FutureChurch

I've been thinking a lot recently about personal transformation and how that works as a Christian, because G-d is supposed to be transforming us constantly. "How specifically does that work?" I've been wondering.

Say a friend says to you, "I am struggling with [X] which I really want to change," what do you tell them? To have more faith? To understand it more? To see a psychologist? A spiritual director? A doctor? To read the Bible more? To have a stronger will? To be more conscious? To pray, and somehow G-d will make it better (but we're not quite sure how that works, or when it might, if at all)?

The psychoanalytic approach is based on the concept that insight produces change. I think that can be valid to a point (self-understanding is good) but that it's unnecessary for insight to precede change.

To that end, I've spent a good deal of time being trained in a specific way of communicating and understanding others: Neuro Linguistic Programming. Yes, it's a mouthful and I feel clever when I say it, but the reality is is that it's given me the tools to help people facilitate change within themselves, without needing to go the psychoanalytic route or the "just have more willpower" route.

Here is the introduction by Richard Bandler (one of the co-founders of NLP) to his latest book, "Get the life you want" (forgo the cheesy title, please!). I'd welcome comments on this, particularly as he's presenting an alternative here to the "insight produces change" paradigm.

I think this is a vitally important conversation for those of us who work with others to have, helping them to better understand themselves and make changes for the better. If we're using an approach which feels good and helps others unpack their realities in a way to better understand them, but doesn't lead to any change (let along generative change!), then we may want to be open to wonder about other approaches which are more helpful for the client.

Technorati Tags: NLP psychoanalysis Richard Bandler Transformation

Much of the fear Julius Malema has managed to inspire is not because of his vast intelligence or ability to provoke the masses into mindless violence; it's that he says the craziest things which would never be uttered by any responsible public figure of any depth in post-Apartheid South Africa. He contradicts himself, by the way, first by saying

"The reality is that the majority of white people, despite the practical assurances made by our democratic Constitution and government; continue to believe that black people are out to get them. They feel threatened, but there is no basis for their insecurity." Source: ANC Youth League website

and then by singing "Shoot the boer," which even if he doesn't mean it literally and is merely celebrating the history of the struggle movement (which I doubt), it gives insecure whities some basis for fear (which is why the ANC told him to stop singing it). You can't sing "Shoot the boer" and then say, "White people shouldn't believe that black people are out to get them."

One reason Malema seems to have power is the massive exposure our local media gives him. It's come to the point where they're not merely objectively reporting on Malema, they're actually encouraging the madness he encourages. And so we should ignore Julius, which is what the rest of this post is about, posted on many other South African blogs.

Julius Malema has exploded into political... prominence... by making himself hard to ignore. Inheriting a platform that drew attention to the accidental outrages he tripped into, he quickly learned to stoke outrage and roar back at any responses he provoked. For the media, trying to gauge the state of the nation's health from moment to moment, this makes him a much more attractive candidate than the business-as-usual official announcements of the ruling party proper. But Malema's sound and fury signify nothing, and his disproportionate voice in South Africa's public conversation is only hurting our ability to speak to one another, and to speak sense when we do. We think it's time to ignore Julius, and invite you to join us.

For the week of 7-14 April 2010, we undertake to talk about this country, its challenges, its promise, its news, and to ignore Julius while doing so. Join us in this initiative. If you blog, join the roll. If you Tweet, add the hashtag #ignoreJulius to your daily output. However you communicate, take a week off from Julius.

Here is the list of blogs that are participating in this initiative:

http://rwrant.co.za
http://zoem.co.za
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/mariusredelinghuys
http://memyselfandkarin.wordpress.com/
http://robsramblings.co.za
http://antithesis.blognation.co.za/
http://singe.za.net/
http://blog.empyrean.co.za
http://www.pinkhairgirl.co.za
http://www.macgeek.co.za
http://www.futurechurch.co.za
http://www.cptawesome.co.za/
http://www.indigogirl.co.za/

Technorati Tags: activism Julius Malema politics South Africa

Steve Lewis posts a semi-apology about coming across a little cranky when he hears about the anticipation of Easter Sunday. Not because Sunday isn't important (and it really is!), but in our eagerness to celebrate the most important day in history, we can too easily skip over the challenging details of the Easter journey.

Many Christians focus on Easter Friday, on the cross of Jesus, the place where our sin is dealt with with. Their focus is on the unjust suffering of Jesus, who was bruised for our sins, and suffered for our transgressions. Easter Friday tells us that we are free, forgiven, and that a man (God!) died to accomplish this.

Other Christians focus on Easter Sunday, because it is our greatest hope - the promise that what God did with Jesus on that day, he promises to do with all of creation at the right time. The resurrection is why I remain a Christian, because it's the promise of justice, of new life, of new creation. It cannot be relegated to "It's a really powerful metaphor, but we know that Jesus didn't actually come back to life." N.T Wright says,

"People have been told so often that resurrection is just a metaphor. ...In other words, [Jesus] went to heaven, whatever that means. And they've never realized that the word 'resurrection' simply didn't mean that. If people [in the first century] had wanted to say that he died and went to heaven, they had perfectly good ways of saying that." The whole point of the Christian story is that the Resurrection really happened, Wright insists. The disciples rolled back the rock on the third day, and Jesus' body was gone.

Source: Newsweek: Far From Heaven

Very few Christians talk about Holy Saturday, perhaps because it's far too uncomfortable to dwell on, yet it's no less important than Good Friday or Easter Sunday. Perhaps it's the paradox of the death of God by God which makes it hard. God dies...by his own hand.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer - Isaiah 53:10

If we are to fully enter into the Easter journey, we cannot be satisfied with Friday's "sin is dealt with" or Sunday's "new creation has started". If we are to live Easter as the first disciples did, we must carry their expectations: that Jesus was going to become king of Israel, and rid the country of their oppressive occupiers (Rome). Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem - as a king (another paradox there: a king who enters a city riding on a donkey). The first century expectation of Jesus' followers was immense, and the hope placed upon him cannot be understated. But then Jesus dies, and with him, that hope.

When Jesus appears to the disciples on the Emmaus road, what are they doing? They're heading back home, to their old lives. Their hope of something new, of freedom, has died with Jesus. What seemed so certain is no longer. What they'd given up their lives to believe in, was not true. Imagine this utter despair, of everything upon which your life was staked, to be false.

And what was worse, is we know that God did this. God removed the hope of the disciples. God killed God.

Most Christians skip over this disturbing truth, and so gloss over what seems to be a periodic part of life: times when hope seems lost, and everything worth living for is gone. When even God seems to have died, and we’re left with…nothing.

The gift of Holy Saturday is that it invites us to enter into this paradox, and meditate on its disturbing reality. Where is God? God is dead. What does that leave me with? What, indeed...

To frame this despair with, "Don't worry, Sunday is coming!" is to miss the point, and to miss out on this question that God poses to each of us: What do you do when God is dead, and when the death of God has been caused by God himself?

Far from finding this disturbing, I find comfort that this difficulty has been built into Christianity itself, by God. Too many times to count, I've had my theology stripped from me (perhaps in the same way that the Palm Sunday altar is stripped for Maundy Thursday), my relationship with God exposed to be something about which I can't tell what about it is real. God is silent so much of the time, and I cannot hear him. My world clamours with conflicting claims of God ("He's good", "He's angry", "He's impotent", "He doesn't exist") and what's worse, God doesn't step in to settle the argument.

In the middle of this, conversations happen which question the role of Christianity in the world, and what its relevance (if any) is. I wonder if the church really will survive another 50 years, and if it does, if it will have any impact on South African society.

This is not the Good Friday reality. This is not the Easter Sunday reality. This is Holy Saturday, where God withdraws from the world, the angels are silent, and we mourn.

The prayer goes,

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

On Holy Saturday it should be,

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

Or simply:

Christ has died.

This is what God invites us to contemplate.

Technorati Tags: Death of God Easter paradox

Richard Rohr will be in Cape Town in May 2010, organised by Sergio Milandri. Here's what you can join in.

From Wild Man To Wise Man

May 7 to May 9, 2010 at the Mizpah Retreat Centre, near Grabouw.

A wilderness retreat for men on the spiritual journey. As men, we are a pivotal influence in our family and society in bringing healing and restoration to relationships. Richard Rohr is an exceptional author, speaker, teacher and retreat director and has taught and guided retreats around the world for the past 30 years. He has a passion for developing and rooting men's spirituality. It is our hope that men will not only engage and deepen the experience of their own spirituality but also be involved in the formation and mentoring of other men. This retreat is for men who are on that journey.

Restoring Male Spirituality in family and community

May 10 to May 12, 2010 at the Schoenstatt Centre, Constantia.

A workshop for men and woman on re-affirming the male soul in social relationship. A must for anyone involved in engaging and developing masculine sprituality - especially for men, women, community leaders and pastors. Richard Rohr is an international author, speaker and retreat director and has taught and guided retreats for the past thirty years. Richard brings a wealth of experience and wisdom to the everyday issues we face as men and women.

To place your booking, please go to: http://www.relating.com/richard-rohr-bookings.html

2010 is a big year for us South Africans - World Cup and all. It's also the 4th Amahoro Gathering, in Mombasa from May 3 - 10. I've been to two Amahoro Gatherings and have found them immensely significant, since Amahoro is on the other side of the coin to the emerging conversation (taking place in Western contexts) as it looks at the impact of the colonial narrative on the Gospel, and where that leaves us now.

Brian McLaren spoke about "Post-modern and post-colonial": two sides of the same coin, in Johannesburg just before the first Amahoro Gathering, in 2007. It's one of the 3 best talks I heard that year.

There are many things I like about Amahoro: the family reunion feel, the people, the diversity, the topics we address, and that we're taking theology developed in Africa by Africans seriously. Kenzo Mabiala is the resident theologian of Amahoro; he completed his doctorate under D.A. Carson before returning to the Congo to head up a theological college.

Carson asked him why he was interested in the emerging church conversation (primarily happening in the West), and Kenzo answered that the emerging church is asking the right questions.

For more information: The Amahoro website.

And now to encouraging comments on this post: why is it important to understand how the Gospel was shaped by the rise of the colonialism, and what are the implications for those who live in post-colonial contexts?

Technorati Tags: Amahoro postcolonial postmodern