A good day at the (academic) office

Yesterday was a good day academically.

First I received one of my assignments back (which, I must confess, I was a bit concerned about), and received 77.5% for it. Since I've always regarded the first assignment as a way of establishing what the examiner is looking for, this is a gratifying start indeed!

Then it was the turn of my exegesis script (an assignment that we as probationer ministers submit to the Church to assess our skills in interpreting passages of Scripture). I must confess that my skills still need a LOT of honing (judging by the 52%), but at least for purposes of examination, it was a pass. The oral examination seemed to go a lot better, with the examiner twice asking me why I hadn't included points that I had raised in my script. In hindsight, I think I consulted too many commentaries when preparing the written part of the assignment! Anyway, although we will only get our final marks at Synod, we were informed that we all passed the oral, so that's another notch to carve on the academic belt.

Finally (and by no means least) my son James, who is in Grade 5, has weighed in with a stunning school report for his first term. I was really concerned as to the possible impact my absence would have on his academic performance, but in between making the Under 11 "A" cricket side and advancing from Cubs up to Scouts, he also put in a sterling performance with 4 As and 2 Bs. Well done, James - you make your Dad SO proud!

A random thought...

Isn't it strange how we tend to want to deal with a person's sin, and only then are we prepared to deal with the person as a person. Jesus, it seems, worked the other way around.

Just a thought...

Spirituality, sexuality, and same-sex relationships

Every two weeks at our Phase One college we have a session on "Journeying in Faith", in which we explore different expressions of spirituality.

Last week we had a guest speaker, Johan Strydom, who came to address us on the connection between spirituality and our sexuality. He shared some of his background with us, particularly the trauma he went through during the time he took the Moreleta Park Dutch Reformed Church to court for unfair dismissal relating to his sexual orientation - a case that he won in the end.

Naturally this led us to a discussion around same-sex relationships - a subject that has been fairly hotly debated within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa since the first discussion document on this issue was released by the Doctrine, Ethics and Worship committee (DEWCOM) a few years back. Given the strong views that people on both sides of the debate sincerely hold onto, this document was an attempt at enabling the Church to look at this issue a lot more pastorally than in the past.

Views tend to move from the one extreme, being that those of same-sex orientation should not even be allowed onto church premises, to the other extreme, where those of same-sex orientation should be treated no differently to those of hetrosexual orientation, even including marriage. The passing of the Civil Unions Act in South Africa, which legitimises a legal form of same-sex relationship without going as far as to call it "marriage", has added further fuel to the debate, with many feeling that the Church is lagging behind the State in granting equal rights to same-sex couples. On the other hand, there are those who point to clear indications in Scripture where sexual activity between people of the same gender are prohibited.

Without wishing to state (or defend) a particular position, I have a few concerns that I am currently trying to grapple with:

1. I'm well aware of the danger of using certain so-called "proof texts" in order to defend a particular position. However, the other side of the coin the the danger in "cherry-picking" Scriptures in terms of which ones are contextual, and which ones are of universal application. One even finds both within the same passage of Scripture! I must be honest in saying that my theology is not sufficiently developed to be able to come up with any hard-and-fast rules as to how to discern the difference (if, in fact, such rules exist at all), but sometimes I wonder whether we base our findings on which Scriptures we agree with (therefore of universal application) and which ones we don't (therefore contextual). I know that I should be relying on the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit, yet there are sincere Christians who believe that the Holy Spirit is prompting them to hold onto a position that I am decidedly uncomfortable with.

2. Is the formulation of a particular position based on a sound interpretation of Scripture, or personal prejudice? I have to confess that as a person of heterosexual orientation, who could therefore not even contemplate being in a same-sex relationship myself, a degree of prejudice has to be a factor.

3. One could of course look to the Church for a definitive declaration on the matter. However, this is unlikely to bring about certainty for many people, and will most likely end up alienating a large number of people.

4. The question of other orientations would also need to enter the debate. How does one then discern which ones warrant legitimate expression sexually, and which ones don't?

Right now I'm keeping my head below the parapet as far as my own position on this issue is concerned, although I have willingly shared it with those who have asked - particularly members of the congregation, who have a legitimate right to know where their minister stands on this issue. But it remains a journey for me, and I need to get to a point where I am comfortable that I am being true to God's will.

At this point I believe that those of same-sex orientation should be pastored, just as any person we minister to should be pastored. Whether or not one believes that same-sex orientation is a chosen behaviour or part of what a person is should have no impact on how we share the love of Jesus with another person. How this impacts whether one should be celibate or not, issues of church leadership (including ministry), and marriage, is something I'm still trying to deal with.

Dey've all left me ... dey've gone!

Only those readers who are familiar with the Liverpudlian accent for which 1960s UK comedian Tom O'Connor can appreaciste the anguish in the cry of the title of this post. In my case, it's because my family has left for Joburg this afternoon.

My wife already turned on the waterworks during the service this morning, and it took every fibre of my being not to break down myself while standing behind the pulpit! So her hurried peck on the cheek as we got to the station was her valiant attempt at avoiding any more "snot en trane" as we said goodbye.

Afterwards, I left the station and came straight to the office, where I've spent the afternoon reading and blogging. I'm not quite up to facing an empty flat just yet. However, after the Alpha meeting and the evening service, I'm sure I'll be okay. I'll have to be - there's nowhere else for me to sleep...

Got me a red shirt, now I'm in trouble (I think...)

It will be my birthday this month, and seeing as my Mom will be back in Joburg by then, she decided to give me my birthday present early - a lovely red short-sleeved clergy shirt. I was initially a bit apprehensive, since Bishops wear a distinctive colour. However, the ladies at the Upper Room bookshop in Port Elizabeth, where we purchased the shirt, assured me that the colour that Bishops wear is a distinctly purple colour, even showing me a sample to reassure me.

So when my Superintendent greeted me at the door after church this morning with the words, "Good morning, Bishop", I got that distinct feeling in my gut that here comes trouble. Hopefully the wide grin on his face was an indication that he was pulling my leg, but us Phase Ones tend to be a little insecure about these things...

First "white" funeral

On Saturday I did my first-ever funeral in a white context, which sounds strange coming from a white minister! However, last year and this year I've been serving the Church in coloured communities, where things are done a bit differently than us "whiteys" are used to.

For instance, when someone dies in a coloured community, services are held in the home from Monday night through to Thursday night. Friday the family is given a "break" (a misnomer, since they normally spend the time preparing the catering for Saturday). On Saturday morning, there is a service in the house, followed by the funeral itself in the church. Then it's the service at the graveside, and then back to the house for lunch. As the minister I normally conduct the church funeral as well as the graveside service, and attend one of the mid-week services in order to meet with the family and to support the local preachers. For this, I am rewarded with pride of place at the house on Saturday, having had a gargantuan plate of food placed in fromt of me. I often feel guilty because (a) the families concerned are often not in a position to afford being able to feed upwards of 250 people, and (b) many of the guests are sitting outside, while I'm being treated like the guest of honour inside. I guess it's a case of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", but it's not a situation I'm comfortable with.

In a white context, on the other hand, funerals are a far more subdued affair. One meets with the family a ciouple of days beforehand to sort out the arrangements for the service, and the funeral itself is normally not much more than about 40 minutes. At one point, when the coffin was being brought into the foyer of the church, I asked the undertaker whether the family had requested viewing, and he was horrified! "If we open coffins inside the church, we'll get fired!" was his response. How was I to know? In my coloured congregations, the viewing of the body is standard operating procedure. Ah, well ... chalk another one up to the learning curve.

The other thing that struck me as strange was the three envelopes handed to me by the undertaker. Somewhat bemused, I gave them to Jean, our secretary, and asked to be enlightened. Her resopnse was: "One for the church, one for the organist, and one for you" as she thrust the envelope marked "Reverend" into my hand. Now I'm not sure what to make of this, as I'm also not familiar with the customs around funerals. Certainly I never considered receiving payment for the funeral - after all, I am the minister, and I do receive a stipend, so technically I've already been paid for doing the funeral. Still feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the whole thing, seeing as the church said that it's mine and I feel it's the church's, I handed the (still sealed) envelope to Neville for the upcoming Mozambique mission.

New blog: "Reading as Discipline"

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, once stated that "if a preacher does not read, that preacher shall not preach". If ever one needed good motivation to read, this surely must be it!

I'm actually quite fortunate in that reading has been one of my pleasures in life since I was three years old. In fact, no matter how late I end up going to bed, I cannot sleep unless I've read SOMETHING, even if only a page. However, absorbing what I read is another matter, and I must confess that in some cases I'm better at this than others.

My colleague Jenny and I have therefore come to a point where we need a bit more of a "helping hand" when it comes to keeping discipline with our reading. This includes not only regular Bible reading and required reading prescribed for our studies, but also reading Christian and other literature in general.

I suggested starting a blog for this purpose, that others can contribute to as well, and being a lady of action, Jenny has done just that! So why not pop over to Reading as Discipline and have a look what reading material we are filling our heads with.