Home group

Last night I went to church with the Apple Store guy, Ryan. He picked me up at the gate and we drove together to Rondebosch, the suburb that is home to the University of Cape Town. It wasn't really church, it was more like a Bible study or praise worship gathering. They call it "home group." Technically it is a cell church, one of several groups that is part of a much larger gathering on Sundays. Because the group meets close to the school, most of the people there were college age.

The larger gathers on Sundays for a more traditional church service. They are non-denominational, but gather under the name of New Covenant Ministries International. Last night was a basic charismatic and evangelical home church, first with prayer and Bible study (skipping between Job, the Psalms, and 1 Timothy), followed by some guitar and closed-eye, palms-up singing from the group. The video attached below gives a few seconds of the tone of the group. It was a really warm atmosphere.

But I should say that the first (and most impressive) thing was actually the popcorn. Natalie, the girl in whose apartment we were meeting (she has blonde hair in the photos below), popped up some popcorn in a pot. She then proceeded to follow a recipe on the back of the popcorn bag and produce from scratch the most delicious, warm, soft caramel popcorn I have ever tasted. It was appropriately divine.

I am keeping an anthropological distance in describing this group. I don't want to come off as judgmental, because for sure that's not the case. It is so completely distant from my own Episcopal/Anglican tradition that it's hard not to be a pure spectator. There is a certain wholehearted trust in God and Scripture that's hard to swallow sometimes. It is uncomfortable for me to listen to the Bible being read and interpreted in ways that seem to simplify or downplay the negative parts. The Bible is a complicated pieces of literature, and it's such fun to engage it and talk about it that way.

When questions were called for, I raised my hand and asked why we only talked about the parts where Job was faithful in his suffering, not the very beginning when it is written that all of Job's suffering results from a bet God made with Satan that Job would stay faithful. The question was tabled for another time, which was completely fine. I had to ask it though. There are hundreds of books written on this topic, and it is really the question about God's role in human suffering. Because if we want to believe in a benevolent deity, then what do we do with Job's God?

In any case, I enjoyed the home group, and afterwards I went out for drinks with Ryan from the Apple Store and Nico who is playing the guitar and leading the service. We sat for a couple of hours at a wine bar close to Wynberg called Oblivion. We talked some theology and we talked some Trinity. As in, Do I believe in the Trinity? Do I believe that Scripture is infallible? Is Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior? etc. Anyone who knows me might anticipate how I would answer these questions: with very long answers. Probably I could bore even the most enthusiastic proselytizers to the point that they wouldn't care if I were ever converted.

But there wasn't any mission work going on last night, and our conversation at the bar turned out to be the most pleasant kind of getting to know one another through lively conversation and laughter. I learned a lot, and I gained a whole group of South African friends. Also, I got myself invited on a trip to this place June 6-10. More will be revealed soon.