Spoken Word: Woman at the Well

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Who Am I?

May 12, 2008 | Filed under: Christianity, Personal

My friend Jonathan, knowing I am an admirer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his work, gave me a wonderful gift this evening - Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Prison Poems. They are poem’s that he wrote while in prison for smuggling Jews out of Nazi Germany during World War II. Eventually he was executed once it was discovered that he was connected to the failed attempt to assasinate Hitler. He was executed just short of the end of the war.

I was glancing through the poems just before my talkback show this evening and discovered this little gem. A poem about identity that I ended up reading on the radio… that resulted in an unplanned show about identity. Here’s the poem:

Introducing the Radical Middle

May 8, 2008 | Filed under: Christianity

The Radical Middle is a new column in the Wesleyan Vine, a magazine put out by the Wesleyan Methodist Church of NZ. I wrote this as an introduction to the column. It seems it has gone further than I anticipated, with the Australian Director of the World Methodist Historical Society sending a note to say he liked it and wished to use it (as mentioned in the last post). He has passed it on to the new Presbyterian Church Moderator in Australia (the national leader of the Presbyterian Church) who also appreciated it. It was presented to the new PC Moderator as a way forward through some of the tensions they are dealing with. It will be interesting to see how future writings for the column are received with that in mind. Here it is:

The Cult of Christian Celebrity and Public Speaking

May 8, 2008 | Filed under: Personal

I’m a radio announcer on a Christian radio station. I am also, increasingly, a Christian writer, though I don’t have the staying power to write a book, nor a glaring idea for a book that could change the world amongst the pile of books that are produced every year that purport to offer you a revolutionary way to about doing life. My writing just isn’t that advanced. instead, I have staked my writing claim in the pop culture icon of blogging and this has lead to a couple of columns - one, a short, fun question answer format in Soul Purpose Magazine, the other, a much more developed column in the Wesleyan Vine called “The Radical Middle”. They give me a full typed page for the latter.

P.O.D - Addicted

May 7, 2008 | Filed under: Personal

Hey all…. I’m still here. Been working hard on The Humanitarian Chronicle and am shaping the website for my church community at the moment.

Anyone who has ever delved into my musical tastes will know I have a pretty eclectic liking of the musical spectrum… I don’t consider myself a musical expert or musical critic like some of my friends though.

My …

New Site

May 1, 2008 | Filed under: Personal, World Issues

Hey ya’ll. I’m ready for you, if you want, to take a peek at the new site I am building.

I give you, The Humanitarian Chronicle!

The point of The Humanitarian Chronicle is to share news and stories written by those who are engaged in humanitarian work rather than simply relying on sparse press releases from time to time, or stories …

Phil Collins

April 30, 2008 | Filed under: Uncategorized

Phil Collins may be retiring…

Phil, we salute you…

Update and an Exciting New Development

April 23, 2008 | Filed under: Uncategorized

After being described by my mate, Sam Harvey, as “probably the best christian blogger in the country” (an undeserved but appreciated accolade indeed) on his latest post which lists a lot of stellar blogs including many Christians that go a heck of a lot deeper than I do, I thought I should add a post so that the …

Monday Muppets

April 21, 2008 | Filed under: Monday Muppets

The Muppets and Scrubs… nuff said…

In with the New/Used, Out with the Old

April 20, 2008 | Filed under: Personal

Yesterday I finally secured a vehicle for myself with the emblem of a lion on the front… a Holden Vectra! YAY! I got a 1999 JS Series GL Vectra hatch. It’s a wonderful vehicle that I managed to get at a very …

British Israel

April 18, 2008 | Filed under: Christianity, Politics

A number of years back, while engaging in dialogue with a group of white supremacists, I first encountered British-Israel theology. To cut a long explanation short, those who adhere to this theology hold to the idea that pretty much all white people of North West European descent are in fact the descendants of the dispersed ten northern tribes of Israel, particularly focussed in Britian and now, North America.

To justify this theory they use many speculative proofs that pretty much amount to nothing more than proving the Christian influence on these nations.

The white supremacists used it to justify segregation in order to keep the Israelite line (white folk) pure and they also used it to engage in anti-Semitic chatter and activities as they believe that those who identify themselves as Jews only represent the tribe of Judah and are therefore usurping the authority of the collective tribes, an authority they believe belongs to white people.

It must be said in all fairness that not all who identify with this theology use it for racist purposes. Indeed my latest encounter with this theology has no racist tones… it is purely political.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church of NZ had a letter forwarded to it recently that was sent to the Prime Minister of NZ, Helen Clark. I guess it was probably sent to many different Christian groups in NZ seeking our support. It included an email that said some interesting things as well that were nothing more than shabby criticisms of many current churches that would ultimately not agree with the British Israel theory and the thoughts and actions that would proceed from it.

The letter amounts to a call for the government to pursue making NZ a more godly nation (whatever that actually means) in line with… and here’s the clincher… our identity as the nation of Israel. Here’s the letter for you to read (PDF):

New Stuff

April 15, 2008 | Filed under: Personal

Welcome to the new look. I’ve wanted to try working with a brown/blue look for a while now. As Rhett so aptly pointed out, yes this blog has been through more image changes than Madonna. For me, it’s a learning thing… with each change I learn something new, whether it be related to graphics or the overall workings of a …

Monday Muppets

April 14, 2008 | Filed under: Monday Muppets

I was looking for a good video to showcase the smoothest Muppet ever - Floyd - and I came across this little gem. Enjoy Floyd at his best.

Back from Nelson

April 10, 2008 | Filed under: Personal

This morning we got back from a few days in Nelson. It was a good time away with the weather being magnificent, the company wonderful and Nelson being a nice relaxing place to spend our time.

I had my phone off for most of it. I only turned it on twice to check for news on the birth of a good …

This Day in Christian History

April 9, 2008 | Filed under: Christianity

With yesterday’s post about the tension between the charismatic leanings of the Church and the more established orders, this day in Christian offers us probably the birth of the biggest current expression of the charismatic side:

April 9, 1906: In Los Angeles, Holiness minister William Seymour and several associates experience what they called the “baptism of the Spirit,” marked by speaking …