Top Bible Teachings

Top Bible Teachings

I asked my Bible study group to list their three most important Bible teachings, and to explain one. I was quite impressed with their answers, and their explanations were really lively. They prioritised them more or less like this so highlight the below 

Hello Jeremy. I made sure I had a good sleep yesterday, in preparation for my comeback. I woke up last night with a nightmare. Then I woke up in terror, and needed to get control of my now waking thoughts. This morning I overcame my paralysis. For context, the latest saga began when I reported the SAPS for baseless charges against me, and a cover-up. So, today I asked the Legal Practice Council to check on IPID’s chief advocate. Copied to IPID. The advocate is in trouble. Before my shutdown, IPID asked me for information. Today my ISP reports that they blocked me multiple times. They don’t know that I know. But they ruled, no response, case closed. I’ll need to tackle this, which looks like a big one. So an IPID operative accessed protected information re the gunmen. It tok him two days after my deposition. I myself had authorised this, he claimed. I asked to see the authorisation, a PAIA request. I received a long and irate letter from ... guess who. The head of IPID. That tells me that they have a problem. The PAIA request lost in this fury, and the head himself made an illegal misstep. This is what I think is happening, just a guess. The Dept. of Police read the riot act to IPID in my case, and IPID decided to shut it all down, by all ways and means. The SAHRC, too, got back to me, with a historical item. Before the gunmen came for me, I put it to the SAHRC. I forgot about that. Today I said to the SAHRC, listen guys, I was nearly killed over this. That’s all I said. But the SAHRC revealed a problem, too: most of our communications are gone. I raised another, major issue with the SAHRC before my recent shutdown. Today I followed up: where is that case? I have no signs of life. I am again angry at my bishop, mocking my story. Now all this, today. And he wants to see me for coffee next week. I’m in no mind to see him. I gave much attention to matters of faith, because I needed to. And issues of philosophy. I am on medications, though, which I may not take without food, and I had a ‘severe’ reaction to the vaccine (that one), so I didn’t want to risk a fast. I have fasted before. I want to ask you for fresh input. I have a habit of living a care-free life, or should I say a life of denial, then setting aside special days to tackle the problems. This last time, I was too terrified to set aside that day. This is going to be a saga going forward. It looks awful. How would you manage it, with my (maybe) denial habit in mind?

I handed information of the police cover-up to IPID, but it has become a bit frightening, so I asked them today to shut down all communications with me, with everyone.  So this was the sequence of events.  By now there is evidence to back all of it up, except for the few lines here in grey.  

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• The police criminally charged me (Mans)
• They covered it up at a high level (Jefta)

Now on to 2018 ...

• A Prosecutor (Jacobs) e-mailed me. 
• I discovered then that Jacobs was involved in the cover-up.  I brought charges against Jacobs
• Two police stations (Central, Camps Bay) refused to take a statement. 
• I opened a case at Woodstock
• The investigator said that this would disappear, so he specially made copies for me.  It disappeared. 
• I went to Woodstock, asked for the case number.  The Shift Commander threw me against the wall. 
• I pressed on, and charges entered the system
• The Cape Town Commander (Hansraj) handed the file to a General (Reddy)
• There was a security breach at Police Management on a Sunday afternoon, and records of the case were deleted.
• Reddy handed the file to Jacobs, and Jacobs signed his own case against Jacobs withdrawn, handing it back to Reddy 
  
• I had an exchange with Hansraj about this, verbal and SMS
• The exchange was frightening, so I copied my SIM messages to my camera card
• Three days later, I was taken by gunmen, who were carrying police standard issue semi-automatics
• First thing, they erased Hansraj's SMSes from my phone, and handed me back the SIM card 
• They questioned me about Jacobs
• Two gunmen spent 90 minutes examining my papers
  
• They also took some of my valuables.  I was confused
• I asked for my camera card back.  They returned it, with the SMSes
• Then they posted an armed guard, but I made an escape, which was risky across open terrain 
• A local resident offered me a smartphone, but with my finger still poised over the first digit, the police (Athlone) picked me up 
• My statement to Athlone was intended for Sea Point, but Cape Town intercepted it
• The Sea Point Commander (Engelbrecht) suspected that the SAPS city squad abducted me
• The detective (Botha) suspected the two gunmen (a third man joined them) were police
• I have not heard anything otherwise, and the case is still open.  They say they arrested the third man.
• The gunmen promised to come back for me. Apparently they did
• Information from Google showed that my stolen computer accessed IPID, SAPS. and city squad websites, including SAPS gun licensing
• An officer came round to Ester and me, but did not identify himself.  He took a letter signed by Jacobs
• I filed a confidential deposition with an attorney (O'Sullivan).  Within a day, IPID sent me a snippet.  I also made a confidential deposition with a friend of yours and mine. 
• Now in September, I found crucial evidence, and had it checked out thoroughly.  It proved both that I was charged, and that there was a cover-up. 
• I referred the information to IPID Cape Town (Meyer)
• IPID Cape Town sought to shut it down, with the help of the SAPS.
• The SAPS (surprisingly) refused.  They told me to take it back to IPID
• Now there was chaos and panic.  My information was sent to the same server where the security breach happened. 
• I asked IPID to shut it all down, for my safety. 

DEPOSITION

I, the undersigned,

          THOMAS OLIVER SCARBOROUGH
          ID No. 600529 5015 08 8

do hereby make oath and state that:

• I am an adult male minister of religion, and a philosophy editor.  I reside at 37A Molteno Road, Oranjezicht, Cape Town.  My cell-phone number is 076-8394439.  My e-mail address is scarborough@fuller.edu.  The facts deposed to herein are within my own personal knowledge, unless otherwise stated, and are true and correct. 
• On 2 August 2018, I entered an expilicit agreement with police investigator Sgt. Botha of Sea Point, not to make full disclosure in the case Sea Point CAS 13/1/2018, which describes my abduction at gunpoint.  I here depose a full statement, though not in full detail.  It is supported by various evidences (see below).

MY ABDUCTION

• On 31 July 2018, at about 7:15 pm, I was abducted, or taken, or hijacked at gunpoint while pickung up my wife Ester from work in Bantry Bay, Cape Town.  The gunmen called themselves Jason and Nick.  They were later joined by a third man. 
• The men pointed out several times that they carried Z88 police issue guns, and showed them to me.  They took me in my 2002 VW Citi Golf. 
• They seemed well spoken, sharp thinking, and clean, not youngsters.  They described to me how they would kill me, yet were continually apologetic.
• Both the Sea Point Police and the Community Policing Forum stated that there were no similar incidents in the precinct, ever.
• Both detective Sgt. Botha of Sea Point, and a forensics officer, said that the incident was 'strange' and 'funny'.  At no time did I suggest it was the police, yet Sgt. Botha, when taking a statement on 2 August 2018, said that the third man was 'not the police'.

LOSS OF VALUABLES

• The gunmen took several items of value, and some cash.  This information is contained in detail in my statement to Sgt. Botha. 
• At about 8:00 pm, they stopped to pick up a third man around Athlone, Cape Town.  
• At this stop, they tried to access two of my bank accounts at ATMs, and succeeded in accessing my cheque account.
• They finally left me in my car in a cul-de-sac near a field with popwer pylons, and placed the third man with a small red car as a lookout, blocking the entrance to the cul-de-sac.  His attention lapsed, and I escaped.
• Before I could call the police, a police van had arrived.  I told people on the scene that I was surprised that the van was 'on the spot'.  It was far from the police station. 
• I made my initial statement at the Athlone police station CAS 1/8/2018.
• The forensics officer expressed surprise that the Athlone police did not examine my car.

SEARCH OF PAPERS

• Since December 2013, there were multiple raids on my papers.  I therefore carried all critical papers with me (almost) all the time.
• With a Z88 to my side, and a Z88 to my back, Jason made about 30 minutes' search of my papers, questioning me repeatedly about them, and taking notes.  There was special interest in my address, what my relationship was with the police, and a letter signed by Senior Prosecutor D.A. Jacobs.
• Jason swapped places, and swapped a gun, with the third man, who made about 15 minutes' search of my papers. They returned the papers to me.  I believe they returned all of them.
• Afterwards, an officer from police Forensics paid me a surprise visit, and took a letter for analysis, which was the letter signed by Jacobs. 
• Jason and Nick took my computer, but Jason debated continually whether they should return it to me or not. 

DELETION OF DATA

• Jason took my router with its SIM card, and returned the SIM card to me. 
• He took my cell-phone SIM card, and deleted several outgoing and incoming SMSs from the card, then handed the card back to me.  He deleted those SMSes, and only and all those SMSes, marked with the number 082-5594586, which is the personal number of Brig. H. Hansraj. 
• He took a 32GB SD card from my camera, and handed it back to me, on my request.  I said that it held photos of my son's recent wedding.
• He took a 32GB backup of my computer from my wallet, also an SD card, and kept it. 

BACKGROUND

• On 28 July 2018, I had what I regarded as a serious and potentially dangerous confrontation with Brig. Hansraj, through a flurry of SMSs.
• I immediately sent a copy of one of these SMSes to my son Matthew, calling it a 'Safety backup'.  The intention was that, if something happened to me, I wanted there to be a clue.
• On 30 July 2018, on instinct, I took the unusual step of backing up all these SMSes from my SIM card.
• On 31 July 2018 I was abducted at gunpoint.  Jason erased these SIM messages only, and handed me back the SIM card.
• But I had made the backup to my camera SD card.  Jason handed the camera SD card back to me, with the SMSs.  Without that, I could not prove that the confrontation happened.
• An erasure happened shortly before this.  On 8 July 2018, an MDN proves that complaints involving Brig. Hansraj and Col. S.S. Reddy were deleted from the Policing Complaints system in Cape Town, on a Sunday afternoon, when Policing Complains was closed.  I suppose an intrusion.

BROADER BACKGROUND

• In 2013, I was charged twice without basis.  Only one docket remains in the archive, namely Sea Point CAS 525/05/2013.  I repeatedly put the police under pressure to show me the docket, without success.  At the same time, I experienced many search and seizure raids, sabotage (some dangerous), and robbery.  The intruders went to extremes in their searches. 
• I opened scattered cases as things occurred.  In every case there were violations of police standard operating procedure, and in some cases, police prevented me from reporting.  
• Finally I opened one consolidated case with Sgt. Cloete of Woodstock, after enormous police resistance.  Among other things, I was assaulted by the Woodstock Shift Commander. 
• Col. Reddy, under personal supervision of Brig. Hansraj, took the case from investigator W/O Thomas, and closed it in gross violation of procedure.  Anthony Owen of IPID, a friend of Brig. Hansraj, informed her of the case.
• Capt. Loock of Police Management Intervention advised me to lay charges against Col. Reddy.  Sgt. Cloete so advised me in advance.  But Col. Moll of Woodstock refused the charges.

DANGER

• Sgt. Botha and I expressly agreed that I would not make full statement to police.
• I believe that I may be in danger, and in danger of my life, specifically from police.  However, I note that this is not proven without doubt.  I have also been threatened with baseless charges, as I experienced already in 2013. 
• If there should be any threat or harm to my person, from any source including criminal, or if there should be any charges against me, for which there is no cause, I ask that Brig. Hansraj and Col. Reddy be regarded as prime suspects. 
• In the interests of completeness, at about this time, on 29 July 2018, I attended a Church Meeting of Sea Point Evangelical Congregational Church. In this meeting, they revealed that they had again appointed a bogus auditor, according to the IRBA.
• Also in the interests of completeness, I brought internal charges against Sen. Prosecutor Jacobs about a week before my abduction.
• And on 16 February 2018, I signed an affidavit which I filed with the Medical Board of the HPCSA, in regard to Dr. Mike Nicholas.  Among other things, it stated that the SAHRC advised charges against the doctor.

PRINTED ATTACHMENTS

• A copy of my original consolidated affidavit. 
• A composite of SMSes exchanged with Brig. Hansraj, on one page.  These were photo backups of my cell-phone screen.
• A copy of the MDN which proves the erasure of information at Policing Complaints.
• A letter from the NPA which proves the consideration of a complaint against Sen. Prosecutor Jacobs.
• The Safety Backup I sent as a 'clue' in case something should happen to me.
• An exchange with Brig. Hansraj and Col. Reddy which lays out some of the confrontation.

FILES DEPOSITED

• Copies of all of the above printed attachments.
• Unedited original backup photos of the confrontation with Brig. Hansraj.
• Audio recordings which relate to this statement.
• 10.9 GB of files which provide a great amount of detail related to the consolidated charges.


Signed at CAPE TOWN this ___________ day of ______________ 2018.


_____________________________________________
THOMAS OLIVER SCARBOROUGH

I certify that:

1. The Deponent acknowledged to me that:
 1.1.  He knows and understands the contents of this Declaration;
 1.2.  He has no objection to taking the prescribed oath;
 1.3.  He considers the prescribed oath to be binding on her conscience.
2. The Deponent thereafter uttered the words, “I swear that the contents of this Declaration are true, so help me God”.
3. The Deponent signed this declaration in my presence at the address set out hereunder on this ___________ day of ______________ 2018.


_____________________________
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS 

Hi Thomas,

That is shocking (hadn’t heard of this before) and it begs the question what information these people think you are still holding to go through such great lengths to intimidate and harass you. What did they tell you when they abducted you?

I am wondering if you should try and have a consultation with someone like Gerrie Nel or Paul O’Sullivan to get some advice on how to go about the matter.

I agree that if the investigator advises you not to make a full statement (presumably that there is a fear that same could fall into the wrong hands, why else would they request same?), then you need to record this somewhere and maybe you should depose to a full affidavit for record purposes.

Christian Leadership in Africa

One of my last MA assignments was to establish what Christian leadership was in Africa. This was harder than I thought. I turned to Christian leadership curriculae, and sorted subjects by order of priority. The subjects which dominated the curriculae were knowledge of the Word, interpretation of the Word, and communication of the Word. Leadership principles and leadership character, which are prioritised in the West, were at the very bottom of the list. OBSERVATION: Why? It would seem to me that the Word itself is viewed as guaranteeing effective leadership (respectively, followership), and in theological terms, I would think that the doctrine of the means of grace lies behind this, combined with a belief in an interventionist God.

Calculating Ministry Dropout

Both my MTh and MA studies had much to do with ministry dropout. According to US statistics, one may expect a halving of survival in ministry every ten years -- which is pretty disastrous. Therefore, what are the chances that you (or your minister) should have survived in ministry at this point in time? Take the present year and subtract the year that you started in full-time ministry. In my case, this gives me 28. Divide by 10. Add 1. In my case, this now gives me 3.8. Call this figure y. Now calculate 2^y (your calculator should have an xy button, so you type 2 xy y =). Divide the result by 2. In my case, I now have 6.96. Call this figure z. Now calculate 100 ÷ z. That's your percentage chance of survival -- in my case about 14%. OBSERVATION: Note that statistics outside of the USA might well look better than this. Also, statistics within the USA may vary -- some better, some worse. If you borrow my Scarborough Dropout Formula, do mention this blog.

Being vs. Doing

A major discussion in Christian leadership today is being vs. doing. It was a major emphasis of my last term at Fuller Theological Seminary. Thus it is said that Christian leadership is not about what I do, it's about who I am. Part of the reason for emphasising being vs. doing is that doing has led to widespread dropout in the past (an emphasis on achievement, but character fails, or burnout ensues, and so on). However, I consider that being and doing are merely different aspects of the same. Those phrases "what I do" and "who I am" have one word in common: "I". I have called this an inordinate emphasis on self, in both cases -- whether one is speaking of doing or of being. I think this to be the real, underlying problem in dropout.

Love Without A Lover

I have been reading a prescribed book which is trendy in academia: Metaphors of Ministry. While it is of a high academic standard, it would seem to illustrate all that ails ministry in North America. The book describes dozens of Biblical "images of leadership". However, in making the characteristics of the Christian leader its primary and almost exclusive focus, it would seem to promote the imitation of love without a Lover. That is the problem.

The Lord's Work

I consider that there are basically two ways of looking at ministry -- it's your work, or it's the Lord's work. The difference may be subtle. One may trust God to make one a superhero, rather than trusting Him to use one's nothingness. I think this is one of the most important things to know about ministry -- it's not your work. He saves people, He grows people -- a minister just walks in, walks out, watches what God does, drinks coffee and watches the clouds go by.

Church Demographics

I am seeking to address some "warm topics" in our Church -- with a little help from various friends, who are joining me. This Sunday, the subject is demographics, or the way that a Church is made up -- age, income, and so on. I make some observations about our Church's demographics, then sketch two approaches. To put it simply, one may either seek to engineer a Church's demographics, or one may consider that God Himself shapes its demographics. I take the second approach. In this case, faithfulness to a few spiritual basics is important, and the Holy Spirit accomplishes the rest. For an example of the "engineering" approach, see Selling Jesus to Saddleback Sam.

African Christian Leadership

In a recent post (African Christian Leadership), I showed that knowledge of the Word, interpretation of the Word, and communication of the Word are subjects which dominate Christian leadership curriculae in Africa. Leadership principles and leadership character are at the bottom of the list. Why is this? It would seem to me that the Word itself is viewed as guaranteeing effective leadership (respectively, followership). In theological terms, I would think that the doctrine of the means of grace lies behind this -- and that implies a form of supernaturalism. Other suggestions would be welcome.

Jesus: "Failed Mentor"

Stanley and Clinton define mentoring as "a relational experience in which one person empowers another ..." With this in mind, Jesus is frequently portrayed as the ultimate mentor. For instance, Campbell, Chancy, and Stanley state: "Jesus was (and is) the ultimate mentor." However, Andrew Murray suggests in his book Humility (1895) that Jesus failed as a mentor -- or maybe rather, that His disciples failed. As the prime example, Murray offers the words of Jesus: "Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt 11:29) -- and then the scene at the Last Supper: "There was a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest" (Luke 22:24). So they learnt nothing. It was only when they received power from on high that things changed. OBSERVATION: The same logic may apply, in ministry, to preaching, teaching, counselling, leadership, and so on.

Motivating Factors

I recently read an article: Motivating Factors for Ministry, by Christian leadership professor Dr. Bobby Clinton. He asks: "What motivates you in ministry?" and lists nine factors. Yet it is interesting to note that my own most crucial motivating factors are not on the list -- not even at the bottom of it. I'd put this down to typical differences between Global North and South. For instance, near the top of my list would be -- to put it very simply -- God's faithfulness. Related to this, there is little if anything in Dr. Clinton's (750-word) list to suggest that God does anything but work in me, in my ministry. Here are the nine motivating factors for ministry that Dr. Bobby Clinton identifies: ♦ finishing well ♦ the return of Christ ♦ one's giftedness ♦ confidence in the power of the gospel ♦ a burden to minister ♦ the resurrection ♦ handling God's Word for impact ♦ the perspective of eternity, and ♦ love for Christ. That's in his book Titus: Apostolic Leadership (much expanded there).

"Live And Let Live" Theology

In a recent class debate, a fellow postgraduate student commented: "Thomas, your live and let live theology from below is a fresh and empowering approach that could have transformational impact in the lives of believers. ... Can you elaborate on how this works in your Church? Does a member get to write his or her own creed for their own life? Are they free to interpret Scripture situationally without regard to exegetical integrity or a commonly upheld hermeneutical understanding? Does this happen by a committee of the priesthood of believers?" OBSERVATION: These aren't easy questions, and I won't try to answer them here. What I said was basically the following: that our Church's (vernacular) theology is enriched and shaped by diverse spiritual input, or ministry by members -- however, one needs to take certain risks in order to do that, and some Churches won't entertain it. We sometimes need to wink an eye at what we hear. I do agree that our approach is "fresh and empowering".

"Psychologically Regressive"

At a recent theological forum I encountered something I have frequently encountered in recent theology, and it disturbs me. In the debate, alternative theological viewpoints were characterised, dozens of times, as being "regressive" or "psychologically regressive". Similarly, in my postgraduate studies, free Church tenets have been described as "dangerous", faith-based leadership as "irresponsible", and so on. OBSERVATION: Personally, I don't think such language belongs in theological debate, even if it is backed up with charts and graphs.

Lessons From Nehemiah

I completed draft work for a group study of Nehemiah tonight. Typically, in Christian leadership studies, Nehemiah is presented as a man of character. Ted Engstrom epitomises this approach: “We see how great he was." Yet what I have discovered through the study is that the breakthroughs of Nehemiah's leadership are routinely preceded by an appeal to the acts of God. For instance, he informs the citizens of Jerusalem "of the hand of God which was good on me". It is then that the people respond: "Let us rise up and build." Or when faced with their first major adversity, Nehemiah proclaims: "The God of heaven, He will prosper us." It is then that "Eliashab the high priest rose up." OBSERVATION: In my own ministry, I continually seek to reveal what God is doing. There are important parallels to this dynamic in the Bible, e.g. Moses and Aaron (Exod 4:31) and Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:12).

Leadership Not About Leadership

I wrote to my US leadership professor today that Christian leadership in Africa may, in an important sense, not be about leadership. To put this in other words, a Westerner may not recognise African leadership training by looking at the curriculum or the textbooks. US leadership training typically focuses on the leader, while African leadership training often focuses on aspects of leadership thought to be more central than the leader himself / herself: the Holy Spirit, homiletics, prayer, the task at hand, and so on.

Evangelical [Or Not]

The way that "evangelicalism" is understood has changed during the past generation. One tends to find the old understanding e.g. in Africa -- while one tends to find the new understanding e.g. in North America. One newer definition says that evangelicalism "affirms the centrality of Scripture" -- another that it "is rooted in Scripture" (one would include the early creeds and Reformation tenets in the picture). The old understanding, however, is that evangelicalism "correlates with Scripture", or words to that effect. So in the new understanding, a theologian may claim, say, that much of the Torah was borrowed from the Canaanites after the Exodus -- as an example, Hans Schwarz. Yet Schwarz (see the scan -- you may click on it to enlarge) is described today as a fine evangelical. This is because his writing "affirms the centrality of Scripture". However, it would be hard to say that (much of) it "correlates with Scripture". OBSERVATION: Often, these different understandings of evangelicalism are used without distinction today.