Why do we serve? A call to pray for people in ministry.

I frequently encounter people who struggle to understand why persons would give their lives in service of others...  I know, among my colleagues, some of the most gifted, hard working, and creative persons I have ever met.  Just about each one of them could make a great deal of money and be successful in just about any field - yet they have chosen a life of service and sacrifice.  Why would one do it?

Well, the one certain answer is that they feel called by God to share whatever gifts they have for the good of all of God's children.  What I think we often fail to remember is that God sees all of creation as a part of God's economy (oikos household nomos regulation or provision).  God can never be pleased when one child is fat and another is starving, neither could God our parent be pleased when one child abuses another, oppresses another, or where there is amenity and strife between God's children.  

And so... people give their lives in service of God's love, and their love, for others.  I pray for myself and my colleagues frequently - this is not an easy path, it takes great discipline and requires a lot of sacrifice.  Many of ministers and missionaries are willing to take the sacrifice of poverty and lack of provision upon themselves, yet when your children suffer because of your ideals and choices, it becomes quite a different story altogether!  I remember an adult student crying in my office one day because his daughter was to go to her Matric farewell, yet he could not even afford to pay the fee for the dance, let alone buy her a new dress and the shoes she longed for.  My heart was broken.  I went home to Megan and asked her if we could take the money out of our bond to give to them as a gift.

I thought of that event when I read the quote below...

The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. - Matthew 23:11-12

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life. - Jane Addams

Members of Christian congregations, may I please encourage you to love, support and care for your ministerial families?  Please pray for them, for their needs, and for their hearts and intentions to remain pure and servant-like in this great calling.

Wohoo! Apple announces the new super-slim Macbook 'brick'

The Apple rumour sites are buzzing with news of the new Macbook 'brick', apparently it will be announced today. Some are saying that it will have all of the same ports as the Macbook pro, but that it will be as slim as my trusty Macbook air!

As for me, I'm sticking with my Macbook Air! It was fantastic on my recent world travels, it was light, fast, has a long battery life and worked first time, every time!

Well, as soon as it's announced I'll post some pictures here.

A jet-lagged reflection on our Latin American trip... A simple strategy for national transformation.

We arrived back in Cape Town about three hours ago. I've unpacked my bags, got the first load of washing in the machine, Megie is back to work and I'm taking an hour or so to catch my breath and fetch Courtney from school. I'll go into the office later this afternoon.

If you look back over my blog you'll see that I have been out of South Africa for almost a month in total (starting with a trip to London for the Global Prayer Leaders' Network and Unashamedly Ethical meetings). It has been a busy time - yet it has been extremely rewarding and worthwhile. In these weeks I have been encouraged and blessed by the many wonderfully faithful and diverse expressions of courageous, Christ-centered, obedience I have experienced.

The last two weeks have been a time of challenge and growth. Ed Silvoso's perspective on the role of one's everyday 'working life' in relation to God's purposes for transformation and healing of the world have made a significant impact upon me. I guess that in some ways he has a unique foundation in that he comes from South America (Argentina) and so understands issues of poverty, struggle, and of course the ideals and principles that inform and drive theologies of liberation (i.e., God's love and option for the poor, the evil of greed and wealth, the suffering and abuse that stems from oppressive economic and political systems etc.). Yet, he has also spent a great deal of his life living in America and working among evangelical Christians (his brother in law is Lius Palloa the 'Billy Graham' of Latin America). So, he understands the energy and passion that comes from the evangelical perspective on the faith. I found his emphasis on God's sovereign power to work with and in the world to be a healthy and refreshing addition to the frequently dry, secular hummanist, purely social Gospel teaching (which is so frequently my point of departure). In him I found a healthy balance between God's power and capacity to bring about healing and change, and the human person's responsibility to seek God's guidance, will, power, and grace to be a partner in bringing about transformation.

I have written about Ed Silvoso's 5 paradigms before (you can listen to a broadcast I prepared for Radio Pulpit on this subject on this link '5 paradigms that can change your work into worship' (6MB, MP3). He seems to be able to keep the balance between reliance upon God and individual and corporate responsibility for national (and even global) transformation.

This week we had many opportunities to share our vision for eradicating systemic poverty by addressing systemic corruption. This is not only a matter of moral choice and complaince with the laws and systems of a particular nation state, rather it is about deal with the corrupted human soul, finding freedom and sufficiency in Christ and operating from that base of Christ-centered renewal and healing to discover person transformation and renewal, to work towards the renewal and transformation of one's family, one's social group, one's workplace, one's neighbourhood, one's children's schools, the local economy, and even broader afield to transform that laws and values of one's nation, continent, and the world.

William Wilberforce, Charles Wesley, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela - these are all examples of people who allowed their faith to impact more than just their personal lives! Rather, they sought to discover what was right for them and all other persons, and even the rest of creation, and work towards making that a reality.

Our time in Montevideo, Uruguay, was truly encouraging. On the Friday evening we had about 250 business leaders, politicians, and pastors together. On the Saturday we held a workshop for about 400 persons including pastors, business leaders and politicians. We shared something of Christ's dream for our world, and of course their city and nation, and then offered some tools, insights, and encouragement that could help them further along that road.

Our task is quite simple, we share a vission of what the world could be like, we activate the imagination, do our best to inspire hope, give a few glimpses of possible strategies (mostly gleaned from research about the particular area and context, coupled with success stories and prototypes from other similar contexts in the world), and then do some basic teaching, create a network of locally driven, locally 'owned' relationships, and then follow up from time to time to see how we can bless and support that work.

We place a fairly strong emphasis on the fact that the strongest testimony that the Church can give concerning the love of Christ is not full services, but rather it relates to addressing the concrete and felt needs of a community (e.g., hospitals for the sick, jobs for the poor, social restoration for divided communities etc.) In order for this to take place there needs to be a strategic partnership and relationship between Pastors and Christians who are leaders in various spheres of society that we call 'the marketplace' (i.e., politicians and elected officials, educators, health workers, business people, youth and social workers etc.) Unity and strategic co-operation are the key to achieving maximum success in any community or area. As such we will often go into a city or region and set up meetings where we bring together top politicians, business leaders, the heads of denominations and Church organisations, and simply spend time helping them to get to know each other, find forgiveness and healing from past hurts and struggles, and dreaming of the way forward for their region.

Well, I'm back home and so excited to be with my family!!!! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us.

About to leave Buenos Aires for Colonia and Montevideo in Uruguay

The harbour (Buquebus) in Beunos Aires looks just like an airport! We shall be boarding a fast boat to Colonia in Uruguay, and from there we'll take a bus to the coastal town of Montevideo. Tonight we shall be speaking at a Church in that town, tomorrow morning we're meeting with the local government and business leaders, and then on Sunday morning we head back to Argentina to catch our flight home!!!!

My trip to Kenya next week has been delayed until November - I am so grateful to have a few weeks in South Africa with my family!

This picture is of me (on the right) with Graham Vermooten, the director of Media Village (a video production company from Cape Town). Graham and his crew are filming as we travel. He and Dianne are good friends - they started a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base in Cape Town. They are Anglicans, we have a lot in common in our theology and our perspectives on life.

PS. this photo was taken with photobooth on my Macbook air (so many places in Argentina have free wifi!)

So here's what I'm thinking...

Life can be messy, and I'm glad that it is this way. The sorrow of one moment becomes the joy of the next. Being separated from a loved one for a short while creates an intensity of love and appreciation that breaks the regular ebb and flow of life that can so easily lead one into a position of taking your most precious relationships for granted.

This week has been a truly remarkable week of learning and growing for me. I am pleased that there is still so much to learn about life, loving God, and serving Christ. For some years I was treated as 'a font of knowledge' for others - I was approached for counsel, sought out to teach and preach, and asked to participate in various think tanks and meetings. These things flattered my ego, but they also covered a great truth - the truth is that I don't know very much! Titles can be deceptive, they tools of social engineering, employed to create a perception that may or may not be true (or is true in varying degrees). I have two titles, Reverend and Doctor. The one denotes an office within the Church, the other an achievement within the academic arena. For some time these titles were a cause of secret pride (and sometimes not so secret pride!) However, in recent months they have been the cause of great humility and struggle. You see, with a title comes an expectation - the title Reverend seems to carry the social and religious expectation of Godliness, maturity, wisdom, and care. I am not particularly good at any of these, although I do strive to do my best in each. The title Doctor carries with it the expectation of great learning, exceptional insights, and deep thought. Well, with the exception of a few very esoteric and rather eclectic subjects (neuroscience, applied mathematics, artificial intelligence, quantum physics, African philosophy and certain areas of Christian doctrine) I don't know much at all! Well, at least I don't know much about the things that truly count in life!

I am learning.

Before going further, I am aware that some would dispute that 'The Reverend' is in fact not a title, but rather a style of prefix used to address Christian clergy. The point is, I cannot live up to the social expectation of either of the titles that I have, just as little as I can truly be a perfect husband or father. I do my best, but there is tremendous room for growth.

Well, this week I sat in meetings, conference halls, Churches, offices, and around tables with people who were often much more interested in my titles than in my person. What I am learning is that I need to be as patient with them as I hope they are with me! You see, they too are subject to the pressures of socialization. So I guess I could state it more accurately by saying that this week I was learning to learn. I was having to think not only about what I was learning about people, but also about how I was learning what I was learning - for example when I met the head of the Ugandan Revenue service (she jokingly calls herself the 'Chief tax collector' of Uganda) I had to take time to separate the person from the title. The office that she holds is one of immense responsibility, power, and of course respect. But, when she spoke with me (a minister) she was looking for support, affirmation, encouragement, and prayer. I had to make the distinction between the person and the title and ask God to give me the grace to be sensitive to minister to her felt needs as she felt them, not as I perceived them. I am learning to learn!

Well, this was a good week!

I have learned a lot! I have learned a lot about myself, I have learned a lot about others, I have learned a lot about Argentina, and Uganda, and Japan, and Thailand, and Australia, and Iran, and Spain, and Denmark, and a host of other countries and regions...

The meetings were remarkable, my intellect was stimulated, my heart was touched, and my spirit was renewed.

Amazingly though, the highlight of this week came from a town called Paarl, thousands of Kilometers away. The highlight of this week for me was the gift of a child for my friends Angus and Heather, you can read about that gift here: http://gruntleblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/zachari.html

We continue to learn... That's what I'm thinking!

Tomorrow morning I shall be leaving Mar del Plata, driving to Buenos Aires and then catching a boat to Uruguay. There I shall have further opportunities to learn. I do feel that this 'season' of my life is a season of service. I am trying to learn how to serve those that I work with, and serve those that I encounter. It is not easy to serve when almost all of western culture tries to teach one to rule and direct. So, do say a prayer for me. I am learning.

Sarah Palin in 30 seconds

Don't get me wrong, she's intelligent, attractive, and must be something quite special to rise to the top of American politics... But, she doesn't come across well on TV, and she certainly does not convey any gravitas in comparison to her opponent...

Sim says: Here's my latest video remix, this time of America's latest sweetheart/demagogue.

A message from Jesus to Christians - "Go to hell"

I am one of those simple Christians who realises that I cannot live for Christ without setting in place some spiritual disciplines - perhaps that's why I am a Methodist! I like the simple methodical way of finding Jesus through daily prayer and reading the scriptures, I still fast weekly, I worship every week (preferably in my local Church when I am in South Africa), I give generously, I take retreats, I try to find service and extraordinary ministry opportunities, I take relationships seriously... You know what I'm talking about...

Well, this morning when I was doing my quiet time, a daily discipline of praying, reading the scriptures, and waiting upon God's loving presence, I was struck by something that I have read many times, but only saw this morning. I'll get to the message that I received from this passage below, however, let me first say why I think I have missed this message previously.

Perhaps the reason why I have not read this text with earnest attention is because it has been claimed and hijacked by spiritual warfare type Christians - that's not me! So, I have tended to look over it saying to myself these verses are for someone else... I'm not that kind of Christian so let's go on to find something that is for me. You know what that's called? It's called selective listening! When I was young I used to apply selective listening to what my parents and teachers told me! I would hear everything, but I would only listen to those bits that I felt fitted my worldview. Now, as an older man, I wonder how much I have missed out on because I did not listen!!

Well, thankfully because my time clock is messed up and I am a little bit tired at the moment I was open to hearing from this text!

Matthew 16:18-19 - And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

I have always read this passage and thought that the Church (which Jesus said he would build upon the rock) and hades (hell) are two separate 'places'. You know, the old dichotomy between good and evil, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of evil. However, this morning I realised that the 'operational' spread of the Church i.e., that area in which the Church should have influence and act, contains a great deal of evil and hardship! Certainly when I was a pastor of a local Church there were members within my congregation who felt like they were in hell! Some of them were ill, some of them were in financial struggle, some of them had bad and abusive relationships... You get the idea. BUT, there is more, within the area of my Church there were homeless people, prostitutes, people who did not belong to my Church or any other Church who needed grace, love, forgiveness, healing, and the love of Christ and Christ's body! These people are loved by God, their struggle matters to God and so I should be taking God's grace to encounter and overcome their hell!

So, the message that I heard today from the Lord is this: Christians, go to hell! That's where Christ would wish us to share His grace, his love, his mercy, his healing and of course his love!

I know that within the ministry that I currently have there is struggle and hardship very close to me. I work with people who are lonely, afraid, hungry, angry, broken, unloved, in chaos, without purpose.... You get the idea. I shall be considering how to go to hell to establish the Church there.

I am starting to understand that the ministry that I currently have is just such a ministry - I am taking the Kingdom of Christ to the heart of many people's hell. I am realising that 'The Church' exists radically within the heart of the place where most people spend most of their time... Not a Sunday morning service, but a desk, a booth, behind a counter, in an open plan office, under the hood of a car, in a bank....

The Church of Jesus in the marketplace.

Mar del Plata - an incredible evening in an magnificent setting!

Yesterday morning we had a meeting with the Ministers Union (Council of Churches, or Pastors' fraternal, depending on your context) in Buenos Aires. It was a an incredible meeting time! About a hundred leaders of denominations, Church groupings and ministry organisations gathered for the meeting. We had a chance to share about the Global Day of Prayer, and the Lausanne meetings in Cape Town. We also had a chance to talk about some possibilities in the local context to address systemic poverty and challenge the Church to become a significant, strategically aligned, agent of societal change.

After that meeting we got on a little bus for the 5 hour drive to Mar del Plata, on the coast of Argentina. Mar del Plata reminds me so much of the East London waterfront area near Victoria and the Quigney! It is quite steep, it has a similar climate (top temperature of about 15 degrees today), but it is beautiful!

A short while after our arrival we went to the city square to participate in a intercontinental television broadcast that was intended for Christians from the Southern tip of South America to the most Northern tip of North America! It was a magnificent time! It was freezing cold, but the latin American worship band was so energetic with their latin worship beats! I couldn't believe how electrifying and the latino eat was, within minutes the two thousand or so people on the square were hopping up and down!

The two most significant aspects of the 2 hour broadcast were the incredible testimonies and stories of those who shared how they had applied their faith in Jesus, and their commitment to justice, transformation, and God's renewing will for individuals and societieis, to bring huge changes in their sphere of influence (among them a chief tax collector from Ghana, a Prison administrator from Mexico, a Mayor from a North American City, Graham Power (my 'captain') a business person from Cape Town, a high school principal from Hawaii, a cardiologist from Iran... etc., etc.) For most of these people it was a simple, yet courageous, decision to seek God's will and enact God's will in their sphere of influence!

The second significant influence for me was a moment where a Lutheran and an Anglican leader prayed prayers of blessing and forgiveness for one another, and the Churches that each serve. The false divide between Catholics and Protestants in Latin America (and of course so many other places in the world) has been the cause of much inefiecency, lack of effectiveness, and even strife and hurt! And, what is so sad, is that God looks at all of God's children (all denominations, and yes, even all religions! God loves ALL people) and God longs for them to be loving, caring, a blessing, and to courageously enact God's loving will in society - this is not just the work of one Church, or one denomination, or even of Christians only! God wants to use every person, every institution, ever sphere of society, to bring about God's healing and renewal in all the world!

Buenos Aires, economics and discipleship

In recent months I have come to a realisation that for some years I have lived with a similar dichotomy to that which caused the Church in South Africa to sanction apartheid.  This is a rather shocking confession, I know, but it is true!

Let me explain:  In South Africa the apartheid system was held in place by the Nationalist government because the citizens who had a right to vote did not remove that government.  What is shocking about this is that the largest majority of these voting citizens were adherents of the Christian faith, and in fact many of them were regular attendees in their local Dutch Reformed (and other) Churches.  The Churches frequently told their members that faith and life are separate issues - most particularly that faith and politics do not mix.  So, devout Christians could live a 'Christian' portion of their lives on Sunday, but on Monday they could enter into an unjust political dispensation without feeling that the one compromised the other...

Here's where I've been making a mistake.  I have come to realise that liberal Christians like myself have created the same separation and dichotomy when it comes to economics and faith.  In my instance there are two reasons why I have tried to separate economics from faith:

1)  Because I have seen so much abuse of economics by persons who claim to be Christian (pastors, priests, evangelists etc.,  One need only switch to just about every Christian television station and you'll see preachers manipulating money out of well intentioned believers' pockets!  This shames me, and so I have always tried to separate faith from any form of money.  The sentiment is good, but it has a weakness, which I shall discuss in a moment).

2)  A second reason why I have separated faith from economics is because I have always felt that the dominant economic system of our world is incompatible with the grace, provision, and blessing that I read about in Christian scripture.  In essence, my experience has been that capitalism is driven by greed, personal gain, and it is cut-throat, frequently dishonest, and that it is motivated by a side of human nature that is not truly Christlike (i.e., it frequently is selfish, individualistic, has little care for the desire to see others blessed...  I think you get the point - my perception, which I think is largely true, is that to enrich one's self the pressure has to be shifted elsewhere in the economy, which frequently (most often) means that someone else is impoverished).

So, for these two reasons I have shied away from considering economics in any way other than a critical fashion.  I have written two chapters in books on the problems of the world's dominant economic systems (one in 44 sermons to serve the present age, and one in Methodism in Southern Africa - a celebration of Wesleyan mission).  

Yesterday, however, I came to experience for the first time how destructive perspectives such as mine are for the poor!  As long as I remain on the sidelines hurling insults, and don't address the struggles and deficiencies of this system the poor remain poor and the unjust have claim to more and more wealth!  In the economic forum discussions that we held yesterday were scientists, economists, politicians and educators who have understood that a healthy, Christ driven, engagement with economics, from the perspective of God's Kingdom, can bring about change.

What I realised yesterday is that those persons from the Christian faith who have abused economics are doing so from the same capitalist system that drives persons who do not submit to Christ's Lordship.  There is, however, another approach to economics that can be Christlike.  It is not motivated by greed, personal gain, or self enrichment.  Rather this approach is radically accountable, it seeks to apply one's gifts, abilities, and training to reclaim systems, companies, and economic policies that could be used destructively and redeploy them for the good of the poor.  I met scientists yesterday whose technology could be sold for multiple millions of dollars - yet they have developed them with venture capital funds to deploy 100% of their profits to care for the poor!  I met commodity brokers whose sole purpose in life was to shift the economic weight of nations away from the wealthy few in order to put the gains into social entrepreneurial ventures in their countries, and in so doing to make broad based economic shifts.

The reality is that I am not an astute business person, and that I am still frightened by money, and concerned with my own capacity for greed.  However, the one thing that I can do is write (and of course pray, think, and engage others).  I believe that it is time for me to break the dichotomy which allows the economic systems to continue to oppress the poor.  It is time for me to begin to think about an alternative reality in which the Christian can have a healthy engagement with the economy for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the purposes of that Kingdom.

Of course, this is risky business!  I shall need to think very carefully about what I think, write, and say.  I shall need to remain equally critical, but add to that critique creativity and insight in order to reclaim that which is frequently used to work against the principles of God's Kingdom.

It was great to make this realisation in the two-thirds world!   Argentina has many of the same struggles that we have in Africa - the dominance of American wealth, international debt, a rate of international aid that exceeds 18% (which according to a number of 'secular' economists is the point at which aid becomes a noose to steal the natural and human resources of a nation for generations to come).

I have just recently read two significant books, The Bottom Billion which speaks of why the majority of the world grows poorer, and Confessions of an economic hitman which tells of how America and the World Bank have strategically targeted mineral rich nations to enslave them in debt.  I shall be going on to read Free lunch quite soon which deals with a similar topic.

Have a blessed day!

Some wise words on hate.

A few years ago a very good friend of mine, Piet Greyling, gave me some of the best advice that I have ever received - he encouraged me to 'live on the side of hope' (these are my words, but his sentiment).  He encouraged me to escape cynicism and overcome prejudice and even hate, in order to find the freedom to truly live and honour God with the very best, and first fruit, of my life.

Today I was reminded of that advice.  Piet gave it to me when I was facing some rather harsh pressure and attack that was racially motivated.  I believed, at that stage, that I had every right to be angry with those who were prejudiced towards me because of nothing other than my race.  I believed that I had a right to be angry, and even to judge them, because of what they were doing.  Then I realised, if I should do so I would place myself under their power and control.  You see, I had a choice to overcome my feelings of self-righteousness and operate on a level of gracious transcendence that would give me freedom and choice to live fully and freely, not just in response to the actions and views of others!

I have seen how hatred eats up individuals and communities.  Have you?  Here's some good advice from Martin Luther King Jr.

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. 

- Martin Luther King Jr.

The courage to do what we believe in.

Compromise is a difficult state to live in.  I realise that all of life requires some flexibility and compromise in order to make things work, and to allow some space for cooperation and growth (if you only ever get your own way, it's likely that you're either a bully or a brat... Sorry to be so direct, but that has been my experience of my own life!)

But, sadly many of us tend to live in compromise much more frequently than we live and operate within within what brings us joy and blessing!  If I'm wrong here, please set me straight!  But, I feel that people get into debt, they end up working to repay their loans and bills, and eventually they 'sell themselves', their time, their dreams, and many other costly things (like their values) to serve the taskmaster of mammon!

I have, a few times in my life, met some people who spend their lives doing what brings them life and joy.  Their energy is simply infectious!  I have frequently longed to live that way.  I work towards it, I keep it constantly in mind, and I try to do all that I do with this spirit of joy and blessing behind it!

Here's a lovely little quote that may offer you some challenge and comfort in this regard!

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. - Freya Stark from The Lycian Shore

They all look pretty much the same - some comfort, but some sadness

I love being in different places. However, the more I travel the more I realise that just about every city that I visit looks more or less the same. This is a shot of a city street in Buenos Aires - can you spot the Golden Arches!? I am quite pleased that they are here since this is where I am getting my free wifi to send this message!

There is some comfort in the familiarity of an urban scene. You know that you can always find something familiar, but I was also thinking that it is quite sad in some ways since one comes to different places to experience something different after all! But, as I walked early this morning I enjoyed the cool breeze, the tall buildings, the tiled streets and the wonderful people around me.

At least the language is different here! I love the Spanish twang in people's voices! I have had the privelage to visit Spain twice, and I can see how those Latin roots have been deeply placed in this South American nation.

Last night we began with a dinner for some of the delegates - it started at around 9pm (2am South African time). By the end of it I was absolutely tired! But I slept well and awoke refreshed at 5 am this morning (around 10am South African time). The 5 hours of sleep did me well.

I am sharing a room with an amazing young guy from Thailand (Phuket to be exact) - he is here to learn how he, as a hotel manager, can learn to honour and bless Christ in his everyday work. We had some great conversations.

It's a lovely day in Buenos Aires today, I am jet lagged and about to go to an economic forum meeting to discuss the global economic crisis with business and church leaders. It is a privilege to be invited to this meeting since some of the world's top Christian business leaders will be present. The aim and intention of the meeting is to see how Christians might respond with Christ's love, grace, and care in the current economic crisis that is gripping the globe. Among those in attendance will be senior business anaylists, owners and CEO's of very large enterprises, some pastors, priest, Bishops, theologians (like myself), and some government leaders from nations in Africa, the Americas and Europe.

PS. Please excuse the poor formatting of this post. I have realised that if I add formatting to the email when I send it to blogger the picture doesn't show up, but if I don't add formatting the line breaks are all wrong! Does anybody have a suggestion about how I could fix this!?