Paying attention to the log in our own eyes

In some of the South African newspapers (Beeld etc) a heated debate is going on about the use of God's Name. Some Christians have been outraged at a young south african band's using the Lord's Name in vain after a concert. Hate emails have been distributed, marches have been organized and letters have been sent to the newspapers. I underwrite the commandment in Exodus 20:7 that we are not to take the Lord's name in vain, and I want to take the discussion just a step higher. I have written an article that will appear in the Beeld of today (17 March 2006.) I raise the question if we as Christians don't make ourselves quilty of the same thing when we act in a way that is not in line with the Spirit of the Jesus? Everyone of us has an image of God and William Temple, an anglican minister, once said that if someone has a wrong image of God, the more religious they become, the worse the consequences are and later it would have been better for them to have been atheists. I wonder if anyone has tried to spend some time with the band - to just listen in a spirit of grace and acceptance? Maybe their image is of a God who just judge, who is distanct from our situation, a God full of wrath and anger? And when they curse this "God" is it really the One we serve?

I can understand that they would not want to have anything to do with Christians at this stage? Our actions might again have re-inforced the idea that Christians can be judgemental and without the love and grace we often talk about. We need to ask them for forgiveness in the way we have attacked and lashed out on them. We may need to pay attention to the log in our own eyes before we try to take out the splinter from others. We might be taking the Lord's Name in vain when we dont act in the Spirit of the One we follow........Ur thoughts?

Having just read Brian Mclaren's article "Lost in translation - are there any new ways to talk about Jesus' good news?" at Sojo.net, it got me thinking on what metaphor would be fitting in an African context for Kingdom?

Maybe we could speak of the "TRIBE" of God?

As a white South African, brought up with a western worldview, my suggestion is from someone who is more on the outside than the inside. I do not by any standard want to create the idea that I know anything about it, but I think we need to explore new ways of talking of God's Kingdom. Our suburbs are getting more and more diverse and to be authentic in it we have the responsibility to speak a language that speaks to the heart of all.

So why could the metaphor of a "tribe" work to describe the Kingdom of God? Well, a tribe has a chief as their leader. In our story we have a Chief who is loving and just - concerned about all in the tribe. In God's tribe everyone is equal, and everyone plays an important role. The idea of ubuntu - where I am what I am because of what we are together fits well with tribe-language. The idea behind ubuntu is that it is not good enough that I alone am rich, well, prosperous - everyone in the tribe needs to be whole.

I havent done research on this, and would love others point of view, suggestions, correction?

This is me and my lovely fiance, Lizl. We are getting married in 73 days and counting. Such a great gift to spend our lives - our hopes, our dreams, our struggles, pain and frustration - with someone!

I just got back from a 3 day conference/retreat where we had Brian Mclaren as the speaker. Brian is a well-known writer in the emerging church world and you can check out his website at www.anewkindofchristian.com

I think the first thing that struck me while being at the event is that altough our democracy is over ten years old, we still have a long way to go as a nation. Altough there were some people of colour among us, the audience was mostly white. With Brian focussing on the Kingdom and how we get to play a part in God's unfolding story, I just realized that it's not just about what we as a church can do. The question is much nearer to home - what am I doing to bring justice to this world? Where do I get my own hands in what needs to be done? How open is MY eyes to the pain and hurt of this world?

Quoting Dallas Willard Brian pointed out the differences between having a gospel of "sin management" and the "gospel of the kingdom of God". We need to re-think how we see our role in the world, and when we get involved in our communities it should not be for good PR, but because it is part of who we are - BLESSED to BE a BLESSING.

Would love to hear from others who attened the event or just general comments!

PS Sorry for this blog being so boring when it comes to design etc but I STILL do not know enough to get all the bells and whistles. May the simplicity be a fresh air in our techno-world (LOL!)