books|gruntle.co.za

2009-02-11T14:06:00.001+02:00

MCSA - Paarl Valley Circuit
Preaching Plan – 1st Quarter Feb to April 2009

Feb
1

Mar
1

Apr
5
Palm Sunday

10
Good Friday

12
Easter

St
Ebenezer
10h00

Magoloza

Allah

Mziki E

A Bonoyi

Mgcango

Sbelekwana

YMG Convention

Ntyintyana

A Bonoyi ©

YMG / WG/ WM / YWM

Anele Bonoyi

April

Mhobo

Paarl
9h00

Timothy Ndzuzo

Angus Kelly (AGM)

Angus Kelly

Glen Ortell

Angus Kelly

Ndzuzo?

6h30am

Angus Kelly

Wellington
10h00

Anele Bonoyi

Rev Lawrence

Mr Healey

Mr Madley

Anele Bonoyi

Rev Kelly

Rev Philips

T Ndzuzo

Roziers

Anele Bonoyi

Kalvin Whittles

R Fairbairn

Paynter

Devries

Franschhoek
9h00

Kelly

Rev James Gribble

R Fairbairn

Rev P Palmer?

Kelly

Andre Augustyn

Ryan Fernandez

Angus Kelly

Rev James Gribble

Rev Angus Kelly

Angus Kelly

Rev Angus Kelly

R Fairbairn

Franschhoek
10h00

Gqirana

A Bonoyi ©

Booi P

Ganta

A Bonoyi ©

YMG Convention

Mampane

Booi C

Mbekweni (Palm Sunday)

Mbekweni

Martins

Klapmuts
10h00

Booi C

Fransch-hoek

Mampane

Fransch-hoek

YMG Convention

Booi C

Gqirana

Palm Sunday

Easter

Booi P

Mampane

Dundracht
13h00

A Bonoyi

Poni

A Bonoyi

YMG Convention

Poni

Palm Sunday

Easter

Poni

2009 Calendar

Jan

Feb

March

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

27 Circuit Exec 5pm

3 CQM Mbekweni 7pm

7 Learning Partnership Training Day

11 Local Preachers

25 Ash Wednesday

28 Lay Training Day – Ottery Road

7 District Youth Unit – Sunday School Teacher’s
Training

20-22 District Youth Synod

10-12 Easter

21 Circuit Exec 5pm

25 Wesley Guild Sports Day

28 CQM

Paarl 7pm

5-8 Internship

7-10 Local Preacher’s Convention

9 Phase 2 Exit Screening

21 Ascension Day

24 Aldersgate

27 Ordinands Screening

28-30 Synod

20 World AIDS day

26-28 District Youth – Winter Camp

21 Circuit Exec 5pm

29 CQM Wellington 7pm

7-9 District Youth Leader’s Campp

11-13 Ordinands School of Vocation

16 Local Preacher’s Sunday

18-21 Internship

3-6 Young Women’s Manyano Convention

16-20 Conference

20 Ordination

27 Circuit Exec 5pm

27 CQM

Franschhoek

7pm

Ordering Your Private World - Gordon MacDonald

2007-01-14T15:11:00.000+02:00

This classic by Gordon MacDonald is a useful reminder to organise one's time well, and prioritise one's calling in the midst of the chaos of life. Although MacDonald writes as a pastor, and cites examples from his life as a pastor - I am sure his advice would be beneficial to any reader.

One of the things he mentions is that the first sign of a disorganised world is a dirty car... I better get my life in order, maybe my car will get cleaner then.

A David Lodge Trilogy: "Changing Places", "Small World", "Nice Work"

2006-11-11T06:02:00.000+02:00

Recommended by digitaldion...

You NEED to read some David Lodge. I bought "A David Lodge trilogy" from Kalahari.

It is a HOOT! It is a series of three novels about the ins and outs of academic life on two university campuses (Rummidge - the run down, poorly funded, English University [styled on Birmingham by the way], and Euphoria state the overfunded, overstaffed, oversexed university in the US [styled on Berkley in SF]).

Yoda (AKA... Well you know who) got me reading these.

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

2006-11-02T05:31:00.000+02:00

Big D puts it down quite nicely on his blog under the title: Is your faith simply delusion. This book definitely looks worth the read, but I think Dawkins might get to be a bit of a pain in the neck - in the same way as any true believer, car salesman, religious fundamentalist, etc. might.

Hasidic Tales

2006-10-28T23:08:00.000+02:00

This looks brilliant and I want it. I haven't read it yet - but I thought I would share it.

"The wisdom of the Hasidim is earthy, realistic, rooted in the simplicity of the heart. It is alive with the awareness of the holiness of Creation and the boundlessness of God's mercy, and is utterly honest about the necessity of living such awareness in loving service to all beings. It is a wisdom that fuses the highest mystical initiations with the most down-home celebration of life and a rugged commitment to social and political justice in all its forms. In other words, it is a wisdom that is never, as my old prep school headmaster would put it, "too divine to be of any earthly use."

- from the Foreword by Andrew Harvey

A Short History of Nearly Everything - BIll Bryson

2006-10-28T17:24:00.000+02:00

The author traces the Big Bang through the rise of civilization, documenting his work with a host of the world's most advanced scientists and mathematicians to explain why things are the way they are.

- Blurb on Kalahari.net

Having read this book I am truely amazed at the wonder of it all - the amazingness of creation and time. Bill Bryson is another one of those widely read people (he's read a lot of books), he gathered the information - coloured it in a bit here and there to make it more exciting, then published it in a book so I could read it and then be able to pretend to be really clever.

Father Joe - Tony Hendra

2006-10-28T17:14:00.000+02:00

From the first teenage indiscretion that saw Tony Hendra brought before the worldly-wise monk, Father Joe, he was saved by him many times. He tells us how the went to America and found great success, but after twenty-five years he saw himself teetering on the edge of a terrifying abyss. An edge that only Father Joe could pull him back from.

- Blurb on Kalahari.Net

This book inspired me to think again about what it means to be called. And not just the call to the ministry of word and sacrament, but the ministry of being a husband, of being a friend, of being the person that God has called me to be.

Prayer (Does it make any difference) - Philip Yancey

2006-10-28T15:54:00.000+02:00

I am a big Philip Yancey fan. I appreciate people who can put into simple words some of the big ideas that I think most of us have floating around our heads sithout knowing how to articulate them. One of my favourite things about Yancey is the fact that he is extremely well read (he's read a lot of books) - he incorporates the wisdom of a great variety of writers on whatever subject he is dealing with.

I've just started this book about prayer, and so far I am very impressed, I am learning to articulate old ideas, and I'm being fed by the wisdom of some great writers whom Yancey looks to for guidance... I particularly like this quote (at the beginning of Chapter 3)

"The prayer preceding all prayers is 'May it be the real I who speaks.
May it be the real Thou that I speak to."

- CS Lewis

Telling the Truth - Frederick Beuchner

2006-07-25T13:28:00.000+02:00

"In the front pews the old ladies turn up their hearing aids, and a young lady slips her six year old a Lifesaver and a Magic Marker. A college sophomore home for vacation, who is there because he was dragged there, slumps forward with his chin in his hand. The vice-president of a bank who twice that week has seriously contemplated suicide places his hymnal in the rack. A pregnant girl feels the life stir inside her. A high-school math teacher, who for twenty years has managed to keep his homosexuality a secret for the most part even from himself, creases his order of service down the center with his thumbnail and tucks it under his knee...The preacher pulls the little cord that turns on the lectern light and deals out his note cards like a riverboat gambler. The stakes have never been higher."

- Frederick Beuchner in Telling the Truth

(Quoted from Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey)

Elements of Biblical Exegesis - A basic guide for students and ministers - MJ Gorman

2006-07-22T08:16:00.000+02:00

This book has been on my shelf for a few months - its one of my setworks for my honours course in New Testament Theology. One of my assignments is to exegete a passage from scripture - Exegesis is always a bit of a mystery to me... so many terms 'diachronic' 'synchronic' 'historico-critical' 'redaction' eish!

Gorman suggests a clear outline for any exegesis paper. Now this might seem like old hat to seasoned scholars but I am still relatively new at this and any guidelines are a godsend. So I recommend it heartily to students preparing for ministry - like myself; and to the convenors of their programmes - like other people who might read this blog.

click here to order it from Kalahari.net

The essential IVP reference collection...

2006-07-20T13:53:00.000+02:00

This is a software package that works with libronix (you don't have to have libronix to use it - it comes with the libronix software included).

It includes some really useful titles from the inter-varsity press:

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
Dictionary of Paul and His Letters
Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments
Dictionary of New Testament Background
IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
New Bible Dictionary
New Bible Commentary
Hard Sayings of the Bible
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
New Bible Atlas
New Dictionary of Biblical Theology
New Dictionary of Theology

Now most of these resources are quite fundamentalist / evangelical - but I like these people because at least you know where they are coming from. And its not all as close minded as I thought it would be... the biblical scholarship is up to date, with reference to some of the latest archeological finds (you'll be amazed to see how much has been studied, published etc. since the seventies (ie Interpreter's One Volume Commentary).

Its helping me a lot with my Honours assignments, and I think it will help me plenty with Bible studies and preaching.

Kalahari.net has it at R1500ish. I bought mine on sale from logos.com at about R980 plus customs tax of about R25. I haven't asked the local logos people what they charge for it.

But here's a link to kalahari.net's product.

New Interpreter's Study Bible-NRSV, with Apocrypha

2006-06-17T09:27:00.000+02:00

My friend Jaco keeps trying to steal my Bible...

It has a good amount of what I like to call fundamentalist flop - in the weighty leather binding, delicious for pulpit bashing (first make sure its a sturdy pulpit). It also has wonderful commentary by great authors...

"Of the current editions of Study Bibles, in my opinion the most helpful for pastors, teachers, and all students of the Scriptures has now been issued by Abingdon Press under the dedicated guidance of Dr. Walter Harrelson."
- Bruce M. Metzger, Professor of New Testament,
Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

If you want to buy it, wait for a 20% off sale on Kalahari.net, I think its cheaper than any funny floppy fundy NIV Study Bible and the scholarship is much better! (Its about R800 without a 20% discount.)

click here to order it from Kalahari.net

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time - Marcus J Borg

2006-06-17T09:18:00.000+02:00

With ref. to the comment on my blog, about Jesus loves you and being loved by a First Century Palestinian Peasant... Marcus Borg helps me to relate that to my faith. He reconciles the historical Jesus with what some people call the Jesus of faith. People like Borg remind people that you can have realistic faith.

click here

The Rumi Collection - An Anthology of Translations of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

2006-06-14T17:18:00.000+02:00

With reference to restless rock's post I thought I'd try to track down a book of poems by Rumi. After a little research I think this is the one I might buy...

click here to order this book

God of Surprises - Gerard Hughes

2006-06-14T16:06:00.000+02:00

Another reccomendation from Murray:
"Spirituality that embraces our humanness" - that's what Murray said.

Any further comments will be welcomed and appreciated.

click here to order this book.

God has a Dream - Desmond Tutu

2006-06-14T15:58:00.000+02:00

My wife gave me this book for my birthday in 2003/4 (I can't remember). Wow! What an awesome book - Tutu draws from his experience of hopelessness transformed to hope in South Africa during the transition from apartheid to the present era to present what he sees as God's dream unfolding in our land.

I think one of the first lines is "There is no such thing as a completely hopeless case..."

- Murray reminded me to post this book.

click here to order it.

The Hauerwas Reader - Stanley Hauerwas

2006-06-12T22:21:00.000+02:00

Another reccomendation from DigitalDion...

"...any serious theologian, in fact I would go so far as to say any
thinking Christian, should be reading Stanley Hauerwas. This is a superb introduction to his work (it contains some of his best essays and papers)."

click here to order it.

Spud - John Van De Ruit

2006-06-12T22:14:00.000+02:00

"Cursed with parents from well beyond the lunatic fringe, a senile granny, and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has to forge a new life for himself in this foreign and sometimes hostile environment..." - Kalaharil.net

"...relaxing, fun, entertaining reading! I got it from our friend, the good Professor! The book is called Spud. It is one of the funniest books I have read
in a very long time!!!" - DigitalDion

click here to order this book from kalahari.net

Soul Survivor - Philip Yancey

2006-06-12T19:51:00.000+02:00

I really really like the way Philip Yancey writes... In a way people like me can understand. In it Yancey writes a little about 13 mentors - that he claims helped him survive the churc (see the book cover.)

If you must know - These are the unlikely mentors:

Martin Luther King Jr.; GK Chesterton; Dr Paul Brand; Dr Robert Coles; Leo Tolstoy and Feodor Dostoevsky; Mahatma Gandhi; Dr C Everet Coop; John Donne; Annie Dillard; Frederick Beuchner; Shusaku Endo; Henri Nouwen.

I learnt about people I didn't know about and found even more books to buy... (But it certainly was well worth the read.)

click here to buy this book from kalahari.net - proceeds go to teh small tent revival book fund (Dion will understand)

Desert Wisdom - Yushi Nomura

2006-06-12T12:10:00.000+02:00

Sayings of the Desert Fathers, introduced by Henri Nouwen, beautifully collected, translated and illustrated by Yushi Nomura. Inspiring stuff... I sometimes scan the pictures and the sayings and give them to people.

I will use some of them in worship services. Great book, I love it.

click here to order this book from Kalahari.net

The River Between - Ngugi wa Thiong'o

2006-06-10T12:09:00.000+02:00

Prof. Richardson reccommended this to us in class the other day... Sounds interesting. Any commnents?

I plan to read it during the vacation.

Click here to order it from kalahari.net

The Heart of Christianity - Marcus Borg

2006-06-10T07:57:00.000+02:00

Another book that I really enjoyed - makes you rethink stuff. I like Borg. Any comments?

click here to order this book from kalahari.net

Rumours of Another World - Philip Yancey

2006-06-10T07:10:00.000+02:00

Trinity Sunday, John 3:1-17 - Jesus says to Nicodemus - to see the Kingdom of God you must be born again / born from above / reborn...

Philip invites his readers to consider the reality of the (what I would say) the Kingdom of God in our midst. It's just a matter of seeing. More about it later - I read the book a long time ago.

click here to order the book from Kalahari.net

dreams for sale...

2006-06-10T06:39:00.000+02:00

books