Bits and pieces

I find myself unusually tired and busy this week. It’s Friday and I didn’t even notice it. I am teaching three hours a day and maybe I am spending the same hours in preparation. I am aware that my new job as bus driver is taking too much of my time. I am actually spending more or less 20 hours a week and it does not include the time I have been transporting people to the church and the midweek activities. Moreover, it is not that easy to drive a 21-year old van when the air-conditioning is not working without the help of power steering. Now, you may ask the question: why couldn’t I simply delegate the job to someone? The answer is simply because no driver is available. It so happen that in this community I am the only one who can drive. But Narlin and I are enjoying the company of the children who incessantly laughing, talking and singing while we are traveling the road to their homes. This is weekend, I was hoping for some free time and rest, but I know it is impossible. My works are actually doubled during the weekend.

All the same, I managed to finish a book edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends. Here is the blurb:

Everyday theology is the reflective and practical task of living each day as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, theology is not just for Sundays, and it's not just for professional theologians. Everyday Theology teaches all Christians how to get the theological lay of the land. It enables them to become more conscious of the culture they inhabit every day so that they can understand how it affects them and how they can affect it. If theology is the ministry of the Word to the world, everyday theologians need to know something about that world, and Everyday Theology shows them how to understand their culture make an impact on it. Engaging and full of fresh young voices, this book is the first in the new Cultural Exegesis series.

In this book, Vanhoozer teaches us the methodology on how to read and interpret popular culture in the light of biblical/theological truths. This is a good read for theologians, pastors and missionaries. The method, I believe is applicable to any culture whether traditional or contemporary. This is fast reading and I hope to return to it and post a book review.

I am currently reading Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity edited by Craig Ott and Harold A. Nettland. There are lots of good essays here about contextualization and third world theologies (and other topics I have yet to read) written by theologians, missiologists and anthropologists like Kevin Vanhoozer, Andrew Walls and Paul Hiebert. I will post some interesting insights from time to time.

Description: It is no secret that globalization is one of the most powerful forces in the twenty-first century. In nearly every realm--political, economic, cultural, ethnic, and religious--traditional boundaries are disappearing and people worldwide are more interconnected than ever. Recent decades have also seen the globalization of Christianity and the accompanying shift in the center of gravity of Christianity from the West to the southern hemisphere and Asia. As these realities take deeper root, scholars, students, and church leaders must grapple with the implications for theological reflection and method, not to mention missiological practice.

It is to this set of vital and complex issues that the contributors to Globalizing Theology address themselves in this collection of original and groundbreaking essays. Contributors include M. Daniel Carroll R., Lois McKinney Douglas, Paul G. Hiebert, Eloise Hiebert Meneses, James E. Plueddemann, Robert J. Priest, Vinoth Ramachandra, Steve Strauss, David K. Strong and Cynthia A. Strong, Tite Tiénou, Charles E. Van Engen, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Andrew F. Walls, and Darrell L. Whiteman. A foreword by Wilbert R. Shenk is also included.

This international and internationally recognized group of scholars brings a multidisciplinary approach to the questions involved, including not only theological and missiological perspectives but also insights from history, sociology, ecclesiology, and anthropology. Part one examines the challenges for theology brought about by globalization. Part two focuses on methodological issues. Part three examines the implications of a global theology on various practical issues. Here is a vital text for courses in theology, missions, and cultural studies.

Monday was a happy day once again because another thirty-two books arrived in the mail. I was not home when the books came as I was teaching at the Missions Training Center. I think all the books are now here… but God is full of surprises, there are maybe more to come. The saying: so many books so little time has never been so true in my life until today. I am still overwhelmed by the number of books that the mailman is delivering in our front door. I guess by now the mailman is wondering where on earth those books come from.

Last week, we were surprised to be visited by one of the readers. Yes, a blog reader, a Christian Englishman living in Australia. He came to Mae Sai and got in touch with us and had a nice chat over a cup of coffee. When Narlin asked him how did he come to know us, he nonchalantly replied, I read your blog. I think it's amazing.

On the other note, my family and I are rejoicing in the Lord as we experience God’s provision this month. We are not having the same problem like the previous months when I have to “beg” for our friends and family to send some money to pay for our monthly bills. As the month of September begins, we see that our bank account have enough fund to see us through. We do not know who these people are yet but we want to thank God for them.

Theology for everyday practices

[S]ince Christian beliefs coexist with a host of other beliefs about the world--from claims about the future of the universe to theories about hte kinds of work neurons do in human brains--the question of the relationship of Christian beliefs to all these other beliefs must also posed. Theology must pursue the question of trite and must do so in conjunction with, and not in isolation from, other disciplines. In a word, because Christians beliefs relate to everyday practices as a fitted set of beliefs with a claim to express truth about God and God's relation to the world, theologians must be concerned with more than just how beliefs relate to everyday practices--and must be so concerned precisely for the sake of everyday practices.

Miroslav Volf, Practicing Theology, pp 261-2

Christian life overflows in thankfulness

More or less this will be my sermon for Sunday. However, I know this is not all of it. God has a lot more to say than what is written here. I am praying that the congregation will hear what the Lord is telling them as they listen to this simple message.

6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.-- Colossians 2:6-7

This is the first sentence of what is considered to be the main body of the letter—in terms of Paul’s concerns for the Colossians themselves—he begins by picking up the idea expressed in his prayer in chapter 1 verse 9:

9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

He maintains the idea that those who received Christ Jesus who is the Lord should continue living a life worthy of him. The English translations that render this phrase as “receive Christ Jesus as Lord” are right on the mark. The emphasis here is the recognition of the Colossians on the lordship of Christ Jesus. When they become believers they honored him as Lord. The Colossians Christians were reminded that the Lordship of Christ Jesus should be the most important thing in their life.

Looking closely at verse 9, we see that the Colossians had received Jesus as the Anointed One of God, Christ. They also received him as the historic Savior, Jesus. And most importantly as Sovereign Lord.

In light of these recognitions, the Apostle Paul appeals to them to continue to live in him. He wants them to continue to conform regularly to the teachings that have been taught them from the beginning. In these verses the Apostle Paul is teaching us that we should continue to live in Christ.

By being rooted and built up in him

Being rooted suggests a once-for all experience. We should be permanently rooted in Christ. Like a tree that deeply planted in a rich soil, Christians have been firmly rooted in Christ. That planting happened when we put our faith in Him for our salvation. This picture suggests that Christ becomes the source of our spiritual nourishment, growth and fruit. As we strive to know Jesus, day by day, we are nourished, we grow in our faith and we become mature Christians.

The result of being rooted in him is that we are being built up in him. This indicates the process that goes on with our spiritual life. This means that we become more and more like Christ. Being built up in him connotes continuous action. These truths are also express in similar passages in the New Testament.

18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13

Only if we were firmly rooted in Christ and continually growing in him that we as Christians be established in our faith. It should sadden us that many Christians even though they have been believers for a long time has not been established in their faith. It is because they are not exerting effort to continually grow in him. Christians are very few in this region and sad to say that most of the Christians that we know have not really been established in their faith. But I tell you, even though we not so many, I believe if only we will take the challenge to be established in our faith; we will win this region for our Lord.

Overflowing with thankfulness

Christian life should be characterized by thankfulness. There are just so many reasons for us to be thankful for. Some of the reasons are even mentioned in our text. First we should be thankful for our relationship with Christ. In verse 6, the Apostle Paul tells us that we receive Christ Jesus as Lord and this is an indication that all believers have special relationship with Christ. Isn’t being rooted and nourished through because of our relationship with him enough reason for an overflowing thankfulness.

Now, aren’t we wondering why the Apostle Paul in almost all of his letters keeps reminding the believers to be thankful? I believe the answer is that thankfulness goes against our fallen nature. Thankfulness goes against pride and self-importance. Because it acknowledges that we are dependent on God’s provision and the Lordship of Christ. And our own sinful nature is all against this.

This is the reason why reminders to be thankful abound in the Bible. As we have seen, those who do not have faith can not be expected to be thankful. But more so, Christians are reminded also because we easily forget.

A Christian who lacks thankfulness is usually characterized by criticism and negativity. Instead of being thankful for what he received, an ungrateful person would find something to criticize. These persons would not be satisfied from what they are receiving from God. This results from being a shallow follower of our Lord Jesus. Paul may be implying that those who lack a deep sense of thankfulness to God are especially vulnerable to doubt and spiritual delusion.

Somebody has said that thanksgiving means to rejoice in God’s presence and for freely receiving from him. It is a joy in word or deed toward God for his grace. We can only live in Christ if we are always thankful. It means that for believers thanksgiving is to be a continual habitual thing. This is to say, where there is lack of thankfulness, there is a deeper reality, which is a lack of groundedness in experience of God and faith in Jesus Christ. Warren Wiersbe (Pastor, radio personality, teacher) suggests that “a thankful spirit is a mark of Christian maturity. When a believer is abounding in thanksgiving, {they are} really making progress!”

Conclusion

These two verses challenge us to…

• Grow downward by being “ rooted”
• Grow upward by being “built up”
• Grow inward so that we can be “strengthened in the faith”
• Grow outward as we “overflow with thankfulness”

Our living should lead to thanksgiving. Our task is to live surrendered to His supremacy and to abound in the giving of thanks for what God has done for us in Christ.

*I borrowed the conclusion from Pastor Brian Bill
*The picture is Mae Fa Luang Garden not very far from our house. The picture is taken from the internet.

Is WordPress blocked?

A few months ago YouTube had been blocked by the government and it has not been back since. I can live with that because I do not have the inclination to watch video clips posted at my favorite blogs. The connection is just too slow. Sometimes I have to wait 15 minutes or more to watch a two-minute video clip. But blocking WordPress would be a different story. Today, as I was trying to visit my favorite bloggers who are using WordPress, a message in Thai characters appears in the screen. I don’t read Thai very well and I don’t understand it if I did anyway, but I know for sure that it is the same message I saw when YouTube was blocked. Can anybody tell me what is going on?

What I am reading

I actually finished reading Colin E. Gunton’s The Theologian as Preacher while in a 10-hour bus drive going to Chiang Mai City and coming back. This is the reason I prefer to ride a bus than to drive. Anyway, the blurbs at the back say that it “is a collection of sermons by a world-renowned theologian who was also a much loved preacher. Following on from the success of Colin Gunton’s first collection Theology Through Preaching, these sermons from the later years of his life demonstrate Gunton’s preaching in a local-church setting, enabling readers to gain insight into how his academic theology enhanced and influenced his personal preaching. Ranging across such subjects as the problem of evil, Christianity and Islam, materialism and Judgement, they speak not only to academic theologians and students, but also to preachers and Christian readers everywhere.

John Webster comments that “all that one would expect from a master theologian: biblically rooted, pastorally acute, humane and above all alert and responsible to the judgment, consolation and joy of the gospel.”

The introduction was written by Stephen Holmes. Here Holmes reminisces his time together with Colin Gunton as Gunton's former student. Holmes remembered him saying that “you can always tell when a theologian has stopped preaching; their work loses something vital.” Gunton believed passionately that theology is the church’s science—pointless and meaningless if not directed to the maintenance, edification and extension of the body of Christ. This conviction was clearly evident when Gunton was behind the pulpit.

In times when preachers are concerned that their sermons should be seeker-sensitive, Colin’s sermons deliberately neglect the elements that would make them to be categorized as such. Holmes says,

Relevance is not to be strived for, simply because the gospel is necessarily already relevant to all people. One of the great themes of these sermons, surely, is asking what is truly relevant. Much of what passes for ‘relevance’ in our preaching is imply a capitulation to a pagan value system (or at best, a despairing admission that one’s congregation has capitulated). Sport or celebrity or items of passing notice in the news media are endlessly recycled in the pulpit in the (surely mistaken!) belief that this will aid the preacher in being heard.

Worship and life, theology and daily Christian living, Colin always sought to hold these together in his own life and he helped his congregation to do the same. Colin died in Spring of 2003 in what most people described as untimely and unexpectedly.

I personally chosen this book expecting that I will learn and be blessed by Colin’s sermons and at the same time, I want to have a glimpse on how a highly regarded, seasoned and contemporary theologian used his academic achievements in preaching to the non-academic (theologically) members of his congregation. A glimpse makes way for me to see a horizon.

I am also reading John Webster, Karl Barth, Second Edition. (Continuum Books, London, 2004). Reading only during free time, I am just half through the book. This is a good introduction to life and work of Karl Barth. Webster claims that he avails of posthumous and mostly unpublished writings of Barth to come up with this book. Readers can expect updated information about Barth's biography and more lucid presentation of Barth's theology as his earlier works are studied in the light of new materials.

And for those who are not familiar with Barth and his works, this book gives a readable presentation of the great man and theologian. I, myself, although familiar with Barth admittedly do not know enough from his 13 large volumes of Christian Dogmatics, which I have not read a page. Webster attempts to summarize Barth's stand on different topics like God, Trinity, Christology, Justification among others.

Here is the blurb:

Karl Barth has been called the most important Protestant theologian since Schleiermacher. A lifetime of work produced a huge and complex body of writings that emerged from both his theological teaching and from his engagement in church life. The posthumous publication of previously unknown works by Barth has invited fresh and attentive interpretations of his thought.

This book draws together this readings to provide a clear and authoritative introduction to the main themese in Barth's theology. In an accessible way it shows the continuity and coherence of Barth's work and stresses the importance of his biblical and ethical writings alongside his sytematic theology. In conclusion it focuses on Barth's response to modernity, postmodernity and the tasks of theology, presenting him as an outstanding resource for constructive theology of our age.

It’s a happy day… again

Happiness is a good book in the mail. There are plenty of them that arrived last Saturday. This means our happiness is multiplied. I have a lot of readings to do and I love it. My son, Reuven (in the picture) predicted that I can finish all of it in three months. He is too generous in his opinion about how fast I can read. Every one in the family is very happy and thankful about this blessing.