I am very excited that Jen Barker, founder and moderator of the Australian blog 'Fixing Her Eyes', has published a piece I did recently:
http://www.fixinghereyes.org/single-post/2019/04/25/Fixing-His-Eyes-What-Paul-Saw
Thursday, 25 April 2019
Great leadership is like dew falling...
"Like dew falling on Mount Hermon" is a classic quote which many may have heard.
It comes from the Psalms, which are full of nature - trees, streams, mountains, and still waters.
God has set all things in motion, the cycles of rain, growth, falling leaves, and new saplings pushing through the undergrowth of the shady wood, continues under His care.
It is true that humans have intervened and interrupted nature yet all is not lost.
"Like dew falling on Mount Hermon" is a picture of refreshment when brother and sisters live and work together in harmony (Psalm 133), and this is good for the souls of us all.
Does this mean that there are no 'roles', no leaders, no-one guiding anymore?
Not at all, for there are structures and layers of leaders, team players, higher managers and entry-level workers. Yet, harmony means respect, care, concern and a diligence flowing from the leadership to assist workers of all kinds and of all levels be the best they can be.
What got me thinking about all this was the ABC radio program "Life Matters", where Ashley Goodall, co-author of 'Nine Lies About Work', is grappling with the issue of life-work balance. It is definitely worth a listen: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/nine-lies-about-work/11037910
Many of us - myself especially recently - have observed that leadership is what "makes or breaks" a workplace, organisation, and even church. Goodall says that "the job of a leader is to cascade purpose throughout the organisation" - every week, every day, and in every way.
This is a picture of refreshment: for people to come to know that they are intentionally doing something worthwhile - from washing up and cleaning, to financial concerns, or saving lives - is vital. Leadership that is clear on where it is going, WILL get somewhere! And that 'somewhere' is the goal of the group, company or association.
For Christians, the goal of church is to glorify Jesus Christ and be attractive so that others want Him too. What could be more inviting than leaders who refresh people, and who 'cascade' the purposes of our loving, guiding and pursuing God upon those they care for?
I am challenged to be that sort of person - that sort of leader - in any small way that I can.
What about you?
It comes from the Psalms, which are full of nature - trees, streams, mountains, and still waters.
God has set all things in motion, the cycles of rain, growth, falling leaves, and new saplings pushing through the undergrowth of the shady wood, continues under His care.
It is true that humans have intervened and interrupted nature yet all is not lost.
"Like dew falling on Mount Hermon" is a picture of refreshment when brother and sisters live and work together in harmony (Psalm 133), and this is good for the souls of us all.
Does this mean that there are no 'roles', no leaders, no-one guiding anymore?
Not at all, for there are structures and layers of leaders, team players, higher managers and entry-level workers. Yet, harmony means respect, care, concern and a diligence flowing from the leadership to assist workers of all kinds and of all levels be the best they can be.
What got me thinking about all this was the ABC radio program "Life Matters", where Ashley Goodall, co-author of 'Nine Lies About Work', is grappling with the issue of life-work balance. It is definitely worth a listen: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/nine-lies-about-work/11037910
Many of us - myself especially recently - have observed that leadership is what "makes or breaks" a workplace, organisation, and even church. Goodall says that "the job of a leader is to cascade purpose throughout the organisation" - every week, every day, and in every way.
This is a picture of refreshment: for people to come to know that they are intentionally doing something worthwhile - from washing up and cleaning, to financial concerns, or saving lives - is vital. Leadership that is clear on where it is going, WILL get somewhere! And that 'somewhere' is the goal of the group, company or association.
For Christians, the goal of church is to glorify Jesus Christ and be attractive so that others want Him too. What could be more inviting than leaders who refresh people, and who 'cascade' the purposes of our loving, guiding and pursuing God upon those they care for?
I am challenged to be that sort of person - that sort of leader - in any small way that I can.
What about you?
Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Eastertide 2019: Sometimes silence...
Easter is here! A season of joy, renewal and praising God for what Jesus did for salvation.
Did you make time this past Lent to read God's word regularly?
Have you feasted on the emotions of the Passion, and are now filled with joy as, with the disciples, see that Jesus is risen, alive for evermore?
Does it make you breathless in wonder at how the disciples 'missed' what Jesus had be saying all along?
Jesus said many things to the disciples as he walked with them.
They travelled the road of Galilee, and they discussed the Scriptures that they had been schooled in as good Jewish boys.
The gospels tell us that Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places. Solitude and silence formed a part of the whole. Ministry among the multitudes was not forgotten as Jesus quietly prayed.
Jesus neither idolised silence nor denied the need for reflection and quieting of mind, body and spirit.
Jesus blew their minds with talk of having to suffer and die. Peter famously rebuked Jesus for this negativity, yet Jesus knew who he was, and why he had come.
And Jesus understood that he spoke the words of God.
George Fox encouraged the Friends to "Tremble at the Word of God".
Jesus has spoken, in word, and in deed. Let us take time to contemplate this.
Let's make sure that we have space to inwardly 'tremble' at the magnificence of what Jesus has accomplished for our salvation as we enjoy the season of Easter.
+ + +
And silence, then -
Trust breathes.
God is not in the earthquake
or the whirlwind
But, the stillness -
Quiet.
Can you hear?
When he walked by Galilee
He saw them: ruddy fishers,
As they hauled and swore.
And silence, then -
He called them.
Breathless trust, as silent
runners towards a tomb but
He's not there.
And silence.
Then, they would slowly understand.
(c) JCV 24-09-2018
Did you make time this past Lent to read God's word regularly?
Have you feasted on the emotions of the Passion, and are now filled with joy as, with the disciples, see that Jesus is risen, alive for evermore?
Does it make you breathless in wonder at how the disciples 'missed' what Jesus had be saying all along?
Jesus said many things to the disciples as he walked with them.
They travelled the road of Galilee, and they discussed the Scriptures that they had been schooled in as good Jewish boys.
The gospels tell us that Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places. Solitude and silence formed a part of the whole. Ministry among the multitudes was not forgotten as Jesus quietly prayed.
Jesus neither idolised silence nor denied the need for reflection and quieting of mind, body and spirit.
Jesus blew their minds with talk of having to suffer and die. Peter famously rebuked Jesus for this negativity, yet Jesus knew who he was, and why he had come.
And Jesus understood that he spoke the words of God.
George Fox encouraged the Friends to "Tremble at the Word of God".
Jesus has spoken, in word, and in deed. Let us take time to contemplate this.
Let's make sure that we have space to inwardly 'tremble' at the magnificence of what Jesus has accomplished for our salvation as we enjoy the season of Easter.
+ + +
And silence, then -
Trust breathes.
God is not in the earthquake
or the whirlwind
But, the stillness -
Quiet.
Can you hear?
When he walked by Galilee
He saw them: ruddy fishers,
As they hauled and swore.
And silence, then -
He called them.
Breathless trust, as silent
runners towards a tomb but
He's not there.
And silence.
Then, they would slowly understand.
(c) JCV 24-09-2018
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
No more death or mourning or crying or pain?
The Christian hope and promise is that Almighty God has conquered sin and death through Jesus Christ, the Son, and that one day, there will be "no more death or mourning or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away", Revelation 21:4.
Until that Day comes - when the complete fulfillment of what Jesus has done by living, suffering, dying, being buried and then rising again to new life - we, you and me, are part of a broken world that includes heartaches and pain, depression and depths, fears and failures... and I want that mess to be over - NOW!
Yes, this post is an honest reflection of my impatience and desire to control.
I recently met up with someone who I really respect, admire and love as a fellow Christian leader.
They are suffering, and I detest that.
Let me be clear - I accept that they are frail and fallen as I am, and I am "FOR" them.
What I am not "for" is the darkness that holds them, that pulls them down, that disturbs their well-being and threatens their mind and their family.
I feel overwhelmed when I hear of another whom the 'Black Dog' has curled up with.
I feel powerless and helpless as I pray for my friends and family, and - for myself.
I rage against the shackles of sickness which those I love carry through daily tasks of living... but sometimes they do not and cannot carry that weight any longer, and they sit down and cannot "go on".
And I cry...
As I reflected on this the other night, a poem came.
My tears of rage - what are they about?
Truthfully, they are about me and my own fears and fragility.
They are about my longing and desire for Jesus to "make all things new", and my frustration that the Day is not yet come!
So, I write this as a simple, broken person who cries to Jesus for wholeness, and for grace.
For I too have been to the depths. And I have sat in silence with others when they have been there.
My prayer is to be helpful and not self-centred when I face the 'Black Dog' of my fellow humans' dark days.
What are those tears for -
Until that Day comes - when the complete fulfillment of what Jesus has done by living, suffering, dying, being buried and then rising again to new life - we, you and me, are part of a broken world that includes heartaches and pain, depression and depths, fears and failures... and I want that mess to be over - NOW!
Yes, this post is an honest reflection of my impatience and desire to control.
I recently met up with someone who I really respect, admire and love as a fellow Christian leader.
They are suffering, and I detest that.
Let me be clear - I accept that they are frail and fallen as I am, and I am "FOR" them.
What I am not "for" is the darkness that holds them, that pulls them down, that disturbs their well-being and threatens their mind and their family.
I feel overwhelmed when I hear of another whom the 'Black Dog' has curled up with.
I feel powerless and helpless as I pray for my friends and family, and - for myself.
I rage against the shackles of sickness which those I love carry through daily tasks of living... but sometimes they do not and cannot carry that weight any longer, and they sit down and cannot "go on".
And I cry...
As I reflected on this the other night, a poem came.
My tears of rage - what are they about?
Truthfully, they are about me and my own fears and fragility.
They are about my longing and desire for Jesus to "make all things new", and my frustration that the Day is not yet come!
So, I write this as a simple, broken person who cries to Jesus for wholeness, and for grace.
For I too have been to the depths. And I have sat in silence with others when they have been there.
My prayer is to be helpful and not self-centred when I face the 'Black Dog' of my fellow humans' dark days.
What are those tears for -
Tears of rage?
What are those tears for -
Tears of a sage?
What do you know?
Wanna make it "right"?
What do you know
In the middle of the night?
Don't know nothin'
Don't know shit,
When the Black Dog comes
And I have to quit -
Have to quit it all
Try to take control
Try to climb back up
From the depths of my soul
What are those tears for -
Tears of rage?
What are those tears for -
Tears of a sage?
What do you know?
Wanna make it "right"?
What do you know
In the middle of the night?
Don't know whether and
Don't know when,
If I can succeed -
Can I make it again?
Can I still be bothered?
Can I still be brave?
Can I still remember that you
Want to save
Me? Now that I'm lonely
And now that I'm 'bad',
Now I'm in this hole -
And it makes YOU sad!!!
What are those tears for?
What do they mean?
Once you came in friendly,
Once you came in keen;
Now you shy away
That the Black Dog's here;
Now you think you know
What it is to fear!!!
What are you thinking?
What's in my head?
Gonna get a big gun,
Shoot the Black Dog dead????
Once for the cousins,
Once for the wife,
Once for the brothers,
For the waste of a life;
Once for the lostness in the trees of the wood,
Once for the moments when you thought you could.
Twinkle, twinkle little star...
Tears of rage for the pain and the scar
That festers on the skin of our life,
That blisters near the blade of a knife.
What are those tears for?
What do you know?
In the depths of darkness,
In the smothering snow,
In the sweat of bitterness,
In the blinding heat,
In the frozen wasteland,
In the that ways I cheat
Death every moment
When the Black Dog come
When it settles in my
Mind and my home.
Tears of anger, tears from my soul,
Tears for the horror of the uncontrol -
For the love of people
Who I long to see
Be free from the darkness
And indignity
Of the Black Dog biting
And gnawing their soul -
I wanna see renewal and
Their lives made whole.
That's what the tears are:
Tears of my soul,
Tears for the horror of my uncontrol.
(C) JCVandersee 26 Feb 2019
Tuesday, 24 April 2018
Against the "Seasons" Analogy...
What season are you in?
Are you enjoying this season? Tolerating it?
Praying for it to end, so you can pass into the next season?
We know that any analogy has limits, and I contend that the "seasons" of life analogy, so popular in Christian and self-help literature, has reached its natural end.
The natural seasons all have purposes, plans and are necessary for the cycle of life - good stuff, and relate-able to much of human experience. Yet, they are not to be just 'passed through' - what about mindful acceptance of where one is now?
What about rejection of the banal characterisation of 'evil' cold winter, and simplistic 'joyous' springs and 'warm' fun summers?
Take pain, as a season. What if someone is living in constant chronic pain? They know full-well that they are most likely not going to wake up in flowering spring tomorrow. Pain goes on for years, through many natural climatic seasons. Pain is a sign that something is wrong, and those seeking healing do so through days, months, years of treatment. Scars often remain after treatment and healing, and these do not pass, but linger as reminders.
Grief is also not a 'season', in my experience. From the loss of a significant person, I went through cycles of grief and a yearly depressed feeling at the anniversary of the loss. It was a walking through, a carrying on, a living in a changed reality - not a leaf turning over, like the beginning of autumn.
Parenthood, I have heard, is a 'season' that lasts forever! No-one ceases being a parent. I know a beautiful couple whose only child - a son - lived for moments, before his death. There is a little grave that marks their hearts as parents - mummy and daddy of a life cut short. They will not pass from this season, it is theirs forever.
As a single, I am often sensitive to unthinking remarks that fly off about the "season of singleness". What if it is not a 'season' of my life? What if it is my whole life? And, what if sometimes it feels cold and lonely, and sometimes warm and sunny? And sometimes like a crazy mix of all weathers coming in and out over a course of days?
Joy is not a 'season'. As a Christian, I seek for the joy of knowing Jesus Christ's love and acceptance, no matter what. No matter my pain, happiness, marital state, job, climate, personality or whatever uncontrollable factors. This is possible - I believe - as I practice trusting God, surrendering what I think should be happening, and come to rest in understanding that I am love and accepted by the Saviour of my soul.
Not platitudes, no simplistic slogans. Life is so much more complex and wonderful than the 'season' analogy.
Are you enjoying this season? Tolerating it?
Praying for it to end, so you can pass into the next season?
We know that any analogy has limits, and I contend that the "seasons" of life analogy, so popular in Christian and self-help literature, has reached its natural end.
The natural seasons all have purposes, plans and are necessary for the cycle of life - good stuff, and relate-able to much of human experience. Yet, they are not to be just 'passed through' - what about mindful acceptance of where one is now?
What about rejection of the banal characterisation of 'evil' cold winter, and simplistic 'joyous' springs and 'warm' fun summers?
Take pain, as a season. What if someone is living in constant chronic pain? They know full-well that they are most likely not going to wake up in flowering spring tomorrow. Pain goes on for years, through many natural climatic seasons. Pain is a sign that something is wrong, and those seeking healing do so through days, months, years of treatment. Scars often remain after treatment and healing, and these do not pass, but linger as reminders.
Grief is also not a 'season', in my experience. From the loss of a significant person, I went through cycles of grief and a yearly depressed feeling at the anniversary of the loss. It was a walking through, a carrying on, a living in a changed reality - not a leaf turning over, like the beginning of autumn.
Parenthood, I have heard, is a 'season' that lasts forever! No-one ceases being a parent. I know a beautiful couple whose only child - a son - lived for moments, before his death. There is a little grave that marks their hearts as parents - mummy and daddy of a life cut short. They will not pass from this season, it is theirs forever.
As a single, I am often sensitive to unthinking remarks that fly off about the "season of singleness". What if it is not a 'season' of my life? What if it is my whole life? And, what if sometimes it feels cold and lonely, and sometimes warm and sunny? And sometimes like a crazy mix of all weathers coming in and out over a course of days?
Joy is not a 'season'. As a Christian, I seek for the joy of knowing Jesus Christ's love and acceptance, no matter what. No matter my pain, happiness, marital state, job, climate, personality or whatever uncontrollable factors. This is possible - I believe - as I practice trusting God, surrendering what I think should be happening, and come to rest in understanding that I am love and accepted by the Saviour of my soul.
Not platitudes, no simplistic slogans. Life is so much more complex and wonderful than the 'season' analogy.
Friday, 22 December 2017
What if Christmas was the REVERSAL of the universal entropy????
The usual story - a hopeless tangle of last years Christmas tree lights...crushed bulbs, lost coloured-covers that make it look scrappy, and the unending search for undoing the mess without screaming.
The 'Naked Scientist' BBC program which aired on ABC's Radio National set three scientists the task to untangle some fairy-lights each, with ensuing discussion on the need for "a system" to eliminate this problem - an "entropy reversal" system that could AVOID the annual mess, restore order, and reduce stress. [See their website https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/entropy-christmas-lights]
They suggest something as simple as an empty cereal box, for careful winding around once the lights are not required. This then can be placed in a crate or on a shelf so that the infernal tangle is no more! The scientists and the presenters continued on their discussion, concluding "if only, there was such a system!" for the problem of this just going awry when left to itself.
This got me thinking - what about the problem of human entropy, and the tangled mess we find ourselves, our societies, and our planet, knotted up in?
What if the ancient scroll is true and that humanity "is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards"? Found in the Book of Job, chapter 5, verse 7, paraphrased by me.
What if the Promised Saviour who was to "save his people from their sins", (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21) - from their tangles, their mess, and the pain of self-induced or other-caused actions was the REVERSAL of the universal entropy of which we are all suffering?
The Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (chapter 8, verse 22) says that "we know that the whole creation has been groaning" under all this sin - entropy - and is waiting for salvation!
Well, SALVATION has come! Jesus was born, and we celebrate this at Christmas.
The possibility of the NEW CREATION has arrived by God's grace, and by his plan as told in the scriptures - the promises to Eve, to Abraham, and in the texts of Isaiah and other prophets.
Old Simeon and old Anna rejoiced, as they SAW what had been promised come true (Luke chapter 2, verses 25 to 38), and they gave God the credit due the One who had said that the "offspring of the woman would crush the serpent" (Genesis chapter 3, verse 15).
So, is entropy inevitable? Is there something in the Maker's manual that can assist us to not only resolve 'tangles' but reduce and avoid them?
May you seek the meaning of Christmas, as you search to untangle big and small things in your life these holidays.
The 'Naked Scientist' BBC program which aired on ABC's Radio National set three scientists the task to untangle some fairy-lights each, with ensuing discussion on the need for "a system" to eliminate this problem - an "entropy reversal" system that could AVOID the annual mess, restore order, and reduce stress. [See their website https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/entropy-christmas-lights]
They suggest something as simple as an empty cereal box, for careful winding around once the lights are not required. This then can be placed in a crate or on a shelf so that the infernal tangle is no more! The scientists and the presenters continued on their discussion, concluding "if only, there was such a system!" for the problem of this just going awry when left to itself.
This got me thinking - what about the problem of human entropy, and the tangled mess we find ourselves, our societies, and our planet, knotted up in?
What if the ancient scroll is true and that humanity "is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards"? Found in the Book of Job, chapter 5, verse 7, paraphrased by me.
What if the Promised Saviour who was to "save his people from their sins", (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21) - from their tangles, their mess, and the pain of self-induced or other-caused actions was the REVERSAL of the universal entropy of which we are all suffering?
The Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (chapter 8, verse 22) says that "we know that the whole creation has been groaning" under all this sin - entropy - and is waiting for salvation!
Well, SALVATION has come! Jesus was born, and we celebrate this at Christmas.
The possibility of the NEW CREATION has arrived by God's grace, and by his plan as told in the scriptures - the promises to Eve, to Abraham, and in the texts of Isaiah and other prophets.
Old Simeon and old Anna rejoiced, as they SAW what had been promised come true (Luke chapter 2, verses 25 to 38), and they gave God the credit due the One who had said that the "offspring of the woman would crush the serpent" (Genesis chapter 3, verse 15).
So, is entropy inevitable? Is there something in the Maker's manual that can assist us to not only resolve 'tangles' but reduce and avoid them?
May you seek the meaning of Christmas, as you search to untangle big and small things in your life these holidays.
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Trouble in the woods... (10th century)
Poetic lines from the 10th Century, written by Shmuel HaNagid – prime minister of the kingdom of Granada,
head of its Muslim army, and leader of Andalusia’s Jewish community:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20170616-the-1000-year-old-lost-arab-poetry-that-lives-on-in-hebrew
http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20170616-the-1000-year-old-lost-arab-poetry-that-lives-on-in-hebrew
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