Great day at conference today.
We were led in a time of visiting 'stations' repentance, communion, healing, prayer.....
not everyones cup of tea...but I enjoyed it...and so did most of the people there.

Tim Hanna brought a great message.....

Tim Hanna Tuesday Session
Culture of healthy relationships
Don't tolerate unhealthy relationships
Build community
Unresolved sin destroys relationships
If they remain unresolved
Are we okay?

Passion Encouragement Development
Apathy = No passion Passion with action changes the world
Easier to restrain a maniac than revive a corpse

Define your church by what your stand for

Establish a Taboo free church
Declare what you won't change, helps you change other things

Promotion of Empowered Leadership
Accountability & Authority
Empower people to be the best they can be

Develop Effective Teams
Character Competance Chemistry

Team Covenants How we operate as a team

Best Team Worst Team Ideal Team
What do I need to be my best leader?

Team Covenants

......sigh......

Today was an amazing service...God spoke in so many ways to us....putting something deep into our psyche.

I warned the church last week that our special guest might be a little rough around the edges, and that we needed to show grace and acceptance to him. He was a vietnam veteran who was 38 when he went to service...and had to lead a group of 18 and 19 year olds.

The stories about the rejection that Vietnam Vets suffered at the hands of overzealous protestors (buckets of blood chucked on his head) and from the RSL...who told them they were not real soldiers and had not fought in the war. In fact we were told this morning that the reason for many of the issues the Vets faced was not so much from the war, but the rejection they experienced when they came home.

The church shed a few tears, and gave a word of thanks and acceptance.

Colin Battersby led us in a moving worship time, and played along with his excellent mult-media presentation, It is well with my Soul... Brilliant....Grab him if you can, he consults and leads worship teams to greater depth and proficiency, from wherever they are.

Afterwards we shared Anzac Cookies and a good coffee and shared about what God had done in our midst...a big crowd in, and a time of blessing.....Thanks God for giving us something new.

Should play soccer with this effort....expected outcome? Crowley and Carr to get 9 weeks because they wear the Purple Jumper and dared to outplay the umpires pet...

If that Fremantle team turn up every week...watch out.
Apart from a rather unexplainable period towards the end of the second quarter...when Freo went into shut down mode.

Sandilands...what can I say? His best game for Freo...an exceptional player, and an exceptional game from him.
Crowley's job on Abblet worthy of a mention...Crowley had the best of him most of the night, including a couple of well deserved 'holding the ball' decisions.
How his kick out of bounds was called deliberate, and the Geelong one late in the fourth was not...has got me..all we ask for is consistency...and we dont get it.
Could not believe Jeff Farmer got a couple of frees tonight...he does not get frees!!!
There are plenty of what ifs...and we almost won. Of course we dont get the four points...but I was expecting a thrashing.

Message to Harvey...keep playing the young players...who said we had no good young players coming through? They were wrong.

Its hard to enjoy the misery of West Coast fans when your own team is doing so badly....and facing Geelong this Friday.

Its hard to stomach an honourable loss when you are 1 win, four losses start to the season.
Unless we go on a 9 game winning streak like we did in 2005....Freo's season is gonski...already.

There were some encouraging signs against the Crows....but our starts are killing us.

When a team locks up the Pav...as they did yesterday...we need another reliable avenue to goal....Tarrant...come back...all is forgiven. Just lead hard and kick straight, thats all we ask.

Defence is starting to look better, and Sandilands played really well.....but our half forward line and midfield were just not intense or skillful enough.
Palmer.....29 possessions from a 4 game player....a gun player.

This topic is close to home for me...and will be for the next few development years.

"People who don’t go to church may be turned off by a recent trend toward more utilitarian church buildings. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral than what most think of as a more contemporary church building"
(Article)

Now what interests me about this article is that they are making the assumption that non churched people will go to a medieval style cathedral because that is what they prefer...
That is simply not borne out by the facts.
In fact the article seems to contradict itself when it says this..

"Stetzer noted that despite these survey results, most of the churches that look like a cathedral are in decline. Just because someone has a preference for the aesthetically pleasing, Gothic churches doesn’t mean they’ll visit the church"

I think plenty of non churched people have sentimental reasons for wanting to retain old church buildings...but they sure are not going to become part of the church communities struggling within the 4 walls. They might however become part of a relevant thriving community, inside useable facilities....

However...I do like this quote...""I don’t like modern churches, they seem cold," said one survey respondent who chose the Gothic design. "I like the smell of candles burning, stained-glass windows, [and] an intimacy that’s transcendent."

I would like our new facilties to be modern, useable, contemporary. But I also want them to reveal something of the transcedant...to take us on a journey...to invite intimacy, but also a sense of awe.

There is a show on TV sometimes called "Live at the Chapel" where they get guest musicians to play to a smaller audience. This is the "feel" I would like.

My days are far from typical.....Today.....

Head off to Officeworks for some things for the office. Then to Bunnings to get some silastic (tell you what for in a moment)

First coffee of the day, then into a Toddler Jam meeting. Great people, great conversation. Reminded of the vision, to reach and make real relationships with the literally hundreds of people using our program. Encouraged to not focus on the hundreds, but one or two. We break off into our daily groups and pray for those (by name) who come on our day. I man the welcome desk on Friday.

Then into the office to print off some Anzac Day Postcard size invitation leaflets. We have a Vietnam Vet coming (not a believer). I want us as a church to thank him for his service to his country. They got very little thanks when they returned. In fact he told me a harrowing story of having buckets of blood (literal) thrown over him at the 'coming home' parade in Sydney. RSL rejected them, told him he was not a real soldier.

Made some more phone calls about the property we are looking to purchase. Its a real possibility, but there are some issues. Researched the possibilities of changing the zoning, and the cost of siteworks, which with the block we are considering buying, is going to be expensive and possibly time consuming.

Then I did some preparation for the 2gether conference. I am responsible for the sound, multi media, sponsorship, delegate bags. I got a whole heap of pens from Christian Funeral Company (one of our sponsors) and prepared some more of the 200 delegate bags.

Finally I got up on my ladder, ripped down part of the ceiling in our foyer to repair a leak in the tin roof. Not entirely succesful, but hopefully its better.

Wheh!! Time to go home for roast chicken, yorkshire puddings and a cold Tooheys New.....And a cuddle with my family.

I am helping organse this years Annual Baptist and Church of Christ Pastors conference/retreat.

We have good number of pastors and their spouses coming. Tim Hanna, formerly of Gateway Baptist Church, and now heading up Compassion, is our guest speaker.
We are also doing little 'nuggets' which are mini topics given by a variety of speakers for discussion. One of our intentions is to make this an interactive time. To help with this, we are also doing reflective times when we will have various stations set up, for prayer and reflection.

If you have not heard, or have not registered...and are a Baptist or Church of Christ Pastor...I encourage you to come along, it is a unique and valuable time of community, networking, support, prayer and healing.

I have started uploading my messages to the net again...due to popular demand :)

Here is the link to the latest one where I spoke about Moses...how Godly anger and passion got some great things done.....an alternative title might be.. "So you wanna go back to Egypt?"

Bedford Baptist Messages

Pretty gutless mate....brain fade....all I can say is that he looked pretty remorseful in the change rooms at half time...but who knows....
Ironically..if he gets 6 weeks, which many are saying he is...his first game back will be against the weegirls at Subi...round 7. Reckon they might boo him???

Dockers looked flat, from go to whoa...
Tigers young brigade ran and ran.
If it were not for the errant kicking for goal and turnovers...the Tiges would have won by more...

No excuse...but umpire 30 was shocking....
sigh, there is always next week.

I am increasingly convinced that how we want people to think of us....is not always how they do.

example.....I sent a comment to someone via email as a jocular comment on something we had both seen. They were not offended...but sent it onto the person who had produced the material, as they thought I was sincerly offended by it....wooh....

back track big time....send out explanation email...all okay.

But boy....sometimes I presume things about the relationships I have with people....but you need to be careful, especially in the electronic word...and maybe doubly in the Christian world. People can get the wrong idea so quickly.
Its good to have friends who know you, and whom you can say whatever you want to them.

Pastors especially need this, or at least I feel they do...which is only my persective of course. So often, whether we agree with it, or like it...people put us up on display.

I heard a story once about Prince Charles. He deliberatly swears at dinner parties when he meets new people, just so they know that they can relax. It may not be the best option, to swear I mean, but I can understand why he does.

I have had a few conversations this week about having friends in ministry.
What would we do without them?
Seriously.

Over here in WA we are starting to see the emergence of mentors for Pastors. Now as I survey the landscape, those in business find coaches, those in education find seniors to help them and offer advice. We in ministry need people who have gone before us, but are not so far removed from our situation, that they can offer meaningful, pragmatic and reflective advice, counsel and exhortation (re: Kick up the bum if we need it)

Those leaders who have a reasonable capacity for leadership naturally seek out friends, mentors and guides. We ask questions, we listen. While the natural inclination may be to talk, and share about your situation, it is far more valuable to be able to listen and learn, than just off loading.
Also...prayer support. Just having someone who will take time out to pray for you. So often we are the ones praying for others, it is needful to find someone who will pray for us.

I am helping organise the annual pastors conference here in WA....2gether. Looking forward to hearing, networking, listening and praying.

"That has drawn the accusation that Freo “gets up” for the Eagles more than other opposition - a barb Carr says emanates mostly from vanquished West Coast followers.

“It is a big game in this town, but it is definitely not my grand final I can tell you that much. I treat it like I am playing any other game, and I expect to win any other game I play,” Carr said.

“I think mostly it is an excuse from Eagles supporters that we use it as our grand final when they lose them.” (Josh Carr)

Seriously, if you are in ministry, in a church, responsible for multi media....this site is one of the best. Excellent and professional work, and free.

Muddy River Media is a registered, non-profit mission society which exists to consistently provide free, quality media resources for churches using the internet as the primary delivery tool.
We create and offer media such as:
Illustrative Videos
Small Group Videos and leader's guides
Motion Backgrounds
Life Story Videos
Countdown Timers
Stock Photographs and Illustrations

http://www.muddyrivermedia.org/

Love the new ad, sums it up eh?

I was reading and praying through a overseas missionary prayer letter I recieve and one segment caught my attention.
A group which cares for an orphanage in a Asian country are showing the movie "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". But thats not the interesting part. They are showing it on a tv which the local mafia have donated to the orphanage. The local mafia are into long term planning and see the orphanage as an ideal staff recruitment resource.

Thats pretty sick.

But its interesting the Christian group are using what the evil group gave as a wonderful tool for good. What the Devil plans for evil, Gods people can redeem and use for good.

How would you feel though, about using money a local mafia group had donated for some church work?

Cameron has quit as CEO of the Dockers....personal reasons.

Cameron is without doubt the best performing CEO in the league.
He came in when the club was a financial basketcase, in debt for millions.
He has overseen the best increase in membership of any club, and tranformed us into a very well sponsored club.....and one of the financial powerhouses.

Well done Schwabby....thanks.

My wife is a seriously good cook, and with her doing a chef course, she has taken it up a level or three....she cooked the most beautiful roast chicken, some friends bought around a great bottle of Margaret River Red....and she made a exquisite pavlova roll thingo...stuffed with rasberries and coated in a passionafruit glaze....seriously good.
Then I made some good coffee with some new beans I found at the local grocer....

Now I am just kicking back and looking forward to reading the paper tommorow...and enjoying the afterglow of a Derby win.

1. Its Freo's grand final....they always try harder than the Eagles for this game
2. The umpires were bias
3. Freo are Pavlich centrich
4. Josh Carr is mean to our players
5. Jeff Farmer celebrates too much when he kicks a goal
6. We don't get no respect from the Freo coach
7. We are still ahead of you on the ladder.....aren't we? Surely we are? what??!?!? Well we should be....
8. Its not fair, I don't watch much footy anymore anyway....leave me alone.

All that matters is the following....

12.15 (87) to 10.13 (73)

So nice to be looking forward to church on Sunday....its has been exciting the last few weeks....what is God going to show us this week as we gather together for corporate worship?

There is so much to look forward to in life, God gives joy, purpose and meaning....
I am in a great place at the moment. Compared to how things have been, I just need to be grateful for a while.

I also am experiencing what Hybels calls "Holy Discontent". There is so much opportunity around at the moment for our gathered community, the fields are ready to harvest....we just want the harvest to start coming in.

Um.....what to say about this...its funny, and an equal opportunity offender as well!!

Exhibit one
The Eagles' senior players were criticised by chief executive Trevor Nisbett following last weekend's nightmare against Adelaide. Nisbett took the unusual step of going public with his dissatisfaction following the Eagles' demoralising 74-point defeat to the Crows, calling the last quarter effort a disgrace and warning senior players they needed to improve out of sight. Speaking ahead of Saturday's western derby, Worsfold said he expected them to do just that against the Dockers, making talk of sweeping changes redundant. "I doubt it will happen this week, and I doubt it will happen down the line because we expect our senior players to get out of that,
Worsfold said. "We know they will bounce back, so that will not be an issue. And Worsfold said while Nisbett was entitled to voice his opinion, it held no sway inside the match committee room. "Trevor, certainly as CEO, is entitled to make his opinion felt, but he has no impact on our match committee selection," Worsfold said.


Exhibit Two
But Worsfold was quick to remind his chief executive about who held the ultimate responsibility of picking the side.
"Trevor's entitled as a CEO to make his opinion felt but ... he has no impact on our match committee selection," Worsfold said.
"I doubt it (wholesale changes as Nisbett voiced) will happen this week and I doubt it will be down the line because ... we know how good they (our senior players) are and we know they'll bounce back and that won't be an issue."


They weren't the only comments Worsfold was forced to counter this week.
Worsfold, as shown in my post below....is also defending his assistant coach, Sumich, who one suspects has sour grapes after applying for the senior position at Freo, but failing to even get an interview....

I think the fallout from the Gillard report is far from over.....