A Gentle Soul Journeys On

 

I am sure there many ways in which Dallas Willard will be remembered but to me he will always be a qentle soul who is a God-seeker. Most of his writings, teaching and preaching may be considered to be about spiritual formation but actually the core of Dallas' teachings is on seeking God. That is in essence what is spiritual formation.

I was seeking to learn more about spiritual formation and I found a kindred soul in Dallas when I first come across his writings and later in person in a conference in Los Angeles. At that time, spiritual formation was not widely known and was viewed with suspicion by the evangelical community. Yet Dallas was eager to share his understanding of what spiritual formation is, using psychosocial terms to describe a complex subject.

Dallas is a prolific written.His books stand proud on my bookshelf. I know I will always value them (especially the autographed ones) and refer to them again and again. 

1988. The spirit of the disciplines: Understanding how God changes lives. New York: HarperCollins.

1998. The divine conspiracy: Rediscovering our hidden life in God. New York: HarperCollin. 

1999. Hearing God: Developing a conversational relationship with God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 

2002. Renovation of the heart: Putting on the character of Christ. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress. 

2006. The great omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s essential teachings on discipleship. New York: HarperCollins. 

Willard, Dallas, and D. Simpson. 2005. Revolution of character: Discovering Christ’s pattern for spiritual transformation. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

In a sense, Dallas is a pioneer, bringing us back to the wilderness of spiritual growth and Christian spiritualities. He had opened up a path to a better understanding of Christian spiritualities and discipleship in spiritual formation. He had blazed a trail for others to follow and to expand on the subject. May we be worthy to follow his lead.

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Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Ray Bradbury (1975)

(photo by Alan Light. Wikimedia Commons)

The Martian Chronicles is one of the first collection of stories by Ray Bardbury I read as a teenager. I was fascinated by the benevolence of the Martians towards the earth astronauts. This was fresh after reading the deadly Martians of H.G.Wells' War of the Wars. Later I remembered playing a PC game based on the Martian Chronicles. I also remembered reading with horror, Fahrenheit 451, a novel about a future where books are outlawed. Books found are burnt and their owners imprisoned. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books burn. It leaves a distinct impression upon me as I was slowly developing my love of books.

 "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."

Unlike Isaac Asimov which writes interesting stories and often epics such as the Empire and Robots series, Bradbury deals mainly with short stories, often focusing themes that borders on horror. Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Illustrated Man are smashing examples.Others are The Toynbee Converter, Dandelion Wine and I Sing the Body Electric (which was made into an episode of the Twilight Zone).  Bradbury's science fiction are not as well rooted in science as the works of Sir Arthur C. Clarke and the later authors that I enjoyed such as David Brin, Greg Bear, Ben Bova and Gregory Benford. Being scientists themselves, they gave us a corpus of science fiction that is as strong on science as they are on fiction.

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories."

 

Bradbury was also a playwright and screen writer. He was a prolific writer and many volumes flew from his typewriter. His bibliography here. Bradbury's books, plays, movies and television episodes have been helpful during my difficult and lonely adolescent years. He had expanded my world of the mind, enhancing my sense of wonder and appreciation of the fruits of the imagination. That is a great gift for a little boy. Thank you, my friend.

"I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it."

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John Stott, My Inspiration

I first heard John Stott speak when I was a medical student and a very young Christian. John Stott came to Kuala Lumpur to give a talk in the University of Malaya campus organized by the Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) which later became Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES). I remember being very impressed by his message and his passion. I also remembered shaking the hand of this ‘well known’ Christian speaker. I began reading his books which are very influential to my Christian spiritual journey. I remember reading Basic Christianity (1958, rev.1971) which helps me construct the foundation of my faith. I read the revised 1971 version, of course (I am not that old!). It started me on my mission of Bible study and understanding the Scripture. This mission was fortified by another of his book, Your Mind Matters (1972). John Stott’s mastery of the Word and in preaching inspires me to a ministry of Bible-based teaching and preaching. Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century (1982) and The Contemporary Christian: An urgent plea for double listening (1992) are books I retreat to when my zeal for the art runs dry.

Another of John Stott’s book that influenced me is Issues Facing Christians Today (1985) and its new edition (4^th ed.) New Issues Facing Christian Today (2006). This book is instrumental in helping me to move into studying and understanding the engagement of Christianity with culture and morality. It moves me into biomedical ethics and Christ-and-culture studies which I am doing now.

One of the highlights of my time in Edinburgh while doing my specialist training is to take the intercity train down to London to listen to John Stott preach at All Souls [Anglican Church] at Langham Place. I also took a course by John Stott at his London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. The London Institute inspired me to set up the Spiritual Formation Institute in Holy Light Church (English) eight years ago.

Through the years, I continue to be inspired by Stott. I read all his writings, listen to or watch the videos of all his sermons, lectures and talks that I can get my hands on. Stott is a prolific writer, publishing at least 50 books. He never married but devoted his life to his ministry. He lived a simple life, donating the royalties from his books to Langham Partnership International (known as John Stott Ministries in the US) which he started in 1974. This organisation serves to improve preaching and teaching of the Bible in the third world. He rejected promotion to become a bishop of the Anglican Church, preferring to remain vicar of All Souls so that he can devote all his time and energy to teaching and preaching the Word. He is instrumental in the drafting of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974 which is a boost to world mission. In a way, John Stott’s life calls to mind the title of one of Eugene Peterson’s book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Though Peterson is talking about the biblical David, the concept of faithfulness in obedience may equally be applied to Stott.

The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling (2010), his last book sums up his influence on the evangelical world and also on me personally. The purpose of this book, says Stott, is to consider eight characteristics of discipleship that are often neglected and yet deserve to be taken seriously: nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation care, simplicity, balance, dependence, and death. Stott went to be with the Lord on 27 July 2011.

Ode to my Dog

He’s gone. He had fought the good fight.

Bundle of joy running under the sky,

watching earthly wonders glowing eyes,

under the earth his treasures lie,

once small but thou grew large in size.

Faithful and gentle to a fault,

loyal and forgiving to all offenses,

proud to thy heritage well worth the salt,

love and forgiveness heartily dispenses.

Content to sit and together be present,

content only with the attention given,

hopeful and waiting in my absent,

seeking the joys of stroking deepen.

Years pass, my friend, seasons too,

more gray, less tan and vision fade,

time pass yet thy heart remain true,

loyalty and love matured like jade.

Ailments of age crushed thee this july,

bent and stricken in body never to rise,

in love I slay thee, suffering deny,

run free now through the clouds in the sky.

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The Passing on of the Internet Monk

I have always enjoyed the writings of the blogger, Internet Monk a.k.a. Michael Spencer and have posted extracts of his posts on this blog. His witty and sometimes cutting comments will be missed.

Christianity Today online April 6, 2010 10:23AM

'Internet Monk' Dies

Michael Spencer was best known for his 'Internet Monk' blog.

by Sarah Pulliam Bailey

Michael Spencer, who also went by iMonk or Internet Monk, has died, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.

Mark Galli and Spencer discussed "the coming evangelical collapse" last year. Several bloggers, such as Scot McKnight and Tony Kummer, have offered their memories of Spencer. Trevin Wax has listed his favorite blog posts from Spencer and offered a few words.

On the one hand, Michael was giving voice to some thoughts and questions I had wrestled with, but never fully articulated. On the other hand, his honesty was brutal, intense, and often made me uncomfortable.

What I eventually came to appreciate most about Michael – both from his blog and from personal contact – was that the center of his thought and ministry was grace: extravagant mercy and favor to undeserving, broken sinners.

Bee Lay, You will be Missed

Attended a wake last night for a dear sister in Christ who was called to glory on Saturday. The emotional tributes by her children and friends are a stirring reminder of letting Jesus shine through our lives. This is her legacy and I believe this living legacy are more significant than any number of properties and companies. She taught us to invest in people who are eternal rather than temporal things. We gonna miss you, Bee Lay.



ONE DAY AT A TIME


Cristy Lane

Also recorded by:
The Alexander Brothers; Judy Collins; Phil Coulter; Floyd Cramer;
Carlene Davis; Florida Boys; Tennessee Ernie Ford; Foster & Allen;
Bill Gaither; Don Gibson; Arthur Greenslade; Lee Greenwood;
George Hamilton IV; Sharon Hardman.



I'm only human, I'm just a woman.
Help me believe in what I could be
And all that I am.
Show me the stairway, I have to climb.
Lord for my sake, teach me to take
One day at a time.

Chorus:
One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you.
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do.
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time.

Do you remember, when you walked among men?
Well Jesus you know if you're looking below
It's worse now, than then.
Cheating and stealing, violence and crime
So for my sake, teach me to take
One day at a time.

(Chorus)

Michael Jackson_Earth Song

Michael Jackson - Earth Song

Lyric:

What about sunrise?
What about rain?
What about all the things,
That you said we were to gain?
What about killing fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the things,
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice,
All the blood we've shed before?
Did you ever stop to notice,
The crying Earth the weeping shores?

Aah............... Oo...........
Aah............... Oo...........

What have we done to the world?
Look what we've done.
What about all the peace,
That you pledge your only son?
What about flowering fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams,
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice,
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice,
The crying Earth the weeping shores?

Aah............... Oo...........
Aah............... Oo...........

I used to dream.
I used to glance beyond the stars.
Now I don't know where we are.
Although I know we've drifted far.

Aah............... Oo...........
Aah............... Oo...........
Aah............... Oo...........
Aah............... Oo...........

Hey-yea!
What about yesterday?
What about the seas?
The heavens are falling down.
I can't even breathe!
What about apathy?
I can feel its wounds.
What about nature's worth?
It's our planet's womb!

What about animals?
We've turned kingdoms to dust,
What about elephants?
Have we lost their trust?
What about crying whales?
Ravaging the seas.
What about forest trails?
Burnt despite our pleas!

What about the holy land?
Torn apart by creed.
What about the common man?
Can't we set him free?
What about children dying?
Can't you hear them cry?
Where did we go wrong?
Someone tell me why!

What about baby boy?
What about the days?
What about all their joy?
What about the man?
What about the crying man?
What about Abraham?
What about death again?
Do we give a damn?!

Anthony Yeo

Learned from Sherman Quek's blog that Anthony Yeo passed away on Saturday. Anthony was my lecturer who inspired me in developing my counseling and spiritual direction skills. I used to challenged his counseling model which he responded to by helping me develop my P.A.D.I. model. I have hoped that one day we shall collaborate to develop a spiritual direction model for Asians. It seems that the Lord has other plans. Thank you, Anthony for your encouragement and modeling.

Goodbye Ralph Winter

Reposted from Christianity Today liveblog

May 23, 2009 6:49AM

Missiologist Ralph D. Winter (1925-2009)

His vision for world evangelization was "breathtaking" and his influence "globally seismic."

by David Neff

Veteran missiologist Ralph D. Winter passed away last Wednesday, May 20. (Hat tips to @jhgrantjr and @edstetzer for alerting us via Twitter.)

According to the US Center for World Mission website, Winter died peacefully at home in Pasadena, California, "surrounded by three of his four daughters, his wife Barb, and a few friends."

Winter had been battling cancer and had been weakened by radiation treatments. He was 84.

In 2005, Winter was named by Time magazine as one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals. His speech at the 1974 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization is credited with focusing evangelical mission activity on "unreached people groups."

Time commented:

Even at 80, Winter generates new strategies from his California-based Frontier Mission Fellowship.

Trained as a civil engineer, linguist, cultural anthropologist and Presbyterian minister, he describes himself as a "Christian social engineer." Working through the William Carey International University and the U.S. Center for World Mission, which he founded, he is producing a new generation of Christian message carriers, some native, ready to venture out to places with such ready-to-be-ministered flocks as Muslim converts to Christianity and African Christians with heretical beliefs. Says Winter: "It's this movement, not the formal Christian church, that's growing. That's our frontier."

An abundance of information is available at ralphwinter.org, including a timeline of "milestone events" and an extensive autobiographical account of his engagement with modern missions and missiology.

Also worth reading: Pastor John Piper's personal tribute to Winter. "His vision of the advance of the gospel was breathtaking," writes Piper, calling Winter's emphasis on unreached peoples "globally seismic in the transformation of missions."

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John Updike, Theological Novelist

From Christianity Today

January 27, 2009 2:54PM

John Updike, 'Theological Novelist,' Dies at 76The Pulitzer winner surveyed the spiritual emptiness of post-World War II family life.

by Katelyn Beaty

Prolific American novelist John Updike died Tuesday in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, after a battle with lung cancer. He was 76. Winning the Pulitzer Prize for two books in his best-known Rabbit quartet, Updike's novels and short stories frequently chronicled the spiritual and moral confusion of the middle-class American family adrift of its Judeo-Christian moorings.

Never afraid to explore sexual exploits frankly, the lifelong churchgoer also deftly wove theological themes into many of his novels, most overtly in Roger’s Version (1986), In the Beauty of the Lilies (1996), and Seek My Face (2002). He was strongly influenced by the works of modern theologians Soren Kierkegaard and Karl Barth, but in later years credited his hometown church in Massachusetts as his spiritual foundation.

Jesuit magazine America awarded Updike its Campion Award in 1997 as “a distinguished Christian person of letters,” and President George W. Bush gave him the National Medal for the Humanities in 2003.

Christianity Today contributing editor Mark Buchanan called Updike “North America’s most theological novelist” in his profile of the author from July 2003. He wrote,

Nearly [Updike’s] entire life’s work is concerned with theological questions, and a good number of his works hinge on these. How many other contemporary authors could—or would—bandy about the theology of Barth, Tillich, or Bultmann in their novels? Or have page after page of dialogue between characters working out intricate doctrinal positions? Updike does this repeatedly and with discernment.

Mark Oppenheimer also profiled Updike in sister magazine Books & Culture in 2004, observing of his angst-ridden protagonists, “Updike’s characters were raised in church, and they want truly to believe in God, but the disciplines God requires inhibit the joy he is supposed to bring.”

Read more obituaries from The New York Times (which also has a slideshow), the Associated Press, Time magazine, and PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

Kendall Harmon at TitusOneNine posted "Seven Stanzas at Easter," Updike's well-known poem on the Resurrection, last March.

Goodbye Sir, Arthur C Clarke

I discover that Arthur C. Clarke passed away yesterday from Sharon Bakar’s blog. His passing marks the closing of an era of the grandmasters of science fiction which include Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, Stanislaw Lem and Cordwainer Smith. Theirs was the frontier era of science fiction. Science fiction was then pulp fiction, not worthy of attention of more serious readers. However, theirs was a romantic era; of rocketships, Mars, aliens, ray guns and damsels-in-distress. There was not much science but plenty of fiction. Often it was cowboys and Indians among the stars, written by young men struck by a “sense of wonder.” This “sense of wonder" is the addiction of all science fiction fans.

Of the few science fiction authors I mentioned, Arthur C. Clarke was the only one that have a scientific grounding to all of his stories. He is well known for his prediction of satellites, space elevators, computers and telecommunications. However, it was his skill in mixing his science with fiction that captivated me from the start. I have read all his novels which starts with The Sands of Mars (1952). I just bought his latest novel, written with Stephen Baxter, Firstborn (2007) five days ago, and was looking forward to read it over the Easter weekend. Little do I know that it is his swan song.

Clarke was a humanist, believing that technology will benefit humanity, yet warning us that humanity is also capable of both great good and evil. He was also interested in exploring situations where we meet aliens of higher technological capabilities. That is the basis of his 2001 series, his Rama series, The Songs of Distant Earth and Childhood’s End. Not all his novels were in space. He also explored the seas in The Deep Range and Dolphin Island, reflecting his love of the sea.

I never forget the impact of Childhood’s End when I first read it. It deals with an alien race, racial memory and the next stage of human evolution. I remember dumbstruck by it. The other great Clarke book that I love is his short story collection, Tales from the White Hart.

I have read one or two of his non-fiction but what I enjoyed most was his The Snows of Olympus-A Garden on Mars (1994) which was a collection of Martian photos with his commentary. What impressed me from his non-fiction writings is his formulation of the three laws from his Profiles of the Future (1999)

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Arthur Clarke passing is like a loss of an old friend even if I have not met him in person. I do however have a few autographed copies of his novels...and is a lapsed member of the Interplanetary Society.

Some biography data here and here
The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation

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Madeleine L Engle

Books & Culture, January/February 2008

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007)
by Luci Shaw

Madeleine L'Engle. A powerful woman, large-hearted, fearless, quixotic, profoundly imaginative, unwilling to settle for mediocrity. Tall and queenly, she physically embodied her mental and spiritual attributes. I remember occasions when, in church during Advent, she would rise to full height, spread her arms wide like the Angel of the Annunciation, and declare, "Fear not!" in a tone that allowed no gainsaying. It was a challenge impossible to ignore.

She loved God and his children, but this didn't keep her from questioning and questing in pursuit of truth, which she never equated with fact. Without ever being a scientist herself, she had an uncanny understanding of some of the principles of physics, and the thrust of her life was to integrate her sense of the largeness, diversity, and unity of the universe with the spiritual principles she found in Scripture and her daily practice and rule of life.

read complete article here

Bibliography
picture credit

Another Absent Friend

The world has become quieter

The loss of a unique voice and laughter

The lives she had touched and saved

The cries of the many babies she had delivered

Deeply missed by all her loved ones.

(climbing the Great Wall of China, 2001)

Dr Tan Qui Hong was a consultant Obstetrician & Gynecologist who had a flourishing practice at Jalan Tebrau, Johor Bahru, Malaysia and has admission rights to Puteri Specialist Hospital. Yet, in spite of her success, she remains humble and lived a simple lifestyle. She did not put on airs. She has a pleasant smile and always enjoyed the simple pleasures of life. In her practice, I believed she has touched many lives. I am privileged that she counted me as her friend and I shall miss her.

(with her husband, Dr Kok)

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An Absent Friend

Nyok Ling and I were medical officers and trainee in Paediatrics in Johor Bahru General Hospital (now Hospital Sultanah Aminah). We developed a friendship that came from serving under a difficult boss!

She was transferred to Kuala Lumpur and remained in government service. In time she received her well deserved datukship. We met up in paediatric conferences and over phone calls for patient referrals.

Nyok Ling is a good friend and I shall miss her.

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