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REVIVAL

2013-02-02T13:04:00.001+02:00

Yes, revival is coming your way! For almost a year our blog has been sleeping, hibernating.... Ok, dead. Today, we speak life again. We speak revival, growth, new depths, new heights. So, if you landed here by accident, well we don't believe in accidents, we believe that its by design that you ended here. So, lets continue our adventure in following the Spirit of God, moving around the world.

Built for eternal purposes...built to last

2012-11-06T23:09:00.001+02:00

Some crisis situations can break us. Yet, it can also build us, depending on your attitude. Christ Jesus walked amongst the most dangerous religious fanatics-in fact they were some of the most lethal. He had crisis situations, which eventually led to his execution, yet he remained conscious of God's plan and calling upon his life. Hence, for Jesus, the crisis, even in persecution and execution

Making that talent grow... the good struggle continues.

2012-08-04T10:16:00.000+02:00

I always struggled with Jesus' story of the talents (Matt 25:14-30). The one where the owner of the talents go away and give the 3 workers talents to work with. My struggle is with the unfairness of the situation. Some get 5, others 3 and a last ou, gets 1. Here, so it seems, Jesus endorses the idea that God discriminates-God gives more to some, and less to others-so suck it up. Of course,

Women Leaders, Innovators, Groundbreakers

2012-05-16T01:13:00.002+02:00

John Maxwell, leadership guru, defines leadership, simply as influence. Of course, influence assumes authority and the question is, where does authority comes from. Some authors, speaks of three kinds of authority, namely, task, teaching and spiritual authrority. Yet, we are living in a time where authority is challenged. We are living at a time where the traditional spaces of authority are

What is so 'good' about this dark Friday?

2012-04-06T17:26:00.003+02:00

My daughter asked, me this question: Why good Friday, when it was the day of the cross? Indeed, in many ways, the "Good Friday", scene as painted by the gospel of Mark, is dark, but more than that, it contrasts the Old and the New. Whilst the birth of the new is always exciting, it remains painful; it remains also an end, of sorts. The new always has an element of an ending, a loss, a death.

What's in a name? Towards a different Joseph.

2012-03-18T19:06:00.003+02:00

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Keys to growth... the Jesus way.

2012-01-09T00:21:00.000+02:00

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Is missional only local?

2011-10-03T12:08:00.001+02:00

It seems as if missional church only means being responsive to God's call in local settings. Local congregations then strive to discern God's call and of course, they dwell in the Word to hear God saying something about 'their community'. Is this enough? Is it enough to draw a circle around our 'churchbuilding' and imagine all and everything within that circle to be 'our community'? These

churchplanting revisited

2011-08-12T14:35:00.001+02:00

The word churchplanting is not found in the Bible. The metaphor is however legitimate. The idea is noble. Some-one else might be difficult and ask: but do we need to find a verse where the word 'churchplanting' is there in English. (Afterall, the Bible was not initially written in English) These comments might sound flippant. Its not. The various translations of the Bible does bring a bit of

Mother Monster Jay Z and Pentecost 2011

2011-06-16T12:07:00.001+02:00

In the past week, I’ve been blessed with various encounters ‘on the mountain’, so to speak. This has not only been informative, it has also been formative. I commend the speakers, especially our ministries for their earnest seeking of the word of God and for taking on the challenge In particular, I thank our members for preaching, for praying, for leading the encounters.In a sense I speak wrongly

The lens of the Resurrection and suffering

2011-04-26T14:06:00.001+02:00

How can one still believe in the Resurrection in the face of all the bloodshed and evil that surrounds us? This is a very difficult question, which is part of an ongoing debate. The key question is how we understand suffering, not how we understand the resurrection. For many, a worldview which suggest life is one integrated whole, informs the idea that suffering is an abberation from life. Yet

Is Benny Hinn good news ?

2011-03-17T01:16:00.001+02:00

Apparently he is on his way to Cape Town. The miracle man, in the white suit, arriving in his private jet. Is he good news ? Or is it a case of just another stop on a whirl-wind, world-wide tour. Benny Hinn has of late, been embroiled in a few controversial situations and certainly amongst some commentators, he is perhaps not the most appropriate embodiment of the message of Jesus Christ. If

Japan, Libya needs our prayers

2011-03-15T10:01:00.002+02:00

Will prayer help Japan? This is the question from Johan Swarts, in his most recent post for News24. His answer is honest, and, I suppose provocative: 'I don't know. What I do know, is that no-one's pleas stopped the ongoing disaster and that the words, "Japan is in our prayers" is beautiful, but it sounds empty when you make the effort to look at Japan.' One should ask the question, why Swarts

Leadership is about growing your followership

2010-11-09T10:54:00.004+02:00

Is leadership only about being an excellent administrator or savvy politian? Also in the church, we find that these are often noted as the key performance areas. When you fail at reportwriting, or at being an excellent chairperson of the meeting, you have failed as a Christian leader. Perhaps you might notice that this cannot be. Its not that simple and certainly, it cannot be that restrictive.

Leaders let it go and let God.

2010-11-07T07:41:00.001+02:00

One of the most difficult leadership challenges, is to let go and delegate. It's easier to initiate programs, to organise it, to make it happen, i.e. to control it. Yet, how do you let go off the baby…often your baby. This is related to the fact that those in power, in leadership generally find it difficult to let go and trust the next layer of leadership to find their place and run with the

all smoke and mirrors, church meetings, missional ?

2010-10-28T09:31:00.001+02:00

How is your churchboard meetings? Is it stiffy smoke-filled meetings around an oak table with a multimedia display ? It it a group of middleaged to older men, in black suits and white ties ? Is it an informal gathering around the coffee table at the house of one of the members, or in the coffeeshop during a lunchbreak? The kind of setting, the formation, the rituals that goes along with the

new generations will retell the story with a remix

2010-10-11T14:03:00.000+02:00

This weekend we as acommunity again shared, listened to our story, but also reflected on it. Its an ongoing journey, so we are simply jotting down some of the pointers. For one, we choose to invest in relationships: with God, with each other, with our community. Churches with our history often get bogged down in an existing structure, tradition and story. In our case, its the history of the

a fine moment, a fine man

2010-10-08T11:06:00.000+02:00

Its perhaps one of the finest moments for a faithcommunity when her children grows in maturity. The current challenges for congregations are daunting. Yet, it remains a hopeful journey, a faithfilled journey to continue to nurture and mentor young people, in ministry. When Rev MAS Fisher was conducted last weekend, as presiding minister within Eldorado Park, a young man coming from Riverlea, it

It's still our time (?) Feel it, it is still here.

2010-07-10T13:48:00.001+02:00

The last day of the SoccerWorld cup is hours away. Again, from all accounts it seemed like a success. Of course, this depends on what you count: the number of trophies or the bankaccount. How else are we to measure success? For followers of Jesus, there has to be a difference. Not for the sake of difference, but because I think, Jesus looks differently at the world. Jesus would perhaps not be

Sekunjalo ke nako-Now, is the time.

2010-06-12T01:09:00.002+02:00

The Soccer World Cup has kicked off, with a bang. From all accounts, it promise to be a huge success and we are behind our South African national team, affectionately known as Bafana Bafana (literally meaning 'the boys', in our Nguni languages). For many of us, this is a time to simply kick off the shoes and relax for a while-to celebrate and bask in the glory of the Local Organising Committee,

a new time for ordinary people, like fishermen

2010-05-14T10:25:00.002+02:00

One of the themes for this years season of Pentecost, is God's new era for ordinary people. These reflections on the gospel of St Luke focus on various disciples. Last night we started reflecting on the fact that Jesus called fisherfolk to be his disciples. This choice we realised is significant, as he did not go for the religious people-he went for the hardliving guys. As story was shared in

Mother's Day special or Hallmark card ?

2010-05-10T13:35:00.000+02:00

Mother's Day was special in our church, yesterday. Most of the time, we see Mother's Day in the guise of sentimental Hallmark card consumerism. The article by Diane Buttler Bass however does put things in perspective. Simply reading it at church is however not enough. We need to think how does one recapture the radical roots of this tradition? In our own context we need to delve deeper into the

on a journey of becoming

2010-05-09T00:04:00.003+02:00

Okay. Here we go again. I could not stay away for too long from AlphaXc. We will start the conversation and keep it going, as the Spirit leads us. What is it that churches should focus on as they listen to God's heart for the world today? Should churches focus on extension, on become more. Perhaps we should be more powerful, wealthy, influential. Yet, when we read the words of Jesus, then we

Relocation to a different platform

2010-01-08T14:13:00.001+02:00

To all our faithfull visitors followers, etc, we hereby announce that ACS have relocated to a different platform. Of course, this blog will remain open for us to access the wealth of material developed over the last few years. Thanks for the conversations, the critical comments or simply the visits. Our new site are be http://urcriverlea.com. God bless!Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let

Senior members in Riverlea...treasure our wealth

2009-12-03T00:23:00.004+02:00

It so special to spend time with older people. They bring a wealth of experience, of social intellegence to you as a person. This is maybe why the outing with our seniors was such a deep reminder to us, of what is important in life.Malin should be thanked for the arrangements and vision, but also sensitivity and care, with Lorna Josephs. Whilst we enjoyed each other, we were also touched and