Finding a Church

A common criticism of the post-modern ethos goes something like this: “Young people today are unwilling to commit to formal structures and engagements, such as church membership.” And this year, I’ve come to realise I’m one of them.

Not that I’ve stopped believing in church membership. I’m still a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and I’ll probably stay that for at least some years ahead. I’m referring to local church here. Upon moving to the Copenhagen area, we knew that it would be a challenge to decide for or against joining a specific church, but we were not anticipating that we should still be in the void after 7 months.

This may be a negative result of being involved in church planting. For all its faults, Aarhus Café Church was my church – literally, since I was part of it from even before the start. When you join something existing, you have to accept it as it is, living with inconsistencies and imbalances. So how do you find a church family to belong to? Some of our criteria are: we want to be able to make a difference; we are looking for a church that has a clear mission and vision; we want a church that is going somewhere and which has potential.

If we limit the search to Seventh-day Adventist Churches, there are at least 5 within reasonable distance, but our considerations have mainly focused on two of these. There’s the one in which we were married; a large, traditional church which is pleasant but has a built-in inertia that, despite honest efforts, seems difficult to shed. And there’s the one which we attend most regularly; a newer church with lots of young people and a bigger potential, but which seems to be treading water at the moment, lacking the drive and vision of earlier years.

Then there is the radical option: start something new. We had talked about this even before leaving Aarhus, but know from that experience that church planting is a huge undertaking and needs a big commitment. Furthermore, partners are needed for such ventures – we would need to build a vision together with other people, expanding the thoughts we already harbour with the input of others willing to join such a project.

So what path should we take? That has yet to be decided. And while thorough thinking is a blessing, indecision can be a bane. Somehow, somewhere, something needs to happen.

In Real Life

This is a blog post. You read it in “cyberspace”. You may respond, you may not. Either way, it stays online. Unless you choose to hit Print – which is not recommended, for environmental reasons. Does the digital character of this interaction make it less “real” than if you were taking a walk in the park with me? Apparently, many people would think so.

Again and again you hear the thought voiced that meetings online, friendships in social networks, and digitally mediated discussions are just a shadow of the “real world”. Even the common expression IRL (In Real Life), builds on this assumption. Digital media can be good, but they can never replace the “real thing”.

Now I do believe there is a “real thing”, but I don’t believe that the digital world, the Internet, is fake, and but a poor replication of the world as it should be. But here’s the thing: all communication is mediated. Whether it is language, body language, telephone, email, or social networks, there is always something “in between” two minds interacting. Communication is indeed possible, but always mediated.

People are networking through social media. It’s not a game. This is real life. If you’re like me, most of your interactions take place online, and they’re not less real for this fact.

I post this during an Internet Evangelism seminar in England, focusing exactly on helping people to interact with their (digital) network and share the gospel with their friends in non-obtrusive, digitally mediated ways. There is potential in this, but apparently some mind-sets differ here.

Nobody’s Perfect

Summer is drawing to an end. As always, there’s been lots of weddings, not the least my own. And weddings are, like almost no other occasions, an opportunity to talk up someone (usually the bride, secondly the groom). There is no end to all the good deeds, traits, looks, experiences, or karma of the main person of the day. Nobody wanting come short, everyone tries to surpass each other in sucking up to… ahem, celebrating that particular couple. Which is all fine and well… if it were all true, that is.

The sad fact is, that while we may be happy on our wedding day, we are no more perfect than the day before. We still have our bad habits, our bad manners, our bad tempers, our bad hair days, and our bad breath. We honestly don’t believe all those compliments given in the mood of celebration.

Depending on how close we feel to the person of honour, we may choose to believe some of it. After all, a certain degree of affection does usually make us see everything in a better light. If not (or if we’re just in a cynical mood), we’re filled with an urge to lift the veil on the kind words and show them for the bull that they really are.

We should be nice to people. There’s no need to flash other peoples’ faults in their face. And I’m happy that nobody did that to me at my wedding. But seriously, guys, we’re not all that great people, any of us. So why keep on pretending? Weddings can be fun, especially dressing up and eating delicious food. But to be honest, I’m glad it’s over for now.

Around Denmark in 48 Hours

On Sunday and Monday I will be part of a rather crazy venture: Travelling around Denmark in 48 hours, stopping in 48 different towns along the way. Flying and driving. Here’s the story.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church (worldwide) has launched a program called “Follow the Bible“. A specially produced multi-lingual Bible (with each of the Bible’s 66 books in a different language) is travelling around the world in 650 days. Two of these days are allocated to tiny Denmark. And instead of just doing one or two events, we decided to copy the world tour, only on a smaller scale. So the Bible will visit every single Adventist Church in Denmark during its two-day visit.

Why are we doing it? Simply put, we want to draw attention to the Bible as the word of God. Hopefully, this event will encourage Christians all over to (re)commit to reading the Bible and sharing it with their friends.

Such a venture demands a heavy logistic effort, a private plane, several sponsored cars, and many hands on deck. My part is largely in communications, updating web sites, writing press releases and so on. So I will join the entourage, armed with wireless internet access, and try to keep people updated on the progress. We will work somewhat in shifts, so I won’t be at all 40 sites. But you may meet me in either of these towns along the way: Hjørring, Østervrå, Jerslev, Aalborg, Randers, Viborg, Silkeborg, Lille Nørlund, Herning, Holstebro, Odense, Svendborg, Nyborg, Slagelse, Faxe, Haslev, Ringsted, Roskilde, Nærum, Copenhagen, Lyngby, Køge, and Holbæk.

Danish readers should follow the event on followthebible.wordpress.com.

Olympic Gays

Tomorrow the second instalment of World Outgames begins here in Copenhagen. A mixture of sports and culture, this is a festival of all things queer. Homosexuals from around the world will visit our fair city and make the streets colourful. More than just a sports tournament, this is a celebration of diversity. And as such, I’m proud to live in a city this open. (In many other ways we’re somewhat closed, actually, but in my opinion this festival is a good thing.)

Some would doubtless criticise, and they might ask questions such as:

Why do gays need their own event? Can’t they just join the regular Olympic Games? To be short, no. In many countries being openly gay means condemnation, expulsion from professional sports or other careers, or even (capital) punishment. That’s not right.

You’re a Christian – shouldn’t you be condemning gays? It is true that the Bible opposes practised homosexuality. But much more vehemently, the Bible teaches love, acceptance and non-condemnation. Homosexuals and Christians are both minority groups, and as such we ought to have a common cause: the right to live as we wish, regardless of what the majority thinks. Instead of fighting each other, wouldn’t it be wonderful if gays and Christians could join hands in fighting for diversity and minority rights?

Are you gay? No, but if I were, would you think less of me? I hope not.

Now What?

Sitting in a nice but hot office in the sun with no air-con, I realise it’s been three months since we returned to Denmark. Spring has turned to summer, much has fallen into place, and my life is arguably as stable as never before.

Just a few weeks ago, the combined efforts of ourselves and family and friends resulted in the perfect wedding day. We’re settling into our first house together, and the future looks fairly bright.

Planning the wedding has been an almost year-long endeavour, surpassed only in scale by writing my MA thesis last year. So after pulling off two such projects, what is going to be the next one? Where do I focus my energy from now on? There are several possible answers.

Obviously, building a good home and marriage needs energy and devotion. On the horizon looms writing that first book, but probably not in the very near future. My best guess is that any big projects will be within the scope of my (still) new job.

Also three months now I have been working for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Denmark, in a newly created position of “concept developer and information officer”. This entails many interesting projects, but also hatching and nurturing a grander strategy for the church’s media work here. Strategy work takes time though, and over the next months I hope to be able to think creatively and listen to the needs and opportunities in, especially, new media. I look forward to this challenge.

Where does that leave this blog? It is evident that it has grown a bit stale recently. Is it worthwhile to resurrect it in its current state? Is a refocus necessary? Is it best to shut it down altogether and launch something more focused, perhaps in Danish? Or has the time of blogging come and gone already? If so, then I should move on to other ventures.

Whatever the outcome, I think that my online presence – especially within the fields of church, communication and media – should grow, not diminish. Finding the right outlet(s) to join the discussion should be a focus in the time to come. Stay tuned.

So Far Away

Once again, I must say: what a difference a year makes.

One year ago today is when I left Denmark to go to Australia. Countless experiences and 10½ months later, I returned to my native country on April 1st. Denmark looks the same, but everything is different:

• I am engaged to be married in less than a month. This will change my life forever – for the better.
• I have finished my education.
• I have a job – working for the Adventist Church in Denmark. The position is a new one, emphasising new initiatives in communication.
• I live near Copenhagen again, not in the West.
• We will be living in a house, provided by my employer.

… to name a few.

But a more subtle difference is that my bond with Australia has been further deepened. The experience of an everyday life in Sydney, working for an aussie employer, developing and deepening friendships there has been truly life-altering.

I have seen good and bad sides of Australia, but even after such a long period the good by far outweigh the bad. The main problem is that Australia is just too far away – but then again, that’s also part of the attraction.

Good things are definitely happening in my life. But it is sad that the Australian adventure is over – for now, at least.

Happy Birthday, Dear Darwin

Today we celebrate the 200^th birthday of a man who changed the world. When Charles Darwin proposed the idea of evolution, biology was changed forever, and modern science today would not be the same without the foundations laid out by him. Not everything was correct, of course, but not everything was incorrect either.

I am a Christian. I believe God made this world and that he should be worshiped as supreme Creator. Tradition has it, then, that I should be bashing Darwin with all my might and exorcise the apostate teaching of evolution. But I will do no such thing. The war between creationists and evolutionists is clearly self-defeating, and I don’t want to represent either side.

Darwin’s bicentenary should be the occasion where Christians realised that Darwin is not the Antichrist, and evolution is not an enemy of the state. 2009 could be the year when relations between science and religion finally thawed, after too many centuries of misunderstanding each other. I doesn’t matter who cast the first stone. Someone should be the first to let down, and it might as well be the Christians.

Am I saying that creation is untrue? No. Am I saying that evolution is untrue? No. But they can’t both be true, can they? Yes, this is the path I would like to explore. In our postmodern world, different vantage points for viewing the world don’t have to be contradictory. Creation is religion, not science. Evolution is science, not religion. The two operate in different domains, and neither should try to be what it is not. But both should admit that the other may have some valid points from another view. Neither can claim to present a completely accurate picture of all of reality.

There are still issues to deal with, of course. How old is the Earth (but does it really matter)? Was there a literal six-day creation week, as told in Genesis? If so, there are conflicts with palaeontology. If not, what does it mean for, i.e. the teaching of the Sabbath?

Others have made similar calls. In Brian McLaren’s The Story We Find Ourselves In, the sequel to A New Kind of Christian, he explores finding faith in God through the marvels of evolution (and creation). And this post on The Spectrum Blog gives some good starting points for further reading. I will try to follow some of these, if I can find the time.

The Gospel of God’s love does not have to be in conflict with evolution. And telling the world about that love is more important than fighting a seemingly endless war against a perceived threat. It’s time to bury the hatchet. Happy Birthday.

Highlights of 2008

For the last three years on this blog (2007, 2006, 2005), the turning of the year has been occasion for looking back at the events that made up the year. 2008 has been different in many senses, and instead of writing one long list as before, I have decided on a more sectional approach, with a few headlines.

Australia

One of the big changes has been the move to Sydney, where I have now spent more than seven months. A couple months are left before Katrine and I return to Denmark in April next year. Highlights of the time spent around here include:

• Attending Fox Valley Community Church
• Passion World Tour in Sydney
• Meeting C and D, and many others
• Preaching in English for the first time

Travels

No new countries this year, but several new places, and still lots of travelling and great fun, especially in Australia. Here’s a list of noteworthy destinations and experiences:

• Paris, with the Jutland Academic Choir
• Alice Springs and Uluru
• Darwin and Kakadu
• Cairns
• Brisbane
• Hervey Bay and Fraser Island
• Mackay region
• Whitsunday Islands
• Northern New South Wales
• Blue Mountains
• And of course lots of stuff in Sydney

Graduating

Another highlight of the year has been writing my MA thesis, which was a very good experience. I really enjoyed the studying and writing process, and I enjoyed working with LEGO Australia. Of course, I was happy that Aarhus University subsidised my travel expenses to Australia, and also thrilled with my final grade of 10 (next to highest) on the Danish scale.

Other highlights

Include:

• Singing in the choir for the Passion of St John in Aarhus, in March
• Playing worship music for National Youth Day in Nærum
• Couple training weekend
• Camp meeting in Denmark
• Talking about Aarhus Cafe Church at Vejlefjord

The future

While New Year is a time for looking back, looking back is also looking forward. The most important event and decision of 2008 has by far been my engagement to Katrine. And although the main event is still to come, a highlight also of this year has been that decision, that relationship, and the first steps of planning next year’s wedding. If any of my readers are around Nærum (Copenhagen) on June 13, you’re welcome to drop by at our wedding ceremony.

2008 has been an important year, but 2009 promises to be just as eventful, and hopefully just as joyous. I look forward to seeing you. Happy New Year!

Where Are You From?

It is a most fundamental question, and one of the first questions we ask when meeting someone new. (Second only to: what do you do?) But recently I have come to see that question as somewhat of a challenge. For some people it’s easy. They grew up in one spot, their family probably still lives there, and they call it home, even though they have since moved away. For others, like me, the world is not nearly as simple as that.

Born in Denmark with a Danish father and Norwegian mother, I usually felt mostly Danish. The four childhood years spent in the U.S., and subsequent moving around within Denmark didn’t inflict on my nationality, but I still never had one place to call home. The city of Aarhus was my home for nine years, but whenever people would ask me: where are you from? I would reply with a lengthy explanation, almost an excuse.

When my parents moved to Australia, Sydney became another home, as impossible as that may sound to people who have never lived in more than one country. I visited once each year and took pride whenever someone mistook me for being a ‘real’ Aussie. Never mind that this is a country of immigrants, and a lot of people here weren’t actually born here. But now, having been here for seven consecutive months, I still struggle with answering the question.

I live in Sydney, but I’m from Denmark. I’m here on a holiday, but I also have work and a home. I have a Danish passport and student ID card, but an Australian bank account and mobile phone number. When I try to get a student discount, I answer that I’m from Denmark. When clerks ask for my postcode, I reply 2076. So where am I from? Sydney? Denmark? Previously, one of my favourite answers has been: “Well, my passport says Denmark.” But while here, I’d rather be a Sydneysider, and while in Europe, I’ll settle for being a Dane.

What am I trying to say here? That geography isn’t everything. Where I am from does not answer the question of who I am. Identity is a whole lot more than that.