Category: Journal

Musings

13.8.14

Distinguish:
Civilisation
&
Urbanisation

“Practice what you preach” => “Preach what you (really) believe”!

Poignancy

Desiderium

16.8.14

Interruption of services, due to server maintenance
Hmmm……

The conservative definition of Faith (dogmatic certainty – to be preserved)
Vs.
The progressive understanding of Faith (radical hope to be actively pursued)!

Therefore, the pulpit lies somewhere halfway between the Bible & the congregation, thereby becoming the vital bridge.

What is a sermon (preaching)?
2Cor. 3:6b – The sermon is an authentic expression of what the speaker really believes (heart-articulation)!
The homiletical chain/cycle – Holy Spirit => authors of Scripture => preacher => church => world. Divine encounter => inspiration => communication => divine encounter……
From the old, repetitive & boring approach, to the new, innovative & exciting approach!
The light (GOD – Word, Spirit) passing through a stained-glass window (preacher) – beautiful design (sermon)!

17.8.14

Passionate ~ discontent ~ rebellious!

What is the essence/spice/fragrance of your life?

13.8.14
– Must
Vs.
Want
Vs.
Can
Vs.
Ought
– What is common to both ‘fight’ & ‘flee’?
FEAR!
– Do you believe that I love you?
AND
Do I believe that you love me?
– Can something boring be edifying?
– Even when you try to ‘imitate Jesus’, you will still do it only ‘in your own way’!
– All theology is contextual (limited), including the biblical revelation! But that in no way detracts from its vital role & awesome value…
– There is a world of difference between being carefree & being careless!

14.8.14
– Sync-up, backup or fuck up!
My love-hate relationship with hi-tec…
– I must find a way to fuck this gnawing restlessness within.
Mmmm…… Ok. Are you ready to die then, Joe?!
Ah yes………. It’s time!
– On-off, on-off, on-off, on-off……
– “Not wild. The name’s Wilde. Oscar Wilde.”
– 4 kids playing around lock themselves up in a car dicky & later suffocate to death!
What is the meaning of this? Can you identify with that?
– For most people, the challenge is to get free in the context of ambient & ubiquitous slavery.
For me, it is to not get enslaved in the midst of all this external & internal liberty!
– So is your blog a censored version of your journal, or…?
– If every desire/hope is gonna be a letdown when realized, then is it not better to dream/imagine forever? That way, you have both the excitement of anticipation and the (fore)taste of the real thing!
– How would a ‘hundred years of solitude’ feel like?
Would I attain nirvana then??
– The courage to give up!
– After opening the pandora’s box, the one thing you should NOT do is try to close it again i.e. try to get back to how things used to be before that choice was made!
That is the attitude most unfavorable to dealing with the new situation at hand…
– But won’t this extreme/alternative lifestyle drive you insane & wreak havoc in the lives of others close to you? The deadly life!
Mmm… the only other option is the moderated or boring life – the deathly existence!
– Let the Music make love to you – body & soul!
Let the sound get into your blood……
– “Come with me if you want to live”

Reflections

9.8.14

Slipshod Slovenly

Intelligence
Vs.
Intellect

“The funk”

Human ~ humus!

America, the bloody-beautiful!

Intrical

The status of ex-slaves

Keeping promises
Vs.
Evolving convictions

Partisan-bigot
Vs.
Maladjusted-nonconformist

Conscience as contextual, critical & compassionate consciousness

“Cut against the grain”

Superficiality-denial-apathy-complacency

Avoidance-downplaying-sidestepping-overlooking

How can I be passionate about certain social evils which have not affected me personally?

Doing the M.A without being dominated-controlled by the system/deadline/evaluation of IGNOU or M.U!

Coping with one’s own public powerlessness by exercising domestic power over the most vulnerable!

The danger of reinforcing the worst, in our pursuit to reach out & grasp the best!

Christian fellowship meeting – let’s talk sex today, folks!

Ordered, collective, symbolic actions

Mystery ~ ambiguity ~ ignorance ~ chaos!

Playlets of melancholy, desire & anger

Satchel

Alpaca

Transmogrify

Ethical emotions

Secular liturgy

The Latitude Festival

10.8.14

The sermon should do for the N.T (& the entire Bible) what the N.T did for the O.T!
Progressive revelation (past), contextualisation (present) & extrapolation (future)…

Apocalyptic & eschatological exposition!

The sermon is the articulation & explication of the meeting point & dynamic interface that forms between Scripture that moves toward us, & our own lives that move toward GOD……
Therefore, the pulpit lies somewhere halfway between the Bible & the congregation, thereby becoming the vital bridge that gives life by connecting Word & flesh!

9.8.14
– Know your limitations, so that you know how much you can stretch!
– Yes I know this is what you believe, but I’m asking you to think it over again…
Will you?
– Spirituality, philosophy & service

10.8.14
– One man’s reason is another’s nonsense!
– Tree & bark ~ spirituality & religion ~ love & marriage ~ relationship & institution ~ person & society ~ Grace & Law.
1. Which is more important?
2. Which one is the means & which one is the end?
3. What does one do when they contradict each other?
– “Gladly forever adore him!”
– Sermon – evoking a particular (powerful) mood & be touched-moved, rather than (brilliant) points to remember-apply!
Imbibe the Spirit, by delving into the Word (exposition), & express it through words (preaching) that in turn recreates the same inward effect in the hearers.
Preaching is NOT GOD speaking through the preacher, but the preacher him/herself speaking out of his/her experience & encounter with the living Christ in Scripture…
– “The best just got better!”
– 2 different views of Preaching:
1. Evangelical – the sermon as playing within the circle of Scripture.
2. Liberal – the sermon as running on & taking-off from the launching pad of Scripture.
– Expository preaching – what would this passage sound like if it was written by me, inspired by the same Spirit as the Apostle, in this contemporary context?
What would be the vocabulary, the style, the central thrust of the message? How would it be the same & how would it be different?
– Movies:
Promised Land
Finally, it was a personal insult that made him change course, rather than any conscientious penance or passion for a higher cause!

11.8.14
– Living over-cautiously is more dangerous than living with gay abandon!
– “You will never again be a saint or pastor in my eyes!”
– GOD wished me “Happy Birthday!” today (through a sign in heaven) – this has made my day complete/perfect! 🙂
– The greatest danger with any substance or activity that is intensely pleasurable is not addictive potential, but its power to numb one to the suffering of others (especially ‘the least of these’) & social evils……

12.8.14
– Rather than completely repress our ‘animal instincts’, it would be better to express them in an enlightened-moderated manner.
“Just creatures for a while…”
Then the violent eruption can be prevented!
So, are concepts like ‘sublimation’ just myths??
– I want to be a paragon of ingenuity (creative improvisation)! 😉

Experience

7.8.14

“Playing God” – well, what else do you think we were created for?!

Relax
Vs.
Enjoy

Passion
Vs.
Focus

Desire
Vs.
Discipline

8.8.14

Saint ~ genius ~ insane ~ criminal ~ demonic ~ hero ~ great ~ champion ~ scandal ~ villain ~ leader ~ wanderer ~ knower ~ seeker

7.8.14
– The caliber of your opponent determines the quality of your game!
– The key to sexual liberation is moderation!
Only those who (foolishly) think that freedom means amorality & brutality are afraid of liberty……
– I’m a stranger in my own home. How come??
– Feel » reflect » articulate » communicate
– “Saw your email about the deliverance ministry programme only yesterday. It seems like you sense some demonic activity in my (+/- Salome) life! We are not interested in such stuff anymore, NOT because we have become liberal/secular, but because we believe such approaches are too simplistic & dogmatic.”
“Recently we had a ‘charismatic meeting’ in the SFG! I still believe in the validity & value of that dimension of our lives as Christians & humans, but the Charismatics have NOT done a very good job of representing it, just like the Evangelicals have not expressed the biblical dimension very faithfully……”
“…& what do you mean by ‘spiritual realist’??”
– Musical ecstasy – audio salvation!
– “You’re gonna hear me roar!”
“Eye of the tiger”

8.8.14
– Greek O.T & Hebrew N.T
– “It’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” – x
“Christians believe the opposite. We live on our knees.” – y
“Ah yes! But a little more reflection could be enlightening…” – x
– It’s better to die one ONE’S feet than to live on OUR knees!
Spiritual dependence that does not produce psychological independence is not religion, but superstition. And social interdependence that is nit built upon self-reliance is not community, but herd mentality!
What does it mean to “die on your knees” & “live on your feet”?
– Ancient Jewish & Christian martyrdom – was it worth it? Was it even necessary or right??

Notes

5.8.14

Bugbear

6.8.14

The shaping of (virtuous) individual character through membership in a narrative-liturgical community.

The person with more power/responsibility should NOT emphasise his/her own personal freedom/rights, but focus more on serving the community at large. Whereas the individual who is lower down the hierarchy can be more ‘selfish’! Since the domain of authority of those higher up is large, & thereby includes other (smaller) persons, they cannot exercise unrestrained control over even what is ‘theirs’…

5.8.14
– New/fresh/different/unknown/risky/sexy/bold/exciting/hot/sensational/subversive/scandalous/disruptive
STOP repressing, pretending & conforming!
Enough is enough.
– Brobdingnagian
Oooh! 😉

6.8.14
– Annual plan:
Outings:
1. 3-day group retreat
2. 1-day SFG retreat
3. 1-day personal retreat
4. 2-3 day honeymoon
5. 2-3 days Vellore (SS)
6. 2-3 days house-visiting (Vivi, Danny, Solan, Francis, etc.)

– Be-ing (inward verb) » do-ing (outward verb)

– “I am sorry for not doing certain small things. I will try to do them without fail. I think some things are silly & unnecessary.
But please understand that I cannot do something just because YOU say so! I also need to be convinced that it is right/necessary…”
“I am not a child anymore to unquestioningly follow ‘orders’. I don’t do anything just in order to provoke or hurt others. I try to cooperate & play my part in the home. But we do have very divergent views on many things. Better to let each person follow their personal opinions instead of trying to impose. We can discuss & try to come to an agreement regarding certain important issues…”