William Chong

The New Zealand media spotlight generally falls on Christians under two circumstances. Firstly, if there’s a tragedy or loss of life that involves a Christian individual or group. And secondly, if there’s any whiff of a scandal, controversy or a public fall from grace. So there was a strange juxtaposition this week when on the same evening that TVNZ’s Close-Up was running a piece on the legacy of tragically-slain good Samaritan (and devout Christian) Austin Hemmings, TV3′s 6pm News broke a story of Destiny Church wanting to establish a standalone community in South Auckland. The Dominion Post subsequently reported denials of a plan for a “walled city“.

The TV3 news report said this:

“Destiny Church is planning to create a holy city for its followers in the heart of South Auckland.

The church’s leader, Bishop Brian Tamaki has told supporters the plans are well advanced, and that donations for the project have topped $2.4 million.

He is urging church members to sell up their homes around the country and move to his promised land – a suggestion that is not being welcomed by everyone.

Tamaki unveiled his vision in front of thousands of parishioners at Destiny Church’s 10th birthday conference.

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Tamaki told his parishioners the city will hold a church to seat 5000, maraes, medical centres and schools, so his parishioners never have to leave.

“Every child of every member of this church will never go to a state school again,” says Tamaki.

Destiny has 10 churches and over 7000 members throughout New Zealand.

Tamaki wants all of them to sell their homes and move to his holy nation where he can protect them …”

Through all that there’s not a single mention by Bishop Tamaki of a “walled city”, so there’s a fair bit of hyperbole being thrown around here.

I mean, I don’t purport to be defending the church zealously, but I think the report’s a bit disingenuous on a number of fronts:

• The report claims that Bishop Tamaki “is urging church members to sell up their homes around the country and move to his promised land”. In the video, the pastor does exhort to the conference audience to “shift for the purpose of God”, but he could just be referring to a shift to Auckland, rather than the planned 10-20 acre plot itself. Remember that there are Destiny Church members scattered across the country and Tamaki would have been addressing them. Besides, the report makes no mention of any proposals for housing developments: Tamaki mentions plans for a 5000-seat church, maraes, medical centres and schools. Trying to house all 7,000 churchgoers on a 10 acre plot is probably logistically impractical.
• Plenty of Christian denominations run church-affiliated schools, and plenty of parents do send their children there in favour of state schools. Examples in Auckland include Elim Christian College, Sancta Maria Catholic School, Tyndale Park Christian School, St. Kentigern College, Diocesan and so on. I suspect that the magnitude of controversy around Destiny Church’s ambitions stems from its past reputation in mainstream media, such as their much-publicised “Enough is Enough” protest against the 2004 Civil Union Bill.
• The news report also makes this statement which I just don’t see any evidence for: “Tamaki wants all of them to sell their homes and move to his holy nation where he can protect them.” Seriously? Holy nation? It’s a bit too sensationalist for my liking.

There’s been the predictable cry of “Kool-Aid” and “Waco”, where both Christians and non-Christians express their apprehension at Destiny Church’s startlingly rapid growth. Cultwatch director Mark Vrankovich warns that “if Brian becomes deranged or goes extremely strange we could end up with a Waco.”

All in all, I guess it is worth keeping an eye on developments as they arise – but for now, to clump Brian Tamaki together with infamous cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh would be as premature as declaring a National Party victory in the 2008 NZ general elections. Let’s not cast the straw men into the furnace too quickly!

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(Disclosures: None to declare regarding Destiny Church.)

(Ultramarathon Man: confessions of an all-night runner, by Dean Karnazes.)

Verdict:Dean Karnazes‘s first memoir lies somewhere between a Pheidippides fable and a Forrest Gump sentimental, yet “Ultramarathon man” tells a fascinating tale in its own right and is a worthwhile Saturday afternoon read.

If you’re looking for a larger-than-life story about pushing the limits of human endurance and capability, this book might inspire you to push yourself in training. Alternatively, if you’re a slouch, love your couch, love your TV remote and your La-Z-Boy, this book might just leave you thinking: “He must be mad!” But you’d probably still be impressed. Whatever your disposition, ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes weaves a mad, mad narrative chronicling the personal events that have led to him becoming an extraordinary athlete who’s run solo across 200 miles, completed 50 marathons in 50 days, and completed a marathon to the South Pole in running shoes.

This book was “written” during the countless training runs Karnazes completed in his pursuit of meaning, finding “magic in misery” and not thinking too much of running into the night. The first couple of chapters take the reader back into childhood reflections, and read as the most genuine and heartfelt reflections of his life. I found myself chuckling away when a 9-year-old Karnazes, in a whimsical bid to see his grandparents, rode his bike alone over fifty miles to get there.

This extreme athlete recounts the various challenges and races that he’s run, and how he balances that with his family and work life (answer: he’s running instead of sleeping). You sense that there’s an almost pathological desire to better himself each time: Karnazes goes from running 50 miles, to 100 miles, to 100 miles in the desert, to 100 miles in the Antarctic, to running 12-man relays solo, perhaps until he finally reaches the threshold of human capability.

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Plotting runs on google maps has been pretty fun these past few months. I think I’ve been able to explore many of the sights and sounds of my local suburbs – something that unfortunately eludes all too many people in their pursuit of the rat race. During my training I’ve been fortunate enough to meander along the streets of Bucklands Beach, Eastern Beach, Howick, Pakuranga, Panmure, Farm Cove, Half Moon Bay, Golflands, Botany Downs, Meadowlands and Highland Park – and my appetite to discover has only just begun!

There’s a lot I’ve discovered about Auckland just by running among the people and their streets. In the past 3 months I’ve seen:

• an elderly sage meditating in a cross-legged and introspective pose, perched on a small wood fence with the beauty of green grass, cobalt sea and sapphire sky behind him
• that Pigeon Mountain has a significant chunk excavated out of one side mastectomy-style, with blocks of housing and a scrappy treeline in its place
• the wetland area that skirts around the Tamaki inlet dotted with eager mangrove shoots, a safe haven harbouring an intricate ecosystem I last explored on a primary school field trip
• that there are certain sidewalks in the neighbourhood that lead straight to views so breathtaking, you’re compelled to pause your workout and just savour an E.G.C. moment
• people of all sizes, ages, races, dispositions exercise, and there are more people out on the pavement at 5am in the morning than you’d expect
• an indescribable sense of Auckland’s serenity and safety that I’ve grown to love

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I’m winding down my running distances (as you can tell from my training record). In general, the week leading up to the marathon is where the athlete will want to recover and repair his/her body fully in preparation for the big race. Any strenuous training at this stage is less likely to add significantly to the athlete’s endurance, and more likely to afflict an injury.

Do. Not. Want. Injury. Not now.

I’ll try and do a final write-up as close to the race as possible. I’m bringing a camera with me, so hopefully I will be able to give you an on-the-street, as-close-as-you’ll-get-to-running-it-yourself perspective of the 2008 Auckland marathon event. Stay tuned!

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Tricia, Ben, Paul, Theresa, Maria, Yuen, Henry, Tina, Brendan – thanks heaps, you guys are amazing! Check out my HeartRacer page and see how they’ve totally broken through the fundraising target!

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Week 11: Training Record

20.10.08 – Route – 33 min – 5:41pm – 6.30 km Run
21.10.08 – Route – 39 min – 7:56pm – 6.96 km Jog
24.10.08 – Route – 39 min – 5:25am – 6.96 km Jog
25.10.08 – Route – 1 hr 14 min – 7:29am – 13.79 km Run with BL
26.10.08 – Route – 33 min – 7:20am – 5.82 km Jog

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One of the more frequent questions I get asked when I tell them I’ve been training for a half-marathon is:

“How much weight have you lost?”

To be honest, I haven’t lost more than 2 or 3kg in body mass for all the months of ugly-running bluster. My waistline has remained marginally unflattering largely because of my diet; I’ve pretty much increased my food intake to match my running. Post-exercise nutrition is usually something like a banana, or a muesli bar. That’s in addition to water during short runs, Powerade for longer ones (>60 minutes) – and I always succumb to large meal portions after everything else!

Another reason I haven’t made the transition from soft-toy belly to the 6-pack of envy is that I’ve largely ignored strength and core training. I think I did it for a few sessions earlier on… but trying to fit that into my schedule – in addition to all the running – would have been a little crazy and unmanageable.

And besides, no one said you had to be perfectly chiselled to hit the streets.

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Hope everyone’s having a good long weekend – if you’re reading this you should be out and about enjoying your holiday! Go forth!

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This is a funny one – “Take On Me”, the 1980′s classic by pop group A-ha gets a lyrics overhaul.

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Spotted at the Highland Park Countdown – breakfast cereal for creative inspiration…

(UPDATE: Seen on the NZ Herald’s Sideswipe column here.)

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Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical made a triumphant return to the New Zealand stage this week, as the first of a series of sold-out performances bade haere-mai to one of the greatest musicals of all time. Performing in Auckland from 14 Oct 2008 to 16 Nov 2008, “The Phantom of the Opera“ is a critically-acclaimed masterpiece that features on the must-see-before-I-die list of even the mildest of musically-inclined punters. New Zealand-based Phanatics, myself included, have waited almost a generation for memorable tunes like Music of the Night and All I Ask of You to fill the cavernous Civic Theatre in Auckland – the last time Phantom hit our shores was in 1997 during an Australasian tour that totalled a record 3,073 performances.

Breathtaking Gothic-inspired scenery and quickfire set changes; the famous scene with the boat on a misty, underground lake; commanding performances by the Australasian-based cast of 37 performers; pyrotechnics, slick stagecraft and magical sleight-of-hand: these were some of the highlights of a well-received Saturday evening marquee perfomance (18 Oct 2008; 7.30pm).

Australian fans are familiar the voice of Anthony Warlow – it’s electrifying, majestic, and now better acquainted with the appreciative ears of Kiwiland. His performance as the Phantom – a deranged, disfigured genius composer living in a cavernous lair underneath the Opera Populaire in Paris – was enthralling and engaging to both first-time audiences and lip-syncing veterans of the production.

The role of tortured chorus-girl turned protegé Christine Daae was handled commendably by Ana Marina, who showed a proficiency in her singing of songs such as Think of Me and Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. One sometimes felt that the innocence of the character was lost in her mature-sounding voice; at times the Phantom seemed to be the more youthful and playful of the tragic couple. There were other standout characters of the night, such as the tender, almost metrosexual portrayal of Raoul (he almost looked content with being caught by the Phantom’s hang-man lasso during the climax of the show). The comedic trifecta of André, Firmin and the prima donna Carlotta (played by New Zealander Andrea Creighton) drew frequent laughs with their posturing, seen most effectively during a scene where the characters flummoxed over the multitude of notes being sent by the Phantom (Notes…). Admittedly, the song Prima Donna suffered a little from the bevy of characters onstage trying to simultaneously sing over each other a la some sort of NZ prime ministers’ debate.

It’s not just the actors and actresses that make the show: Phantom of the Opera features an extravagant set that boasts a spaceship-like chandelier, candelabras that emerge from the stage, and incredibly detailed and ornate scenes like Christine’s dressing room (featuring an illusory one-way mirror from where the Phantom makes his first appearance). Characters were dressed up in a kaleidoscope of colours and outfits, most notably during the Masquerade sequence which dazzled the eyes in a juxtaposition of costuming and crisp choreography.

This is an internationally-acclaimed show on a level of professionalism streets ahead of the competition – catch it while you can, or wait another 11 years (or more) to savour the lush and romantic offering of this West End classic.

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I had a heartfelt conversation with one of my running buddies last night.

He talks about finding meaning in life, and seeking out challenges. He laments about being caught in between two worlds. His conscience tells him that he doesn’t belong, doesn’t fit the drinking, partying lifestyle of the twenty-something youth. Yet conversely, he doesn’t have the faith and certainty exhibited in a church setting, exhibited by Christians around him worshipping the God they believe in. “I know I don’t belong”, he says.

His words seemed to guard a subtle tinge of what I guessed to be disillusionment. This is a friend who is still looking for meaning and purpose in life.

On training and running this marathon, there have been a few moments where I too, have been made to think.

Moments where you consider what our toil and trouble in this world is for.

Moments where you consider the strange fact that once this earthly race is run, the recognition, the treasures, the wreath, the crowns you gain in the here and now aren’t transferrable. In fact, the Bible uses the term perishable to describe the the accolades we get:

“And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown…” – 1 Cor 9:25

Mm.

My hope is that I run the race not for my own sake.

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Thanks Jared and Kristy! The finish line is in sight, check it out at my HeartRacer page: I’m still training as often as I can!

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Week 10: Training Record

13.10.08 – Route – 39 min – 5:45pm – 6.98 km Run with short sprints
14.10.08 – Route – 31 min – 6:20pm – 5.34 km Run
16.10.08 – Route – 51 min – 5:34am – 8.62 km Run
18.10.08 – Route – 50 min – 3:48pm – 8.54 km Run with short sprints

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Hi everyone – just thought I’d type this out while being stuck in heavy Auckland traffic.

Today I’ve been flirting with the possibility of upping the ante on my half-marathon attempt, and perhaps going the full 42 km instead. It’s apparently not too late to switch, and all of those donations would then be worth twice as many kilometers! Of course, it could end up being a disaster if my body suddenly finds itself unable to cope with the extra burden, and I fail to complete the race before nightfall!

One of the more frequent questions I get asked when I tell them I’ve been training for a half-marathon is: “How much weight have you lost?”

To be honest, I haven’t lost any weight for all the months of ugly-running bluster. I think that my waistline has remained marginally unflattering largely because of my diet; I’ve pretty much increased my food intake to match my running. Post-exercise nutrition is usually something like a banana, or a muesli bar. That’s in addition to regular Powerade and water during runs, and large meal portions after everything else!

All the serious runners will be using their own specially-formulated drinks and crazy hi-energy gel foods and camel packs. That’s crazy stuff…

The US Presidential Elections in a nutshell – probably created by a supporter of Barack Obama. Someone must have forgotten to bring in Sarah Palin!

(First appeared in 4chan. Youtube video is here.)