Amptelike Nuusblad : NG Kerk in
Oos-Kaapland
OosKaap eNuus
Visie: Een, heilige, algemene Christelike kerk, die gemeenskap van die
heiliges
Jaargang 6 - Nommer 2 - 8 Februarie 2008
- www.ngkok.co.za
Padberade in April:
Datums en beplanning op pad
Sinodale Werkswinkel : 17-19 Maart
Implementering van nuwe Begeleidingsnetwerke
vorder
Terugvoer: Kollekte vir Vloedslagoffers
Terugvoer: Wie sal dit opneem vir ons skriba’s?
‘n Gemeenskaplike
woord tussen Christendom en Islam
‘n Dieper verstaan van Islam :
Battle for the Hearts
‘n Geleentheid om deel te wees
van Ucra se bediening
Nuusvrystelling : Wêreldbiddag vir Mans
Oeggg! Moenie die ketting
breek nie...
Padberade in
April: Datums en beplanning op pad
Die jaarlikse padberade met leraars in
ringsverband met die oog op geloofsonderskeiding is beplan vir 14-16 April. Dit
is die geleentheid waar ons saamgesels oor wat die Here aan die doen is ons ons verskillende kontekste en hoe die pad vorentoe lyk.
Die beplande datums is 14-16 April, maar op gister se SK-Dagbestuursvergadering
is besluit dat die gesprekke dalk in kleiner groepe moet plaasvind, wat die
aantal byeenkomste van 3 tot 5 kan vermeerder. Die beplanning sal in die
komende week afgehandel word. 14-16 April sal steeds benut word, maar ‘n datum of twee sal bykom.
Die volle Sinodale Kommissie
vergader na verwagting steeds in daardie week, moontlik op Donderdag, 17 April
en wel te Cradock.
Sinodale
Werkswinkel : 17-19 Maart
Volle besonderhede en inskrywingsvorms is hierdie week aan gemeentes
gestuur - hoofsaaklik per e-pos. Die
informasie kan ook hier gelees word met die klik van ‘n
muis.
Tema: Geloofsonderskeidende leierskap
in gemeentes en vergaderings
Dr Frederick Marais bied die werkswinkel aan wat neffens die see by Willows
gehou word.
Implementering
van nuwe Begeleidingsnetwerke vorder
Die identifisering en implementering van die nuwe begeleidingsnetwerke
na die jongste Sinode vorder goed. Die Sinodale Kommissie werk met die vraag
waar die energiepunte lê. Waar roer die engel by wyse van spreke die water,
want dit is waar ons geroep word om by die Here se werk aan te sluit.
Van die nuwe netwerke wat reeds
geïdentifiseer is, en nou toenemend geïmplementeer gaan word, is:
Gemeente-ontwikkeling;
Toerusting (Lidmaattoerusting en Voortgesette Bedieningsopleiding);
Navorsing;
Predikantebegeleiding (A-Z);
Ontwikkeling;
Geloofsvorming (kategese, dissipelskap, families ens)..
Die nuwe netwerke sal baie meer
ad hoc en projekgeoriënteerd funksioneer as in die verlede toe dit ietwat
statiese strukture geword het. Persone wat die sinode op ander plekke
verteenwoordig, se insette sal so ver moontlik in die netwerke ingevoer word.
Terugvoer: Kollekte
vir Vloedslagoffers
Die Sinodale Kommissie het gemeentes aan die einde van November 2007
opgeroep om ‘n spesiale kollekte vir die
vloedslagoffers van die Langkloof en omstreke op te neem. Dit was op kort
kennisgewing en eintlik prakties reeds in die skoolvakansie.
Groot is ons dankbaarheid om te
kan sê sowat 23 gemeente het gereageer en meer as R28,000 bygedra om
alimentasie aan vloedslagoffers te gee. Die fondse is direk gestuur aan die
Ring van Humansdorp.
Die geld word gebruik waar die
grootste nood is, te wete die gemeentes van Tsitsikamma, Joubertina en Misgund.
Opvallend is dat kleiner gemeentes
oorwegend eintlik die grootste bydraes gelewer het. Jamestown, ‘n gemeente wat jare al nie meer ‘n
predikant kan bekostig nie, het R6,300 bygedra! Ek sou nog ‘n
paar ander name in dieselfde kategorie kon noem.
Baie dankie vir almal wat ‘n oop hart en hand vir hierdie nood gehad het!
Terugvoer: Wie sal
dit opneem vir ons skriba’s?
Na aanleiding van die vorige eNuus waarin vertel
word van ‘n opleidingsgeleentheid vir skriba’s en vir temas gevra word, skryf ‘n
gemeenteskriba:
Goeiedag,
Baie dankie vir die wonderlike
geleentheid waarvoor baie van ons al 18 jaar of meer wag.
Ek is 'n saakgelastigde wat baie
gelukkig werk saam met die ander in ons kantoor.
Jaar na jaar ontvang ons
korrespondensie oor predikante se pensioenvoorwaardes en voordele asook van
hulle medies (waaraan die gemeente self moet aandag gee)
My oë is al swak gekyk na een ou
briefie waar skribas, kassiere of kosters uitgenooi word om ook deel te hê aan
'n pensioenfonds.
Ons het ook geen riglyne oor ons
salarisse nie en moet maar onder mekaar skakel om uit te vind wat gedoen moet
word. Die manier van werk is ook nie regverdig nie, want nie almal van
ons se gemeentes is ewe groot nie ons hanteer nie ewe veel lidmate se lading
werk nie.
Is daar nie iemand wat in hierdie
skrikkeljaar sal opstaan en 'n woordjie spreek vir ons " agtergeblewe
werkers" nie.
Neem asb
kennis dat ons 'n baie belangrike skakel in ons gemeentes is en dat ons
volwaardige poste beklee. Baie min van ons doen die werk as 'n
tweede werk.
Dink aan al die enkellopende persone wat geen aander inkomste het
nie, aan weduwees met kinders wat hierdie werk doen ens.
‘n Gemeenskaplike
woord tussen Christendom en Islam
In die dokument, A Common Word between Us and You,
het 138 Moslem geleerdes, geestelikes en intellektuele ‘n
eenstemmige standpunt oor die gemeenskaplike gronde tussen die Christelike
geloof en Islam uitgereik. Soos die Open
Letter, wat na die pous se gewraakte stellings oor Islam in 2006 deur 38
Moslem geleerdes uitgereik is, kom die 138 ondertekenaars van hierdie brief uit
elke “denominasie” en skool van Islam. Elke betekenisvolle Moslemland of streek
in die wêreld word hierdeur verteenwoordig. Dit is gerig aan al die leiers van
alle Christelike kerke oor die wêreld, eintlik aan alle Christene self.
Die Moslemskrywe werk met die
aanname dat meer as die helfte van die wêreld se bevolking Christene of Moslems
is. Daar kan dus nie betekenisvolle vrede in die wêreld wees as Islam en
christendom nie kan leer om in vrede saam te leef nie. Volgens die skrywe is
die kern van die gemeenskaplike grond tussen die twee goidsdienste
die opdrag om die een God van harte lief te hê, en ook liefde tot die naaste.
In ‘n respons op
hierdie brief deur Christen-teoloë van Yale word gesê: “Peaceful
relations between Muslims and Christians
stand as one of the central challenges of this century...” Die klem op liefde tot God en die naaste word
verwelkom.
Vanuit evangeliese kringe in die VSA is
sterk kritiek op die positiewe reaksie van Christene teenoor A Common Word uitgespreek.
Belangstellendes kan meer lees by www.acommonword.com en vir hulself
besluit wat om te dink.
‘n Dieper verstaan
van Islam : Battle for the Hearts
A video teaching course to empower
Christians with a deeper understanding of Islam, who Muslims are and how we can
reach out to them effectively with the Gospel. In being equipped with
understanding we are able to pray more effectively and are then ready to
witness as we meet them in our daily lives and form relationships with them.
Have you a love for our Muslim people?
‘n Geleentheid om deel te wees
van Ucra se bediening
Gerhard Kock vertel in hierdie briefie
meer van die opwindende, geestelike-opbouende werk wat Ucra
doen. Jy kan op een of meer maniere deelneem aan die opheffings of
toerustingswerk. Lees gerus hier.
Nuusvrystelling :
Wêreldbiddag vir Mans
Die kennisgewingbord op ons webblad bevat ‘n
nuusvrystelling oor die Wêreldbiddag vir Mans 2008.
Vuurwarm nuus in die Kerkbode van
8 Februarie:
* Namibië ...
- reik uit na Angola; en
- sê nee vir Belydenis van Belhar
* Afrikaanse dowes ontvang eie Bybel
* Wêreldraad van kerke bedank kerke
in Kenia
* Jong Afrikaanses glo in God
* Kinders is volwaardige lidmate van
die kerk
* Gestel daar is nie 'n hemel nie
...
Dominee se helper(s):
Ons is nou hiér het gespruit uit Pat Keifert se persoonlike en professionele betrokkenheid by
vennote in gestuurdheid. Laasgenoemde was in
Suidelike Afrika, Europa en Noord-Amerika. Keifert
het natuurlik ook baanbrekerswerk op ander kontinente gedoen. Die stories van
verskillende gemeentes weerklink in hierdie gewilde boek. Baie gemeentes gebruik
reeds Ons is nou hiér met groot sukses. Dit wys in die verkope: Die eerste
druk is reeds teen die einde van 2007 uitverkoop. Die tweede druk is nou by
Bybel-Media beskikbaar.
Moses en die beloofde land
Produksiehuis:
Mema (R124.95)
‘n Splinternuwe interaktiewe CD-reeks vir kannetjies van
drie tot agt. Die volledige verhaal van
Moses word vertel – van sy dae as pienkvoet-baba tot sy glorie, en uiteindelike
dood. Die CD bestaan uit 26 stories wat op heerlike verteltrant aangebied
word. Die visuele aanbieding is
kleurryk, en word vergesel van teks.
Vir ekstra pret is daar interaktiewe
speletjies aan die einde van elke verhaal.
Dit behels dinge soos raaisels oplos en legkaarte bou.
Vakature by
Tydskriftemaatskappy:
Dié uitgewer van onder meer LIG en Kerkbode het 'n vakature in sy kantoor op Wellington vir 'n
grafiese kunstenaar met ervaring en deeglike kennis van tydskrif-uitleg.
Belangstellendes kan hulle CV stuur aan marie@tydskrifte.co.za vóór 20 Februarie.
Inligting, Navrae en
Diensverskaffing:
Skakel 0860
26 33 42
* Of stuur jou bestelling per e-pos na: bestel@bmedia.co.za
* Of koop direk met jou kredietkaart op die
webtuiste: www.bybelmedia.co.za
Groete uit ‘n hittige Wellington!
Hans Steyn
Hoof: Departement Ontwikkeling
E-pos: hans@bmedia.co.za
Tel: (021) 864 8223
Oeggg! Moenie die
ketting breek nie...
Isa Goosen skryf oor iets wat ons al almal mateloos gefrustreerd gelaat
het:
Danie,
Ons het nou gister weer 'n SMS van oral gekry van 'n "Faan en Sharon
van PE gemeente" oor 'n Leandra wat swanger is en kanker het asook 'n 5jr
kindjie. Dit gryp almal aan die hart en hulle stuur dit oral. Want
daar word ook gevra dat die ketting nie verbreek word nie en jy moet vir 5
mense stuur.
Baie het vir Giep-hulle en vir
Wikus in PE moedergemeente gebel om te hoor. Ek het al 'n tyd gelede ook
hierdie SMS gekry. Dit kan enige denominasie of enige gemeente,
waarvan baie in PE is, wees.
Vra asb
vir die gemeentes om aan hulle lidmate te sê om die volgende informasie as deel van die
boodskap te gee: SELNOMMER, NAAM EN DATUM.
Die selnommer en datum kom
net op die eerste SMS outomaties voor. Party van die SMSe
kom maande en selfs jare later nog in omloop... daarom die datum as deel van
die boodskap.
Dan wil mense graag bel om te
hoor hoe dit gaan. Almal vra vir gebed, maar gee nooit terugvoer nie. Daarom die nommer. Ook die naam sodat mense weet
met wie hulle moet kontak. Daar was die Faan reg. AS 'n kerk nodig is
(nie net om nog mense meer te beïnvloed nie) moet hul spesifiek wees.
Kobus van der Merwe gee die volgende
inligting oor opleiding wat hoog aangeskryf word:
Hedy Schleifer, ‘n kliniese sielkundige en Imago Verhoudingsterapeut, kom
einde Februarie opleiding gee in Verhoudingsterapie. Sy is internasionaal ‘n meester hiermee. Kom verryk u vermoë om huwelik in u
gemeente te verdiep.
Die kursus sluit in:
* The
theoretical basis of the Relational Paradigm
* A
description of the relational developmental journey and its impact on the
couple's "dance."
* Live
demonstrations of relational coaching skills
* Supervised
coaching practice sessions
* How
to introduce the Relational Paradigm to couples as a transformational tool
* How
to assist couples in raising their "Relational IQ"
* How
to empower couples in welcoming the genius that lives in their relational space
Vir meer inligting hieroor, kliek op die skakels hieronder:
*
Verhoudingsterapie opleiding
(gebasseer op Imago Verhoudingsterapie), registrasievorm
*
Pare Werkswinkel (Afrikaans – Kobus vd
Merwe)
*
Pare werkswinkel
(Engels - Hedy Schleifer),
registrasie vorm
Die voorvereiste is dat u ‘n werkswinkel moet
bywoon saam met u man/vrou/maat. Hedy bied een aan
net vóór die opleiding en ek bied volgende naweek een aan (sien datums
hieronder.)
Vir méér inligting skakel my of vir besprekings skakel Fran by 082 443
3594
Groete,
Kobus van der Merwe
Tel 082 331 4704
e-pos kobus@ident.co.za
webblad Afrikaans: www.ident.co.za
webpage english: www.imagotherapy.com
Volgende Werkswinkel:
|
Imago-parewerkwinkels |
Lewensenergie- kursus (Individue) |
|
|
Engels |
Afrikaans |
|
|
01 – 03/02 |
15 – 17/02 |
|
|
07 – 09/03 |
14 – 16/03 |
06 – 09/03 |
|
18 – 20/04 |
11 – 13/04 |
10 – 13/04 |
|
16 – 18/05 |
09 – 11/05 |
08 – 11/05 |
|
27 - 29/06 |
06 – 08/06 |
05 – 08/06 |
|
25 – 27/07 |
04 – 06/07 |
03 – 06/07 |
|
15 – 17/08 |
08 – 10/08 |
07 – 10/08 |
|
19 – 21/09 |
05 – 07/09 |
04 – 07/09 |
|
24 – 26/10 |
10 – 12/10 |
09 – 12/10 |
|
21 – 23/11 |
07 – 09/11 28 – 30/11 |
06 – 09/11 27 – 30/11 |
|
05 – 07/12 |
|
|
Psalm 137 gives voice to the
agony of exile. The Jews taken captive by the forces of Nebuchadnezzar must
deal with the pain of displacement and the mockery of their foes. What does it
mean to be the chosen people in such a time and place? Has God abandoned them?
Is there hope for a better future?
We cannot over-emphasize the enormous
impact this change had on the religious life of the exiles. We hear their deep
confusion in the question: "How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in
a foreign land?" (vs. 4) Can you worship God if you can't offer
sacrifices? What will happen to the worship of Yahweh in the land where the
gods of Babylon hold sway?
A number of scholars
have suggested that the image of exile is an appropriate metaphor for the
Western church. Michael Frost writes: "The experience that faced the Jewish
exiles mirrors the church's experience today. In fact, the biblical metaphor that
best suits our current times and faith situation is that of exile. Just like the Jewish exiles, the
church today is grieving its loss and is struggling with humiliation. The
ground has slipped from under the church. . . . The passing of Christendom might
be compared to the fall of Jerusalem, and there is no going back." (Exiles:Living Missionally in a
Post-Christian Culture [Hendrickson Publishers, 2006], p. 9.)
For all of us interested in the welfare of
the church today, Frost raises a critical issue. Is it true that Christendom
has collapsed, and is there really no return? These are questions that can be
fairly debated. Despite the doctrine of separation of church and state, the
United States has through most of its history functioned as a kind of
"quasi" Christendom. The narrative of a "Christian
America," tax breaks for churches and clergy, and the political influence
of the Religious Right are all manifestations of a Christendom culture. In Christendom the church is at or near the
center of cultural power: it has weight; it commands
respect. In many places in our land
you still find evidence of this.
But all of us sense that things are
changing. "Scientism" (the view that science has the answers to all
of life's questions) has created a structure that radically separates public
"facts" from private "values" or "opinions."
Science deals with objective facts--we are told--the stuff of "real"
life. Faith, on the other hand, is relegated to the private, subjective realm.
The Christian claim that Jesus represents the ultimate revelation of God's
saving love for the world is understood in this framework--a private opinion
that has no place in the public square.
As Christians we feel this
"slippage." Major metropolitan areas in particular find the church on
the margins rather than in the center. The movement
toward a post-Christian culture seems to be accelerating. So, how should we respond? What is to be
done?
It seems to me that there are
three options churches (and individual believers) can follow:
1. Reclaim the Center
This option is the choice for
those focused on fighting back. These folks say the culture war with
secularism, pluralism, neo-paganism, etc. can be won. The Christian foundations
of America can be restored. If we organize politically, march for Jesus, change
the Supreme Court, pray more intensely, home-school our kids, and/or give more
money to certain para-church organizations, we can
recapture the center.
This approach is attractive to many sincere
Christians and must be taken seriously. Perhaps it will succeed. But I suspect
it will not. Unfortunately, too many of those who pursue this track are deeply
marked by anger and resentment over the loss of Christian place and privilege.
They sometimes voice sentiments similar to the psalmist who expresses pleasure
in the idea of Babylonian babies getting their heads bashed in. While such expressions may rally the
Christian troops, they are unlikely to commend the gospel to the unconvinced.
Those of us embracing the missional turn believe that the marginalization of the
church in the West will increase rather than decrease as the century proceeds.
The twentieth century collapse of Christendom in Europe and Canada seems a more
likely scenario for America than a return to a dominant Christian culture.
2.
Circle the Wagons
Another response to exile is a
defensive posture that relinquishes all attempts to penetrate the surrounding
culture with the gospel. If the forces of Babylon are too powerful, believers
have no alternative but to turn inward, defend the perimeters, and wait for the
coming of the Lord.
Under these conditions the goal for the
church becomes maintenance. We remind ourselves that we are
not responsible for results. Our
calling is rather to be faithful.
Unfortunately faithfulness is too often construed as returning to some golden
age in the church--a generation, a century, or centuries ago--when the church
was really the church.
There are numerous difficulties with this approach.
First, it understands the church's holiness too much in terms of separation and
withdrawal. Second, it tends to view the past through rose-colored glasses: the
good old days were probably never as good as they appear to our nostalgic
memories! But the even greater problem is that this inward and backward look
closes off the spiritual creativity that could lead the church into a new and
fruitful place of service in God's kingdom.
3.
Imagine a New Day
This option is the most
challenging and, for missional church leaders, the
most attractive and faithful to the gospel. It involves embracing the
marginality of the Western church as a reality that offers new possibilities
for the church to relearn its true mode of being in the world.
The metaphor of exile may help at this
point. The move from Jerusalem to Babylon confronted the Jewish remnant
with an adaptive challenge that shattered many false notions about their
relationship to Yahweh--and their identity as his covenant people. Though they
initially questioned whether they could "sing the Lord's song in a strange
land," they found that indeed they could!
The prophet Jeremiah spoke realistically to
their situation: you are going to be in
Babylon for a while, so deal with it! "Build houses and settle down . . .
. Marry and have sons and daughters . . . . Also, seek the peace and prosperity
of the city to which I have carried you into exile" (Jer. 29:5-7). In
terms of our discussion, we can say that option 1 is not a possibility for the
remnant. You can't go back to the old ways (at least until the Persians destroy
Babylon). Option 2 is a possibility, but not one that Jeremiah advocates.
Instead, he encourages them to think of Babylon as home and to pray for the
prosperity of the city!
This opens up new possibilities for the
people of God. Daniel and his three friends find places of service and
influence in the royal court where they can testify to the presence and power
of Yahweh. The loss of the Jerusalem temple encourages the organization of the
synagogue movement which will later play such a large role in the spread of the
gospel around the Mediterranean world. And the half-century of reflection on
the sins of the fathers leads to the reform movements of Ezra and Nehemiah.
It is in this sense that Alan Roxburgh
speaks of the exile as a metaphor of hope: "Exile is a symbol of God's
gracious preparation, not God's abandonment! Babylon was the place in which
Israelites had to fundamentally rethink their understanding of God and the
tradition they had taken for granted. Only out of this long process would a new
imagination--a new identity as God's people--begin to emerge. The Babylonian
Exile was Israel's period of transition." (The Sky is Falling!?! [ACI Publishing, 2005], p.75)
If the metaphor of exile "works"
as an analogy for understanding the post-Christendom church, then missional leaders may take hope. What appears at first to be disaster
may actually be God's opportunity to re-imagine what faithfulness to the gospel
looks like in the 21st century.
(Dave Dunbar)
Sinodale Kommunikasie