Merry Christmas to all my blog readers, thank you for your comments, and taking time to read my musings.

If your in the area, and want a photo opportunity for your family, come down to Bedford Baptist Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. (105 Rosebery St Bedford Perth, WA)

7pm - 9pm

We have set up a Nativity Scene, we have costumes and good coffee!
You and your children can dress up as Mary Joseph, Angel, shepherds, and get a photo for prosperity.
Gold coin donation only, a professional photographer will be available on Friday night if you would prefer, but feel free to bring your own camera.

The Techno world is waiting with baited breath for Apple to introduce a line of mobile phones.
Steve Jacobs is expecetd to make an announcement about the company's move into mobiles at the annualo MacWorld Expo in San Fransisco on January 9th.
What would you expect Steve to name their new phone, mmmmmm,
I-Mac, I-Pod, I-Tunes etc etc.

Maybe they will call it an "I-Phone".

Bad luck Steve, too late.
Linksys, a division of Cisco, released the "Iphone" on Monday.
There will be no issue with copyright as Linksys has previously released a phone under this name in 1997.

spotted

This is a very interesting article published in todays Age.
Quite a serve given to the Eagles, and their treatment of the media and perceived arrogance.


http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/12/16/1166162364371.html

"Covering a two-team town can have its special challenges, as Duffield found out when, after the booze bus incident, he said Cousins should stand down from the captaincy or be relieved of it by the club. Many Eagles fans didn't like the media taking on a favourite son. Rather than criticise Cousins, some talkback callers blamed the police for setting up the booze bus and the media for its wide coverage.
Everywhere Duffield went - in the street, in taxis - he was deluged with pro-Cousins supporters to the point where he decided to stay out of circulation. "I went out twice in three months," the reporter says.
In trying to understand Cousins, it's helpful to consider the culture from which he sprang. He is a product of a club that is rich, powerful, used to success and intimidating. "A lot of the media are frightened to take them on," Duffield says of the Eagles. "You are not just taking on a football club, you are taking on the big end of town."
They are bred tough, from the coach down. In March 2006, as a media gathering prepared for a boundary-side conference with Fremantle assistant coach Michael Broadbridge, Worsfold ran 70 metres across Subiaco Oval to call the media "f---ing spastic". Worsfold was angry that reporters had breached an Eagles club directive that bans them from standing inside the fence, a move instigated after The West Australian reported Worsfold's dressing down of players after player Beau Waters was hit by a taxi in the early hours of the morning.
On another occasion, Worsfold turned on West Australian reporter Craig O'Donoghue. O'Donoghue approached Worsfold after a press conference, during which the coach had said he had no problem with Waters getting hit by the cab, even though he'd taken a harder line on the issue with the players. O'Donoghue told Worsfold he'd be reporting the coach's comments to the players.
"Half the team stood there watching," O'Donoghue remembers. "I got the famous Worsfold stare as he questioned my professionalism, morals and ethics over and over again. He reminded me that he worked for the West Coast Eagles and I worked for a 'sh#$t newspaper'. It was confronting."

On a sidenote, there are unonconformed reports that some Eagles players have been out late last night drinking, causing fuss and vandalising some cars and other property.

Someone I know well, recieved some fresh water from someone at their staff party.
What I mean is that someone, instead of forking out $10 for a pressie for this person, they payed for some fresh water at a village on this persons behalf.
Interesting.

I know some friends who asked people to do this at their wedding. Thats nice. Instead of buying them junk they dont need, or even stuff they might use, help someone less fortunate on their behalf. I like that. They have asked you to do it.

However in this case, there is something different. This person did not ask for the fresh water to be given to the villager. The act of generosity was foisted on them. Now this person is happy about it, and is a very generous person, and does not need another trinket, or bottle of wine.
But I cant help escape the uneasy feeling I have about this.
The idea of the staff party was to give a present to the person, which this person did. They researched it, and bought them something they would like.

I cant help but feel that while it is okay, in fact great, to make these choices for ourselves, there is something, just weird, about doing it for someone else, without them having asked you to. Its almost arrogant. I dont know, maybe I am thinking about it too much. Seeing George Constanza latch onto the idea and use it for his own ends was another story altogether.

Having said all that, I think Tear are fantastic, and do a great job, and I have supported them financially and in other ways myself, and will continue to do so.

and its gathering steam, this quote from Dilberts blog,

"I think that in an election cycle or two you will see an atheist business leader emerge as a legitimate candidate for president. And his name will be Bill Gates" (Scott Adams)

http://www.rojo.com/story/OvM1IkEWTIFjSrs5

“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.
2 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. 3 But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!

Read that as a pastor and not be convicted.
Huge responsibility being a leader.
Recently I have asked the church to take some big faith steps. But these steps mean I too must be committed, really committed.
Lets go!

Had a church meeting today, after church.
Discussing our future plans.
What a great church we have, happy, courageous, ready to go.
Its taken a long time, but we are ready to take some significant steps of faith.

Cant wait!

Here is something that I found amusing which is kicking around on blog land.
Q. What do Geraint Jones and Michael Jackson have in common?
A. They both wear gloves for no apparent reason

Q. What is the height of optimism?
A. An English batsman applying sunscreen.
Q. What does Ashley Giles put in his hands to make sure the nextball almost always takes a wicket?
A. A bat.
Q. What would Glen McGrath be if he was an Englishman?
A. An allrounder.
Q. What advantage do Kevin Pieterson, Andrew Strauss and GeraintJones have over the rest of their team-mates?
A. At least they can say they're not really English.
Q. What is the English version of a hat-trick?
A. Three runs in three balls.
Q. What do you call an Englishman with 100 runs against his name?
A. A bowler.
Q. What is the most proficient form of footwork displayed by Englishbatsmen?
A. The walk back to the pavilion.
Q. Who has the easiest job in the English squad?
A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.
Q. Why is Andrew Flintoff the unluckiest English player?
A. Because he was born in England.
Q. What does "Ashes" stand for?
A. Another Sad Horrific English Series.
Q. What's the English version of LBW?
A. Lost, Beaten, Walloped.
Q. Who spends the most time on the crease of anyone in the Englishteam?
A. The person who ironed the cricket whites.

6 “Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. 7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns. 8 I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. 9 Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.

What a wonderful promise God gave to His people.
If this is what God's heart is like for His people, there is nothing for us to fear.
I hope and pray my church takes this attitude, let us see what marvellous things God will do for us, in expanding His Kingdom.

http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/

I dont know how supergirl got that high, thats a bit of a worry,

but the Green Lantern was my favourite superhero, so thats a bit ironic.

(ta to Jarrol for this link)

My wife is a seriously good cook. Its a bit of a problem.

1. I eat too much good food, and get overweight
2. Often when I go to a restaurant its dissapointing. I pay $$ for food which is not as good as Melindas.

There are some things I can cook better than her
Steak, Pizza, Coffee, cold beer

Okay the last one does not count.
But I choose the brand, put it in the fridge, grab it out when its ice cold and put it in the stubby.

If ever you get the chance to eat Melinda's pumpkin soup, don't say no. There is no better pumpkin soup in the world. I know it sounds arrogant, but its not, its just the truth. That and that fried chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and dribbled with tangy orange and cranberry sause. Seriously, I lick the fry pan afterwards.

I am a blessed man, in so many ways. Don't know what I did to deserve her, but there you go.

I need a holiday, badly
and not a two or three day break, something where I can relax,
all I seem to be focused on and thinking about is church stuff, and its not good for anyone


fishing, drinking, eating, swimming, enjoying my family..... not worried about other things

a distant memory at the moment.....

Christmas is when everyone else slows down, but us Pastors rev up.
This past week has been so wonderful for our church, in so many ways, but I am beat.

This is the first part of my three part series, based around Hybels book. If you missed it, or want to hear it again, you can hear it here, download it, or listen to it online. You may also want to have a look at the powerpoint slides, which I uploaded as well. Someone who lives a long way away asked me for this, and I am happy to oblige!

Ever been caught reading your bible by a member of your family?
This morning I was continuing my devotions from Jeremiah. Man, this is one depressed prophet. He has to give a message of doom, he has to, it is burning within him. Look at how the people react,
" 12 But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires."

Thats pretty blunt. Imagine if people in our churches and community were that blunt to us! We might be a bit depressed ourself. In fact maybe they do do this to you.
God's reply does not pull any punches either!

"I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity."

If anyone does not think God is not blunt, sarcastic and downright funny, in the midst of tragedy, this book will change your mind.

Throw a party this month!
 Matthew 18
16 “To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,
 17 ‘We played wedding songs,
      and you didn’t dance,
   so we played funeral songs,
      and you didn’t mourn.’
 18 For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

What results is Jesus talking about here? What is the conflict?
Well it seems the religious leaders of Jesus;’ day were getting very upset because Jesus was going to lots of parties, drinking and eating.
They did not like that Jesus was ‘hanging out with’ a whole bunch of sinners, and seemingly enjoying Himself!!
Yet Jesus replies, “wisdom is show to be right by its results”. In other words, what Jesus was doing would be proven right if it had good results. I reckon the results Jesus was talking about was people becoming Christians.
As Christians we can get very comfortable in our “holy huddles” . I know I can! Do you ever find yourself wondering if you have any non church friends? Maybe its time to make some!!
Throw a party!
Melinda and I are throwing a street party this year, and I dare say there will be lots of drinking and eating. Pray there are also some wonderful results. Maybe you could think of something you could do for your friends this year?

The last post on this subject went a little off skew, perhaps because I like to stir.
In an Aussie context, what do we mean by results?
Surely the key is leading people to Christ.
But how long will that take?
Some people say as much as 5 years, maybe more.

I do know this. If people are going to follow Christ, we need to befriend them, and that takes time.
Jesus, in the passage listed below, went to a lot of parties, and threw a few Himself, including supplying the drinks (no skippers required in Jerusalem though!)

Maybe we should do the same. Maybe the focus of our efforts should be borne out of love and friendship, not programs.
Programs can and should facilitate relationships. But having the best programs in the world wont do squat if people aren't prepared to get out of their shells and make friends. I find that tough.

Matthew 11
18 For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man,[f] on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

I am the 107,565richest person in the world!
You may need to go here first

http://coinmill.com/AUD_USD.html

to convert you Aus dollar salary into US,
then go here

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

and find out where you stand on the scale, you are probably a lot richer than you think, it all depends on who you compare yourself too.

Starting a three week series based around Hybels book, "just walk across the room"

I have a peer group, a group of fellow Pastors.
We meet every month or so, probably when one of us gets our act together and organises it.
Without this group of friends who have encouraged me, told me off, exhorted me, prayed for me, prayed over me......

I would not still be in ministry.

I think friends are very important, but as I journey in ministry, there has been few things as important and needful to me as these guys.

Its nice meeting people online. Its like circling at a party, and finding you have stuff in common.
There is something about being a minister, a pastor, a spiritual leader of some sort. Its a bit like a war out there sometimes, you stick your head up, and someone is ready to shoot you down. Thats why its nice to 'meet' someone good humoured who is 'in the job' as well.

Andrew 'Roo' Patrick is a youth pastor out at Carey Baptist. SUCKED IN BIG TIME Andrew, you have to work with Steve Izett :) :) :)

Not really, Steve is a great guy, and is a real believer in empowering people to lead, so I am sure your creativity is allowed to flow freely.
Andrew has a great blog, check it out sometime.

http://ignitecommunity.blogspot.com/

The other thing about Andrew is that he is a Geelong Supporter. Oh dear. No wonder him and Gareth are mates, they both have the same sort of persecution complex that drives them to support teams which will always be "almost there". Unlike the mighty Dockers, who never leave you guessing and this year will go one step further.

Site feed visible for those who have asked

This will probably appear on Ra'ah, but deserves an airing here as well.

Expect a fun night of carols and family entertainment at this year’s Australind Carols in the Park Tornado Benefit. The event will be a special end to what has been a difficult year for the Leschenault community which was hit by a freak tornado in August.

Carols Director Mark Belton of Australind Baptist Church said that, “Proceeds from the event will be directed towards the Settler’s Community Hall rebuilding project.”

For $40 a month you can get 26 channels, seven sports channels. "Ongoing packages range from $36.95 to $101.95 per month." www.foxtel.com.au


Either that or you can potentially save a child's life, give him or her hope for their future.
This morning our family adopted a little boy. (Well sort of!)
We are sponsoring a child through Compassion. No father, living in Hondorus, speaks Spanish.
Sure makes me feel better about myself than the prospect of watching more TV, especially since Fox lost the footy :)

Third part of message,
dealing with what to do when kids go bad!!

Hope you enjoy it,

Parenthood part three

Really enjoyed this series, and taking Parenthood beyond the traditional constraints of the family.

This is a pretty amazing story.

Alex Kendrick teamed with his brother Stephen to write Facing the Giants. The cast is comprised of volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church, located in Albany Georgia. , as well as others from the surrounding area. The Kendricks hired five film pro's to fill the technical positions on the motion picture. Church members and community volunteers helped to keep production costs down by supplementing the professional crew.
Wiki

Dear Friends,

Malawi is a country with about 12 million people and there really are 1 million orphans. Constantly our Malawian friends are living with death; last week the director of Total Life Care lost his 6 month old daughter. 1 in 4 children really do die before the age of 5. Mother’s and Father’s really do wonder if they will have enough food to feed their families, HIV infected people really are as high as 1 in 3. Despite this Malawian people continue to inspire us with their human spirit, resilience and warm hearts.

As you know Madonna has put Malawi on the map, somehow though, we have found ourselves embroiled in media hype surrounding Madonna and adoption. So we thought it may be helpful to clarify a few things. We are at present going through the process to adopt a beautiful little girl, Jessica. This is something that, because of its personal nature, we have chosen to keep confidential until things were official and our family and organisation were informed. I guess it is no longer confidential. And we do apologise to those people involved in our life who are reading about such a sensitive and personal issue in the paper; like members of our family.

The article is not true and the quotes attached to Angela are also not true. My understanding is the “human rights charter for children” should protect their identity, so we are disappointed at the article and feel that it is a violation of Jessica’s rights. We did speak to a journalist, over the phone, but are upset that this is the slant they put on the article. In contacting us we were given the impression that because he heard of us adopting children, he wanted to highlight orphans and poverty. It was later he brought up our present adoption process, which we were quite surprised by, due to the confidentiality. Unfortunately we are being used to create a story and we naively went along with it, allowing pictures to be taken of our family. My understanding is they are using all people quoted to create a story.

We are not involved in a ‘tug of war’ with Madonna. During Madonna’s time in Malawi she did visit the orphanage were this little girl is currently being cared for. Jessica was one of many children that Madonna spent time with and she has no intention of adopting Jessica, but that’s about where the story begins and ends. We are very sympathetic to and supportive of Madonna and appreciate her desire to respond to the world she lives in. We wish her, her husband and her children all the best in their adoption. It is not an easy journey to decide to adopt or to travel the road to adoption and we are just thankful our lives are able to go on without the scrutiny of press she is subjected to.

Thanks guys for your continued support of us. Poverty is a chronic problem and won’t end overnight, please don’t tire of hearing about it, praying for it and standing against it. Our lives really do make a difference.

We are not giving any further interviews, as our commitment to these beautiful people in Malawi and our duty of care to our children is one of dignity, empowerment and uplift and not for manipulation for the sake of a story.

Warmest regards

John and Angela Wilmot
(Michael, Shaun, Grace, Martha, Brian, Ruth and one day Jessica)

John and Angela Wilmot, John being a friend I studied with at BTC, have made the third page of the West. I suspect this story could grow, and we might see John and Angela on TV. It appears they are in a adoption row with Madonna. Angela and John have already adopted four boys and where well down the track of adopting Jessica when Madonna spotted her and expressed her desire to adopt her.

Angela has stated that Madonna has done the right thing in adopting David, the child in the middle of the previous controversy.


Story

The singer — who faced a public backlash when she took a 13-monthold boy from Malawi to Britain — is thought to be returning to the impoverished African country to adopt an 18-month-old girl called Jessica. However, the youngster, who was found abandoned under a bush, could find herself caught in a dramatic tug-of-war battle. Australian missionaries Angela and John Wilmot have spoken of their fears that their plans to adopt the little girl could be thwarted by the pop queen. In an interview with Closer magazine in Britain, Mrs Wilmot, 34, said: “We heard that Madonna was interested in a child, who we now hear is Jessica, but we are quite far down the line with our adoption.” The Wilmots said they were already in the process of adopting Jessica when the 48-year-old singer expressed interest in taking her to Britain and made a follow-up visit to the orphanage to see her. The couple, who already have two sons and four adopted children, moved to Malawi seven years ago. Madonna met Jessica at the Kondanani Orphan Care Centre at Blantyre earlier this year. She then “fell in love” with David Banda at the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji and took him to London amid a storm of controversy, with some critics claiming the move was not legal. “We knew Madonna was at the orphanage and she’d met all the kids, but we were already in the process of adopting Jessica and we hope we’ll be successful,” Mrs Wilmot said. Kondanani Orphan Care Centre’s Cherrie Martin said: “Madonna is a lovely lady. Very down to earth and very caring. She really loved Jessica when she met her.” Despite their concerns for Jessica, the Wilmots said they backed the singer’s planned adoption of David.
KATIE HAMPSON

Having a mad keen scrapbooker for a wife has its advantages!
Beautiful story books to hand on to our kids one day,
interesting journalled photo books to reminesce over.
I have set up a blog for my wife's, and our churches, scrapbooking club.
I don;t think it will get many entries, maybe once a month,
but here it is anyway.

www.bedfordscrapbooking.blogspot.com

23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
24 So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.
Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

What a awe inspiring piece of scripture. The Weeping Prophet has an ability to get to the heart of the matter. He recognises his own frailties, yet also has a deep desire to be in the centre of the will of God.

What does it mean for God to correct us? How does He do this? Only if we are humble and open to His correction in this life. If we decline His offer of a gentle lead now, He will correct us later.

Prayer, "God that I would hear and listen and obey your voice now. God that You would make it clear what my path is to be today, tommorow. Cause me to make Godly decisions, made in the light of Your vision and will for my life."

No, I am not blogging a gaffe like our serial fluffer Opposition Leader Kim Beazley. I am drawing a connection between the tradgedy of the passing of actress and singer Belinda Emmet, and our own Docker Shaum Mc Manus.

On the Channel Ten report of Belinda's funeral, there were the wavy blonde locks of Shaun. I thought, only for a brief second, what's he doing there? Then the connection was clear, Shaun is Rove's cousin.
How sad, how terribly sad for the humorous lad from Willeton (Rove). Rove has always struck me as a very decent guy, with a strong and loving family. He once said that his sister had achieved far more than him in life because she had two wonderful children. Now Rove will not know that pleasure with his first love, Belinda. Terribly sad for the guy.

Seeing Shaun at the funeral brought home to me the reality of the situation. It is at these times that cousins, friends, people who really care about you gather around you. I wonder if Rove will ever recover? I think with his good humour and energy he will. Not for some time, but there will be hope and humour for him. I pray he finds peace and hope in the midst of his grief.

Bono will appear at Saddleback Church, with Rick Warren, at their World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

And an up and coming politician Mr. Obama will also appear. He appears to be a strong possibility for the next White House candidate.

Purpose Driven Candidate

I reckon one of the keys to a healthy life is to live a life of thankfulness.
Blessings, peace and joy come from deciding to be thankful. And it is a choice.
I am not subscribing to the 'name it and claim it' theology. Thats bunkum .

But think of the analogy God Himself gives us, He is our Father.
What sort of children does a Father love? I know what I am teaching my children, how to say thankyou, and when they say it of their own accord, it blesses me and others.

Most days I try to remember to thank God for my family (boy am I thankful for them!)
my church, yes, especially now,
and my life.

Thanks God too for the beautiful ciabata bread and organic coffee I made for breakfast.

Aaaaah, you were thinking or hoping for a deep theological thought, ah ah, you've come to the wrong blog :)

If you know who John Mc Arthur is you will either.... laugh out loud, or send me rude emails!!

And as an added bonus, here's John Pipers take on Michael Jackson's Bad

Hi all,
I know your all dying for the next exciting installment, here it is

Message Part Two

or right click and 'save target as' this one

Right click and save target as

There is something very soul building about doing hard work.
It is something we are designed for, from the garden, from the beginning.

As a Pastor, sometimes the work you are doing seems nebulous. There is no hole dug, no cabinet made, no bricks laid, to show for your work.

Leadership, inspiring, counselling, imparting, praying.
All people skills, all having their results in somewhat undefinable areas.

Then there are things like preparation, video and computer work, setting up stages, arranging events, producing brochures. These things are much more definable. Part of making things happen.

As Spiritual Leaders we cannot get away from work, to see a community transformed is difficult. If we expect it to be easy, or to pander to our own laziness, we are in the wrong field.

I dont think there are many things more controversial, or with the potential to be more controversial, than spanking your child.
In these politically correct days, the idea of inflicting pain to the 'seat of learning' may seem like an archaic and barbaric practice. The argument goes that violence begets violence.
Interesting logic. This generation will be the second that grows up with this generalised mindset. Lucky for us it has worked, and we live in a far less violent society (where is that sarcastic smilie gone??)

Of course we have not, we have grown up in a society with far less boundaries.
Ask yourself this, what would you prefer as a child?
To grow up knowing boundaries and respecting them, or to grow up with no real sense that there will be any retribution for wrong doing?

I love my kids, really love them. The thought of anyone causing them pain kills me. Listening to Wally Foreman's son talk about how he will miss his dad, had me crying.
Yet I want them to grow up knowing boundaries. They need to feel some pain when they have crossed the line.

"The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother...Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul." Proverbs 29:15, 17

On this blog I have bagged various organisations for bad or ordinary service.


Time for a great story.





Recently I bought a SAMSUNG copy/fax/printer for the church.


We have just transfered all our internet and phone stuff to AAPT who set up a duet line. This means we could keep our fax number, but have it on the same line, and get charged about 1/10th the price.





I suspected my new Samsung Fax would support this, so I rang their customer care guy. Not only did he help me, he rang me on my mobile so he could then ring my landline and set it up for me. I cant believe how

• knowledgable he was
  
• helpful he was
  
• efficient he was

Preparing for my second part of the series on Parenthood.

Here is something thats interesting.

Skin hunger is a relatively new term that has been applied to the emotional response engendered by the loss of touch in our society. One of the five basic senses, touch is the only one deemed essential to human life. (emphasis mine) During WW II babies in orphanages developed Failure to thrive or even died when deprived of human contact. In a classic study by Harry Harlow, newborn monkeys were taken from their biological mothers and given surrogates made of either wire or soft terry cloth. The baby monkeys consistently chose the soft mother even when deprived of nourishment. The need for bonding outweighed even the basic necessity of food.
The need for touch extends beyond the early developmental years. It is the first sense to develop in utero and the last to diminish as we die. Babies and children with loving parents are cuddled and kissed and touched. As a child ages he seeks to become more independent and may even resist too much lovin'. How many of us parents have mourned the day our children became too big to sit in our laps anymore? Boys, especially, are discouraged from showing too much affection. To be a man means to be strong and stoic and emotion is deemed a sign of weakness.
Adolescence is a time of self discovery and growing sexual awareness. As kids grow into teens they may seek sexual intimacy even when not emotionally ready because the need for touch is so strong. How many girls have had sex prematurely when all they really wanted was to be held? Compounding the problem, many parents will decrease physical contact with their teens because of fears of inappropriateness.
Maturing into adults we face a world that explodes with sexual images but discourages more than a friendly nod or a handshake in public. Sexuality is OK but intimacy is not.
The elderly, the disabled and the very ill, aka the "Untouchables", are at greatest risk of touch deprivation. Living in isolated homes, the elderly and the disabled often have limited mobility and fears of victimization may prevent their venturing out. People with a terminal illness like HIV may have very little contact with another human being due to inherent fears of the disease. Although not as fulfilling as human contact, a pet may provide the bonding and comfort needed.

Story

Ipod this, ipod that.
Apple's Ipod is the market leader of music players at the moment.
Trendy, stylish, easy to use, and trendy.

However consider this.
It has very limited transferability to other platforms
It only does one thing, or maybe two if you counnt playing videos.

Sony have introduced a mobile phone which is also a great Mp3 player.
My PDA is a smartphone and plays video and most audio files. It also has an expandable memory slot.

This means I only have to carry one instrument to do all those tasks.
I cant see the Ipod's sales domination lasting more than another 3 or 4 years, unless something dramatic changes about the product.

The truth, or perhaps more of the truth, has come out about Ted Haggard.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) -- Less than 24 hours after being fired from the mega-church he founded, evangelical Pastor Ted Haggard confessed to a "lifelong" sexual problem.
In a letter read to members of his New Life Church Sunday, Haggard said he is "a deceiver and a liar." Haggard apologized to his congregation in the letter and asked for their forgiveness.
"There is part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life," Haggard said in the letter read by Pastor Larry Stockstill, a member of the board of overseers of New Life Church. On Saturday, members of the board ousted Haggard from the 14,000-member church, citing his "sexually immoral conduct. story

Ted got up in front of the whole congregaion and wept and confessed. His wife has said she will stick by him.
Having observed these situations up close before, when a Pastor committs adultery, the only way for real healing for both the leader and the congregation, is for all the dirty stuff to be confessed to, be frank and honest about.
Men, men, men. The Valiant Man course we are doing at Bedford is so relevant to how I am feeling at the moment. Men have to be honest about the struggles they are going through, even if that struggle is one with homosexuality, sexual addiction, or something else which is embarassing and 'hidden'.

I don't want to lose any of my mates in the ministry to this sort of thing, nor do I want any of the blokes in my church to succumb to this, or be crippled but it.
We have got to get better at doing life together.

This is a really sad story. Tedd Haggard's book has been very helpful to me. I really hope the truth comes out, whatever that is.

Love this quote from the Age

"Peter Miles, who presents a Sunday morning gospel music program on 3PBS, points out that church-based singers have been crossing over into mainstream popular music for more than a generation. "A lot of mainstream music borrows from gospel music without knowing about it," he says.
"I think gospel music, more than most people recognise, is a foundation for mainstream rock music."
But where performers such as Elvis Presley borrowed from gospel to create a new sound, the pendulum now swings in the other direction, with church-based musicians borrowing from rock'n'roll to make their songs more palatable to a young audience, he says. "Contemporary Christian artists do all sorts of stuff. Christian death metal, bluegrass, reggae, funk ..."
In 2005, Woodlands Media estimated that the Christian music market in Australia in the previous 12 months was responsible for 5.6 per cent of local music sales, with a value of $540 million. Jay says the Christian music market remains strong, which, given falling sales in all other sectors, could be evidence that it is growing in popularity"

GO Church!!

Story first see at The Journey

Can you believe Christmas time is almost upon us???

I have been starting to organise our Christmas Carols service for 06

will be great, and pray it does not rain!!

Recently a couple of well known bloggers have been asking the question about critiquing the church. I sometimes feel like I am hijacking their threads, so rather than do that, here are some of my thoughts. They are not meant to be a reflection on those guys, who I have the utmost respect for and count as friends.

Humbleness is the quickest way to get close to God, pride/self righteousness is the quickest way to get closer to the other guy.

God has given us incredible grace, freely give as it has been given to us

Dont throw out the good with the bad. For instance Hillsong has it problems, think them up yourself, but it has also had an incredibly positive effect on contemporary church, in helping us to work together, be relevant etc.
When critiquing, remember what they are doing that is really good

Ask yourself the queston, do I need to get a life? In other words am I worrying about what such and such is doing while my neighbour is going to a Christless eternity. Is it worth your time, the time God has given us? Try this exercise. Google some well known Christian leader. Find out how many people are wasting time energy and probably money that could be better spent trying to help someone find Christ.

If you are going to critique, have the courage and integrity to do what Jesus did and told us to do. Go to the person and speak to them face and face. The internet has become a wondeful tool in the hands of gutless wonders.

Can you imagine a forward line with
Pavlich, Tarrant, Farmer, Ryan Murphy
Then Longmuir and Sandilands dropping back when needed?

Seriously who is going to get the oppositions best defender??
Can you imagine being a 2nd or third string defender are finding yourself up against Tarrant??

If you are interested, my final message on Emotional Baggage, part three, can now be listened to or downloaded.

go here

http://www.archive.org/details/MarkEdwardsEmotionalBaggageWeekThree

and choose your format

or just right click the below link and "save Target as"

http://www.archive.org/download/MarkEdwardsEmotionalBaggageWeekThree/Emotional_Baggage_3_vbr.mp3

The file is 26 megs big, for those of you with dial up.

For those Pastors out there, soon I will post on Aussie Pastors Blogspot how to do this.
As we develop our church website, we will post the messages on there every week.
But in the meantime, I will post them here.

Following on from their best season ever, the Fremantle Dockers look to have a great start to their 2007 campaign. The AFL today released the 2007 fixtures which see the Dockers first three games against teams they easily disposed of last year. Port Adelaide, who they beat twice, including a decisive victory at Aami Stadium, Essendon and last years premiers, West Coast, who they thrashed in the last derby of 2006.
Unlike last year, the Dockers do not have to travel to Tasmania. That dubious honour is given to West Coast who have to face up to Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium.
Fremantle will play 5 games in Victoria, the least of any Afl side, but will have to travel to Adelaide twice, Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin. Someone in AFL House must have listened to CEO Cameron Schwab's call from last year, as the Dockers only have to twice deal with six day breaks between matches.

Got my membership in the mail the other day, can't wait!!

I have been watching a very interesting and insightful video by the author of the very succesful book, "The Tipping Point".

In this groundbreaking book, the author details what makes great service in a company.
In the video he makes the assertion, and backs it up with real stories, that asking people what they want is the last thing a succesful business should do. For example if you ask someone what sort of coffee they like, they would probably say something like, "I want a dark rich roasted coffee". However most people actually want a milky sweet weak coffee. Thats the truth!

He talked about the most spaghetti sauce manufacturer in the USA. He found out that while people said they wanted an authentic Italian Tomatoe sauce for the Spag Bog, they in fact wanted a chunky sauce, totally inauthentic (like their favourite pizzas, which have little relation to real Italian Pizza).

Its like Chinese. Friends who have been to China say that real authentic Chinese food is a definete "aquired" taste. Yet ask someone what they want, and they will say, I would want to eat authentic chinese food.

What relation does this have to the church and leading?
NCLS have this statement on their website, "As many as half of Australia's church-goers also thank Mum for the positive influence on them becoming a Christian, at least within Anglican and Protestant congregations. While important, fathers are less influential in faith development."
(http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=4274)

I DONT GIVE A STUFF WHAT THEIR RESEARCH SAYS (Yes I am shouting)

They are dead wrong.

There is a lot more I could say about this. Their conclusions are since mums generally lead their children to Christ, they are more important. CRAP
The reason more mums are leading their kids to Christ is that more mums are Christians.

The single most important thing we as churches have to do to get our churches, our families and our churches back on spiritual track is see dads come to faith in Christ.

We have to lead, not be lead by what is.

A Few friends and myself have started a blog specifically for Aussie Pastors.


check it out

http://australianpastors.blogspot.com/

"Preaching is a lot like singing.
You may sound great by yourself in the shower (or in your head),
but it may not be so great outside the shower (or outside your head)"

"We think if we can disperse adequate information, people will be convinced that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and turn to him. Those methods don't work any longer. I'm not sure they ever did. People aren't looking for information about God. They want to experience God, himself. Information leaves them bored, uninterested. Experience, especially the ultimate experience any human being can ever have, leaves them breathless. And that's exactly what we have to offer."

Here is a blog for Christian multi media by some guys from Parkerville Bapo's.
Some good stuff and helpul stuff here.

(Apart from their use of media shout :) )

Digtial Church
"Share our journey as we explore digital technology for church and worship, in Perth, Western Australia"

Having an online discussion with a Pastor from an overseas church.
His board have witheld his salary after months of squabbling, despite the church overwhelmingly supporting him and his call.

The board have the constitutional power, and yet he believes he needs to stick it out. Other people think he should give up and start new church somewhere else.
Are there any principles about staying and persevering, or cutting your losses and moving on?

I am a pretty 'stubborn' person, and I dont think we should let people do what is wrong, just because they think they can, and have always done. Negative caustic behaviour needs to be addressed.

Speaking personally, if my family started to suffer unduly, I would be gone. They come first. But apart from that, I reckon sticking it out will eventually bring rewards.

I dont know much about the players about to try their luck in the AFL draft, but I hope Freo pick up Leroy Jetta. From what I read in the Sunday Times today, the kid has the right attitude.

"I would like to stay in Perth if I got drafted by the Dockers, I hate the Eagles"

now there is a young man with his head screwed on right!!!