Marc's Messages

Bye-bye tonsils

Karolien spent the whole day in hospital with David, who needed to have his tonsils removed. Poor guy. So Peter and I decided to buy him a little present. When David came home, he looked a bit pale, but was as lively as ever. The next few days he will have to drink a lot of lemonade with ice cubes.

At the children's clinic something romantic happened. It turned out that Sanne, a girl from David's class, was also there for a small surgery. When he noticed her, David went up to her and said: "Sanne, I want to marry you," and she said "yes, I also want to marry you!" Later I asked David when the wedding will take place and he said: "When I'm a bit older, 36 or so." So this gives us some time to prepare...

Moving on

At a recent meeting of facilitators in the house church movement, after everyone had shared their story, and it was my turn to say something, I casually remarked: "Oh, I think we've already left the house church scene behind us and moved on." It was meant to be a funny and provocative remark, but when I said it, God immediately confirmed it in my spirit: "Yes, you moved on."

Later I started analyzing this, and I think the core issue is that I don't want to settle for one expression of church, but wish to celebrate and apply the good things of many streams and traditions, and have Jesus in the centre. It's fully organic and fluid, but also appreciates the historic church. It's reformational, but not in an exclusivistic way.

I love to be part of the house church movement, but there's more to (re)appreciate and (re)discover and apply. Some emerging expressions of church tend to be reactionary. As if our identity comes from 'being different from the mainstream'. I'm glad Andrew raised the issue in his weblog this week, and had several people hit him for it. "Well, excuuuuuuse me for getting healed! Excuuuuse me for loving the church!" See his posts 'Can't keep people happy' and 'Willow Creek and postmodern worship', and feel free to add your comments as well.

Cafe church ideas

Lots of newspapers, muffins, coffee, cafe tables. Open for about 2 hours on a Sunday am. Emergent kiwi Steve wants to start a cafe church. Justin Beader from Seattle comments on this idea. And Andrew Jones, who just moved his extensive family from Prague to London, where the first thing he did was find an internet cafe where he could blog, also has some good advice:

1. Go WiFi. Give people the option of surfing the net wirelessly during the event. You might want to think about what you want them to look at or track online that will enhance the theme.
2. Preaching is awkward. Open mike is better. Have lots of people give short stories, poems, readings, whatever. 5 minute limit.
3. Coffee shop dynamics and aesthetics mean that people can look if they want but they don’t have to. You have to win their attention. Don’t force everyone to give attention.
4. Obviously people will be getting their coffee and tea during the event. Make it easy for them to get it anytime without interrupting anything.
5. If you use an open mike, anyone is allowed to share. You will have non-Christians get up and read their poetry or thoughts as well, so be prepared for that. It sometimes helps to have a host who can guide the event and then have the final word.
6. Music. I would go for either a DJ who can create a relaxing background soundscape, or I would go for a guitarist who may lead some accoustic songs from a stool. No more than 2 or 3 musicians. Less is more. Don’t put a band up there - overkill!
7. If people are sitting around at tables, which I assume they are, you can create some exercises or table-based discussions that get them interacting and contributing.

A nice example of a pub church is BarNone in Cardiff, Wales.

A new kid on the block

This morning we welcomed a new colleague in the Joel Ministries team: Robert van Mierlo, who will make an inventory of local and regional prayer groups, networks and city reaching initiatives in the Netherlands, and develop a support structure for this work. He also works with Agape and leads the city prayer initiative in Nieuwegein, south of Utrecht.

Board meeting

Today we had our ministry board meeting. David really wanted to join us, because it was in dad's office and he guessed it would be more fun than going to school. I told him it would be a ve-ry bo-ring meeting, because we would talk all morning. "But dad, I really love talking all day!" Yeah... we already discovered that. Later he heard that Rob (insert) celebrated his birthday and had brought a big cake for us. "Oh", David said, "Didn't you know I also love parties?"

The board meeting was good. We meet three times a year to review the main developments Joel Ministries is involved in, and refocus where needed. Our calling is two-fold: (1) communicate what God is doing wordwide, especially the innovative, 'cutting edge' stories and trends (see Joel News and other publications); (2) help the church to 'hear prophetically and act apostolically' on a local and national level, in other words: receive God's vision and turn it into strategic action (very much the DAWN approach). To stay focused it's important that we don't get sidetracked by operational and tactical things, and other people's expectations and agenda's.

In the afternoon I had a meeting with the core team of Transformations.NL, a platform for prayer and revival. We talked in-depth about developments in the Dutch prayer movement. Not sure whether it was the two three-hour meetings today or just the lack of revelation, but at the end I felt quite drained. No real decisions made yet, we will continue next week.

Kidzcity

Family weekend. Took the boys to Kidzcity, a big playground in a sports complex in Utrecht. Real fun. Still feel my muscles after a jump from the castle glider.

The entrepreneurs are leaving

Somalian refugees and immigrants in the Netherlands are collectively moving to the United Kingdom. The reason: Dutch government is making life too easy for them. They get several payments and financial benefits, while not being encouraged (even restricted by complicated regulations) to start companies and shops and thus make a living for themselves. So they are kept in a position of passivity, which is not good for their self-respect and community life. Therefore they decided to collectively move to the UK, where government funding is much lower, but the 'entrepreneurial climate' is better, and so they work hard to start their own businesses. As a result the Somalian communities in the UK are thriving, and research shows that 70% of the Somalians who still live in the Netherlands plan to move to the UK as well.

In a way this situation is not much different from the church. At our city leaders meeting this morning a pastor remarked that we take so much of church life for granted. What will remain of our faith if persecution comes? I would take the question a bit further: aren't we keeping Christians in a position of passivity by offering endless easy-to-consume church programs? Shouldn't we encourage people to become entrepreneurs, to explore and launch out in new ways of community and missions, and not limit them by complicated regulations that we call 'theology', 'church program', or 'church structure'? I guess it's a retoric question. Already many 'entrepreneurs' are leaving conventional church to form their own communities, taking less support for granted.

Going Dutch?

A city alderman in Amsterdam had to resign from his position in the city council because he openly told a journalist about his addiction to pornography and his regular visits to prostitutes. The journalist published the story and a whole media hype developed, leading to the alderman's fall. Now the discussion of the day is primarily about the role of the media, not about the alderman's lifestyle. Most people seem to agree that visiting prostitutes is a private issue, and not relevant for the alderman's public office.

Where does this weird dualism and political correctness come from? If we cannot 'govern' ourselves, how can we govern a city? If we break a covenant with our husband or wife and even make it public knowledge, placing our family in a situation of extreme vulnerability, how can we enforce law and order, and offer protection to a city? I don't want to throw stones here, just reminding myself that the way I live can never be separated from public ministry. Jesus modelled a holistic lifestyle.

Norway wrap-up

Today and tomorrow I'm following up on my trip to Norway. I created a photo album and read through the stories of my fellow-bloggers Andrew, Reinhold, Kerstin, Scott and Erling. Erling (61) from Bergen is not only the oldest blogger we've met so far, he also created a special Norwegian poetry blog titled 'To be somebody'.

Winter in Oslo

We had breakfast at Geir's place, and came up with a lot of crazy media ideas that we could use to spread a 'connect' virus among young people. After that we went into the snowy mountains around Oslo, where Jan-Inge and Karl-Anders tried to convince me that it was a Norwegian custom to 'baptise visitors' in the snow. No way! In the course of the afternoon they dropped me at the airport and I flew back to Amsterdam.

BTW, when I arrived in Oslo something strange happened to my luggage. I was the first to get out of the plane, and went straight to the arrival hall to collect my luggage. Of course I was too early and had to wait 10-15 minutes before the carousel for my flight started to run. Everyone's luggage came out, except mine. I waited for another 20 minutes, but no luggage. I had a good look around in the hall, and decided to report my luggage was missing. Then I thought: "Hey, let's do at least a quick prayer, or rather a prophetic statement that my luggage will return to me in good order as soon as possible." When I turned around I saw my luggage right in front of the carousel. Now I'm wondering... was this a Philip-kind of experience or did I completely overlook my luggage? I think I go for the miracle.

Turbo house church and prayer in Oslo

Greetings from Oslo, where this week 20 churches are praying and worshipping around the clock. A good setting to hang out and strategize with my Connect Europe friends Anne-Maria, Karl-Anders, Helena, Geir, Jan-Inge and Brydon. When I arrived yesterday, they immediately exposed me to their way of doing house church (rather turbo house church). A great meal with chicken, then communion and confessing sins, and finally moving into worship and prophetic dance until midnight. Who said house church was boring?

I'm staying at Geir's place, and using his computer with braille keyboard. He's an amazing guy - what he doesn't see in the physical, he gets compensated in the spiritual. He is very sensitive to God's Spirit and speaks with great clarity, wisdom and discernment. Today he remarked: "Evangelism without discipleship is like making children without taking the responsibility to raise them." That's why many churches look more like day-care centres then families I guess.

We talked about a lot of things today: church and leadership issues, 'covering' versus healthy accountability, how to deal with criticism and opposition, planning and implementing vision, how to connect with God's work in nations without pushing an agenda, the relationship between new moves of God and established ministries, and spreading a Kingdom virus.

It was also good to meet up with John Beynon, a prayer mobiliser from the UK whom God used to form and strengthen national prayer partnerships in Iceland, France and Norway. And I connected with Jörgen Aass and Arne Borgerson who (among others) lead the prayer movement in Norway. They are preparing for Norge 2004, a 40 day prayer and fasting period before Easter. God is bringing the prayer movement up to speed and into maturity, while at the same time unity is under severe pressure. No surprise - the same is happening back home. One of the first things I have to do when I set foot on Dutch soil tomorrow is problem-solving, communication-clearing and relationship-building. It's so wonderful to be a connector...

Observations from a Latino

Yesterday and today we spent an extra day in Bergen with the European DAWN team. We stayed in a nice hotel near the harbour with free food and drinks, and even cheap internet access. I've always wondered why hotels charge extra for everything and leave their guests with a 'squeezed-out' feeling. Both from an economic and psychological perspective it's a much better concept to make the rooms a bit more expensive and give free hospitality in the other areas. And in case you wondered: the knäckebröd with salmon was de-li-ci-ous.

It's great that Berna Salcedo, the Latin American coordinator for DAWN, came over from Miami to spend some quality time with us. He explained to us how the DAWN strategy is being implemented in Latin America nation by nation, and how they form teams and train trainers. Traditionally DAWN teams have a 'four-fold ministry': prayer, research, vision & strategy and planning. I suggested to Berna to add a fifth one: communications, which is a weak link at the moment. The most encouraging thing he shared was that 90% of the churches in Latin America are being planted by people under 25. He says: "The young people really want to be challenged. If I spend one day with a young guy and teach him how to plant a church, he will do it the next day." And another observation: "The more time you take to teach people, the less likely they will do it. It's best to just lauch out and learn on the way."

We also talked about the 'exploitation' of the revivals in Argentina and Cali, Colombia (featured on the first Transformations video). During the revival (some say it was a renewal), the churches in Argentina did not invest much in new leaders and churches. Most money went into buildings, big stadium events and travel costs to 'export' the revival. Berna says that in Latin America Argentina is now the nation that is most resistent to the gospel. So there seems to be a counter-reaction when you do only half the thing (prayer and unity without multiplying leaders and churches). In Cali something similar happened. Berna visited the city several times and noticed that less than 4% of the population has been impacted by the gospel. More than half of the people live in poverty. Children are on drugs and sell their bodies. Did something substantial happen in Cali? Sure, but it seems the guys at Sentinel Group showed only half of the story.

When we compiled an overview of the nations of Europe, and categorized them based on the status of the DAWN process, we noticed that Norway, Portugal and Romania are currently doing the best job. But these nations are different in background, or would they be relatively 'traditional' (less secularized)? A common denominator is that these nations intentionally combined prayer, unity and churchplanting, and have visible people with high integrity on board. We hope to get a better picture from the Europe-wide research that DAWN initiated and that Andreas Wolf is preparing. And to strengthen our own know-how we will receive training this year on 'implementing strategies' and will try to get someone on board who has expertise and experience in forming national partnerships.

One of the 'strongholds' that prevent churches in Europe from multiplying is the conviction that we need healthy churches before we can plant churches. Berna said he had encountered the same attitude in Uruguay. So when he was invited for the national pastors' conference, he had to promise not to teach on churchplanting. But that day he came across an article in the national newspaper, reporting about a 400,000 member strong cult that was growing fast in Uruguay. He showed this article to the church leaders and said: "This country is spiritually open, and someone is harvesting - but it is not you." That remark changed the whole conference. Reinhold added: "It's very simple. You will always have to work on your marriage (health), but one day you will have children (multiplication), and the younger you get them the healthier it is for your body." Actually the Norway case proves it: the last 30-40 years every denomination has declined in membership, except the denominations that implemented a churchplanting strategy.

Bergen's old city

In earlier times Bergen was Norway’s capital and one of the most influential cities in Scandinavia. Nowadays it’s the cultural capital, with a pittoresque city centre, a harbour, a fish market and many wooden houses.

God wants the emerging generation!

Andrew found out he has some Viking blood and announced this morning that he is actually a direct descendant of king Harald of Norway. Noralv Askeland, one of the pastors, wasn’t really impressed. He remarked that king Harald had a child in every house, so half Norway can be traced back to him. Poor Andrew. But he gave a good plenary introduction on churchplanting in the emerging culture.

He said the fastest growing church is that of the churchless Christians. Many people (and especially ‘cultural creatives’ like the new media folks) leave church because they want to grow spiritually and the church is limiting that. They rather connect and interact with people who see life as a journey with Jesus and each other. For the same reason new agers and other spiritual seekers don’t feel attracted to church. They think Christians are immature and unspiritual, and cannot really engage with their questions and pursuit of a relevant lifestyle. An MTV communications officer said that 99.7% percent of their viewers is interested in God and spirituality, and although they are very open for input, it never crossed their mind to ask the church.

A strategic issue for churchplanting in the emerging culture is: our house or their house? Most churches expect seekers to come to their meetings and adapt culturally, but it’s way better and more biblical to meet people in their own house and culture, where they can invite their own friends. Jesus said to Zaccheus: “Today I want to be in your house.” They trew a party, Zaccheus invited his friends and Jesus met them. A related issue is: do we start with purpose or fun? It’s way easier to start with a fun event and give it purpose, then the other way around. Jesus never described the Kingdom as a ‘temple experience’, but compared it with a party.

Over lunch we met with the leaders of the prayer conference, the Norwegian DAWN committee, and the European DAWN team, to talk about the question ‘what is God saying to the church in Norway?’ This was really interesting because the prophetic words and pictures of the intercessors matched exactly with the more down-to-earth observations of the DAWN leaders. Even Reinhold, who has a love-hate relationship with intercessors, was impressed.

Basically God is challenging the church in Norway to break out of her subculture by releasing the young people to do whatever God called them to do. Rachel Hickson, an intercessor-teacher from the UK said that in order for creativity to be realeased it is necessary to ‘colour outside the lines’. Oivind Augland, the DAWN coordinator for Norway, stressed that based on Malachi 4 the fathers should first turn their hearts to their children, before they can expect their children to turn their hearts to them. Gideon pulled down his father’s Baal altar, and when the critics came, his father protected him (although it was his altar). In the same way God is using the emerging generation to pull down idolatry and tradition in the church, and instead of criticizing them for it, the spiritual fathers should protect them. These impressions were shared in the early afternoon session, and were well received and responded to.

Overall the Norwegian DAWN team is doing a good job. Dagen, the Christian daily newspaper, reported that over the last year 60 new churches have been planted. The research statistics are available at dawnnorge.no.

Corridor talk: the gospel for men

Today was the start of the Norwegian DAWN conference, with - interestingly - a parallel prayer conference. Norwegians are less ‘warm-blooded’ than the Dutch (the more north you go, the less emotional the people), so the meetings aren’t really exciting, though still good things are happening. I guess I’m also getting a bit ‘conference-tired’, especially when 50+ year old men are holding long monologues and expect their audience to pay attention (and money). At the entrance of the church hall there was a funny sign, suggesting unintentionally 'no communion and fellowship allowed in this church hall!' Anyway, I’m spending more time in the corridor and the coffee room than in the conference hall, and that’s where happily the more creative and innovative people seem to hang out.

Talked with Kerstin from Berlin and Manfred from Sweden about how churches could become more ‘man-sensitive’. In general church is very feminine (pastoral programs and sissy songs), while men need something to live and die for, something adventurous that involves risk. If you’ve read John Eldredge’s ‘Wild at Heart’, you know what I mean. Also in city reaching the focus can be more on unity meetings (sitting together, drinking coffee and praying for each other) then on going new ways and pioneering, which is a nuisance for most men.

Link this to evangelism: perhaps we need different ‘doors’ to God when we explain the gospel to people. For men ‘giving your heart to Jesus’ is way too soft. We would need to stress the adventurous, risk-taking, sacrificial nature of Jesus. For women the relational, nurturing, caring aspect is more important. For new agers concepts like ‘rebirth’ and ‘inner healing’ make a lot of sense. But all these ‘doors’ have one thing in common: in Jesus we find our destiny. That’s why in prayer and conversations it’s so helpful to speak godly destiny into people’s lives.

City reaching in Bergen

It’s raining in Bergen, like probably most days of the year. We’re in a motel with a nice view on a frozen lake and snowy mountains. Inside we’re having all kinds of interesting meetings and discussions. The highlights so far: several Norwegian leaders confessed their prejudice and wrong attitudes and reconciled with each other, and Sam Williams and Eric Swanson from CitiReach International presented their insights in city reaching.

A good definition of city reaching is ‘the integration of the good news and good works of the church into the life of the community in such a way that the community experiences spiritual and societal transformation.’ The key is serving the city, not pushing a program. We heard encouraging stories from Leiden, Berlin, Riga and Manchester. And of course a real DAWN meeting should have at least one PowerPoint presentation, so that was taken care of as well. A real helpful insight for me was the relation between innovation cycles and an organic (not an organisational) approach to city reaching. And I realised that if Jesus cared for people in the power of the Holy Spirit, he was actually a care-ismatic.

The pastors in Bergen shared about their city reaching initiative, which is based on a Lighthouse prayer evangelism strategy of Christians adopting their area in prayer, practical care and sharing Jesus. They started it off with bonfires on the seven mountaintops surrounding the city, where Christians prayed and worshipped throughout the night and blessed every area of the city. As a result, the city is opening up for what the church has to contribute. The local newspaper opened with this headline: ‘Bergen is chosen by God’.

As expected, the nights in Bergen are long in terms of darkness and short in terms of sleep. Yesterday I talked my way into the night with Pieter Bos and Andreas Wolf. Somehow the later it gets, the better the talks. DAWN is a company of friends and I enjoy being part of it.

Trip to Norway

I'm on my way to Norway to help facilitate and attend several DAWN-related meetings. DAWN (Discipling A Whole Nation) is a worldwide friendship-based network for saturation church planting. DAWN offers a strategic approach to reach and disciple a whole city, region or nation, by intentionally planting one congregation per 1,000 inhabitants or one small group per 100 inhabitants. More about the vision at dawneurope.net and dawnministries.org.

This is my schedule:
From 10-15 January I will be in Bergen for a Scandinavian DAWN consultation, a small European consultation on city reaching, a national DAWN conference for Norway, a national prayer conference and a DAWN Europe team meeting. So not much chance I will fall asleep. Apart from the serious stuff it will be fun to meet up with friends and colleagues like Reinhold, Andrew and Kerstin.
From 15-17 January I will be in Oslo to connect with a group emerging leaders who are praying about some sort of gathering for young prayer mobilisers and church planters from all over the nation.

Sometime ago I saw Norway filled with little fires, all over the nation. The phrase that sprang up in my mind was: "Every fjord for Christ!" In May 2000 I was praying in Oslo and Bergen and saw the immense potential of young people. But they were just filling the pews, singing quietly. I felt the urge to stand up and cry out: "Put off your slumber and let God release you to impact this nation and the nations of the world!" The pressure is building up. In November Chris Daza prophesied that God will move fast in Norway, and that prophetic breakthrough prayer and church planting will go hand in hand.

The eagles are coming!

"Look, Frodo - the eagles are coming!" Yesterday afternoon and evening I hang out with a group of intercessor-friends from Utrecht and Venlo, and Chris Daza, a friend and prophet from Malawi who now ministers in Europe. We prayed and talked about raising the level of the prophetic in the Dutch prayer movement and beyond.

The role of prophets is to announce what God wants to do, and to call for repentance and prayer. Chris stressed that the time of the 'big names' is over, and that God is pouring his spirit of prophecy on many people. It's time for the Dutch to reclaim their land.

Some food for thought: "The more we move into intercession, the more prophetic we become." Too often we are involved in things we shouldn't be involved in, and that keep us away from Jesus and 'walking in the things He has prepared for us'. Chris knows what he is talking about. Once he spent 10 days in God's presence, before ministering in an esoteric meeting. Many new agers were healed and delivered and came to Christ; six churches were started that same day. And this is Western-Europe, not Malawi.

Anyway, later this year we might have another meeting with Chris for those who are called into a prophetic ministry and lifestyle, and who are seeking God for our nation. And like Frodo's journey it's not for the fainthearted! It's not about a safe life in the 'prayer closet', but about being obedient to the call, whatever it takes, until the King returns and his kingdom is established.

The world has changed

Last night I watched a quite fascinating TV documentary on the socialist broadcasting company VARA. A homosexual producer made an empathic one-hour documentary about a group of Christians who go on a 'pilgrimage' to Nigeria to be healed by prophet T.B. Joshua.

It was fascinating for several reasons. First of all it was very authentic. Real people, real stories, real questions, real experiences and real changes. One couple openly shared that their marriage was on the verge of break-down because the husband had a mental disease (kind of autism). When the producer visited them again some time after the trip, they said they were planning for a 'second wedding'. Secondly, the VARA showed what the Evangelical broadcasting company EO did not really dare to show: a woman manifesting demonically and being delivered right on the spot. Joshua discerned that she felt like a man in a woman's body and drove the demon that caused this out. Back home she and her husband testified about the change in her life. Thirdly, it was refreshing to see a non-believer become engaged in a 'pilgrimage' and 'rituals' and commenting on it in an unbiased way.

After this Nigerian adventure I zapped on and landed in a program in which a prostitute joined a Hare Krishna community for a weekend, to experience their lifestyle. Mind you, this program was broadcasted by the Catholic broadcasting company KRO. Then I zapped on again and landed in a show news program run by commercial TV channel RTL4 that announced that the Protestant broadcasting company NCRV will start a new series titled 'Religion Swap'. Two people with different religions swap faith for a few days to see what it is like.

Now if non-Christian broadcasting companies start making documentaries on God, and even healing and deliverance, and Christian broadcasting companies on cults like the Hare Krishna, the world has changed, and the Dutch broadcasting system with it's range of government-funded 'identity groups' has had its time. You don't need to be a prophet to foresee that.

E-mail ministry

Sometimes it feels like most of my ministry is answering e-mails. Of course this is only partly true. I spend about an hour a day on e-mail, because it is a great ministry tool to connect, encourage and develop people and movements.

The last few days I helped a friend in London who is struggling with the issue of church structure and leadership versus freedom in the Holy Spirit. I gave permission for a republication of a Joel News article in a Swiss French-speaking magazine for young people. I made an appointment to meet a British prayer leader in Norway next week. And communicated with a house church facilitator about an invitation to Poland. A church leader in Rotterdam asked me about the influence of Erasmus and humanism, something I touched on while I gave a seminar in that church a year ago. And I wrote an e-mail to a ministry leader in Argentina to find out if he is interested in partnering with Joel News for a Spanish edition. And this is just a handful of e-mail connections.

Is it worthwile to do? Yes, as long as I sense God's Spirit is in it, and I can cope practically. Normally I answer e-mails short and to-the-point, which helps. And with Mailwasher it's easy to filter out the spam and keep my in-box clean.

Liquid NJ

Bram Flippo pointed me to Liquid New Jersey, a church that offers living water for a thirsty generation, and that has intentionally chosen a fluid approach to ministry. They say:

"We know what time it is... and what to do. With a hand cupped around our ear, we listen closely for God's clear voice. With a moist finger to the winds, we are sensitive to subtle shifts in cultural trends and patterns. We want to be poised to turn on a dime, at a moment's notice, when God gives us new directions about engaging and equipping this generation for Him."

I like their values and approach to ministry. Instead of traditional small groups, Liquid New Jersey has 'transformational communities' - when you're ready for something more than polite Churchianity.

Imitation of Christ

"'He who follows Me, walks not in darkness,' says the Lord. By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.

"The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ."

OurDailyBlog on Thomas a Kempis' 'Imitation of Christ' is really helpful. There are so many side-issues that shape our life and seem to define 'church', while we should be permeated and shaped by one person who is all in all: Christ.

Pete Ward also addresses this in 'Liquid Church'. In chapter 3 he stresses that the reality of the church is to be found only in Christ. Christ is our origin and our truth. To be a Christian is to be joined to Christ, and to be joined to Christ is to be joined to his church. One of the consequences of this theological principle is that we should not define church as something based on a location, a program or a theology, but as coming from a common allegiance or connection to Christ.

Paul's use of the phrase 'in Christ' shifts us beyond an institutionally bound church life. We are 'in Christ' when what we do and say accord with his character and his life. We are 'in Christ' when we experience the directing and guiding of the Holy Spirit. We are 'in Christ' when we worship and celebrate together. The Christ in whom we dwell and who dwells in us pervades all of life and surrounds the world with his energy and presence.

Visit to the museum

Today I took my son David (4) to a religious art exhibition in the Catharijne Convent, and was surprised that he liked it, though he had more interest in the glass elevator and the light schemes of the Napolitan Christmas stables, then for the more serious art.

The main exhibition was titled 'Papal Splendour: Treasures of the Vatican' and showed tiara's, portraits, chalices, reliquaries and the like. On the one hand it's great that the Church of Rome valued and stimulated artistic expression and excellence, on the other hand it's sooo religious and a big contrast with what the church is really called to do: proclaim good news to the poor. Happily in the emerging church the arts and social justice don't form a contrast, but rather strengthen each other.

The second exhibition was about Christmas and showed paintings, historic Christmas stables, and anything between art and kitsch that was related to Christmas. David quickly spotted the angels and remarked that one of the angels had a little dick. Good observation. And he really seems to think things through as well. Tonight he asked Karolien, seriously: "Mum, if I have Jesus inside me, then will He come out if I do a poo on the toilet?" With kids around life is never boring, and the sacred and the profane naturally go together.

The Return of the King

Saw the final episode of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, this afternoon. What I like most are the epic 'endtime' battles, involving all kinds of weird creatures. Like the Mumakil advance in the battle at Pelennor Fields. A great, intense spectacle.

LotR also shows the draw to power symbolized in the ring (who can really resist it?), and the distortion and degeneration that evil brings to creation. Of course in the end good prevails - Mordor collapses, the earth swallows the orks, the eagles come and rescue the hobbits, and the king returns to reign over Middle-Earth.

Winter in Holland

Because of our sea climate and the 'greenhouse effect' Holland has mild winters with temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees Centigrade. But when there is snow and it's freezing, the world is different. This picture I took earlier today on the grounds of Rhijnauwen estate.

Give us our daily blog

Andrew Jones started OurDailyBlog, a blog-based devotional site on Thomas a Kempis' 'Imitation of Christ'. Good idea - weblogs could be an ideal interface for group study and interaction. You can pre-post the devotionals and people who want to join in, can pick up the information in their RSS reader, and post comments. No kidding, the digital church is among us.