Emerging Church Article

This interesting article by Scot McKnight on the emerging church is both affirming and challenging of the "movement". McKnight issues some great warnings - for example, he is clear on his convictions concerning the need for evangelism which some emerging people lose sight of in their desire to be inclusive. In similar vein, he points to the need for emerging Christians to maintain their missional and ecclesial focus alongside a social one. Maybe its just that I often agree with his views and find some emerging writers to have crossed the line into liberal heresy...

Holiday Reading

It's been an excellent season of holiday reading 2006-07 - plenty of variety within the admittedly narrow reading parameters in which I operate!

Destiny's Children - Stephen Baxter

I recently discovered this phenomenal Sci-Fi author via his book Evolution. Baxter writes within a strong evolutionary context which is consistently fascinating - for example across his works you'll find him asserting that human beings developed big brains because they needed the evolutionary advantage that social skills gave them in cooperative activity - physically they couldn't compete - so his real point is that humanity didn't survive because they had big brains - but rather that they developed big brains in order to survive. Not particularly new, until you find in later books he postulates some human societies (for example in closed Ark ships) where big brains become a liability and so evolution demands regression.

Anyway, I read the 3rd and 4th books in the Destiny's Children series. The 3rd book, Transcendent, was an interesting study on the human quest for redemption - following 2 parallel story lines - the first describing the tortured family life of a man who will in time save the world; the second telling the story of a young girl who participates in a future humanity's quest to redeem humanity's past by "witnessing" the pain of every human who has ever lived. Fascinating pretext - of course, she is watching the life of the man in storyline #1. Excellent series. 9/10.

Pride of Carthage - D A Durham

I enjoyed this compelling historical novel on the life of Hannibal Barca of Carthage (a city state in North Africa now part of Tunisia) - an inspired Carthaginian general who came within an inch of bringing Rome to its knees. The characterisation in this book is really first rate. Not only Hannibal but his family, others within his retinue and the Romans who opposed him. Reminded me how much I enjoy good quality historical fiction. 9/10.

Murder in La Mut - Raymond Feist and Joel Rosenberg

I quite like these Riftwar spinoffs, albeit that I am not a big fan of the collaborative writing ventures these celebrated authors use to spin out ta series! A fun book with a well constructed plot and likeable characters (always the key in these fantasy books). 7/10.

The Roses of Roazon - Cherith Baldry

There were aspects of the fantasy novel that I really enjoyed: the riches to rags to riches story of a relatively minor character, Bertrand; the messianic allusions surrounding the pacifist Duke Joscelin; the underlying spiritual themes - a spirituality of love and grace supplanting a harsh judgmentalism. In the end, it just went a bit far for me - especially, the homosexual love story! 6/10.

The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

Supposedly this book is (a) A Disc World novel and (b) A Children's book. I can't agree with either proposition! For a start it doesn't read like a Disc World novel - Death doesn't even make a cameo appearance! Secondly, I would have thought it too advanced for a child! I did like it a lot - its a really subversive fairy tale about a young girl who becomes a witch with the aid of the "wee free men" who are super hilarious elves who speak in broad Scots accents and live for fighting, stealing and drinking (especially Sheep's linament). Quote of the book (which kinda illustrates the subversive nature of the work):

Miss Tick [Mystic...] sniffed. "You could say this advice is priceless," she said. "Are you listening?" "Yes," said Tiffany. "Good. Now...if you trust in yourself..." "Yes?" "...and believe in your dreams..." "Yes?" "...and follow your star..." Miss Tick went on. "Yes?" "...you'll still get beaten by people who spent their their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy. Good-bye."

Priceless indeed. Supposedly, its going to be made into a movie. It will be a lot of fun if it is. 8/10.

JPod - Douglas Coupland

I do like satire in small doses - and this is a great example. An hilarious read about a group of software engineers whose surnames all begin with J (a weird HR policy has made it so...). So much borax poked at so many institutions of modern (and particularly digital) society. The book is highly cynical, even for Coupland. In fact, its so cynical that he appears in the book! He doesn't save himself from self-criticism by characters that you've come to like despite the fact that they are miserable, unproductive losers. There are some really funny plotlines in this book - the militant lesbian who has an affair with the main character's mother and then converts midway through the book to the compliant, plastic surgery coveting, girlfriend of a Chinese smuggler/gangster/interior designer; the plot to sabotage a Playstation game with a homicidal Ronald MacDonald character; the asinine competitions the JPod have in the office when they get bored of real work (which is often) eg. writing EBay ads selling themselves (you get to read the ads...). 9/10.

So that's it - my holiday reading. A rewarding mix of my main reading fare - Sci Fi/Fantasy leavened with some well written satire and historic fiction. All available from the library!

Sport of Kings

How much difference can one man make? If you're Ricki Herbert quite a lot it seems. The Football Kingz down and out (you knew it from the start when they added the onanic "z" to their name) with 4 games to go. Then the worst happens and the franchise falls apart and the coach goes down with the ship. Helter skelter negotiations just to see if a team can be put on the field. And what happens? In comes national coach Ricki Herbert and 4 games later its 3 wins and 1 draw from the last 4 games and a creditable last, just one point behind the next best.



I've been making a difference myself this week with a new sport:

At first glance you might think its tennis. And I suppose it is of a sort - there's just no tennis ball required. I like to think of it as big game hunting - the bigger the quarry, the more satisfying the result. But this is no ordinary tennis racquet. For a start its battery powered - just 2 AA's to open a whole new vista of sporting opportunity. Then there's the strings - except they're not really strings at all - more like a metal lattice - a finely woven metallic crochet with a simple lattice on either side. I suppose you could hit a ball with it but it has a deeper, more primal use.

The racquet is activated by a small switch on the handle which sends an electrical current into the inner most web of metallic strands...and you're ready to serve and volley...backhand or cross court and most importantly the FLY ball...

Welcome to the 21st century fly swat! The unsuspecting fly is approached carefully with the racquet extended - too late it tries to fly away, straight into the waiting mini forcefield. A satisfying crack (rather like the retort of a cap gun) signals success. If you're swatting at night, the sound FX are enhanced by a blue electrical spark. Does it get any better? All for $9.99 (batteries not included)

Ah truly the sport of kings...the king of the flies...

Summer Hols!

This Christmas the Jones family did something different: we went camping! Some scoffed at the wisdom of camping with a soon-to-be-two-year-old; others wondered at the fortitude of the wife for such activities (especially in her "condition"). But the pioneering spirit of the Jones forebears won through and a great time was had by all...

We headed north to Matauri Bay on the east coast, north of Keri Keri, on 29 December 2006. The trip wasn't too bad despite holiday delays around the small towns on the way up - the sooner the new highway is finished the better.

We arrived at the turnoff and began the descent to the coast - its a beautiful view with the Cavalli Islands in the background.

Its here you'll find the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior - the final resting place of the Greenpeace boat bombed by terrorists authorised by the French government.

Our campsite was right at the foot of this hill - on top is the Rainbow Warrior memorial with a map directing you out into the Cavalli Islands.

As you can see, the weather was idyllic and our 2 tent complex was nice and cosy in the summer heat. We had 2 tents: one for sleeping; the other for food and essential equipment like large blow-up dolphins.

Rhys did so well in his new environment. He loved the beach - building sandcastles and enjoying wave jumping with Daddy! Now when we go near a beach he yells "beach" or something close to it. Pretty much it was business as usual for the little man (and his Mama).

Rhys was a little hard to keep track of! He loved playing with the kids in nearby tents who were all a bit big for him. Often he'd be spotted heading off to the other side of the camp - when asked for his destination he'd say "Hannah" or words to that effect. Yes he was keen to spend time with his friends Isabella and Hannah Dunn. It has to be said his parents were also quite content spending time with the Dunns (Reuben and Vania) as well (using their BBQ and sharing illicit contraband smuggled north). Old friends Gary and Charmayne Johnstone were also there (Vania's parents). A highlight was the Tuatua sandwiches cooked straight off the beach! Here's Isabella feeding her aged grandfather who seems to have lost the power of feeding himself:

All in all, a wonderful time away - a very refreshing 5 days of sun, sea, sandcastles, shellfish, friends and learning to be a family.

Sweet Jesus

You've heard the saying concerning working with children and animals? Add to that electric appliances...Sunday night, it being the finale to our Great Expectations series, I decided to add to the anticipation of Communion by cooking bread live in the service. I have done this before with great success...not this time! When the moment came and I lifted the lid of the breadmaker I was greeted with something that looked only a little like bread.

So, I tipped off one of our resourceful people to go see what she could find...there'd be bread in the kitchen...a cake maybe? No. Just chocolate. Lots of it. Dark. White. In Christmas shapes.

So we consumed the sweet body of Jesus Christ, not to be confused with sweet breads...it was quite a moment! I guess I shouldn't have preached from Acts 8:28

Still with 3 seekers there, 2 of whom accepted the invitation to take communion, I'm not complaining - we even had a first timer pray aloud, go figure?

Merry Christmas

It was about this date 20 years ago that a sceptical 19 year-old atheist gave the God he didn't believe in 1 week to show himself. I'm always drawn to that rash challenge this time of year...life has never quite been the same since! For me, there has always been a palpable sense of the incarnation - to go from someone UNABLE to believe in any way in a God and then to miraculously literally overnight experience a subjective revelation of a God...well its really too hard to explain adequately. But it has always meant for me that one day there was this place without God and the next there was this whole new vista of spiritual experience.

Anyways, it makes Christmas a very real time of joy, remembrance etc for me.

Today we open presents...as soon as a little boy wakes up! And then its off to family for the day. Brunch at my brothers and then down to Tauranga for a Jones family reunion.

Whatever you're doing this year, Merry Christmas!

An Immaculate Conception

So, speaking of virgin births...did you know that the whole immaculate conception term is a horribly misapplied in colloquial chit chat? I've often heard it used to describe the role of God in Jesus' conception - ie Jesus was immaculately conceived because God was his Father and therefore no actual sex took place. When you add to that the literal meaning of the word: without stain or blemish, you're left with this horribly Victorian sense that it is the act of sexual intercourse that is the issue. Jesus was immaculately conceived, without stain or blemish, because there was no sex involved. Which is actually quite wrong as it turns out!

Its the identify of the mother, Mary that fuels the CATHOLIC doctrine of immaculate conception - MARY was the one given special grace by God so that the taint of original sin did not pass to Jesus. Interesting huh?

Protestants still go for the virgin birth mostly, but opt for the idea of Incarnation - the miraculous conception of Jesus - but not the immaculate.

All this to say it's Christmas soon...

...And: we're expecting our second child in July 2007. The world's worst kept secret!

Blog Under Construction

Alright, so I finally switched to the new blogger thingie...and so with it a change in template. Work to do yet so don't feel offended if I haven't linked you yet...

Borat: The Anti-Christ?

So I went to see Borat, or should I say Boor-Rat, on Monday. Much of the content was lewd and obscene. I didn't catch the censorship rating but I hope it was high. For a Jewish guy he's remarkably anti-semitic and quite gypsy-phobic - that could be cultural I guess, so who am I to judge? I was surprised that he seemed to like black people (he marries one in the end). I think he has a connection with that Ali G guy who is a blackguy who gets quite a lot of prejudicial for being very whiteskinned for someone of his race. There was one scene where a pastor, who seemed like a very sincere man of God to me, left a dinner party because a prostitute arrived. You can see why that was a very biblical choice for a man in his position. His English was very good for someone from his country and it was great to hear the national anthem of Kazikstan in English - whoever translated it did an excellent job because it still rhymed after translation.

It was cool to see him make a commitment to Christ and I hope it was for real. But its hard to tell because some bad stuff happened after that which made me wonder.

Anyway, I'm glad I seen it so I can have an opinion on it.













Borat

New Grace

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to freshen our dinner graces. Its been a long while since "Meet the Parents" redefined the possibilities. At last something new to help.

Drinking Games

There's a discussion over on Paul Windsor's blog on the alcy-whole question - not the usual tired rhetoric - consumed my blogging energy today so its the best you'll do if you wanted to know what I think about anything!

Daddy Daycare

So yesterday I was Daddy Daycare while Kristen worked as a music teacher at a primary school. It makes for an interesting day:

> The day starts early - no not with the pitter patter of little feet, but rather the pitter patter of little fingers as I make an early start to clearing emails and organising a few tasks that won't wait...

> My son and heir rises in a very good mood. He feasts on banana and toast with jam with the ever present cry for "juice" issuing from his lips. Fortunately he still thinks water is juice so his diet remains free of sugar cravings!

> The morning ritual includes Clifford and Blue's Clues which he watches from 8.20am. I sneak on to the laptop which promptly crashes the moment I try to save my work! As Blues Clues ends Daddy working on the laptop is no longer a possibility: first he starts tracing the letters on the whiteboard I'm working from saying "wri..." Smart kid - so smart he wipes half of the info off! Then he decides its time for a break so he grabs my hand and hauls me into the play area. How can I resist?

> The play activity of choice this morning is a big blue balloon. You can throw it, kick it, bounce it off the roof. No end of options. Rhys loves balloons.

> Then its time to get dressed. I have decided this is my opening to clean the upstairs bathroom. So clothes and bedroom play are interspersed with the activities of bathroom cleaning. The plan is a great success.

> Surprisingly, he asks for a mid morning "nack". He enjoys the apple which keeps him happy until he's decided he's had enough - cue: apple pieces start hitting the floor. He is released from the high chair but only to the task of picking up the apple. This is an aversion therapy which he hates. In fact, he throws the apple in tantrum so its off to timeout in his bedroom. When I return he is in the process of putting himself to bed, so I cut him slack on the grounds of tiredness and he has an early nap (after we read a Pooh Bear book).

> The child sleeps! Time for work.

> Rhys wakes up around 1.30 - its time for lunch - yoghurt and marmite sandwiches. Rhys is often spoiled with circle, triangle and square sandwiches by his daddy, but not today, he has the downstairs bathroom in his sights! So Rhys munches happily while I clean the bathroom. He manages to smear most of his face with yoghurt, but I have learned not to give him the sandwiches till after the yoghurt otherwise he dips them into the pottle...

> Its a reasonable day outside so we go to the park via Blockbuster. Rhys does very well climbing the ladder on the slide and thinks the swings are great fun. He has such a good memory of the only other time we have been to this park and how his mama sat on the swing next to him - he points to the swing and says, "mama?" Then realising she is not there he says, "Daddeee". So I join him on the swings and he giggles like a maniac. We also practise kicking a ball which he is improving at each time. We climb a few other things and try a roundabout spinning thing together. Its fun.

> Then its home via Bunnings to get a watering can. We get home just as mama is returning from school. He's a bit surprised to see her hanging out the car window!

> Strangely Rys catches onto the watering can with virtually no prompting. Rhys often helps Daddy give the plants "juice" using the hose. So when Mama suggests he help give the plants juice, he picks up the empty watering can and starts pouring on the plants! Don't know where that came from. But as I said "smart kid".

> With Mama home Daddy Daycare does a little more work either side of cooking dinner and then heads off to a meeting. Its been a fun day!

Proud to Be a Kiwi

What a weekend of sport! The All Blacks thump the French. The Kiwi League team smashes the Pomes! The combined scores of both opposition teams fails to exceed 10...thats a thrashing for the northern hemisphere. Thats without mentioned England's loss to Argentina...oops I just mentioned it...while I am mentioning it - thats Argentina AWAY - they play at least 50% better at home - this truly is a woeful English team.

Remember the Kiwi league team nearly beat Aussie after a disappointing start to the Tri Nations - but now they have comprehensively outplayed the Pomes twice. We can only pray the Aussies wake up and beat the Pomes next week (I know that doesn't feel right to me either) so that we get the final against the Aussies - which we will win.

The AB's seems head and shoulders above the rest of the world right now. Not that I overrate a bumbling French team whose lineout play and defence were lowert han club level. Even so, you'd have to say the AB's still have a lot of improvement in them - this was not a vintage performance from them even though it was a crushing victory. The scrum was destructive and the scrambling defence superb. But the first up defence was tested by the French at times - Luke McAlister probably played himself out of a first pick place at second five for the World Cup. The lineout was adequate but flattered by an awful French lineout. On attack there were some issues with fluency - again it was the counterattack and individual brilliance which opened the French up. So I won't get too carried away with this performance but nor will I jump on the "AB's are peaking too early" bandwagon. They will need to be even better to take the world cup next year.

The selectors are threatening to pick their first XV next week for the second test against the French - here's my effort:

MacDonald
Sivivatu
Gear
Smith
Mauger
Carter
Kelleher
Soi'alo
Collins
McCaw
Jack
Robinson
Hayman
Mealamu
Woodcock

Reserves: Weepu, Nonu, Muliaina, Tialata, Oliver, Williams, Masoe

Williams is very unlucky - he is playing very well - I just like Robinson's hardness and reliability at lineout time. McAlister is also very unlucky not to get a bench spot. But with Mauger able to shift into 1stV and no other fullback on the field you've got to give Mils a run. In a straight swap with Nonu, the big man gets the nod as a genuine impact player - especially against northern hemisphere teams who just can't handle the psychological and actual impact of a player like Nonu.

Bring it on!

Who is Ted Haggard?

Faced with the very public fall of one of the US Church's most well-known leaders, many New Zealanders are like, "Who?" Anyways, for those who are interested in understanding what has happened here are some sources you might follow up:

Ted Haggard - Background Story

Ted Haggard's Confession

Gayle Haggard's Response

Thoughts From Gordon MacDonald

Oh, and the answer to the question in the title? A quote from Haggard's letter:

"There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I’ve been warring against it all of my adult life...The public person I was wasn’t a lie; it was just incomplete. When I stopped communicating about my problems, the darkness increased and finally dominated me. As a result, I did things that were contrary to everything I believe."

New Labour

So Labour is going to deliberately court a section of the Christian vote...perhaps I'm cynical...no perhaps about it! But anyway, despite some rather odd comments in the article, it seems like the left is slowly getting itself organised to respond to the sometimes orchestrated politicisation of the Christian right. With that in mind I thought I would assist the Labour party by completing a partial segmentation of this unexploited market:

• The new Labour Christians will be quite different from some Christians on the issue of killing people. Instead of being pro war and pro death penalty with a homicidal commitment to being anti abortion, the new Labour Christians will be anti killing people;
• They will drink only fair trade coffee (usually freshly roasted by some trendy local coffee roaster) but not if its from Esquires (low quality coffee like the exploitation of coffee bean growers all over the world, leaves a bad taste in the mouth);
• They will have a commitment to the environment and might even vote green if it weren't for the dope-smoking fine print;
• They might read Brian McLaren, Robb Bell, Doug Pagitt et al but probably won't be Tim La Haye or Frank Peretti fans;
• They will support the welfare state as a concept where it seeks to ameliorate the effects of social inequity, but will want to see some long term efforts to reduce the cycle of poverty;
• They probably won't attend Destiny Church;
• They will give to Tear Fund but probably not World Vision;
• They will happily overlook Helen Clark's commitment to a radical policy of social re engineering, because thats still the price of voting Labour;
• They will likely be refugees from pentecostalism, although not exclusively;
• They will love Bono...

Alright so its not exhaustive but its a start. Have I missed any key attributes that should be immediately communicated to the Labour PR spin doctors?