Friday, 23 February 2018

In gratitude for Billy Graham, a new BD course, SPATS and bats...


We were asked to take a bat-eyed view of the Bible this morning in Chapel. It was a wonderful Holy Communion service rich with Pacific music and insight; the communion bread served from freshly woven baskets and covered with banana leaves. 

The Gospel was this....

Mark 8.34-38. He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 

....and our preacher, Associate Professor Rev Dr Upolu Lumā Vaai from the Methodist Church in Samoa, began by recalling growing up in the village with fruit bat colonies in the trees either side of the house, their comings and goings and squeakings like that of extended family. 

Bats take an upside down view of the world, we were reminded. For them, earth is sky and sky is earth. The followers of Jesus needed a certain 'bat-like' approach to life if they were ever to enter into the alternative world of the cross in which, paradoxically, life has to be relinquished in order to be gained. Members of the crowd and closer disciples were all given the challenge to take up their own crosses. Not to carry the cross that Jesus carries: that is his and help to bear that load will come from outside the inner circle. A disciple's cross will be risky, costly allegiance to Christ - a choice which, at that time, defiantly opposed empire. 

And what of today's empires in government, politics, institution, family and Church? We were encouraged to think on those things. A timely question anywhere in the world and a sharp one for issues of power and rule in Pacific life. Serious, cross-carrying disciples are likely to find themselves viewing a lot of things alternatively and needing to operate accordingly, if they want the powers to fall. Top down is bottom up for the bat. 


It would have been better to hear Dr Upolu preaching it really. Never have the video camera running when you need it...






Billy Graham has died. What an extraordinary ministry. I thank him and want to honour him in this post, first by reproducing some of his final words. You can click on the blue links to see more.

Billy Graham’s Final Column: How He Wanted to be Remembered
BILLY GRAHAM·FRIDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2018

Editor’s note: Before his death on February 21, 2018, Billy Graham approved the following response as his final ‘My Answer’ column.

Q: Mr. Graham, how would you like to be remembered?

I hope I will be remembered as someone who was faithful—faithful to God, faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and faithful to the calling God gave me not only as an evangelist, but as a husband, father and friend.

I’m sure I’ve failed in many ways, but I take comfort in Christ’s promise of forgiveness, and I take comfort also in God’s ability to take even our most imperfect efforts and use them for His glory.

By the time you read this, I will be in heaven, and as I write this I’m looking forward with great anticipation to the day when I will be in God’s presence forever. I’m convinced that heaven is far more glorious than anything we can possibly imagine right now, and I look forward not only to its wonder and peace, but also to the joy of being reunited with those who have gone there before me, especially my dear wife, Ruth. The Bible says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

But I won’t be in heaven because I’ve preached to large crowds or because I’ve tried to live a good life. I’ll be in heaven for one reason: Many years ago I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to make our forgiveness possible and rose again from the dead to give us eternal life. 

Do you know you will go to heaven when you die? You can, by committing your life to Jesus Christ today.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Put your trust in Christ today.

There's a short section in my doctoral research 


which recalls when the Revd Dr Colin Morris interviewed Billy Graham for a BBC 2 documentary in 1984. I re-read it after the news broke and share it below, hopefully  for your interest. It was made shortly after Colin had interviewed a variety of the powerful 'electronic preachers' of the day: the new breed of TV evangelists that were all over US media and possibly heading to the UK.  What comes across from Billy Graham in this exchange is a spirit of humility and ability for self-critique; a looking back which is able to see where emphases in his own preaching and theology had changed and own that without defensiveness or arrogance. I feel so glad to have reflected that briefly in the thesis so it's preserved. See for yourself.

6.3.7   Billy Graham

Not long after making God in a Box, Morris interviewed Dr Billy Graham in the days before his ‘Mission England’ rallies of 1984. [1] Together the two preachers cover extensive ground, including conversation about Graham’s latest book on the end times, Approaching Hoofbeats. [2] Morris reflects back to Graham some of the questions he posed and explored with the electronic evangelists and that comparative material merits brief consideration.

Graham receives no special treatment from Morris who quizzes him, as he did with others, about mass evangelism being less costly in terms of personal disclosure and response, lacking the eyeball to eyeball communication Jesus would have had with his followers. Graham has evidence through correspondence and conversation that even in a mass audience, individuals are able to connect with his message personally. But television is changing the rules, suggests Morris, and now it is images more than words that matter. Graham responds that ‘faith cometh by hearing’, a premise he never rejects, and that the Word of God has its own power to connect whether through word or image.

Morris then presents the comments made about Graham by the evangelists he had recently met. In the first place they were, without exception, deeply admiring and appreciative of him and his integrity above anyone else in the field. But in communicating with Christian conviction into the current times, they articulated concerns.
CM: They felt you had lost the initiative because you had now become ‘fuzzy’ on certain of the issues they think are very strong and sharp. They mentioned the Bible, they mentioned the whole business of nuclear deterrence, they mentioned abortion, they mentioned a number of things. Do you think that’s fair?
BG: Not quite…I don’t think I’ve become fuzzy… on the thing God has called me to do, and that’s to proclaim the Gospel. If I became fuzzy on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the fact that he died for our sins, that he rose again, that we must repent of our sins and receive him by faith as Saviour, then I would say that they are justified. Now some of these other issues in which there are all kinds and shades of views; for example on abortion, or on even the death penalty, some of these things that they take strong positions on, all of these things I have not taken strong positions on. I have taken a position – but not the type of position they would like to see me take. And I think that’s where they think I’m fuzzy, and in that sense, I never had the initiative in those areas. 
Morris asks Graham how he feels he has grown in faith, ‘because everybody does’. Where does he think his theology has changed? Graham is sure that the basic theology and message of the Gospel that he is preaching (as at 1984) has remained consistent and unchanged, but…
BG: …I have learned a great deal about discipleship. I have learned a great deal about what it costs to follow Christ. I no longer preach, what I probably did in my early days, what I would call, as Bonhoeffer did, ‘cheap grace’. Because there’s a cost to discipleship that must be declared by the evangelist. We must not tell people, ‘Receive Christ and all is well’, because you receive Christ and that’s the beginning, it’s being a Christian to me.
CM: Do you think that in mass evangelism there is a danger of magnifying the moment of decision and underestimating the cost of discipleship?
BG Yes! Yes I do. And I have tried to correct that in recent years in my own ministry and my own preaching. Whether I have corrected enough or not, I would not be able to say. But I do believe that in the early period, of my so called evangelism, that the cost of discipleship was not as strong as it should have been and as strong as it is today in my preaching.
As mass evangelist at gathered rallies and frequently a communicator to millions via the global broadcast mass media, Graham in 1984 brings a far more measured, nuanced, self-critical and certainly not fundamentalist approach to the communications task, in conversation with Morris.



[1] Colin Morris, I Know I’m Going to Heaven, interview with Billy Graham before the 1984 Mission England rallies, broadcast on BBC 2 in Holy Week 1984. [CMC 866].
[2] Billy Graham, Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. 2nd ed (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985).


Yet another BD course has hit the shelves at PTC Education by Extension and we're immensely grateful to global New Testament scholar and Methodist minister Revd Dr Caroline Wickens [picture right] for producing the material. Caroline has taught courses in Old and New Testament, Greek and Hebrew at the United Church of Zambia's Theological College and was Senior Lecturer and Head of Biblical Studies at St Paul’s United Theological College, Limuru, Kenya. At this large ecumenical college (now St Paul’s University), she taught BD courses in New Testament, Greek, women’s theologies and a range of courses exploring the interface between the Bible and contemporary culture. The course she's offered to PTCEE is An Introduction to the Study of Letters Attributed to St Paul and it's a great addition. 

The PTCEE Online option is gathering pace and all sorts of enquiries are coming in. Here's Nisha helping Keleni to drop her assignment in the right Moodle box!


Revd Rusiate Tuidrakulu, General Secretary of the South Pacific Association of Theological Schools, came by to have a look at developments and we were grateful for his kind encouragement. Vinaka, Talatala Rusi!




Tuesday, 13 February 2018

Pancakes postponed

It's Shrove Tuesday but we haven't been whisking, frying and flipping as yet. 
The lali [drum] was beaten at 3pm and we all dutifully convened in the PTC community space for a briefing about Tropical Cyclone Gita who's visiting the vicinity. Tonga's had a horrible hit  - you may have seen it in the world press.
and Fiji feels for her neighbours...

Our hearts are with our island neighbor who are some of the most resilient people we know. Tonga, we will never forget your kindness rendered to us during and you are in our prayers as we equally persevere through . 🇹🇴🇫🇯

TC Gita's predicted to be skirting south of Fiji tonight according to local weather reports...


NaDraki Weather shared their post.

2 hrs
Please note that the timing of its closest approach to Suva and Kadavu is likely to change depending on the speed of TC Gita.
NaDraki Weather
2 hrsNandali
The closest approach to Suva is anticipated to be around 5am tomorrow morning Fiji time with the centre forecast to be about 350 km south of Suva and about 240 km south of Vunisea (Kadavu). All of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, Lomaiviti, Taveuni, the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands and northern Lau a strong wind warning is current with rough seas for mariners however no significant damage is expected over land areas.
Coastal communities along the southward facing coasts of Viti Levu and also in Lomaiviti and the Mamanuca island groups may experience some coastal sea flooding at high tide with heavy southerly swells developing today over coastal waters. Mariners in all parts of the country will see rough seas and swells.
Na Draki Weather
...and the signs are that it won't be a massive deal, but with memories of TC Winston in 2016, Fiji gets prepared.
Neverthless there's a healthy disrespect among many here for scientific weather prediction, however ardent the efforts of the Fiji Met office might be. In the end, only God knows, friends remark sagely. The Ultimate Ruler of the winds and waves is given frequent respectful reference. 
I was touched by the keeping-it-in-perspective Facebook post of my fellow Programme Director Casi, who leads our Institute of Mission and Research, and share it below, with thanks to him.
Lent begins tomorrow for churches and congregations that observe this Christian tradition. And as we do, please remember those who lost their loved ones in the recent tragic deaths at sea in Kiribati, and the people of Tonga and Samoa who suffered considerably from cyclone Gita. Also remember those in Fiji, especially the people of Ono-i-Lau, Vatoa and Kadavu. Pope Francis' perspective on Lent may help us to think more of them and less about ourselves during this Lenten season. May God be with us in our Lenten journey.



The College's orientation week for 2018 is now past history. First week of residential lectures now sweated out. But PTCEE enjoyed introducing and launching the new online provision that we're putting together - baby steps, but we'll get there - to the community new and old. We had a lively session in the Chapel followed by a celebratory morning tea. Here's a glimpse of it all...



No-one sells the PTCEE programme better than the ever effervescent Nisha 
our tireless and hugely committed Administrator....


...aided and abetted by our new volunteer admin assistant the wonderful Maiarii [more from her later] and yours truly, probably just confusing matters...


Nitesh does miracles with the tech and wowed the potential sign-ups...




I did my bit....


...and then fortunately Kafi, our 2017 Diploma graduate, redeemed it by sharing his PTCEE testimony.  No better advertisement than that.


 And then there was cake....  

None of this could have happened of course without the best team in the world, 
and here they are. We may be small, we may be wondering who's going to pay for next month's internet and where on earth the salaries are coming from, but hey - 
we're beautiful, and we're online! www.ptceeonline.com  Praise God.


I asked Maiarii who's spending a year with us in the office doing Certificate studies and helping with admin to introduce herself, which she kindly did.

Hello! My name is Maiarii POHUE, I am a young woman from French Polynesia, Tahiti, born in Papeete. I have a little sister who’s in Form 6, a mother who stays home and looks after everyone, and a dad who is a Phd student here at PTC. I am the eldest of the family and I have only one sibling. My hobbies are: dancing (especially our traditional dance), singing and play volleyball. I am a person who loves helping people, who works hard, a person who is open minded, likes to share and care as well. I enjoy discussing about my family history, and the tales of French Polynesia with my family at home. I like to watch movies with my family and friends, or even take a walk at the sea wall whenever I feel like taking a bit of fresh air. Lastly, I am a person who also likes to have fun and joke around with my family and friends.

It's a blessing for PTCEE to have you around, Maiarii Thanks for the great presentation you did with the team, and for being so helpful around the place.




First Friday tutorial of the year was great. This is the one for Extension students living locally to Suva. A grand gathering.




We even did some theology as well as drink tea. The exercise for theological muscles this week was to read a piece on the use of John 14.6 by the Sri Lankan Professor of Ecumenical Theology, S. Wesley Ariarajah. That [in]famous verse is Jesus speaking to Thomas the disciple as follows...


Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

So the group debated some of that in the light of Fiji's increasingly multi-faith make up. Particularly on point, I've always felt in this article, is the author's challenge about selective use of Scripture. He says this...

The spiritual dimensions of John 14.

At the end of a presentation I gave calling for a new relationship with people of other religious traditions, one of the participants stood and challenged me with John 14.6, insisting that the text clearly stated how one might be saved. ‘No one comes to the Father,’ says Jesus, ‘except through me.’

‘Let us hold that text for a moment,’ I pleaded, ‘and go to Mark 10 where we have the story of the man who came to Jesus with the questions, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Certainly this is  a question related to salvation, and Jesus’ answer was that he should sell everything he has and give to the poor, and then come and follow him. Here we have a direct question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life” and a direct answer, “you must sell everything you have and give to the poor.”’

Predictably the person objected to making the Markan text the primary salvation verse, claiming that this was a one-to-one conversation between Jesus and a rich man.

‘But so was John 14.6,’ I insisted, ‘It is presented as an intimate conversation between Jesus and one of his disciples, Thomas, who was troubled by things Jesus was saying to his disciples as he prepared them for his impending death. In many ways, the John text has a much more intimate, confidential and private context than the open and public question that the rich man raised with Jesus on how one might inherit eternal life. 

On what basis do we choose one and not the other as having greater importance to our understanding of salvation?’

S. Wesley Ariarajah, ‘Interpreting John 14. In a religiously plural society’, in Rethinking Mission, vol 1, no. 2, Summer 2003. Methodist Church/USPG

I closed the tutorial by posing my own challenge to the group.

So let's suppose that today is the day Jesus returns to earth. He's chosen, of all places on earth, to appear first at the PTCEE Friday tutorial. Look! See the Lord standing in our midst. 

And now, imagine asking him this question. 'Lord - for years and years we've studied your marvellous teachings in the Bible. We've tried to be faithful to them and pass them on to others. Please, tell us now, once and for all: which one, out of all your teachings, did you want us to preach more passionately and frequently than any other?'

And the answer comes; 'Of all my teachings? Oh, John 14.6 of course. No one comes to the Father except through me'. 

Really?

And we left it there.

Monday, 5 February 2018

No Longer Babes


Six very special young people made their Confirmation promises yesterday at Dudley Methodist Church Toorak, and this is just a short post to honour them. They've had varied life journeys so far: some would know the Dudley Circuit well and have been part of a conventional Sunday School upbringing. Others have attached themselves to Nanuku settlement Church in Vatuwaqa for random reasons, and found some sense of belonging and faith focus there. 

I haven't asked the group for permission to share their testimonies in detail, but the ones they shared openly at the service included... 

...memories of serious childhood illness and being told by a doctor that being able to walk was unlikely; 
...the death of both parents and living apart from a much loved and missed sister
...dealing with parental separation which remains fractious and divisive
...truancy, rebellion and some generally grim school experiences

It's clear that life has been full for many reasons, but not necessarily with the same quality of 'fullness' that Jesus promises. But there was more.

...I want to thank God for his protection on my life; I go to and from school and he's with me; he helps me face challenges; he protects my family
...God has been with me all these years and now I know I want to follow Jesus into the future and that's why I want to be confirmed today
...I know my mother had many challenges; my father left when I was a baby but God gave me a new father who has always helped me, and a Father in heaven too
...No one is forcing us to be confirmed today

and said together as an action piece:

We love God. We choose to follow Jesus. We ask for the Holy Spirit. WE ARE READY!

So here are one or two pictures of a significant day. Keep these disciples in your thoughts and prayers please. Thanks.




Testimonies and commitments

With Talatala Qase Revd Dr Immanuel Reuben, Indian Divisional Superintendent


Phew - done! Only by grace....


God may be calling newly confirmed Etika to drum ministry....



Praise God for post-Confirmation lunch....





...followed by suitable silliness and ice creams at the local shopping centre...

It was wonderful too that the Confirmation segment of the service was just one part of a larger celebration: the launching of a much awaited new hymn book in Fijian-Hindi. This contains carefully reworked English transliterations alongside authentic Hindi script to enable the diverse Indian Division congregations to sing together much more harmoniously. Here's a sample! And maybe I'll blog more about this interesting hymn collection on another occasion, when we've got our vocal cords around it. In the meantime, click on this sample and singalong!