Friday, June 30, 2006

獻給無名的傳道者(二)

記得是那一天,
你忽然地感到了孤單!
舊日的朋友早就已疏遠,
而教會當中也同樣是輕漠,冷淡!
對人世你滿懷著憐憫和惋惜,
但換來的卻是一片的諷刺和嘲譏,
把熱情完全地獻給了姊妹和兄弟,
但人們給你的,卻是你心靈上
擔不起的「壓制」和悒鬱;
沒有人了解,
也沒有人注意;
憂悶壓傷死了你的肺腑,
沉痛堵住了你的呼吸!
白天雖然是緊張地忙著工作,
但深夜裡在主面前卻常是暗暗地哭泣!
孤單啊!天地間除了自己的身影
幾乎再也找不到一個同行的伴侶,
於是,在你感到窒息的時候,
你不禁地開始了遲疑………。

多少個不必要的誤會,
帶來了多少個不必要的攻擊,
多少個當面的責難,
也有多少個背地的卑夷;
慢慢地,你終於明白了,
神家裡也同樣地有人妒忌,
在這一條狹窄的小路上,
也同樣地有人頂撞,排擠……。
你一直忍耐著「在上者」的眼色,
為的是群羊,為的是工作,
但人,總有個忍不住的時候啊!
所以在那一天,你想,離開這個地方,
再到塵世上去飄泊,飄泊……。
那一天你整夜地漫步在小園之中,
一會兒回憶,一會兒是憧憬,
一會兒毅然地注視著天際,
一會兒卻又頹然地萬念叢生……。
回顧過來的道路上,
處處都是坎坷和不平:
曾有幾次的失敗,
也有幾次的得勝,
多少次的心灰意冷,
也有多少次的歡呼歌頌;
過來的旅程上
塗滿了自己的心血和熱誠
﹣目前的工作雖然還好
但為它卻受盡了生產的疼痛!
而如今,竟是這樣地走了!
這樣地走了啊!
想到這裡你已經淚眼晶瑩……。
走了啊,
這一次已堅決地走了!
再不願有一點踟躕,
再不願苦待自己的感情!
但你說,在臨走之前我還該有個禱告,
為的是把他們交托在神的手中,
於是,你輕輕地回過頭來,
又看到了你親愛的弟妹們的面容,
像平時一樣地你提著他們的名字祝禱著,
但這一次卻哀傷地泣不成聲……。
那時候,晦暗的月亮忽隱忽現,
寂寥的寒星也在瑟縮地眨著眼睛,
天邊上飄忽著幾片不定的浮雲
天地間泛起了一片緘默和寂靜,
卻沒有一絲的關心和同情……。
當宇宙淒涼得令人難堪的時候,
忽然在隱密處傳來了神的呼聲:

『彼得,彼得,
我的朋友!
你真地就這樣去了麼?
你真不能和我一同儆醒?……
在加利利的海濱,
你曾再三的向我應允,
不惜以任何的代價,
代替我看守羊群!
但今天,竟是這樣地使你傷心麼!
為了這點難處,便對我的呼喚置若罔聞!』
『彼得,彼得,
我的朋友!
今晚上我在舉著釘痕的手向你請命!
因為罪世上還有無數個,
無數個將亡的靈魂!
誠然地在今後的道路上,
還有更多的工作和戰爭!
但若你竟因此而退去,
這一個破口又有誰來堵防?
又有誰來擔承呢?……』
晨雞的呼喚提醒了你當初的誓言,
天上的慈愛化消了你剛硬的決斷,
忘記了時間恁般地那樣長久,
你釘住似地鵠立在無花果樹的旁邊,
清風吹著你的頭發,
好像在撫問,在溫存,在慰安!
不知從何時落下的淚水,
已經不可分辨地
和著露水,洒滿了腳前……。
久已含蘊在心靈深處的無聲的歌詩,
如今已慢慢地變成了有聲的樂曲:
『恩主若仍然要我我必定跟隨,
無論到什麼地方我也跟隨到底!
過去,現在,直到永永遠遠,
任憑海涸石爛也仍然愛他!
縱使有一天自己被倒釘了十架,
主啊!我至死不移!』
從那一天起,
你已變得更加堅決,更加奮鬥!
雖然歷盡了重重的艱險!
但卻沒有一次的屈就!
正如你自己所說地:
『是自己的手放下了世上的享受,
是自己的腳甘心到苦難的道路上來奔走!
所以,便寧肯叫委曲甚至死亡臨頭,
遙望著各各他的山頂,也絕不退後!』

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Thursday, June 29, 2006

This is not the ceiling of Sistine Chapel



This is an Adidas advertisement painted on the ceiling of Cologne's central train station. The original size is 9000 square foot (bigger than your home, probably). The artist is called Felix Reidenbach. It took him 40 days to paint this ceiling. How many of the 10 soccer stars can you recognize?

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What is Good PowerPoint Design?

I introduced the blog "Presentation Zen" yesterday, and I hope some of you who are more curious have already gone there to check things out. There is actually a classic article on that blog which I keep referring to everytime I talk to people about designing PowerPoint. The article is too long to be posted here, so why don't you just click over. To tease you, just a small quote:

If there is one important precept worth following, it is the idea of simplicity. The best visuals are often ones designed with an eye toward simplicity.


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Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Learning (Bad) Graphics Design from the World Cup


While everybody is talking about the World Cup, people such as me who don't like soccer have nothing to do but noticing interesting things, such as the logo of this year's World Cup. Below is a quote from the "Presentation Zen" blog about a German graphics designer talking about the German-designed logo.

Germany's Erik Spiekermann "embarrassed" by World Cup design
Given Germany's history and love of great design, including graphic design, you would think the design for the 2006 World Cup would be remarkable. But is it? At least one German design expert, Erik Spiekermann, thinks otherwise. Spiekermann is one of Germany's most famous designers and typographers and is the founder of MetaDesign, a firm whose clients include such notable brands as Apple, Audi, VW, and Nike. In this interview with Deutche World, Spiekerman says that the whole design concept for the 06 World Cup — including the Mascot and the logo — look to be the result of too many cooks in the design kitchen, a mediocrity resulting from "design by committee."

Design is functional *and* emotional
"Design has a functional role, but it also creates a mood" says Spiekermann. "It has both important functional and psychological roles." Spiekermann thinks that that the overall design of the World Cup suffers from several problems: (1) Too many committees trying to get their ideas in. (2) Design teams aiming to please everyone and offend no one. And (3) too many messages resulting in having no real clear message at all. When all involved try to play nice and no one takes responsibility, says, Spiekerman, you get this sort of bland result as people are afraid to take a risk.

Afraid to polarize? Afraid to take a risk?
There is a saying by many designers that if something is truly remarkable, it is going to be hated by some. Truly mediocre designs rarely evoke such visceral response. This fear of polarizing people often leads to designs that are "safe" and unobjectionable, hated by no one...and loved by no one either. No one has a visceral reaction either way. Sometimes this is desirable and intended. But usually it is an accidental consequence of "playing it safe" or seeking approval of this committee or that focus group, etc.

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Sunday, June 25, 2006

Seven Blunders of the World

Saw this quote on a random blog. Interesting. Note point 6.

"Seven Blunders of the World"
1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle
—Mahatma Gandhi

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性騷擾

I've clipped out this article from Mingpao for quite a few days already but don't have the time to scan it until now. 馬傑偉 makes a very good point: the magazine covers are clearly 性騷擾, but how come nobody feels offended?
But what I cannot agree with the article is, if those magazine covers are 性騷擾, what makes "classic" pornography ok? Are they not of the same nature of dehumanizing females?

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Saturday, June 24, 2006

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

When I was in Chicago I listened to a presentation by Patrick Lencioni on the topic "The Five Dysfunction of a Team", base on his book of the same name. This system of thinking provided me with a very good framework to explain why some teams don't work. I have used it to analyze two organizations related to me and this system is accurate in both cases. I highly recommend this book to anyone working in a team setting (who don't?), especially team leaders.

Here is part of an interview of Lencioni in which he explains the essence of this system:

MCNews: How can leaders spot the symptoms of a dysfunctional team?

Lencioni: What I call the five dysfunctions of a team are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. And all five have symptoms that team leaders can learn to identify.

One good indicator of team dysfunction, for example, is a boring team meeting. When people don’t challenge one another in discussions about the business, and when people go to meetings unmotivated, you can be pretty confident that they’re not collectively engaged.

Another good indicator of team problems is back-channel conflict. Do people reserve their complaints for hallway conversations instead of voicing them during meetings? If so, that’s a sign of both a lack of trust and healthy conflict.

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Tuesday, June 20, 2006

回來了

終於回到溫哥華了。以前出差都不會這麼想家。
早上起床發現自己喉嚨發炎,想必是旅程太過辛苦,睡不夠,累壞了。
這是我在芝加哥機場見到的一幅廣告:



是甚麼叫我成為特別?(特別好?特別差?)
Jim Collins 的 Good to Great 是我們最近的hit書。我想,神創造每一個人,都有獨特的hedgehog concept。那就是每個人的uniqueness,special的地方。
這是一個發掘,而不是發展的過程。

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Saturday, June 17, 2006

獻給無名的傳道者

在我的事奉裡,有一本書一直深深的影嚮著我,這本書就是《獻給無名的傳道者》。一本很舊的書,現在好像已經沒有人認識了,真可惜。這裡是其中很感動我的一段:
當黎明快要來臨的時候,
人世間便越顯得黝黑、艱難、幽暗………。
秋風和秋雨
打碎了你的睡夢;
迷茫和惆悵的網卻織滿了你的心胸;
回顧過來的路途上處處都是坎坷和不平。
幾次的失敗,
幾次的得勝,
多少次的心灰意冷,
也有多少次的歡呼歌頌;
日子像風掣電馳般地過來了,
如今,誠然如你所想地,
實在需要片刻的沉思和安靜;
因為,在前面的路途上還有更多的坎坷和不平,
更多的荊棘,困苦,和泥濘。
是的,當黎明快要來臨的時候,
人世間便越顯得黝黑,艱難,幽暗;
但是,你卻這樣地說過:
是自己的手甘心放下世上的享受;
是自己的腳甘心到苦難的道路上來奔走!』
「選中」這條不自由的道路並非出於無奈,相反地
卻正是大膽地使用了自己的「自由」!
所以,
寧肯叫淚水一行行地向內心湧流,
遙望著各各他的山頂,就是至死__
也絕不退後!

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Thursday, June 15, 2006

The Potential of a Game Player

Check out this video sent to me by a friend. If you grow up in the same era as I do, you'll certainly find it amazing.
I cannot estimate how much time this fine young man spent on practicing the music. If you are dedicated enough, if you are passionate enough, with practise, you can achieve something extraordinary too.

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Leaders

I saw the following quote on Leonard Sweet's book "Summoned to Lead":
Leaders are neither born nor made
Leaders are summoned
They are called into existence by circumstances, and those who rise to the occasion are leaders

Are you summoned?

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Monday, June 12, 2006

傻眼(二)

上次貼出來的video,很多人告訴我看得嘆為觀止。不過,俗語有云,一山還有一山高,看看這裡

但留意video下的評語。有人說,五個波雖然厲害,但畢竟是模倣,不是原創藝術。但能看到學到,融匯貫通,令自己更強,又有何不可?總比不懂挑戰自己,不懂進步的好。

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Saturday, June 10, 2006

傻眼

有朋友傳了這個video給我,簡直是歎為觀止!
我記得很久以前有一個牧師說過,做人就好像雜技轉碟,轉得這隻來那隻又跌了,疲於奔命。但看了這個video,我想,其實不過是技巧的問題,只是你有多用心去培養你管理人生的技巧罷!

要學管理人生,請看這blog

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Thursday, June 08, 2006

從巴士阿叔到會考手機出貓

《巴士阿叔》已經漸漸變成炒作,令我想起陳健康。
以下的剪報來自2006年6月8日《明報》論壇版。

從巴士阿叔到會考手機出貓﹣傳統媒體的落伍
黎洛文

【明報專訊】近期最熱爆話題當然是巴士阿叔陳乙東,不久前另一個引起熱烈討論的話題旄會考生懷疑集體用手提電話上網出貓,相信大眾仍未淡忘。細心一看,我們可以發現兩者的共通點,就是兩件事件都是由網上醞釀,然後由各大傳統傳媒將事件「實體化」及發揚光大。從兩件事件中都能看得到,電視報紙等相對傳統的媒體,似乎未能夠捕捉及追上網絡新媒體的步伐與新玩法。
先說會考手機作弊一事,這事件其實反映了傳統傳媒仍未適應網上世界的秩序。
事實上這次近百會考生投訴有人作弊事件,與去年欣宜因扮演白雪公主而令近200人向廣管局投訴非常類似。網上有很多新聞組、留言板等瀏覽者數量非常多,加上現在多數向政府投訴的方法都加上網上的途徑,市民投訴變得十分方便。投訴作弊和欣宜事件實際上都是由少數甚至只是一個網民發起,他們甚至附上了電郵地址及投訴內容,其他人只需copy & paste就可增加一個投訴數字,非常方便。很多活在虛擬世界的網民都很樂於見到自己在網上的行為能推展到現實世界,所以這個方便的途徑便造就了大量的投訴數字。
在欣宜的事件上,由於是屬於娛樂新聞,網民的惡作劇被搬上報章在香港也屬正常,但此次會考生類似的行為被搬上報章電視新聞頭條就完全反映了它們的脫節了。
會考生通常都對考試充滿怨氣,加上藉藀髡葷賱D有機會可以推翻一部分的成績,不少人都會樂享其成,可知道10萬會考生當中只有一兩萬的英文成績是屬於較好的。到要付諸行動付出腳力去遊行,他們很多都退回了虛擬的天地,還有20人參與算是很多了。
而全城熱爆的巴士阿叔事件,更顯出了傳統傳媒注定要落後的宿命。
事件早在傳統傳媒相繼報道的一個月前就已在網上鬧得熱烘烘,更出現了很多不同版本的修改、remix和crossover,活的網民一定早就看過不同的版本。筆者相信不少編輯記者都看過那片段,但礙於這只是一件十分普通的事件所以當時沒有報道。但當事情鬧了近一個月,看過那片段的人數一直薴氶A各媒體才驚覺大眾會對此事有興趣,急急找出事件中的人物做專訪,其實只是不斷在食「水尾」,直到有報章找出巴士阿叔真身陳乙東就是一個反高潮。
當一眾最近或根本從未看過此片段的人士還在趕蟦擛y地熱烈討論,電視電台節目主持人還自以為有趣地日日說臐u有壓力」和「未解決」來開玩笑時,造成那幾百萬點擊率的網民早已對巴士阿叔厭倦,面對這些還在懷緬巴士阿叔的人,只會覺得他們很「潮」地「回帶」(潮和回帶都是網民慣用於諷刺別人很out和老土的用語)。
【作者是浸會大學社會學系二年級學生】


昨天在報紙上也刊登了巴士阿叔被襲的消息。是時候把他們由一個事件變回一個人了。
套用我一個朋友的話,What will Jesus see? What will Jesus feel?

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Tuesday, June 06, 2006

What Guidance Is... and Is Not

The following wisdom about God's guidance comes from John Ortberg's "The Life You've Always Wanted". I find it pretty intriguing and may be against what most people tend to (or secretly) think. Give yourself a check up.

Guidance is...
• Necessary in order to live life as Jesus would live it if he were in our place. We seek guidance for the growth of our souls, so that we can become the people God has called us to be.
• Given by God. Although we seek it, it's not something we earn.
• Active, not passive. Seeking guidance includes praying, exercising judgment and wisdom, taking initiatives, and making responsible choices.
• A process involving choices and risks. God uses guidance to help us become the right kind of people.

Guidance is not...
• Just a source of "insider" information to help us get what we want - money, happiness, success, etc. Nor is it something we seek only when we're in trouble or facing a difficult situation.
• a badge of spirituality or importance
• A way to avoid taking action. Just being passive and doing whatever comes along does not guarantee we are in God's will.
• A way to avoid taking risks, a shortcut to decision making, or a way for God to get us to perform the right actions.


Leave me a comment.

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Monday, June 05, 2006

The Calling of Marriage

The following is a sermon that I gave on a wedding last Saturday. I would like to share this with all who are planning to enter marriage.

• I guess all of us who are here for this wedding are joyful and happy. But we may be happy for different reasons. May be you’re glad that Roy and Carol are finally getting married. I am too. I have known Roy for 14 years and Carol for 8 years, and from day one that they’re together I’m looking forward to this day.
• But as a pastor, I have another reason to be glad. By getting married, you too are responding to God’s calling to be his ambassadors on earth, to be his image on earth. Your marriage is an expression of who God is. And this is an important meaning of marriage that I would like you to truly remember.
• Nowadays, we take marriage just too casually. We treated marriage as a thing that we can decide and accomplish by ourselves. We get married when we feel like it, and we divorce each other when we feel like it. We somehow think that marriage is a matter between just two people. No, marriage is never just between 2 people.
• Do you realize that the marriage ceremony is always a religious ceremony no matter which culture you’re in? Marriage is not handled in City Hall but in churches and temples until only very recently. In our Chinese culture, when 2 people get married, they worship the heaven and the earth. In the Christian culture, you married before the Lord. The government has no power to declare people married. Only God can.
• There is this mysterious, spiritual aspect of marriage that we tend to forget. Marriage is not just the union of 2 human beings, but a union that expresses the deepest spiritual mystery of the universe.
• In Genesis 2:18-24, we find the narratives of the creation of woman. There is a reason why woman was created. But I want you to note that this is not only an account of the creation of woman, but the creation of marriage.
• In Genesis 1:1-24, we read the account of God’s creation. God created the world, there are plants and animals on earth. In 1:26, God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created (hu)man in his own image, in the image of God he created him (human); male and female he created them. 26 我們要照著我們的形像、按著我們的樣式造人(類),使他們管理海裡的魚、空中的鳥、地上的牲畜,和全地,並地上所爬的一切昆蟲。27 神就照著自己的形像造人(類),乃是照著他的形像造男造女。
• Humans are created as the manager of this world. But not just managers. We are God’s image.
• What is the meaning of being God’s image?
• If you go to Louvre or any big museum in Europe, you’ll see many remains of broken sculpture from the Roman times. Many of them are statues of Roman Emperors. But do you know where were these statues discovered mostly? Not in Rome, not in Italy, but in Turkey, in Greece, and in the rest of Europe.
• Why? Because the Roman Emperors lived in Rome. He’s there, he didn’t need a statue to remind people that he’s there. But far away from Rome, he’ll need to erect an image of himself to represent his dominion over that region, and to show his glory to the people of that region. That’s why we find many Roman Emperors’ statues in Turkey, and that’s why we find ourselves on earth.
• We are the image of God. We are here to express God’s dominion over the world. But our God is a benevolent God. He’s not only possessing this world, but he also rules over this earth with justice and grace. That’s why we, as the image of God, we have the mission to manage this world for our master, our God, as proclaimed in 1:26.
• But notice that God didn’t just install man for this job. In verse 27, God created, according to his own image, both male and female.
• The importance of this concept is elaborated in 2:18-23. Verse 19-20 is a narration of Adam’s effort to manage the world, but God found it “no good” because he’s alone. So God created Eve using a bone from Adam, and they’ll complete God’s management mission together.
• To fulfill God’s mission of managing the world, God not only created man, or woman, but God created marriage.
• Maybe this is contrary to the teachings of the world, but the Bible tells us that, marriage is not for fun, not even just for love, but for a mission.
• 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 因此,人要離開父母,與妻子連合,二人成為一體。We unit with our spouse and become one. But notice that this sentence begins with “therefore”. We’re together with a reason.
• Today, I’m reminding you that there is a reason why you two are married. Not just because you feel like it. Not just only because you love each other (which I hope you do). But today, you two get married with a mission. The mission of being God’s ambassadors. The mission of ruling this earth, together, as a married couple, as the image of God.
• And the good news is, God is here with you. God didn’t just throw you an assignment and then left. He’s committed to finish this assignment with you, and in the process, you’ll be experiencing his love, his care, his power, and his sovereignty.
• He’s committed to the point that in order for human couples to be his regents, he died on the cross for us to redeem our shortfalls and transgressions. He’s with us. He has decided to protect marriages, because it is his plan for the world, to build this society based on good marriages.
• Today, you acquired a new identity. You’re not two separate entities anymore. You two are now one. As the Jewish declaration of their faith, the Shema said, adonai elohenu adonai echud. The LORD our God [is] one. You are to be one as God is one. And you’re to be one with God. You are God’s image. May God’s name be glorified in your marriage.

Labels:

  • 正如林一峰話齋,閱讀,也是一種 state of mind。
  • 所以不限文字,還有聲音影像一切雜崩能東西,都在涉獵反思消化乾坤大挪移之列。
  • 看重的只有一個字:Insight

Disclaimer

I work at Westside Baptist Church. Of course, that doesn't mean they agree with everything I post or link here. Everything here is my personal opinion and is not read or approved in advance. Consider yourself warned.