us have made up our minds about a person or place only to discover that our bias was unfounded?

Now the two examples that I mention here are quite easy to identify - however, there are some far more subtle manifestations of this capacity in the human brain.

So, for those who are interested, here is a great post from lifehack.org that gives a great overview of how this function in the brain works, and how one can manage it where necessary.

The brain isn't a flawless piece of machinery. Although it is powerful and comes in an easy to carry container, it has it's weaknesses. A field in psychology which studies these errors, known as biases. Although you can't upgrade your mental hardware, noticing these biases can clue you into possible mistakes.

How Bias Hurts You

If you were in a canoe, you’d probably want to know about any holes in the boat before you start paddling. Biases can be holes in your reasoning abilities and they can impair your decision making.

Simply noticing these holes isn't enough; a canoe will fill with water whether you are aware of a hole or not. But by being aware of the holes you can devise methods to patch them up. The entire domain of the scientific method has largely been an effort to overcome the natural inclination towards bias in reasoning.

Biases hurt you in a number of areas:

• Decision making. A number of biases can distort decision making. The confirmation bias can lead you to discount information that opposes existing theories. Anchoring can throw off negotiations by forcing you to sit around an arbitrary value.
• Problem solving. Biases can impede your creativity when solving problems. A framing bias can cause you to look at a problem too narrowly. And the illusion of control can cause you to overestimate the amount your actions influence results.
• Learning. Thinking errors also impact how you learn. The Von Restorff effect can cause you to overemphasize some information compared to the whole. Clustering illusions can also trick you into thinking you’ve learned more than you actually have.

Here are some common thinking errors:

1) Confirmation Bias

The confirmation bias is a tendency to seek information to prove, rather than disprove our theories. The problem arises because often, one piece of false evidence can completely invalidate the otherwise supporting factors.

Consider a study conducted by Peter Cathcart Wason. In the study, Wason showed participants a triplet of numbers (2, 4, 6) and asked them to guess the rule for which the pattern followed. From that, participants could offer test triplets to see if their rule held.

From this starting point, most participants picked specific rules such as "goes up by 2" or "1x, 2x, 3x." By only guessing triplets that fit their rule, they didn’t realize the actual rule was "any three ascending numbers." A simple test triplet of "3, 15, 317" would have invalidated their theories.

2) Hindsight Bias

Known more commonly under "hindsight is 20/20" this bias causes people to see past results as appearing more probable than they did initially. This was demonstrated in a study by Paul Lazarsfeld in which he gave participants statements that seemed like common sense. In reality, the opposite of the statements was true.

3) Clustering Illusion

This is the tendency to see patterns where none actually exist. A study conducted by Thomas Gilovich, showed people were easily misled to think patterns existed in random sequences. Although this may be a necessary by product of our ability to detect patterns, it can create problems.

The clustering illusion can result in superstitions and falling for pseudoscience when patterns seem to emerge from entirely random events.

4) Recency Effect

The recency effect is the tendency to give more weight to recent data. Studies have shown participants can more easily remember information at the end of a list than from the middle. The existence of this bias makes it important to gather enough long-term data, so daily up's and down’s don’t lead to bad decisions.

5) Anchoring Bias

Anchoring is a well-known problem with negotiations. The first person to state a number will usually force the other person to give a new number based on the first. Anchoring happens even when the number is completely random. In one study, participants spun a wheel that either pointed to 15 or 65. They were then asked the number of countries in Africa that belonged to the UN. Even though the number was arbitrary, answers tended to cluster around either 15 or 65.

6) Overconfidence Effect

And you were worried about having too little confidence? Studies have shown that people tend to grossly overestimate their abilities and characteristics from where they should. More than 80% of drivers place themselves in the top 30%.

One study asked participants to answer a difficult question with a range of values to which they were 95% certain the actual answer lay. Despite the fact there was no penalty for extreme uncertainty, less than half of the answers lay within the original margin.

7) Fundamental Attribution Error

Mistaking personality and character traits for differences caused by situations. A classic study demonstrating this had participants rate speakers who were speaking for or against Fidel Castro. Even if the participants were told the position of the speaker was determined by a coin toss, they rated the attitudes of the speaker as being closer to the side they were forced to speak on.

Studies have shown that it is difficult to out-think these cognitive biases. Even when participants in different studies were warned about bias beforehand, this had little impact on their ability to see past them.

What an understanding of biases can do is allow you to design decision making methods and procedures so that biases can be circumvented. Researchers use double-blind studies to prevent bias from contaminating results. Making adjustments to your decision making, problem solving and learning patterns you can try to reduce their effects.

Technorati tags: Brain, power, bias, lifehack

Scary (and sad) a woman in England (possibly Australia) has stolen my Son's identity and is posting pictures of him online!

Update 26 March 2008: Thank you for stopping in to check out this post. The woman in these pictures, who stole pictures of our son and many others from what the police have told us, is clearly not well. Please do offer a prayer for her. But also please do be very careful of her (particularly if you encounter her in real life). Her real name is Sammie Banks. See her myspace profile here. You can also see her teenscene profile here.

I would suggest that you keep your children as far as possible from her, and immediately alert your local police if you see her! She lives in the United Kingdom. We have naturally alerted the UK police (Cybercrimes and identity theft) who have an ongoing investigation into the matter, as well as interpol who have also opened an investigation. Naturally I cannot comment on the content of these investigations. It is, however, just a matter of time before she is apprehended. The link to the baby announcement below is no longer operative. The kind administrator removed all photos of Liam. However, if you wish to find more details on this woman (Samie Banks) you can follow link removed upon the request of the form since there is an investigation pending. Thanks!.

To see a collection of photos that she has 'stolen' from us and other parents you can follow this link (the password to log in is bailey).

The woman in question has tried to make contact with us using various aliases and different email addresses. In each case we simply forward all correspondence to the relevant authorities who assure us that she is being closely monitored.

Original post of December 2007 below:
This is truly bizarre! An unwell woman is using pictures of my son (and the details of my son and daughter) on various parenting websites! See the picture of her on the right, and compare that to two of the original pictures I posted back in November 2006 when I announced Liam's birth

This morning I received an email from the moderator of a website in Australia - the website has a forum for mothers to discuss birthing and parenting issues, and support one another. The moderator informed me that a woman from (who I believe is from England) had signed up to the forums announcing that she had given birth to a premature baby at 29 weeks...

She had posted numerous photos, various descriptions of her experience in giving birth to a premature son named 'Kabe', and had received a great deal of support and encouragement from members of the forum. However, the moderator of the forum noticed a few strange things in the posts and photographs and so decided to check it out...

When she investigated she discovered that this woman (see the picture above) was claiming to have had mine and Megan's children (Liam and Courtney), and one other child! She photoshopped her face over Megan's picture in the birth announcement!

Then, you'll see in the picture below (click on it to enlarge it) that she simply lifted, and reposted, two pictures of Liam, renaming him 'Kabe' (you can see our original pictures of Liam here and here).

I am not posting the link to the forums on which she posted the information about Liam etc. - she has been banned from there and various other forums. However, if you want to see the site that she set up with the birth announcement you can click here DON'T type in your email address (just to be safe)! Simply use the password kabe to gain access.

What does one do? I am at a bit of a loss... It is scary to think that someone has targeted one's children in this manner! Is there anyone out there who has any idea how we can trace who this is and put a stop to it? Off site email will be the best means to contact me (see the link on the right of this page).

Thanks for any help or advice!

Technorati tags: identity theft, scary, disturbed, mentally ill

A 90 second lesson in the history of world religions.

I have frequently found that my congregants (and even my students) are oblivious to the history of the development of world religion.

There is an assumption in Christian countries, as there is an assumption in Islamic countries, that our faith has always existed and that it is the world's dominant faith perspective.

History is important for Christians - in my recently released book (see the panel on the right for Christ at the centre...) I devote almost a whole chapter to discussing why history is important for Christians and Jews. In short, our belief is that God has revealed God's self throughout all of history, but that the incarnation of Jesus at a particular point in history is very significant. It represents a 'watershed' in time, what the New Testament writers call a kairos moment (roughly summarised kairos time is 'the right time', whereas the other Greek word used for 'historical' or 'chronological' time is chronos). So, at a particular point in history God chooses to fully enter human history in the form of a baby who is born, the baby then grows to be a man, this man, Jesus, then dies the human death that is common to us all, and finally overcomes death for all of us.

This is very unlike the Hindu notion of time that is cyclical. As I discuss in my book, the Hindu incarnations (called avatara transliterated into English as 'avatars') do not enter into history in the same way as all other humans do (i.e., through the vulnerability of birth with no political status or supernatural 'edge' on the rest of us). Rather, the avatars enter reality as fully grown human persons, most often as Kings, Princes, or some form of supernatural being. Their task is to engage history, set it back on its course, and then return again in the next cycle of events when things are off track once more.

Jesus however, entered history, and both constituted God's salvific plan, and illustrated God's loving and saving will (something that we forget! I see this particularly so in Church debates where certain sectors of the Church emphasise the constitution of salvation at the exclusion of the illustrative purpose of the grace that caused Jesus to die on the cross. For example some would say "gay persons cannot be saved" forgetting that salvation is not just an act of constitution, it is also fully illustrated in God's act of grace on the cross. Jesus not only saves us through his death on the cross, he also shows how much he loves us (the 'others') by choosing to go to the cross to die for us).

SO, history is important for us!

Another, important fact about history (that deal with in a book I am just completing - due for release early in 2008) is that even though we recognise that God's most complete revelation comes to us through Jesus Christ, we must NEVER assume that we cannot learn about God from other sources! If that was the case (i.e., we could only learn from God directly through Jesus and the post incarnational scriptures) we would have to disregard the Hebrew Bible (what Christians call the Old Testament) completely. Now, if we accept that God could reveal God's self through the Old Testament, then we also need to realise that the writers of those texts learned about God from others sources that predate them (e.g., nature, culture, mystical experience, supernatural intervention, and even other faiths - for example the the names of God, which many literalist Christians are so pleased to quote, like ELohim, ELshadai etc., are derivatives of the Baal name for God - EL. The Hebrews took these concepts and adapted them for use in their faith. This was also done by the Christian missionaries to Southern Africa in the 19th century when they adapted the Sotho / Tswana names for God (Modimo) to refer to the God of Christianity (Yehova)). Of course one needs to be extremely careful of simplistic and misguided syncretism! However, Christianity is filled with examples of us adopting a word, concept, or philosophical system and adapting it to draw out of it what we have learned and discovered about God (the debates about the nature of Jesus Christ in the Constantinople / Nicea creeds are based squarely on neo-sophist philosophical concepts and language)

Here is an excerpt from my next book (which, as I mention above, should be out early in 2008) in it I discuss this notion (this book will be called The courage to find God, by the way. Please keep your an eye on this site for its release!):

A reaction among more conservative Christians to this shift in spiritual interest, particularly as it relates to the religions of the East, has been to demonise and undermine the revelatory and spiritual value that Christians can gain from the practises, and devotion, of these other faiths. Let us never assume that God was not active, both in revelation and salvation, before there was a Church, or doctrines, or even the Christian scriptures themselves. God is alive, and has always infused all life with God’s presence. I often hear people speaking about the ‘threat’ of this religion or that one. There seems to be a very unhealthy disregard for the fact that God loves all people, and that God reveals God’s self equally and graciously to all who seek. The sad assumption for many is that God is Christian, and particularly that God is a European or American Christian. This is ludicrous. God is God! Christianity is our attempt at discovering and articulating aspects of the mysterious God is who ultimately beyond simple explanations, short and concise creeds, and a single doctrine or faith.

What is required is thus a recapturing of the depth and wisdom of mystical spirituality from wherever God reveals it. This should be a spirituality that will meet the deep longing and need for people to discover and live within the truth of an almighty God who is living and active in all spheres of life. There is a need to discover that God is greater than the mere doctrines, symbols, or expressions, of any one faith. Whilst these elements of religion are not to be discarded, since they have value, they must be transcended in order to move into the mystery of the True God who cannot be contained in words and concepts.

Now, don't get me wrong. I DO believe that Jesus Christ, the Christian scriptures, and the Christian faith are normative in revelation. And, that Jesus is normative for salvation! However, I DO not think that Christ's power, love, and person, are only limited to persons who dress like me, talk like me, think like me, and go to Church like me! This is God's Universe, and I am certain that God expresses (and illustrates) God's loving will in places where Christianity has not yet reached. I do believe that the love of God is strong enough to encounter the heart of any person (even a person who has never heard of Jesus, or had a chance to read the Christian scriptures). I don't believe in a 'Christian God', no, rather I believe in GOD, the God who is Christ. And, I am a Christian, but God is bigger and more wonderful than my pithy attempts at understanding or expressing who God is...

I hope that makes a bit more sense, and makes my position clearer? I know many people become uneasy when they hear about Christianity and other religions in the same breath! Salvation comes in and through Jesus. However, Jesus is NOT restricted only to one understanding or expression of faith (e.g., a Methodist Jesus, or a Catholic Jesus, or even a mainline denomination Jesus... You get my point, I'm sure). However, please do feel free to state a different opinion, or help me to see my error where I am wrong!

My desire is not to be 'right' for the sake of 'rightness', but to faithfully and courageously serve and love the living Christ.

So, here's the history lesson (this shockwave app is reposted from my friend Sivin Kit's blog - ps. You can click on the app and go to their website to download a copy if you wish to use it in a class or sermon. Or you can download this, and other interesting shockwave maps from www.mapsofwar.com)!

Technorati tags: History of world religion in 90 seconds, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam

A picture taken in Wessel's favourite place... The quiet campus

Courtney and I went to the University of Pretoria yesterday to register some honours students who will be at seminary next year. She took this photo of me with my iPhone.

I realized two things. The first is that I prefer the campus when it is busy! There were only a few students on Campus (mostly grad students). I quite like the buzz of all the undergrads during term times. The second realization is that I am starting to get OLD! It used to be that I was one of the younger doctoral students... Now however many if them are my age and younger. At least I can still say that I am one if the youngest doctors on campus... Although not as young as my friend Dr Bentley. Ha ha!

;-)

Spiritual discipline (and procrastination)... Mere existence...

On of the negative side effects of the 'Puritan' work ethic (it actually comes from a neo-Calvinistic emphasis on sin and guilt... I researched it when I was supposed to be doing something far more important) is that we believe that our lives should be regulated by tasks and time.

I was once told my one of my students (who arrive late for a lecture because he was speaking to someone) "You may have a watch, but I have time". He was quite right of course, people are more important than watches.

I am a list person - I keep lists. Sometimes, when things get really busy, I keep lists of which lists to refer to in which order. I find that I am most productive when I simply switch off and become a bit like a mindless drone.. Sad that! I simply plow ahead with whatever needs doing next, trying my best to remove all emotion (whether positive or negative) from the task. That is ALSO not God honouring. God does desire that we fill all tasks (no matter how mundane, or important, with love and grace). But you see the problem, I have discovered, is that when I allow emotion in, I tend to avoid doing the unpleasant things, and hanker only after those things which please me, or those which fool me into placating my guilt (i.e., at least I am doing something, it may not be the thing that needs doing, but it is something)!

So, instead of exerting the energy to break the inertia of nothingness and break into a spate of creativity (like writing an article, or editing a book, or preparing fresh course notes) I tend to 'fool' myself into doing lesser things so that my mind is taken off the guilt of not doing the more important, and more difficult, things....

Jen Tyler, a friend from Chicago, posted this video clip on her blog a few weeks ago:

Life can be a bit like that.

I guess that there is a fine balance that needs to be kept here.

Life should not be regulated by either tasks or time! These things don't truly matter. Life should be regulated by faithful obedience to God! Now, that demands courage - it demands the courage to take on those tasks and activities that are necessary and important for discipleship and the establishment of God's Kingdom here on earth. It ALSO takes courage and discipline to know which things NOT to take on, and which things must not be done (even if they are urgent.... They may not be as important as something else). It also takes courage to overcome the guilt, some of which is merely a product of a false 'ethic' imposed on us by a society full of people who don't actually have an idea about what is important.

The converse is of course that Godly labour is just that, Godly! So, if you've been putting off doing something important by filling your life with all sorts of urgent things (like squeeky chairs, clean desks, and doing your shopping), then maybe, like me, you should pray for the discipline and courage to live your life for what truly mattes.

STOP PROCRASTINATING! Just a bit of friendly advice ;-)

Technorati tags: procrastination, spiritual discipline mere existence

Right brain test... See how creative you are...

Many people that I know who have done a Masters or Doctoral research degree have told me that after completing their research project they went 'off' the topic for a little while.

This is true for me! My doctorate, and the years that lead up to its completion, were often taken upon by hours and hours of pouring through medical journals, books on the human brain, consciousness, and neuroscience. It was not exactly entertaining (the only entertaining bit about it is when people would ask me, as a minister, "so what is your doctorate about!?" They would usually expect some fairly regular response like, "Oh, I am studying .... in the New Testament...". Ha ha, when I said "I am studying the brain to see how we process identity, consciousness, and religious experience" they would get a sort of blank stare!)

Anyway, it has been over a year since completing that project - and I am pleased to say that I am already starting to develop a slight distaste for the subject of my next doctorate (I have been working on that for about a year now...)

However, I am starting to find the brain interesting again. So, when I saw this little test on the internet I thought I should post the link here! This is the little blurb before the test:

Being creative or artistic doesn’t mean you know how to draw or play an instrument. Being creative is a way of thinking, a way of viewing the world. Creative people use the RIGHT side of their brains more than the LEFT.

Click here to take the test. I would love to hear what you discovered! So, if you have the time please do come back and leave a comment.

PS. I just LOVE the domain name of this site 'wherecreativitygoestoschool.com'.

Some crazy wheelbarrow race skills! Watch this incredible Video [Vid]

One of the big problems that I think so many of us face as we get older is that we forget that we were designed to play a little! Somehow the demands and pressures of adult life tend to push out all the fun and joy of living!

Here's a FUN video of some grown up guys doing a wheelbarrow race... BUT, this is a race with a difference - these guys have some serious acrobatic skills!!! Watch the video...

Sweet Move In Wheelbarrow Race - Watch more free videos

If you could do that you may just win your next wheelbarrow race!

Swopping things around... No INN at the ROOM, another great Christmas sermon

I came across another wonderful Christmas sermon this evening. This one is by Ben Witherington himself (i.e., not one prepared by someone else that he posted on his site). It is another wonderfully creative approach to the message of Christmas!

As I read it, it was a bit of a 'cliff hanger', you move towards the edge expecting something to happen, and then right at the end there it is, the remarkable message of the Gospel of Christ!

Thanks Ben!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that census should be taken of the entire Roman world (This was the census that was taken before Quirinius was governor of Syria). And all went to their own towns to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, because he belonged to the line of David. He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room in the guest room.

A very long time ago I made my first trip to Rome. They say all roads lead there. Among other things I went to see the great art in the Vatican, particularly the Sistine Chapel--- Michelangelo’s masterpiece. It was certainly impressive but the colors of the paintings were subdued even sepia tones in places in the Last Judgment, and some of the prophets on the ceiling. Imagine my surprise when six years ago I went back, having heard reports of the massive cleaning job they had carefully done over many months in the Sistine Chapel, only to discover that now the Sistine Chapel was a riot of color—as if someone had used the whole Crayola Crayon box and colored over the old paintings.

Only as it turns out, Michelangelo had intended the paintings to have these bright vivid colors all along, even though it was a shock to the system and the art critics freaked out when this was first made known after the chapel reopened. The sense of shock, or even outrage was palpable and the ever rabid Italian press endlessly debated the merits of the new Sistine Chapel vs. the Old with great heat and passion. This is what happens when you tamper with a masterpiece.

At the risk of producing a similar response, I am here this morning to tamper with a masterpiece, or better said, to share with you a rather different reading of Lk. 2.1-7, one solidly grounded in the facts, but nowhere represented in the Christmas carols and pageants. I must tell you that I have heard endless sermons on how there was ‘no room in the end’ and wasn’t it typical of a cold fallen world to cast the holy family and Jesus out into the cold, and so on, often preached with great fervor, but producing no ferment at all. We’ve heard it countless times before. We've all been innoculated with a slight case of Christmas, preventing us from getting the real thing, or in this case from reading these texts in a more historical way. The problem with the Christmas pageant version is, this is not at all likely to be what Luke intends to tell us in this much beloved and belabored Christmas tale.

Let’s start with the first oddity of this tale. Jesus was born while Herod the Great was king of the Holy Land. That is to say, Jesus was born before 1-2 B.C. when Herod died in Judea. That is, Jesus was born B.C.—before Christ. How did this anomaly happen? Well its all the fault of Denny the Dwarf a.ka. Dionysius the medieval monk who was vertically challenged and while drawing up our modern calendar miscalculated the date of Jesus’ birth. As Maxwell Smart used to say—‘He missed it by that much’, which is to say about 3-4 years.

Then there is the second anomaly. Notice that Mary and Joseph are not married, they are only engaged. Why in the world would they both travel all the way to Bethlehem to register for the census when Mary was very pregnant indeed? It seems illogical at first, until we reflect again on that bit about her being very pregnant out of wedlock. The tongues were likely wagging back in Nazareth, a small town where one could not hide something like this. Mk.6 suggests that in fact the hometown thought Jesus was--- well... how shall we put it delicately? I once had a bright little six year old girl in a British Sunday school class come up to me during the Christmas season and ask—“If God is Jesus’ Father, and Mary is Jesus’ mother, are God and Mary married? If not, is Jesus illegitimate?” Out of the mouths of babes….

Yes, in Jesus’ culture getting pregnant and having a baby out of wedlock, was consider a major scandal—a huge deal, a big shame and black mark on the family’s name. Our culture does not react this way to such things most of the time, but just the other day I heard the story of a teenage girl in Saudi Arabia who was riding in a car with her boyfriend, and was dragged out of the car and raped by two men. The men did get sent to jail, but the girl herself was to be beaten for having sex outside marriage—even though she was raped! Middle Eastern Law today in that honor and shame culture is not all that different than the practice in the society where Mary grew up. When a betrothed woman got pregnant before marriage and not by her fiance, it was usually deemed to be her fault. One can understand then why even though Mary was very pregnant, Joseph and Mary got out of town to have that baby.

But there is a further factor in the story seldom noticed. Joseph and Mary are registering for a census in Bethlehem, but if we ask what the function of such a census was, it was to count heads so that they could be taxed. Every able-bodied male and female between 13 and 62 had to be registered so they could be taxed. It was a head tax, and they were expected to pay a silver denarius each—yes ‘the render unto Caesar coin” which Jesus was later to say Jews should ‘return to sender’. These coins had the image of Augustus Caesar on them in those days, a ruler soon to be dubbed a deity. But the real deity was Jesus himself the spitting image of his heavenly Father, unlike the poor likeness of the Emperor on those tribute money coins.

In other words, this was all about going to see the I.R.S. boys in Bethlehem. Mary likely was just old enough to be registered, as Jewish girls usually got engaged between 12-14, immediately upon their getting their menstrual cycles. Remember as well that Joseph required some coaxing from an angel before he agreed to go ahead with this marriage, once he discovered Mary had a bun in the oven, and it wasn’t his. Joseph must have truly wondered what he was getting himself into with Mary.

Now I have to tell you, this story is too improbably NOT TO BE TRUE. I mean, no one would make up a story like this which suggested to the skeptical in the home town and to latter day skeptics ever since that Jesus the Son of God was illegitimate. The story of the virginal conception must surely be true, for an evangelistic religion in that honor and shame culture would never make up a story like this about the birth of their Savior if they wanted to convince a patriarchal world of its truth. It’s too improbable not to be true!

But there is one more surprise at the end of the tale. When it came time for Mary to deliver the baby, the Greek of Luke’s text says--- “she wrapped him in cloth and laid him in a corn crib, as there was no room in the guest room”. Yes, you heard me right. Luke does not say there was no room in the inn. Luke has a different Greek word for inn (pandeion) which he trots out in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The word he uses here (kataluma) is the very word he uses to describe the room in which Jesus shared the last supper with his disciples—the guest room of a house.

Archeology of the area shows that houses in Bethlehem and its vicinity often had caves as the back of the house where they would keep their prized ox, or beast of burden, lest it be stolen. The guest room was in the front of the house, the animal shelter in the back, and Joseph and Mary had come too late to get the guest room, so the relatives did the best they could by putting them in the back of the house. Bethlehem was indeed a one stoplight town off the beaten track, and we have not a shred of archaeological evidence there ever was a wayfarer's inn in that little village in Jesus' day.

In other words, all this silliness about ‘no room at the Holiday Inn’ for the Holy family, is not at all what Luke is talking about. This is not a story about ‘no room in the inn’ or about the world’s giving Jesus the cold shoulder. It's a story about no inn in the room! It’s a story about a family making do when more relatives than expected suddenly show up on the doorstep. It’s a story most of us can relate to in one way or another. Jesus was born in his relative’s home, in the place where they kept the most precious of their animals. One can well imagine the smell in that room, and probably the shock of the Magi when they saw where the King was born.

But this story is not meant to meet our expectations or desires about what a Christmas story must be like. Jesus did not come to meet our expectations or desires—he came to meet our needs. George MacDonald puts it this way—‘We were all looking for a king to slay our foes and lift us high, but thou camst a little baby thing, that made a mother cry.” Jesus came as he did to make clear that no one and no place however humble was beneath his dignity, and every age and stage of life he would hallow, and save and sanctify.

John Donne, the great English cleric summed it up well when he said--- “Twas much that we were made like God, long before, but that God should be made like us—much more.” And the Word, took on flesh and dwelt for a while in our midst, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God. It was a strange glory, a glory in humility, a glory without royal robes, a glory without a proper bed.

The question for us this day is—do we still have the capacity to be surprised, enthralled, by this remarkable Christmas story? Do we still have the capacity to see all things new, once more? Can we approach the story like a child—eyes wide open, mouth agape? Can we make him room in our homes, even if the calendar is full, and the head count high on the homefront. I certainly hope so. Jesus traveled a long way to dwell with you Immanuel, especially at this season. Will you not kindly make him room in your abode, however humble?

The old medieval Christmas poem said 'though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, if he's not born in you, your heart is still forlorn.' Let me just tell you however, if you let that Guest into your inner sanctum, even if you put him in the very back, he will surely take over and become the center of attention in due course.

Free resources for Christmas services - hymn backing tracks and a basic song sheet...

As I suggested in yesterday's post, Christmas services come with a great deal of pressure! There is such an expectation to do things well, the message, the music, and the fellowship of believers must be just perfect.

Well, yesterday I posted some tips that may be of use to some in preparing their Christmas sermon or message. Today, however, I want to post a few resources that may help you with your music.

This year I will be leading a Christmas service in a community chapel. That means two things.

• First, it means that the people who attend this service will NOT have the privilege of sharing in a common repertoire of contemporary (or even traditional) worship songs and hymns. So, I shall need to keep my hymn and song choices fairly familiar in order to allow everyone to participate fully and joyfully in the worship.
• Second, since the service is not in my regular congregation (where the service that I preach at most Sunday's has 3 gifted and skilled worship teams) I do not have access to my regular musicians and equipment.

So, what is one to do if you are leading a service, or a small group gathering of friends and family who are away together over Christmas? Well, here are some resources that my be of use to you.

All that you will need is to download and print the attached document. I shall be printing and copying it back to back so that I can fold the A4 page in half to make a little B5 booklet.

Download the Hymn sheet

Next, simply download the MIDI files below onto your computer and laptop and viola you have wonderful backing music, skillfully played, to aid you in your singing! I shall be hooking my laptop up to a sound system since I am anticipating about 250 - 300 people at the service I shall be leading. However, if you are simply leading a small family service in a family home, or in a camp site, you could simply plug your computer of laptop into slightly more powerful speakers and play the attached files in the Apple Quicktime media player for Windows or Mac (the reason they are in Quicktime is that I had to edit the files to add introductions and the correct number of verses - you can of course convert them to MP3).

Download 'O come all ye faithful'

Download 'Hark the herald angels sing'

Download 'Joy to the world'

I will probably also lead one or two contemporary songs with my guitar. But, the great news is that one could lead quite a good service without even the slighted musical ability with these little backing tracks.

I hope this will be of some help as you prepare to celebrate Christmas this year. Of course I would also encourage you to check out the free Christmas and Advent resources on John van de Laar's superb website www.sacredise.com.

LASTLY, I am not a great 'pamphlet' creator, neither do I have much skill (or time) to sharpen the backing tracks for the service. If there is anyone out there who downloads the tracks, or the service booklet, and you improve upon them would you mind sending me an email to let me know? Just drop me an email (see the link under my links on the right of this page). Let's share our gifts with one another to make our Christmas services special and significant!

Technorati tags: Free Christmas resources, Christmas Hymns backing tracks, Christmas,

Instead of 'simple little stories' and a 'half hearted Gospel' why not preach a REAL sermon this Christmas - here are a few pointers from others.

I have been in the ministry for almost 16 years. In those 16 years I have wasted hours of very kind people's time lulling them into a sense of false security - sadly, I have to confess that very often my aim at Christmas is to preach a 'good' message. I aim to preach a message that will entertain my congregation. Because so many of them don't come to Church very often the last thing in the world I want to do is say or do anything that may cause anyone to feel uncomfortable (or God forbid, challenged to change!)

So, I tell little stories, I entertain the kids, and I make sure that we sing a healthy diet of well known Christmas hymns.

Sadly, the one who is most betrayed by my lack of courage is the One who came at Christmas - the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord.

So, this year I shall try to be a little more courageous. I will still do my best to be welcoming, hospitable, gracious in communicating, helping each and ever person to feel as welcome and accepted in Christ's Church as I can... But, this year I am to do my best to represent Christ in my Christmas message, not my own fears, and not the sensitivity of the Church...

In reality our members LONG for truth, and our visitors NEED it as much as we do! So, for me it will be 'the truth in love'....

Paul Duke, from First Baptist Church (Ann Arbor, Michigan), is one of the very best preachers I have ever heard! He crafts engaging and challenging thoughts together with skill and accuracy. His choice of images, words, and phrases touch my heart with the Gospel of Christ. I download every sermon that he preaches (in MP3) and listen to them while I drive.

Here's his message entitled : Into our world (reading Luke 2:1-20)

Here's an example of a gracious, yet honest and courageous, Christmas message...

If you come to the service tonight, you’ll hear and sing gorgeous music. Interspersed with this music you’ll hear some of the loveliest texts in Scripture, poetry and prose declaring the birth of the Christ Child. You’ll hear those texts in the old King James Version, not only because of its beautiful cadences, but because that’s the language we’re used to at Christmas, and as I learned some time ago, you just don’t mess with Christmas tradition.

The most famous text tonight will be the Christmas story told by Luke. In the stately old language we’ll hear that Mary was “espoused to Joseph, being great with child.” And the shepherds were “sore afraid” and said to one another, “Let us go now even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass.”

We’ve read the same text this morning, but the translation is form our own time. Mary and Joseph are not espoused, but engaged; she isn’t great with child, she’s expecting. The shepherds aren’t sore afraid, they’re terrified. Etcetera. The old language is very dear because it’s so magical; the newer language is essential because it’s more earthy and real.

Speaking of earthy, some earthy details always go unmentioned. This man and woman are poor people. She’s drenched in sweat, she screams in pain. There is blood. The baby squeezed out is smeared with blood. He trembles and cries; he’s traumatized. They put him in a feed-box. And surrounding all this is the smell of manure. Silent night? Of course not. It’s a bloody, writhing, howling, stinking night. We tell the story in heavenly language, but beneath it is the messy real world.

Luke has another way of making this clear. He names the current administration. This happened, he says, when the emperor was Augustus and the governor of Syria was Quirinius. It’s as if he is saying: the story I’m telling may have the flavor of a fairy tale, once upon a time in a misty dreamland; but I’ll give you names from the actual politics of that time – here are secular coordinates for this birth, which incidentally occurred in a town you can find on a map. It’s exactly like saying: When George W. Bush was president of the United States and Jennifer Granholm was governor of Michigan, Mary and Joe came to Ypsilanti .

Listen, I know, as you know, that to a great many people, for understandable reasons, parts of the Christmas story are mythical or simply nonsense– a virgin giving birth, angels singing in the sky. But do notice that the central proclamation of this account is that Mary’s baby is born into the actual world in a definite place in a particular economy, under a specific government, led by actual men in real positions of power. Into the stark real world, our world, the Christ Child emerges.

It’s what we celebrate at Christmas: God is in this Child, and God in a new way has entered the real world we live in.

It’s a messy world. “Happily ever after” isn’t true for anyone. Things fall apart. We make dreadful mistakes, and our institutions fail us, and the rulers of nations make disastrous choices. Random calamity threatens us all. Human anguish and suffering are too much to take in. Resources are too short for too many. Relationships are complicated; most grow painful and sad. And death is stalking us all. Sometimes it seems everything is confusion and struggle. It’s messy where we live.

And into that, exactly that, the Christ Child arrives. His hands will not be clean. His mind will reel with turbulence. His relationships will mostly fail. He’ll put himself at the center of sick religion, masses of misguided people, corrupt institutions, politics, cruelty, lethal violence. And God is in him taking hold of that world, our world.

It’s still true, isn’t it? Emmanuel means God is in all these messes with us. He is present in the largest and ugliest of them. He stands among the millions crushed by poverty, among the millions dying of epidemic disease. He stands among the bombs and bullet and the thousands on thousands who are struck down. He is present in all that wreckage, and suffers it, and over it he achingly breathes possibilities for transformation. But Christ is not only in these huge devastations; he is in the smaller places of our messy lives. When we are in conflict with another, he stands there between us. When we are ruined and grieving what we’ve lost, he sits beside us. When we are paralyzed with confusion, he joins us. When we have done wrong, he takes his place with us.

Hear it again. Love came down at Christmas, all the way down. Into our world, the real one where we struggle to live, Christ is born to live among us, to bear what we bear, but more, to haunt us in it, meet us in it, calling us into life.

It should make a great deal of difference. If our world, all of it, is inhabited by Christ, then nothing is finally hopeless here. And this is our warrant to take hold of the world as he did and to join him in transforming it. Like him, with great passion, we must be worldly. To lift people out of poverty, to put an end to warring madness, to establish justice, to feed the hungry and heal the sick and embrace the excluded, to lead the hopeless into hope – Christ is born into all this pragmatic, earthy work, and meets us in it and strengthens us for it. So nothing is hopeless; anything can change.

We can change how we look at the world, how we look at ourselves and how we look at each other. Love has come so beautifully down, infusing all of our world, transforming everything and everyone, if only we open our eyes to it. There’s a poem I’ve recited here before; I don’t know who wrote it, but it belongs to any Christmas Eve.

Whether you share the poor man’s mite

Or taste the king’s own fare,

He whom you go to seek tonight

Will meet you everywhere.

For he is where the cattle wend

And where the planets shine.

Lo, he is in your eyes, my friend

Stand still and look in mine.

If Christmas is magical at all, this is it: to see the world around us and the people before us, suddenly luminous with the holy, the great Love looking from their eyes, and from yours.

All of us know that the meaning of any sentence will shift, depending on where the accent is placed. Maybe for you this year the accent doesn’t fall where I have placed it today, but I’ve heard it falling on what has come to where we actually are: “To us a child is born; to us a son is given.” “Don’t be afraid . . .to you is born a Savior.” “Peace on earth.” “Joy to the world” – your world and mine – “the Lord has come.”

Merry Christmas.

I found another amazing sermon called 'The project' (on the famous New Testament scholar, Ben Witherington's blog) - it is also a challenging and creative message (by Craig Hill, another Biblical scholar), it shows such incredible insight into the complexity of our human condition, what drives and motivates people, and encourages the hearer to adapt their 'life's project' without being condemnatory or moralistic.

On a final note, here are some exceptional tips for anyone who wants to approach the message of Christmas with intent and creativity.

Irene Village Mall - where spending meets art nouveau (take a look at the cow in the parking lot)... [Pic]

The 'green concern' has taken on new proportions at the Irene Village Mall in Pretoria. Yesterday I went to meet a new friend Aiden Choles from 'the narrative pulse'.

It was great to meet Aiden! He is a remarkable guy who is doing incredible work in his consultancy. In essence his consultancy helps companies (large, like Anglo American, and smaller companies) to recognise, diagnose, and deal with complex problems (whether these are corporate problems, or problems within that industry. Some even come from wider society and the market place).

We met half way between our places of work (he is from JHB and I'm from Pretoria). So we had coffee at the new (and IMPRESSIVE Irene Village Mall).

As I drove into the parking lot I knew this was going to be a different mall... Just in front of my car was a 2 storey tall Cow (yes, it was certainly a cow - it has udders), sitting in a pond!

In the main square there is another cow (with just its feet and udders) coming out of the ground!

The time spent with Aiden was fantastic - thanks for the thought provoking and inspirational conversation Aiden. I look forward to meeting him again. And, the Irene Country Mall is wonderful! I look forward to going there again!

Another one for Africa! Take a guess. What is the fastest growing city in the world?

I am not sure if you have ever seen the film "Idiocracy"? It has a pretty interesting story line. Without giving too much of the truly shallow plot away, here's what the movie is about:

• In evolutionary terms the fittest species survive, while the weaker species die out.
• Perhaps some of the things that we have come to value are not exactly what the 'evolutionary' universe values as 'fit'.... FOR EXAMPLE,
• In the movie the 'average' middle class American couple (with good jobs, a nice house with a mortgage, two cars etc.) are too busy with their lives, their careers, and their debts to have children - or they are so precise about planing when and how to have their children that they end up with NO kids, or if they are brave enough to throw caution to the wind they may have 1 child (because let's be honest, you can't afford to educate, clothe, and care for more than one child with only TWO salaries these days!)
• The 'Jerry Springer' crowd (what the Americans would call Trailer Trash, and the Brits, Chavs), however, procreate indiscriminately, or at least that's what the film suggests. Mothers will often have more than one child from more than one father, whilst fathers will often father more than one child with more than one mother... You get the picture. So, the average 'in discriminant breeder' will have say, 8 children in their lifetime.
• Now, if you do the Math you will see that the 'clever', cautious people, will eventually die out. If they are lucky and had a child, their one child, who is well educated, and has a good career, and wants to make sound financial choices, MAY have 1 child him or herself, but then again this person may choose not to have any children at all. However, the less clever, hell for leather, breeders will each have 8 children who in turn will have 8 children.... You get the picture.
• What is the long and the short of it? The breeders, not the thinkers, survive. And because the breeders are supposedly less clever (according to the movie) their children share in that same gene pool, which gets weaker with each successive generation.
• Watch the movie - what you end up with is... let's not say anymore.
  

So, our choices are, breed OR die... Here's the trailer for the movie:

Anyway, if that is the case then I think we are on a fairly good wicket here in Africa. You see (and here's the amazing jump) we have the world's FASTEST GROWING CITY! It is Lagos in Nigeria.

Now please hear me clearly I am NOT saying that Nigerians, or the citizens of Lagos, are NOT clever! In fact quite the opposite... I think it is great that we have a city in Africa that is growing.... Who knows, if the movie idiocracy is indeed true, we could find ourselves as the ONLY survivors on planet earth!?

Amazing!

Lagos is now considered the 'New York' city of Africa! If you don't believe me follow this link and watch the video report....

Technorati tags: idiocracy, evolution, Lagos Nigeria, fastest growing city in the world, extinct