Teaching in Pretoria

I’ll try to post a little about what we did Monday and Tuesday in South Africa. We are staying at an absolutely lovely home west of Rustenburg — a lovely garden that looks up into the hills and mountains. We get up early, spend some time in the sun and fresh air and look into the hills. Great way to begin our day. Our hosts, Nic and Magriet, outstrip the meaning of the word “hospitable” and Pastor Attie and Renate have taken care of us like royalty … I could go on … oh, the flowers are amazing.

This is Pentecost. Unlike what I’ve experienced in the USA, many churches have a Pentecost week of services in the evening — Sunday through Thursday. I think this custom goes back to Andrew Murray, but anyway … that’s why we were invited. I’m doing a series on Pentecost called ‘Power to…’ and I took my central theme from a line by Jimmy Dunn in his Acts commentary: God’s Spirit gives us the power to transform human ability and to transcend human inability. So each evening I’m preaching on a theme about “power to …”. The talks are online at Attie’s website.
Tuesday morning we left the home about 6:30am to drive from Rustenburg to Pretoria. I taught the Pauline theology class at the University; the teacher is a friend, Stephan Joubert. Then we had a splendid breakfast with some friends we’ve met here — including Tom Smith and Drees (can’t find his surname). Then lunch — get this — at a bird sanctuary with some professors in the Theology school and some pastors. Bird heaven, I’ll tell you — wild Ibis and all kinds of birds both like what we have (kingfishers) but so distinct in coloration. Great conversation … and lots of fun chat.
It is Wednesday am — we’ve breakfasted with Attie and Renate and now we are at the church where I will soon speak to some pastors about postmodernity, Bible reading, and the missional church.
We’d like to post pictures but we’re not using our computer and don’t want to load pictures into someone else’s computer.