About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
It was my very first training seminar with Langham Preaching. April 2009. We were based at the OMF Guest House in Chiangmai, Thailand. As I wandered the property, I came across this striking quotation on one of the walls: So striking, in fact, that I stopped to take its photo! But is it really true?…
Ten years ago, Ode to Georgetown was my response to being surprised by grief when the only church I had ever pastored closed its doors. Last week brought the news that the theological college which I attended, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), was to close most of its Chicagoland campus. I have been feeling a…
I am neither painter nor poet, musician nor actor. With Art and Music and Drama classes at school, I was present in body—but absent in spirit and skill. However, as a teacher, there has been the occasional flare of creativity in the crafting of assignments. One of my favourites is one of my first ones.…
John Stott was the first one to help me see the tension in Jesus’ teaching on salt and light. They are pictures for how his disciples are to live in society. Salt pulls them in, keeping them involved. Light holds them back, keeping them distinctive. Being light responds to ‘the danger of worldliness’, while being…
Thanks Paul, for your challenge about the "is what it is" Kiwi attitude toward the poor! I've been pondering that phrase since you raised it (I don't like it either) but I wonder if it is a fair enough descriptor of the typical Kiwi attitude toward the poor outside of NZ? Rather than an "is what it is" attitude toward the poor, I think we tend to have a "Kiwi-centric" view of the world (rich & poor) i.e. we try to make sense of it through other Kiwis whom we can relate to. Perhaps it's because we are a little nation along way away from the rest of the world that we prefer seeing the world through other Kiwis eyes? eg NZ sports news regularly views NBA basketball through the lense of Stephen Adams, women's golf through Lydia Ko, English football via Chris Wood etc. Similarly we try to make sense of international politics through how it effects NZ, international disasters through what foreign aid and Kiwi personnel have been send to help.
I think this Kiwi-centric way of making sense of the world also influences how the Kiwi church typically views the world. We see the world (including the poor) through the eyes of the Kiwi missionaries we support, we donate money and sponor children through international aid agencies with strong Kiwi connections such as World Vision and Tear Fund. We read newsletters and blogs (such as yours) from Kiwis we know and can relate to. We learn about and become concerned for the countries that our immigrant attendees have arrived from.
There are of course problems with a "Kiwi-centic" way of viewing the world. We have blindspots where Kiwis are not present and we consequently have a partially sighted and distorted view of the world. But on the other hand, a Kiwi-centric world view helps us – who live a long way from everywhere with limited resources to make any difference – develop strong connections with Kiwis who are making a difference among the poor. A Kiwi-centric view helps us believe that through the Kiwis we know and the organisations they work for – we can at least make a little bit of difference for the poor in the world.
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Thanks, Ken.
Love the Ko/Adams/Wood reflection. It is exactly how it is!
But I'm not sure whether you are praising, or critiquing, the 'Kiwi-centric' view of the world — or maybe just explaining how it exists. I can see how it provides a natural way of engaging with the wider world (through our 'connections' etc), but I guess one of the disciplines/practices we need to nurture is to find ways to rise above this perspective and beyond being limited by those 'connections', sharing a 'God-view' of the world. So many ways to do this in today's world with internet, netflix … I am amazed how an hour with AlJazeera opens me to worlds beyond the Kiwi-centric one, but it is avaiulable to me here in 'Kiwi-land'.
Listening to NZ cricket commentators on and off for five days illustrated the Kiwi-centric view in sports. :). 🙂 They struggled so hard to come to terms with Bangladesh being better than us. At times it was patronizing… But more than that, I wonder if it is too much to ask commentators to do some homework and mix into their commentary some insights into a 'Bangla-view' of the world, with more stories about their players and their country. Covid may create a gap that leaves us without Bangladeshi commentators, but rather than just accepting that gap, why not try to fill it creatively?
But maybe we are just too Kiwi-centric for such an idea? What do you think?
Happy New Year!
Paul
I'm definitely trying to critique rather than praise the Kiwi-Centric view but since I swim in a Kiwi-centric culture I more easily see the positives to affirm than shortcomings to rectify. Which is where your blogs are often so helpful. Yet this too is a Kiwi-centric way of broadening my view of the world!