Fifteen years ago, on one summery afternoon in the staff room at Carey Baptist College, Mike Crudge suggested to me that I should start writing a blog. And so it started … with a post entitled, Opening Our Own Document (15 February 2006).
And 700 posts later, I guess that is exactly what I’ve continued to do. It has been the ‘art of unpacking’ — watching and reading, thinking and imagining — as life journeys on around me. My signature finish, ‘nice chatting’, reveals that while I am writing away to myself, intent on recording what I don’t want to lose, I am also ‘opening up the document’ for others, chatting with them if they choose to pop by, as a way of serving them and resourcing them. I love that part of it. It is what keeps me going. I know that it is not clever technologically and I know it is too wordy … but the writing itself has become a spiritual practice for me, often done very early on a Sunday morning. It energizes me and refreshes me.
A surprise outcome, with its Search function, is that it has become something of an Illustration File for me. For example, last week I taught a course on Preaching at the University of Otago, together with my friend, Geoff New, but with all my resources still in India. How could I update my stuff, as I like to do, in this setting? The Search function became my ally, as I discovered things I had long forgotten and then incorporated them into my presentations.
But enuf of all that.
And yes, this really is Post #700.
And so, for a bit of fun, I’ve trawled the blog to find the 25 ‘most viewed’ blogs, whatever that means. I don’t think it is the same as ‘most read’ blogs 😀. I list them in order here. As you can imagine, I have no idea why some are viewed more than others…
The Christian historian, Keith Newman, writes the story of the missionaries among the Māori, here in Aotearoa-New Zealand. It was ‘a new perspective’, even finding a link to Wilberforce and The Clapham Sect. It had me ‘cheerleading, lamenting, learning, puzzling’ all the way through…
I was a bit scared of the book of Revelation. Like most other preachers, my preaching had not ventured past Chapters 2 & 3. 2012 became the year for overcoming the ‘fear factor’. Described here are the discoveries that strengthened my resolve in preaching, starting in chapter 7.
One of many blogs that reflect our joy of living back in India, the land of our childhood. This one narrates the trip to Customs in Chennai to clear our stuff and all the fun we had, both with bureaucracy and with visiting a city that was new to us.
I remember how Stuart Lange’s engrossing narrative of evangelical Christianity in New Zealand through the middle years of the twentieth century preoccupied me during those first two early mornings living back in India. I’m sure there were other things I should have been doing! My ‘ten random reflections’ meander all over the place, but that is simply a reflection of how many buttons Stuart pushed.
Written as the Election Day dawned in India, the one which brought Trump to power. “If Trump wins, my prayers will focus on the global church … If Clinton wins, my prayers will focus on the local church.”
My first, fumbling efforts to express a conviction that has become a bit of a hobby horse. We’ve been leaning our missional ladder against the wrong wall for a generation, or three. The conviction has only strengthened in the intervening years, as have the bewildered looks of disagreement on the faces of more than a few experienced church leaders!
Finally, a post directly from my work with Langham Preaching, a privilege that has inspired so many posts. Turkey is the setting. A reflective devotional from Riad about the caring friendship of Jesus, combined with a quick observation from Mark about the enduring suffering for Jesus, provided the spark. What a juxtaposition.
I am so pleased that a book by Philip Jenkins is prominent in this list as he has had such a profound influence on me. I start with ‘This book is a horror show’ and go on to describe six horrors to emerge in and around those years of World War 1, such a brutal, pointless, senseless war. A pandemic. The martyrdom of the Russian church. The Armenian genocide.
A photo from my 21st birthday party, together with updates on each person in the photo. It is a sad photo now. Just three years after this post, my best friend from those days, Martin (front row, far right), died of cancer.
I am pleased to see one of my hymn-devotionals make this list. I am not surprised that it is this one, as it captures the perennial prayer on our hearts in difficult times: ‘Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour’. Given that hymns can be a bit dreary, I always try to add a more contemporary tune to the post. This time, a friend, Jonathan Robinson, provided me with an original recording!
American David Fischer’s juxtaposition of American and New Zealand cultures, while also managing to tell their respective stories in a roughly chronological manner, is breathtaking. It always helps to consider how others see us — and this is a masterclass on how to explore the interface between two societies. A ‘must’ read for every American and New Zealander, and others who partake will benefit as well.
Yippee! Another favourite author has emerged. William Dalrymple. A story set in Hyderabad during the British Raj, from where I read it during a weekend’s rest. The love story between a British Commissioner and a young Muslim woman—and all the tragedy that follows.
Written a few days after John Stott died, this was my effort at a little tribute to the influence of this man on my life—something I have written about on numerous occasions. Unknown to me at the time, my own father was to die eight days after this post was written.
One of my favourite stories of all time, linking Olive, baptised as a little girl in Christchurch, with Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa (from whom he got his love for Christian hymns), with the formation of the nation of Zambia — and then with a most remarkable partnership-in-mission with a Lamba leader called Paul, who suffered from leprosy. Thank-you, Conrad Mbewe, who made this partnership the focus of his doctoral work.
Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, creates something so precious. “I would do you a disservice if I quoted from the book, or showed images from it. Discover it for yourself. Buy your copy. Find a quiet place, a place that is uninterruptible. Take a deep breath and then read, read aloud — and see where this little book takes you.”
The sacred day in our secular society is ANZAC Day, commemorating those who lost their lives in dreadful wars. On one such day, my mother produced this poem, written by her grandmother after hearing that her young son, Edgar, had been killed at Gallipoli. “It is beautiful. So tender. So sweet.”
I am pleased to see this surface in this list as it captures another intensifying conviction from these years: moving mission beyond mere resourcing and generosity (the best versions of which will not be eclipsed) and on towards friendship, partnership and solidarity. Let’s give, but also receive.
Another one taken directly from my work with Langham, this time telling the story of the opening hours of the first training seminar, before ‘stepping up’ to Mt Sinai and then ‘stepping down’ into Coptic Cairo — and never being the same again.
I am on record as having aspirations for starting up a business as a tour guide for visitors to Delhi, where we were based in my teenage years. First tip?! A full day on the Yellow Metro line has you within walking distance of a remarkable number of the great sites. Hop on. Hop Off. Walk. Eat. Enjoy. Eat some more. Maybe spread it over two days?! Start from the south on Day One and then the from the north on Day Two…
It is still the best sports biography I’ve ever read. Andre Agassi’s Open. The vulnerability. The insight into human nature and culture. The storytelling. The word pictures. WOW. It was made all the more delectable when I put it in conversation with Ecclesiastes in pursuit of one of my favourite past-times, double listening: with World and Word in stereo.
It started 20+ years ago as an impromptu idea in the training of youth pastors and now it is used by multiple people for multiple purposes here in NZ … and I’ve used it in mutiple countries as an interactive way to teach the single story of the Bible.
The importance of demystifying both leadership and creativity. They are not “the domain of a favoured few, mystically appointed and genetically enhanced to deliver the goods”. No. They are both within the reach of everyone — and church and mission would be transformed if we lived as if this was so.
A summary of meetings we held back home, visiting people/churches who were standing with us. On this occason we mingled chaat, or Delhi street food, with chat and some serious discussion around mission, partnership — and yoga.
We have had different sadnesses in Langham Preaching over these years, and the sudden death of my dear friend, Okta, in Indonesia, was especially hard. He came to our first ever global forum, in Istanbul, on the theme of preaching clubs. “He lit up the occasion with his warmth, his enthusiasm and his personality.” Okta was just so dedicated to this ministry. We miss him still.
Another post from Egypt surfaces. It is rather ironic, as it has been the hardest country in which to start. But I’ve loved working with them. This was the youngest group I’ve ever had —and here I explain one of the interactive practices I use, one that has evolved significantly over the years.
Well, there you have it. The 25 ‘most viewed’ posts on this blog over these 15 years. I think we’ll stop there. [“Whew”, I hear you say 😀]. It is pretty disappointing that none of the 40 cricket-themed posts emerged on this Top 25 list, but I guess that there may be a message for me in this observation.
nice chatting
Paul
