Month: July 2024

In Paris, the Olympic games have started. A grand moment for the French capital to present itself to the world and put its best up for display. But Air France/KLM is not too happy about it, because many people stay away from Paris, because of the burning Olympic fire and the chaos that the games will cause. It seems that there are still many hotel rooms available, and the restaurants are quite empty; ‘normal’ visitors are staying away, because of the havoc of organizing the Olympic venues smack in the middle of the city.  The Oeschinersee, close to Kandersteg in the Berner Alps, has been named a world-heritage site a while ago. The lake really is stunningly beautiful and has a serenity that is astounding. The place has since attracted so many tourists, that it tends to overcrowd. Instead of having to put in some effort, walk up to the lake and enjoy the pristine Alpine surroundings, people are whisked up by a gondola and then transported with an electro cart to the lake. There they pose for 15 selfies and are then transported back to the gondola, where they can have a cheeseburger and other non-Swiss snacks, before they hop on the gondola back down again. They have paved over paradise. A friend told me that some place close to where she lives has been declared a world-heritage site too. I told her: “Don’t be too happy about it, it might just spoil the beauty of it.” There are many examples of beautiful places that are overrun by tourists, because they have become famous on social media: Iseltwald in Switzerland where people are crowding each other out to take a picture on the famous pier, Venice that is levying a fee to get in, to keep mass tourism at bay, Amsterdam where people traffic is so dense that pickpockets have free reign. Every upside has its challenges. A growing, happening church has more challenges than a declining and dying church. More people = more cooperation = more conflicts = more challenges = more grace needed. The upside of personal and spiritual growth also has its challenges. More growth brings more responsibility. When growing spiritually, you become more interesting for the adversary, the devil, to curb that growth and take you out. He’ll use any means to do that. By your own mistakes, circumstances, or just by lulling you back into oblivion. In Romans 12, the apostle Paul tells us:For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:3-5) “Think of yourself with sober judgment.” Better to grow solidly and firmly like an oak tree, than a beansprout grows in a day and is gone tomorrow. Make sure your spiritual growth and stability is networked in a body of believers, where your growth is not only dependent on yourself, but can be borne by a community. Quick wins are often quickly lost. Perpetuate growth by anchoring it.

Today, I had to deal with a Dutch bank to register an address change. I already searched their website for a couple of hours, to see how I can register that. They directed me to their telebanking or their app, but I don’t have either of them, because I don’t have a regular bank account with them. The only thing I have with them is a small ‘third pillar’ retirement account since donkey’s years. At long last, I decided to visit one of their offices in the Netherlands. But that’s not so easy, because they only have a handful left. They force their clients to do everything online. I spent half my (holi)day travelling there to find the office. After waiting for almost an hour, I got to hear that they can’t help me at the office. I had to call a helpline. After spending about 3 hours on the phone, I got my address changed. Victory! Most banks seem to think that the clients exist for them, not the other way around. That is why changing a simple address has cost me something like 10 hours work. (I must say that my experience with Swiss banks has overall been much better than dealing with Dutch banks; chapeau!) But such a story is not unique to banks. Three weeks ago, I wanted to contact another church. I left a message on their answering service, and I left a message on their website. Until the day of today, I never received a reply. I thought to myself: “just imagine that you’re a congregant that needs urgent assistance.” We are not talking yet about the help desks of internet providers, cable companies, telephone companies, doctor’s offices, medical specialists and the like. I know, it’s all human work and people make mistakes or don’t pay attention. But we all like to get the impression that we’re taken seriously and not for granted. That we don’t communicate into a void in which nothing is heard. Hear the words of the Psalmist:I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;he heard my cry for mercy.Because he turned his ear to me,I will call on him as long as I live.Psalm 116:1+2 When we speak to God, we never speak in a void. He’s not like some of the banks, he’s not like the service phone for the cable company, he’s not too busy. Maybe you know the words of this old song: Reach out and touch the Lord, as He goes by; you will find He’s not too busy, to hear your heart’s cry; He is waiting just this moment, your needs to supply. Reach out, and touch the Lord, as he goes by. And if you wonder what his phone number or password is, it is spelled J-E-S-U-S. Direct line!

Seismic Swift   Last week, Taylor Swift performed in the Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich for 50’000 people. According to SRF, the Swiss Seismological Service, reported that eight seismometers (machines that detect tremors in the earth) detected tremors as far away as six kilometers from the stadium.   Apparently, Taylor and her Swifties had some ‘impact’ and that was measurable. Probably, Taylor’s tour also has some impact on her wallet, because all her performances are sold out and her dedicated fans are over the moon to finally see her performing again and pay big money for their tickets.   ‘Impact’ is a big thing for many businesses and organizations. Pharma companies are hoping for a big, positive impact with the new medicines they introduce. Big financial gains often come in the wake of big impact.   In the NGO development world in which I have worked for seven years before I came to Basel, impact is a very important thing. If you can concretely show to your donors (especially to institutional donors like governments, USAid, European Union) what kind of positive impact your interventions have on individuals and communities, they are ready to give you more money for additional development programs.   What impact do we as people of faith have on the world around us? And I don’t mean the impact on seismometers like Taylor Swift’s concert had. What positive impact do we have on how our families function? What positive impact happens when we are part of a team in the company we work for? What good impact do we have on the neighborhood we live in? What impact do we have through the conversations we have with others?    ‘Impact’ speaks for itself in the NGO development world and brings the next grants in. The same effect happens when our impact is that of integrity, fun, honesty and kindness. It speaks for itself.   You are the salt of the earth, Matthew 5:13.Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone, Colossians 4:6   Our faith spices things up. It keeps decay away. It brings out the flavors. It has impact.We can do better than Taylor and her Zürich concert.

It is games galore this summer! The European football championship will get to its climax this Sunday with the final. Various countries that are represented in our church community can still be crowned winners of this soccer tournament! On the same day, the Wimbledon tennis tournament will culminate in the men’s final. The classic cycling competition Tour de France is racing through France and will climax on Sunday a week later. And if that is not enough, on July 26th, the Olympics start in Paris. It is still unsure whether the swimmers will be able to swim their race in the dirty river Seine or not; but race they will! I’m enjoying all that adrenaline and sportsmanship. I love the emotion and the engaged crowds who are watching, cheering and screaming. But sometimes I also think of the saying ‘Bread and Circuses’ to pacify the people. There is much going on in our world, but it seems that 22 men kicking a piece of inflated leather around a grass field seem more important than solving serious issues. Here is a thought from the Bible:  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:23-25 We need to focus on running the right race, with the right attitude and appropriate effort. It is not for a shining cup or a big bonus we are training and putting in effort. It is for a glorious inheritance that is waiting for us. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 Let’s get that prize!

School’s out for summer! Six or more weeks of bliss, freedom, rest, sun and warmth. At least, that’s what we hope for. With the versatile spring weather we had, we don’t know if we will have some stable summer weather this year. Many of us will be going away for a few weeks. Probably you are looking forward to it. I hope it will be all that you desire it to be. But there is no guarantee. No matter how good the weather will turn out, how wonderful the location will be, the fun activities that are on the menu… You take yourself and the ones that come along with you. It seems that at the end of August, there is always a spike in divorces and relationship break-ups. That is attributed to a few things: a) the summer holidays have been a disappointment; b) partners come to the conclusion they don’t have anything to say to each other anymore, and c) being together as a family can be very stressful if the rest of the year consists of individual persons living their own lives in a setting in which not much interaction is required. Here are a few tips to make your summer holidays a success: Here is a Bible portion to ponder when we think about getting ‘real rest’. In The Message we read this: The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey, we’ll surely rest with God. So, let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11 I wish you a splendid summer holidays, whether you will be away or at home. And when you are home, we hope we will see you in the services. During July Sundays only at 10:00 in the morning!