[and yes I'm not Jesus, cos i know what's going to follow the next dangerous statement - i feel we can learn from Him though] Jesus did this with the Pharisees and i feel like He did it with His disciples and the crowds, and most times publically – He called them on stuff – He pointed to how the kingdom operates – and often people got mad or felt bad or were sad [all of those are fine] – and He called them to a better way of living. in my defence i feel a WHOLE LOT STRONGER than anything i have ever commented on this topic – i think old brett [or younger brett?] would not have minced his words as much as i have – in terms of following Jesus and building the kingdom, so much of the church has almost completely lost the plot and Jesus kinda predicts this will happen on many occasions – see Matthew 7 for example – and to be honest my concern is that i sometimes don’t deliver the messages strongly enough for fear of annoying people – but i’m not living for people, i’m living for God and so i have to try and figure out what obedience to Him looks like, and if you read the prophetic voices of the old testament and even people like Jesus Himself, John the Baptist and Paul in the New Testament, they spoke a whole lot stronger than i usually do…

you [not Joel 'you' but the general 'you'] don’t think it’s acceptable that i write a strongly worded statement and make you feel guilty [which no-one else can ever do to you actually, we choose that, people can be catalysts] well i put it to you that it’s not okay that someone starves to death tonite while you throw away your second helping of food because you didn’t really like the taste, i contend that it’s unacceptable that someone lies on the street shivering themselves to sleep while you have a choice of five colours and thicknesses of blankets and so on… the level of not-okayness is just so ridiculously huge and accepted as the norm that it is going to take something monumental to bring about a shift… but that shouldn’t mean that any of us should be muted for in the smallest of ways trying to point people towards the light…

Don’t you get, that because this not a subject (soccer) that you are also guilty of being “passionate” about, that this comment, and particulalry its timing, can be seen as sarcastic and accusatory, espcially by those to whom you’ve inadvertedly aimed it (man u fans)?

Dont mix the discussion into something about your actions in general. I’ve already appluaded the blog post and what you have to say on it. I just think you were wrong to post on fb as you did and are not willing to admit it. Ala John Piper – Rob Bell, admittedly on a much smaller scale.

I’m quick to criticize the actions of people with great influential voices as I value the good things you do have to say, and so while I’m not good at being nice about, see this as a compliment. Anyways, I accept that I am not one of those aforementioned accountablilty people so I won’t say another word on the matter after this.

i totally agree with you on the ongoing process comment and that is something we have to do again and again and it becomes frustrating when you keep on finding new crap in your life and try and clear it up all the while trying not to end up purely law focused and going through the motionals… keep returning to God, keep clinging to the vine of John 15, keep being still and knowing that He is God and start again…

while it may be unrealistic, i completely do think that, may be my eternal optimist who pitches up when SA are 8 wickets down needing another 100 runs but more often than not i think i expect o anticipate the best in people which is why i generally tend towards calling them to it… do i get it wrong? probably. do i trip over my own brokenness? undoubtably. will that make me stop? probably not – keep testing my own actions and listening to the people i have invited to give strong accountability into my life and test the spirits of what others say and hopefully hear God more than i miss Him…

thankx for taking time to comment.