雜崩能閱讀報告
JBL Reading Report

Labels: News, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/30/2007 12:46:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Recommend, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/28/2007 11:31:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Interesting

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/27/2007 12:26:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

話說當年有一晚＜歡樂今宵＞舉行兒童歌唱大賽之類的東西，我們這等按本子辦事的編劇當然寫來寫去也是那些「好啦，又到左揭曉結果既緊張時刻啦……」司儀盧大偉罕有地發少少脾氣：「呢Ｄ對白邊個寫架？Ｄ豆靚唱歌，幾廿歲人有幾緊張呀？」

十五年後的台慶充斥大量「冇錯啦……」、「好啦，又到左緊張時刻……」、「為左舒緩緊張既情緒，我地先欣賞一下ＸＸＸＸ……」之類的爛對白（其實所有節目的司儀稿也一樣）……縱使將來電視「高清」了，卻不代表水準會相應提昇。

Labels: Discontent, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/25/2007 12:21:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

大多數人以為聽道，就是要明道，但他們所謂的「明」，只是一種聽覺受例子刺激所產生以為「好明」的幻覺。「道」與「明」之間有一道鴻溝，聽「道」的終點，從來不是「明」，而是悔改。從悔改開始，才是海闊天空的「明」。我最怕崇拜後有人跑來對我說：「你講得真好！」其實甚麼是「好」，大概大家都不曉得。若崇拜後人人為自己的罪痛哭流淚，禁食禱告，這才是「好」。

Labels: Reflection, Worship

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/24/2007 12:50:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Love is being twisted into nothing but the love for oneself.
People hurt people, and hurt people hurt people.
But we have hope.
We find true love in Christ.
Walking by Him, we'll be healed.
And we can love.
So, I offer my heart to the Lord,
And I pray God to grant
Guidance to the ones who're lost,
Healing to the ones who're hurt,
Mercy to the ones who've fallen,
Hope to the ones who're in despair,
Strength to the ones who're weak,
Joy for the ones who seek Him,
Glory for the ones who suffer for His name.
Father, day by day, I shall walk on your way,
Treasure your Word of wisdom,
Indwell in thy greatness of love.

Labels: Recommend

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/23/2007 02:14:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

My thoughts are that we should not try to be anything special as a community. [...] It is adolescent to try to be special, to just do things to be popular, rebel against anything that you don’t want to be, to fight for the you who stands where you are. I mean, all this is necessary on the way to maturity, but a sign of maturity is moving out of your uniqueness which you have discovered and embodied to help and serve others. [...] we won’t do things when they are expected. This is adolescent. Maturity is serving someone even when it is expected, or worse, even taken for granted.

It is very difficult to move from adolescence to adulthood. It means giving up what we think is our liberty, our self-identification, our radicalness, our selves. It means giving in, in a way, to the needs of others. Generally, adolescents don’t give a damn about the needs of others, especially if it encroaches on theirs. A mature person does care and will do something about it when presented with the opportunity. A mature person serves even when it costs something precious. To adolescents, the biblical and Jesus-like idea of pouring yourself out for others feels suicidal. For a mature person, an adult, this is the meaning of life.

Labels: Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/22/2007 12:37:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: On the light side, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/18/2007 02:26:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

[...]Henry Nouwen totally altered my attitude towards suffering. He says, “[This] discipline is the hardest one. It is the discipline to be surprised not by suffering but by joy. As we grow old, we will have to stretch out our arms, be guided and led to places we would rather not go. What was true for Peter will be true for us. There is suffering ahead of us, immense suffering, a suffering that will continue to tempt us to think that we have chosen the wrong road and that others were more shrewd than we were. But don't be surprised by pain. Be surprised by joy, be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by the immense healing power that keeps bursting forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of our pain.”

Oswald Chambers, makes note of a very similar idea: “Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour … ” He goes on to state, “We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.”

That day we learned together that suffering is a way of life, it will happen. But we also learned that on those days in the dreaded desert, one may find a little flower blooming in the immense heat. Its presence is comforting, and the joy it carries is overpowering.

Labels: Reflection, Thorns

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/17/2007 12:18:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

我好想問大家一個問題：你們怎樣收納Eason的最新專輯《Listen To Eason Chan》呢？[...]那趣致的Q版T恤封套，已令它不能放置在一般CD架上。放在書架上好嗎？然而CD開封之後，要是直放的話又恐怕光碟會從T恤的底部掉出來。跟那些Box Set狀的唱片放在一起，這個平平扁扁的T恤封套又怕不知會「攝」了在那裡。就算像我現在那樣平放在一疊CD之間，這T恤的衫袖位卻又會七菱八角的凸了出來而甚礙眼。[...]《Listen To Eason Chan》的包裝設計，就正正是那種只求有趣有Gimmick，抑或放在唱片店貨架上能達至突出效果，卻不顧樂迷如何收藏的出品。[...]如此新奇有趣包裝設計的CD，大抵會被樂迷放置在書桌上、床頭上，仿如一件家居擺設，不知幾過癮。但是久而久之，當你想好好地收納如它時，方發覺如此新奇有趣包裝設計，其實是幾麻煩。[...]正如我以往所強調，一個出色的唱片封套設計，是要在限定的空間內發揮到創意，才是出色，而非一味靠大、靠奇形怪狀。[...]走到大型唱片店的中文部逛逛，看看貨架上一盒二盒、一Pack二Pack，儼如在互出怪招在爭妍鬥豔的CD專輯，這就是我們的流行音樂文化了。

Labels: Design

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/16/2007 02:34:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Several time over the past years I’ve had people say that they detect lots of pain in our congregation. With the best of intentions they say that they also sense that this pain will pass and the church will move into its destiny of a great and wonderful future. I used to cling to those kinds of promises because the pain we were experiencing as a congregation is so intense. Like them, I considered the suffering a stepping-stone to a greater and easier life and ministry.

After years and years of this kind of delusional thinking, I’ve come to the conclusion that pain and suffering are a fact of life. They are not things to be avoided, but recognized and understood. We must make peace with this reality. In biblical language, we so desire to wear the crown without the cross. True life actually bears the imprint of the cross. The cross permeates all of life. And the crown is thorny.

We must rid our minds of the universally pervasive illusion that once the problems and obstacles are past, then we’ll move into our glory. Not so. Our glory is in the cross, not after it.

Yes, their is pain and suffering. We don’t deny it. And we don’t deny it because we believe that it is through our obvious weakness that the truest life and work is being accomplished. To some, this is the aroma of death. To others, to those who can discern, it is the aroma of life.

Labels: Reflection, Thorns

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/15/2007 12:10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: News, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/14/2007 12:20:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

The job of a leader today is not to create followers. It's to create more leaders.

Labels: Management, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/11/2007 10:29:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

在永恆的觀照下，世間的事情和爭拗都變得碎料和無聊。事奉不也是這樣嗎？最終見主面要「埋單」時，祂要求的是有忠心。正如倫理神學家Stanley Hauerwas，在2001年被時代週刊形容為美國最傑出的神學家時，他回應道：

Best is not a theological category! Faithful or unfaithful are the right categories. The last thing in the world I'd want to be is the best.

Labels: Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/11/2007 01:55:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Design

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/11/2007 12:57:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

世界著名宣教學家温德博士（Dr. Ralph D. Winter）列出了西方傳教機構過去所犯的12大錯誤

1. 開辦聖經學校而不是建立大學
2. 只強調「天上的拯救」，而不注重建造「地上的天國」
3. 會眾團體繞過宣教機構直接遣派宣教士
4. 全體直接參與，而不是專業宣教
5. 認為虔誠的耶穌跟隨者稱自己為「基督徒」並和西方教會保持一致.
6. 只是把錢送出去，而不是把宣教士送出去
7. 派遣短期宣教士，而不是長期宣教士
8. 不懂宣教和商業活動之間的緊密聯系
9. 只是醫病，而不懂得消除疾病
10. 只是思考「和平」，而不關注「戰爭」
11. 把科學當作敵人，而不當作朋友
12. 宣教沒有適應社會變化，從而失去力量和有效力

Labels: Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/10/2007 12:36:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I’ve had anxiety disorder since I was a child, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that anxiety has a weird way of making the most insane ideas seem reasonable. It first starts off with the tiniest little what if. Then you wonder if that what if has some bit of truth to it, and you start debating it in your head. The next thing you know this tiny little what if turns into a maybe. So you think about it more, and the more you think about it, the bigger it grows. Before you know it, this thought has now become a huge monster chasing you, and you’re trapped in a corner. You can feel its hot breath in your face as it prepares to swallow you whole.

So even though the source of the anxiety was completely silly, the anxiety itself was far from it. I woke up nearly every morning shivering and throwing up. My muscles were tense. I constantly had to use the restroom. Nothing could relax me or soothe me. It didn’t matter that I had a great girlfriend, or that I just started a great full-time job, or whatever other blessings I had. At any second it could all be over, regardless of what was going on with my life. Maybe I was being selfish, but it seemed that God enjoyed watching me agonize over my mortality.

When will this struggle be over? I had been dealing with mental illness for most of my life now, and I was getting sick of it. There was nothing else I wanted more than to just wake up one day and no longer have another anxiety attack. Ever! The Gospels report that Jesus once drove demons out of a man who hid in caves and cut himself with rocks. I thought all my demons were supposed to be gone.

And then it hit me: this is exactly like the thorn in Paul’s flesh!

I can’t imagine how my weakness and hang-ups can possibly give glory to God. When people look at me, I want them to see a strong man, a man whose life has been changed by God. More often, however, people see my failures and moments of weakness when I let the negative thoughts drag me down. What kind of testimony is that supposed to give?

Or maybe that’s exactly the kind of testimony I’m supposed to give.

For years I’ve denied having a thorn in my side. Not only do I acknowledge it now, but I also know how to care for it when I feel the slightest sting. Throughout the summer of 2006 I begged God every night to remove my thorn. But now I know that it serves a purpose here on earth, and when I get to Heaven I’ll feel the joy of no longer having it in my flesh.

Labels: Reflection, Thorns

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/06/2007 11:52:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Design, News, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/06/2007 02:38:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bias against action: There are always plenty of reasons not to take a decision, reasons to wait for more information, more options, more opinions. But real leaders display a consistent bias for action. People who don’t make mistakes generally don’t make anything. Legendary ad man David Ogilvy argued that a good decision today is worth far more than a perfect decision next month. Beware prevaricators.

Secrecy: "We can’t tell the staff," is something I hear managers say repeatedly. They defend this position with the argument that staff will be distracted, confused or simply unable to comprehend what is happening in the business. If you treat employees like children, they will behave that way -- which means trouble. If you treat them like adults, they may just respond likewise. Very few matters in business must remain confidential and good managers can identify those easily. The lover of secrecy has trouble being honest and is afraid of letting peers have the information they need to challenge him. He would rather defend his position than advance the mission. Secrets make companies political, anxious and full of distrust.

Over-sensitivity: "I know she’s always late, but if I raise the subject, she’ll be hurt." An inability to be direct and honest with staff is a critical warning sign. Can your manager see a problem, address it headlong and move on? If not, problems won’t get resolved, they’ll grow. When managers say staff is too sensitive, they are usually describing themselves. Wilting violets don’t make great leaders. Weed them out. Interestingly, secrecy and over-sensitivity almost always travel together. They are a bias against honesty.

Love of procedure: Managers who cleave to the rule book, to points of order and who refer to colleagues by their titles have forgotten that rules and processes exist to expedite business, not ritualize it. Love of procedure often masks a fatal inability to prioritize -- a tendency to polish the silver while the house is burning.

Preference for weak candidates: We interviewed three job candidates for a new position. One was clearly too junior, the other rubbed everyone up the wrong way and the third stood head and shoulders above the rest. Who did our manager want to hire? The junior. She felt threatened by the super-competent manager and hadn’t the confidence to know that you must always hire people smarter than yourself.

Focus on small tasks: Another senior salesperson I hired always produced the most perfect charts, forecasts and spreadsheets. She was always on time, her data completely up-to-date. She would always volunteer for projects in which she had no core expertise -- marketing plans, financial forecasts, meetings with bank managers, the office move. It was all displacement activity to hide the fact that she could not do her real job.

Allergy to deadlines: A deadline is a commitment. The manager who cannot set, and stick to deadlines, cannot honor commitments. A failure to set and meet deadlines also means that no one can ever feel a true sense of achievement. You can’t celebrate milestones if there aren’t any.

Inability to hire former employees: I hired a head of sales once with (apparently) a luminous reputation. But, as we staffed up, he never attracted any candidates from his old company. He’d worked in sales for twenty years -- hadn’t he mentored anyone who’d want to work with him again? Every good manager has alumni, eager to join the team again; if they don’t, smell a rat.

Addiction to consultants: A common -- but expensive -- way to put off making decisions is to hire consultants who can recommend several alternatives. While they’re figuring these out, managers don’t have to do anything. And when the consultant’s choices are presented, the ensuing debates can often absorb hours, days, months. Meanwhile, your organization is poorer but it isn’t any smarter. When the consultant leaves, he takes your money and his increased expertise out the door with him.

Long hours: In my experience, bad managers work very long hours. They think this is a brand of heroism but it is probably the single biggest hallmark of incompetence. To work effectively, you must prioritize and you must pace yourself. The manager who boasts of late nights, early mornings and no time off cannot manage himself so you’d better not let him manage anyone else.

Labels: Management, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/05/2007 11:32:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: On the light side

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/04/2007 01:59:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

話說我公司附近的一家商場內，有一間走中高檔路線的快餐店(中環IFC內亦有分店的)。中高檔嘛，店內所播的BGM(背境音樂)，那當然是英文金曲，而非中文K歌。

我在7月份開始光顧此店午膳。炎炎夏日的7月，一天當我滿頭大汗、吃著我面前那碟熱辣辣的素菜碟頭飯時，發覺店內傳來的BGM竟是80年代著名英國流行組合Wham!的1984年大熱聖誕單曲〈Last Christmas〉。

一下子這不是6月飛霜，但卻是7月聖誕。想起〈Last Christmas〉那個冰天雪地的MV，甚有炎夏降溫作用。

7月流流在餐廳裡響起〈Last Christmas〉，當然不是要為食客消暑，據推斷，是他們選播了一張歐西經典流行曲合輯，而這張合輯又是冬日之選，所以內含一首〈Last Christmas〉。

於是，這幾個月間，不時都有〈Last Christmas〉伴隨我午飯，時至近日秋涼，仍可聽到此曲。相信該店仍一直沿用那合輯。

我想說的是，倘若該店所播放是一張中文歌合輯或一堆中文歌選曲，要是當中出現了一首許冠傑的〈財神到〉抑或Twins的賀年歌，給餐廳經理聽到大抵會說：「你估家陣農曆新年咩，換咗佢、換咗佢，咪俾人笑啦。」

然而就是一首〈Last Christmas〉——我假設經理不知當年此曲有幾熱爆，當Wham!在香港大紅的年代時他只懂譚詠麟張國榮，但當歌曲的Chorus不斷重複唱著” Christmas”這個連香港小學生也懂得的英文字時，那何解不會察覺這是一首聖誕歌曲，是屬於季節性的。天時暑熱播一首聖誕流行曲，不怕給老外貽笑大方嗎？

Labels: Discontent, Reflection

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/03/2007 12:04:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

16 我差你們去，如同羊進入狼群；所以你們要靈巧像蛇，馴良像鴿子。21 弟兄要把弟兄，父親要把兒子，送到死地；兒女要與父母為敵，害死他們； 22 並且你們要為我的名被眾人恨惡。惟有忍耐到底的必然得救。34 你們不要想我來是叫地上太平；我來並不是叫地上太平，乃是叫地上動刀兵。 35 因為我來是叫人與父親生疏，女兒與母親生疏，媳婦與婆婆生疏。 36 人的仇敵就是自己家裡的人。 37 愛父母過於愛我的，不配作我的門徒；愛兒女過於愛我的，不配作我的門徒； 38 不背著他的十字架跟從我的，也不配作我的門徒。 39 得著生命的，將要失喪生命；為我失喪生命的，將要得著生命。

Labels: Reflection, Thorns

Posted by Alan Yu at 11/01/2007 10:46:00 PM | Permalink | Comments