Dion Forster and The Drive By Rebuking Video

Dion ForsterDion Forster and The Drive By Rebuking Video

Dion Forster follower of the Cosmic Christ, Ecumenical Methodist Minister and avid cyclist, had this to say about the Turn2God gathering that took place on the 6th March 2010 at the Union Building in Pretoria:

“In terms of the event, I enjoyed Turn2God – it was great to see Christians from many different cultures, age groups, denominations and theological perspectives gathering to give expression to their faith and express care for their nation.

I didn’t agree with every speaker,  or with every part of the program.”   — http://carpenters-shoes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockery.html

I’m confused Dion.  So who did you not agree with?  There was Graham Power (a good friend of yours), there was Angus Buchan (a good friend of yours), there was Bennie Mostert and Elza Meyer (I presume good friends of yours),  and they were all the main speakers and organisers of the entire event.

Graham Power and yourself are the big cheeses of Unashamedly Ethical, along with Angus Buchan, Elza Meyer and Bennie Mostert.  Have I left anyone out?  If so, I am so sorry.  Please do let us know in the comments section below.  We have to always give credit where credit is due.

So who didn’t you agree with?   And don’t say the white horse’s grand entrance and exit at the end.  Even I know that your cosmic christ would not dare pitch up on a horse like that, and if anything we would have been able to see him.

I attended the Turn2God gathering (paying customer of course) and I spotted Dion Forster (VIP) in the crowd.  I dived over people and chairs to get a photo to add to my article and added the following caption to Dion’s picture:

“Emergent/Ecumenical Minister Dion Forster enjoying the Turn2God Praise and Worship Music”

Turn 2 God- Deon Forster

This apparently upset Dion immensely.  Not the photo, but the caption.  He was so upset that he made a video here:  Dealing with critical people while driving in his car (believe it or not).  He states that I took a photo of him (which I did) with scathing words attached to it (which I did not).

So why do you lie like that? I made no scathing remark about you. I showed a photo of you as an Ecumenical Emergent worshipping at Turn2God.

If being Ecumenical and Emergent is now considered bad, then you got a lot of explaining to do with your interfaith friends.

Dion also said in his drive by video that no one likes to be disliked and that we all take offence when someone dislikes us…

So my question is:

Jesus Christ the Son of God who DIED ON A CROSS AS A SACRIFICE FOR MANKIND does not like to be disliked either. And by following other gods (that ‘Cosmic Christ’ thing) YOU do just that, follow another god.  The Word of God is very critical about those who disobey God’s commandments.  How do you think Jesus Christ feels?  Or don’t you care.

I stopped watching ‘the critical’, but ‘not critical’, ‘how to deal with critical people’ video by ‘being critical’, after approx 1 minute – actually it just took to long to buffer and I gave up wasting my precious (paid for by myself  ‘no begging required’, bandwidth).  You can watch the rest.  Dion can complain all he likes.  The FACTS still remain, he is a New Age Christian who follows the Universal anti-Christ.

But let’s go back a bit further than the Turn2God gathering…

So there was this draft that came out called the National Initiative for the Reformation of South Africa hosted by Michael Cassidy at the head and Graham Power at the tail, or whatever.  Dion posted an article on it, praising it’s success.  In fact now that I think about it, this almost sounds like the Manhattan Declaration that was signed by an astronomical amount of  ‘Christians’ recently across the world just the other day.

So the thing is, I too posted an article on it and then waited for the final version of the declaration to come out. I then went and commented on Dion’s blog here:  http://www.dionforster.com/blog/2008/4/26/nirsa-final-declaration.html

Having returned there now, I see my comment is not there.  Ag, I’ll make like you just accidentally pressed delete.  No worries. Lots of love and hugs to go around.

Anyhow,  here is my article which formed most of the comment I posted on your blog Dion:   National Initiative for the Reformation of South Africa – NIRSA .

So nothing is lost, don’t panic.

And then we have this article which I did not post (or comment about) on your blog.  This tells us all about Graham Power and Angus, and you and Unashamedly Ethical, back in 2008 already:   Graham Power & Angus Buchan – The Transformation of Africa

So again, my question is:   

WHO DID YOU NOT AGREE WITH at Turn2God?

But let’s get to your books you have written on this Christ you serve.

Deon Forster-An uncommon spiritual pathAn uncommon spiritual path – the quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity by Dion A Forster

Product Description:

Are you tired of ‘consumer’ driven religion? Are you finding that the ‘popular’ steps to faith no longer satisfy your desire for true spiritual living? Then the novel and courageous approach of this book could be just what you have been longing for. The truth is that people cannot be whole unless they have an active and deep spiritual life. One of the great shortcomings of many contemporary western cultures is that they lull us into believing that we can find peace, joy, and fulfillment in what we own, or in what we do. Sadly, many people have come to discover that the pursuit of wealth, power, and recognition by ones peers, are shallow and meaningless against the backdrop of what it means to be truly alive. When one considers that a human person has physical, psychological, and spiritual needs, the pursuit of true and ultimate meaning becomes all the more important in a world that seems so increasingly devoid of depth. This book charts a different course to the norm. It examines a way of life that may seem quite austere and strange to most of us. However, it will be shown that it is not the spiritual methodology, or even the content of this particular spiritual path, that brings blessing and peace. Rather, it is passing beyond methods, ideas, and even doctrines, that brings us into the presence of the God who gives and sustains true life; the kind of life Jesus speaks of in John s Gospel (John 10:10) This book charts this uncommon spiritual path by examining the ‘non-dual’ spirituality of Henri le Saux (Swami Abhishiktananda – meaning ‘the bliss of Christ’), a French Benedictine monk in India. His approach is challenging, courageous, and even unsettling in some instances. However, his deep commitment to finding Christ is an inspiration.    [Emphasis added]

Deon Forster -Discovering the Cosmic ChristChrist at the centre – Discovering the Cosmic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths by Dion A Forster

Product Description:

Are you searching for a fresh and creative approach to your spiritual life? Do you long to overcome the tension between spirituality and everyday life? Then this book is for you! Karl Rahner wrote that the “…Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all“. Increasing numbers of Christians, and Christian theologians, are starting to recognize how important a lived experience of the mystery of Jesus Christ is in finding true life, and in doing sound theology. Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine Monk who was educated at Oxford and spent most of his life adapting his Christian faith to the culture and philosophy of India, came to embody the depth and riches of mystical spirituality in his life and teaching. His integrated approach to spiritual living has helped many people to discover, and rediscover, the rich experience of being truly and fully alive in Christ. This book examines the elements that made Fr Bede’s spirituality so significant. It discusses his understanding of the Person, nature, and work of Christ from a mystical and spiritual perspective. Fr Bede’s Christology is informed by such varied sources as the Catholic Christian tradition, Indian philosophy, Hindu religion, quantum physics, transpersonal psychology, micro-biology, and the perennial philosophy. This book is a valuable resource for persons who seek to deepen their relationship with God and foster fresh and creative ways of expressing that spirituality in their everyday lives. It also has a great deal to offer the more serious theological mind through the discussions on experiential theological methodologies and the challenging new vocabulary and approach to Christology[Emphasis added]

Dion Forster says this about his book:

This book aims to address some of the common problems that ‘modernism’ and Western materialism have wrongly thrust upon the Christian faith. These problems include such things as the assumption that true Christianity must be framed in a Western cultural guise, the false duality between spiritual living and social responsibility, enmity between faith and science, unnecessary conflict between Christianity and other living faiths, and the loss of the sacred as a result of the dominance of Western individualism and materialism. I attempt to address these problems by presenting a novel and creative spiritual path that has the potential to address these dualities and struggles. At it’s core this book is a discussion of Fr Bede Griffiths wonderfully rich Christology. Throughout the book the doctrine of Christ is framed within a mystical approach to the person and work of Jesus, offering new insights and a fresh theological vocabulary.   —http://www.dionforster.com/dr-dion-forsters-books-and-res#amazonItem129459  [Emphasis added]

My my, how revealing is that?  Your own words.  Busted!   In fact you are so transparent I don’t even have to say anything.  Ok, maybe I will,  just because I have to expose you good and truly for what you really believe and which god you really serve.

Who was Bede Griffiths?  This is an interesting little introduction from Wikipedia.  Raise your hand in the comments section if you too see the name C.S. Lewis mentioned below.  This is just too let me know that I am not seeing things either.

 width=Alan Richard “Bede” Griffiths (17 December 1906 – 13 May 1993), also known as Swami Dayananda (Bliss of Compassion), was a British-born Benedictine monk and missionary who lived in ashrams in South India. He was born at Walton-on-Thames, England and studied literature at Magdalen College, Oxford under professor and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis, who became a lifelong friend. Griffiths recounts the story of his conversion in 1931 to Catholicism while a student at Oxford in his autobiography The Golden String.  — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede_Griffiths

“I know that Great Person of the brightness of the sun beyond the darkness.
Only by knowing him one goes beyond death.
There is no other way to go. 
– Svetasvatara Upanishad”   

http://www.bedegriffiths.com

Some quotes by Bede Griffiths back in the day:   [Emphasis added below]

  • God had brought me to my knees and made me acknowledge my own nothingness, and out of that knowledge I had been reborn. I was no longer the centre of my life and therefore I could see God in everything.   — Bede Griffiths
  • I am rediscovering the whole sexual dimension of life at the age of 86, really. And that also means discovering the feminine. So the whole of this dimension, which I had been seeking for a very long time, is now sort of opening itself up to me.    —Bede Griffiths
  • I think the Mother is gradually revealing itself to me and taking over. But it is not the Mother alone. It is the Mother and the Father, the male and the female, sort of gradually having their marriage.  —Bede Griffiths
  • It is no longer a question of a Christian going about to convert others to the faith, but of each one being ready to listen to the other and so to grow together in mutual understanding.  —Bede Griffiths
  • To enter deeply into meditation is to enter into the mystery of suffering love. It is to encounter the woundedness of our human nature. We are all deeply wounded from our infancy and bear these wounds in the unconscious. The repetition of the mantra is a way of opening these depths of the unconsciousness and exposing them to light. It is first of all to accept our woundedness and thus to realize that this is part of the wound of humanity. All the weaknesses we find in ourselves and all the things that upset us, we tend to try to push aside and get rid of. But we cannot do this. We have to accept that “this is me” and allow grace to come and heal it all. That is the great secret of suffering, not to push it back but to open the depths of the unconscious and to realize that we are not isolated individuals when we meditate, but are entering into the whole inheritance of the human family.”  — The New Creation in Christ: Christian Meditation and Community (1994), pg.50
  • The resurrection does not consist merely of the appearances of Jesus to his disciples after his death. Many think that these appearances in Galilee and Jerusalem are the resurrection. But they are simply to confirm the faith of the disciples. The real resurrection is the passing beyond the world altogether. It is Jesus’ passage from this world to the Father. It was not an event in space and time, but the passage beyond space and time to the eternal, to reality. Jesus passed into reality. That is our starting point. It is into that world that we are invited to enter by meditation. We do not have to wait for physical death, but we can enter now into that eternal world. We have to go beyond the outer appearances of the senses and beyond the concepts of the mind, and open ourselves to the reality of Christ within, the Christ of the resurrection.”  — The New Creation in Christ: Christian Meditation and Community (1994),  pg. 77

Books by Bede Griffiths:

  • The Golden String: An Autobiography, (1954)
  • Christ in India: Essays Towards a Hindu-Christian Dialogue (1967)
  • Return to the Center, (1976)
  • Marriage of East and West: A Sequel to The Golden String (1982)
  • Cosmic Revelation: The Hindu Way to God (1983)
  • A New Vision of Reality: Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and Christian Faith (1990)
  • River of Compassion: A Christian Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, (1987)
  • Bede Griffiths (1993)
  • The New Creation in Christ: Christian Meditation and Community (1994)
  • Psalms for Christian Prayer (1996) – (co-editor with Roland R. Ropers),
  • A Human Search: Bede Griffiths Reflects on His Life: An Oral History (1997) – John Swindells (editor)
  • The One Light: Bede Griffiths’ Principle Writings (2001) – Bruno Barnhart (editor)
  • Bede Griffiths: Essential Writings (2004) – Thomas Matus (editor)

 width=Some other books and videos:

The Space in Heart of Lotus: Bede Griffiths and the Hindu-Christian Contemplative Experience [VHS] ~ Bede Griffiths (VHS Tape)

The Universal Christ: Daily Readings with Bede Griffiths (Modern spirituality series) by Bede Griffiths and Peter Spink (Paperback – June 1, 1990)

Pathways to the Supreme: The Personal Notebook of Bede Griffiths, & In Praise of the Golden Eye of Heaven (2 Book Gift Set) (Spiritual Journey Collection) by Bede Griffiths, Rumi, Henry David Thoreau, and DH Lawrence (Hardcover – 2000)

Someone commented here: http://carpenters-shoes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockery.html  (blog by Jenny Hillebrand) with the lyrics to a song which so aptly fits the Age we have entered into.  Remember this hit?

I am sure Dion that just as you were enjoying the worship music at the Turn2God gathering, you will enjoy this song even more:

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
The Age of Aquarius
Aquarius! Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind’s true liberation
Aquarius! Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
The Age of Aquarius
Aquarius! Aquarius!

Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in

Dion, you know we are in a New Age of cosmic love and the Cosmic Christ who will make himself known soon.   And you would think that with all this love, sun shine, joy and happiness going around that honesty would surely be included in there somewhere.

Will you be honest and come outright and say that you are not a Christian, that you believe in the New Age Christ which is NOT the same christ as Jesus Christ the ONLY begotten Son of God; who died as a sacrifice on the cross for our sin. His blood shed for the salvation of those who believe in Him and repent of their sin.  Jesus Christ the Son of God who came in the flesh and was physically raised from the dead 3 days later, and physically ascended into Heaven and is physically seated at the right hand of the Father and will physically come back to judge those who follow the false Christ.

Thanking you in advance for you forthcoming honesty.

Peace, love, happiness, joy, light, rays, rainbows and all that other new age occult nonsense right back at ya!  (I added this for effect because I apparently lack the ‘love component’.  Just remember though, they are only words and you can interpret them any way you wish just like you do with the Bible.

Touché

      

Please share:

Deborah (Discerning the World)

Deborah Ellish is the author of the above article. Discerning the World is an internet Christian Ministry based in Johannesburg South Africa. Tom Lessing and Deborah Ellish both own Discerning the World. For more information see the About this Website page below the comments section.

31 Responses

  1. Comments placed on Jenny Hillebrans blog: http://carpenters-shoes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockery.html

    ———–

    Dion

    Just incase you miss it:

    http://www.discerningtheworld.com/2010/03/17/dion-forster-and-the-drive-by-rebuking-video/

    Send my regards to Rev Thomas. I just know he will back you up.

    5:38 PM

    ————–

  2. Elmarie A says:

    Deborah (Discerning the World)

    Good and interesting how you put this into perspective. Thank You.

  3. Raises my hand.

    I still see C.S. Lewis’ name. Golly Gosh

  4. Elmarie A says:

    I still see C.S. Lewis’ name. Golly Gosh

    Nooo hint, is it written in this book of him? Not there yet I mean, I have not read preview/s.

  5. Oh you just gotta laugh…

    Conversation taken from Rev Thomas Scarborough’s website.

    Wednesday, March 17, 2010
    Emergent Church
    http://thomasscarborough.blogspot.com/2010/03/emergent-church.html

    Non-theologians, skip this one. One thing that annoyed me about a certain nameless blog is that, in cavalier fashion, it lumped me together with Emergent Church. That was way off the mark. Having studied under leading “emergent” professors, I think I know what “emergent” is (it is, incidentally, not the same as “emerging” — a far broader term). “Emergent” has a long history. A pivotal figure is Teilhard de Chardin. He spoke of a purposive kind of evolution — rather than random evolution, or natural selection. This is called “emergent evolution”. Chardin therefore spoke about “mankind in its march” towards “peace”. Now apply this to the Church. An “emergent Church” is moving forward with “impelling force” towards “shalom” (Chuck van Engen). That is, there is a purpose to the world, which is evolving towards a finer future — and the “covenant community” is at the forefront of that. This is typically presented as a form of post-millennialism. An important aspect of this is what was famously referred to by Lesslie Newbigin as “no privatized eschatology”. In other words, we are not saved privately, but collectively, through the Emergent Church (recall emergent evolution). OBSERVATION: Normally, I stay close to praxis on this blog. However, I’ve been “put on the spot” with this issue. The photo shows one of my professors, Ryan Bolger, an expert on emergent / emerging Church.

    at 6:35 AM
    Labels: Theology/Issues
    6 comments:

    ———————–

    serv.of.Christ Gerard Willemse said…

    Interesting… yet not satisfying… Please give a further explaination about this “march” to “shalom”, but this time please use quotes from the Bible to explain this view and not the “opinion” of your Professor…

    “Bible” is the language I understand best.

    March 17, 2010 9:40 AM
    ——————————————

    Thomas Scarborough said…

    Many people encounter this theology without understanding its “machinery” or how it relates to the bigger picture. This post is an attempt to sketch it just well enough for people to understand what it really is about, and to use the clues, if desired, for further research.

    “Emergent” is the dominant theology at many “Global North” seminaries (some local ones, too). I myself, however, am evangelical Congregational, which is far from the emergent position and praxis. If one should wish to study the Biblical background of emergent theology, the book Missional Church, edited by Darrell Guder, would be particularly informative — but a tough read. I would prefer to speak, by and large, of my own theology and praxis on this blog.

    The emergent concept “shalom” has been described as “bringing the whole creation back into shalom with its Maker”. In other words, a kind of utopia. Terms like “march” and “impelling force” suggest that the world is moving unstoppably in that direction.

    March 17, 2010 11:43 AM
    ———————————-

    serv.of.Christ Gerard Willemse said…

    So bottom line is you cannot give me a Biblical explanation instead I am refered to a book written by man which is “a tough read” instead of ebing refered to the Word of God… I rest my case (turn to man and not God’s Word).

    I do note however that you state that this is not your theology instead you claim to be “evangelical Congregational” (what is the obsession with the labels and titles? Why not simply say I’m Christian… or is it that the label actually refers to something else other than Christianity?)

    Anyway… so since you are not “emergent” will this however prevent you from allowing a guest preacher who believes in “emergent theology” to preach in the assembly you lead?

    Keeping in mind that you said the “emergent” believes that the WHOLE CREATION is “marching” towards a kind of utopia reconciling EVERYONE (believers and non-believers in Christ since that is what the “whole creation” means) back to God who is the Maker, yet the Bible is clear that the world is instead moving towards complete distruction and only true believers in Christ will be reconciled back to the Maker (God)… would you still allow such a person with this theology to preach in “your” church?

    March 17, 2010 12:36 PM
    ————————–

    Thomas Scarborough said…

    There’s an assumption here, though, namely that the minister “prevents” or “allows” preachers in the Church. We are a Congregational Church, and follow biblical, Congregational tenets which have stood for centuries. For example: “This proposal pleased the whole group” (Acts 6:5). My own position on emergent is, I think, clear. I have previously posted on what it is we look for in preachers.

    March 17, 2010 1:10 PM
    ——————————

    Dion Forster said…

    Hi Thomas,

    Thanks for the very succinct and well explained approach to the emergent Church. The strands that you have pulled together here resonate with much of my own theology.

    I am constantly placed within all sorts of categories! Some call me emergent (because of a strong emphasis on the social gospel), others call me evangelical (because of my passion and zeal for introducing people to the person and ways of Jesus – particularly in the marketplace), others call me liberal (because of my views on certain issues related to ecclesiology, sociology, anthropology and soteriology). Some just call me a heretic! ha ha!

    I simply call myself Dion! I don’t neatly fit any of these categorizations. I always find it amusing to watch others try to place me within their categories! If you watch my little video here you’ll see that I make one simple point – it is highly unlikely that someone else will be able to completely and objectively categorise my theology (or expression of that theology in my lived relationship with Jesus), since I can’t even do that myself!

    The modernist ideals of being able to absolutely quantify belief is simply a failed pursuit. The human person is infinitely more complex than we know, then when you add to that the complexity of the divine mystery of God it becomes somewhat challenging to nail every single thing down!

    I read Karl Rahner, perhaps on the most astute Systematic Theologians of our time, and Karl Barth, and a host of other Systematic Theologians in my undergraduate and graduate studies. I always admired the manner in which REAL systematic theologians left enough space for God’s Spirit to move in God’s loving Power and Grace. This cannot be explained! It has to be experienced and then at best conveyed.

    Well, be blessed in your ministry my friend, and my encouragement to you is pay no mind to those who don’t understand you. It is likely that if they stopped looking at you for long enough they would come to realise that they don’t understand themselves that well either! That is where God’s grace begins to operate in rich measure!!!

    Together with you in Christ,

    Dion

    March 17, 2010 2:04 PM
    ————————–

    Thomas Scarborough said…

    Thank you, Dion.

    Things are usually not as simple as they seem. Just marry a “simple” girl, and see … 🙂

    What I appreciate about you is your straightforwardness. In theology, there is so often appearance and reality, packaging and content, high level and low level language. You would seem to succeed in reconciling these. I have so often been frustrated by those who separate them.

    Early on in my career, being faced with various theologies, and denominational tensions, I came to adopt a position called positional unity. That is, it is our position in Christ which unites us.

    Kindest regards,

    Thomas.

    March 17, 2010 8:09 PM
    ———————

    I say:

    It must be that all theologians are the smartest people in the world when it comes to understanding the Word of God, and everyone else is stupid.

    Why can we see that all their little ‘definitions, names and categories’ all lead to the same false teaching and same COSMIC CHRIST OF UNITY. So it makes NO difference what you want to be called. If YOU ARE NOT BORN AGAIN, then you are NOT A CHRISTIAN. And a Born again Christian knows Jesus Christ the Son of God and knows the Bible WELL because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

    There are bible verses about the wise:

    Jeremiah 10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

    Romans 1:22-23 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

  6. Master Anonimouse on Jenny’s website is trying to track me down. Shame Jenny, you are probably wondering what you have gotten yourself into by posting that article you did. The people that come out of the woodwork with all sorts of conniving ideas is scary.

    Comments on Jenny Hildebrand’s website: http://carpenters-shoes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mockery.html

    —————————
    Anonymous said…

    The different journalists on “Discerning the World” are all the same person, only one person writes it.

    11:42 PM
    ————————-

    Anonymous said…

    Deborah = Danie Strydom. That’s discernment! 🙂

    8:28 PM
    —————————-

    Anonymous said…

    Wanna see a photo of D?

    10:26 PM
    ——————————

    Deobrah (Discerning the World) said…
    Anonimouse

    Um, dude. LifeStyle C was posting my articles on their website from 2008 already. I contacted then later via email to register my domain for me. The technical support name registered is Danie Strydom.

    That is very easy to find on the internet by doing a whois on a domian.

    Am I Danie Strydom? NO!
    Am I affiliated with LifestyleC. NO!
    Are they to me? NO!
    Have they even met me? NO!
    Do they care who I am? NO!
    Are you a chop? YES!
    ———————–

    It’s hysterical how people have to know who I am. Why? Well… we will leave that upto their sick imaginations.

  7. Amanda says:

    Deborah

    Shame Jenny, you are probably wondering what you have gotten yourself into by posting that article you did.

    She knows the solution, though. Jenny:

    Thank you all for the discussion. May God bless those who responded with love, those who responded with wisdom, those who responded with humour and those who responded with hurt. May his light shine in each of our hearts.

    And may Deborah live a long life?

    And you would think that with all this love, sun shine, joy and happiness going around that honesty would surely be included in there somewhere.

    Yes. Here it is:

    INDIVIDUAL COMMITMENT FORM

    01. To be entirely truthful in all I say.
    02. To be faithful to my family relationships.
    03. To do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but to look out for the interests of others.
    04. To refuse to elicit, accept or pay any bribes, and to report those who do.
    05. To be a diligent leader without being harsh, and to pay my staff what is just and fair.
    06. To be a peacemaker.
    07. To do my work wholeheartedly.
    08. To submit myself to just and ethical governing authorities.
    09. To remember the poor by investing generously and sacrificially in the broader community.
    10. To collaborate with my peers to impact our community and nation.

    By signing this form I agree that my information may be added to the Unashamedly Ethical database for the use of future communication. I also agree that if I do not abide within the Ombudsman’s Code of Conduct (available at http://www.unashamedlyethical.com) I will be held accountable for such conduct by the Ombudsman.

  8. Amanda says:

    Chop he may be, but at least Anonimouse is demonstrating to Rev. Thomas Scarborough in technicolour on the light and love thread that your caution is justified, even if it is discouraging to him. Anonimouse made your point for you. I wonder how far Jenny is prepared let this go?

  9. cecilia says:

    but anyways:
    here’s the transcript of the said video, for those who can’t / don’t want to watch it:
    DEALING WITH CRITICAL PEOPLE
    Deon Forster

    (whilst driving (quite fast it seems))
    Right, let’s get that camera turn around; well, today is the eeeeee 16th of March 2010, and it’s been a little while since I’ve done a , a video – eee the reason for that is mainly been busyness – all sorts of things… Not all eee pressure busyness, eee been doing quite a bit of cycling, which is always nice; road the Argus this last week-end; the Argus cycle tour; and eee boy I almost beat Lance Armstrong. If he wasn’t an hour and twenty three minutes faster than me, I would have beaten him …. in any Argus.

    You know today I have been thinking just over the last few days about dealing with criticism and critical people. And eee I don’t know how you deal with it but there was a time in my life, and I suppose to an extent there still is, eee an aspect of me that doesn’t like to be disliked; eee I don’t know about you, but I like to be liked by people; and eee that can present all sorts of problems; it can be that you try and act in ways that you are not true to yourself, in order to have others like you; but it could also mean that when other people who are never gonna like you, or never agree with you, say things about you that you cannot change, that you use your energy trying to engage them anyway.

    Case in point is: eee I was alerted by a friend that eee a website in South Africa that’s critical of everybody, eee from the most liberal to the most conservative and everyone in between, had posted a picture of me and eee some scathing comments. And eee immediately when I heard about this I thought: Boy I need to check it out to see what they’re saying about me and eee I resisted the temptation; I said to myself I’m not gonna have a look while I am emotional about it and wanting to know what happened; so I decided to put it off by two hours, that’s what I said to myself. Don’t go on the internet for two hours to read the thing; and that’s what I did; and two hours later, or a little bit after that, after I put my kids to bed and dealt with a few things, I went unto the website.

    And you know the amazing thing was, because I had prepared myself emotionally and said, look I’m not really concerned about what this website says and I hadn’t reacted eee I was able to laugh my way through the post.

    Now, I don’t know how YOU deal with critical people and criticism eee it can be a difficult thing; but I’ve come to understand in the last little while that there’s some things that people will never understand about me and the reason for that is that there are some things that I’ll never understand about myself

    Eeehm Theologically I’ve eee frequently come under some criticism from liberals, because they feel that eee my passion and evangelical zeal eeee is eee is not a good thing; and I’ve also came under criticism from conservatives and evangelicals because they feel that I’m too liberal on certain theological issues.

    Eee My book “an Uncommon Spiritual Path” does attempt to deal with some of this by saying that we need to move beyond those categorizations; that they’re not helpful categorizations; and that they don’t truly exist! There is no such thing as a liberal or a conservative, they’re just people who are trying to make eeee sense of their relationship with God in Christ.

    So, eee the thing that I’ve come to discover is that I know for myself, that I’m passionate about Jesus , I’m passionate about the ways of Jesus; I DO love the Lord; I have an active, eee lift spiritual life; but sometimes even I don’t understand why I like certain things and don’t’ like others, why I accept certain things and don’t like others; and the truth is that there is no philosophical consistency that runs throughout my theology;

    I’d like to think that there are some tenets but the reality is that there is no such thing as a philosophical consistency in theology. You know someone recently said that ee faith is a little bit like unicks – the unicks operating system. Small parts that are loosely held together. And that’s been my experience as well. My faith is made up with small parts that are loosely bound together by one common thread. My love for Christ and my desire to serve Him honestly and openly.

    So I’d like to hear how YOU deal with criticism and critical people and eee what you do about those kind of things; but eee that’s what I do, and eee you know what, it’s good enough for me.

    So may the Lord bless you today, and eee thanks for tuning in to this video; it will be up on my new blog; just to mention: my blog has moved to http://www.dionforster.com , Dion with an ‘i’, so ‘d-i-o-n’ and forster with an ‘r’ ‘f-o-r-s-t-e-r’ ; dot com. And eee I’d like to hear back from you.

    Have a blessed day!
    Goodbye.

    he’s not really giving any information on how he really deals with criticism or critical people….. rather asking other people how they will deal with it. wait, maybe this is it! He forgot to sum it up! so you got to 1) resist the temptation to immediately re-act 2) don’t be emotional about it / prepare yourself emotionally 3) don’t try to think you will ever understand yourself 4) laugh about it 5) keep on talking of how good you are

    there’s no words that says that you must answer the critical person or re-act on the criticism – so I suppose it’s ok to re-act after you’ve prepared yourself emotionally.

    ahhh, now I understand the “under the belt” language displayed by some comentors! speak no further …

  10. [EDITED: moved comment under correct article]
    ——
    cecilia
    March 18th, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    Amanda, gee die man krediet! hy kan bestuur EN ‘n video opneem EN praat! ‘n gevaar op die pad?

    en eintlik het hy NIE gesê wat sy oplossing is teenoor kritiek en kritiseerders nie! maar hy kry die aandag wat hy soek – baie gaan na sy webwerf om na die sg. “video” te kyk.
    ————————

  11. cecilia says:

    sorry Debs!
    thanks Debs!

  12. Amanda says:

    Cecilia

    Great job! Thank you. I thought I missed something in the video, but on reading the script, I can see I did not. Pity.

  13. Amanda says:

    Long weekend for South Africans! Stay safe. Drivers [and pilots] no making video’s, okay?

  14. Elmarie A says:

    Amanda

    I will check the pilot before we take off tommorow lol lol. You never know he he

  15. OKAYYY

    Just in case you were wondering what happened to my blog for a few hours. I was taken down by some Christians who thought it necessary to stop me.

    See I am not a change agent and wont meet for coffee and this is a BIG problem for them. My problem is I don’t drink coffee…oh and that their intentions are purely 100% false.

    I will write a small article tomorrow called ‘the coffee shop next door’. I knew this cool title would come in use sooner or later.

    THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT and LOVE

    If you posted any comments and it did not go through, I ask that you post them again.

    This donkey is on the move again…

  16. cecilia says:

    Elmarie, ok, remember to check the plain too?! (lol)

  17. Elmarie A says:

    The Role of the Church in Reconciliation in South Africa By Dion Forster April 2010

    Hmm he is now history teacher here. In the article the word census comes out tooo.

  18. Amanda says:

    He is also the chaplain to the Global Day of Prayer. So how many times did he quote the Bible to support his new ideas? None? Too bad.

  19. Elmarie A says:

    OOOH lookie here.

    Sorry but I just found this by chance. also on another article written by By Heideli Loubser and Mario Denton The Church Can Unite a Nation on http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com same place DF wrote, The Role of the Church in Reconciliation in South Africa By Dion Forster April 2010.

    Heideli and Mario article here: http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/1268/04-2010

    Obviously Dion Forster must be linked to Heideli Loubser and Mario Denton because they all write on Lausanne world pulse. ha you see.

    Now I am able to link Fellowship of Companies for Christ International to Crown Financial Ministries Marketplace program to the Lausanne movement again linked to SA.oops are you still with me here just bear with me please.

    You see a while back 2/3 weeks or so I was searching for a link to Crown Financial Ministries Marketplace program which links SA or Africa.I could not find anything at the time.

    This is a huge movement that sneaked into the world via the church into the bussines world through the kingdom now and prosperity gospel, how else? I will post info of CFMM after this post.

    Now FCCI stands for Fellowship of Companies for Christ International their motto is: FCCI is a membership organization with a vision to transform the world trough Christ, one business leader at a time.

    Mario Denton, African Director
    Mario Denton was born in 1955 in the province of Cape Town, South Africa and has a solid Christian praying and committed family background. He came to Christ when he was 16 years old. Dr Mario Denton is the study leader of 160 MBA research projects, published 8 books, two case studies, a chapter in book and published 6 international articles and delivering papers at 32 conferences world-wide. He is an industrial psychologist, international teacher and acting as visiting professor, two counseling diplomas and two master’s degrees, (M Econ and MBA) and completed his PhD as well as DBA in Organizational Behavior and Business Administration. He has presented People Management practices 44 times consecutively to MBA students and trained about 2000 participants of which 300 MBA students in Emotional Intelligence. He is currently the Crown Financial Ministries Marketplace program Director for Africa as well as the Africa Director for FCCI (The Fellowship for Companies for Christ International)

    Mario uses his strong Christian, academic, corporate background and his uniquely effective coaching to help people tap into their inner being to utilize their strengths and expand their skills and to make a difference in the workplace. He teaches people management, leadership, emotional and spiritual intelligence, and organizational behavior and change management. He is an optimist who possesses a passion for people and tutoring and a real love for life. He has devoted his career so far to people management and facilitating complex and perpetual change.

    He attended the Haggai international training in Maui, Hawaii 2004, the Faculty Development training in Singapore in 2005 and is actively involved in training at the local Haggai group in Cape Town. Mario is married with Mariene since 1979 and has three sons; Du Wayne married to Zani, Desmond and Marinus. To God all the Glory.

    Let’s keep the good marketplace vibes alive.

    http://www.fcci.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=24

    FCCI Ministry partners. http://www.fcci.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=50&Itemid=138

    Ministry Partners

    There is only one “Organization” designed specifically for the building of the Kingdom of God … the Bible calls it the Body of Christ. In describing the Body, Paul tells us how it is designed and how it works best:

    14For the body is not one member, but many … 18But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. (1 Corinthians 12:14,18 – New American Standard Bible)

    15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:15,16 – New American Standard Bible)

    With that description in mind, the Fellowship of Companies for Christ International is committed to the building of the Kingdom – not to the building of its own organization or influence. To do that we are committed to fulfilling our task in the Body, and to connecting to other parts of the Body so that together we can be used by God to build His Kingdom … and thereby to transform the world.

    FCCI partners with like-minded organizations whose vision and mission provide opportunities for synergy and maximized impact. These are some of those strategic partnerships:

    See above how they found to use the Scripture in business.

    FCCI Global Impact
    Written by Administrator

    FCCI operates Business Leaders Groups around the world under several banners, including FCCI, Crown Companies, Corpath, or Christ@Work, depending on the situation of the home country.
    Please click on the following links or globes for the respective areas: http://www.fcci.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid=36

    Read more here on FCCI’s Business Proverbs
    Written by Administrator :Since 1998 Marr has offered advice through the one-minute radio spot “Business Proverbs,” which can be heard on over 1,000 radio stations internationally. Marr also speaks at conferences and offers seminars for businesses and organizations. He’s worked with the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, The Salvation Army, appeared on The 700 Club and consulted for Family Life Radio. For more information on Steve Marr,

    http://www.fcci.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=9

    You will find a Billy Graham connection see above link. And we now know Billy Graham is the main man for Lausanne Movement beginnings.

    THEY HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD COVERED. Africa, Canada, Europe and Latin America.

    Could this be where all the funding come from. Mr Rick Warrens jet and so on. I’m getting more and more the feeling every church in the world is linked to CFMM. Watch this space ok…

  20. Elmarie A says:

    Now about CFMM 1st how I got to them. I was sent and email by a close family friend in Australia. It contained this devotional as part of page she sent me.

    Fruitful Suffering
    TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
    02-25-2010

    …”It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” – Genesis 41:52

    Joseph named his second son Ephraim. Ephraim was given to him after he had been delivered from his suffering of 13 years. Joseph said that he named him this because God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering. Ephraim means “twice fruitful.”

    Joseph was fruitful in two instances. He was fruitful during his time of adversity and in his prosperity. When God brings us into a time of suffering, it can be a fruitful time. It’s rare for us to see the fruit during the suffering period. But know that the roots are going deep into the spiritual soil of our soul because of our pressing in to God during our time of suffering. This is producing a work in our character that cannot be seen until it finishes the process. Such was the case for Joseph.

    It was not until several years after such a time of suffering that I began to see the fruit of the trials that the Lord allowed me to experience. How grateful I am to understand some of the “why” that has led to a new life in Him that I would never have had without this period.

    Samson had great anointing but lacked character. We see many today who have great anointing yet lack character. But God is rising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character. Suffering produces character.

    If you find yourself in a time of suffering, now is the time to press into God. Let your roots grow deeper. Whenever there is a famine, tree roots are forced to drive deeper into the soil to find water. These times are designed to create such a deep-rooted faith that our natures will be changed forever.

    Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

    I picked up on the part where Os Hillman is talking about Samson who lacked character but had great anointing. He also says it is still applicable today. And “God is rising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character”. Os also says “Let your roots grow deeper”. Now I have picked up on Buzz words here like deeper and anointing, and the use of these buzz words made me look into who this Mr Os Hillman really is. He worried me.

    Os Hillman’s Summary

    Os Hillman is an internationally recognized speaker on the subject of faith at work. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Marketplace Leaders Ministries, an organization whose purpose is to help men and women discover and fulfill God’s complete purposes through their work and view their work as ministry. He is the author of 11 books and a daily workplace email devotional called TGIF Today God Is First which has over 160,000 daily subscribers worldwide. (You can subscribe free at http://www.todaygodisfirst.com)

    His most recent book is TGIF Today God Is First, Volume 2. He also developed and teaches The 9 to 5 Window Workshop. Os has been featured on CNBC, NBC, LA Times, New York Times, and many other national media as a spokesperson on faith at work.

    Os is also Founder and Director of the International Coalition of Workplace Ministries (ICWM) and is President of Aslan Inc. which publishes books and provides a leading online bookstore to serve the “faith-at-work” movement called FaithandWorkResources.com. He serves as president for the International Christian Chamber of Commerce USA, is a faculty member of the Wagner Leadership Institute on Workplace Ministry, and is an international board member for the Dead Sea Fishing Foundation, a humanitarian foundation for the nation of Israel.

    Os attended the University of South Carolina and Calvary Chapel Bible School, a ministry of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California.
    Os Hillman’s Specialties:

    Leadership Training, International speaker on faith and work, author of popular daily devotional TGIF, Today God Is First

    http://www.linkedin.com/in/oshillman

    then somehow I got to this link page:
    http://www.crown.org/search-results.aspx?cx=006832712590637836939%3Aoj4v-xhqzic&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=os+hillman&sa=Go&siteurl=www.crown.org%2FAboutCrown%2FNews%2F#840

    Then I got to wikipedia page about CFM

    Crown Financial Ministries is a nondenominational, evangelical Christian ministry with the mission of equipping Christians around the world to learn, apply and teach financial principles which they claim are based on the Bible.[1] The ministry’s goal is to teach 300 million people by September 2015.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Financial_Ministries

    30-Year History

    Howard Dayton and Larry Burkett were acquaintances for many years and were close friends since the early 1990s. Howard had founded Crown Ministries on September 19, 1985. He Howard Dayton and Larry Burkett were acquaintances for many years and were close friends since the early 1990s. Howard had founded Crown Ministries on September 19, 1985. He recognized that Crown Ministries was doing an excellent job one church at a time with small study groups in many parts of the country and the world, but he had a vision to reach millions – not thousands. Larry had seen phenomenal growth in the outreach of Christian Financial Concepts since he founded it on May 6, 1976, and his radio broadcast was well recognized. Yet, the one area he wanted to impact with small study groups was the local church.

    Almost simultaneously, God began a process of prompting both Howard and Larry with an uneasy sense that there was something more that their ministries should be doing. The same Scripture reference kept prompting both Larry and Howard to seek a better way:

    “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
    – (Esther 4:14 NKJV)

    After much study, discussion, and a lot of prayer, the boards of both Crown Ministries and Christian Financial Concepts unanimously agreed to merge into a new organization, Crown Financial Ministries, on September 7, 2000. The Board wanted to keep the name Crown because of two Biblical references that were important to Howard when he founded the ministry. First, Jesus Christ is the owner, creator, sustainer, and protector of the ministry. He is to be central to all we are about. In Revelation, the elders throw their Crowns at the Lord’s feet. Secondly, people are our priority, not programs. In Philippians 4:1, Paul writes speaking to the Philippians, “You are my joy and Crown.” The name “Crown” reflects both priorities.

    Howard assumed the role of CEO, and Larry continued to do radio broadcasts and served as the chairman of the board until his home-going on July 4, 2003. The union of these two healthy ministries created an unprecedented alliance that proceeded to have a far-reaching impact on the church in America and around the world.

    In 2005, Howard began asking the board of directors to begin to prepare for his succession from the role of CEO. After consistent prayer and an intensive process, the board of directors unanimously appointed Chuck Bentley as the ministry’s new CEO effective September 1, 2007. Chuck had served with excellence at Crown, first as Dallas Area Director, then in the home office as Vice President of the U.S. Field team and then as the Senior Vice President of the Global Impact Group.

    “Before Crown’s first CEO Larry Burkett passed away, Larry and I often talked about Chuck as his choice to succeed me in the CEO role. On May 1, 2001, Larry passed me the baton signifying the transfer of leadership of the ministry. It is with great excitement and thankfulness that I pass on this baton to Chuck Bentley.” – Howard Dayton

    Howard continues to serve Crown by writing and in numerous other ways. http://www.crown.org/AboutCrown/History.aspx

    So now I hope you have and idea of how the Fellowship of Companies for Christ International linked to Crown Financial Ministries Marketplace program Linked to the Lausanne movement all work toghether as “One”

    Take note that there is always a link between all these huge Evangelical movements. Somehow they are all linked up with each other.

    See his link to Billy Graham and Peter Wagner? but you must read the whole page link to see other glaring problems here.

    Expansion of the Movement

    In July of 2002 I was contacted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. They had begun a new division called New Ventures. The purpose of New Ventures was to identify emerging movements in the body of Christ and to come along side those who were the key leaders in those movements to help them. They considered 54 ministries and narrowed it down to 12. They finally selected four ministry areas to being their focus. Our ministry was one of those. We met together that summer and concluded we should co-host an event as the first effort to work together. That event was the His Presence in the Workplace conference held in March 2003. More than 270 workplace leaders, pastors, and non-profit workplace ministries came together to discover what God was doing in the faith and work movement. Billy Graham and Franklin Graham have recognized a move of God is taking place in the workplace today and want to give support to this growing move of God. The March conference was a major event that has given the movement a rocket boost into the mainstream body of Christ. We expect great things to come from this important gathering.
    During this season I was also invited by Dr. Peter Wagner to join his Wagner Leadership Institute to teach and to teach at his LifeWorks seminars held across the country.

    One morning on a weekend getaway in the mountains, my friend looked at me and said, “Do you know the meaning of ‘Omar’?” Omar is my first name. My real name is Omar Smallwood Hillman III. Dr. Smallwood was the doctor who delivered my grandfather. No one, not even my mother, knew the origin of “Omar.” They put the “O” and the “S” together to call me “Os.” “You need to know the meaning of ‘Omar’” said my friend. It has something to do with your future.”

    Startled by his assertion, that night I looked up the name of “Omar” on a computer program. Here is what I found: “Arabic for ‘first son’ and ‘disciple,’ Hebrew for ‘gifted speaker’, and German for ‘famous’. Rooted in the Middle East, this name is rarely used in the West. Omar was the grandson of Esau.” These were the chiefs among Esau’s descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz (Genesis 36:15).
    I was shocked! I had just completed 300 pages of material on the relationship of Christians in the workplace to the life of Esau. My friend quickly concluded that God had called me to free Christian men and women from the “Esau life.” And He had allowed me to receive a name that related to the person of Esau. It was the closest thing to a burning bush experience I’d ever had. Could the Lord be this personal with us?

    http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/articles_view.asp?articleid=5265&columnid=743

    The End.

    I truly hope this gives an understanding to all reading on how far, wide and big the world have moved towards the One world religion and One World Government.

    My prayers are with all of you.

  21. cecilia says:

    thanks Elmarie! massive research! a clear book to read…

  22. Elmarie A says:

    UPDATE ON LATEST ARTICLE.It is one of three. I chose the first article to post from Luasanne pulse page for May 2010 where DF writes as well, apart from his other close ties with them.

    Glocalization, Diaspora Missiology, and Friendship Evangelism

    By Tuvya Zaretsky
    May 2010

    In five months, Lausanne Cape Town 2010 (CT2010) will be a fresh opportunity to think about creative approaches for relational forms of evangelism. One new paradigm to consider is glocalized evangelism at the intersection between global people movements and local contexts for cross-cultural evangelistic ministry.

    Glocalization
    The term “glocalization” combines the words globalization and localization. Globalization came into late twentieth-century international business culture as a descriptive reference to the spread of products, technologies, and philosophies throughout the world. Sociologist Roland Robertson is credited with popularizing the term. At a 1998 international conference on “Globalization and Indigenous Culture,” Robertson reportedly described glocalization as the simultaneous co-presence “of both universalizing and particular tendencies.”1

    In business practice, it refers to tailoring a service or product to cultural distinctions of local markets around the world. A frequently cited example of glocalization is the international proliferation of McDonalds restaurants that feature menu items specifically tailored for local tastes.

    In the mission context, it is cross-cultural communication of the unique salvation in Messiah Jesus [insert his name in your culture] to a people or social group that is different from our own. Today, the cross-cultural experience is not taking place in a foreign land. The world is coming to our doorsteps as people on the move.

    Diaspora Missiology
    Glocalization is happening as diaspora phenomena. “Diaspora” is a Greek word meaning “dispersion or scattering.” It describes when ethnic communities or social groups are dislocated, are on the move, or are in a transitional process of being scattered. Diaspora can be a global phenomenon with local implications or a local phenomenon with global implications.

    The idea of diaspora is generally thought of as “forced” resettlement due to expulsion, slavery, racism, or nationalistic conflicts. Today, however, diaspora can be the result of push and pull forces.2 For example, Thomas Friedman described East Indian Zippies as highly mobile, high-tech specialists who are pulled to the world outside of India as part of an Indian economic migration.3 However, migrations of scattered people are presenting wonderful opportunities for evangelism right on our doorsteps.

    In recognition of this developing mission frontier, the Lausanne 2004 Forum for World Evangelization in Pattaya, Thailand, featured a new “Diaspora Issue Group” that produced Lausanne Occasional Paper 55, “Diasporas and International Students: The New People Next Door.” In 2007, Lausanne appointed Sadiri Joy B. Tira as senior associate for diasporas. Since then, a Lausanne Diasporas Leadership Team was assembled and diaspora will be one of the featured perspectives at the CT2010 conference.

    Diaspora missiology studies social groups that are identified by ethnicity, migration patterns, or pop culture. They are either outside of their place of origin or are in the midst of transition. Globalization presents the Church with an opportunity to study various peoples in a state of diaspora. They may be:

    * international travelers for study, business, tourism, or labor migration,
    * political refugees of conflict,
    * displaced populations due to disasters, or
    * a community experiencing social transition due to new cultural trends.

    All of these are diaspora conditions that present opportunities for missiological study and formulation of new strategies for evangelism.

    While the Church continues to send missionaries to foreign fields, it also has an opportunity to consider appropriate ways to reach communities that are coming to our locations. Diaspora missiology provides a method for learning ways to build relationships with global people groups, learn their culture, and invite “the stranger” into our local context (see Matthew 25:35). This, then, is an opportunity for glocalized evangelism: the world at our door.

    Theological Reflection
    Diaspora is a characteristic most often associated with Jewish people. Abraham’s clan was scattered from Padam-Aram into the land of the Canaanites and the Egyptians. At God’s command, Moses led an exiled nation out of Egypt and gathered them back into the land of promise. Subsequent dispersions with intermittent re-gatherings have typified world Jewry from 722 B.C. until today.

    The Lord has used diaspora for evangelistic purposes in history. A good example is found in Acts 2:5, 8-11. On the occasion of the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentecost), diaspora communities sent Jewish pilgrims to the city of Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s command (see Deuteronomy 16:16). In this incident, the Lord communicated the gospel to the Jewish pilgrims, in their own languages, employing a method that was culturally, linguistically, and religiously appropriate. The message was relevant, compelling, and personally appealing to each one present. The result was that three thousand of those who heard the gospel believed (Acts 2:37-42).

    So the curse of scattering, through the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:8), was reversed. In one day, people heard the unique salvation message that gathered their hearts together through faith in one living God. The Lord’s people gathered as one body. They would soon be scattered again for God’s evangelistic purpose.

    After Pentecost those three thousand new disciples carried the message back home to their cities and synagogues in the diaspora communities. In those cases, the evangelist was a safe and trusted member of the community who returned with a new and powerful message. However, after the martyrdom of Stephen, the Jerusalem-based Jewish believers were scattered as a new evangelistic force, and “those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1, 3-4). Those are examples of the push and pull factors associated with diaspora missiology and which can produce the conditions for glocalized evangelism.

    A New Paradigm
    In five months, the CT2010 delegates will have a new opportunity to take a fresh and creative approach to relational forms of evangelism. One new paradigm to consider is glocalized evangelism. Employing the disciplines of diaspora missiology, it is possible to study ethnic groups that are on the move, in transition, and outside of their physical place of origin or usual culture pattern. By acquiring greater understanding, it is possible to formulate new, effective methods by which to communicate the gospel among people who have entered our local context.

    Case Study #1: Israeli Youth

    In Cochabamba, Bolivia, a New Tribes Mission station established to reach out to ethnic tribal peoples became a local stopover for small groups of young Israeli tourists. North American missionaries developed a short presentation for the Israelis of the message they were bringing to the Bolivian tribal people. It was done in a manner that was appropriate for Jewish religious culture.

    The Israelis were provided with a home-cooked meal, given a night’s lodging at the mission, and received a New Testament in Hebrew and a clear presentation of the gospel. Every group had an opportunity to have their picture taken for the mission house guestbook. In that way, the mission station documented over eight thousand Israeli Jewish visitors who heard the gospel.4

    Case Study #2: Intermarried Couples

    Diaspora does not necessarily involve crossing international borders. It can refer to people who are in social transition. The American Jewish community, for example, has been experiencing dramatic culture change where since 1985, fifty-two percent of all Jewish people who married have married Gentiles.

    A 2004 study on the challenges experienced by Jewish-Gentile couples in the United States found that one of their most significant issues reported is the inability to find spiritual harmony. That realization had missiological implications in helping strategize for appropriate evangelistic ministry to these couples.

    Endnotes

    1. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci826478,00.html

    2. See Wan, Enoch. 2007. “Diaspora Missiology.” Occasional Bulletin, Spring. Push factors might include war; political persecution; natural or human-made disasters; poverty; or health crises. Pull forces might result from opportunities for political freedom, apparent economic improvement, or educational advancement.

    3. Friedman, Thomas. 2007. The World Is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

    4. http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/havurah/1_4/cochabamba

  23. Elmarie A says:

    Global church is seriously the target and common word they are working toward. And take note the who is who names we know are part of this and supports this including Rick Warren and the likes.

    The new site link they got up and running in April 2010.

    The Lausanne Global Conversation
    THE BIG PICTURE

    We are living in a time of enormous challenge and amazing opportunity for the church. The life and witness of the church around the world is being assailed by external pressures while simultaneously being weakened by internal troubles. Yet the church also faces unprecedented global opportunities for the spread of the gospel and open doors for ministry in regions traditionally closed to the witness of Christ.

    Unfortunately, a concerted and well-reasoned response to these global issues and opportunities has been difficult because the church, and evangelicalism in particular, is highly fragmented.

    The Lausanne Global Conversation is one step towards bringing together the global church to engage with these important issues related to world evangelization.

    We believe these global issues need global conversations.

    So let’s talk, let’s strategize, let’s work together. Above all, let’s pray–with a sense of expectation and hope–for the Lord to bring wisdom through the counsel of many (Proverbs 11:14).

    Your voice in the conversation is needed. Every Christian has unique experience and insight to offer the church.

    Join the conversation in these ways:

    * Sign up for a free account to participate fully in the conversation
    * View all topics to learn more about the issues that are a part of the conversation
    * Join conversations about the issues that matter to you

    HELP SHAPE CAPE TOWN 2010

    The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (also known as Cape Town 2010 and Lausanne III) will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, 16-25 October 2010. The Congress, held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance, will bring together 4,000 leaders from more than 200 countries to confront the critical issues of our time as they relate to the future of the Church and world evangelization.

    Cape Town 2010 (CT2010) is not just a one-time meeting, but rather is a collaborative Congress that will connect hundreds of locations and thousands of people around the world for what will be, God willing, a catalytic event in the life of the church. Together we will seek the Lord as we examine the world and our culture to discern where the church should invest its efforts and energies to most effectively respond to Christ’s call to take the gospel into all the world and make disciples of all nations

    Observations, ideas and comments shared within the Lausanne Global Conversation will help shape Cape Town 2010. A Data Mining Team will be combing through all parts of the conversation to highlight significant and compelling input and bring it to the attention of the CT2010 Programme team, Congress presenters and others so that your input and ideas can impact what they’re doing

    During the Congress itself, videos of each session will be posted within the LGC, allowing Christians around the world to comment and respond, ultimately impacting future Congress sessions and the discussion on these important issues.

    After Cape Town 2010, the LGC will serve as an ongoing discussion and collaboration platform for the global Church.

    The conversation focuses on the themes and topics to be addressed at Cape Town 2010.

  24. Elmarie A says:

    More Luasanne updates:

    The Church as Glocal…Addressing the World and Our Community
    By Eric Célérier
    May 2010

    We are living in a global world—the young generation, especially. We have a global culture. Most of us know Facebook, Michael Jackson, iPhone, Avatar, Nike. Brands are global. Movies are global. Artists are global.

    But still, the place where we live is local. We have a home, friends, family. My teenagers, who live in the Paris area, probably love the same music and wear the same kind of clothes as yours do. The main difference is the place where they live. The new generation is becoming more and more glocal.

    Glocal Needs to Be Our Model
    If we want the gospel message to be relevant for our generation, we need to be glocal in our approach. It’s not an option. If we have a global ministry but can’t measure its local impact, then we don’t have any glocal ministry at all. Let me explain.

    A global ministry is a ministry touching nations. A local ministry is rooted in the life of people, touching cities and local communities. So a glocal ministry is a ministry touching nations and having a local impact. And it’s what is needed today to reach our generation.

    Glocal as a Process
    After reading Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger’s Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples (B&H Books, 2006), I understood that there are two kinds of churches: churches with programs and churches with process.

    Churches with programs want to have people attending their programs. Churches with process (called “simple churches”) want unsaved people to become disciples. I think we can apply the same principle to any Christian organization. Are we just running programs or are we developing a process to turn seekers into believers of Jesus and then disciples of Jesus?

    Glocal is the process most adapted for every organization which considers evangelism as the Great Commission. Behind numbers, there are real people. If we cannot figure out that real people are becoming followers and disciples of Jesus Christ locally, we just have numbers and consider people as numbers.

    Sometimes, I hear this kind of declaration: “We are broadcasting our programs in ten million homes.” If we cannot turn this number into real and local people, we have missed the point entirely.

    So how do we do it? In our field of Internet glocal evangelism, here is our process.

    1. We attract people. To do so, we use global tools like Google or Facebook.

    2. We present to these seekers the good news of Jesus Christ. For this, we use websites. A website is essentially global because a language on the Internet can be spoken in many countries. For example, when I started my first website in 1997 (a local church website), my first contact was from Brazil, although I was in France!

    3. We connect people online. We connect them to people from their own country and, if possible, from their city. Every step is done through the Internet, but in the end, people are connected to local Christians.

    4. We invite them to connect offline, to drink coffee together, go to a church, etc.

    This link between the global tool and the local Christian is a glocal connection. Through our ministry, people are becoming followers of Jesus by experiencing his love through our global website and then by being connected to Christians from local churches.

    I truly believe that when Jesus said to go into all the world, make disciples, and baptize them, he was giving a glocal order. Nations are global. Baptisms are local. Do you agree? I would love to ear from you. Together, let’s move the world for Christ and answer his glocal call!

    A Tool for Your Church: The Jesus.net Widget

    One day I was praying with a friend who is also a local pastor. Our question for God was: How can we help local churches to use the Internet? An idea came to mind: create an evangelistic application—the Jesus.net widget—derived from the proven and global concept of our evangelistic websites (1.8 million decisions for Jesus so far). This free application would turn any church website into an evangelistic website and the follow-up would be done locally. A glocal tool was born! See and get the widget at http://www.Jesus.net

    In His Words: Eric’s Testimony of a Glocal Experience

    I live in Lausanne, Switzerland. From early on, sickness, divorce, projects without God, and even prison were my daily bread. Throughout the years, I developed behaviors that put me “outside of the law.” I was condemned to two years in prison. My marriage, family, work…everything was falling apart. On the Internet, I found the website ConnaitreDieu.Jesus.net.

    What touched me most were the testimonies. I wanted to begin all over again, be healed of sickness, and live the life of a happy couple. According to the website, “It’s as easy as a prayer.” I decided to take the challenge and I answered “YES” to the suggested prayer. I also asked for help through an online volunteer. At first I was fearful, but little by little I gained confidence.

    This new life, this new beginning with Jesus, has allowed me to rediscover myself…to abandon my past life, and to tell myself that I am not alone—that Jesus is my hope. He is always with me in spite of my failures and my pride. It’s wonderful!

    The website put me in touch with an Alpha Course close to my home. There, I met people who knew how to take care of me. Despite my timidity, I asked all kinds of questions. I was touched by their availability. I joined a local church and was baptized. I’m now born again and I want to obey to the word of God. I wish to go further in my walk with the Lord and become a disciple who glorifies him. I desire to speak to others of his word and tell them what he did for me!

    _______________________________________

    Demands of the Kingdom of God in Relation to Ethnic Diversity
    By Victor Cuartas
    May 2010

    God is the one who established diversity. Galatians 3:28 reminds us that “…there is no Jew nor Greek, no male nor female, no slave nor free. We are all one in Christ Jesus.” According to James Breckenridge and Lillian Breckenridge, “In the quest to recognize and to appreciate diversity of ethnic groups, care must be taken to avoid ethnic labeling and stereotyping.”1

    But what are the demands of the Kingdom of God in relation to ethnic diversity? The following elements are needed if we are to work together for the expansion of God’s kingdom.

    1. A focus on Christ. He is our inspiration and example. He died on the cross for all our iniquities. His ministry was powerful and his compassion and love for different kinds of people was evident. In the account of the Samaritan woman, Jesus does not reject her because of her nationality; instead, he speaks with her and meets her specific need. Jesus reveals himself as Messiah and everything changes (John 4:1-26). When we focus on Christ, we can complete the task regardless of the obstacles and challenges. It is not about us, but about working together to bless people who still need to hear the message of salvation.

    2. A sense of interdependent work. To work with people from other cultures requires developing a sense of community. We need each other, and what every person on the team does affects everybody else. Thus, values are important when it comes to team work. The substitute to mistrust and paternalism in the relationship between people from different cultures is not independence and self-sufficiency—it is interdependence. And interdependence “comes with a deeper understanding of unity in Christ.”2 Why are we working together? What is the main reason? These questions are essential because they help us to learn from each other.

    3. Mutual submission. Jesus gave us his example by submitting himself to the will of his Father. Paul also exhorts us to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). Submission requires us to be humble and respect each other. This kind of submission is based upon our love for God and for each other. Unbelievers will notice when we are exercising mutual submission and accountability. This is for the benefit of the growth of the kingdom.

    4. A kingdom purpose. Many of the challenges and friction that come with dealing with diverse people on our teams can be alleviated by remembering that everything we do together will advance God’s kingdom. “One of the challenges we may face is to be driven by personal interest rather than kingdom principles.”3 We are part of God’s kingdom and God has entrusted to us a marvelous commission. We can strengthen each other knowing that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

    5. Flexibility. Frustration and resistance arise when team members are not willing to be flexible. This is a humbling process that allows us to grow and understand different perspectives. There needs to be a common ground that facilitates the communication and dynamics within the group. Working with Majority World missionaries requires being flexible. For instance, the sense of time is different in every culture. We cannot assume that everybody will react in the same manner we do.

    My hope is that as we continue to interact with those of other ethnic backgrounds, we will increasingly see God grow his kingdom around the world.

    Endnotes

    1. Breckenridge, James and Lillian Breckenridge. 1995. What Color Is Your God? Multicultural Education in the Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Baker Academic, 89.

    2. Nissen, Johannes. 1997. “Unity and Diversity: Biblical Models for Partnership.” Mission Studies 14: 1-2: 140.

    3. Cuartas, Victor H. 2009. “Implicaciones Éticas y los Desafíos de los Negocios Como Misión en los Países de Acceso Creativo.” Global Missiology in Spanish (July). Accessed 15 February 2010 under “Settings” at http://www.globalmissiology.org/espanol/.

  25. >> We invite them to connect offline, to drink coffee together, go to a church, etc.

    When will it stop. I feel like I am stuck in a world where everyone is a broken record, where you are hearing the same stuff over and over and over and over and over again.

    I really hate Facebook and coffee. No really. I have never liked coffee, it’s terrible stuff. Chocolate… now that is a different story.

  26. Robbie says:

    …mmmmm and pizza!?

  27. Robbie says:

    >>>>When will it stop. I feel like I am stuck in a world where everyone is a broken record, where you are hearing the same stuff over and over and over and over and over again.<<<<

    He he he.it will stop soon I hope… When He comes to a city near you!!

    In the meantime… "thou shalt not retire spiritually"!!

    LOL

  28. Elmarie A says:

    Soooo DF is wanting to Transform all.

    Transform your work life!
    Tue, 04 May 2010 15:39:30
    By: Dion Forster

    Dear friends,

    It is such a joy to be able to connect with you on Christian Republic. Graham Power and I wrote the book ‘Transform your work life: Turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling’ because we know how important your work life is to God and to you!

    You will spend between 60-70% of your life at work! That is a huge investment of time, energy, and creativity! Be assured that God has a will for you during those precious hours – He wants to lead you, use you, and bless you.

    In our book ‘Transform your work life’ we share many testimonies of how God has used Christians at all levels of society to bring incredible transformation! We tell some of Graham Power’s story, and we share some practical suggestions, Biblical teaching, and even offer a few helpful questions and suggestions to help you to discover and live out your calling in your work place.

    Please visit our ‘Transform your work life’ blog for updates and news about the book you’ll find it at

    Please also visit the facebook page for ‘Transform your work life’ to share testimonies, ask for prayer, and interact with other Christians who are serving God in the marketplace!

    I’d love to hear from you as you read the book!

    God bless you in your work life!

    Dion Forster

    http://www.christianrepublic.co.za/blogDetail.php?blogID=2290

  29. Daniel Jacobs says:

    Dear Deborah

    I have read the following on your blog: ”I’m confused Dion. So who did you not agree with? There was Graham Power (a good friend of yours), there was Angus Buchan (a good friend of yours), there was Bennie Mostert and Elza Meyer (I presume good friends of yours), and they were all the main speakers and organisers of the entire event.

    Graham Power and yourself are the big cheeses of Unashamedly Ethical, along with Angus Buchan, Elza Meyer and Bennie Mostert. Have I left anyone out? If so, I am so sorry. Please do let us know in the comments section below. We have to always give credit where credit is due.”

    I have not studied your theology. I accept that it may be 100% pure. The sarcastic way however in which you adress Dion (Note: I do not know Dion – have ehard about hom the first time while reading on your blog) is not in the spirit of love! And as you know nothing is more important than love – as God is love. One cannot fight what one belief to be wrong – and Dion may be wrong – in the flesh!

    Kind regards

    Daniel Jacobs

  30. Daniel

    I am terribly sorry you get irritated by the way I spoke to Dion (a self proclaimed Cosmic Chris follower) who ranted and raved about me in his video. A man who is helping Angus Buchan lead hundreds and thousands of men astray. Maybe you would like to take some of that energy you exert towards me, a nobody, trying to warn people of men like Dion instead? Fight the good fight for Jesus Christ instead of coming to give me grief for being ‘sarcastic’ to a New Age teacher. And it’s laughable at how you can get so upset at something so trivial.

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