The Crowded House – Day 1 & 2

I left my house in Cape Town just after 9am on Thursday morning and arrived in Sheffield at about 3pm on Friday – a monster trip by my standards.  Made worse by a 7 hour wait in Johannesburg, and a completely full Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow, which made the possibility of being bumped up to the posh seats a pipe dream and left no room to stretch out and have a snooze.  Maybe experienced travellers have masted the art of sleeping in cramped economy seats but I have not – so no sleep for me.

Although I did manage to catch up on some movies I have wanted to see – finally saw Slumdog Millionaire and Gran Torino.

Had time to have a coffee in London before waiting for the coach (contextualization – coaches are inter-city, whilst buses only operate around cities).  Decided to try Starbucks because everyone always seems to go on about how good their coffee is.  And I must admit for a franchise coffee chain the coffee was really good!

Another 3 hours to Sheffield – managed to doze off for a few minutes, before being met at the coach station by Tim Chester.

After a shower, some more coffee (still have not really slept by this point!) and a chat with Tim about the next 2 weeks, some of their gospel community came around for a barbecue.  Now here was some culture shock – we had tons of vegetables done on the coals, people seemed to enjoy these more than the meat (!!!!), and ladies were doing the cooking.  This would never happen in SA…

Had a really enjoyable time meeting everyone and looking forward to picking their brains and hearing them tell me their experiences of The Crowded House, now that my brain has woken up.  When everyone decided to watch the first Harry Potter movie after supper, I realised that my time had come, and was taken down the road to where I would be staying.  Got into bed for the next 12 or so hours…

Tonight I am going to be visited a gospel community that is essentially a seekers group for Kurdish people.  Sounds interesting…

Top 10 Gospel Objections in Cape Town

This post comes on the back of this post by Jonathan Dodson, where he encourages us to:

“Identify the top 10 Obstacles to the Gospel in your Context. Don’t do this from the armchair, do it from anecdotes (conversations) and cultural exegesis (spending time in pockets of resistance or indifference).”

So here goes my initial attempt – a bit from the armchair and a bit from my regular conversations with unbelievers on campus and a bit from interactions with my non-Christian friends:

1. One city – many cultures – this was a slogan for a campaign run by a daily Cape Town newspaper a few years ago.  And it captures how many post-modern urban people feel about religion.  Everyone is free to choose what is right for them.  As a friend of mine has said – “as long as you believe that is enough.”  Cape Town in many ways is a very spiritual city.

2. Christianity is homophobic – this is a huge stumbling block in a city known as the “gay capital of Africa”.  Many unbelievers will be gay, have gay friends or family or be pro-gay.  This is perhaps less true in the black townships.  In some communities it may also be felt that Christianity oppresses woman.

3. Other religious beliefs – large Muslim community in Cape Town.  As well as many from more rural or traditional communities who hold to African traditional religions or a hybrid of ATR and Christianity – like the Zionists.

4. Immunized – had a bit of religion when young – just not interested now.  Prevalent particularly among Afrikaans speaking Capetonians – both white and coloured.

5. Cultural Christianity – what is perceived to be the Christian message is boxed off into a compartment that is relevant for Sunday but irrelevant for the rest of the week.  This exists in different forms but equally dangerous, in those Afrikaans speaking people who never abandoned their faith, black people and coloured (mixed race) people.

6. The Prosperity Gospel – this false gospel is for many synonymous with what it means to be a Christian, that true discipleship is lost in the search for blessings, motivational talk and material greed.  Whilst this may attract many it has also repelled many who have either seen the abuse in rural Africa or are simply put off by the crass greed displayed by so many.

7. The myth that humans are all intrinsically good.  That with the right education, opportunities and a just and fair government – we with all make a success out of life.  To talk about total depravity and original sin has the scent of apartheid and bantu education where the black man was led taught that he was of lesser worth than a white man.

8. Rampant materialism – particularly for young black people.  A generation who finally has access to all that was denied to their parents is going to make sure that they do not miss out on what is their by right.  The myth that this success and attaining of these dreams of nice cars, house in the suburbs, money etc will bring happiness.

9. In a city that is know for its love of pleasure (hedonism) and playing hard, is it no surprise that people perceive Christianity to be simply irrelevant to their dreams of success in career, chasing the maximum pleasure and the most amount of toys.  The timing of the most church gatherings on a Sunday morning may well be a barrier to many of these Capetonians.

10.  Linked to both 1. and 9. above there is the moral objection.  Capetonians are not willing to allow anything to get in the way of their enjoyment of life and achieving of goals, especially not some imposed religious principles. For many people their values and principles are determined by their morals.  Many students I talk to are very interested to talk about Jesus but do not want to commit to follow him because of how that would affect their morality. For some this may be even more antagonistic: “Who are you to tell me what is right for me?”

What do you think?  Do these ring true with any Capetonians reading?

What would you add? Change?  Clarify? Leave out?

How to be godly with your money

I was sorted through some old note books and found these six recommendations about a Christians relationship with money jotted down on a page, with no reference as to where they came from or whose ideas they are…

But I thought they were worth sharing nevertheless…

1. Earn as much as you can.

2. Live as though you don’t (simplicity – put a ceiling on your lifestyle)

3. Save as much as you can – with a vision.

4. Give away as much as you can.

5. Avoid debt wherever possible.

6. Be content with whatever you do earn whilst you are earning it.

Luther on education and theology

I found this quote from Martin Luther on the Between Two Worlds blog:

I am persuaded that without knowledge of literature pure theology cannot at all endure, just as heretofore, when letters [literature] have declined and lain prostrate, theology too, has wretchedly fallen and lain prostrate; nay, I see that there has never been a great revelation of the Word of God unless he has first prepared the way by the rise and prosperity of languages and letters, as though they were John the Baptists. . . . Certainly it is my desire that there shall be as many poets and rhetoricians as possible, because I see that by these studies, as by no other means, people are wonderfully fitted for the grasping of sacred truth and for handling it skillfully and happily.

(Martin Luther, Letter to Eoban Hess, 29 March 1523. Werke, Weimar edition, Luthers Briefwechsel, III, 50.)

If this is true how does this affect our “doing of theology” in a functionally illiterate culture.

Or, as in many parts of South Africa, where people are illiterate.

Is theology really so intricately linked to poetry, rhetoric and literature studies as Luther is seems to be implying?

What hope does that provide for Africa where many Christians are living in poverty?  Never mind access to books or education, many Christians throughout the world do not even have access to food and clean water.

Is this a very modern, Eurocentric type statement?  Or am I missing the point?

The mark of the Beast revealed at last!

Ever wondered what the mark of the Beast really is?

Just ask Phil Vickery…

Sorry if you are not a rugby fan you will have no clue!

Do you know your city?

Jonathan Dodson has a great post with a few tips for those in the early stage of church planting.

• Spend more time with people and less time with books in the first year of church planting. Learn your city, know its lostness, love your city, re-learn how to share the gospel in your context. Fall in love with your target people. The more you know and love them, the better your witness to the gospel will be, including your preaching.
  

• Identify the top 10 Obstacles to the Gospel in your Context. Don’t do this from the armchair, do it from anecdotes (conversations) and cultural exegesis (spending time in pockets of resistance or indifference).

• Identify the top 10 Obstacles to the Church in your Context. Anecdotes and exegesis. Learn the history of hypocrisy in your city or town so that you can apologize and distance yourself from mockeries of the Church. What do people think of when they think “church”? Have they ever gone to one? Why did they stop?

If we really want to reach the city, if we want to speak to the idols of our culture then spending time with people outside of church cirlces is critical (and you will be surprised how few Christians are intentionally doing this!).  Knowing the objections and misunderstandings of our city is vital if you actually want to connect with the people you are trying to reach.

As an exercise then over the next few weeks, I will attempt to give initial answers to these two questions:

a) Top 10 Obstacles to the Gospel in Cape Town and

b) The Top Ten Obstacles to the Church in Cape Town.

This will force me to think about the city in which I have lived almost my entire life.  Do I really know the city?  Do I really understand the city?  What makes it trickier is that there is unlikely to be one right answer across the differing socio-economic, cultural and educational levels of a Cape Town.

I want to attempt to commit some thoughts onto “paper”, and then follow that up over the next few months with an intentionality in listening for the answers to these questions as I engage with my city and its people.  Where it could get interesting is where I start to look at my initial answers and then compare it with what people are saying…

And maybe Stephen, busy with church-planting as I write, will give us some of his thoughts as well…

Actually everyone from Cape Town – lets get in on this discussion.

Jeff Vanderstelt – scattered gatherings

Jeff Vanderstelt from Soma Communities speaks about taking a Sunday off:

“Although we do not always gather in the same building, we wouldn’t say we “take Sundays off” or “cancel Sunday Gatherings”. This language seems to betray our belief that if it is not done by the few of us paid pastors at our building, it doesn’t really count. When we don’t all gather together in one place we call them Scattered Gatherings that are led by Missional Community leaders in their homes, community, park, etc…

Each Expression (what we call a Soma Church Plant) determines if they want to do this and how often, but most do it once a month.

In order to understand what a Scattered Gathering might look like for us, I’ll describe the last one our MC did:

The believers met in my home at 9 am for prayer, breaking of bread and some time to speak the Gospel to one another. Then at 10 am our neighbors joined us for brunch. The believers served, asked questions, listened to people tell their stories, looked for opportunities to bless our neighbors by listening closely to needs (so we can serve our neighborhood during the week), listened for what they believe and don’t believe, asked God for open doors to share the Gospel, and then helped clean up.

The last unbeliever left around 1 pm and then we sat around until 4 pm talking through how the morning went. We discussed what we discovered and how we can serve. We talked through the Gospel doors and barriers. We looked at how Scripture would direct us forward in our mission and we prayed some more.

Eventually some left, others napped on our couches and chairs, and some of us talked about how to best lead the mission forward (2 of these men will likely plant a church someday). It was a great gathering of the church (9am-4pm) and was full of good Gospel mission and ministry.

There are several reasons why Soma has chosen this methodology:

1. We are committed to the ASSEMBLING TOGETHER of the believers in many forms and contexts. It has seemed to me that many in the Church only know how to gather in formalized settings with the paid church leaders at the helm. Or, in small groups that have been formed and directed by Church staff with a guided curriculum.

Is Preaching Killing your Church Plant?

Bob Thune over at the Resurgence blog:

First the cringe factor:

“I spoke with a church planter recently who couldn’t understand why his core group of 30 wasn’t bringing anyone to church. Answer? Because it’s awkward to sit in a room with a few dozen people and get yelled at through a big sound system! It just doesn’t fit the environment. I met another guy a few years ago (a Baptist brother, stereotypically) who was setting up a big wooden pulpit in his living room every week so he could preach to his core team of seven people.”

Then the good advice:

“What will grow your church in the early stages is not the formality or power of your preaching, but rather how accessible and engaging it is.”

Tailor your preaching for the size dynamics of your church. Think of venues where 25 to 75 people gather—coffee shops, college classes, house-show concerts—and then aim for that sort of feel.”

“Engage the audience in dialogue by asking questions, inviting feedback, and answering objections. Build your sermons around missional conversations you’re having during the week. Three things will happen: non-Christians will feel honored and welcomed; Christians will learn how to have authentic gospel dialogue with outsiders; and your church will grow.”

Read the whole thing here

Large Gatherings – For and against

It is no secret, if you read this blog, that I lean towards a church model that consists of a network of smaller communities scattered throughout the city.  What is not so clear in my mind is whether these communities ought to ever gather together in a larger gathering – something that takes a form like a more traditional Sunday gathering.  And how often and where these gathering should take place?

My thoughts are that decisions should be made largely on contextual grounds.  So it is imperative that the church gathers – the question  is simply how?

I thought it might be helpful to put forward some of my thoughts for and against a larger gathering (of whatever regularity) in my context, Cape Town.

For:

1. We still have a large Christendom culture – where people have been “churched”.  People just walking in off the street or going to church because they have some need, are not uncommon in South Africa.  Dwindling but not uncommon.

2. If we are going to be a multi-cultural church in South Africa, modelling the unity that the gospel brings to our divided country, then perhaps a “show case” event is a good idea.

3. We have a huge rate of biblical illiteracy in this country.  Many people who regularly attend church have no idea what the gospel is all about or even what the Bible teaches.  This is made worse by American style prosperity gospel and preacher cult Christianity that encourages the primacy of experience, self-fulfillment as the goal and mindless Christianity.

4. Sadly the above situation is far more prevalent in the non-white population of our country.  Most of the theologically sound resources, training and communities are found in what are traditionally white communities.  This is changing but if we are going to see the majority of our country grow in their understanding and comprehension of the gospel, then perhaps larger gatherings are a better option.

5. Singing together is almost always better in a large gathering.

6. You are able to set aside a gifted teacher who does not have to engage in other work in order to study and teach God’s people.  Pragmatically more people are able to hear better (monologue) preaching.

Against:

1. Increased knowledge does not necessarily equal increased discipleship.

2. In a overly religious Christian country people have no problem with “doing their religious bit” and going to church on Sunday.  But they still have no concept of being a disciple of Christ.  Church has to look and act differently in order to challenge their preconceptions and get them actually listening.

3. The amount of resources and time spent making a large meeting work effectively could be better spent serving the community, by being the church in the community and for the community.

4. As soon as you have a “flagship” event people equate that with church.  So comments like “I really enjoyed church this morning.” are indicative of a culture that regards church as an event, a building or a meeting rather than as an identity.

5. The fact that we live in a divided country along racial and language barriers will not change if all we do is get people of different cultures and languages into the same room.  It is only in significant relationships that these barriers are truly broken down.  I think this happens best in a network of smaller communities.

6. You have to find a large enough venue – which could drain money, resources and manpower.  This could also decrease your ability to be flexible and response to needs in the community, opportunities available etc, as you know are required to be meeting in x building at x time on x day. ( ok this has a huge positive too)

7. As soon as there is a gathering point you are likely to get people who wish to drive in from communities which may be very far away simply because they like the preacher or the singing.  This is most often counter-missional and comes at the expense of those people being involved in serving and blessing the communities where they live.

8. You create a professional ministry class of people based on those who are involved in up-front ministry.  And that is the standard that people will by default measure their ability to “do ministry”.

9. Church can become something very difficult to reproduce.  You need a whole lot of stuff in order to make it work – buildings, staff, musicians, etc.

10 If you choose to gather on Sundays – that can sometimes be the best time for gathering with unbelieving friends and family.

That’s enough from me.   What are your thoughts?

A guys dream house

This is funny!