LIVING WITH AMBIGUITY

Sometimes I'm asked which articles I've written really reflect the core of my thinking? Here's one:

God is mystery. We can never encompass him in thoughts or words. When we talk about God we are trying to describe the divine from the point of view of the human, the eternal from the standpoint of the temporal, the infinite in finite terms, the absolute from the severely limited perspective of the relative. Rudolf Otto describes the sacred as 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans', the awe-inspiring mystery which fascinates us. We are tempted to hide from the fearful majesty of God, but also to gaze in wonder at his loveliness. We encounter mystery in the descriptions of the ways of God in the Bible, in the sacraments, liturgies and rites of the church, in nature, and in the events of history. Mystery pervades the whole of reality. Indeed true knowledge and freedom are not possible without an experience of mystery. In the languages of literature, art, music, we touch the hem of God's garment and feel a little tingle of power, but God will always remain incomprehensible. Mystery also surrounds the human creatures who are both made in the image of a mysterious God and who have, by their sinning, marred that image. Pascal says this doctrine of the fall offends us, but yet, without this mystery, the most incomprehensible of all, we are incomprehensible to ourselves. So Christianity, says Kierkegaard, is 'precisely the paradoxical'. (Paradox - from the Greek para and doxa, 'against opinion').

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Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

SYDNEY ANGLICANS

I have mixed feelings about Sydney Anglicans. They belong to the largest ‘evangelical’ Anglican diocese on the planet, and one of the two wealthiest.

When I served as a Staffworker/evangelist with the InterVarsity Fellowship (later The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students – AFES) for three years (1968-70) I often spoke at their churches and youth camps. I was impressed that over 20 of their churches saw at least 100 young people a week attending Bible Study groups – something you could not say about any other denomination in Australia at that time.

We’d been privileged to attend an Anglican church – St. Thomas’ Kingsgrove – for a whole year in 1963. It was led by an energetic and very gifted pastor-evangelist, Dudley Foord, who at the end of the year invited me to be his church’s youth leader. But I’d already determined to enter the Baptist Theological College in Sydney, and on a memorable day at Cronulla Beach when our two families were enjoying a picnic, I had to share that news with Dudley.

Dudley Foord was an excellent model of a conscientious Evangelical leader. Around that time he probably spoke to more University missions throughout Australia than anyone (see the references to his doing that in Timothy Dudley-Smith’s biography of John Stott), and there were many Bible study groups, neighbourhood evangelistic groups etc. operating from the church. Those neighbourhood groups encouraged church members to invite all their neighbours into a someone’s home, and Dudley or someone else would come and talk to them about the Christian faith, answer questions etc. The Sydney diocese’s statistics for this mode of evangelism were, if I recall correctly: on average 20 invitations would result in 14 individuals or couples saying they’ll come; 8 individuals/couples attended, and of these one would begin attending church and/or make a faith commitment. Not bad!

That’s the sort of evangelistic zeal which impressed me then, and does still. We used to say there were two ‘enemies’ within the Anglican fold - theological liberals who were (and are) too ‘wishy-washy’ and have no idea what Jesus and Paul meant by the ‘lostness’ of people without faith in God; and the ‘smells and bells’ Anglos who were ‘high church’ and whose sacramentalism bordered on the magical. Soon after these years charismatic Anglicans were a bit ‘off’ too.

That year with St. Thomas’s commenced my journey along ‘The Canterbury Trail’. I’m an ‘ordained’ Baptist clergyperson, but Jan’s and my church-of-choice on holidays etc. is usually Anglican. William Temple, Rowan Williams, John Stott and many other Anglican leaders – including two converts to Anglicanism, John Claypool and Matthew Fox - have had, and still have, an enormous influence on my thinking…

However, there’s been a sea-change in the flavour of Sydney evangelicalism since those days: it has become deeply influenced by a harder ‘Reformed’ theology, fueled from St. Matthias’ Paddington, and this has become pervasive among AFES groups and students at their seminary, Moore College.

Sydney Diocese's unique brand of evangelicalism probably goes back to T C Hammond, but the two 'godfathers' were undoubtedly Dr. Broughton Knox (principal of Moore for many years) and Director of Evangelism John Chapman - together with the Jensen brothers (Archbishop Peter, and Dean of the Sydney Cathedral Philip), Dudley Foord, Paul Barnett et. al. In 1984 I wrote a little book - Recent Trends Among Evangelicals - which David Penman, the Archbishop of Melbourne - a much broader evangelical – liked, wrote the Foreword, and launched. At one stage it was made required reading for AFES staff for them to study (and refute :-)

I've had the privilege of speaking to about 20 Anglican diocesan/ clergy conferences around Oz, three of them (Armidale, Canberra-Goulburn, Tasmania) twice - from Perth/Sunbury in the West to North Queensland. They included clergy of all theological and ecclesiological persuasions. One experience - in two parts - stands out in terms of evangelicals. I was twice invited to speak to the clergy conference of the purest 'evangelical' diocese - Armidale: they were/are (?) all Evangelicals, with the exception of the broader-church Tamworth. At the first of these, about 15 years ago, a little group of young recently-graduated Moore College boys sat in a huddle at the back of the room muttering to each other and flipping through their Bibles - to the annoyance of everyone, including the good bishop. I ignored them then, but ten years later when I was again their speaker, after a quiet word to the bishop, I reminded the group of the previous experience, and wondered if any of those people were still around, and would they like to share their subsequent journey with me privately? Two or three did, and actually apologized for their previous 'know-it-all' attitude. It's nice how life-experience often rubs the arrogant edges of us eh?

So what’s the problem? Put at its simplest, it’s Pharisaism – the doctrinaire and arrogant ‘We have nothing to learn from anyone else’ rejection of diversity within the broader Church. This brand of evangelicalism is easily spotted: their mantra is an incessant ‘The Bible says!’, there’s a lack of commitment to radical social justice, an emphasis on ‘receiving the Lord Jesus Christ – they like to use the full name of our Lord – as your personal Saviour’, diligence in Bible Study (thousands attend the Katoomba conferences), affirmation of ‘male headship’, abhorrence of the theology of Bishop John Spong, and a commitment to (their brand of) ‘evangelism’.

Now not every Sydney Anglican fits this narrow stereotype. I would exclude two friends, among others – (ex-Archbishop) Harry Goodhew and my fellow-Lausanne-traveler Bishop John Reid. And of course the three interesting churches – the Anglo-Catholic Christ Church St. Laurence, and more liberal St. James’ King Street and St.John's (?)Darlinghurst-Kings Cross which do not fit the mould.

And whilst a narrow evangelicalism eschews social justice, there’s still a significant emphasis on social welfare. I once spoke to the annual conference of their welfare arm (I’ve forgotten its name - the predecessor to Anglicare) at the Sydney Town Hall. Churches’ representatives sat at tables for dinner in the lower Town Hall with banners, and at the rally upstairs it was proudly mentioned that only seven parishes (I think) were not represented. The archbishop (Don Robinson) and the bishops sat behind me as I spoke on a biblical (!) view of mission – which must include justice, mercy and calling people to faith, ie. evangelism: ‘in that order’, I said, ‘cos that’s the order of Micah (6:8) and Jesus (Matthew 23:23). The archbishop was underwhelmed: I got the briefest letter – two-lines - of thanks from him I can ever remember receiving from anyone!

(Interesting: I had a Sydney-Anglican-type student in a graduate class recently, who in an assignment tried to impress me by talking about ‘justice, mercy and truth’. These Evangelicals are Very Big On Truth.)

Oh, that’ll do. I’ll post this on to some Usenet newsgroups and will certainly get a reaction. Best book to give to these people? I’ve bought Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination for a few (and never once got a response to indicate they’d read it). Although John Stott is viewed as ‘suss’ by the most rigorous, his two-volume biography (Dudley-Smith) and Issues Facing Christians Today is likely to open a few windows. I still have some copies of Recent Trends Among Evangelicals if anyone wants one (email me).

See what happens when we separate what God has put together? When we over-emphasize any of the four ‘canons of authority’ (Bible, reason, experience, tradition) we’ll become theologically lopsided; as will also happen if we don’t give equal weight to all three of the dimensions of every God-honouring relationship in the universe – justice, mercy, faith.

Rowland Croucher
November 2005

50 SPIRITUAL CLASSICS - QUOTES

When I read (as distinct from skimming) a book I put a line in the margin against anything which grabs my attention - and a double line for ideas which I must ponder again and again.

Here are my double-lined markings in Tom Butler-Brown's 50 Spiritual Classics.

But first, a disclaimer: I'm impressed with St. Paul's market-place dialogue with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens (Acts 17): although he disagreed with many of their presuppositions he was willing to quote their poets when he agreed with them. I believe strongly that our Christian apologetic should follow a similar pattern. On this point I diverge from the stance of most of my fundamentalist friends, who somehow feel contaminated if they read or think about something alien to their conservative understanding of the Christian faith. If we are in dialogue with folks from a postmodern/ new age/ secular / whatever culture we ought to be familiar with what they're reading/thinking, and give credit to whatever wisdom we find, without necessarily agreeing with all they believe. Richard Rohr quotes Aquinas with approval: 'He does not ask where it came from, but if it is true: "If it is true, it is of the Holy Spirit".’ Jesus said 'Whoever is not against us is for us' (Mark 9:40). And remember Gamaliel's wisdom: 'If it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them - in that case you may even be found fighting against God' (Acts 5:30).

For some comments on the book in general, see http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/16306.htm

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* In 'The Way of the Peaceful Warrior', the Dan character makes a great discovery: 'There are no ordinary moments!'

* There is a Persian proverb: 'Seek truth in meditation, not in moldy books. Look at the sky to find the moon, not in the pond'

* Asad [a convert from Judaism to Islam!] was not blind to the intellectual and material decay in many Muslim societies, which had led them to become scientific and economic backwaters

* If we could see that the nature of the universe is love, and that we are all part of an undying conscious life-force, we can no longer experience fear or doubt (Bucke)

* Physics and spirituality are two sides of the same coin (The Tao of Physics)

* The old man tells him (Castaneda) to constantly be aware of death lurking behind him. If he has this awareness, he will live differently

* Blessed is the one expecting nothing, for that one shall enjoy everything (G K Chesterton)

* The straight tree is the first to be chopped down; the well of sweet water is the first to run dry (the Grand Duke Jen to Confucius)

* Chuang Tzu's idea of the perfect person is someone who does not try to be their own source of light for the world: they act as a clean channel of that light whenever and wherever it is appropriate for it to shine

* Agrippinus is said to have remarked: 'I am not a hindrance to myself'

* [Gurdjieff] told his son to cultivate a space within his mind that was always free, and to develop an attitude of indifference to everything that normally disgusts or repels others

* Just by existing we have a debt to repay, and we do so by being fully alive in each moment, not worried about past or future (Hammarskjold)

* Things perish within time; time itself does not change. We should not speak of the flow or passage of time but of the flow or passage of space through time... Jews celebrate the Sabbath on a Saturday, Christians on a Sunday, and Muslims make Friday special, which suggests a basic human need to regain a still mind on a regular basis, to have time for meditation or contemplation even as the world continues to rush on (Heschel)

* Aldous Huxley died in 1963, on the same day as C. S. Lewis and President John F. Kennedy

* Jung: 'collective unconscious' - a larger human mind of which every individual is a part; 'synchronicity' - the occurrence of seemingly meaningful coincidences that go beyond the realms of normal probability

* Malcolm X's father was brutally murdered by the Black Legion, a white supremacist group

* 'Strive to see supernal light, for I have brought you into a vast ocean. Be careful! Strive to see, yet escape drowning' (Isaac of Akkor)

* Neither is there a hell in which people suffer interminably. Instead, some souls who have done bad things in life are separated from the main spirit world for a time of solitary reflection (Michael Newton)

* Loosen up, and see what is special in ordinariness (John O'Donohue)

* Offer a donkey a salad, and he will ask you what kind of thistle it is (Sufi teacher Abdull-Azziz)

* Angels understand eternity to mean an infinite state, not an infinite time (Swedenborg)

* Prayer is not for getting things, but for drawing closer to God and his will... Pray, even when you don't think it is effective... There is a time for penance, and a time for partridge (Teresa of Avila)

* The poverty of the West is not only a poverty of loneliness, but also of spirituality (Mother Teresa)

* We are addicted to thinking. By getting us to think all the time the ego gives us a sense of identity. Yet continual thinking prevents us from simply enjoying the moment... When we are in love, the other person makes us feel whole, but the downside is a growing addictiveness to this individual and the horror of any possibility of losing them (Eckhart Tolle)

* For thousands of years people have disbelieved the promises of God for the most extraordinary reason: they were too good to be true (Neale Donald Walsch)

* God specializes in giving people a fresh start (Rick Warren)

* The soul's natural inclination to love beauty is the trap God most frequently uses in order to win it and open it to the breath from on high (Simone Weil)

* The 'transpersonal' is an awareness of the universe unclouded by the ego or the normal self... Human development is a successive decrease in egocentrism (a world in which each mindset turns on the other to win) (Ken Wilber)

* He is a fool that cannot conceal his wisdom (Yogananda)

* If we are to achieve authentic power, aligning our personality with our soul must be the main concern of our life... To someone ruled by their five senses, intuitions are not really considered 'knowledge' and so are disregarded, treated as curiosities... For intuitions to be received, we have to clear our mind of mental toxins in the form of unexpressed emotions: only through the emotions can you encounter the force-field of your own soul... We chase fame, money, and position because we feel a lack of power inside, but without soul knowledge real power will always elude us (Gary Zukav)

Rowland Croucher

November 2005

Tom Butler-Bowdon, 50 Spiritual Classics (2005)

WAS JESUS A CHRISTIAN? (I DOUBT IT!)

Over the next few days I'll be publishing some articles which form the core of my thinking.

Was Jesus a Christian? Of course not, he was a Jew. 'Christians' came later.

But the 13 or so Christian groups each claim him as theirs. Pity. Remember our title/motto? 'Victoria Concordia Crescit' - 'Victory - or truth - grows out of harmony'...

Visit here for more 'core' articles by Yours Truly...

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Christians come in about 13 varieties. These varieties (or mindsets) can be found in all religions. You mustn't judge any religion simply on its caricatures. My theses:

Each mind-set makes *part* of Christianity the *whole* of it.

There's nothing wrong with the parts. But like a car, if you've only got parts lying around you're not going anywhere.

Jesus rejected all these mindsets (but not the essential concerns of each of them).

For convenience I'll use terms from early Christianity, and for the sake of brevity I'll oversimplify each mindset:

Sadducees are rationalists. If your *reason* can't comprehend something (miracles, resurrection, angels) you don't have to believe it. Their God is very reasonable; their theology is 'liberal'; they inhabit mainline church seminaries.

Zealots are passionate about *justice*. Justice is all about fairness, the relationship of the strong to the weak, the right use of power. Their God sanctions terrorism; their theology is 'liberationist'; today they're priests and others who advocate the violent overthrow of oppressive Latin American regimes.

Herodians love *power*. They climb to the top of religious institutions. Their God bestows favours on the 'haves' who are 'born to rule'. They do not realize that love of power is inimical to a devout spirituality.

Scribes, elders, teachers-of-the-law regard *tradition* as master, rather than servant. Their religious way of life is ruled by precedent, what has been. 'Come weal, come woe, their status is the quo'. If it's new, it's suspect. Their God is unchanging, not merely in faithfulness, but operationally.

Essenes are liturgists. 'If only we get our *worship* right, the Messiah will come.' Their God is 'wholly other'. Their liturgies are exact, their worship-forms utterly predictable.

Mystics major on *experience*. They are right-brain, rejecting rationalism, cerebralism, dogmatism. For them prayer (perhaps divorced from labour) is the essence of the spiritual life. They sometimes form monastic orders.

Gnostics are syncretists. They believe there's truth in every *religion*. They invite us to make up our own identikit picture of God. They're at home somewhere in the New Age Movement; they develop conspiracy theories from the Dead Sea Scrolls; they love the Gospel of Thomas.

Sophists or sages place a high premium on *knowledge* or *wisdom* (they're not the same). They develop beautiful theories about redaction criticism, whether the four gospels are 'reliable' when they describe what Jesus said and did. They write learned papers, which like those of their predecessors, will be seen in future academic circles to be largely nonsense.

Sign-seekers love *miracles*. With Herod (in Jesus Christ Superstar) they'd love Jesus to 'walk across their swimming-pool.' Their God wants everyone to be healthy, wealthy (but not necessarily wise: academia is suspect). Anything can be cured, instantly, given enough faith.

Materialists measure everything, not just *money*. The bigger, faster, more brilliant, the better. Bigger churches are better than smaller churches; brilliant preachers than ordinary ones. Success, fame, ambition, optimism, 'imaging' are their watch-words. They attend Amway conventions.

Do-gooders are given to paternalism. They do works of *mercy* for their own benefit, not just for the sake of the one done good to/against. Thoreau said of them, 'If you see someone coming towards you with the object of doing you good, run for your life.' These 'people-helpers' don't realize they're in it to solve their own problems: pure altruism is very very rare.

Antinomians despise holiness - at least for themselves in private. As the term implies, they're 'against law' and misuse *grace*. 'God loves to forgive, it's his business' - so they give God every opportunity to do just that.

Finally, Pharisees are preoccupied with two things - *law* and *doctrine*. So they become legalists and dogmatists. They talk a lot about 'truth' and 'error'. Their God is unambiguous, reducible to creeds and doctrinal statements. Their 'gospel': repentance precedes acceptance (with Jesus it was the other way around). The acid test: their non-concern for social justice and mercy amd true faith (Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42, cf. Micah 6:8). They're fundamentalists, and proud of it.

All the entities *emphasized* are O.K. as part of a religious system, but are deadly if divorced from any/all of the others. Jesus did not align himself with any of the above groups: go and do likewise!

Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

ALWAYS SECOND

Today’s lead item in several Australian TV newscasts was about an Airbus A380 flying here for the first time. Thousands lined the perimeters of airports, many standing with cameras on the roofs of cars. In The Age newspaper there’s a story about the death of Peter Drucker, guru of 20th century management theory, aged 95. And of course the latest Guinness Book of Records is in the best-seller lists (do some people – not just libraries – buy it every year?)

I grew up believing that bigger and brighter and stronger and more famous is better. It was a legacy of the books on How to Win Friends and Influence People / How to Succeed in Business etc. I devoured as a teenager. As a 15-year old I secretly wrote for the Charles Atlas ‘Dynamic Tension’ body-building program. (You needed no equipment, other than pitting your muscles against each other and/or the floor and the wall for just half an hour each day, and you too won’t have bullies kicking sand in your face).

But I never really succeeded (at least in my thinking) in being the best or the brightest. Someone always ‘pipped me at the post’. Or else (as happened in the last year of Primary School) I won the race but was disqualified ‘cos I finished in my neighbour’s lane…

Now in my 60s I’m rewriting my little bit of history, a history previously dominated more by hubris than humility. The yogic saying ‘He is a fool that cannot conceal his wisdom’ now appeals to me. So does Richard Rohr’s suggestion that holiness is only ‘attained’ with at least one humiliation each day. I’m not very holy: I recall an average of roughly one humiliation a month over the course of my life…

Back in 1949 at Mortdale Primary School, the Education Department Inspector came when I was in the sixth grade. He did an intelligence test on the class, and guess where I scored? Yep, second, after Michael Hornibrook, a very bright teacher’s kid. We both, with Malcolm Butters who was third, were chosen to go to Sydney Boys’ High School, a selective school for bright students. There I was sixth or seventh bottom of 2nd Year, and just squeaked into 3rd Year. I played sport with the Leftovers at Centennial Park, read a book a day, and was your typical teenage introvert. At our little church David Clines always did better academically (look him up – teacher of Biblical Literature and Languages at Sheffield University). Second again…

Teachers’ College – I topped the boys in my year academically, but got beaten by four or five girls. If one lecturer had not downgraded a research project from an A to a C for being submitted late I’d have topped the College. I was chosen – second to Don Gray – to play Rugby Union for the NSW Central West team against the All Blacks. (Fortunately it was College policy not to permit its students engaging in representative sport… Phew!). But I was awarded the athletics’ ‘blue’…

The NSW Baptist College? Second again in many subjects to Dr. John Olley (who had a PhD in nuclear physics, then went on to earn another one in biblical studies). But the church I was privileged to pastor during those four years – Narwee Baptist – was second-to-none. They were four good years…

Blackburn Baptist Church may have been the largest non-Catholic congregation in the country for a few months (!), but then a couple of AOG churches passed us… It’s still the largest Baptist church in Australia (and has changed its name to Crossway). Seven and a half years there taught me more about ministry and life and relationships than any other similar period before or since. While there I studied for a post-graduate theology degree – a BD with the Melbourne College of Divinity. As you can imagine some of those years were busy, and when November came and I felt I hadn’t done enough work to justify sitting an exam, I didn’t show up. So in my records they put ‘fail’ four or five times, together with some High Distinctions. Typical of my life really…

Not all of my Baptist pastorates were good. I was senior pastor for a short time at First Baptist Church, Vancouver (third largest Baptist Church in Canada), but four powerful people (average age 77.5 – true!) made it clear they did not like my style, and I resigned. I’ll write up that story soon: someone might find it interesting, and I might find it therapeutic… The only other ‘downtown/city’ church I pastored (as part-time interim) – Central Baptist Church in Sydney in 1971-2 – finished similarly. Folks attended the meeting where I did not score the requisite 75% vote to stay whom most didn’t know, but who were non-attending church members.

After Vancouver, a decade with World Vision Australia as their ‘Leadership Enhancement Consultant’ (or ‘Minister at Large’) – traveling the country and the world speaking to churches and pastors’ conferences. Second? Well, I was granted a fair degree of autonomy to follow my calling, but some bureaucratic types couldn’t figure why I should not report for duty in an office each morning like they had to. Being ‘second’ to institutional people is no joy for someone like me, and so on April Fools’ Day 1991 a few of us set up a little ministry which survives to this day – John Mark Ministries. The last fourteen years have been some of the most fulfilling of my life.

During the World Vision days I was told that I probably spoke face to face with, and was read by, more pastors and church leaders than anyone else in Australia. So what? (to use an Australian expression). Soon a few others had higher visibility – John Smith, Gordon Moyes, and later Tim Costello and Mike Frost.

Fuller Theological Seminary: a wonderful place for study and teaching. I was privileged to be ‘second’ to Eugene Peterson, teaching a Doctor of Ministry Intensive course on Spirituality and Ministry until he was available.

We have four terrific adult children. Two of them are committed Christians, and two aren’t. According to a 1998 survey only 37% of Christians’ kids follow their parents’ habit of attending church regularly, so we’re scoring better-than-average! All our children have post-graduate degrees/ qualifications, and two of us – our son Paul and I - are PhD candidates who have ‘demitted’. I have a Doctor of Ministry degree – a ‘second’ sort of doctorate (or as they say a ‘poor pastor’s doctorate)!

Oh, that’ll do for now. The Christian ethic is about ‘preferring others to oneself’, about living agreeably with the ‘bridesmaid’ / ‘second fiddle’ tag. Isn’t John the Baptist a good model for us in this regard?

Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

Welcome to a new blog by someone who 'never has an unpublished thought' (was it Andrew Greeley who used that expression of himself first?)

I've borrowed the title from Arsenal Football Club's motto, and I reckon it's good for anyone's life: 'Victory grows out of harmony!'

Unfortunately I'd learned from somewhere that victory comes from succeeding, or not making too many bad mistakes, or not being thought a fool, or moving from 'outsiderhood' to belonging... Sad.

Today I finished reading Tom Butler-Bowdon's brilliant 50 Spiritual Classics. The last chapter is about Gary Zukav's The Seat of the Soul. Zukav invites us to explore the worlds beyond those of the five senses, to become 'multisensory' (like Jesus). Authentic personal power is based on love, humility, compassion, and 'aligning our personality with our soul'. Watch the John Mark Ministries website for a summary review of Butler-Bowden's book.

On that website you'll find My Story. This will be a different version - haphazard, a mix of faith and philosophy and confessions and journeyings and insights I've gleaned along the way. I invite you to share the journey and comment on it. If you want to email me use the CONTACT button on the JMM website (my various email addresses are on too many junk-lists :-(

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On Friday I had a Sabbath in Melbourne, alone. I visited half a dozen secondhand bookshops and took a nostalgic journey back through my life via the books on the Religion shelves. About every 20th book brought back happy memories. Then last night I joined Jan and some friends at the Hamer Concert Hall to jive with the Harlem Gospel Choir. It was very good: first time I'd experienced several thousand people celebrating charismatically in that place! Being a 68-year-old (forgive me!) I'd have changed three things about their presentation: I'd give people more contemplative songs as well as loud ones; I'd have more choir items as well as solos with choir-as-backing; and I'd suggest they go the extra mile and give the half-audience waiting five minutes at the end an encore (even if they were tired, or we weren't as responsive/loud as a black audience/congregation)... Oh well...

In the next episode I want to write about coming second all my life... Some of you might identify...

Shalom!

ROWLAND CROUCHER