The Power of Words

Today I had a leisurely morning coffee visit with a good friend. We always laugh a lot but enjoy talking about the serious stuff also. She often chuckles at the way I say things or my choice of words, teasing me that I phrase things like one would expect to read in a clinical report. I am not exactly sure about that, but she is not the only friend who likes to tease me about my "phrase-ology" and that got me thinking about words.

I often hear the line, "you talk funny" or "ooh, where does your accent come from" which always tempts me to want to reply, the same place the rest of my being comes from. But, I resist, and say South Africa politely. "Huh" is what I usually hear after that. Then I explain that we are English speaking South Africans who sounded more British when we arrived in Texas 17 years ago, but now we sound more Australian/New Zealand-ish thanks to the Texas Twang. But, it is not that kind of thing that I am thinking about.

Words have power and we all know that. We have experienced the blessing of good words spoken over us and about us. We have also experienced the devastation of harsh words. One of my favorite things about Mike Cope as a preacher is that he uses words with precision and care. One well picked word can replace a sentence. While I worked for Jack Reese, I would marvel at his love of language and word usage. I think I finally get it. One of my good friends, Adam Gray, is often "accused" of using language that is hard to decipher because it is heart language and not "tell it like it is, git-r-done" kinda talk. I love talking to Adam, because the words make me reach and stretch to see if I am really tracking with him. I always walk away more alive because he challenges me.

Rich words spoken over coffee renew a friendship. Authentic, loving, respectful words spoken in a marriage bring depth and growth. Prayer that is sprinkled with a language of praise and adoration brings us into worship like no other. Song lyrics that are deep and true resonate with our spirits. Words from scripture, made alive in the person of Christ equip us and fill us to live out the mission of God in the world. Words whispered by the Holy Spirit move us.

One can not ignore words. They are everywhere, calling us to consumerism, tempting us to dull our witness to Christ, offering us false hope, promising things that this world can not deliver.
And so, I am more convinced than ever that choosing to fill our lives with words that have real significant meaning can change us.

Conversations from Colorado

We just spent the past weekend at Glen Eyrie, the Navigators beautiful site in Colorado Springs. We were there to attend a Marriage Retreat. The last time I visited this gorgeous retreat center was back in 1994 for a Marriage Getaway put on by the ministry of the Navigators. It truly is a glorious place.

David and I spent hours in conversation and that is just for us. However, two other conversations have been rattling around in my mind and seem blog worthy.

1. Brian McLaren was at Glen Eyrie doing another conference, but I got to have a short insightful conversation with him. He has spent a lot of time recently working with church leaders in South Africa and has a unique perspective of what God is doing there. We feel out of touch with the larger picture of Kingdom and how it is impacting life there. I was able to ask him to give me his perspective of what is happening. It was hopeful and encouraging. From the very source of past atrocities and apartheid new life is coming and Jesus is being lived out in ways that are fresh and unexpected. I shared my concern about the violence being directed toward immigrants from other African countries and how that does not fit the Ubuntu theology of Bishop Tutu and other important African voices. He acknowledged the tension of ideology versus practice, but framed it with such clear understanding of the situation. Bottom line he said is that when people feel their wealth is being threatened they will turn on whomever. Bingo!

Herein lies the real issue. One would think that a people who have seen the hardship of being marginalized, the struggle of poverty and the pain of powerlessness would have such deep compassion for the stranger among them, that they would pull together to ensure greater equality for all. However, the newly empowered, the nouveau riche and rising middle class instead are closing ranks to protect their new status at the expense of the refugee.

It made me wonder about the power of our stuff.

2. The second conversation was one about marriage, that the lead organizer of the retreat shared. From the writings of Gary Thomas and others, he reminded us that marriage is more about making us holy than happy. While that is not a new concept it is a beautiful one. It transcends emotion and feeling, but does not minimize it. It speaks to the deeply shaping experience of knowing oneself better in community. It calls us to see our marriage as a tool in the kingdom. Not for one minute was he encouraging us to live out loveless, passionless marriages - just the opposite in fact. He was calling us to the highest possible view of marriage.

It made me wonder about the power of real love.

Give Me Your Eyes

I have really been taken with a song that I am hearing on k-love. It is Brandon Heath's, Give Me Your Eyes. The lyrics are so compelling. I pray that God gives me the love for humanity like the words of this song call me to.

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere, Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wifeHe's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along

How Blogging Has Changed Me

Jim Martin tagged me in his last post and made me think about blogging and how it impacts us.

1.Blogging has become a regular part of my spiritual practice. Both the writing of my own blog and reading of other blogs serves to challenge me, teach me, shape me, and draw me closer to God.

2.Blogging has opened up a world of new relationships - some readers I know and have existing relationships with yet others are blog-world friends.

3.Blogging helps orient my thinking. I am able to better process my thoughts through writing and reading comments.

4.In addition to physical community that I value highly, I love the community that develops in the blog-world that allows us to see how believers of all stripes are expanding the kingdom.

5.Blogging has allowed me the joy of "virtually" sitting at the feet of great thinkers on a daily basis. How else does one get to engage in the thoughts of Mike Cope, Jim Martin, Frank Belizzi etc with such regularity.

And now I would like to tag a few friends...

Frank Belizzi
Jim Leasure
Kinney Mabry
Angie Bruce



The rules to this tag are as follows:
1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. link back to the person who tagged you - A Place For the God-Hungry (Jim Martin)
3. link back to this parent post - Seedlings in Stone
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them

Inspired

Often on this blog I recommend that people listen to a sermon that Dan has preached on the previous Sunday, and this is no exception. Go to www.amarillocentral.org and you can download it. He concluded a summer series on prayer based very loosely on Philip Yancy's book called Prayer. Part of what was so striking for me personally is that I had spent the entire weekend talking to a good friend about the process of going through the desert and how we live as Kingdom people while in the dry places. The Holy Spirit was faithful to take those conversations and then allow God to speak a word into that situation through Dan on Sunday. Amazing.

But, in addition to that as a hearer this sermon was brilliantly constructed. Genius really. There were layers and layers. The basic message and then underlying thoughts that you could take hold of and chew on for days. I am chewing.

I wanted to share a few of the thoughts that I am contemplating since hearing this message.

1.The spiritual desert is the reality of our faith journey. Moses, Abraham, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, David, Jesus - they had them. Times in the desert where faith and obedience are hard. St. John of the Cross wrote Dark Night of the Soul from the desert. Theresa of Avila, Mother Theresa, Bonhoeffer - all of those inspirations from our history had their faith formed and reformed by walking through the desert.

2.God does not wait to do his work in us while we are on the Mountaintop. Some of His best work is done in the desert.

3.Our responses to God can not depend on the emotion we feel toward Him.

4.And thus, a life lived out of solid engagement with the spiritual practices will be what sustains us. Praying when we don't feel like it. Sitting with God waiting when we would rather be taking action. Listening instead of speaking.

5.Control has to be surrendered to live like this. Courage and risk are required to allow God to work in us during these times knowing that the process and not the end result is really the prize.

6.Living out the tension of doubt and faith, fear and hope, pain and joy, exhaustion and renewal, surrender and empowerment is where we spend the majority of our lives if we are serious about discipleship.

And so I can sing with new and renewed courage, "when the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say Blessed Be The Name of the Lord."

Christians Engaging Politics

I realize I am treading on sensitive ground here - given I am not a citizen and my Mom raised me to never bring up politics as dinnertime conversation. Well, I don't usually bring it up but if I'm asked I share my opinion which often collides with most mainstream Christians. But this is not about that really.

My husband David suggested I read an article in the new Relevant magazine titled, "In the Booth, not of the Booth." It is an incredible read and will provide more than enough for you to contemplate this political season.

Adam Smith writes, "For those seeking to embody Christ, the choice can be especially difficult. On one side of the equation is a candidate who seems to offer hope for peace and ease for poverty, yet supports abortion. On the other is a candidate who champions the rights of the unborn, yet seeks to continue the war in Iraq. Can a Christian truly throw unflagging support behind either candidate?" Smith continues to quote Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw authors for Jesus for President. Claiborne says "I think a healthy suspicion about putting all our hope in one day, one vote, or one candidate or party. Haw agrees, "we're trying to help people think as Christians, and that takes a rugged revisitation of the whole biblical story to be able to think as a Christian and requires us to have Christian historical memory and imagination." Adam Smith writes, "Haw adds that the idea of nationalism is often theologically unsound. He says that being born again should mean, from a theological standpoint, that Christians have a new and different citizenship. Theologically, born again didn't just mean that you have a spiritual attitude to your life. It literally meant that you're joining into this people of Abraham that are a holy nation set apart. There seems to be evidence all over the Bible that this is a very concrete people. You're latching yourself onto this other nation. Now when you use the word we or our, your identity is connected to a different group of people, a diasporic people. That's not just linguistic gymnastics. Its biblical realism. Without that our nationalism is misguided."

I find this so rich and challenging.

When the well is dry

After being a part of a group that spent some sacred time discerning together this week, I have been struck by several thoughts. One of which I need to explore some more.

When you are spiritually tired, exhausted, done - what betrays that?

Is your rhythm of spiritual practices off kilter?
Or, out of habit do you continue in the practices of spirituality regardless?
Are your attitudes ambivalent maybe even cynical?
Do you get aggressive? Passive?
Is your time spent with the busyness of doing God-work so you don't have to just be with him?
What about family, does that change?
Do you embrace silence in order to self reflect?
Do you crank up the noise of life in order to avoid reflection?

What do you think?

Psalm 103

I have spent the last few days unpacking this Psalm as part of the retreat I was on. Take a moment and read it.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!

In your reading what strikes you most?
Is it the nature of God, the nature of humanity, covenant, sovereignty, redemption?

Shameless Plug..or Sharing an Opportunity

Many of you know that I was part of a Come before Winter team that travelled to Canada in March to host a renewal retreat for women in ministry on the field. Come before Winter have been hosting these renewals all over the world since 2000 and have served missionaries around the globe in ways they have never been served before.

When I returned from that trip I was so impacted that I said more than one time that I have found what I want to do with my life. It is an incredible experience. I feel very blessed to be travelling with them to do the first Stateside renewal in October. Then in May I will join a team and go to Australia to host a renewal and in June to Papua New Guinea.

As team members we raise our money to go on these trips and to cover the cost of participants. Those who are invited to attend are asked to pay their own way to the site and then the balance of the week is provided as a gift of love to honor them. Because I have three consecutive renewals lined up I am needing to raise around $11000 - yes, you read that correctly...Eleven thousand dollars. I have sent out fund raising packets and feel like God will bless this. However, I wanted to put it on my blog in case any of you readers feel God calling you to partner with me in this ministry.

You can check out the ministry at www.comebeforewinter.org
If you would like to donate toward these three renewals you can mail a check to:
Come before Winter, Inc.
P.O. Box 203381
Austin, TX 78720

You can mark it for Arlene Kasselman's fundraising. You can also make donations on credit card.
Phone inquiries: (512) 918-2717

Please share this with anyone you think may have a heart for renewal of women in ministry, minister's wives, elders wives etc.

Thank you for reading this far and indulging me.

Micah 6:8

"What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." These words are painted around the molding in my dining room. These are rich words. Ones that require action, response and life change.

For many Christians the ideas held within this short verse are quite foreign. The love of comforts and material possessions coupled with the distaste for inconvenience and sacrifice, all swimming in the water of accomplishment and achievement seem to distract us.

And as Adele Calhoun writes in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, "we never outgrow the need for prophets who remind us of the great requirements." Eugene Peterson suggests that faith that doesn't serve justice can end up making us worse instead of better. Think about that.

So how does Micah speak to us where we live right now? Not all of us are going to Africa to work among the Invisible Children, or to Asia to free child slaves. Few of us are in the Peace Corp or doing full time mission work. Yet the words of God still ring true and call us to live in such a way that we are incarnational expressions of faith. What about in your own downtown, with the single parents in your own churches, the shelters, the homeless on your streets. What about the relief agencies that you can support?

How does concern for justice fit with your faith?

Yancy on Prayer

During the summer our Sunday am Bible class is taking a break from our Matthew series and we are going through Phillip Yancy's book Prayer. I have chapters 9 & 10 to teach this Sunday. There is too much to cover in one week and so many rabbits to chase... Yancy writes every paragraph with layers and layers of meaning to apply and contemplate.

After reading the two chapters over and over, I have decided that instead of actually teaching all the content, I am going to discuss 4 central ideas that hit me from what he said.

Tell me what you think.

1. The inner voice of prayer expresses itself naturally in action, just as the inner voice of the brain guides all bodily actions.

2.While we will not all find ourselves in the kind of dramatic circumstances that faced Bonhoeffer in Germany or Tutu in South Africa, we all in our own way will feel the tension between prayer and activism, between action and contemplation.

3.We want a God we can count on yet an attentive God whom we can affect.

4. By using prayer rather than other, more direct means, God once again chooses the most freedom-enhancing style of acting in the world. God waits to be asked, in some inscrutable way making God's activity on earth contingent upon us.

This is enough to keep us talking for a year, why do I think one Sunday is going to do it justice?

So This I Know To Be True 2

I have blogged about friendship before, extensively I think. However, over the last few weeks or so I have had some relational experiences myself and watched a friend or two struggle through theirs. I had lost contact with a heart friend from childhood who I recently found via email and it has been such a joy catching up. I have also just this week "reconnected-still" as they put it, with a friend from not so long ago and it has been life giving to me. It has made me think about what really matters in friendship, in intimate community and in walking together as disciples. God has blessed me with friendships that I treasure.

1. Friendships that matter and stand the tests of life take time, investment, courage and truth.
2. Without truth, nothing grows.
3. Parting really is such sweet sorrow.
4. Unverbalized expectations leave everyone involved angry.
5. If we live out relationships with a sense of expectancy instead of expectation we are all blessed.
6. Going to the hard places to allow light to illuminate all the dark places is priceless.
7. Trust and confidentiality are essential and such an honor!
8. With vulnerability comes depth and friendship becomes something sacred.
9. Intimacy, connectivity and relational chemistry is rare but when experienced incredible.
10.Fun is not overrated.
11.This is what God intended.

5 Silly Summer Facts

A really special friend emailed me this tag message for 5 Silly Summer Facts, so here goes.

1. Favorite Summer Drink: either Mango tea at WaterStill (a local incredible water place) or a Vitamin Water.

2. Favorite Summer Color: White, Green, Pink

3. Favorite Summer Vacation: Beach

4. Favorite Summer Memory: Christmas, I grew up in South Africa...December is summer.

5.Favorite Summer Meal: Anything on the grill, potato salad, beans, corn on the cob, bread, fruit - yummo!

Now its your turn.......add your favorites.

On A More Serious Note...

It has cracked me up that ever since I promised to write something funny I have had an absolute block. Nothing. Which goes to prove the point of the previous post....:-)

For those of you who know me, you already realize that this has led to hours of self reflection. Several months ago I was in a discussion with some friends that revealed things about myself that I did not know to be true. I have always viewed myself as a funny person. I am extroverted and usually a little inappropriate. I love people and laugh a lot. The logical conclusion in my head was that others would describe me as a fun person. However, I was asked to speak at an event and the organizer was a little concerned that I would not understand the light-hearted vibe of the evening. She was hesitant because I tend to be "heavy." Hmmmm...
I was really shocked by it and so was retelling the story to one of my elders over lunch one day and he cracked a huge smile. That led to more conversation in which he said that he would describe me as "intense." Now factor in the teasing over the snooze inducing blog post and my friend Jennifer telling me that I "ask questions with vigor" and you can see the self analysis crisis that is beginning to brew in my head.

How do people see me? Am I not fun? Am I too intense? Do I scare people? Do I drain them? Yikes.....I started thinking about my friends and the kind of people I am easily drawn to and yep, they tend to be the intense ones too. I started thinking about my favorite conversations and yep, they are the intense ones. I thought about the favorites parts of marriage, and yep one of them is the time we spend discussing the intense stuff. It seems to make sense that given the choice between hanging out with friends talking versus playing a card game, I will picking talking every time. It helps make sense of the fact that spending 2 hours in a movie theatre as a date holds little appeal to me versus conversation or something more engaging relationally. It makes sense that my favorite genre of TV is reality because I am so intrigued by the way the people behave and I can interact with it. It makes sense that being back in school has been my sanity because I can be as bookish or geeky as I need to be and it makes complete sense given the context.

And so I proudly declare today that I am fully embracing my intense self and am mourning the fictional version of myself that I thought was true. Seriously.

Snoozer Alert!

I was lovingly mocked today as a friend essentially told me that my blog has been a little too heavy and "snooze enducing" recently. In a follow up conversation one of the other friends, said it was okay because I am passionate about....EVERYTHING! Ha - I love it.

So, all I'm saying is I will try to lighten up for a day or two. Maybe.

Morality and the like

I have been engaged in a great conversation recently with a friend from long ago who holds some beliefs different to mine. One of the points of discussion is this:

Where does morality come from? Is it from God or is it an inner locale? Think about all those who claim Christ yet abuse their children or spouse. Think about all those who claim Christ and are being unfaithful in their marriage. Cheating. Lying. Stealing. Gossiping... But also think about all those who are actively choosing to live lives that testify to the cross. What about those who do not claim Christ that are risking their lives to serve humanity all over the planet. Think about those who do not claim Christ yet are great parents and partners. But also think about those who do not claim Christ and are living lives wrapped up in selfishness and sinfulness.

2 things:
Where does morality come from?
If I claim Christ does that equip, motivate, shape me to live in truer, more authentic, holy ways?

South Africa, Ubuntu Theology, Tutu and Mandela

Many of you know that I am South African. Africa has a way of never letting one go. Talk to anyone who has been there. It almost haunts your soul - it is alive, eclectic, colorful, dramatic, hopeful and yet also devastated in some ways. Above all it is my home. What else matters, really? It is not uncommon for the average citizen of the world to look at Africa's politics and laugh - known for bribery, dictators and confusion it could be easy to miss something. South Africa has the fingerprints of Bishop Desmond Tutu all over it. It has the shadow of Nelson Mandela falling all around it. Can you imagine. Two of the great statesmen of the world. Nothing swells my heart quite so much as being able to talk with pride about the influence of two such leaders. Yet...

I am troubled right now. Violence has long been a part of life there. Yet, so has a wonderful life style. Political tension is just always at a simmer. Yet, so has been some of the most incredible reconciliation ever known to humanity. Poverty is around every corner. Yet, so is unbelievable wealth. People are dying of aids and other more preventable disease. Yet, research that is changing the world is also pouring out of South Africa. Some go hungry. Others enjoy some of the best culinary experiences on the planet. Contrasts. Disequilibrium. Hope and Fear coexist on a daily basis. I am most troubled currently by the attacks on immigrants that are pouring into South Africa from other troubled African countries. The random Zimbabwean street vendor that is trying to make a living is the new target. Refugees or immigrants seeking a better life have always been high risk, but this xenophobia has reached such epic proportions in South Africa that it is getting international attention.

And in my idealistic little world it should be different there. What about Ubuntu? This is a country that claims Ubuntu theolgoy. In trying to define Ubuntu, Bishop Desmond Tutu has said, “A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.” It has roots in an old Zulu maxim “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” – a person is a person through other persons. In the African context it speaks to the idea that the person one is to become through divine design happens by behaving among others in worthy and respectful ways. Those who uphold these principles will in death also achieve unity with those still living. There is an inextricable bond between humanity, ancestors and the Supreme Being. Inseparable as Christianity and Ubuntu are it is impossible to miss how African ancestral influences and Eastern mysticism have shaped his theology.

At its very basic level, this African belief articulates a respect and compassion for others. It is both descriptive (being in community with others) and prescriptive (how to be in community with others). The term Ubuntu then functions as both a factual description and a rule of conduct or social ethic. It becomes very apparent that this theology sees community as an essential aspect to personhood. Grounded in the deep sense of community that is intrinsic to African life this is no surprise. Tutu is quoted as saying, “we can be human only in community, in koinonia, in peace.” He shows that human beings are defined not by their race but by their createdness in God’s own image. It is this that brings value and dignity to all people. Some have even used the word “humanness” to define Ubuntu. This is accurate but very different from what one may understand as Western Humanism. Where Humanism will deny or underestimate the importance of the “religious”, Ubuntu is wholly dependent on it. The spiritual can not be separated in life or death in the African experience.

As a social, political and religious ethic, consensus plays a central role in Ubuntu. Traditional African democracy is a system far different to Western Democracy. It often ignores Majority Rule in favor of the pursuit of reconciliation and consensus. It usually takes the form of lengthy discussions and meetings. Hours and hours of talking between community leaders is a prerequisite. Every person gets an equal chance to talk until some kind of agreement or consensus is reached. Western intervention to bring resolution to various issues in Africa has often disrupted this organic process and the results have been disastrous. The African term “simunye” translated as “we are one” or “unity is strength” can be found in the media, literature, and the common vernacular. While Bishop Tutu has frequently spoken out against the tyrannical rule and dictatorship of some African countries, it must be noted that within the framework of “consensus above all”, people can become exploited in order to enforce group solidarity. While Ubuntu seeks to always elevate human dignity, it has a potentially dark side in terms of its demands for conformity and loyalty to the group. I think understanding this gives the observer greater insight into the often misgoverned and mismanaged countries of the African continent.
In his role in the rebuilding of post-Apartheid South Africa, Bishop Tutu has modeled a version of Ubuntu that has authentic respect for human dignity and honest appreciation for diversity and difference. He is credited with giving the new South Africa the name “The Rainbow Nation.” Behind this term is the belief that individuals in their distinctiveness are regarded firstly because they reflect the image of the creator and secondly because dignifying humanity is essential for peace and thus when all the diverse peoples and their gifts come to the table, a rainbow is created. There can be harmony while respecting diversity.

If consensus is so paramount it may make one wonder how to reconcile this spirit with the very real violence that still plagues South Africa. I do not think Ubuntu will explain away all struggles. However, I think if one considers the unique manner in which South Africa transitioned from a country of Apartheid to multi-party democracy it is evident that something more than smart politics was at play. The emergence of solidarity and an ethos of reconciliation in the midst of the transition led to cohesive values in a country previously defined as splintered at best. Crime or violence aside, it is not hard to see examples of the spirit of consensus and mutual care as one studies how African families care for one another, how the poor are cared for by the poor, how older generations take seriously the teaching of younger generations.

Notwithstanding his previous accomplishments, it is in the very emerging of a new South Africa that Bishop Tutu’s impact has been most felt. Out of Ubuntu theology he held out the goal of consensus and reconciliation in order for the people of South Africa to heal and be more fully human. As Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission he convened the Commission into three sub categories in order to provide a traveling forum for people to tell their stories of human rights abuses during the Apartheid years. The commission’s intention above all was to grant amnesty for crimes perpetrated based on political actions during that time. Bishop Tutu did not want a war tribunal, but a forum for healing. In an article entitled, “Why to Forgive” he says, “forgiveness is not turning a blind eye to wrongs; true reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the pain, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring healing.” Stories were told of secret acts done by both the Apartheid government and liberation forces that resulted in abuses. No one was exempt. After a three year period, hundreds had been given amnesty, thousands of people had the opportunity to be heard, many families of victims and perpetrators forgave each other and a report was prepared. The extensive document was presented to the Government and in its final recommendations made motions for national apologies by previous Heads of State, for Memorials to victims, and very significantly and most human, for opportunities for history and the stories to be retold. In the midst of a very institutional structure, Bishop Tutu managed the process with heart and the human touch right up until the concluding pages of the Commission Report. In an interview about the process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Bishop Tutu is quoted as saying,
“I have come to realize the extraordinary capacity for evil that all of us have, because we have now heard the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and there have been revelations of horrendous atrocities that people have committed. Any and every one of us could have perpetrated those atrocities. The people who were perpetrators of the most gruesome things didn't have horns, didn't have tails. They were ordinary human beings like you and me. That's the one thing. Devastating! But the other, more exhilarating than anything that I have ever experienced -- and something I hadn't expected -- to discover that we have an extraordinary capacity for good. People who suffered untold misery, people who should have been riddled with bitterness, resentment and anger come to the Commission and exhibit an extraordinary magnanimity and nobility of spirit in their willingness to forgive, and to say, "Hah! Human beings actually are fundamentally good." Human beings are fundamentally good. The aberration, in fact, is the evil one, for God created us ultimately for God, for goodness, for laughter, for joy, for compassion, for caring.”

Nkosi Sikeleli-Afrika (God Bless Africa)!

What Does God Care About?

Do you ever wonder what God cares about. Often I hear people praying and thanking God for being in every small detail. Other times I hear people speaking of God like he is a vending machine - the great dispenser of goods. I have friends who pray for "the peace and love of God to cover people and situations" instead of specific requests. My Mother prayed for parking spaces and got them most of the time. People struggle with trying to discern the will of God on jobs, moves, mates, money etc and only take steps once they think God has spoken. I, on the other hand am more inclined to think that God's will for us is to be increasingly more like Him and I do not spend too much time trying to discern if I should turn left or right.

I know this is a larger discussion than we can have via blog comments - it is shaped by how you see God...how you see the role of prayer....whether you are more contemplative than intercessory in your praying...discernment....providence - so many things.

What is your response?

Friendship

My heart is turned to friendship currently. Sunday is the last day our current Worship Minister will lead worship and his family will move from Amarillo by the end of the month. His wife and I are super close and she is one of my closest friends ever. We are all thrilled for them because they are moving closer home and their precious girls can be closer to their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. They are also going to a church where Steven can use his guitar gifts and lead instrumental worship. You know that feeling of being so happy for someone and just so sad because of the loss all at the same time.

And it has me reflecting on friendship. My friend Scott sent me an article to read, actually a chapter of a book, a few months ago. It was talking about the spiritual aspects of friendship and the way we befriend others. I am intrigued by relationships and feel most alive in the midst of intimate relationships. All that to say I have been pondering these thoughts for a while and they are finally coming together.

Tonight we had a time of blessing and goodbye for Steven and Ange and as we all sat around and spoke words of affirmation and love to them I was struck by how powerful times like that are. As our preacher Dan spoke to Steven, he said that "Steven had the ability to make the people around him better." Dan was specifically referring to the fact that he feels like a better preacher because of the kind of worship minister Steven is. That is a powerful affirmation.

Ange I will miss hanging out with you. I love you. We have shared so much. You crack me up. You challenge me. You make me feel normal (hee hee). You're an angel!

How does friendship make you a better person?

Deep Thoughts at Starbucks

While having coffee at Starbucks today with my friend Matthew, he made a statement that resonated with me in such a powerful way that I wanted to share it. He said,

"while our culture is telling us to go and find ourselves, Christ calls us to lose ourselves in Him."

Think about that and really let it soak in.
What do you think?