Issues I'm Wrestling With

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about recently. In regards to most of them I don't really know much about them but feel that they are issues I cannot ignore or put aside because of ignorance. My goal of course is to discover a biblical perspective and Christian response to each issue.

Environmental Issues...

- Climate Change
- Peak Oil
- Genetic Engineering
- Food Shortages and the increasing difficulty of growing food in some places

Justice Issues...

- Sweat Shops
- World Poverty
- Western Social Conditioning (that may be extremely unbiblical) and its negative impact on the world

Over the next 6 months I am hoping to have developed a genuine understanding of these issues and how average Joe should respond.

So far I have been talking to people I know that already have a real interest and understanding of these issues. I have been asking them to recommend books, websites, documentaries, etc that would be insightful. I've also been watching a fair bit Discovery Chanel and Documentary Chanel as well.

I'll keep you posted.

Also feel free to recommend books etc that you have found helpful in regards to these issues.

Reflections on Reflecting - Part Two

So how do you get better at reflecting? How do you get better at weighing up all the variables, possibilities, contributing factors, to a situation or circumstance?

Here are a few quick fire thoughts...

1. Understand your biases - we all have them, we are all biased towards all sorts of different things in all sorts of different situations. We have complex personality biases, biases due to nature and biases due to nurture. We have simple biases, some people are more negative than positive, some people all ways take the side of the underdog. Know your biases and take them into account when you are reflecting on something.

2. Ask someone what they think and why they think it - have you ever noticed that different people have different opinions than you on all sorts of things? Have you ever noticed that some of these people (one or two) are intelligent and wise people that you respect? How can these intelligent people draw conclusions on an issue so different to yours? Ask them. It will give you insight into their reflective process and perhaps allow you to see things from a different perspective.

3. Try using different thinking hats has you reflect - this just means intentionally thinking about things from different perspectives. Negative, positive, objective, creative, etc, etc. Make your own (figurative not literal) or use Edward de Bono's.

4. Learn to mull - that is to think over, consider, dwell upon, ponder, muse, contemplate, and weigh. Certain situations require quick thinking, instant consideration of all the facts known, and decisions to be made. Where possible; mull. Take time to consider. It can be over the course of a week, a couple of weeks, overnight, or best off all with some cheese and crackers and a fine Shiraz (all though not possible when you are required to mull over something at work). Basically practice slowing things down where possible to give careful consideration.

5. Converse more - make an effort to have more conversations and more meaningful conversations with the world around you. Learn to ask questions, this will get conversation going and also allow you to hear other people's considered (hopefully) opinions. You'll never know what your learn. As you reflect on what they think, don't just reflect on their theories, reflect on how they may have come to their conclusions and ask them. You'll learn a lot that could help you.

Here are some things to reflect on...

* What are we going to do about child abuse in New Zealand? What could you or I do?
* How green has God called us to be? What part should Christians play in looking after the environment?
* What are the top 10 essentials of every summer break? Will test match cricket make the cut?

I look forward to reflecting on these issues in future posts.

Reflections on Reflecting - Part One

Reflecting on reflecting sounds quite deep and meaningful. Perhaps even complex like looking at a mirror through another mirror back at another mirror, oohh. The whole scenario has the potential to get very complicated, deep and philosophical. A little bit like the comment I recently received from the marker of my latest assignment…

‘The key question is whether the popularisation goes so far as to boil the book down either into inapplicability, or into incoherence?; ‘reductio ad absurdum,’ to use the Latin phrase.’

Now tell me, is a comment like that really necessary? Or even helpful?

Who really cares? Well sadly in the world of academia things like that are just par for the course; or should I say ‘par pro tractus?’ Which I would say except that it sounds a bit like ‘pass the protractor,’ which isn’t really that flash.

Without in anyway wishing to get deep or philosophical I thought I would share a few thoughts on reflection and the need to be able to reflect well.

Reflection is the process of careful thought. It is the process through which considered ideas are formed. It is the process through which we filter that which we hear, see, feel, and experience and then draw conclusions.

It is a process that many people are inept at.

Reflection is an attribute that is sadly lacking in many people. It could be because of the postmodern (everything is true – nothing is true) world that we live in. Why bother reflecting? It could be because of the incredible access we have to information. Why should you think about something when you can just Google it and find the answer waiting for you on the web? It could be because people are in fact generally lazy. Most people don’t want to think for themselves or don’t believe that are ‘bright’ enough to think for themselves, especially about something even remotely complex. ‘Leave that to the bright sparks who write books and speak Latin.’

Whatever the reason – everybody needs to learn to reflect.

For sure some people will reflect on deeper more complex issues than others, but everyone needs to be able to reflect. Especially in regards to questions such as…

- Why do I believe what I believe about __________?
- Why do I react the way I do when __________ happens?
- Why is ___________ a recurring issue or circumstance in my life?

We need to practice reflecting and learn to reflect because…

Not everything you read in a book is true.
Not everything you google or wiki is true.
Not everything you hear in a sermon is true.
Not everything you believe is true.
Not everything people tell you is true.
Not everything that happened was caused by the things you thought caused it.

And so on and so on.

Reflecting is the first stage of learning and will lead you down a path of significant personal growth. You’ll learn humility, to listen, to search, to discover, to balance, and to draw more accurate conclusions.

It will enable you to stand stronger, firmer, more confident, and more certain in life; while at the same time living more teachable, mouldable, and willing to change than ever before.

A Postmodern Obsession with Novelty and Entertainment

This is one of the things that I think we all need to be aware of in the culture that we live in. The world is obsessed with novelty and entertainment. As much as anyone else I hate being bored, love to be entertained, and love new innovative ideas, concepts, and ways of doing things.

As a communicator I must appreciate this is the world we live in and look to communicate to the world around me in a way that makes my message as palatable as possible.

As listener to I must appreciate my bias towards being entertained and discipline myself to listen and receive even when the message is not as entertaining, novel, humorous, or as dynamic as I might like.

As a leader I must challenge and encourage those I lead to be disciplined listeners as well. The very thing they may need to hear may be audible if they would tune in but could be missed if they only engage listening when it is easy and entertaining.


God speaks to people in different ways throughout the bible; audibly from bushes that are burning but that are not burning, through donkeys talking, in a booming voice from heaven, through wild men that wander in the wilderness. Our post-modern bent would be towards these kind of messages. God also speaks through still small voices and through ordinary plain men and women.

We must remember that the best message is not always the easiest one to listen to. The best message is the message that we most needed to hear and respond to.

Sometimes you read 10 chapters of an 11 chapter book before you discover in the 11th chapter the answer to a question you had carried for years. Sometimes its late in the second half of a dry sermon that the preacher throws out a line that can change your world for ever. Sometimes its the 4th session of the day in the middle of the afternoon at a conference before you hear a particular point that will turn a situation or circumstance in your life around. Sometimes its the boring lady sharing truth from God's world that will set you free. Sometimes its the funny, humorous, dynamic (shouting even), guy, with video clips, sound bytes, and 3D PowerPoint that has the message you need to hear. Sometimes though he has nothing you needed to hear.

We need to be mindful of our cultures propensity towards the novel and the entertaining. Not everything we need though will be novel or entertaining. Sometimes it will be dull, grey, and boring (a bit like compound interest), but long term it can turn your life around.

The best movies are not all new releases.
The best books were not all written in the last 5 years.
The greatest truth is not always new truth (normally never new truth).
The greatest message does not always come from your favourite preacher.

Mistaking Shouting for Saying Something Worthwhile

The shout seems to have become very popular over the last few years. In some meetings after being asked to shout, (not just me personally, that would be even more silly, but the whole crowd), I have been told I am not shouting loud enough and have been encouraged to shout with more vigor, enthusiasm, for longer, and with spontaneity (right now!).

Now I know that the bible encourages us to shout to God with a voice of triumph; somewhere along the way though I think we have missed it. The shout seems to have become the measuring stick for how much the crowd loves Jesus, a general KPI of the Spirit moving, and a rhetorical device that quiet obviously adds impact and authority to ones preaching.

The reality is shouting is just shouting. It is using ones voice in a significantly louder than usual manner and when appropriated for an extended period of time can be damaging to vocal chords and ones throat.

Sometimes it is an important and significant response to God. Sometimes it adds emphasis and impact to a particular statement or point in a message. It can be helpful when telling a story. However, let's not mistake shouting for saying something important, evidence of devotion to Christ, or a sign of spiritual breakthrough.