Vandaag was de dag van hartverscheurende verhalen van kwaad en onrecht. Rwanda, Zuid-Afrika, India, Israel – situaties van persoonlijk en systematisch geweld, racisme en slavernij, van diep gewortelde haat en scheiding. De pijn was af te lezen van de gezichten van sprekers en te voelen in de zaal. Toch waren deze verhalen ook getuigenissen van hoop en van de verzoenende kracht . Soms op hele … Lees verder Kaapstad – Sorry zeggen
The bible book of Ephesians is the focus of the Cape Town 2010 devotionals. Here is my contribution to that conversation. I once heard the story of an American general (apparently the only one) that was made POW during World War II. He was imprisoned in a Japanese camp in Mongolia, far away from everything. At some point, the war was over – but this … Lees verder Cape Town 2010: thoughts on Ephesians
Zojuist las ik het nieuws van de zelfmoord van Antonie Kamerling. Het schokte me, net zoals vrijwel iedereen die het hoort. Ik moest direct denken aan de website www.ik-wil-dood.nl die is gemaakt naar aanleiding van de problemen van depressie en zelfmoord. De site wijst naar de uitweg uit die negatieve spiraal door geloof in Jezus Christus. Een linkje naar die site via Twitter leverde een … Lees verder Zelfmoord en God
This is the first blog in preparation of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation, to be held in Cape Town, South-Africa from 16 to 25 October. I will share personal observations and reflections on the relevance of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a postmodern, postchristian society. The brand new library of my home town Almere is a great place. Four floors of books- … Lees verder On the road to Cape Town #1
Van een van ’s lands christelijke uitgevers mocht ik het manuscript van ‘Jesus Manifesto’ door Frank Viola en Leonard Sweet lezen. Een boek dat helemaal gaat over Jezus Christus – mooier kun je het niet hebben. Viola en Sweet (bekende Amerikaanse schrijvers en denkers, te plaatsen in het vrijdenkende, niet-traditionele deel) doen met hun Jesus Manifesto een appel op de lezer om Jezus Christus (weer) … Lees verder Jesus Manifesto
Last Friday I turned 40. And although I was still only one day older than the day before, it seems to be quite a milestone to many people. Admittedly I made a little fuzz about it myself, which might have given the impression that I actually was nervous about it, which I don’t think is true. But then again – it is kind of a … Lees verder Ten Things I Should…
Today we closed the sermon series on Acts in our church. Acts is a fascinating book (the 5th one of the New Testament and the second by author Luke) describing the dynamic development of the first-century church. The series was built around 10 main figures (or groups) in the story of Acts, each one representing a characteristic of the movement. This angle made up for … Lees verder Summarizing Acts
Last week I wrote a blog called ‘Good news to the poor‘ in which I referred to the verses from Luke 4/Isaiah 61. This verse happens to be the motto for Athletes in Action‘s summer outreach to Africa. Good news for the poor, sight to the blind, freedom for prisoners. And because they had their spring event last weekend, Matthijs asked me to write on … Lees verder Freedom for Prisoners!
Yesterday I met him again, my friend Nermin. Originally from the Balkan, now living in Almere in a beautiful part of the city. His place has 6 bathrooms, a huge pond and a basketball court. The only problem: it has no roof. And actually, the bathrooms are the public ones near the Weerwater lake and the basketball court is covered with junk and garbage as … Lees verder Good news to the poor
Thursday afternoon. The phone rings. It is our friend John, saying he is in need of a little help and some encouragement. He says he wants to go to church on Sunday and Mira explains what, when and how. We are pleasantly surprised, as it is a place he has never been before in his life. Easter Sunday, afternoon. Our service is going to be … Lees verder Resurrection power