Prayer, fasting and giving - the loss of spiritual discipline in contemporary Christianity.

William Bramwell, an early Wesleyan preacher from Liverpool wrote to a friend in 1809:

The reason why Methodists in general do not live in this salvation is, there is too much sleep, too much meat and drink, too little fasting and self-denial, too much conversation with the world, too much preaching and hearing, and too little self-examination and prayer.

You know, this description of Methodism in England from 200 years ago is so similar to contemporary Methodism (and I fear contemporary Christianity in many other mainline Christian denominations in South Africa).



I am frequently classified as a 'liberal', sometimes more accurately as a 'liberal evangelical'. I am evangelical - that's for sure! I believe that we have a responsibility to be passionate about the WHOLE 'evangelion' (the WHOLE Gospel). I believe that we need to encounter individuals with the life transforming power of Christ, but that we also need to encounter systems and structures with that same power and love! The whole Gospel for the whole world!



Yet, I find that I am seldom up to that task. I am weak, soft, ill preparted - I lack the necessary urgency and determination to truly and courageously encounter the world with this marvelous Person (Jesus) and His saving message!



I do find, however, that the spiritual disciplines help me to come a little closer to what it means to be a 'better' disciple (if there is such a thing).



In this short video I discuss the notion of salvation by faith (and not by works, or ascetic discipline), yet keeping the need to maintain and develop spiritual disciplines in order to be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ.







What do you think? Do any of you practice regular spiritual disciplines? If so, what do you do and how does it help you?

A church with mission, or missions without the Church? A few thoughts on the emerging 'coversation' / 'churches'

Updated 26 March 2009.

Dear friends, please find the expanded text of a lecture on the emerging Church conversation here. To find out more about the occasion of this lecture I delivered in March 2009 (the Hugh Price Hughes lecture in London) please follow this link.

What is clear (quite apart from all of the statistics) is that while the Church may be dying (as we know it), the Christian faith is growing!

I would encourage you to read the lecture, absorb the statistics, watch the little video below, pray about your response and feel free to engage me!

Original post below.

Here are a few thoughts on the emerging conversation in relation to the Church. It is entitled 'Revolution or Evolution'... The gist of my research has shown that the content of the Gospel is not what the world has a problem with, rather it is the manner in which we frame our narrative and engage the world....

In the attached powerpoint slides you will see some alarming statistics on the decline in Church attendance and membership in Southern Africa (and the world!) But, that decline in interest in the Church is certainly not an accurate reflection on the Christian faith! Christianity is still going strong!!!

For example while church membership and attendance is decreasing at an alarming rate (in most 'Christian' societies') there is a steep growth in adherence to 'non' traditional Church models (e.g., African Initiated Churches, Cell Groups, Home Churches, Marketplace ministry groups, Mission organizations etc. etc.).

Here's a little video with my thoughts:

And, here are the Powerpoint slides that may add some 'meat' to my thoughts. emerging_conversation_church.ppt. (PS. the last slide has some incomplete references on it... I did not have two of the books with me when I finished the slides... And, now the books are at the office. Email me if you can't find the references).

I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree that the Church will die out in the next 40 years if we don't change our 'delivery mechanism'? I would love to hear your thoughts - there are some like Roger Saner and Stephen Murray who are experts in this area... Perhaps you would like to chime in?

By the way Steve Hayes - in my research I have discovered that the only 'mainline' denomination that is growing exceptional well are the Orthodox Churches! Any ideas?

Technorati tags: emergent conversation, emergent Church, mainline Church decline, statistics on Church membership, Seth Mokitimi, Orthodox

Times and seasons, the sigmoid curve, appreciating the past and loving the present.

The last two days have been special to say the least!  I find that frequently the most significant personal experiences are not the extraordinary places that I get to visit through my work, or even the important people I have had the privelage to encounter... Most frequently the 'life changing' moments in my life's narrative are those events in which I come to a moment of 'enlightenment' - a recognition of a truth that helps me to move form one stage of being to another.

These last two days have been just that.  Yesterday I flew out to Pietermartizburg at the invitation of Rev Dr Ross Olivier to come and participate in the Orientation of the founding class of Sethi Mokitimi Methodist Seminary.  Ross has been a friend for some years now.  I first got to know him when he was the connexional coordinator for the 'Journey to the new land program' back in the early 1990's.  Later our friendship was deepened when I had the wonderful opportunity to stay with him and his wife Shayne in Jackson Mississippi in the USA.  We ate clams, drove down the Naches Trace to Louisiana and spent many hours chatting and watching TV!  It is a fond memory... We also went to Walmart (where I bought my daughter a Barbie doll on a shelf that was situated right next to the live ammunition for various hand guns, rifles and shot guns...) 

Ross is the new President of our Church's seminary, Seth Moktimi Methodist Seminary, in Pietermartzburg.  He is a courageous and gifted leader who has already done a great deal to set things in place to ensure the success of this new institution...

At the airport  in Durban I hired a car and picked up Rev Norman Raphahlela (the new director of the Education for Ministry and Mission Unit), and the Registrar, Anne Burmeister and the financial manager Melani Kasselman.

Ross and Ivan Abrahams, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa met us in Pietermaritzburg as we drove through the dark (and quiet) streets of that city - the University only starts in a week's time so all is calm!  Ivan and I shared a flat at the new seminary campus and had a few hours to sit and chat.  It reminded me very much of the deep and honest conversation we shared at Oxford in 2007 - which became the inspiration for mine and Wessel Bentley's most recent book, 'What are we thinking:  Reflections on Church and Society by Southern African Methodists'.  Ivan shared his aspirations and struggles with great honest and vulnerability.  I have always understood that the burden of leadership is have and lonely, and I felt that again last night.

Today, I got to spend some time with a veratible host of the 'Heroes' of Southern African Methodism!  In the meetings, meals, and sessions where Rev Prof Neville Richardson (one of my very close friends and a real father in the faith), Rev Prof Peter Storey, Rev Dr Simon Gqubule, Rev Dr Ross Olivier, Bishop Zipho Siwa and Rev Norman Raphahela.  I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to share this time with my Methodist fathers.  Their collective wisdom, history of courage and sacrifice, and continued commitment to the mission of Christ as expressed in Southern African Methodism was a considerable challenge and inspiration!  There was enough time to connect with each of them and pick up on all that had happened since we last met one another.

However, there was another element to this encounter that was more encouraging... It was the recognition that I was absolutely free - I was free from needing to make an impression or leave one.  These persons no longer held my future and destiny in their hands.  I have been graciously moved by God in a different direction.  I remain a committed servant of this denomination, but I did not want or need anything from these powerful men - other than being able to sit, listen, and learn.  I do not need a station, I need no endorsement, no support from a caucus they represent, no political or ecclesiastical backing, I simply received the blessing of being a young man in the company of giants.

I was humbled by their kindness and interest in my current ministry and how things are going with my family.  I was blessed that a few of them had already bought the new book and had some positive and critical insights to share....

It was a joy to go into class again - I cannot tell you how much I miss share in the shaping of the hearts and minds of our seminarians!  We had a few hours together in which we interrogated the doctrine of the Church, the mission of the Church, and some very creative and innovative means of 'rephrasing the narrative of the Gospel of love' so that it is truly the WHOLE Gospel (not just a narrow personal soteriology!  But rather a radically transformative mission of bringing about individual and social transformation towards the establishment of God's Kingdom of grace!)

But, as I drove back to the airport I knew that I was free.... In terms of the Sigmoid curve, I realised that I had begun to stagnate in my previous role as the Dean of John Wesley College.  I was thankful that the politics of the factions in the Church were no longer my concern...  As I listened to the conversation around the table, I thanked the Lord for those whom He has called to serve the Church in those positions, but I felt free from them.  

I arrive home at 10pm tonight.  I can't wait to see Megie, Courts and Liam!  But, tomorrow morning I'll be addressing a Christian business gathering in Blouberg (at the Blue Peter).  I'll be up early to get there by 6am - but I am excited about the opportunity to exercise my minister, the ministry of a Methodist minister, in that context.  I am grateful for all those who have gone before and showed me the way.  I am thankful for the work that is being done to train people for our ministry.  And I am thankful to have opportunities to engage in new and diverse forms of bringing Christ's Kingdom to bear on the world!

I am thankful.

How many AAA's in KHAAAN!? An exercise in mathematical stupidity and the intelligence of the internet!

How many AAAAAA's in KHAAAN!? Yes, there are many.

This graph shows how people have typed Khaan (with how many A's) on the whole wide intranets and internets and extranets etc. etc. The vertical axis plots how many hits there are per spelling form (e.g., 1 million for Khan, as opposed to 1 hit for Khan with 96 A's... You've got to admire the person who types 97 A's!) It is quite clever (it can count), but it's not that clever... It comes from here - now that's clever!

As can be seen in this chart, "Google search results for "KH(Ax)N" for x=1 to 100," there's a real spike of "AAAAA"s around 40 and 50. That's a lot of repetitious typing! Also, you have to admire the bloody-minded perserverence of the folks over there at 97-100 "AAAAA"s. Also, RIP, Ricardo Montalban.

Google search results for "KH(Ax)N" for x=1 to 100 (via Negatendo)

Above average expectation, above average opportunity - are you aiming to become a 'hero of the faith'?

I've come to understand that we all need role-models, hero's, the kind of persons that we can look towards for inspiration, encouragement, and upon whom we can model ourselves. It has been an incredible privilege in recent months to meet with many of those persons that I have admired as I have traveled to various destinations across the globe.

One thing has become clear to me - that is that my 'heros' are just ordinary people who have done a few extra-ordinary things. When you couple that with the reality that God has created each one of us to be special and extra-ordinary you can reach some wonderfully encouraging and blessed conclusions!

Here's a sneak preview of my Radio Pulpit show for this week (listen in on your radio 657 Khz on AM in Gauteng, or via the web at 9.00-9.30 (GMT+2hours) every Wednesday). Click here to download the show 'more than average' (6.6MB MP3).

Blessings for this week!

Coping with adversity... The great fire of London

In 1666 London was decimated by a fire that burnt almost the entire city to the ground. It was an incredible tragedy with many lives being lost, and of course many livelihoods and homes being destroyed.



However, have you ever considered that this tragedy could have had some positive outcomes? First among them was that the fire rid London of the 'plague' (black death) - the first city to be free from this deadly scourge! Second, the complete destruction allowed the architects of London to rebuild the city entirely. London became the first European city to cater for commercial trade on a large scale and to have significant forward planning for commercial and industrial growth. This, in large part, was what made London the 'premier' city in Europe (and in no small part contributed towards the building of the British empire).



I was wondering how we cope with adversity and challenge? The reality is that not all suffering has obvious positive benefits (certainly not in the short term!) However, we can learn some lessons from history.



Here's a short little video on dealing with suffering, adversity and challenge.







Rich blessing for this day!

'Folk theories' in Guru based spirituality...

I found the content of this post quite interesting, however, what fascinated me even more was the underlying assumption of how 'popular theologies' come into existence. You see what this poster illustrates in his post is that there is a belief that certain truths (such as scientific truths) have a different basis of validity from those that come to be accepted as truths through 'popular consensus'.

Of course this is complete nonsense! Empirical truths are also based on popular consensus! The easiest way to illustrate that is to ask how much 1 Kilogram weighs... Of course it weighs 1 Kilogram, but why does it weigh 1 Kilogram? Well, it weighs one Kilogram because a group of individuals agreed to set a 'standard' in place by taking a substance, measuring it's weight and then saying that from that time forward all other weighted items would be benchmarked by measuring them against the 'popular consensus' standard they had just invented.

The same goes for subtler (less physical) truths. Have you ever considered how the concept of law and justice works? The laws and regulations of any group are set by consensus and upheld by popular consensus (a person is deemed guilty or not guilty when there is consensus that he or she has transgressed, or not transgressed, the agreed upon standard set by the community)...

I could go on and on with such examples from religion, philosophy, science, mathematics, politics, sociology and a host of other disciplines...

So, truth is truth (not in spite of popular of folk consesus, but most frequently because of it!). Anyway, here's the post:

Folk theories are assumptions or "common sense" things that people generally believe to be true. Over at Guruphiliac, my pal Jody Radzik presents a list of folk theories that he's identified in guru-based spirituality and invites readers to contribute their own. It's fun to see how folk theories can be used to get people to "buy in" (often literally) to almost any bullshit. Here are a few tools Jody says are in any "flimflamming, big-time guru's" box:

• The folk theory of everything being connected
• The folk theory of ancient wisdom
• The folk theory of holiness
• The folk theory of sex being a loss to the spirit
• The folk theory of harmful technology
• The folk theory that only the heart knows what is true

Folk Theories Of Guru-Based Spirituality

Get well soon Steve Jobs.

It cannot be easy to face the pressures of keeping a company going that is so hugely dependent upon your presence (particularly to keep the stock price afloat) and know that you are seriously ill...

I hope Steve Jobs gets well soon.

Steve Jobs sent an email around to let his employees know he was taking a leave of absence. He wrote, "my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought."

Team,

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June. I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

From here.

Secret tweet - an online confessional. Somehow sad, yet cathartic

Bishop Alan (who's blog has instantly become one of my favourite sites for a daily visit) posted an excellent blog post on atheism in relation to a site called secrettweet. I would encourage you to make a turn past his site and read the post.

I checked out secrettweet and found a number of very sad posts there. Something in my felt quite helpless. I guess there is something 'hardwired' into my person that longs to help people who are struggling and suffering. In some instances I wished that I could make contact with the persons who were posting in order to offer some encouragement, offer a listening ear, or simply offer the encouragement of knowing that they do not struggle on their own.

I suppose there is a healthy element to the site in that for some persons it is a catharsis - allowing them to name things that would otherwise eat them like a cancer. For others I fear that it may in fact be something quite negative, in that they share their secret and feel relieved to have done so, yet there is no real honesty about remaining anonymous. The secret still remains a secret where it most matters, i.e., in their daily life.

I prayed about some of the posts, and those who posted them. May each of us find places that are safe enough for us to be truly free, completely authentic, and not fear the backlash that our honesty may bring from others.

Why are you 'in the world'?

This is of course a very complex question! But, here are two wonderful general inputs towards discovering that purpose:

I am in the world to change the world. - Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and political activist (1913-1980).

And, here's another lovely quote from Scripture - perhaps we can all be part of God's 'new thing'?

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. - Isaiah 43:19

Both come from the wonderful daily reflection from Sojourners called 'Verse and Voice'.

Leaving on a jet plane

We're on our way to Plettenberg Bay from Cape Town to spend two days on team building and retreat with the Global Day of Prayer team. Please spare a prayer for us. We have a lot of critical planning for this important year!

In this picture, Graham Power and myself.

Blessings,

Dion
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For peace in the world...

Today I fasted and took time to pray for the people of Zimbabwe, for the suffering inflicted upon those who live in North Korea, for those whose lives are destroyed by war in the Democratic republic of the Congo, and for those who are being murdered in Gaza...

I find this simple discipline to be immensely helpful.

It was my birthday, but I thought that it would be a very small sacrifice to give up food and be reminded that not everyone lives in peace, experiences the blessing of love, and has freedom and joy. This reminder spurred me to pray for an end to war, hatred, abuse and the pain caused by bad religion and worse politics. I broke my fast this evening in a family meal (having fasted from before dinner last night) - it was special to be with my family and to experience their love.

Let us never forget that Christ is called the 'Prince of Peace', and that he pronounced blessing upon those who are peacemakers, saying that they shall bear the likeness of God.

And I heard a loud voice form the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more."

- Revelation 21:3-4

Thanks for the many wishes and kind words. I'm another day older, and thankfully not deeper in debt!