tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283698942024-03-12T18:21:55.782-07:00雜崩能閱讀報告 JBL Reading ReportAlan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.comBlogger1065125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-77941606883902765222012-07-07T14:54:00.001-07:002012-07-07T14:54:20.985-07:00PCS (Vancouver 2012) Song ListYour Great Name - Natalie Grant
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1gbBrlAVm20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Be Lifted High - Brian Johnson
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<iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/axjpMdDHBaI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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I Will Exalt You - Brian & Jenn Johnson
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R0tGhsBmvYk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Our Messiah Reigns - New Life Worship
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<iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I5e7suMnJf8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Overcome - Desperation Band / Jeremy Camp
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rhmcmpX4Zn4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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The One Who Saves - Hillsong
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<iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VpaZYev1ZJc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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All To Us - Chris Tomlin
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/riWye9M0L4E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Until the End - New Creation Church
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<iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yWmTp-UWFYE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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I Sing Hosanna - New Creation Church
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4A7s5qfTjCA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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I Am Free - Newsboy
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FYr3KrNjt-o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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How He Loves - David Crowder Band
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<iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TCunuL58odQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Your Beloved - Mary Chikagami Lee (SOP)
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<iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JlJeSTCs-NY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<P>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-35366358186638110002012-06-29T11:56:00.000-07:002012-06-29T11:56:59.653-07:00SP767 Day 5There is no such thing as failure, just new learning experience.
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Do not give your heart to what will not satisfy your heart.
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On discernment: "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." -Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
<P>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-71535804776728085312012-06-28T16:59:00.001-07:002012-06-28T16:59:16.545-07:00SP767 Day 4In a pastoral encounter, what heals? The information conveyed or the human contact?
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All learning has to finish with the question "so what?"
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Little children do not have feelings. They are feelings.
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We are (as pastors) are in a profession where intimacy is an integral part of, so it is common and unavoidable that we will run into boundary issues. Thus, be extra cautious.
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It is not "Jesus and me" and "Jesus and us". It is not "I am in Christ" but "we are in Christ."
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There are different types of experiences and we all experience God differently. There is not one right way experience God.
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In our culture, we appreciate "feeler" more than "thinker" when talking about experience.
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When you listen, listen to what is said as well as what is not said.
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In temptation, you have said a hundred "yes" before you get to that fatal "yes".
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The reason we don't sin more is not because we lack the ability but we lack the opportunity.
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If the church is the target of the devil's attack, the pastor's heart is the bull's eye.
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Do not use the word "cannot" unless it is absolutely accurate. ("I can't come" usually is just "I won't come". If you won't, don't say you can't because you actually can.)
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Stop assuming people have common sense.
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"I do not mean to slander them, just that their theology is not something that the Lord has lead me to embrace."
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Cultivate the difficult, but necessary art of empathetic detachment so you are available but not “available.”
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Boundary violation is gratification for yourself at someone else's expense.
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Pastors need to take good care of themselves because they have less people to take care of them.
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Women in our culture are trained to distrust their distrust and to be nice ("I know there is something wrong but I don't want to hurt his feeling"), and that puts them in a lot of potential dangers and harms.
<P>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-69335402183799437242012-06-27T20:25:00.000-07:002012-06-27T20:25:17.991-07:00SP767 Day 3Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible. -C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, "Retrospect"
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“The first duty of love is to listen.” -Paul Tillich
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"I am human, nothing human is alien to me." -Terentius
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I have always been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I slowly discovered that my interruptions were my work. - Henri Nouwen
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Effective mentors are proactive listeners. Listen to them before they even speak.
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Sunday morning in the church lobby is where you can only neglect everyone. You cannot assume any meaningful and focused conversation can happen because there are too much distractions.
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We have to live with the discomfort of being finite.
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Listening is hard because it involves a loss of control.
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Everyone of us is vulnerable and have the right to defend ourselves, but we don't need to do it destructively. There is a difference between defending and being defensive.
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Transformation is messy and time consuming.
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An unanswered question is a fine traveling companion. It sharpens your eyes for the road. -Rachel Naomi Romer
<P>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-6217288857869006722012-06-26T16:57:00.000-07:002012-06-26T16:57:45.273-07:00SP767 Day 2Mentors are not there to solve problems. Mentors need to know what they cannot do.
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If you need to refer someone to a professional, it is better to send him/her to a good atheist than a bad Christian.
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The only thing that is worse than no mentoring is bad mentoring.
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As pastor we are no better than the people we serve. We are only set apart for some specific functions.
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Every encounter is not between the 2 same persons from last time.
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When mentoring, we have to let go of our prejudice towards our mentee accumulated from past meetings with him/her, and we have to let go of our desire for him/her to do what we want him/her to do.
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Mentors should always be looking for ways to ask who you are and who do you intend to be. -Walter Wright, Mentoring
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Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak. “Is the life I am living the same as the life that wants to live in me?”
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Most problems in ministry arise from issues of character.
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I am not ashamed to admit that I am ignorant in what I do not know. - Cicero
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Surrender as much of yourself as you understand, to as much of God as you understand. -Sam Shoemaker
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We model character, not just by being perfect but also by struggling.
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There are people that we will not be the best mentor of. We have our limitations.
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Never fail, whatever may befall you, be it good or evil, to keep your heart quiet and calm in the tenderness of love. -St. John of the Cross
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Be their example, not their legislator. Be a healer by getting well.
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The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there. -L. P. Hartley
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Do not prefer your leisure to the need of the church. -St. Augustine
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How we pray reveals how we think about God. Our prayer is our theology.
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We cannot remain Christian without Christians.
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A brother asked Abba Matoes: What shall I do? My tongue causes me trouble, and whenever I am among people, I cannot control it and I condemn them in all their good deeds and contradict them. What, therefore, shall I do? The old man answered him: If you cannot control yourself, go away from people and live alone. For this is a weakness --- Those who live together with others ought not to be square, but round, in order to turn toward all. Further, the old man said: I live alone not because of my virtue, but rather because of my weakness. You see, those who live among people are the strong ones. -Sayings of the Desert Fathers
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Mentoring can be painful. When you ask a question, are you really willing to listen to their "stuff"?
<P>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-35725625841906595402012-06-26T10:26:00.002-07:002012-06-26T10:28:00.227-07:00SP767 Day 1In his essay Distance and Relation (1950) Martin Buber wrote:
We wish to be confirmed in our being by another person, and we wish to have a presence in the being of the other. ...secretly and bashfully we watch for a Yes which allows us to be and which can come to us only from one human person to another. It is from one person to another that the heavenly bread of self-being is passed. (emphasis mine)
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Amma Synkletika (Egypt, died 400 AD):
It is perilous for a person to teach who has not first been seasoned by personal experience. For if someone who owns a shabby house invites guests there, he endangers them by his neglected building. It is the same situation for someone who has not first built an inner abode. He causes danger to those who visit. By words one may convert them to salvation, but by bad personal conduct, one injures them.
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Johannes Tauler (1300-1361): “An unfaithful spiritual director is like a bad hunting dog. Instead of bringing the rabbit to its master, it devours the rabbit itself.”
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Generally speaking, if you want to know who you really are as distinct from who you like to think you are, keep an eye on where your feet take you. (Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A theological ABC.)
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“As I am a beginner myself, I will assume that you are also beginners, and we will try to begin together” (Anthony Bloom. Beginning to Pray)
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“We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners all our life” (Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer)
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We never assume we know how to mentor people, no matter how much experience you have.
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Realize that the Holy Spirit is always the primary mentor. We are just the instrument through which He works.
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Beware of techniques. It is not about techniques and practices. It is all about relationship.
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We are mentoring all the time. People are looking at us.
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Our biggest mistake is trying to be more spiritual than God.
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Programs are for serving the person, not the reverse.
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Do not preach to the congregation that you wish you have. Preach to the congregation in front of you.
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You are the key to the healthy church. Healthy church can only be led by healthy leaders.
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None of us is fit for ministry. But God use broken vessel for everything.
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We can be who are are and different at different times without compromising our authenticity.
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The mind is a dangerous neighbourhood, don't go there alone.
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Do not offer what you are not ready to give.
<P>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-3338755327283002112012-02-16T10:47:00.000-08:002012-02-16T10:47:10.773-08:00機會<blockquote>唐英年承認的確未有即時迅速處理,但已向專業人士表明要盡快糾正。他表示自己是適合的特首人選,懇請大家給他重新出發的機會。</blockquote><br />
我想起了路16:19-31的故事。<br />
<br />
當他建屋的時候,他有過機會去憑良知拒絕僭建。但他選擇逃避。<br />
當去年爆出高官僭建風波時,他有過機會去撥亂反正。但他選擇側側膊。<br />
當早幾天他被人踢爆上phone-in時,他有過機會去誠實認錯。但他選擇瞞天過海。<br />
<br />
他有過他的機會。但他並沒有好好珍惜。<br />
<br />
<a href="http://inews.mingpao.com/htm/INews/20120216/gb42016c.htm">原文出自明報即時新聞</a>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-8277329071309237532012-01-01T08:00:00.002-08:002012-01-01T08:02:46.859-08:00但主愛更深廣This is the song I wrote for the 51st Canadian Chinese Christian Winter Conference.<br />
<blockquote><b>但主愛更深廣</b><br />
曲/詞:余子麟<br />
Copyright 2011 Alan C. Yu. UBP ARR<br />
<br />
誰能叫我與主愛隔絕,<br />
患難困苦逼迫麼? <br />
然而信靠復活的主,<br />
這一切事我已經得勝。<br />
<br />
曾聽信仇敵控告,<br />
忘記了後嗣名份, <br />
但我軟弱時主總看顧,<br />
致令我更深信: <br />
<br />
主的愛更深更廣,<br />
主的愛更深更廣, <br />
主的愛橫越高低生死,<br />
超過現在將來; <br />
主的愛更深更廣,<br />
主的愛更深更廣, <br />
沒有誰人能奪去破壞,<br />
主的愛永遠擁抱我。</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3426426/%E4%BD%86%E4%B8%BB%E6%84%9B%E6%9B%B4%E6%B7%B1%E5%BB%A3.jpg">Music Score</a><br />
<br />
<iframe width="400" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V8gngDLNwkk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-58314025300096260652011-05-05T22:47:00.000-07:002011-05-05T22:47:07.036-07:00The secret diary of MosesThis is a composition assignment written by my son Alpha in grade 2.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>A burning bush<br />
June 24, 1999BC<br />
<br />
Dear Diary,<br />
<br />
Today, I was given rank of a shepherd. At precisely 12:00 noon, my third sheep yelled: "BAAAA!" As if to say, "Come follow me." And then she ran away! Shepherd's cane in the air, I sprinted after her. 3 minutes later, I tracked her down. She was at a narrow valley, with a single bush. Then it caught on fire! I mean, it was not! But it was! It was burning but it was not burning. I mean, it was on fire but did not burn! Then I was struck by the voice of GOD! "Take off your sandals Moses, for you are on Holy Ground. When you have gone into exile from Pharoah, I have seen your people work hard. Go back to that land where you killed a native. And say: Let my people go. And now!" But I yelled, "For I am a fat feeble old man!! I am 10000 years old - Too old!!! I am not a good talker!!!!" "I will send your brother Aaron with you." God boomed. "Still, no." I complained. So God said, "Moses, throw thy staff on thy ground." Now, I sensed a trap. I could have said no but this was God speaking to me. So I did as I was told. Then instantly, it turned into a snake. Not a snake, but a cobra!!! I freaked out, but God said, "Moses, pick up thy staff." with a shaking hand, I did so. And it turned into a staff. "Still, no." I said. "Moses, take thy hand and put it into thy collar." So I did. "Take thy hand out of thy collar." God boomed. So I did. With a ssh-shads sound, it was a thick slime that covered my fingers. "Now you have to put thy hand in collar." So I did. And... No more slime!!! "Now you have seen the power of God." God exclaimed. "Now go." So I did. Time for this entry to end. Bye bye.<br />
<br />
THE END!</blockquote>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-24444171381803421382011-02-04T10:43:00.004-08:002011-02-04T11:09:45.494-08:00Insights from Day 10 at CN705<ul><li>Be CAREFUL in taking care of our body as the temple of God.<br />
<li>Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment that occurs in individuals who work with people. (Too much caring; too little resource.)<br />
<li>There is no such thing as failure in God's kingdom, only forced growth.<br />
<li>Burn-out could take 5 to 6 years to work out.<br />
<li>Burn-out people say, "Yes, there is a God, but He just doesn't care about me." That sense of loss is what is devastating about burn-out.<br />
<li>When you lack support, your chance of burn-out increases dramatically.<br />
<li>Support has to come from top-down. You cannot look to your congregation for support.<br />
<li>Causes of burn-out includes situational and ongoing minor conflicts, inadequate support and rewards, low-grade depression, irrational expectations and lack of assertiveness. Over-work is not the key.<br />
<li>Stress-out is the exhaustion of your adrenaline system; burn-out is the exhaustion of your emotional system with loss of empathy, caring, hope and detachment. Both are forms of depression.<br />
<li>Type B personality is more prone to burn-out.<br />
<li>We suffer burn-out from emotional triangles. Training in systems theory can help reduce burn-out.<br />
<li>We suffer burn-out from not having a safe place to express intense job-related feelings (aggravated by confidentiality issues).<br />
<li>We suffer burn-out from a confused sense of purpose accompanied by administrative overload.<br />
<li>Humour is powerful in putting things back into perspective.<br />
<li>1 in 3 pastors 10 years in ministry shows signs of burn-out.<br />
<LI>Leaving your ministry will not help your burn-out.<br />
<li>Sympathy is actually not helpful to ourselves as well as to the people we help. We need to learn empathy.<br />
<li>We need to develop healthy theology of compassion, self-care, success and failure.<br />
<li>Success has little spiritual and therapeutic value. It does not make our life better. Success is just a bonus God give to those who are faithful.<br />
<li>God is not in the success business but the refine business. God cares about the maturity of our life more than the size of our church.<br />
<li>Because of the information technology revolution, pastors now are constantly being compared to the celebrity pastors. This has created tremendous stress on pastors.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-10886449658360010582011-02-03T15:12:00.001-08:002011-02-03T15:12:52.158-08:00Insights from Day 9 at CN705<UL><LI>“It is exceedingly clear that the chronic stress of twenty-first century living is not a mere inconvenience, but a major problem that needs to be recognized and treated seriously. Unless we as a society learn to slow down, breathe, examine our values and change our hectic lifestyles, we will continue to suffer from cardiovascular disease, immune deficiencies, depression and a host of other illnesses. Further, we will pass these traits and poor coping skills to our children who could experience even greater suffering given their exposure to severe stress from the first days of life.” Jessie Shaw -Newsweek<br />
<LI>Stress is being stretched beyond your limits and extending yourself without adequate time for recovery.<br />
<LI>The advent of electric light took away 2-3 hours of sleep; and the advent of television took away another 2 hours. Our lack of sleep is a major reason for our failure in stress management.<br />
<LI>MInistry is all about dying, but it must be strategic dying. Accelerated dying is not in God's plan.<br />
<LI>We are a chain of elastic bands - our stress affect EVERY part of our body.<br />
<LI>High blood pressure and high cholesterol are stress problem. Diet only provides the environment for them.<br />
<LI>High cortisol (the "stress hormone") level shrink the hippocampus in our brain, reducing our ability to learn, to remember and to forget.<br />
<LI>Caffeine boosts our adrenaline level, which gives us energy, but at the same time shuts down our other systems such as logic thinking (so we cannot learn), immune (so we get sick) and reproduction (so we become impotent)<br />
<LI>If you "need" caffeine you are already out of control<br />
<LI>Type A people produces 4 times as much adrenaline and 43 times as much cortisol as other people.<br />
<LI>Choose your battles and your emergencies where you will truly need your adrenaline<br />
<LI>Resign as the “keeper of the universe” and focus on that which God has given you to do in your part of His vineyard<br />
<LI>Sleeping less than 5 hours a night on average will guarantee an early heart attack. The boundary of danger is 6 hours. Sleeping less than that is hazardous to your health.<br />
<LI>The optional length of sleep is 6 90-minute cycles, that is 9 hours.<br />
<LI>Sleeping is a process similar to defragmentation of a harddisk. What the alarm clock do to us is like unplugging the computer in the middle of a harddisk defragmentation process. <br />
<LI>The sleep switch in our brain is not time sensitive but light sensitive. Turn down the lights way before you sleep to get into the mode, and turn up the light as soon as you wake up to stop the melatonin.<br />
<LI>Nap is not sleep. Nap is good for lowering adrenaline, slowing our system and refreshing our mind, but it does not equate sleep. An effective sleep takes at least one sleep cycle, that is 90-minutes.<br />
<LI>Anxiety is a warning system for danger approaching us. But when we are anxious all the time, the alarm does not mean anything anymore.<br />
<LI>Worry anxiety is a bad habit of the mind. It is a spiritual issue more than a psychological issue.<br />
<LI>Fear and worry are different. Worry has no tangible threat but only imagined, while fear does. We cannot handle worry, but we can handle fear. Therefore, we should treat worry with facts, reality and reason.<br />
<LI>Panic anxiety discarder is a biological disorder created by prolonged psychological stress.<br />
<LI>Panic anxiety discarder is the #1 mental problem for women in USA. For men, #1 is substance abuse and panic anxiety disorder is #2. The men are self-medicating themselves.<br />
<LI>Panic attack is a gift to slow us down.<br />
<LI>When you worry, write down what you're worrying and set your mind to intentionally worry them for at least 15 minutes.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-89455987351197100802011-02-02T15:01:00.001-08:002011-02-02T15:01:48.944-08:00Insights from Day 8 at CN705<ul><li>Being assertive doesn't mean winning the battle, but having the choice to do what you think is right and best, and not being forced to do what you do not want.<br />
<li>Being assertive is having the right to choose to sacrifice. It is based on strength and courage, not cowardliness.<br />
<li>When you're angry, you disqualify yourself from assertiveness. There is a big difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness.<br />
<li>An effective board cannot function with a lot of secrecy.<br />
<li>"No" gives meaning to your "yes".<br />
<li>Difficult and irritating people are there sometimes because they crave your respect.<br />
<li>We need to develop flexibility in our personality.<br />
</UL>We also have some interesting discussions about homosexuality in class today. I will not post those insights here because you will have to understand our discussion in a comprehensive and holistic way in order to avoid misunderstanding, and it will be too much to post here in order to present a comprehensive understanding of the point. I'm lazy - that's why I leave it out. If you're interested, seek me out and talk to me in person. I'll be glad to share with you.Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-12659266939632517652011-02-01T15:09:00.001-08:002011-02-01T15:09:20.716-08:00Insights from Day 7 at CN705<UL><LI>You can harm a child as much by inflating their self-esteem as deminishing it.<br />
<LI>If you're not doing well, you need to know it. If you're doing well, you need to acknowledge it. We must be honest.<br />
<LI>The goal of Christian redemption is not self-fulfillment nor self-negation, but self-transcendence - to become “transparent” to self. (seeing less of self, seeing more of Christ)<br />
<LI>Many consumer economies stay afloat by manipulating the low-esteem of consumers. <br />
<LI>The fact that something has a name doesn't mean that it exists.<br />
<LI>Buckminster Fuller: "I never went to university, so I never learned what cannot work."<br />
<LI>Can you esteem a fallen self? Can you not esteem a regenerated self?<br />
<LI>We have not engaged enough theologically the emotional struggles that we have everyday. We are in desperate need of a theology of the self and of emotion.<br />
<LI>We must incorporate the doctrine of regeneration into our concept of self-esteem.<br />
<LI>Dr. Martin Seligman: “There are almost no findings that self-esteem causes anything at all.” "What needs improving is not self-esteem, but our skills for dealing with the world."<br />
<LI>Why are so many successful, competent people plagued with chronic low self-esteem? Somewhere, behind external achievements, there must be an internal filtering device that denies the successes and hoards the failures, and then serves them up as the fruit of one’s life.<br />
<LI>The effect of life circumstances (successes and failures) and other external factors are NOT an adequate basis for understanding the origin or maintenance of high or low self-esteem.<br />
<LI>A healthy self-esteem is the acceptance of a positive and undistorted self-image.<br />
<LI>Mistakes are what we used to inform our improvement. Mistake is not failure.<br />
<LI>The generation struggles with low self-esteem, while the new generation struggle with narcissism.<br />
<LI>"The best thing you bring to leadership is your own transformed self." -Strengthening The Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton<br />
<LI>Feeling and practicing gratitude is the single strongest predictor of satisfaction with life.<br />
<LI>Many of us are just living off other people's genuine spirituality.<br />
<LI>Many people are languishing because of spiritual carelessness (neglecting and not taking care of our spirit).<br />
<LI>The number one thing to help reduce stress is silence and solitude.<br />
<LI>It is important to train young people to increase their capacity for silence.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-58080949698084652722011-01-31T15:31:00.002-08:002011-01-31T15:31:56.395-08:00Insights from Day 6 at CN705<UL><LI>Sexuality: Excessive denial a major weakness, and our silence about this topic will be our greatest downfall.<br />
<LI>Steven Berglas (of Harvard Medical School): The Four A's of Success: Aloneness (loss of accountability), Arrogance (loss of humility), Addiction (pursuit of novelty), Adultery (pursuit of pleasure)<br />
<LI>Pastors are more likely to attract transference than any other helping professionals. And it is the reason for many extra-marital affairs for pastors.<br />
<LI>Only honesty and a matching ruthlessness in our quest for biblical truth can provide a balanced and healthy sexuality for both men and women. <br />
<LI>H.B. London: Some sheep bite.<br />
<LI>We need to laugh more. Ministry is often too serious and we lost our humour along the way.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-76416834689232008112011-01-28T11:08:00.001-08:002011-01-28T11:08:20.940-08:00Insights from Day 5 at CN705<UL><LI>The coffee industry will be today's tobacco industry in the future.<br />
<LI>2Cor 2:15-16 - The fragrance of Christ is from the perfume used to anoint a dead body. It is fragrance of life and the aroma of death at the same time.<br />
<LI>Anger as feeling is always valid – but may not be justified (misperceptions etc). One feels for a reason – even if its not a good reason. But anger as behavior is seldom valid – except in extreme cases of self-defense or danger.<br />
<LI>Anger is like a boomerang - you throw it out to hurt someone but it came back to hurt you.<br />
<LI>We should never equate the wrath of God with human anger. There is no such thing as "righteous anger", only "anger of the righteous one."<br />
<LI>Justice does not need to be motivated by sustained anger.<br />
<LI>The angry feeling is neutral, but it is dangerous.<br />
<LI>雅各書1:20 人的怒氣並不成就 神的義。<br />
<LI>Anger can be a conditioned response. It can be unlearned - just like temper tantrum.<br />
<LI>Ventilation does not release the anger, it rehearses the anger.<br />
<LI>No mater how terrible things are, always greet your spouse with a smile when you go home.<br />
<LI>Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you back.<br />
<LI>Forgiveness is not reconciliation. Forgiveness is a personal and private decision and only involves ourselves. I cannot request the other party's apology or confession as a condition for our forgiveness.<br />
<LI>God has forgiven us before we confess our sins. Our confession is a requirement for reconciliation, not forgiveness.<br />
<LI>Forgetting has nothing to do with forgiveness. Forgiveness is not emotional but an ethical choice.<br />
<LI>Forgiveness doesn't take a long time. It is just a decision in a moment. But it may take a long time to bring yourself to the position where you can forgive.<br />
<LI>Don't tell the person that you have forgiven him/her unless they ask you for that. Write down your forgiveness and get rid of it. Don't ever send it. Otherwise you are just punishing him/her.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-70919738523595367222011-01-27T15:03:00.002-08:002011-01-27T15:03:07.220-08:00Insights from Day 4 at CN705<UL><LI>To grief is to understand the meaning of the our loss to us. We need to know what we are saying goodbye to before we can really say goodbye to end the depression.<br />
<LI>You cannot move forward with your life without grieving your loss.<br />
<LI>Finding a substitute is just short-circuiting the grieving process. By substituting you are holding onto your loss and the depression can never end.<br />
<LI>We create unnecessary losses by not adjusting our values from previous depressions.<br />
<LI>After all the psychological issues are sorted out, what we are left with are theological issues. There is no solution and hope except to submit to God's sovereignty. <br />
<LI>We do not need cheap "bible verse" comfort, but we need to process our losses with biblical truth. <br />
<LI>Reactive depression is a tool for self-growth. We learn more from depression than from success.<br />
<LI>In the digital revolution, change is coming not just to how we counsel, but what and who we counsel.<br />
<LI>Facebook Depression is already a proper diagnosis.<br />
<LI>Texting has a reward reinforcement pattern in our brain similar to slot machine.<br />
<LI>We believe that we are good at multitasking. Scientific studies show that we are not (35% worse performance when multitasking). <br />
<LI>Multitasking improves our feeling (it makes you feel capable), but destroys our productivity. <br />
<LI>Multitasking is an addiction.<br />
<LI>The brain is not designed for multitasking. Period.<br />
<LI>When multitasking, we are using the more pleasant tasks to help us sustain the less desirable tasks. This is not helpful in our character development.<br />
<LI>We are distracting ourselves to death.<br />
<LI>We are taught to value multitasking because it creates more business.<br />
<LI>Two-thirds of US undergrads now score 30% higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory.<br />
<LI>Instead of using the Web to learn about the wide world, the young use it to gossip about each other and follow pop culture.<br />
<LI>Students now are using drugs like Adderall (for treating ADHD) as neuro-cosmetic to compensate for their loss of intelligence and attention due to their digital lifestyle. This is crazy.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-28875004890318946292011-01-26T14:59:00.000-08:002011-01-26T14:59:01.513-08:00Insights from Day 3 at CN705<UL><LI>God is not so much interested in what you do but who you'll become.<br />
<LI>Surviving ministry is a matter of surviving depression.<br />
<LI>It is a high priority for pastors to prepare the people to deal with loss.<br />
<LI>Within 5 to 10 years, every teenager will be on antidepressant.<br />
<LI>Spurgeon: "Repose is as needful for the mind as sleep is to the body. Our Sabbaths are our day of toil, and if we do not rest upon some other day we shall break down."<br />
<LI>Disillusionment is inevitable when we “idealize” a calling.<br />
<LI>Abuse and misuse of our physiology is too easily “justified by our cause”.<br />
<LI>Everybody needs to be an expert in sleep. Seriously.<br />
<LI>Sometimes God do not prevent us from the consequences of our stupidity, but this is not for punishment but for discipline.<br />
<LI>Exercise plays a critical role in the regulation of our cortisol level.<br />
<LI>Some sleeping pills are just anaesthetics. They are not giving you sleep but are just shutting down your brain, which doesn't bring rejuvenation.<br />
<LI>Chronic stress can reduce the size of the Hippocampus in our brain by 30%, which reduces our ability to learn and to forget. Yet this is reversible by physical exercise, and by experience of love.<br />
<LI>Stress relates to the issue of control. To what extent do you have control over your life? We feel stress when we feel lack of control (helpless and hopeless). Therefore, the janitor is more stressed then the CEO, and the pastor is more stressed then the janitor (because s/he has the most bosses)<br />
<LI>If you surrender to the symptoms of depression, you will probably get through reactive depression sooner.<br />
<LI>Female feels their depression; male acts out their depression (such as through rage and addiction).<br />
<LI>Most male depression cases were misdiagnosed because all tests and assessment methods are female-based.<br />
<LI>We have adopted a theology and psychology of "feeling good" and it is tragic. Feeling good is of lowest priority. Survival is.<br />
<LI>Studies show that just by talking to a patient can change the biology of his/her brain. That's why psychotherapy works. That's also one of the reasons why preaching works.<br />
<LI>An observation: The classroom projector is not working but it is ok, because only 2 person in our class of 25 do not have a laptop in front of them with the powerpoint file already distributed to them through the class online forum. The 2 person who don't have a laptop use iPads. So we don't actually need the projector. It has become obsolete.<br />
</UL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-26591743920689392422011-01-25T19:52:00.001-08:002011-01-25T19:52:40.586-08:00機會<blockquote>我一直有點介懷,當上一代堅持新一代有許多機會,而新一代又總是埋怨機會太少,我們所說的,是一種怎樣的機會?甚或,究竟是否同一回事?<br />
<br />
記得某次與某政府高層荼聚,他搖着頭說:「我就是不明白,怎麼今日年輕人都說沒有機會。看你!說遲職便遲職,要寫作便寫作,上一代那奢侈得起?」<br />
<br />
然後,我終於明白雞同鴨講的原因。<br />
<br />
高層說的,是選擇的機會。相比往日,行業、工種、聘用形式,都更多元化,是不爭事實。上一代生活艱難,不胼手胝足苦幹,開不了飯。今日我們三餐不愁,選擇自由,還怨三怨四,不是不長進是甚麼?<br />
<br />
然而在後生眼中,卻又是另一個故事──<b>我們有許多橫向的選擇,卻無甚機會縱向往上游。<i></i></b><br />
<br />
生活無憂,可以享受過程;然而前無去路,也就只能享受過程。</blockquote><blockquote>每一代的處境,也是獨一無二的,無需誇大也無容輕視。我只希望,對照比較,不為標籤謾罵,只為認清自我。不以時代為恥,不以自我為傲。從這一點起,不慌不忙再出發。</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://wongminglok.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-post_26.html">原文出自「光明女樂」blog by 黃明樂</a>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-48865286874619249922011-01-25T15:37:00.000-08:002011-01-25T15:37:13.420-08:00Insights from Day 2 at CN705<UL><LI>The primary function of the brain is not to remember but to forget.<br />
<LI>Feel-good movement cushions dysphoria and avoidance of anger, sadness and anxiety.<br />
<LI>Feeling bad is an important alarm system that causes pain to prompt changes.<br />
<LI>By encouraging cheap success it has produced a generation of very expensive failures!<br />
<LI>James Packer: “The shift of Christian interest away from the pursuit of holiness to focus on fun and fulfillment, ego-massage and techniques for present success, … is a sad and scandalous fact, and one that needs to be reversed.”<br />
<LI>The human brain is designed to deliver happiness.<br />
<LI>Depression can in fact be a healing emotion – if you cooperate with it. <br />
<LI>Contemplative spirituality is much needed in this highly stressful world for us to maintain our mental and emotional health.</ul>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-79217272851827387402011-01-24T20:31:00.007-08:002011-01-24T23:42:46.874-08:00Insights from Day 1 at CN705<ul><li>The pastoral ministry is one of the most (if not THE most) emotionally hazardous vocations. (Hope: But it needs not be so)<br />
<li>About 20 years ago, one-third of evangelical pastors have extra-marital sex with a member of the congregation. (Hope: It has improved since then)<br />
<li>We are facing an unprecedented period of conflict between clergy and the people.<br />
<li>Our digital lifestyle, because of the neuroplasticity of our brain, is robbing us of our ability to contemplate and threatening our capacity for spirituality. It is also making self-care a lot more difficult. (Calling: "Be still.")<br />
<li>We have to learn to live within our limits.<br />
<li>"My prayer to you all is that you will die before you are finished."<br />
<li>Success is a bonus given for our faithfulness, not the reward.<br />
<li>Resist the obsession to be successful, because it only sets us up for profound burn-out.<br />
<li>"All that is not the love of God has no interest to me."<br />
<li>"The usefulness of my life is His concern, not mine." It is not our responsibility to make sense of my life.<br />
<li>Finishing well starts at the beginning.<br />
<li>We have to learn to manage our pleasure system.<br />
<li>Boredom is a gift God has for us. (The brain as a machine needs to have its down time.)<br />
<li>The point of going on a vacation is to be bored. (AMEN!!!)<br />
<li>There is a connection between boredom and holiness ("Be bored and know that I am God"). Don't entertain people in worship, bore them into holiness.<br />
<li>Play to an audience of one instead of to the grandstand. (And we have to identify our grandstand.)<br />
<li>"I used to do conferences together with Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. They did their things and I corrected them." (To those who don't get it, this is a joke.)<br />
<li>(This is for my dear brother Felix) "Golf is not a game worth pursuing."<br />
<li>"I believe the telephone is Satanic and demon-possessed."<br />
</uL>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-83920288050677029262011-01-21T23:44:00.000-08:002011-01-21T23:44:32.876-08:00在死亡面前,你最好同我收聲<blockquote>如果這世界有上帝,我就不能像佛門人仕說甚麼生老病死苦本是人之常態。我怎能停止在接受生命常態的地步而不去問生命的主宰個究竟。這樣問其實是信心的表現,我信上帝,我信生命比死亡更好,我信友情,我信親情,我信有夢想有愛的人能為這世界帶來光與熱... 我越信這些我就越顯得不信上帝,不順上帝。我越信慈愛善良我就越不信慈愛善良的上帝,我就越要用信心來生活,我要用近乎迷信的信來對付自己的不信。所以我要等,我要等一個答案。[...]<br />
<br />
對於死我們尚且無能。對死亡背後那更勁的上帝,我們簡直不能言語,只能仰望祂的慈愛,期望祂的恩典,更原諒我們的無知與狂妄。</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://beyondpulpit.blogspot.com/2011/01/q.html">原文出自「講台上下」blog by 陳華恩</a>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-80879749165187515922011-01-18T01:47:00.000-08:002011-01-18T01:47:00.843-08:00各家自掃門前雪<blockquote>想寫曾俊華那個廣告很久。我不知道這廣告的拍攝手法好不好,那個留意見留鬚的動作設計成不成功;我想說的是這個廣告所反映的思維。先看看這廣告的內容:<br />
<br />
廣告一開始是財爺「鬍鬚曾」問:「如果你係我,你會點制訂下年度嘅財政預算案?」。接著,廣告以貼「鬍鬚」的形體動作,來增強感染力和視覺效果。先是OL、然後小學生、足球員、伯伯和婆婆,都貼上鬍鬚提意見。各人提問內容:「如果我係財爺,我會繼續促進經濟發展、創造就業」、「我會係教育方面畀多d資源」、「我會加強推動體育同文化發展」、「我會改善長者福利」、「仲會照顧弱勢社群」。最後,財爺利用方法演技的技巧,加入了一個笑聲,然後說大家不一定要留鬍鬚,也可在登上網站www.budget.gov.hk發表意見。<br />
<br />
既然拍得成廣告,特區政府相信也認同廣告背後的思維。你看到廣告中,不同背景的人,都是從自身利益出發,提出意見,希望曾俊華如何幫助該組群的人。例如中環OL就支持經濟發展、足球員就要求更多資源發展體育、小孩就提出增加教育開支。當然,這是無可厚非的,每人都會比較關心自己所屬的社群的需要。這個廣告可以無止境拍下去,圖書館使用者會增加圖書數量、輪候骨灰龕的人會要求增加骨灰龕的數量,如果我也有份拍,那就一定是增加市區的單車徑。<br />
<br />
其實廣告是塑造思維的好工具。透過廣告來創造消費需要我們都明白,透過廣告來塑造公眾思維是我們要多加對抗的戰場。這個廣告表面上有道理,在推廣我們都要為自己的利益發聲,好像很開明。<b>但是廣告內沒有人提出對整體有利的意見,彷彿我們沒有人關心其他人的需要,彷彿我們不用關心社會整體的利益。這個就是政府現今的管治策略,把公民社會不同群體拆散,只看到自己群體需要,只爭取自己群體的需要。</b>其實群體面對著差不多的問題和需要,但大家都各自修行,中正政府下懷。結果,反高鐵是80後的事、The Icon是有錢買一千萬單位的中產一族的問題。<b>但上面的中環OL其實也可以關心舊區重建強拍的問題、足球員也可以要求訂立競爭法、小學生亦可以提出普選、伯伯和婆婆可以關注西九發展,而我,當然可以對抗地產霸權,一年唔幫襯大地產商。</b><br />
<br />
要塑造思維,令大眾純粹以自身利益出發,需時不多,十年八載小成,二十年功德完滿。我們只有努力加餐飯,令身邊人更多關心公共生活,公眾利益。</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://yatming.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/留意見唔一定要留鬚/">原文出自「一年唔幫襯大地產商」blog by 龐一鳴</a>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-1002790842880605432011-01-17T23:36:00.003-08:002011-01-17T23:44:06.823-08:00words that heal<blockquote>But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -– at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do -– it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.</blockquote>US President Barack Obama<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/12/remarks-president-barack-obama-memorial-service-victims-shooting-tucson">Remarks by the President at a Memorial Service for the Victims of the Shooting in Tucson, Arizona</a>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-84045496992538859432011-01-03T15:48:00.003-08:002011-01-24T14:30:18.779-08:00CN705 Reading Notes (4)<blockquote>I want a revival that, like a summer shower, will purify the atmosphere of our churches everywhere, and which will awaken the dormant forces of our people young and old. I want something so general and so divine that it will be uncontrollable. I want something that will reemphasize old-time moral and spiritual values. Something that will reform and regenrate down and out sinners and save respectable worldlings. Something that will bring in the youth and the little children. Something so attractive that it will break over into the circles of the pleasure-loving. Something that will set people on their back tracks to make restitution for wrongs committed. Something that will bring God to bear upon cultural problems like divorce and racism. Something that will inject old-time honesty, veracity, and purity, and other-world-mindedness in our preachers and people. Something that will make the namby-pamby, soft-handed, compromising, cringing sort of Christianity as obsolete as Phariseeism was on the day of Pentecost. Something that reveals a minister's credentials by souls saved and established in Jesus Christ.</blockquote><br />
(p.52-53)<br />
<br />
Neil B. Wiseman, quoting J. B. Chapman, <span style="font-style:italic;">They Call Me Pastor</span>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28369894.post-1296672547489215312011-01-01T13:52:00.002-08:002011-01-03T16:02:08.580-08:00接班人<blockquote>管理學必備一章──領導層接班人的提拔、栽培和訓練。領袖和接班人如果能從「訓練班」出來,那是多麼的好!不過,事實不是那麼理想。上一代領袖欽點和訓練出來的接班人,未必能為下一個世代所用。</blockquote><br /><blockquote>約書亞是摩西一手提拔的助手(民十一28),跟隨摩西三、四十年。約書亞的按立禮是隆重的,摩西在全會眾之前,委派他「治理會眾」,做「羊群的牧人」。[...] 不能說約書亞做領導不如摩西之處是他沒找接班人。他沒把打來的江山為霸業,而解散以色列人,著他們去佔各自的地業。</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://christiantimes.org.hk/Common/Reader/News/ShowNews.jsp?Nid=63904&Pid=2&Version=1218&Cid=845&Charset=big5_hkscs">原文出自時代論壇第一二一八期.二○一一年一月二日教牧熱點,作者羅錫為</a>Alan Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06613909143295518623noreply@blogger.com0