Editorial: Prophetic Speaking & Listening
Alwyn Thomson

Comment: Time to Build
David Porter

Should Nations Apologise
Greg Forster

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TIME TO BUILD
Next to the weather, having the builders in seems to be the most popular topic for complaint. They rarely seem to turn up on your doorstep when expected, always working on the other job that should have been finished last week. That in itself should be ample warning that they are unlikely to finish your job on time.

Yet we cannot do without them. Some friends are currently having the front of their house reconstructed after dry rot and neighbours are extending their kitchen. In recent years I have found myself in the middle of two refurbishment schemes - one at work, the other at home. Weeks of noise, dust and inconvenience resulted in a new look office facility in one and a converted roofspace in the other.

Admittedly I am not in the best position to criticize builders. My enthusiasm for DIY has always outstripped my ability to deliver. All such jobs have that special touch that has become something of a trade mark the not quite straight shelf - the less than square joint. The biggest failing is timing. A half hour job - my estimate - takes half a day in reality. And my expectation of builders is no less high. "Is that all they've done today?", I would ask incredulously as the only visible sign of work is a few strips of wood where I expected a new staircase to be.

In a fast moving computerized world of instantaneous communications and business solutions, it seems terribly unreasonable to have to wait while skilled artisans go about their task. The speed at which some modern building developments appear on green field sites further supports the illusion of the immediate.

Jesus talked a lot about building. The miracle of the temple being destroyed and rebuilt in three days. The wise and foolish builders who built on solid or sinking foundations. But also about the man who sets out to build a tower. Before doing so he has to count the cost involved - in time and materials - and determine whether he is able and prepared to pay it. Not to do so is to guarantee the project will not be completed.

TIME TO BUILD - now where have you heard that before? The biblical passage from which it is taken is a picture of the ongoing cycle of life - that there is a season for everything. The focus is on the moment - the opportunity to act in a certain way.

But when it comes to building, as we all know to our cost, it is not just a matter of timing; it is also a question of time. It will take time to rebuild our community, time to heal the wounds, time to develop the skills, time to establish trust We must be careful not to become despondent when the most costly thing that is asked of us is time. Those who think it is in the moment and not the measure, are only deluding themselves. They risk that, at best, the completed job will be flawed and, at worst, that the cost of materials will mean the job is not finished.

David Porter - ECONI's Director