This weeks game against Port Adelaide is the Dockers 300th since entering the competition back in 1995.

There have been some magnificent moments. In the midst of this season, its nice to reflect on some of the good times.
My top six.

Parker v Fevola
It was Parks...the backman of integrity...200th game. It a magnificent run from the backline, Parker kicked one of only a handful of goals for his career. In doing so he outscored Carlton's full forward.

Longmuir V St Kilda
Longmuir goals after the siren in a thriller. What may escape history's glare is McPharlins beautiful rundown on Goddard resulting in a free with 30secs or so to go. I was about 1.5 metres from Longmuir when he jumped into the crowd, and you can see me jumping up and down like a Massi warrior in the background. About the only time I have seen Tom, the dour plumber who sits next to me, cry.

Medhurst V 4 Collingwood Backman
I am an unabashed fan. He was not coached consistently...he might come back. The game was against Collingwood. Paul was in the goal square, and about 1 foot smaller than 4 of Collingwoods finest, including Clement. He calmly marked the ball they all should have spoiled.

Leigh Brown
My favourite all time Freo player...who now plays for North. I remember the spray he gave to the great James Hird against Essendon in a home game we won.
I remember the bullocking work he did around the stoppages. He may be a lump, but he gave hope to all stocky blokes.

Clive V Slappovich
The best derby ever. I was so distressed at half time with the Weegirls leading by a considerable margin I felt like going home. Glad I didn't. Of course the fireworks that erupted during that game were worth the admission price alone, and how Reid did not cop as many weeks as Kickett is another example of the inequity Freo have consistently suffered from. As Bruce McAverny stated, " all a player has to do is put on a Freo jumper when they front the tribunal and they are guaranteed a guilty verdict". But that is beside the point. Seeing Clive run towards the goals and kick seven against a hapless Slappy is an enduring memory.

Modra v McIntosh
Ashley Mc Intosh made a career, along with Silvangi, of getting away with scragging, niggling and generally operating outside the rules and spirit of the game. The game was in the 10th derby, and one Freo made sure of. Modra picks up the ball, sprints away from Ashley..and kicks an impossible goal. The glee of him and 30, 000 odd Freo fans is palpable as he strikes the ground.

How many pastors have I seen come and go? Personal friends need two hands to count them......People I know of...in Baptist circles....in the dozens.

People in churches do not realise the pressure on pastors....and sometimes they dont care.
Just yesterday I heard of a church sacking a young guy...sure he is young, no doubt he in imperfect...but he was giving it a go...and a good go....Part of me hopes that somehow they learn their lesson....but I wonder if this side of heaven they will realise the significance of decisions made...things could be so different.

Without my peer group of mates...who tell me the truth...and care for me...and we pray together...such strength in prayer with real blokes.

There is no need for pleasantries....we get stuck straight into it...What a blessing.

Cooked up a beautiful piece of steak tonight. Fresh, not frozen.

Used a nice grill fry pan, one with ridges on it.
Nice and hot sizzling olive oil. Cooked medium rare rare.....

Some fresh mushrooms, coated in olive oil, lemon and thyme....fried with the steak.

A baked potatoe which I fried a little, and smothered in garlic sour cream.
Cold Tooheys New....and the meal was complete.

We had a great service today. I had someone step up to the PC to do the multi-media..which was good.

Eliot and the crew had a good time during the singing....with our trumpet player doing a beautiful job of his solo...really good moment.

The theme was "Fresh" dealing with freshening up our relationships with our kids...
I showed a clip from "cheaper by the dozen" where Steve Martin gives up his dream job to embark on a more important dream, raising his kids.
Q gave a practical and good message on parenthood...online soon.

Then to finish it all off...Eliot and the crew did an excellent version of "Cats in the Cradle"...this song is not originally by Cat Stevens...as many think, and a remake was not done by Guns and Roses...as many think. Rather the original version was by Harry Chapin, and the excellent remake by 'Ugly Kid Joe'.
I did up a multi media presentation to play while they performed the song live. In it I showed pictures of a lot of kids from church and from our community programs.

It was a great service in the sense of all the elements working together. Afterwards we had soup and bread together in the hall....and it was great to see everyone hang around for some real fellowship time.

Well today is not a complete loss.....Tim just read out my email on the "Western Front" and I have won a prize...woo hoo!!
(just a bag filled up with some small prizes)

Just play the same way every quarter...and we will beat more sides than lose to them.

Fremantle should beat Carlton this week...but I am not holding my breath.
Carlton have not beaten us for years, and they dont play the Telstra Dome well at all.....but I am not holding my breath.
Despie only being 1 and 7...Fremantle have played some great 3 quarter football, taking sides like Geelong and the Western Bulldogs right to the edge...but I am not holding my breath.

On Saturday at about 12 noon...I will be holding my breath. Can we play four good quarters?

Kicking off a new series entitled "Dangerous Church".
Speaking about what it means to be a missional church on the edge...drawing from some stories in the book of Acts.

As our church moves toward an incredible new phase in its life...this helps....

“Constraints drive innovation.”
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Our church is organising a Family Concert to raise funds for the Baptist Ministry Centre Appeal for funds. The BU want to help church communities raise funds. With the situation as it is, its hard to get funds in to needy people through official services.

Details on the concert to follow...but it will be held at the Inglewood Community Centre on August 2nd at 6.30pm.....

There is something exciting when critical mass is achieved.
This morning as we launched Kids Jam...a spin off from Toddler Jam, it was very gratifying to see about 20 kids turn up for our launch, at least half from our wider community.

20 kids is critical mass for a program such as this. It makes the place feel vibrant and welcoming, and that something good is happening. Obviously our Childrens Worker did an excellent job, as did the team. But what I wonder if many leaders understand...it does not matter how good your program is, your worship, your preaching...if you do not have criticical mass. Our team does....and we have been amazed to see what God has done to kick this program off, and we dont take it for granted.

People are the most important aspect of any program. If a program is floundering...pouring resources into making the program better might help in the long run....but there may not be a long run. What is infinitley more critical is pouring resources...be that prayer, finance, marketing, relationship networking...into getting people there. That creates critical mass...that gets things happening.

Well at least I am not getting my hopes up at three quarter time anymore, despite having a healthy lead.

No excuses...but the umpiring in the last 10 minutes was the most one sided and pathetic I have seen it. One decision in particular when Mc Pharlin got pinged for holding the ball. He was right in front of me and definetely handballed it. Also...his back was to the umpire, who was at least 15 metres away. The umpire assumed something.

And how Sandilands did not get paid a mark after holding onto it for an eternity, until having it swotted away is beyond me.

But....we lost. Our season is gonski.

Positives.
Bradley played well, Tarrant played his best game for us and worked his but off. Peake is back and kicking goals......The immediate season does not look good...but if we had kicked a total of 12 points more in 3 of our games...we would be 4 and 4.

The meeting after church went really well as the church basically decided that we are on the right path in our huge news. There was unqualified support for what is a radical change, couple of big changes actually...both in our identity and location.

While it became public knowledge today, it is not something I necesarily want to broadcast to the whole world. If interested, email me.

From this weeks message on "Fresh - Spirit"

There are people who know everything there is to know about music, the technical terms…pitch, notes, modes, instruments…so these people can hear nuances, and technical aspects of music that the rest of us might miss…but it also possible to know every aspect of musical production…yet miss out on the pure joy that a four year old has in dancing to the song….

Some Christians know all there is to know about God, His attributes, His theology…yet have missed or forgotten what it means to be refreshed by the music…by the Spirit moving and enthralling us with His power.

Other Christians struggle with God, and with why He does things the way He does…and don’t understand theology or history…yet their lives are lived in love…and with the anointing of the Spirit. Sometimes we wonder how such an infinite God could possibly have anything to say or do with our lives…..yet in the reaching out to a neighbour….in the sharing of a coffee, or the opening of a door…in a simple act of kindness or generosity…we can experience the power of the Spirit working through us.

What happens when you go on a coffee crawl, sampling three different coffees at different places? You get wired...buzzy and a little frantic, especially if you have not eaten much that day.

You also find the best coffee in suprising places.
Jesper, a new friend and fellow coffee nut set out this afternoon to discuss philosophy, Swedish heavy Rock music, performing arts, the book of Habbukuk and of course to determine where to buy a decent coffee from, close to home.


Exomod
I visit here regularly, its local, has free wireless interent, and serves decent coffee, with beautiful latte art.
I ordered a latte and Jasper a cappucino (no sprinkles or chocolate for goodness sake). Jesper specifically said, not too hot thanks.
Both the latte and cappucino were beautifully presented, with art on top. Real care taken, nice aroma...but suprisingly a few degrees too hot. Both of us agreed on that. Both were also just a little weak. Normally better, but still worth a 6.5 out of 10.


Soto's
What to make of Soto's? 2 years ago it was the place to be, but about 7 or 8 months ago I wrote it off after two hot and bitter lattes in a row, and house music way too loud. (I know I am getting old).
Today I ordered a Ristretto and Jesper ordered a classic Macchiato.
The Ristretto was good...smooth and strong...I would have preferred a little bit more crema. A good ristretto (in my view) should have a 1/3rd crema. But I am no expert. It was not too hot and I enjoyed it.
Jesper's macciato was great. Nice full robust flavour. Good temperature. It lost marks for the dubious look of the milk dob on top. 6.5 out of 10

Beaufort St Merchants
The suprising pick of the bunch. I ordered a flat white, and Jesper asked for a 'traditional' Cappuccino...and the guy knew what he meant.
Perfect temperature. Lovely texture...on both. Lovely aroma. You with think after two coffees we might be coffeed out, but this was just great. We also sampled some of their dark cocoa chocolates. The young barrista knew his stuff and was taking pride in his work. They sell both Fiori and 5 Senses coffee, so you know its fresh, and they rotate what they use. 8.5 out of 10

There is so much swirling around in my head at the moment...I can't stop.

Finding it difficult to sleep at the moment, or switch off from the things going on at church and our mission to the greater area of Inglewood.
This week we have kicked off Kids Jam...Quentin leading and starting this program on Tuesdays aimed at 4 years olds.

But that is only part of it.
I have some HUGE HUGE news to announce to the church on Sunday...God willing.
Can't wait...but there is an awful amount of work, of every single type, to get done in the next few weeks. When God moves...sometimes you just have to go along with the ride and realise, you are not in control, yet, you need to be wise and discerning, sensitive, strong, focused but spontaeous...all at once.
It is only 8.30am, and despite having had my first coffee....I am tired already just thinking about it all....but also energised....if that makes sense.


If you are part of the Bedford Baptist Church community...do not miss Sunday....HUGE NEWS I tell you HUGE!!

This is interesting...
"I’m a firm believer in the fact that the lead pastor gives the church its feel. If he’s a screaming dictator, everyone’s afraid to open their mouths. If he’s a recluse, most of the folks don’t get too connected either. But if he’s a fun-loving idiot who enjoys being with people, there tends to be a pretty relaxed atmosphere around the place."

Source

Fun loving idiot....yep....that about sums me up!
Actually I enjoy casualness, planned spontaneity...and can be intense at times....mmmmm

Pastor Ed Young has a lot of good stuff to say,
check out his blog.

http://www.edyoungblog.com/

It is great when the Holy Spirit brings a service together.
This morning another packed house (4th week in a row) enjoyed together a time of reflecting on marriage. We broke mid stream for coffee....

We heard some stories, watched a clip from "Everyone loves Raymond" and reflected as Eliot gave one of his best messages. He spoke on 'freshness' in marriage. He used the verse from Ecclesiastes 4 (a three cord is not easily broken) and shared some humorous and interesting stories and illustrations. It was a challenging talk. One thing which struck me was his point on never putting your wife down in front of others. That should be a 'no brainer' and especially with the attack Christian marriages undergo. In Australian culture it is all too easy to fall for going too far with teasing your wife in front of others. There should be no doubt in anyones mind of your love and even adoration of her. That is not always easy!! And takes passion....

All the married men also had their wives dig into their ribs when a guest musician shared his story of how he proposed to his fiance. He is 48 and they are both widows. He also sung a story about second chances.....wonderful. The story he told of the prophetic vision God gave him blew me away.

You will be able to listen to this message and the testimony in a day or two on our Bedford Baptist web site.

God is good and I feel like I am riding a wave of growth at the moment...and I don't want to do anything to stuff it up!!!

Todays opinion piece in the Western Australia Zoltan Kovaks take the prize as the biggest load of crap written in our daily paper...and that is saying something.

Fair enough, criticise the Fremantle Football club for their inconsistent form. Criticise them for some of their draft picks....but Zovaks has no idea about the soul of the club...no idea at all.

Soul does not come from success....some might say it comes from how the club responds to defeats....

Was Zovak around in 2001 when Fremantle crowds still turned up in number to cheer the club when it won only two games and brought the wooden spoon home? No....he was off sipping lattes somewhere.
I was there, during rain drenched nights...I heard the crowd cheering, groaning...but all the time still supporting. I saw the crowd numbers tick over which would give a club like North Melbourne heart.

I was there when we marched from Fremantle to Subiaco to declare our heart is in Fremantle, and unlike the manufactured corporate Eagles, we wanted to be based in the Football heartland of Perth, Fremantle.

Be a Christian and not go to church.......
I am not talking about being a paid up member of some institution, I am not talking about some religious Sunday Christian who makes sure their name gets ticked off the role.
I am talking about being a part of Christ's body.

Being a Christian means belonging to Christ, and being 'belonged'.
I wonder if the last couple of decades of Christiandom with its emphasis on 'personal salvation' has swung too far.

The idea of being a Christian means being part of a community of believers, a corporate body.
Belonging to Christ, being responsible to your local expression of Christ.

What does this mean?
Can we be part of the body of Christ over the internet? Or while watching our favourite preacher on TV......Maybe. But I don't think its ideal. Its to easy to be insular.

Part of being the body of Christ means being outward focused, playing our part.

Have you ever thought of putting $20.01 worth of petrol in your tank, and then cheerfully handing the attendant a crisp $20 note?

Can't live without it.
Everyday grace.
Every moment grace.
Age of grace.
Grace that occurs despite my repeated efforts to wear out its patience.

Grace that leads to joy and relief.
Thankful for Gods grace to me....I need it.

Grace that one day will run out.
God wont be mocked...nor taken advantage of.
Jesus is a warrior, and will one day come with a sword.

Get on board the grace train now...now is the time.

Being a pastor means sometimes telling people what they don't want to hear, but need to.
Straddling the very blurred line between coming off as a self righteous twat...and the other line of being a wobbling jelly fish desperatly seeking to osmosis itself into everyones good books.

Today I took a little step in the direction of the srt..hopefully it was not a step that was over balanced.

I questioned someone who was focused on the way something was being done, rather than focusing on the depth of meaning behind the ritual. Seriously....worship in its its many forms calls us to remember, worship and commune with Christ.

As someone who seeks to facilitate an environment where people can come and commune together, you dont always get it right.
Examples? Mispelt words, music thats either innapropriate or distracting rather than enhancing, a message which has an 'off' illustration, a neighbours lawnmower...things you can and should control, and things you cannot. If someone can be distracted, then they might be.

But as some point, mature Christians need to be told....focus on Christ.

Here is the countdown I have made up for our new series.....Fresh

Things have been really exciting at church lately.
We had another big crowd in today....ran out of seats up the back....thats exciting.
The worship team have been playing excellent music...and it has really been helped by a couple of great musicians sticking around. Eliot is doing a great job with them.

I kicked off our new series and tried some different creative elements....used a few pictures ala 'Seth Godin' style. That is used pictures to illustrate a point...bring emotion in. Used my little clicker to control it from the front. I have not used powerpoint for so long...its pretty old and lame. But today I used it in a fresh way. Just used pictures as illustrations...no text, to convey emotion and truth as much as anything else.
I also got one of the blokes from church who has made some significant changes and taken some risks in his work life to tell a three minute 'vignette' or testimony to illustrate a point.
We are talking about being fresh....and this morning I talked about how God is a creative God, how we are made in His image...and how one way to find refreshment in your work is to exersise your creative talents.
I think it went okay....

Then...later on in the day I took the two kids and our dog for a walk down Bayswater river....beautiful day...beautiful kids.

Then...my brother in law gave me a nice bottle of red for my birthday....

Chris Judd said something really significant during the week...particularly for a footballer. He said that 'football' is not real life.. Ha!! your right Chris.

Thanks God for a beautiful refreshing day, thanks for my wife, my kids, my church...and some beautiful provisions today.

To describe how I feel after the Dockers went down to Melbourne by one goal.

You think you have felt it all as a Freo supporter and member of long standing. Crumbs....we survived the 'Drum' years.....

but today they took it to a new level.
Up by 50 points against the bottom team in the competition after taking it right up to the best team last week......

I can't handle much more of this.

After hearing all the stories about 60, 000 men attending the Angus Buchan crusade in South Africa, both from the web but also from my associate who attended....am excited about the crusade which will be happening in Perth.

Friday 27th February 2009 to Sunday 1st March 2009

There will be a web site up within the next couple of weeks with registration forms and information. Bedford Baptist's childrens worker who is excellent on IT will be putting that together. We will also be helping out with the music/worship side of it as well.....
Suffice to say I will be involved in some of the planning, multi media and whatever else I am asked to do.

Its pretty exciting...and we are hoping for a great increase on 2008's attendance of over 700 men...

Ha! Hypocrisy at its best.

Booing is part of the game....you get involved, you boo a bad decision....you cheer for your own players.

West Coast supporters....namely the WA media....had a red hot go at Freo supporters for booing Judd at a Western Derby....

Now they find themselves booing him...what will the excuse be.
By the way, I am finding a way to enjoy the Weagles misery, despite my own at Freo's losses!

Doing some research on my message topic for this month....FRESH


this video is cool as.....a very creative and cheap device that transforms a $40 Wii controller into a whole heap more...

Wednesday was the best day of the conference, in terms of input from speakers.
Karen Siggins from Lesmurdie nailed a great talk on stress. She said that when we feel stressed our normal reaction is to try and remove the things which are stressing us out, to remove part of our lives which cause us stress. As pastors this is not always possible or even desirable. So instead she basically said we need to be able to laugh, have a spark of madness about us and remember what truly gives us hope.

Tim Hanna
Public life determined by private
Difference between public & private
Whats keeping your life vibrant ?
Need to be teachable
Need for both a Barnabae and a Timothii in your life
We need to be the people who consistent example
John 13
Ability to serve comes from security of life
Need for Persistence & Resistance

It was a great conference. 197 delegates (up about 35 from last year), great times of food, fun, fellowship, worship, networking...rejoicing.