South African Universities are burning and where is the church? Well, we are there. i actually spoke a little about this in my previous post, titled 'Where is the church?' As part of the PJW team in Cape Town we are there. Pastors joining in/leading marches in Joburg [including being shot in the face with rubber bullets as has happened to countless students and is as shocking and deplorable]. Friends who are part of the [...]
One thing is certain to me: if you think you have a solid grasp of what is going on at our universities right now, you are probably wrong. The bottom line is that it is not simple - it is complex and complicated and there are so many stories and so many groups and for us to be able to embrace or dismiss one view completely is not a sign of wisdom, but more likely [...]
The other day i asked a simple question in a Race Engagement group i belong to on Facebook, believing it was a safe place. i actually had typed out my question as a status and then decided last second to move it to the group cos it would probably be more appropriate there. The first person who responded made me feel like an idiot for asking the question and challenged my sincerity in asking it. [...]
Communication is one of those things that can be tough even when everyone is doing it well. But let's face it, some people do not do it so well. And tend not to notice it. i thought today maybe we can help them notice it. Warning though - there may be a moment when the person noticing it needs to be you... or me. There will be an invitation at the end to add your [...]
Everyone in South Africa speaks English, right? i imagine we would be surprised as how many English speakers think and assume that. i would probably be less surprised at how many of us expect that. Because English, right? Firstly, it would probably surprise a whole lot of them to discover that English is only the third most spoken language in the world to start with. But it was this passage by Antjie Krog in 'Country [...]
i have a tablet bible application called You Version where i am busy slowly working through the book of Isaiah [three chapters a day when i get to it] and today was Isaiah 58 which i absolutely love and i find this a helpful checklist for people who say they follow Jesus... This is just part of it: 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and [...]
[Disclaimer: If you're a dog owner, try and read through this entire post without formulating a response - just read to understand and hear - and then let what you've read help inform what your response will be] i watched the most fascinating conversation unfold on Facebook yesterday, related to dog owners. Probably one of the most helpful aspects was this dialogue between two friends of mine, Lesego and Ashley, who started off a little [...]
'One day there were two boys, Tom and Bernard. Tom lived right opposite Bernard. One day Tom stole Bernard's bicycle and every day Bernard saw Tom cycling to school on it. After a year, Tom went up to Bernard, stretched out his hand and said, "Let us reconcile and put the past behind us." Bernard looked at Tom's hand. "And what about the bicycle?" Father Mxolisi Mpambani told this story during a lunch-hour panel discussion [...]
Who do i write for? Well, if you hung around on my social medias as a total stranger for a couple of weeks, you might have what seems like a simple and straightforward answer to this. Commentators of Brett Fish are firmly divided into two camps: the Cheerers and the Jeerers. THE CHEERERS We might call them the choir. As in "you're preaching to the choir". As in these okes [and okesses] already get it. As [...]
Two short pieces on racism that you might find very helpful: THREE LEVELS OF RACISM My friend Matt Talley, who i met in Americaland but who is currently living and working with his family in Spain, sent me this from a class he is doing. It's super simple but I don't think I had heard the three levels labeled this way before. Of course I've heard the labels of personal racism and institutional/structural racism. But [...]
