“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

(Matt 23:25-26 NIV)

"And that's all I have to say about that". Forrest Gump

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.  Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’  But you are not to be called‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” 

(Matt 23:1-12 NIV)

The Quashy Quadruped

An Ode to Heavy Ecclesiology

The Quashy Quadruped

She filled his eyes with elegance,
Her white wisps dancing down the aisle -
They found heaven for a while...
Until Bigfoot Elephant
Waltzed into the room.

Those days were big-benevolent;
Their blue skies stretched a million miles -
They spied their Creator's smile...
Yet that Greygod Elephant
Forbade this independent boon

Then irreligious un-decadent,
They'd loved a life undefiled -
They'd found faith like a child....
While Wrinkled Elephant
Whistled some very adult tune
 
They weren't suckling sycophants -
He wasn’t born all meek and mild,
Her tears weren’t some sluggish sleepy Nile....
Twas Wooful Woomal Elephant’s
Big butt that blacked the moon

So the twilight incandescence
Shrouded joy in joyless wiles…
Like the sound of a phone half-dialled.
So Happy Hairy Elephant
Carried them on his back entombed

NRD

A Few Thoughts on the Challenge of Relationships

Gossip. Something that is 90% true about a person, is not true

Flattery. You are vulnerable to flattery to the degree you are insecure

Games. Don’t over-think communications before they happen. Naivety wins you God’s favor

Fatherliness. Even as you get older, treat younger men as fully fledged brothers.

Perspective. Practice treating people relative to God, not relative to yourself

Investment. Give your finest time to fruitful friendships, but be ready to smile at everyone.

Peace. You will violate and be violated in the path of friendship, but take heart – God has a real and abiding peace in Christ.

Anger. Be forthright with the brother who has offended you – better that than being forthright about him to others.

Patience. No-one knows your inner man straight away; very few even know themselves.

Vision. See potential, so you can help redirect things every now and then.

Rebuke. If you need to rebuke a brother, do it on the basis of his future, not his present.

Insight. Only pure love gives pure insight.

Validation. Most people use others to validate their own journey: be in the minority here.

Possessiveness. When you pretend to own something, you end up with pretend-friends too. A pastor who ‘owns’ his church objectivizes ‘his people’ and makes them strangers, not friends.

Separation. Friendships are ‘lost’ when they are based on work first.

Marriage. Your wife is a close friend, but not a partner in everything.

Leadership. If God gives you captaincy, never wear the armband.

Open-handedness. Always be willing to release an inheritance gained, and you will have an even greater inheritance in deep covenant friendships.

Generations. Our sons must and will go further than us. This requires recognition and releasing.

Sophistication. The more complex the systems, the more shallow the friendships.

The lowest seat. A man who can switch on humility is not humble. Humility is an attitude gained through failures, not an attribute deployed in success.

Suck-up. A sychophant only wants power, not service.

Moralism. Where morality poses as holiness, lust will abound.

Crusades. Causes align friendships to the cause, not to the love of God.

Outsiders. Church-mindedness robs us of the privilege of dining with prostitutes and tax collectors.

Trust. Those who share painful times will share private worlds.

Bullies. Headstrong men use friendliness as a lever for co-operation.

Two kingdoms. God will disciple you towards laying down your life for your friends. This is the end goal of the Christian trajectory.

Money. Friends are spontaneous givers and reluctant receivers.

Communiques. True friendship always includes one-to-one correspondence. Social networking alone loses the one amidst the many.

Snares. Never lay traps - you are guaranteed offence and loss of friendship.

Justice. You deserved justice but received mercy. So pass on to others what they don’t deserve too.

Infallibility. You are never as right as you think you are. And when you are dead right, you can still be dead wrong.

Silence. Saying nothing only makes you appear wise; it is not wisdom itself.

Risk. Being clumsy with our words is a great sign of love.

Death. To lay up treasures in heaven, we must see just how much God treasures others.

Ten Current Thoughts

1. Most of us waste huge amounts of time mediating, advocating and justifying on behalf of ourselves. When we do this, it reveals a lack of revelation of the Cross in us. 
2. The gospel brings freedom, or nothing, depending on how free we are who preach it and on whether we are prepared to defend that freedom under religious persecution. 
3. The church is a spiritual reality being made manifest through the Spirit's transforming power. It is not an extension of self-generated effort or collusion. 
4. The gospel proclaims a kingdom in the Person of Jesus Christ. To the measure the Kingdom comes, to that measure is the salt, salty. 
5. It is easier to die to our past sins than our present rights, and perceived rights. 
6. Even the closest and most godly of friends cannot be anything other than a shadow of Christ Himself. Seeking my first comfort from human allies is a sure recipe for a blunted life and a disappointed soul. 
7. Some observe people and groups, and some intervene in people's lives observantly. 
8. When we measure and monitor, more than live as a person amongst people, then Goodhart's Law (measuring something changes that thing) introduces synthetic elements to the relationship network. 
9. We all claim unfailing love, but only the broken man can be the friend who sticks closer than a brother. 
10. Mission is an overflow of intimacy and private passion, or nothing. 

Fear of God the All Knowing

““Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? “Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the LORD. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,”  declares the LORD. They have lied about the LORD; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.”” (Jer 5:7-13 NIV) 

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“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root* of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.” (Rom 11:17-22 ESV)

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Humility

Prophetic Corruption

The very essence of prophecy is God's powerful word. The hinge of this power is obedience to His voice. Trying to be reasonable; to please the majority or the powers; to protect position and current benefits; to not defile tradition; to defend the economic class we were born into....all these steal the power and profoundness of prophetic community.