Wishes of youth and the winds of war - I was a soldier once

For the last week or so I have been reading Ranulph Fiennes amazing book 'My Heroes' (see the link below).

It tells the stories of various brave and courageous women and men who did extraordinary things in face of great danger and hardship.

The story that most moved me was that of hotelier Paul Rusesabagina - the man who saved just over a thousand Rwandans from the genocide that ripped that nation in 1994.  I was moved to tears by the tales of women and children who were violently and brutally hacked to death by family and friends in a killing frenzy that spread through the land that year.  

Germiston Methodist Church - Stained Glass WindowThis weekend I was privileged to spend the weekend with my friend Andrew Evans, a wonderful minister of a Methodist Church in the inner city of Germiston.  He is doing such great work in his Church, Gospel work, building bridges between diverse communities, offering new life and hope to refugees and inner city citizens, and an ongoing place of identify and safety to the longstanding members of his congregation.  In the Sunday service where I preached yesterday we sang and prayed in Shona, Xhosa, Sotho, Afrikaans and English. It felt a little like heaven.

As I travelled home last night I had Fiennes book and the Church service on my mind.  Of course most of the Shona speaking members of Andrew's congregation come from Zimbabwe - they have fled physical and economic hardship in search of a better life in South Africa.  They come here, even though South Africa has experienced xenophobic violence in the last few years as desperate citizens of this nation fear that foreigners are taking their jobs and land.  Still, the prospects here are better.

Andrew is a good minister - he is doing the work of reconciliation and bringing about unity and peace in his community.  It is the work of Christ the reconciler.

In Fiennes' book he  notes, among other things, that the conditions that are necessary for genocide to occur include:

• An impoverished population
• A large gap between those who 'have' and those who 'do not have'
• A clearly identifiable minority grouping that has access to wealth and power
• The development of a racial or ethnic ideology that places groups of persons in opposition to one another
• Corrupt, power hungry and irresponsible politicians

I wondered how many of these elements could be ticked off a list of criteria in South African society?  We have much work to do in order to bring equality, overcome animosity, and combat false and harmful racial and ethnic ideologies.

For some years I was an involuntary soldier - as many of South Africa's white males were before the end of Apartheid.  I was conscripted to military service.  I was supposed to go straight from school.  However, since I first went to study my conscription was delayed some years.  My life changed during that time.  As I think back on it now that was the period during which I went from being a boy to becoming a man.  I can clearly see how my innocence was eroded by the might of the military machine.

The memories and emotions, expresssed above, have been washing through my mind, finding place in my prayers, and space for contemplation and understanding before God.

I pray that young women and men may grow to adulthood without having to face the brutality of war.  I pray that in my own land we should find another as sisters and brothers and work together for transformation and justice for all. I pray 'Still let me live as Love and Life are one: Still let me turn on earth a child-like gaze..."

Wishes of Youth

Gaily and greenly let my seasons run:

And should the war-winds of the world uproot

The sanctities of life, and its sweet fruit

Cast forth as fuel for the fiery sun;

The dews be turned to ice—fair days begun

In peace wear out in pain, and sounds that suit

Despair and discord keep Hope’s harp-string mute;

Still let me live as Love and Life were one:

Still let me turn on earth a child-like gaze,

And trust the whispered charities that bring

Tidings of human truth; with inward praise

Watch the weak motion of each common thing

And find it glorious—still let me raise

On wintry wrecks an altar to the Spring. - Samuel Blanchard

Thankful to be going back to work

I am back at work today after a great vacation with my family.

I am thankful for the privilege of having work. It is a blessing to be able to meet my family's needs, to apply my abilities in service of the world, and to give expression to my passion in service of Christ.

I am thankful! Here is a prayer that you may wish to pray as you go to work.

O God, sovereign Lord over all creation, without whom all purposes are futile, grant me today the assistance of your Spirit. In all the surprises and changes of life, may I fix my heart upon you, so that your eternal purposes may be fixed in me.

In the name of Jesus, who came to make your eternal purpose clear. Amen

- A guide to prayer for all God's people (Upper Room Books, 1990)

Very interesting summary of research and statistics on Christianity in the world

My friend, the missiologist, Steve Hayes posted some interesting commentary on the research of the Pew forum on Christianity across the globe.  This makes for some fascinating reading - in short Christianity is the world's largest faith group, most Christians come from 10 countries across the world, Catholic and Orthodox Christians make up about 2/3 of all Christians (Protestants and Independents make up about 37%).

I spotted one error in the article - in the section where it talks about the location of Christians in Africa it mistakenly says that all of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, which they are not.

This research (as with all research) is a 'lag indicator' as we learnt at business school - in other words, it is a report that sheds light on the state of Christianity at some point in the past.  However, I did didn't see any comment on the fastest growing regions in the world.  From the research that I have read in 'The Next Christendom - The comong of Global Christianity' (2011, Philip Jenkins) it would seem that the Christian faith is growing fastest in the two thirds world.  Particularly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Still, these are some very interesting statistics on the state of Global Christianity. You find the source article here.

These are some of the key findings of a new report released by the Pew Research Center, called Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population, which provides data on the world's Christian population by region, country and tradition.

• Almost half (48 percent) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians. Three of the top 10 are in the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Mexico). Two are in Europe (Russia and Germany); two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China); and three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia), reflecting Christianity's global reach.

• Christians are diverse theologically as well as geographically. About half are Catholic. Protestants, broadly defined, make up 37 percent. Orthodox Christians comprise 12 percent of Christians worldwide. Other Christians, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, make up the remaining 1 percent of the global Christian population.

• Taken as a whole, Christians are by far the world's largest religious group. Muslims, the second-largest group, make up a little less than a quarter of the world's population, according to previous studies by the Pew Forum.

• Although Christianity began in the Middle East-North Africa, that region today has both the lowest concentration of Christians (about 4 percent) and the smallest number of Christians (about 13 million) of any major geographic region.

• Although Christians comprise just under a third of the world's people, they form a majority of the population in 158 countries and territories, about two-thirds of all the countries and territories in the world.

• Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to include Anglicans and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation.

• About 90 percent of Christians live in countries where Christians are in the majority; only about 10 percent of Christians worldwide live as minorities.

Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/archive/x352572619/Religion-News-10-countries-with-the-largest-number-of-Christians#ixzz1iboncDLJ

Please pray for me - Ethics, poverty and justice (Exposed 2013)

Dear friends, 

Please could I ask you to pray at 12.00 CAT today - we have our 1st conference call for the Exposed2013 campaign.

This campaign seeks to empower 100 million Christians across the world on issues of ethics, justice & poverty by 2013 please see  for more: http://www.micahchallenge.org/exposed 

The project is being run by Micah Challenge, The international Bible Society, Unashamedly Ethical, the Salvation Army and the World Evangelical Alliance.

I am helping to coordinate the campaign - it is such an important issue for the Kingdom and the world!

We cannot rid the world of systemic poverty unless we deal with systemic corruption!

Thanks so much! 

God bless, 

Dion
James 1.27

Vulnerable, gentle, powerful self-giving love

Happy New year to all of the wonderful readers of this blog!

It is set to be an exciting year for my family and I - we have that wonderful mix of security and change.  It is wonderful to know that we will remain in Somerset West for another year, enjoying our friends, our community, our home and our beautiful surroundings!  Yet at the same time it is a blessing to consider that we have a few new challenges ahead.

As of today my time will be split between three primary work projects and one personal project.  

First, I will continue to serve alongside Graham Power in the Power Group of Companies with chaplaincy responsibilities and opportunities to offer leadership within our two main initiatives, the Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical.

Second, I was appointed to a post at the University of Stellenbosch in Ekklesia within the faculty of Theology. Here I will have three primary tasks: oversee two Master of Theology courses in missional leadership and spirituality, to coordinate research outputs and projects for Master, Doctoral and Post-Doctoral students who are in the partnership of Missional Churches. It is such a blessing to be back in an academic post! I am looking forward to a great deal of creative growth this year!

Third, I will be coordinating an international campaign to mobilize 100 million Christians around issues of ethics, justice and poverty.  The Campaign is called Exposed - Shinning a light on corruption (14-20 October 2013). The cost of corruption is staggering, over US$1 Trillion each year! In most instances it is the poorest of the poor who bare the brunt of such abuse. We will never rid the world of systemic poverty until we deal with systemic corruption. As Christians we need to be informed and empowered to deal with corruption in our own lives, and hold persons and institutions who have power accountable for their use of the world's resources.  So please do look in on this blog from time to time to see how this magnificent initiative unfolds in the months to come!

The personal project that I will continue to be involved in is a second PhD.  I was truly fortunate to be awarded a scholarship to do a second Doctorate at the University of Radboud in Nijmegen, Holland.  I have been working on that for a little less than a year now and will continue to do so this year.  I am working under my mentor in New Testament studies, Professor Jan van der Watt.  In short I am developing a new narratological approach to reading John's Gospel using integral (intersubjective) identity theory.

When I think of what lies ahead I get a little anxious!  I frequently feel that I may not have what it takes to do each of these tasks well, least of all to care for my family and honour God in the process.

However, in my devotional time this morning this quote from NT Wright offered me great encouragement:

When God wants to change the world, he doesn’t send in the tanks. He sends in the meek, the mourners, those who are hungry and thirsty for God’s justice, the peacemakers, and so on. Just as God’s whole style, his chosen way of operating, reflects his generous love, sharing his rule with his human creatures, so the way in which those humans then have to behave if they are to be agents of Jesus’s lordship reflects in its turn the same sense of vulnerable, gentle, but powerful self-giving love.

- N.T. Wright

Please can I ask for your prayers for my family and I?  Please also pray for each of these projects that I am involved in - each one is making such a significant difference in bringing transformation and renewal in the Church and the world.

May you be richly blessed in all that you do this year! Please let me know what your plans are, and if I can pray for you.

Fun, fish and fellowship

Today we drive from Port Elizabeth to Knysna. We left Mtunzini yesterday - it was a long, but beautiful, drive through the former Transkei! All 13 hours of it! We stopped in Grahamstown along the way (I studied at Rhodes University for a few years - Megie and I love that place!)

Mtunzini was great! We spent Christmas with our family, enjoyed the beach, the pool and I did some great mountain bike rides in the Mondi forests around Mtunzini - I tried to average about 40km a day.

Today we go to Thesen Island in Knysna for a few days with our friends there.

This has been such a wonderful time of fun, fellowship and fish (see the picture of our Christmas lunch above, Liam also caught his first few fish on this trip)!

Re-creation and Re-connecting

We're on holiday! It is a time for us to be re-created, renewed and replenished.

I had the privilege of doing my brother-in-law's wedding in Nelspruit on the 16th. He and his with Kathryn are out from the UK. It was a wonderful time to be reconnected with a wide range of family and friends! Living in Cape Town does mean that we are a little further away from cousins, aunts and uncles and friends from school. We had a great time at the wedding! Nelspruit is such a beautiful part of South Africa. I even had a chance to go for a great moutainbike ride in the hills between Nelspruit and Whiteriver. Richard and I rode together - great riding, great conversation and an all round blessing.

From Nelspruit we drove back to JHB for a few days with my mom. These visits with her are so precious. As one gets older you appreciate your family a lot more! Of course the kids love being with Nanna, and she spoils them (and us)! While we were in Gauteng we also went to visit our good friends Greg and Shirley and their kids Jade and Reece.

Greg and I have been friends and riding partners for a few years now - we've ridden two Wines2Whales races together and thousands of kilometers in the mountains around Cape Town. Greg and his family moved to the beautiful Pecanwood Estate at Hartbeespoort. Greg took a promotion at work which required their move from Cape Town. I already miss my riding buddy, but it was good to see them settled in their beautiful new home! We prayed together.

Now our family is gathering in the coastal town of Mtunzini - about 130km North of Durban. We arrived here last night and the rest of the extended clan will arrive at their various places during the remainder of the week. We're looking forward to spending Christmas together. I'm looking forward to some time with Megie, Courts and Liam. I also am looking forward to some time to read and pray (and ride my bike)!

A time to be re-created!

From here we will drive down the coast to spend a few days with our friends Graham and Lauren Power at Thesen Island in Knysna before heading back home to Cape Town!

I am posting pictures and updates on my Facebook profile, also at tumblr (see http://digitaldion.tumblr.com for more) and on twitter @digitaldion

Have a blessed Christmas! I have some truly exciting things panning out in 2012!!! Please check back for news on those developments. The next two years are going to be among the most significant and exciting years of my life this far! Stay 'tuned' for more on that!

God bless,

Dion

Exposed - a new global Christian campaign against corruption

Today is international anti-corruption day.

The cost of corruption amounts to trillions of dollars each year. Most frequently it is the poorest of the poor who suffer the weight of this abuse.

As Christians we have a responsibility to act against injustice and abuse (Micah 6.8).

Please see this new campaign to fight global corruption - it is called Exposed.

The excerpt below is taken from the Unashamedly Ethical website, one of the Exposed campaign partners:

Christians around the world will raise their voices together in a united response against corruption in 2013.

EXPOSED – Shining a Light on Corruption - 14-20 October 2013

We aim to challenge the global Church, business and governments. Every year well over US$1 TRILLION goes missing through mismanagement, illicit business practices and poor governance. It doesn't have to be this way.

POOR: This money doesn’t just evaporate - it is actually deducted from the livelihood of some of the poorest people in the world.

BRIBES: In September 2005 a Transparency International report showed that poor women in some parts of the world may have to pay an average of US$22 in bribes for maternal services when having their babies. 

DESTITUTION: As Dr Goodwill Shana, chair of heads of denominations in Zimbabwe, put it: “While corruption is present everywhere from the boardrooms of corporations in developed countries to the dusty streets of Africa, in Africa it plays a far more significant role in keeping the poor in the unrelenting grip of destitution.”

OPPRESSION: Corruption is one of the greatest obstacles to dealing with extreme poverty and the campaign aims to mobilise Christians to join with wider society in exposing the practices which oppress the poor.

PROMISES TO THE POOR: Corinne Woods, director for the United Nations Millennium Development Programme, is enthusiastic about the campaign: "Every individual has a part to play in combating the corruption which erodes the promises of the millennium declaration. If we are to reach these goals in 2015 and respond to extreme poverty beyond we really do need to tackle corruption wherever it exists. I am so pleased that EXPOSED is picking up this challenge."

WHO ARE WE? EXPOSED is a coalition of Christian organisations.
The campaign is currently hosted by a group of Christian organisations including Bible Society of UK and North America, Salvation Army, Unashamedly Ethical and Micah Challenge International.  

REDEMPTION: “Our job is to provide a forum in which 100 million Christians will remind ourselves and the world of God’s passion for the poor.” said Rev Joel Edwards, chair of the steering group.

“We are also excited about the growing interest from a wide range of churches and organisations who are passionate about this issue. EXPOSED is not about aggressive protest for its own sake. We want to shine a light in order to bring hope and redemption and we hope to bring examples of good practise as well as offer robust challenges to institutions which oppress the poor.” 

Life, communion and community

This is a very powerful quote on community and communion:

We cannot love God unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other. We know Him in the breaking of bread, and we know each other in the breaking of bread, and we are not alone anymore. Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship.
— Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness

Sometimes I do find it difficult to be a part of an honest, loving Church community. But, I realize that it is often my ego that causes me to feel this way. When I am honest, I have to admit that I cannot live without the gracious acceptance and love of God's people. I discover God, others, myself and what it means to truly live.

Stop the Secrecy Bill in South Africa - Please act now

I got the following very helpful email from Avaaz.org which gives information on how you can stop the passing of the secrecy bill in South Africa.  This is a travesty of our democratic rights! Please join me in making a stand for freedom of the press in South Africa.

Dear friends across South Africa,

Sorry for the urgent note, but we literally only have hours now to stop the Secrecy Bill -- the National Assembly is called to vote on it this afternoon.

We stopped it last time -- after over 35,000 of us sent messages to the Chief Whips and thousands of us took to the street, they postponed the vote. Now, the unchanged bill is being pushed back to the floor after a sham public consultation this weekend that was only announced on Friday evening, and the ANC majority could force it through!

The same Chief Whips have the final word on the vote today -- if we call on them and Deputy President Motlanthe, the one outspoken ANC MP, we could block this shockingly regressive bill.

We only have hours left! Call the Chief Whips' and Motlanthe's offices now to halt the vote and protect our democracy -- it'll only take 5 minutes. Let's give them the public consultation that they have ignored:

Call Chief Whip Dr. Motshekga's office: 021 403 3860

Call Deputy President Mr. Motlanthe's office: 021 403 2353

The other Chief Whips:

Call Chief Whip Mr. Magwanishe's offices:
Cape Town -- 021 403 2211 // Constituency -- 011 873 7753

Call Chief Whip Ms. Ntwanambi's offices:
Cape Town -- 021 403 2429 // Constituency -- 021 785 4610

Call Chief Whip Mr. Davidson's office: 083 302 2199

Suggestions for your call:

• Say that you want the ANC to halt the vote and throw out this draconian bill that puts a shroud over government and undermines South Africa's hard won freedoms.
• Say that the public consultations were a sham with practically no one there and you expect the process to be revised and a real public consultation to take place as promised by the Chief Whips in September.
• Say you specifically object to a Secrecy Law that: gives up to 25 year jail sentences for anyone holding classified information; removes any protection for whistleblowers; has no public interest clause; and has no independent appeals mechanism.
• Say this vote could not come at a more worrying time, as more and more outrageous stories are coming out about government cronyism and corruption.
• Appeal to Deputy President Motlanthe to use his powers to halt the vote until a public interest defense clause is included as he announced earlier this month.
• Ask Chief Whip Davidson to bring the citizens messages to the floor of the debate.
• If you get a busy signal, don't stop calling. That means we're jamming their phone lines and the pressure on them is rising! Call now and help spread the word!
• After calling, post a message about how the call went -- to help Avaaz count the number of calls made, and demonstrate the wave of national protest to this bill being tabled -- we will give the numbers to the media.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_secrecy_bill_emergency_calls/?vl

This is our last chance to stop the NA vote on this bill and standup against this fatal pillage of South Africa's democracy.

With hope and determination,

Alice, David, Sam, Pascal, Ricken, Rewan and the whole Avaaz team

SOURCES:

Secrecy Bill returns unchanged (Mail & Guardian)
http://mg.co.za/article/2011-11-18-secrecy-bill-returns-unchanged

S.Africa poised to pass heated state secrets law (Reuters)
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AK08W20111121

S.Africa's Gordimer warns on 'apartheid' secrecy bill (AFP)
http://news.yahoo.com/africas-gordimer-warns-apartheid-secrecy-bill-103541450.html

In order to be a good citizen of our nation we need to take responsibility for our rights.  Please join me in this.

The first day of summer in Cape Town!

Today was the first summer's day that we've had in Cape Town! It is amazing that summer has come so late - last weekend the last day of the Wines2Whales ride was cancelled (much to my disappointment) because we had snow in Grabouw and they couldn't get the emergency personnel onto to the route from Grabouw to Hermanus!

However, I woke up at 5.30 this morning to glorious sunshine and joined some friends for an awesome ride on Lourensford farm. As I left my gate and rode up Lourensford road towards Erinvale it was quiet, cool and clear!

We only did about 25km - I'll confess it hardly felt like a worthwhile ride. But it was great to be on the trails, climbing the jeep tracks an whizzing down the single track. I didn't have a single fall in last week's race. Today, I took a gentle little tumble rounding a hairpin bend.

The picture a above was taken with my iPhone as we were climbing towards the first piece of single track (I think it is called Eagles View).

I love this place! I give thanks to God for the beauty, safety and opportunity to ride!

Bring on summer! Let the South Easter begin to blow... And it will!

The launch of Word and Worship - a resource on the Revised Common Lectionary

On Wednesday I had the joy of attending the launch of a great new resource for Churches and ministers - it is called Word and Worship. It is a great book that was put together by Dr Coenie Burger, Dr Bruce Theron and a team of ministers from various denominations including the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the Anglican Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Catholic Church and various other denominations.

The book takes the texts from the Revised Common Lectionary and gives background information, commentary, liturgical, prayer and worship pointers.

Prof Russel Botman, the Rector of the University of Stellenbosch, spoke at the opening of the event, as did Prof Nico Koopman (the Dean of the Faculty of Theology), Dr Coenie Burger and Dr Bruce Theron. It was wonderful to see my friends Kevin Needham, John van de Laar (one of the conveners of the project - and perhaps one of the world's foremost theologians on worship and liturgy, picture here receiving his copy) and many other colleagues contributing to this wonderful resource!

Here is the report from the University of Stellenbosch website:

Word and Worship, the first South African ecumenical resource manual written in English, will be introduced on Wednesday 16 November 2011 at the Faculty of Theology.

It was compiled by 35 ministers of six different churches and will be published under the auspices of Ekklesia, a centre of the Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University.

Ekklesia will be distributing 6 000 copies in November, in time for use by ministers and congregations on the First Advent Sunday, on 27 November.

The purpose of Word and Worship, which follows the well-known ecumenical Revised Common Lectionary, is to assist ministers with the preparation of weekly sermons and services. BUVTON, the forerunner to Ekklesia, published an Afrikaans ecumenical resource manual for 14 years. It has long been a dream to publish an English equivalent, making it possible for churches on any given Sunday to be busy with common texts of Scripture.

I am a staff member at Ekklesia at the University of Stellenbosch, the centre in the Faculty of Theology that managed this project. We are planning to have 'Word and Worship' reflection and conversations starting from Tuesday the 17th of January 2012 between 9-12. If you're interested in attending these sessions please just drop me a line! It would be great to connect you with the group facilitators.