What's the most frequently played music / song at an Australian funeral?

This is a strange one! Have you ever considered what the most frequently played song (or music) is at funerals in your local Church? Among us Methodists it must surely be 'Jerusalem iKhaya lam' (A Xhosa song, Jerusalem is our home in which Jerusalem refers to Heaven). Or perhaps amongst English congregants it is something like Abide with me?

Well here's a STRANGE report from Australia. It not only reflects a rather weird taste in music... It also reflects the fact that even in death the Church in Australia no longer plays an important part (see the section I listed in bold below). We need to take care that we don't go the same way here in South Africa!

A large cemetery and crematorium in Adelaide, Australia reports that Frank Sinatra's "My Way" has become the most-played funeral song. Second on the charts is "Wonderful World" sung by Louis Armstrong. Only two traditional Christian hymns are in the top 10. From the Associated Press:

"Some of the more unusual songs we hear actually work very well within the service because they represent the person's character," Centennial Park chief executive Bryan Elliott said.

Among other less conventional choices were "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by the Monty Python comedy team, "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "Hit the Road Jack," "Another One Bites the Dust" and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

Funeral songs (Yahoo!)

The self destruction of the African National Congress (ANC), and the political power of Baptism

Megie and I are baby sitting a friend's little boy. As Megie was bathing Liam I watched the SABC 3 with this cute little 8 month old asleep on my lap.

I was horified to see the reports of another act of thuggery by ANC members. An ANC organizer was stabbed several times by suspended members, who then cut the tires on his car to stop him from getting to the hospital. This just a few days after the ANC Youth League President suggested that his members would take up arms and shed blood to protect ANC party President who is facing charges of massive corruption. The news report indicated that this was the third stabbing of this nature in recent weeks within the ANC.

What the heck is going wrong with this party that was once the champion of justice and human rights? It would seem that thugs and thieves are threatening the good name of the ANC - a scary thought for those of us who will live under the party's rule in decades to come...

As I've mentioned on more than one ocassion in this forum, I have been a long time supporter or the ANC, never having voted for any other in either a ward or a national election. The party will however have to do a lot of damage control to win my vote this time around! I think there may be others who share my reserve and change of heart.

Today as I was driving between meetings I was listening to one of my favourite audio books (I know some people call it reading, I still think it is just listening) - 'A generous orthodoxy' by Brian Mclaren. In chapter two he reminds me why I so love the work of John Howard Yoder, the Mennonite (Anabaptist) theological ethicist. Yoder proposes that Christians must follow the ethics of Jesus, not just accept his beliefs (doctrine), but that we must work, non-violently, for the Kingdom community of Chirst to be established here on earth. In this Kingdom of peace, God's loving, gracious, and hospitable love welcomes all who will come. In the process of drawing near to God the person and the community is healed (literally made whole).

I was challenged tonight on two points. On my lap was an 8 month old child - his future is my responsibility. I take the promises of the baptismal service seriously! It is my responsibility to create a community in which this child, and all other children, can grow the know God's love and experience the joy of God's gift of life. I think that we have often thought that the promises relate to the kind of community that we would create within the Church building. How stupid is that!? Are we truly so misguided that we think God cares more about what happens in 'that' building that is occupied by 'those' people for 'those' 3 hours on one day of the week!? Heck no! The promise is to extend God's grace into the community so that the water from the font flows into the streets! That promise is fundamentally a political choice - it is intended to change the world, not restructure the Church! It means that I will pray about who I vote for, that I will hold the elected officials accountable, and that I will expect nothing but the very best for the future of my children! It means that I will make sacrifices to bring about God honouring, Kingdom establishing, changes in my local community and the nation state. For some of us it means that we will stick around in South Africa, even though we have choices to leave. It means that we will do everything in our power to convince others to embark on the 'revolution of hope'! I believe in redemption, not just an overly spiritualised redemption of the individual human soul. No, I believe that God wishes to redeem the whole of creation. Every person, every family, every town, every city, every province, every nation, every continent, the whole world (and more). God's love for the world is lavish!

This lead me to my second thought... If we took this notion seriously (us 79% of the South African population who indicated that we're Christians in the last census) then things should be getting better! If we're not just playing games with God, blowing God off with a few easy words, mouthed as part of a liturgy (as if God doesn't hear, and even if God does hear, who cares whether we take God seriously or not....) The promise means something! It means something to God, and it MUST mean something to us. Each generation that follow should experience greater blessing, more peac, deeper harmony, and fuller provision than the last....

Something's wrong with this picture. Perhaps the party must self destruct... It seems to have lost its way. What is sure is that it has lost me.

However, I wonder about the Church... Sometimes I fear that the Church is loosing me too. Perhaps I'm too wild and it is too tame?

What's the relationship between the Gospel of Christ and Social justice?

This quote came into my inbox this morning.  I thought it was so clear and simple - so, I decided to post it here!  What encouraged me is that it comes from the international director of John Stott Ministries...  I have some reading to do!

It is not a matter of engaging in both the gospel and social action, as if Christian social action was something separate from the gospel itself. The gospel has to be demonstrated in word and deed. Biblically, the gospel includes the totality of all that is good news from God for all that is bad news in human life—in every sphere. So like Jesus, authentic Christian mission has included good news for the poor, compassion for the sick and suffering justice for the oppressed, liberation for the enslaved. The gospel of the Servant of God in the power of the Spirit of God addresses every area of human need and every area that has been broken and twisted by sin and evil. And the heart of the gospel, in all of these areas, is the cross of Christ. 

- Christopher J. H. Wright
International director of John Stott Ministries (from Knowing the Holy Spirit Throught the Old Testament)

The dangers of Auto-replace...

The story below got me thinking... How often do I 'default' to a position on some issue or another without giving it any thought? I fear that there are times when I don't even consider what is at stake, I simply make up my mind because I believe something to be this way and not that way...

Anyway, this must have been a rather embarrassing mistake for the onenewsnow network. It made me chuckle!

The funny people who run the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site are so frightened of gays that they've set up a filter to change every instance of the word "gay" to "homosexual."

And while they may have fixed this particular instance, it looks like they haven't gone back through their archives and corrected other articles where this happened, such as this article where professional basketball player Rudy Gay is referred to as "Rudy Homosexual."

The Dangers of Auto-Replace

Where the Hell is Matt (Harding)!?

This is just about silly enough for me to get truly excited about it!

Gus, this guy just might have to be invited to blow his shophar in our small tent revival tour in 2010!? Whadaya thunk? This Sunday I'll be dancing the 'funky chicken' at a service near you (in fact it will be at the Paarl Methodist Church where I'm preaching thanks to Gus!)

Matthew Harding spent 14 months visiting 42 countries in order to produce "Where the Hell is Matt?", a four-and-a-half minute video featuring Harding (and anyone else he could rope into it) doing an incredibly silly, high-energy dance in some of the most breathtaking scenery around the world. This may be the best four minutes and twenty-eight seconds of your week.

Matt is a 31-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. Matt achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on. In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he'd saved to wander around Asia until it ran out. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is.

A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it." He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It's actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.

A couple years later, someone found the video online and passed it to someone else, who passed it to someone else, and so on. Now Matt is quasi-famous as "That guy who dances on the internet. No, not that guy. The other one. No, not him either. I'll send you the link. It's funny."

The response to the first video brought Matt to the attention of the nice people at Stride gum. They asked Matt if he'd be interested in taking another trip around the world to make a new video. Matt asked if they'd be paying for it. They said yes. Matt thought this sounded like another very good idea.

Link to video, Link to Where the Hell is Matt site

On my daily commute...

I am an extrovert... Those of you who know me, know that I love people! I am energized by crowds! I look forward to going into busy places and meeting people that I have never met before. I get excited about establishing new contacts. And, when I am in a meeting I swap business cards like it's a game of blackjack! People, people, people... I love people.

However, something strange has started to happen in the last few months. I have found the need for 'space' and 'quite' to be growing within me. I've been trying to work out what has caused this and I can't quite put my finger on it.

I have guessed that my accident may have something to do with it. Since the accident some months ago I have been so acutely aware of my own frailty and immortality. Also, the recovery has forced me to move a little slower (which I do find frustrating), and to recognise my need of others to get things done (even simple things, like carrying my backpack up the stairs to my office)...

I have also considered that my move into my new post has caused me to become a little more introspective. The move into this post has been exciting, high paced, varied in nature, and yet also somewhat unsettling. For the first time in many years I have had to 're-learn' and 'un-learn' skills that I thought I had mastered. I now sit in a meeting and realise that I am not an 'expert' on the subjects at hand (ministers often have the luxury of being the most theologically astute among their lay counterparts - so we learn to speak as if we have the answers. It is a weakness, I confess!) Here, in these meetings, my value is measured in very concrete terms - how well I can organise things, how precise and meticulous my ideas and plans are, and what I have managed to achieve towards the given objectives at hand.

Naturally such changes do cause one to have to retreat into one's self to rediscover who one truly is. You may recal, dear reader, that for more than a year I have been working through the challenge that my friend Alan Storey gave me when he said "Who are you when you are not..." In truth, I have had to try and discover - who am I when I am not a minister, when I am not a person with a PhD, when I am not an expert, when I am not... Who am I?

Finding answers to these questions takes some time. I don't think I have yet come close to understanding the complexity of my own identity, let alone the context withing which I now function.

So, ever morning when I get into my car to make the 25 minute commute to my office - a route that takes me along some beautful coastline and through some lovely mountains - I get quiet. I enjoy the silence. I ask God to be with me. I don't ask God to speak to me, just to be with me. And, it feels good!

I have come to enjoy those few minutes each day. Perhaps I am changing?

Mertyl, back in the mix!

Yesterday was one of those GREAT days!  A great day for me is one that involves enough time to give attention to my family, some time to do a bit of work, and an added bonus is when I can ride my Vespa.  Well, I got to do ALL of those things AND I also got to watch the Western Province (WP jou lekka ding!) give the Bluebulls a good thrashing at Newlands.  For the last few months I have had the incredible joy of watching Rugby from my friend Graham's corporate box.  Yesterday however, I went to the rugby with my friend Dawie and his son (Dawie Jnr) and we sat on the railroad stand.  It was COLD, COLD, COLD!  But there truly is no better way to watch a live game than to sit on the stands!

Well, we're almost at the end of June and that means that I have been in my new post for almost 3 months!  It is incredible to consider how quickly time flies.  These last three months have been an absolute whirlwind introduction to my new post!  I have spent about a month (maybe a day or two more) of these three months traveling to various interesting and exciting places throughout the world and South Africa.  I am feeling much more settled and starting to feel that I can add some value to the people and institutions that I am serving.  Our work with the Lausanne movement is starting to pick up at a rapid pace!  We are working hard to make all of the arrangements to welcome the scholars and missionaries from all over the world for the momentous event in 2010.  I also recently discovered that a fellow South Africa, Dr Daryl Balia (see http://www.div.ed.ac.uk/balia for some details) is involved in arranging the Edinburgh 2010 meetings of the World Council of Churches.  I hope to see him when I go to the UK in September.

Well, God has been wonderfully faithful to us as a family!  Liam is healthy, Courtney is settling well (and got a good report from school), Megie is working hard and her new business is growing well.  So, we have much to give thanks for!  Oh, and did I mention that Mertyl is back in the mix!?  Mertyl, for those who don't know, is my Orange 1967 Vespa Sprint!  Mertyl and I went for a little ride yesterday.  It was lovely!

It is 2090 and global warming causes London to be flooded - here's what it looks like

Squint/Opera's photography exhibit "depicts imaginary scenes in London in 2090, when rising sea levels have inundated the city." They made it look like fun! Flooded London

Western Province vs the Blue Bulls at Newlands!

PPPPPPpppppprrrrrooovvvvvviiiincccceee!

Going for a ride on Mertyl the Vespa!

Megan asked me to pop out to pick up some bread and milk, so I decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to take Mertyl my Vespa for a quick spin. Liam is becoming quite fond of Mertyl! Every chance that he gets he wants to sit on her!

I'm leaving to watch the rugby at Newlands rugby stadium in an hour or so - Ppppprrrrroooooovvvvviiiiiinnnncccceeeee!

Table Mountain and St George's Cathedral

Isn't this a lovely view? I've driven along this road many, many times. This is the first time that I've noticed the mountain in background. Cape Town is a beautiful city!

Prayer in parliament

This morning about 100 or Christians from across the Cape Town city and surrounds gathered in Parliament to pray for South Africa. The focus of the prayers this morning was on the youth of our nation.

I had been asked to share the devotion. It was such a joy to see younger people and older people of all races praying with passion and commitment for God's grace to be established in justice, mercy and provision.

The following verse has been resonating within me for the last few days:

'Mantain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed' Isa 56:1