Category: English

Jesus through Muslim eyes

I was in the beginning, and in the beginning was Poverty.
I died that bread may be eaten in my name; that they plant me in season.
How many lives will I live! For in every furrow of earth
I have become a future, I have become a seed.
I have become a race of men, in every human heart
A drop of my blood, or a little drop.
After they nailed me and I cast my eyes towards the city
I hardly recognised the plain, the wall, the cemetery;
As far as the eye could see, it was something
Like a forest in bloom. Wherever the vision could reach,
there was a cross, a grieving mother
The Lord be sanctified! This is the city about to give birth.

via BBC – Religion & Ethics – Jesus through Muslim eyes.

Alternative Community

It is interesting to think about alternative communities. One could claim that an interesting social experiment took place in Iceland from 930-1262, a community without a king. In 1Sam 8.9 and 8.17-18, we see another vision of community without a king.
Are the thoughts in 1Sam 8 relevant when we think about the situation in Israel today, “the slavery” and walls.

David and the evil nature of Power

For a very long time I have had a memo on various notebooks that it would be interesting to look to the story of David in light of and Icelandic saying: “Vald spillir, algjört vald gjörspillir”, or absolute power leads to absolute corruption. It is something about a young and beautiful boy playing a harp, turning into a monster that is interestingly exciting.

However, I have been attending Bible Study at Redeemer Lutheran, were the teacher, a former professor in OT, seems to think that perhaps David always was a spoiled brat. He uses the phrase “a teflon politician”. You can throw anything at him, nothing sticks.

I wonder whether that is more helpful, than my thoughts of the good and innocent turning bad, probably.

LPLI – Assessment tool for Pastors

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary has developed a new online leadership assessment instrument called the Lewis Pastoral Leadership Inventory™ (LPLI). Specifically designed for clergy, the LPLI helps pastoral leaders identify individual strengths and weaknesses to improve their ministry effectiveness. The LPLI uses a three-fold understanding of fruitful leadership encompassing Character,Competence, and Contribution. LPLI users receive a personalized leadership profile report that can be used for self-discovery, gathering feedback from others, setting goals for improvement, identifying continuing education needs, and tracking progress over time.

About LPLI — Lewis Center for Church Leadership™.