A Spirituality of the Road

Na aanleiding van David Bosch se onlangse post-hume verering deur pres Zuma:
Ek lees onlangs weer hierdie stuk van David Bosch uit sy boek: A Spirituality of the Road. Op sy besondere manier herinner hy ons aan wat dit beteken om regtig in hierdie wereld dissipel te wees.

“Spirituality or devotional life seems to mean withdrawal from the world, charging my battery, and then going out into the world. The image is of an automobile which runs on batteries only. The batteries are charged for so many hours during the night and then the automobile runs so many miles during the day until the batteries become too weak to pull the car. For more mileage one would have to charge the batteries for a longer period of time. Transferred to the spiritual sphere, this means: so many minutes of spiritual exercise will give me so much mileage for the day that follows.

And if I find that I am run down before evening, this simply means that I have to spend more time in the morning charging my spiritual battery. In this view, then, my "true" Christian life consists of those so-called spiritual moments, away from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life. To be sure, all that hubbub is actually anti-spiritual, because it taps my stored-up spiritual resources, it drains my spiritual power away, it is a threat to my spirituality. I would, therefore, much rather live on angels' food only and have as little as possi­ble to do with the things of this world…

Lesslie Newbigin has called this view the "Pilgrim's Progress Model": the emphasis is on a decisive break with the world and a flight from the "wicked city." In this model the world is primarily seen as a threat, as a source of contagion from which the Christian must keep himself free. To be saved means, in essence, to be saved from this world; spirituality means otherworldliness. The basic problem with this view of spirituality is that it is docetic. It is based on the idea that matter is essentially evil. We could also call it monophysite be­cause the Christ of this spirituality has only one nature, the divine…

Fundamental to any definition of spirituality is that it can never be something that can be isolated from the rest of our existence, as the battery-operated car metaphor suggests. "Flesh" and" spirit" in the Bible do not refer to two segments of our lives, the one outward and worldly, the other inward and otherworldly, as though we are spiritual when we pray and worldly when we work. No, flesh and spirit refer to two modes of existence, two life orientations. Being spiritual means being in Christ, whether we pray or walk or work. Spirituality is not con­templation over against action. It is not a flight from the world over against involvement in the world. The "Pilgrim's Progress Model" therefore does not adequately describe what spirituality means because its point of departure is noninvolvement, escape from the world. It has to be supplemented by what Newbigin has called the "Jonah Model": not fleeing from the city but being sent by God into the heart of the city and its turmoil…More precisely, it is not a case of one model supple­menting the other, for the two are absolutely indivisible. The involvement in this world should lead to a deepening of our relationship with, and dependence on God, and the deepening of this relationship should lead to increas­ing involvement in the world.” (David J. Bosch, A Spirituality of the Road (Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1979), p. 11-13.)

Mooiste Kaap

Die Kaap hou sy mooiste gesiggie voor. Werklik 'n wonderlike prentjie. Dis Helderberg Uitreik se basis. Elke keer weer 'n tuiskoms werd.

Die son pad

Die nuwe skoolkwartaal skop vandag hier in die Kaap af, en dit is nogal ’n lekker gevoel. Na die winter hibernering draai ons nou op die son pad. Natuurlik gaan dit nog ’n hele ruk wees voordat die lente hier is, maar ons is nou afdraende op pad soontoe.

Die lewe is mos ook half so. Ons weet daar is nog stukke winter waardeur ons moet werk, maar eintlik weet ons ons is op die pad wat uitloop op die hemelstad. Net soos ons uitsien na die tekens van die lente wat gaan kom, so sien ons uit en sien ons reeds tekens van God se koninkryk wat in hierdie wêreld aan die kom is.

Mag jy die opwinding van hierdie pad saam met God beleef.

Dissipelskapskool

Ons begin Sondag in Helderberg met ’n heerlike reeks oor Jesus se reispad na Jerusalem. Ons noem dit “Jesus se dissipelskap­skool”. In Lukas 9:51 begin Jesus sy laaste reis na Jerusalem vasbeslote. Net om eers 10 hoofstukke later in Lukas 19 daar uit te kom. Op hierdie reispad is Jesus besig om 12 dissipels voor te berei en te leer. Ek sien uit daarna om die volgende 14 weke saam met Jesus se dissipels onder die hande van die Groot Leermeester deur te loop. Jy is welkom om saam die boodskappe te volg. Vir die wat ver is, natuurlik deur Helderberg se webwerf. http://www.nghelder.org.za/ . Ek sal ook hoogtepunte op hierdie blog sit.

Die grootheid van U goedheid

Ek lees vandag hierdie gebed van S Kierkegaard, wat ek net so effens aanpas:

God van die hemel,

As ek na U majesteit kyk,

besef ek my eie niksheid –

Nie om daardeur in wanhoop te verval nie,

maar sodat ek van die grootheid van u goedheid

nog meer bewus kan raak.

Ek staan verstom voor u liefde

teenoor ’n skepsel soos ek.

Vader in die hemel,

U het my eerste liefgehad.

Help my om dit nie te vergeet nie.

Laat hierdie sekerheid my hart in beslag neem

ten spyte van die verleiding van die wêreld,

ten spyte van die rusteloosheid van my hart

ten spyte van my angs oor die toekoms.

Laat die troostende wete van u onveranderlike liefde

die seer van my verlede,

asook die onsekerheid van die hede verdryf

- en my ’n uitsig op die toekoms gee.

Amen

(Gebedeboek van die Lewe)

Debriefing Short-termers

Hier is baie handige riglyne vir die terugkeer gesprekke met korttermyn uitreikers.

Kyk gerus ook verder by die verwysings na Caleb Resources.

Source: Marti Smith, Caleb Resources

As a mission mobilizer I'm both pleased and a bit worried at what Steve Moore calls "the punkification of missions." You know: here's a chord, here's another chord, now form a band! Or here's an idea, here's an opportunity, form your own mission.

The more I think about it, it the more I see the value of keeping things simple and easy to pass on to others. Maybe those who have been doing this sort of thing a little longer should just try to share the chords they've learned along the way.

When it comes to short-term mission trips, one essential chord is debriefing. The debriefing process is often skipped, slighted, or squeezed. Even teams that meet weekly for months before the trip may confine debriefing to a Saturday morning with donuts, but no follow-up or accountability. It doesn't have to be that way.

Anyone who is willing to listen can help debrief a short-termer or short-term team.

Asking the Basic Questions

If you have just one debriefing session, try this. On paper or in person, in a big group or one on one, ask your short-termers 3-6 basic questions:

- How was your trip?
- What was the best thing about it?
- What was the hardest part for you?
- What did God teach you?
- What are you going to do about it, and when?
- Share an answered prayer.

Taking the time to think through these questions and topics will help short-termers process what happened. Plus, they will be better able to give a meaningful answer when others ask the same questions. It pays to be prepared. A good goal: be able to effectively describe the experience in a sentence or two.

Add a few more sessions to your debriefing plan if you can, especially if you're debriefing a whole team.

Remembering What God Has Done

Have each team member spend 20 minutes journaling:

"What have you seen God do for you on this trip? Think about the miracles, answers to prayer, and the ways God worked above and beyond your expectations. Don't forget how he got you here, prepared you, and brought in your support."

Ask team members to share their answers with the group so everyone can thank and glorify God for what he has done.

Working through the Hard Stuff

Many troubling things can come to the surface on a short-term mission trip. Short-termers may come face to face with their own weaknesses and failures. They may feel disappointed or disillusioned about their team or their hosts.

Try to provide a safe environment to discuss things that were difficult, especially if these struggles reinforce lies they may believe about themselves, the world, God, or other people. One-on-one "debriefing interviews," conducted by someone who was not part of the team, can also help identify conflicts and relationship problems that still need resolution.

Locking in the Lessons

Use this handy worksheet  to help short-termers identify and "lock in" the lessons they are learning and prepare to share them with others. It's a simple, step-by-step process that any of us might find helpful for making sense of a potentially overwhelming experience.

Staying Connected

Chances are good that the ministry your short-termers were involved in did not begin and end with them. So take a long-term view and ask: "What are the ongoing needs and opportunities? How can you, your family, or your church continue to contribute or stay connected with this ministry?" If you spend time talking about next steps, make sure to include an invitation to stay connected with the field.

Other debriefing sessions might focus on reentry and reverse culture stress, team affirmation and prayer, mobilizing others, preparing a presentation, evaluating the program, or having short-termers write themselves letters to be mailed in six months.

 

 

'n Gebed vir die dag

’n Gebed vir die dag

 

Ag, Here, U is altyd by my.

Noudat die dag begin

en ek my aandag by my daaglikse werk moet bepaal,

vra ek dat U my die genade skenk

wat ek sal nodig hê om my take goed af te handel

sonder om ooit te vergeet

dat ek dit in U teenwoordigheid doen.

 

Help my om my nederige taak tot u eer te doen.

Ontvang dit van my as geestelike offer.

En laat my enigste begeerte wees om U te eer.

Amen

 

Daaglikse gebed van Broer Lawrence voordat hy soggens in die kombuis begin werk het.

Uit Gebedeboek vir die Lewe

1 Kor 13 vir sendelinge

BJ van der Walt het jare gelede hierdie deel geskryf. Ek verander net die eerste sin.

Al sou ek die tale van elke onbereikte volk ken, en ek het nie die Christusliefde vir hulle nie, dan is ek niks nie.

Al sou ek grade en diplomas besit en al die kennis van die sendingwetenskap, maar ek het nie sy liefde wat begryp nie, dan sou ek niks wees nie.

Al is ek bekwaam genoeg om 'n suksesvolle dialoog met aanhangers van ander gelowe te voer en hulle dwalings bloot te le, maar ek het nie sy bekoorlike liefde nie, vermag ek niks nie.

Al besit ek 'n groot geloof met pragtige ideale en wonderlike planne, maar ek besit nie sy liefde wat sweet en bloei, ween en pleit in die gebed nie, dan kom weinig blywends tot stand.

Al deel ek my klere en geld onder hulle uit, maar ek besit nie sy liefde vir hulle nie, dan maak dit weinig indruk.

Al gee ek rooskleurige vooruitsigte prys, verlaat huis en vriende, aanvaar die opofferings van 'n sendeling se lewe, maar het nie die liefde waardeur ek my regte, genietinge en lieflingsplanne oorgee nie, dan is ek nog niks nie.

Al is ek in staat om alle soorte siektes en kwale te genees, maar ek wond harte en maak gevoelens seer as gevolg van 'n gebrek aan sy minsame liefde, dan bring ek geen ware genesing nie.

As ek artikels kan skrywe en boeke publiseer, wat groot lof inoes, maar ek misluk om die woorde van die Kruis in die taal van sy liefde oor te skryf, dan is ek niks nie.

Uit: Lied van liefde - BJ vd Walt

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