Notices by Dr Jonathan Downie (multilingualchurch@theres.life)

@fuat2mb It's when spiritual leaders (pastors, ministers etc) use their position to abuse people psychologically. In my case, it involved all sorts of tricks to restrict or control my relationships with people outside the church, convincing me that being developed for leadership involved being molded to be like the pastor (rather than like Christ), being drawn in with promises of development and leadership and then those being pulled away and that repeated, being regularly torn down, etc.

As someone who suffered spiritual abuse, it's so healing to be in a healthy church.

@fuat2mb I have built two consulting packages for churches who are looking to become multilingual.

Had two very cool video conferences this week. It seems like consulting might be taking off.

Sigh.
Before I even started my PhD, I attended a summer school called The Nida School, named after Bible translator and founding theorist, Eugene Nida, whom I even got to meet a couple of days before the start of the summer school but I digress.

Anyway, the Nida School played a big part in my researcher development, linked me up with some cool other researchers, and ended up creating space for a later workshop I'd go on to co-ordinate. I even hoped to go back one day.

But the Nida School has shed its links to Bible translation, has a different team behind it and has gone all theoretical and philosophical, at the same time as I'm trying to think more practically and working through how to get better at using my research to make a duff to churches.

I can't fully put my finger on why the growing gap between me and the Nida School is actually affecting me. Maybe it's a reminder that I never will fit into the traditional academic mode and will be doing any research as an outsider, scraping whatever funding and opportunities God gives, outside of universities. Maybe because it feels like cutting loose a part of my story. Maybe it's because there is no summer school for my interests anywhere in the world.

I don't know. I'm just sad and disappointed and maybe a little bit lonely. I don't know if anyone can relate but here felt a safe space to share.

@fuat2mb Due out in February.

Actual final book draft submitted.

@rose_myrtle Anything by Fossil or Samsung will use magnetic ring charging. Not wireless but no poking contacts to wear down and both surfaces are slightly curved, with no edges.

Don't eat an alarm clock.
It's time consuming.

#DadJoke

@Big_Diggity I tried to make a belt out of herbs. It was a waist of thyme.

@fuat2mb That's fantastic!

Pentecostal worship:
There's enough truth in that one line to sing it 1000 times.

Baptist worship:
There's enough truth in that one Bible verse to sing a whole song about it.

Gospel:
There's enough truth in that story to sway and clap about.

Hymn:
We got that truth 300-500 years ago and we haven't changed the words or cut off verse 17 since then.

The Psalms:
Cool! Let me show you how all of that is Biblical. Also, have you heard about songs of lament, and justice, and repentance, and...?

@rose_myrtle IKEA exists yet so do furniture makers. Injection molding exists, yet so do blacksmiths. The idea that AI will replace humans is a pernicious myth. There will always be space for artisans.

I was thinking about #influence today.

In a decade or so, most of the popular and debated theology books and Christian Bestsellers will be only available from second-hand bookshops and specialist libraries.

In a week or so, that viral tweet or popular toot will be all but forgotten.

But 408 years ago, a man called Nicolas Herman, was born in an unremarkable town to a peasant family. Much of his adult life revolved around doing dishes in a French monastery. As far as we know, he never wrote a single book, nor did he go on a promotional tour.

But he left a deep impact on people. So much so that, after his death, letters he has sent were collated into a book. This book, The Practice of The Presence of God, published under the name of Brother Lawrence, the name Nicolas took in the monastery, is still read today and still affects people, hundreds of years after he died.

One ordinary man's peace and desire to always be close to God affected generations after generations.

What does that mean to me?
I would rather chase what God says is meaningful than what the world rushes after. I'm probably not going to influence generations like Brother Lawrence but I can influence my family and I can seek the Kingdom first, just like he did, and just like Jesus told us too.

#theologadon #theology #books

Just had a big disappointment about work. I'd really appreciate it if some #Christians on Mastodon could join me in prayer for some very stubborn mountains to move and in particular for more paid church interpreting and consulting work.

@Big_Diggity Race you!

My oldest son told me to (re?)post this one.

A man is looking at a new car. The sales person has shown him the power steering, the powerful engine, the automatic braking and the GPS.

The man says "and the cargo space?"

"No," says the sales person. "Car no go space. Rocket go space. Car go road."

#DadJoke
#ProbablyARepost