Two Reasons for Failing Ministry

I found this to be quite insightful, from Bp. Bill Atwood, an African Anglican bishop ministering the USA:



In parish ministry there are two major factors that keep congregations from fulfilling their potential in the Kingdom of God. One factor is the clergy and the other is the laity. Clergy often have a hard time letting go and really allowing substantive ministry to emerge from the people. The baptized are often eager to minister, but they are also often not eager to receive ministry from another lay person. Many would like to be accepted in ministry by the clergy and the other members of the church, but when it comes to their own needs, they want to receive ministry from the rector!

Even when clergy get a vision of releasing others for ministry, while the people are learning and developing, there will be painful mistakes. Sometimes the rector will hear parishioners complain, "You let me down. You weren't there for me." It is at that point that the temptation is strong to fall back into a priest-centered ministry and do it ourselves. Perhaps the ministry that is developing, learning, and growing will not be at the same level as that of the "professional" clergy. We have to get past that, though, because the ministry will eventually be broader, greater, and more powerful when many people are discipled, released, and are working together.

CS Lewis on Purgatory

Someone posted this question on a “MySpace” message board. Since I took the time to respond, I figured I could make use of my response here as well.

Did C.S. Lewis believe in Purgatory? Yes, but…

Wayne Martindale has a great discussion of this in his recent book, Beyond the Shadowlands (2005, Crossway)…

"To summarize, among theologians who believe in Purgatory, there are two views: Purgatory is reserved for those who are already saved as part of their sanctification or preparation for heaven (that’s one view), or for those who are in the process of being saved (that’s the second). Lewis embraced the first view." (202)

Lewis rejected what he called the "Romish" view of Purgatory- that one could be saved there. For Lewis, no one who is in Purgatory is lost. Rather, people spend time in Purgatory to be cleansed of their sin so they may stand before God in all of His holiness. In Letters to Malcolm he put it this way, "The saved soul, at the very foot of the throne, begs to be taken away and cleansed." (108)

--Roger Overton, from HERE

The Creation of Dioceses

I think the newest diocese in the Roman Catholic church is Mongolia, but feel free to correct me. There are many hundred dioceses throughout North Africa and the Middle East that have had their hierarchy "suppressed." I do know that in the Anglican church there are four diocese for the Middle East:

Province: The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East
The Diocese of Jerusalem (includes Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon)
The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf States
The Diocese of Iran
The Diocese of Egypt, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa

Sudan was originally part of this structure but it became its own Province.

But here you go, courtesy of New Advent, the gift that keeps on giving:

(1) Creation of Dioceses

Strictly speaking, it is only in missionary countries that there can be question of the creation of a diocese, either because the country was never converted to Christianity or because its ancient hierarchy was suppressed, owing to conquest by infidels or the progress of heresy. Regularly, before becoming a diocese, the territory is successively a mission, a prefecture Apostolic, and finally a vicariate Apostolic. The Congregation of Propaganda makes a preliminary study of the question and passes judgment on the opportuneness of the creation of the diocese in question. It considers principally whether the number of Catholics, priests, and religious establishments, i.e. churches, chapels, schools, is sufficiently large to justify the establishment of the proposed diocese. These matters form the subject of a report to Propaganda, to which must be added the number of towns or settlements included in the territory. If there is a city suitable for the episcopal see, the fact is stated, also the financial resources at the disposal of the bishop for the works of religion. There is added, finally, a sketch, if possible accompanied by a map, indicating the territory of the future diocese. As a general rule, a diocese should not include districts whose inhabitants speak different languages or are subject to distinct civil powers (see Instructions of Propaganda, 1798, in Collectanea S. C. de P. F., Rome, 1907, no. 645). Moreover, the general conditions for, the creation of a diocese are the same as those required for dividing or "dismembering" a diocese. Of this we shall speak below.

British imam's daughter under police protection after converting to Christianity

British imam's daughter under police protection after converting to Christianity
by Ruth Gledhill

A British imam's daughter is living in fear of her life under police protection after she received death threats from her family for converting to Christianity.

The young woman, aged 32, whose father is a Muslim imam in the north of England, has moved house 45 times to escape detection by her family since she became a Christian 15 years ago.

Hannah, who uses a pseudonym to hide her identity, told The Times how she became a Christian after she ran away from home at 16 to escape an arranged marriage.

The threats against her became more serious a month ago, prompting police to offer her protection in case of an attempt on her life.

[...]

The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, will claim "freedom to believe" is under threat in Britain because of Islamic hostility to conversion.

[...]

Dr Nazir-Ali will speak out on behalf of Hannah and others suffering persecution for their beliefs in the UK at today's launch of Lapido Media, a new charity which is seeking to promote "religious literacy" in world affairs.

The Bishop is expected to describe how sharia law in many countries, including parts of Britain, punishes apostasy with death and is viewed as treason by theocratic governments. Dr Nazir-Ali will call on society to offer greater protection, by increasing understanding of what makes people vulnerable.

Pakistan-born Dr Nazir-Ali, who has a Christian and Muslim background, is patron of Lapido Media, funded by donations and trusts including the Jerusalem Trust. The word ‘lapido’ means ‘to speak up for’ in the Acholi language of Northern Uganda. The charity has been named in honour of the courage of Acholi church leaders who campaigned for an end to a little-reported 20-year war there, involving the abduction of 25,000 children.

Hat tip to Wahaudi

Leo the Great on the Nativity

Our Saviour, dearly-beloved, was born today: let us be glad. ... Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the Gentile take courage in that he is called to life. For the Son of God in the fullness of time ... has taken on him the nature of [humanity], thereby to reconcile it to its Author: in order that the inventor of death, the devil, might be conquered through that which he had conquered. And in this conflict undertaken for us, the fight was fought on great and wondrous principles of fairness; for the Almighty Lord enters the lists with his savage foe not in his own majesty but in our humility, opposing him with the same form and the same nature, which shares indeed our mortality, though it is free from all sin.

- Leo the Great (c. 400-461), from Sermon XXI, Feast of the Nativity

Sarkozy in Algeria: A Mediterranean Union

Interesting development here that, if it comes to pass, could really change the dynamic of the whole Mediterranean region:

[...] Mr. Sarkozy arrived Monday in an effort to cool decades of tense relations and ink new business contracts with France's ex-colony, which gained independence in 1962, as well as pitch his idea for a Mediterranean Union, a regional community that would unite the 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

The union, an initiative that Sarkozy proposed soon after becoming president, would focus on security, immigration, and environmental and cultural linkages among all countries, from Morocco to Malta to Israel, and help coordinate trade between this region and Europe. But his message in the region is reaching many skeptical ears, both those wary of a former colonial master as well as those concerned such a formal compact would simply open the door to European imports and guarantee hydrocarbon-hungry Europe a reliable supply of energy. [...]

Jerusalem: Separation Wall or Security Barrier?

From Harry Gunkel over at Mission to Jerusalem:

On Saturday I went on a tour cosponsored by Al Quds University here and UN-OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). It was a tour of The Wall around Jerusalem. Do you know about the wall? It's also known as the Security Fence or the Separation Barrier. Its construction was begun about 2002 by the Defense Ministry of Israel, which by the way receives a great deal of your tax money as foreign aid. Its stated purpose was to provide security against suicide bombers from the West Bank. Now the wall forms an almost complete physical barrier between Israel and the West Bank. Maybe this is the model for what some folks in the US want on the Mexican border. Our tour was confined to the area around Jerusalem. It is the area that gets alot of attention because of the importance of this city and its future status in peace negotiations.

One side says the wall is necessary for protection against a people who are bent on violence and destruction. The other side says the wall is a method of apartheid and racial cleansing. It seems to me as a newly arrived outsider that there is a grain of truth in both sides but no more than a grain. It is far more complex than that and does injustice to the situation to reduce it so.

I encourage you to learn more about this wall. And rather than come up with all kinds of wacky references from Google, why don't you start with some documents and maps from the UN who are actively involved in monitoring the situation?

But all that aside, there is the matter of living with the wall. Look at the slideshow photos and the web album.

The Wall is only one part of the SECURITY question here. A later blog will offer some reflections on that. For now, I invite you to be aware of this, learn more about it, and ask how life must be for your brothers and sisters when things like Walls are part of life.

Sunday marked the beginning of Advent and we had our Church Christmas Bazaar. Some photos of that are included in the slideshow. Life goes on in the shadow of the Wall.

I think it is always Advent here in this place. Always hoping, always waiting for new life and new opportunity. Patience as well, amazingly enough, although sometimes it's hard to distinguish patience from resignation. I hope it's really mostly patience.

Bat Ye'or on the Jizya

The Jizya is the tax that the People of the Book (Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians) are required to pay when they live in Dar al Islam. It matters not that such people form a majority of the population, by the way. I mean, I'm tired of hearing speak about "religious minorities." All that matters is that the government is Islamic. If the US president were Muslim or became Muslim then the entire non-Muslim population would become "dhimmi", even though they for a large majority of the population, and they would all have to pay this jizya. Here is a fine quote from Bat Ye'or about the jizya. This book is a must read, by the way:

The poll tax was extorted by torture. The tax inspectors demanded gifts for themselves; widows and orphans were pillaged and despoiled. In theory, women, paupers, the sick, and the infirm were exempt from the poll tax; nevertheless, Armenian, Syriac, and Jewish sources provide abundant proof that the jizya was exacted from children, widows, orphans, and even the dead. A considerable number of extant documents, preserved over the centuries, testify to the persistence and endurance of these measures. In Aleppo in 1683, French Consul Chevalier Laurent d’Arvieux noted that ten-year-old Christian children paid the jizya. Here again, one finds the disparity and contradiction between the ideal in the theory and the reality of the facts. 

The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam, pp. 78-9.

Gingrich: Who funds Al Qaeda? You

Sleepwalking into a Nightmare
by Newt Gingrich

[...] And let's be honest: What's the primary source of money for al Qaeda? It's you, re-circulated through Saudi Arabia. Because we have no national energy strategy, when clearly if you really cared about liberating the United States from the Middle East and if you really cared about the survival of Israel, one of your highest goals would be to move to a hydrogen economy and to eliminate petroleum as a primary source of energy.

Now that's what a serious national strategy would look like, but that would require real change.

So then you look at Saudi Arabia. The fact that we tolerate a country saying no Christian and no Jew can go to Mecca, and we start with the presumption that that's true while they attack Israel for being a religious state is a sign of our timidity, our confusion, our cowardice that is stunning.

It's not complicated. We're inviting Saudi Arabia to come to Annapolis to talk about rights for Palestinians when nobody is saying, "Let's talk about rights for Christians and Jews in Saudi Arabia. Let's talk about rights for women in Saudi Arabia."

Abu Daoud says: wow, this article by Gingrich is chock-full (sp?) of useful information. I recommend a complete reading of it. Hat tip to what has become one of my favorite blogs about KSA (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Wahaudi.

How to use worship to evangelize

Tips from Lausanne World Pulse:

Tim Keller suggests three “practical tasks”5 which can help us in providing an accepted and meaningful worship for unbelievers.

First, get unbelievers into worship. In many psalms, we encounter the repeated message for the pagan nations to join the people of God in rendering homage to YHWH (Psalms 2:10-12; 22:27-28; 47:1-9; 57:7-11; 66:1-4, 8-9; 67:1-6; 68:32-34; 72:16-19; 86:8-10; 96:1-13; 98:4-9; 99:1-4; 100:1-5; 111:1-4; 117:1-2). With such a renewed message, it is unavoidable for the Christian worship to involve those who are far away from Christ. A worship which includes believers only and closes the door for others will prevent these very believers from inviting their families, neighbors and friends to attend the church. Therefore, it is the role of the pastor to put in his or her mind while planning the worship that some unbelievers will be present the next Sunday. He or she must then ask the question, “How would I communicate with them?”

Second, make worship comprehensible to unbelievers. Through avoiding unnecessary theological or evangelical cultural jargon, explaining the service as the preacher goes along, directly addressing and welcoming outsiders, using aesthetics, celebrating deeds of mercy and justice, presenting the sacraments in a way that makes the gospel clear and preaching grace, the worship conductor makes the worship more tangible and comprehensible to unbelievers.

Third, lead unbelievers to a commitment. This would come in one of two ways:

During the service. As the Lord’s Supper is distributed, the nonbeliever can be encouraged not to take the elements, but rather to take Christ himself as savior. The next time the Eucharist if offered, he or she can participate. Another solution is to have a “prayer of belief” after the sermon. This prayer can be conducted by the pastor to help the unbeliever express his or her faith reaction toward the word of God.

After meetings. This can be fulfilled through an immediate follow-up meeting with the pastor and his or her assistants. During this time, the pastor or staff can answer difficult questions and clarify obscure theological or spiritual points.

Christ as a Philosopher: Spe Salvi

Towards the end of the third century, on the sarcophagus of a child in Rome, we find for the first time, in the context of the resurrection of Lazarus, the figure of Christ as the true philosopher, holding the Gospel in one hand and the philosopher's travelling staff in the other. With his staff, he conquers death; the Gospel brings the truth that itinerant philosophers had searched for in vain. In this image, which then became a common feature of sarcophagus art for a long time, we see clearly what both educated and simple people found in Christ: he tells us who man truly is and what a man must do in order to be truly human. He shows us the way, and this way is the truth. He himself is both the way and the truth, and therefore he is also the life which all of us are seeking. He also shows us the way beyond death; only someone able to do this is a true teacher of life

I love his reference to the early church, which is here even pre-Constantinian, which is important for all those folks who think (incorrectly) that COnstantine somehow corrupted the church when he made Christianty the religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th C.

I also love the mention of Christ as a philosopher. This is a great encyclical. I think he honestly grapples with the world today.

And finally, his story of Bakhita who believed in Jesus, who was a slave-woman from Sudan--am I the only one who noticed that she was quite possibly Muslim by birth? I mean, she could have been animist, but she could have been Muslim as well (I will check into this, btw).

I am not finished with the entire encyclical yet, but what I have read (including the discussion of Luther's interpretation of Hebrews 11:1) I really like.

This is a very intelligent encyclical, and quite edifying for this Christian who happens to not be Roman Catholic.

Teddy-bear Jihad

No doubt Allah is profoundly insulted by this teddy bear...or as they say in the Londonistan, "Whoever insults the Prophet must be beheaded."

Anyway, I'm sure you have all heard about this before, but The Economist has the best treatment of the story I have seen so far.

No Picnic: a teddy bear row in Sudan

In more elevated western circles, it is becoming commoner to hear the view that Islam itself (rather than any extremist interpretations of the faith) is posing a challenge to western values that must be resisted.

Bishop of Rome's new letter: Spe Salvi

Well, the good old bishop of Rome, the servant of the servants of God (that is actually one of his official titles, btw), has come out with a new encyclical, Spe Salvi. Have not read it yet but hope to do so fairly soon. Will let you know what I think.

For now, here is the hyperlink:

Spe Salvi