Carbon Copy > Dries Cronje

What's happening...

I have been a bit quiet the past few days, but running around like crazy behind the scenes. I once read that someone who doesn't blog for a few days could be considered persona non-bloga. Well, that's me.

I have however, following the amazing insights gained from reading Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna, put some things in motion for my journey toward Organic Church. Tonight is the first gathering, and I am very excited. It is a bit funny though, since it will only be my wife and I, but I do need to communicate thoroughly with her in this regard, so it is all good!

I will keep you up to date on the progress.

If you are not sure what organic church is, and want to know more, please download the .pdf booklet at TheRebuilders.org.

Rethink Trip Continued - 2

On Wednesday morning, 16 January 2008, we had our first scheduled appointment for the trip. We had a meeting with Glen Kruen, the executive pastor at the Saddleback Valley Community Church. The man behind Rick Warren.

When I say "we", I mean the four guys in the photo to the right, and yours truly. I am not in the photo because someone's got to press the shutter release button on the camera...

These four are (from left) Dries Lombaard, Pieter Breytenbach, Johan Smith and Stephan Joubert.

We had a very informative talk with Glen about running a church like Saddleback. Some of the guys on the team are in the employ of similar sized churches in South Africa, so for them it was an excellent learning experience.

Saddleback is a big place...

In any case, the afternoon we spent walking around in South Coast Plaza - one of the biggest high-end malls in Los Angeles. Quite an experience, even though we didn't buy much. We couldn't afford much...

On Wednesday evening we went to Chili's again. This time with a friend from Gallup, Joe Cavanaugh. Joe is an associate partner at the Gallup Organization's Faith Practice. He has helped churches in South Africa make use of the Clifton StrenghtsFinder. We had a long discussion on talent and the role it plays in the church environment, and Joe even paid for our dinner. Thanks Joe!

On Thursday morning it was finally time for the Rethink Conference. At long last... I will cover the conference in a separate post, most probably tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Mission Accomplished!

Guess who's back?

I made it home safely, to find everything in order. Thank you Lord!

It was an amazing trip, and an even more amazing conference. As I promised, I will tell all over the next couple of days. For now, let me just give you a quick run-down of the trip, where we were and when.

We landed in Atlanta on Monday the 14th of January, and I almost missed a connecting flight to Los Angeles due to being selected for some priority treatment by the US baggage inspectors. But... safely made it to Los Angeles, where we landed about mid-day. This was after four flights, and a total of about 37 hours in-transit (including a loooong wait before departure at the OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg, South Africa).

We then rented a car - a large GMC SUV, and headed to Orange. We arrived there at quarter to two, and after a quick shower we hit a mall close-by. It was time for our first hamburger. Nice.

American food and hospitality genuinely impressed me. Having traveled to Europe a couple of times, I expected poor food and angry people. Not so... Food was as good as home (if not better...) and the people were very friendly, although more so in LA than in Orlando.

That evening we hit the sack early (understandably), and the next morning we were ready for Universal Studios. What an experience! I never knew it would be that impressive to visit one of the US theme parks. These guys know what they are doing, and they give you your money's worth. Over and over again. My favorite was the Studio tour, followed closely by the Terminator show and Mummy ride.

Lots of fun!

Then we had dinner at Chili's. A nice rib eye steak. Impressive stuff.

At this point, it might look like we were on vacation, and only visited the US for fun and games. Let me promise you this was not the case. The business end of the trip was fast approaching.

I will continue my thorough feedback shortly... Look out for the rest of the trip overview (next couple of posts), followed by a thorough Rethink Conference overview and posts detailing the main message delivered by each of the top speakers (as I interpreted the message, in my own words).

Lots of stuff to communicate... Wish me luck!

Did I mention it's good to be home? I really missed my wife and little girl, and it is so good to be reunited with them. I just love this country. I doubt I would ever be able to leave Africa!

Here I Go!

Ho, ho, ho, it's of to America I go...

My first visit. Exciting stuff!

I am departing on Sunday, flying Cape Town, Johannesburg, Atlanta, Los Angeles. Lots of time to read...

Then a couple of days of meetings and sight-seeing before the Rethink Conference starts on Thursday 17 January. I am part of the George Barna group, and look forward to seeing him again. My traveling partners-in-crime are Stephan Joubert (everyone should know him - SA's finest theologian!), Dries Lombaard (the man - need I say more...), and two other disciples from Pretoria that I am looking forward to meet.

So, I am going to be in distinguished company. I'd better behave...

Did I mention that I'm excited about this conference?! Erwin McManus, George Barna, Henry Cloud, George Bush Sr, George Foreman, Larry King, Lee Strobel, and-on-and-on it goes. Not to mention the special lunches, workshop sessions and movie screenings. I can't wait!

Then, after the Rethink I will fly to Orlando. Initially, I would have been there on business, but life is what happens while you're making other plans. Now, I will try and fly out to Atlanta the same day that I arrive in Orlando, and meet up with a remnant of the original touring party there.

Then, the long flight back home is planned for Thursday the 24th.

It is a concern for me to leave my wife (Leanie) and little girl (Leandri) home alone for so long. It is January, and my wife's busiest month at work - she's an optometrist, and everyone has renewed medical aid benefits in January. At least on Monday Leandri's play school re-opens after the summer break.

And, my mother in law is visiting over next weekend to see how she can help.

I will be keeping the news and stories coming. My MacBook is going with me (no, I will not travel without it!) so, depending on internet access, I should be able to post regularly.

Thanks for reading!

African Desert Advance

I had the marvelous privilege of attending the first ever African Desert Advance arranged by Callie Roos and his team, Leonard Sweet, Stephan Joubert, Nelus Niemand and Dries Lombaard.

It was held from 8 to 11 December 2007 at the Tanda Tula Game Lodge in the Timbavati region of the Greater Kruger National Park of South Africa. What an experience! The pictures shown in this post was taken by me, but not on this trip. I had a bit of an interest in wildlife photography a while back, and these are just some of my favorite shots.

You know, pictures of Africa with a post about Africa...

Okay, okay... I admit it. I'm just showing off :-)

In any case. The theme of the advance was to learn to read the  'spoor' (meaning tracks) left by animals or other humans when tracking them in the bush, and then applying this to our responsibility, as disciples, to track Jesus.

As an absolute bonus, we got to see the Big Five. Yes... even the leopard!

One of the things that Callie Roos taught us, is that when you are tracking something or -one there are five basic principles that you must apply. They are:

1. Stand square on the tracks. You must face the direction that the tracks lead you.

2. Look up. You won't see much when you are staring down at the 'spoor'.

3. Look for the obvious route. If there is a small gap between two patches of dense bush, and the animal would have had trouble going around, chances are that it went through the gap.

4. Do not get distracted. It will not help much looking around at unimportant other things. Keep your focus on the task at hand - tracking.

5. If you lose the 'spoor', go back to the last place where you saw it, and continue from there.

This is all great, but what's the use if you hardly ever have to track animals? If you are a disciple of Jesus, you need to follow Him. Leonard Sweet helped us make the connection between these tracking principles and our task to follow Jesus.

Len taught us about semion (signs) and the new science of semiotics. Semiotics are the skill of identifying and reading signs visible in a specific context. He says that God is still giving us signs, and his finger is still writing on the wall. The greatest case of spiritual illiteracy would be an inability to see these signs.

I also have my own interpretation on how these principles apply to the life of a Jesus tracker. In short, the five principles could be adapted for followers (or trackers) of Jesus as follows:

1. Stand square on the tracks. We have to be facing in the same direction as our Saviour does. We have to know His purposes and the mission we are involved in. Thus, read your Bible, and be in constant relationship with Jesus.

2. Look up. Face the task at hand. Are you actively trying to bring God's grace to the world, or are you waiting for heaven? Do something... Change the world.

3. Look for the obvious route. God does not give us all the instructions. Sometimes we have to rely on our intuition, or that of others when facing important decisions about being the Church or doing ministry. Keep your ears open to the advice and teaching of others.

4. Do not get distracted. This life is full of temptations and pitfalls for disciples of Jesus. Watch out! The devil is one of the Big Five - a lion! He wants to devour you. Put into place some practices that ensure you are strong in this onslaught... Go read Ephesians 6:10-24.

5. When you lose your way... Don't panic. The all-knowing God knew this was going to happen before you were born. Stay calm, sort yourself or your situation out, and get back on track.

If you want to find out more about these African Adventures, please visit On Track. So, there you have it. I wish you all success in your effort to stay on track!

Thanks for reading.

Home Sweet Home

Leanie, Leandri and I arrived back in Cape Town late on Monday evening. We had an excellent time with Leanie's family and had a chance to reflect on the year past, and plan for the year ahead.

Happy new year to you! I hope that 2008 will be a year in which your dreams come closer to fulfillment, and in which you move closer to the person God created you to be.

Cape Town is a special place. It felt good to be home. In the short seven years that we have been living in Cape Town, we have grown so fond of it that I can't see us living anywhere else.

Every family should have a place that is to them like Cape Town is to my little family.

Of course, this is dangerous thinking. We need to be flexible, and open to God's direction.

This morning I read out of Genesis from the Message by Eugene Peterson. After Jacob's sons avenged the abuse of their sister, Jacob was told by God to move. Far away. With his whole family.

I don't think that Jacob would have enjoyed God's blessing if he didn't obey. In a similar way, we need to listen carefully for God's voice. He can reveal himself to us at any stage. If He does we have one choice, and that is to obey.

In any case, for the time being Cape Town is my home, and I am very glad to be home. I will only be home for a short time though, as I am flying out to USAmerica for the Rethink Conference on 13 January. It promises to be an excellent conference, and I am sure my first visit to the States will also be something to remember.

And it will give me lots to blog about. I promise not to keep the experience to myself ;-)

Thanks for reading!

Hit and Seek...

Golf... What a game!

I get the opportunity to play only for a short time of the year, and even then it is only because my family plays and want me to play with them, that I do.

I am not good at golf.

Currently my wife, baby daughter, and I are visiting my parents-in-law at their beautiful beach house on the Kwazulu-Natal coast of South Africa. It is awesome. But then every other day I get to play golf... After three rounds I have carded scores of 97, 97, and (you guessed it!) 97.

We played at Southbroom Golf Club today. Do not get me wrong, it is a stunning golf course with some splendid views of the ocean and houses of some rich(-er) folk. But walking after a little ball, uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill, hit and seek, hit and seek. It gets to you man. And then you do not even have a low score to celebrate afterwards...

In any case, I am looking forward to a good day on the beach and some serious reading tomorrow. I am busy with The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and I have a few other promising books lying around and begging me to pick them up...

I need to be disciplined though, and finish what I am busy with before tackling the next one.

See ya...