Building Bridges.....

People crying, people terrified. New York,San Bernadine,London,Manchester,Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Paris, Niece, Brussels, Ankara, Istanbul, Stockholm, Kenya, Copenhagen, Oslo, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Moscow, Amsterdam, India, Iraq, Germany, China, Syria, Kuwait,Nigeria, I can make the list longer. Terrible terrorist attacks, innocent people killed. We pray, we mourn, we cry, we stand together, we show love, we say we are never giving up or giving in, " Je sui"! That is the perhaps correct way to respond, but when is it time to be angry? when is it time to feel fed up, when is it time to say it is enough, when is it time for us all to talk about the elephant in the room.

A church must be operated “decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40).For this to happen there must be administration.This is not for one man to do, it is a real team work but as in every team there has to be ONE leader in charge. Of course, this ONE leader in charge is the pastor. So what is the role of a Pastor? is that to be a administrator ? I read the following from Pastoral Ministry by John MacArthur "Concerning the role of the pastor, the Bible says a great deal. The primary terms that describe the role of the pastor are “elder,” “bishop,” and “teacher” (1 Timothy 3:1-13). “Elder,” or episkopos (from which we get our word episcopal) refers to the oversight of the believers, and it involves teaching, preaching, caring, and exercising authority where needed. The elder also serves in the church as leader and teacher. In Titus 1:5-9, Paul urges Titus to "appoint elders in every city." They will teach and lead the congregation in their spiritual development. A

Some years ago I read the book " everyone communicates, but few connect" by John Maxwell. A very interesting and helpful book. It is true that there is a distinct difference between communicating and connecting and not everyone thinks about , connecting. It is also true that communication is not only what you say, it is also what you are not saying. We have a lot to learn about communication, but what then when there is no communication at all? Have you the experience of that? are you that person that very seldom communicates or are you that person that are the subject for "no communication"? Failure to communicate effectively often leads to conflict, which can harm an organisation. Poor communication can create conflict in a number of ways. Totally lack of communication can create uncertainty that leads to stress and conflict. So start communicate but do it properly. Take a moment to think who you are communicating to, what it is and why you are

Some say as a Christian you should not become political in your reasoning's. I really wonder where this comes from!? For me politics is very import and, so is my Christian faith. I really Think Christians should get more involved in politics but perhaps not support and work in specific political parties. If we for instance look at Sweden, who very early separated the state and Church. Often we hear that your faith is something personal, something for you to keep for your self. To do on your free time. With the very large population of Muslims in Sweden and with this arguments, there is a vacuum. For Muslims there is no separations between their faith and politics. For them religion is Everything. That's why its a Clash in the society when Muslims start living here, and the Swedish politicians don't know what to do. As Professor N.T Wright puts it " we as Christians should be mirrors and tell politicians, people in Power what they do wrong or Wright"

Today my friend Kirk spoke at our service at church on Joseph. He had many questions for us and the first two were: •Q#1: What is the worst thing that you have ever done to someone else? •Q#2: What is the worst thing that someone else has ever done to you? We were not supposed to anserw them during the service, but to write them down, take them home, pray about it, and then take the anserw to the cross and nail them there. First I was very certain about my answer. It was lying on both the questions. But at home I felt something else. It was the same answer on both the questions this time as well but the answer was: not giving people that are close to me time and attention. Just think for yourself for a minute. Do you remember what you got on your 11th birthday? 15th birthday, at Christmas? Perhaps you remember if it was something very spectacular, but in general you do remember when your mother or fahter spend time with you, when they took you somewhere, when the