God of the Poor

Learnt some new things last night at BLC where I listened to Fathers Jojo Fung (see my short write-up on him) and Joseph Ng share on liberation theology and God's heart for the poor in Asia:

1. Jesuit priests can be distinguished by at least 3 characteristics, a) gritty casualness in dressing, b) profound depth of theological reflection and c) striking gentleness and calmness in responding to criticism/objections
   
   
2. There are some truly remarkable missionaries cum thinkers cum religious symbioticians in the Roman Catholic faith, and Aloysius Pieris stands tall among them.
   
   
   
3. One unique path to deeper spirituality with God may be to drop all of one's pre-conceptions of God and take a plunge into new baptisms (or allowing oneself to be initiated) into other faith-communities (Pieris into Buddhism, Fung into Shamanism, etc.). "To the Jew, one becomes a Jew. To the Gentile, one turns Gentile. To the pagan, a pagan" - so that all avenues are covered in the work of salvation (1 Cor 9:20-23) and that one gains a fresh experience of the spiritual universe?
   
   
4. John 14:6 - "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" -, traditionally used to proof-text the 'exclusivity of Christ for salvation' may be less a soteriological 'How To' and more of a Christological 'Trust-Me"(!). Brian McLaren explains the different perspective, although (no doubt) some disagree.
   
   
5. The human knee-jerk reaction of avoiding hardship suffocates the impulse to be in solidarity with those experiencing hardship. The active alleviation of suffering and oppression, therefore, may be inseparable from the choice of experienced suffering. 
   
   
6. Restating 5), 'going barefoot, i.e. voluntary poverty, helps puts us in touch with those for whom being bare-foot isn't an option. 'Taking off' our shoes is a way of putting ourselves 'in' the shoes of the poor.
   
   
7. The famous question from Jesus, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:13-15) should be posed to the poor, with serious Christological and missiological consequences i.e. who Christ is and what the Church's calling should be could take serious turns if we listen carefully to the poor's view of Jesus, regardless of their formal faith-confessions.
   
   
8. The poor reflect the kingdom of God because they form the loci of Jesus' actions and very presence i.e. in a way reminiscient of the Church being one with the Body of Christ (Acts 26), the poor are paradoxically 'equated' with Jesus (Matthew 25:45).
   

Choose Your Own (Sermon) Adventure

How about this for a Christian learning exercise?

A preacher talked about Christians being either sheep or goats. Some other elements of the sermon included relationship-building and spiritual growth as opposed to sheer numerical growth.

But how do we get from pastoral (pun intended) animals to strong spiritual relationships? If you were the preacher, can you 'make your way' there?

Hint: You'll need to :

• recall Biblical verses where the two kinds of animals are mentioned and what it said about them
• have some basic understanding of Christian relationships (between God and Man, Man and his neighbour, Christian and Christian or non-Christian, etc.)
• have some basic trajectory of spiritual growth (how does it happen? what helps or hinders it?)
• recall some facts or history of church expansion and growth (what does the Bible say about this? how does it happen? etc etc)

Going Local

So class is dry (or drying up). Life is being sucked out of everyone. Immediate counter-boredom serums include: stories, images, physical activity, etc.

One item in 'etc.' : Speaking in a vernacular language, the more colloquial the better.

Make the switch from, "Advertising must be targeted at market segments", to "Plan to get the FU-YOH out of your clients!" and a huge percentage of students rev back to life.

Slowly sing a popular folk song (in the original language) and you'll sense the class hum back from the dead.

Mimick an everyday exchange in the market between, say, a Chinese 'aunty' and a Malay nasi lemak seller, and you'll be back in business in no time.

If contextualisation is the key to teaching (and it probably is), then local dialects are sure to put the syok back into learning. Itulah best.

A Time For Imaginary Phonecalls

It's your first job after getting your first university-stamped scroll. Here's a quick tip: Skip the pity parties.

When a group of your colleagues gather round to moan about how their heads aren't doing anything, say you've got a tummy ache. Better to off-load undigested food than download problem-centric conversation.

If the conversation turns to how the system isn't working, give it a few moments, move your eyeballs upwards and suddenly exclaim that you've got to finish a report that's urgently due. I guarantee you won't miss anything worthwhile. Even if anything as glorious as a solution is hinted at, chances are no one in the group will follow-up.

Upon the third mention of helplessness and hopelessness in as many minutes (usually because of how weak someone not in the group is), pick up your handphone, make an imaginary phonecall and - because you don't wish to be rude - walk away.

You've got a job. Don't waste your time on talk which gets you nowhere fast.

Avoid the crap circles like the plague. Do it in your first year of work and you won't regret it when you reach your thirtieth.

My Church's Fund-Raiser

My church is a few steps away from a new church building. (Nah...nowhere near a $multi-million mega-complex, but the cost is heavy enough to merit a concerted effort).

Please support us! You can help by:

• purchasing a ticket (or tickets) @ RM80/ticket
• spreading the word that there'll be four top Malaysian music artists at this dinner
• making a donation

For ticket enquiries or donations, don't hesitate to email the church. Alternatively, leave a comment on our blog and someone will contact you asap.

Power-Point Tips

My presentation last weekend for the Cambridge Diploma class on teaching. I hope to introduce this to the Lutheran pastors in Malaysia next year, with the aim of 'reforming' the way sermons are preached -think it'll work? ;>)

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

The Westin

What should a 5-Star hotel absolute have? A kick-ass lobby. The Kuala Lumpur Westin has taken it a bold step further: It's lobby's ambience resembles that of a night-club (see pic).

Like an action movie which looks like a comic book. A bakery which could be mistaken for a diamoud boutique. An office which feels like a bedroom. A church which doubles as a pub (or vice-versa, it may be hard to tell).

Profitable juxtapositions are usually fun ones, too.

Unfortunately for the Westin, waiting for the lift on the lobby could take almost as long waiting for the 10pm flight - at 8pm. I have never seen a set of hotel lifts (in Westin's case, all four of the main elevators) show numbers no smaller than 15. And they didn't seem to be coming lower.

Sure there was probably some hot function happening (on the top floors?), but standing and staring at them was as hip as watching paint dry. What can I say? Not all mix-and-matches work.

Message from my book

I ordered a book from BetterWorld. They shipped it and together with the "It's coming" note, they included the below email.

Seth Godin talked about doing remarkable things. The below is, to say the very least, quite remarkable.

(Your book(s) asked to write you a personal note - it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It's me... it's me! I can't believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I've got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can't believe I'm leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already - the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge - so many memories. I don't have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it's time to see the world!

I can't wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Hamlet (bipolar) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Hamlet was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol' brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I've had, I'm ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn't take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I've found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

But hey, enough about me, I've been asked to brief you on a few things:You chose International shipping.We shipped it via Brokers Worldwide who will then hand it off to your local postal service. Delivery time for shipments is usually 7-14 business days, but some may take a bit longer depending on destination.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email my friend Jesse and his team at help@betterworld.com. If you could please include your order number (8161805) that would be very helpful.

Eagerly awaiting our meeting,

Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome

Learning@LHC

I've been spending some time beefing up my church's edu-blog. Check it out?

Tribes

Tribes is about people coming together for any reason imaginable.

Tribes is how we all want to connect, want to belong and - most importantly - want to be led. It preaches that we can all be leaders as long as we have a passion and have shared ways of communicating.

Tribes encourages you to leverage everything the Web can offer to perform communication feats quite unimaginable barely a decade ago.

Tribes is about the power of small groups (of any criteria) to make change their own worlds and, maybe, the communities they orbit (or orbiting them).

Tribes set me back RM65. Tribes in audio can be downloaded free on audible. Tribes' e-Q&A is also free.