(seen in Tokyo Mango)

Just finished watching the movie Home. Its filled with great imagery of our planet, while explaining how everything came to be, and how we are destroying all that. It finishes with a message of hope, and a call to action. I really enjoyed it.

I have just arrived from two weeks in Japan. It was a great experience, and I am already missing it...

You can already see some photos of Japan on my flickr account, but there are many more to come.

Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!

We’re racing down the highway,
That’s always on our mind
We’re thinking about tomorrow,
And going back in time
Our final destination is really so sublime,
It’s home!
Our hands are out the window,
The miles are counting down
Just waiting for the moment,
When we get back in town
We’ll meet up with our friends and we’ll turn it upside down,
It’s home!

Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!

We kick it with our friends,
And we scare our enemies
We’re laughing at the world,
Just like Thelma and Louise
The ones that cross our paths,
Well we’ll bring them to their knees Yeah so
No more sorrow now it’s on for me and you
We’re together now,
We’ll always make it through
All our cares are gone when we get back again,
Oh Yeah

Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
In my brand new auto, it’s not so far away
Tokyo, I’m on My Way!
I’m going to be in love!
I’m going to be in love!

The things that run in my blood
I just gave up so fast I've got nothing left to give and
Secrets don't keep themselves
I'm sick of hiding the answer from the question here
What did I find in my head?
Had no conviction and the fire, that had gone out
That little went, the radio signal went too

Is this the end of the world?
I can't tell
It's been like this so long
Is this still you by my side?
I can't decide
If you were here at all
Is this the end of the world?
Is this the end of the world?

Let's look back, I can't remember when
The last time anything I said meant anything
But things change, things change, things change
Just as I slipped into the gaps
Between resurgent thoughts
And I found myself wanting

Is this the end of the world?
I can't tell
It's been like this so long
Is this still you by my side?
I can't decide
If you were here at all
Is this the end of the world?
Is this the end of the world?

Don't look back and set traps
For myself to keep me on track
Don't backtrack, realise that
The best defence is attack

Is this the end of the world?
I can't tell
It's been like this so long
Is this still you by my side?
I can't decide
If you were here at all
Is this the end of the world?
Is this the end of the world?

"Procrastinate: to drag one’s ass in such a pathetic manner as to ensure one’s place in life as a loser." (from A Love Song for Bobby Long)

"For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again." (from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Looking at TV and newspapers lately, it seems Obama is everywhere. Some people have even been more interested in the USA elections than any other national subject around Europe. It shows that the american identity is stronger than ever. And it's like the media is accepting / pushing on us that we all depend on America. It made me remember "Amerika", the music from Rammstein: We are all living in Amerika.



I have no special opinion on Obama himself. Some affirm he is some kind of messiah, others believe he is the Antichrist. I think he is just someone charismatic with interesting ideas. It's more the fuss around it, specially outside America, that kind of worries me.

Looks like tonight, the sky is heavy
Feels like the winds are gonna change
Beneath my feet, the earth is ready
I know its time for heaven's rain
It's gonna rain

Cos it's living water we desire
To flood our hearts with holy fire

Rain down all around the world we're singing
Rain down can you hear the earth is singing
Rain down my heart is dry but still I'm singing
Rain down rain it down on me.

Back to the start, my heart is heavy
Feels like it's time, to dream again
I see the clouds, and yes I'm ready
To dance upon this barren land
Hope in my hands

Do not shut, Do not shut, Do not shut the heavens
But open up, open up, open up our hearts

Give me strength to cross this water
Keep my heart upon your altar
Give me strength to cross this water
Keep my feet don’t let me falter

This is a lengthy rambling on the concept of failure in the context of church. I hope you have the patience to get into the conversation, and deal with my thoughts.

All of us involved in church projects, have already felt that we failed. We started something, we were full of perfect plans, did our best effort, and then the number of people we were expecting didn't come up, or people were not enough motivated, or people got selfish ans self centered, and then started to quit. Or we had all this perfect vision, and then it turned out to be completely different than we thought. And after 1-2 years of work (maybe more), we feel that we have failed, fall on our back, and cry: "God, why!?"

Well, I consider myself an expert on that subject. Concerning failure, I rule. I failed in everything and every way possible and imaginable. I have been involved in almost every church role and department you can imagine (except that I have never been higher than associate pastor, and I have never done anything in the worship/music department). I have been involved in institutional churches, institutional churches with home groups, cell-churches, home churches, and churches that don't know whether they are home or institutional churches. And in all them I have managed to fail. And it's not like I'm really old, I'm still 32. Nearly every project I have started have finished or become numb. Every single one.

What is success?

OK, I failed. But, honestly, what is failure? In fact, part of the problem is exactly that. How do we define success? What is a successful mission (to use a better term than project)? What are we doing in this world anyway? How can you avoid failure in your mission?

Well, success can be, doing what God tells you to do the best way you possibly can, while remaining humble and depending absolutely on God and not on your own understanding, so that in the end, all glory may be given to God alone. Simple, right? Well... kind of. Looking back at those experiences, with this definition, I didn't fail that much. Many times I did, but most of the times I got it nearly right. I'm trying to be completely honest here.

But then, there is no way I can be completely humble and dependent on God. Each project I learn to be a little bit humbler, and I learn a couple of things I was in fact depending on my own understanding and not on God. I mean, this definition of success is a moving target, you can always get humbler and more dependent on God.

Christianity is a way

So, there is no fixed target. The target is always a moving one. So, if we measure success by the ability to get to the target, we will fail every single time. But, if we measure success by seeing if we are following the target or not, then that's a different story.

But, does that mean that all projects will fail and die? Is there no hope of starting a community that works?

It's all about people. And love

Our real job is to help people, love them, invest in them. That's our calling: Make disciples. Our job is not to create a church of 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000 people. Our role is to invest in people so they become disciples of Jesus. And if we do that role correctly, those disciples will form clusters in various forms. If we are investing in lives, and they are blooming, being disciples of Christ, and giving birth to other disciples, then we are not failing, we are succeeding.

I believe now that our failure is seeing targets in a wrong way, and depending on out own strengths. We focus on creating a dynamic ministry, or a great group, or an active church. And that is not wrong in itself. But we are able to contribute to that by investing in people, creating relationships with them, teaching and learning, sharing. And by recognizing that we cannot do anything by our own strength, that we need God to make the difference.

And that is a process. It takes time. But it's not only the goal that is worth it, it's also the way! All of it is worth it!

"I believe the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days. I also believe that rivers clap their hands and that mountains sing (Ps 98:8) because he Bible says that too. But I don't think that the Bible means six twenty-four-hour days any more than I believe that he Bible means that rivers have actual hands." (Daniel M. Harrell in Natures Witness)

Those who are dead are not dead
They’re just living in my head
And since I fell for that spell
I am living there as well
Oh..

Time is so short and I’m sure
There must be something more

Those who are dead are not dead
They’re just living in my head oh…
And since I fell for that spell
I am living there as well oh…

Time is so short and I’m sure
There must be something more

You thought you might be a ghost
You thought you might be a ghost
You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close
You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close

You thought you might be a ghost
You thought you might be a ghost
You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close
You didn’t get to heaven but you oh oh
Oh oh…

Those who are dead are not dead
They’re just living in my head
Oh..

The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists

Bullets for your brain today
But we'll forget it all again
Monuments put from pen to paper
Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain

Holes in your head today
But I'm a pacifist
I've walked La Ramblas
But not with real intent

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

And on the street tonight an old man plays
With newspaper cuttings of his glory days

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

The things christians are capable of doing still surprise me:



Simon explains it better than I can:

"OK, so world economy is tanking hard. And why? Because people have been extremely greedy, living off debt, making money out of money, using false weights and measures (financially speaking), and generally doing a lot of stuff with money that the Bible says is harmful and oppressive. So, what do we expect Christians to do about it?

If you said "remind people prophetically but sensitively that God is concerned about the use of money to oppress others and will sit in judgement over it", then you know your Bible very well, but you don't know Christians at all. If you said that they would pray "to avert financial judgment" and try to escape from what the Bible says, you get five points.

But if you said that they would pray not just to avoid the judgment but also denounce the stock market falls as the work of Satan and pray for more money in front of a freakin' statue of a freakin' golden bullock, for heaven's sake, you get ten points. "

From here, and originated here.

The practice of the presence of God is a very well known classic of the Christian faith. It collects some of the insights given by Brother Lawrence, a friar that impressed people with the peace he transmitted. It's a great book to make us remember that the presence of God is not far from us, even when we are busy in our daily lives.

I can not say I agree with everything on that book, but the main theme is of much value to me.

This week I was present in SHiFT 2008, where I did a presentation on Bioinformatics. Here are the slides, I'll post the video as soon as it is available.

Lord, we have heard of Your fame
We stand in awe
Of Your wonderful deeds, O Lord
Lord, we have heard of Your fame
We stand in awe
Of Your wonderful deeds

Renew them in our day
Renew them in our day
In Your wrath
Remember mercy
In our time
Make them known
Renew them in our day
Renew them in our day
In our time we cry
Renew them in our day

(Habakkuk 3:2)

Recently I have been thinking a lot about Vision, and it's implications on Unity. And the more I think about it, and look around for examples, more I am sure that Vision has great implications concerning unity.

The church must be united. We are all one body. God has given a global vision to his church. But at the same time, God has created great diversity in the world, and gives different visions to different people. All of those visions together fulfil the global vision: build the Kingdom of God. And that's all very well, but it is a utopia to think that we can be in the same small community with people that have different visions and missions.

Let's put this into a formula. The greater the difference between the vision God as given to two different people/groups, the greater the distance between those two people/groups should be, in order to maintain unity.

I know, it seems a contra sense. But think about it. If one has the mission to reach teenagers, and the other elderly people, they can never really be in the same small group. Neither of them would be able to fulfil their purpose in all its fullness. The ministry of one will hinder the ministry of the other. They will be able to have synergy concerning more global events, but never in a very small environment.

For that reason, when you start a house church, it is of utmost importance to be sure that you are all with the same vision. If you are not, everyone will start compromising, and all of us will be very far from our potential.

We had a great time this weekend at Torgon at the @home. It was a time to get to know the house church movement in French speaking Switzerland, create many relationships, and talk a lot about ministerial gifts and how they can be used in house churches. Great discussions, lot's of prayer, sharing of experiences, and a great integration with the kids.

For me it was also a great time of reviving dreams and being encouraged to continue on the vision God has been giving me. The revolution is happening, and it cant be stopped.

More photos in the Torgon 2008 flickr set.

Hello darkness, my old friend,
Ive come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools said i,you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon godly made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

A heart that's full up like a landfill,
a job that slowly kills you,
bruises that won't heal.
You look so tired-unhappy,
bring down the government,
they don't, they don't speak for us.
I'll take a quiet life,
a handshake of carbon monoxide,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
Silent silent.

This is my final fit,
my final bellyache,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises please.

Such a pretty house
and such a pretty garden.

No alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises, please.