Back to NIRSA today, incredible response to the 'Mighty Men of God' conference.

It is just before 8am here in Johannesburg and I am on my way back to the NIRSA (National Innitiative for the Reformation of South Africa) conference near the OR Tambo airport. This is the second day of the conference. Yesterday was an interesting, and encouraging, day. The tone of the day was listending, praying, and strategising for change in South Africa (and Southern Africa). The speakers and presenters came from a variety of theological backgrounds and denominations, ranging from the Catholic Arch Bishop, to evangelical leaders, there were members of government (such as Chief Mangasotho Buthelezi), and leaders of industry.

The points that came through most clearly by the end of the day were:

1. The Church has a great responsibility to 'disciple the nation' for responsible living in accordance with Kingdom values. This is NOT to be confused with nationalism. Rather, it means that we should be helping our members to understand that their faith is NOT just about that 1 hour of worship on a Sunday. Rather, their faith influence their economic, social, political and moral choices. This point was particularly strongly made when we considered that such a large percentage of our population profess the Christian faith, yet crime is high, there is rampant hopelessness, we have adbidcated our responsibilities to government etc.

2. There is a need to move from a shallow 'personal salvation' paradigm to an understanding that Christians must unite forces, across denominational and theological lines, to bring about healing and transformation in society. The issue here, is that the function of the Church in society is NOT Church growth (for the sake of building empires for denomonations and individuals), rather the emphasis is upon working together to bring about God's will and desire in our country. For example, what is the Church doing about hungry children, what is the Church in your area doing about HIV / AIDS, what is the Church doing about issues of moral decay? In short, we were challenged to understand that the Church has done a fairly good job of presenting the message of the Gospel, now it was time to establish the Kingdom of the Gospel.

3. Two innitiatives were validated as central to this process: a. The need to be praying together much more ardently for the needs of our nation(both listening for God's guidance, but also presenting our needs, concerns and desires to God), b. to support the 'unashamedly ethical' campaing (see www.transformationafrica.com where we personally take responsibility for our own Christian ethical conduct (to deal with negative issues such as sin, but also to encourage positive responses to problems, such as generosity, inclusivity, etc.).

Well, I hope to post a few more thoughts and pictures throughout the day. Please continue to pray for all who are participating in this seminal event in our nation's history.

PS. for the Methodists among us, there is a wonderful representation of Methodists (including our own Khoza Mgogo and Vido Nyobole) here! I am greatly encouraged by the diversity of persons (Anglicans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, independents, Evangelicals, Charismatics.... etc., etc.)

PPS. With regards to the 'Mighty men of God' conference, the response has been overwhelming both here on this blog, and among the participants of the NIRSA conference. It would seem that this event has touched so many lives! I have never had the ammount of traffic to my blog as I do now (I am getting close to 1200 hits a day on the Mighty Men of God posts and photographs). While many persons from different perspectives at the conference were present, there seems to be consensus on the matter that such a large, simple, and significant event could have very positive impacts upon our society. Let's pray that it is so!

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing, NIRSA Michael Cassidy, Church and State

NIRSA - an honest reflection on the state of the Church in South Africa.

This picture shows 4 panelists reflecting on the state of the Church (a minister (Rev Trevor Pearce from the Anglican Church, speaking), a lawyer (Mrs Teresa Conradie, seated on the right), a parachurch ministry leader, and a marketplace minister (Mr Graham Power of the Global Day of Prayer and the Power Group of Companies, seated right).

The statistics of the South African National census (between 1911 and 2001) show that there has been steady increase in the number of persons who profess the Christian faith (in 2001, 79% of South Africans). However, what this reflects, in reality, is that 79% of all crimes, all acts of corruption, all aspects of abuse of women and children.... (and the list could go on and one) are perpetrated (79% of them at least) by Christians!

Of course the reality is that 79% of South Africans are not Christians, rather the Church is a much weaker and less influential aspect of society. This is a wakeup call for us! We have a responsibility to bring persons into a real life encounter with Christ our Lord, and then we need to equip such persons will the values of the Gospel of Christ (grace, love, morals, inclusivity etc.) and the tools that each peraon will need in order to bring these values to bear on society at large in order to establish what we pray for each Sunday, namely the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven...

Of course, I ask myself, if there are so many churches, and so many christians, why don't we mobilise ourselves to address our government!? Are we, as Christians, OK with the silence of our government on what is taking place in Zimbabwe? Are we happy that corrupt leaders rule our nation and become the role models our children follow? Have we possibly given over our responsibility for what takes place in society to a government that doesn't care what the majority of our population thinks or wants for South Africa?

I am challenged! One of the speakers noted that we should 'aspire to inspire before we expire'.

The Africa Enterprise 'Fox Fire' team at the NIRSA conference in JHB

It is wonderful to see such a large grouping of concerned Christians gathering to pray, listen, engage, and seek to hear God's voice for the South African nation and Southern African region. Please pray that we will hear God's voice, find God's guidance, and in doing so be a blessing from God to our nation.

NIRSA 2008 - We need a Paul (premodern / postmodernist)

I have been amazed by the strong reaction and response that I have received from some quarters regarding the 'Mighty Men of God' conference that I attended this week. The responses that have come my way (some in the comments of the posts that I have made, and some via email) have ranged from enthusiastic support to complete rejection. I suppose that I should not be surprised by this. Christians do tend to negotiate their faith from their respective corners of conviction. This 'divide' does worry me however, since we do need to find one another in order to be effective agents of God's mission in the world.

By the statement, 'corners of conviction', I mean that I have come to understand that I, and most other Christians, operate from the perspective of our beliefs. This is a perfectly understandable response since it is so strongly related to how we make meaning of our world. My meaning relates to my perspective. If that meaning is pressed upon I am likely to press back in order to hold the point of view that most effectively helps me to understand the world and deal with it.

This morning as I write this I am on a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg (my appologies to Anonymous who chastised me for flying too frequently ;-). I am on my way to the NIRSA (National Initiative to Reform South Africa) conference. I am fairly certain that I will encounter the same 'perspective driven' faith among the participants this week. Each of us approaches the conference with hopes, desires, dreams, and concerns for ourselves and our nation. When you mix our faith perspectives into that pot you are presented with some 'answers' to our situation (some would suggest prayer, others would suggest social action, some will lay a stronger emphasis on economic development, others on morality and ethics). Of course we need each others perspectives in order to bring a balanced overarching solution to the complexity of our situation.

What I pray is that the leaders of this initiative will have the wisdom to understand, validate, and create space for the varying perspectives to engage respectfully and cooperatively with one another towards achieving the greater goal of faith driven transformation.

As we approach one another from our various 'corners of conviction' there are two basic options open to us. First, there is the image of two boxers coming out of their corners, each approaching the other with the intention of overpowering and defeating the other. I am convinced that such an approach is counterproductive to the Gospel, doing more harm to the establishment of God's Kingdom than achieving its good. The second image is that of young blusing teenagers, carefully approaching one another across the floor of the gymnasium at a high school dance. Their approach is brave, scary, and vulnerable. As they approach they understand the possibility of their courage, they look past their lack of understanding and their difference in the hope of engaging in a wonderful dance.

I am in the process of editing a superb academic article for Prof Abrie du Toit form the Unviversity of Pretoria. In it he is considering the religious, sociological, and psychological complexity of the apostle Paul's religious identity. Paul had the capacity to embrace diverse, and even conflicting, social and religious influences so that they became part of the rich tapestry of his cultural and religious identity. Whilst this is not Prof du Toit's understanding, I have been struck by the fact that Paul was a wonderful pre-modern example of a post-modern person. He was able to straddle Tarsus and Jerusalem, Hellenism and Judaism, liberal universalism and conservative legalism. In short, Paul was a pragmatist - he looked for a faith perspective that worked and then carefully crafted a theology around that. Take a look at what Paul writes in 1 Cor 9.19-23. The point is that Paul went out of his way to identify with his audiences in order to engage them in a manner that would render them ready and willing to join him on his journey of persuasion. Naturally the negative corollary of such a position is that one will encounter inter-group prejudice – each group believes that their perspective is correct and superior to the perspectives of others (particularly those who hold opposing points of view). But, regardless of this Paul seemed to be pretty successful at holding things (and people) together for the sake of the mission of the Gospel of Christ by accentuating their common Christian identity.

I hope that I can do the same as I journey along my new path. I want to tie together the strings of diversity in order to weave something effective, creative, and new in my journey as a disciple of Jesus.

Joseph Stalin and Zimbabwean vote counting... Sort of.

'Those who vote count nothing, those who count count everything.' Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)

We need to remain in prayer!

Doing a bit of work on the flight back from the Mighty men of God conference.

We are often pressed for time to meet as a leadership team in GDOP. So, moments such as these are valuable. During the flight we discussed the next few weeks' meetings and conferences, we strategised how we can best utilise our time, insights, and resources to achieve
our objectives.

Here's a picture of me making a few notes as we meet on the flight back from the Mighty Men of God conference (your eyesight is fading bad - I smudged the screen of the laptop). The plane seats 7 people, with 4 us able to sit facing one another with a small 'boardroom
table' between us.

The nice thing about flying on CJ3 is that we are allowed to use our cell phones, laptops, and datacards throughout the flight. So, our work can carry on as it would if we were in the office.

4 of the passengers on the flight are from the GDOP leadership team (we also had two sons of two of the guys with us, and one of our team's son-in-law).

I remarked to some of the guys how incredible it is that I was on this amazing flight! I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would have such privilege and such wonderful experiences! Hey, you need to remember that I went to high school in Boksburg! ha ha!
Sure, we work hard, but by any standards these are incredible experiences!! I am humbled and grateful.

A reflection on a great blessing. The Mighty men of God conference.

I arrived home this afternoon from the airport. It was a great weekend at the Mighty men of God conference - I could have done with a few more 'home comforts', but then again, I am a city boy! Seriously though, being on crutches is not very comfortable in the middle of the mealies, and it got a little less comfortable when it started raining last night. But, heck, that's all part of the experience!

The conference was great. I didn't learn anything new, and I guess that the intent of the conference was not to teach new things, but rather to remind us to do things that we should be doing anyway!

I was, however, inspired by the straightforward manner in which Angus Buchan challenged the men who were present to 'get their lives sorted out'. Most of his talks centered around issues of relationship with one's loved ones, the courage to serve God with passion, and finding a purpose for one's life that is about more than just working and selfishly enjoying one's self.

I enjoyed being with the group I went with - there were 7 of us. We spent time chatting, we braai'd (that's a cookout for those outside of South Africa), we camped on a farm, didn't get to shower (there was not enough water for that), and spent a lot of time sharing thoughts and ideas about our dreams, aspirations, our love for our families, our hopes for our lives, our desire for our relationship with God etc. We spent a lot of time just praying with one another and for one another and our wives and children. It has been quite a few years since I have had the joy of just being an ordinary Christian guy among other ordinary Christian guys (not a theologian, or a minister, or a Dean, but just another Christian guy). And I loved it! A number of significant shifts and breakthroughs came from among the group of men that I had the chance to talk to.

I saw many friends there too (quite a few from Bryanston, many, many, many Methodists members and Methodist ministers that I have met, served, and come to know over the years. I even met a few friends that I studied with at University from the Presbyterian, Anglican and independent Churches). Then there were the many new friends I made! I spent a lot of time chatting with a pastor from Margate who is doing remarkable work to bring together the Churches in his area to address the social needs of the community. Through him I met a young doctor, humble, gifted, and kind, who serves his Church and his community with the love of Christ. He inspired me with his faith.

So, it was a good time. On our way out of PMB we had a chance to meet with Dr Michael Cassidy to talk about the NIRSA meetings this coming week. Michael and I haven't always held the same views on certain theological issues. But he has always kindly sent me copies of his books, complimented me on sermons he has heard me preach, and offered me encouragement, advice, and support. I look forward to getting to know him better.

Of course, being a bit of a gadget guy, I CERTAINLY enjoyed the flight to and from the conference in the company jet!

There were a few 'hairy' theological moments. And I am thankful to my good friend who sent me one or two things via email to read and pray about. On the whole however even those who are less liberal than I seemed to sense when things came across too strongly or were overstated. I had many opportunities to engage with the 50 or so guys we camped with in our small area, and amazingly our theology was fairly similar in most respects. We talked about deep and significant things. Of course the one thing we all shared was a love for Jesus.

Well, I am pleased to be home, to have had a long hot bath and a hot cup of coffee. Tomorrow I go to work for a few meetings, and then on Tuesday I go to Johannesburg for the NIRSA (National Initiative to Reform South Africa) conference. I'll post some pictures and reflections from there. So please stay tuned!

Thanks for all the great comments! I am feeling more Wesleyn, and more Christian, than I have in a long while.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

Men on the conference are challenged to deal with issues of pride

The challenge of this morning's session was to for the men to think how pride has injured their relationships with others (particularly their children and wives), and with God. It was a 'straight talk' from one father to many others.

The response was deeply encouraging.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

A picture of the 2 hectare tent at the Mighty Men of God Conference near Greytown

Here's the picture, and you know what the amazing thing is? It seats 30 000 people and there is not enough space for all the guys who have come!

It has been a very blessed experience thus far.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

A picture from inside the 'tent' at the Mighty Men of God conference 2008

Here's a picture of one section of the tent on the Mighty Men of God conference. They announced that there are about 52 000 guys here. It is quite an experience.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

How should one respond to theology that one doesn't agree with?

This week I had two of my closest friends email me with questions about events that have theologies that differ from where we are. Both of these friends are trusted and wise, people whose opinions I value and trust. I have often sought their input and guidance.

One of the queries related to the conference I am at this weekend, the 'Mighty men of God'. I will confess that I only visited the website to complete my registration, and did not take the time to read their statement of faith. However, that would not have been likely to alter my excitement to get here. Of course I have also seen the 'Faith like potatoes' movie and read the book of the same name. I have also been to one or two meetings where he has spoken, and so I was not unaware of what I assumed his theological position to be.

I know that there will be some elements of his theological position that are likely not to resonate with mine. The issues is, in instances like this, one knows most of the men here could care less about theology, they are gathered for a Christian weekend with other guys. They want a bit of challenge and inspiration.

However, the question is, how should one respond to such a theological difference? I can think of a few possible options:

1. You simply stay away. I have done this at certain times where I have previously encountered events that I believe are so out of step with the Gospel that one should not support them.

2. One could simply turn a blind eye (or ear) and go along with what is taking place. Sadly I have made this mistake as well a few times in my Christian walk.

3. The third option, to my mind, is that one could attend with a receptive, yet discerning, heart and see what the Lord may do. This is ,ost likely to be my position on most Church and Christian events. Heck each group seems to have certain blessed strengths and certain blindspots and weaknesses. My own denomination has many! However, God seems capable of working in spite of this!

What do you think? How do you respond to this delicate tension between doctrinal purity and less than perfect experiences of God's grace?

I think I have approached this weekend with the 3rd option in mind. I have already been blessed by the conversations, friendships, and the experience. But of course there are also some persons and perspectives that I have seen, heard, and just smiled at and not agreed with. True diversity requires some measure of acceptable compromise.

Technorati tags: Mighty men of God, Angus Buchan, Christian men, incredible blessing

So, I was thinking.... 5 hours from PMB to Greytown for the 'Mighty man of God Conference'

The flight from Cape Town to PMB was incredible. I jokingly said to the guys on the flight that I had never imagined that I would ever have a chance to fly on a private jet! After all, let us never forget that I was schooled in Boksburg. One of them reminded me that in the Bible there is some evidence that good things can come from the East!

It took about 1hour 50 minutes to get to PMB airport. It was a comfortable flight. Most of our time was spent catching up on the many smaller things we have needed to discuss and plan for, yet have not had a chance to do. On this flight we did not need to switch off our cell phones and computers, so I could send and receive emails (when we were flying over an area that had signal).

We picked up our little hired bus at Avis and hit to road to Greytown (77 km's from PMB). We drove for about 30 minutes when suddenly we saw a stream of lights on the little farm road - there must have been close to a thousand cars on the road! It looked a lot like the N1 south just before Rygel Ave in Pretoria at 7.30am! All in all it took us 5 hours to make our way onto Angus Buchan's farm!

What an amazing sight! We had heard that there were over 50 000 people who had arrived for the conference - I can well believe it! There are tents everywhere, small ones, big ones, people who came in fancy cars, others in clapped out pickup trucks, some who brought camper vans, others who are sleeping in very small tents. We have been blessed to have had some space reserved in a large tent (the kind that is often erected for a company function or Church fete). There are about 50 or so guys sleeping in this tent that could seat about 500 people.

The main arena where the ministry sessions are taking place is about a 10 minute walk from us (not too much fun on crutches!) It has seeting for 30 000 people and it is full to capacity with people standing all around the outside! Amazingly one walks through the corn fields (mielies for the South Africans) to get there! I could hear the praise and worship teams singing praise to God as we arrived.

It is quite amazing to think that so many men would gather to receive inspiration and blessing from the scriptures. Of course a conference such as this can be quite carefuly directed towards the needs and struggles of men. I personally look forward to hearing what is said, and seeing how the lives of many men are changed over the course of the weekend.

Truthfully however, I think that most of the life change will simply come through conversations around the fire, people having a chat in their tent, or waiting in line to have a shower. As I look around me there are old men and young men, black guys and white guys. The one thing we all have in common is that we love our Lord. It is fantastic to see Bibles on the sleeping bags, people reading their daily devotional guides and praying before they go to sleep.

Tomorrow is anogther day!

There is only one MTN tower in this region (and I guess at least one third to half of the guys are on MTN). So, calls out are sporadic, SMS messages take ages to be sent, and getting a data connection is quite a rarity! But I shall persevere and see if I can send out some pictures.

Please do pray for all the guys who have come here seeking renewal. For those who are in tough places and need to find some care, companionship and help. Pray for those who speak, for those who pray, and for those who will lead us in worship.