Personal vision statement and community reflection

Will my colour change?

To choose a colour that represented how I feel about the Bible immediately challenged the way I approach the Biblical text. It was a jolting experience, forcing me to consider my emotions and to think in an entirely new way. This simple exercise made me realise how limited my approach is when I face the Biblical text and how I communicate it to others. My colour was a warm pink to represent the comfort and security I associate with the text and the way it continually points to the God who is faithful, unchanging and loving. Steve highlighted that the text is not always sweet but violent and offensive, to challenge comments like mine. Am I living in denial wanting to only represent a sugar coated God? What implications does the postmodern context have in terms of how I communicate the text? Will this course force me to consider the text differently? Will my colour change?

Even though I am aware that this generation of youth see the world and communicate differently to me, these lectures have highlighted the undeniable reality that if we don’t take notice and realise the significance of this we will miss the opportunity to engage with an entire generation.

The contemporary and classic version of the movie ‘Romeo and Juliet’ made crystal clear what I suspected in a vague capacity, that modernity is characterised by one long gaze and a lone narrator, as contrasted to this postmodern era, characterised by fast paced visuals, short bursts of text and a multiplicity of voices. The presentations brought me to a fresh conviction to; be vulnerable and be me, loosen my grip on my expectations of how the text should be communicated, listen to the experience of others, let the text also be about lifestyle, to be open to other sources – allow my boundaries to be pushed out, to celebrate diversity when contradictions appear and always acknowledge that deep connectedness and relationship are integral to living the text.

Another facet that was wonderfully fleshed out for me was the humanness of the text. The humanity of Christ and the other characters was brought out so vividly through the use of visuals, dwelling in the text and hearing in community. The Bible contains flesh and blood stories that continue to speak to our present flesh and blood stories and enabled me to appreciate the other characters and their stories and what my response might be to them. These exercises provided new depth and experience when engaging with Scripture and underscored the benefit of using these new techniques when communicating the text in my context in the hope that the presentation would incur an event in the recipient as the Holy Spirit does His work.

‘DJ-ing’ and sampling raised the question for me of how well do I know my cultural context? Peter in 1Pet 3: 1-7 didn’t start with the text but with his culture. It also stressed for me that the sacred and secular are not to be separated, but as I dwell in culture, I can also dwell in the text and allow them to intertwine to enable Godly truth to be made vivid and relevant. Not to be scared of going to secular sources for material to use, because this is what the text is speaking to anyway. The example in 1 Peter 3 was a great way to validate for me that the use of cultural examples are not just helpful but a powerful way to communicate God’s truth!
Analysis of sermons was helpful and emphasised to me how the text and culture can be used in; juxtaposition, subversion or amplification to enhance meaning or raise questions for the listener.

Most powerful was the concept of community. Of course this is not new, but to be engaged practically in groups, to hear the text and relate impressions and listen to each other, was life changing. If I remember nothing else I want to keep fresh in my mind, not just the theory of why community is important, but how to work with community to enhance understanding and application of the Biblical text. It is my personal prayer that I may develop craftsmanship in this area, as has been demonstrated in various ways during this intensive, for the purpose of growing individuals and community in God. What an awesome treasure we have been given in each other. Each holding an idea, an impression, that together, paints a brilliant picture of God in our lives!

It was refreshing and consoling that the integrity of the text and good scholarship is to be always maintained. Creativity is not a licence to water down the gospel message. In fact my experience of story telling with Luke1:39-45, highlighted the necessity and value of good, prior exegetical preparation.

If our environments say something about the text then that certainly begs the question, does my church building environment work with or against the text? Right now, it works against. It lacks colour, diversity, the seating does not promote the sense of community, has no temperature control therefore uncomfortable, and focus is on the person up front.

Spirituality2go reframed for me the potential that ‘give-aways’ can affect, and the vital importance of shifting emphasis from the Sunday meeting to the rest of our lives during the week. The intentionality of producing these with postmodernity in mind was new. This became poignant even yesterday when driving past a church with a sign which read ‘Without the bread of life, you’re toast’. Who did they want to reach and encourage with that sign? For the Christian it may raise a chuckle and cause them to ponder, but for the non Christian, they would be left clueless and excluded. They have presented the text without consideration of the culture.

This week has caused me to wonder when and where these new approaches would be helpful. As brought out, it is good to provide a variety in the diet we present, a point I hope to remember in the future, and a healthy challenge to step out of my comfort zone.

This week has given me the permission I knew I always had but forgot to acknowledge, that God is creative so I should be too! He has created me with wonderful capacities to engage with my world and with others. To convey the text I just need to start exercising the withered muscle of my imagination, deliberately try new approaches to engage the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, the emotions and the imagination. I am challenged to live and communicate the text in new ways and have fun!

I started off at the beginning of the week with a monochromatic view of the Bible, but by the end I feel I have widened my appreciation for the text to encompass a myriad of possibilities and views that the colour I would choose now would have to be an array of colours to represent the depth and richness I have come to appreciate about living the text in my postmodern context.

A bit about me - Maria Ng

I am an Adelaide girl who grew up in Glenelg. I became a Christian at 19 when God spoke to me 'out of the blue' and at which time I felt I was 'dragged into the Kingdom'. My conversion happened whilst at a Baptist Church. I stayed there for 10 years during which time I became involved in the area of worship in the role of leader and coordinator.
Toward the end of those 10 years I got married to Toh Ng, a Malaysian Chinese. I was born a 'Darling' so it was nice to keep a bit of the 'old me'! He was the first Asian guy I'd ever met so I think it was a sense of intrigue that played a part of us getting together! I'm sure there was some chemistry too! It has been a wonderful blessing to be included into a new culture and the richness that has provided to my life. Ever since then I have also been acutely aware of cultural difference and the impact that can have.
Sensing God calling us to a deeper experience of ministry and life with Him, we felt to move to Sydney. Our Church involvement there included a short time with the Christian Life Centre, a 6 year association with a Vineyard Church plant in which we were part of the leadership team, and a brief attempt to do our own Church plant with the hope of doing something new. This lasted for about 12 months when we felt led to return to Adelaide and when I finally began to appreciate the slower pace and wonderful convenience that sleepy old Adelaide provides!
Trying to find a spiritual home has not been immediate. Going from Baptist, to Vineyard, and to Baptist Church Plant, we are now settled at the Austral Asian Community Church. With mostly Asians in the congregation I am surprised that I do not seem to notice 'difference', but 'sameness', and feel at home with them.
I am currently involved in the non and new Christian ministry which provides a rich cross section of new migrants from a variety of countries (predominantly mainland China), caucasian born Australians and Australian born Asians. I deal with people who have a variety of learning styles and life experiences.
Last year I completed a Master of Clinical Education, which is adult education applied to the health care context. I am currently studying part time doing a Master of Ministry and work part time at Flinders University in the School of Nursing working alongside, one on one, with students in the hospital venue.
I am pleased to be doing this course with Steve because I am keen to find new and creative ways to engage the people that God has placed in my life with the Biblical text.